Sweet Savage Heart (5 page)

“You can’t blame yourself for Marissa’s mistakes.” Nathan sighed heavily. “I’m to blame for some of them, Travis. I let her have her way too long. If my Ruthie hadn’t died with that fever when Marissa was ten, she would have known how to handle our feisty child. When I realized Marissa was dead serious about running off, it was too late to stop her. Hell, I would have married her off to one of the neighboring ranchers or one of my cowpunchers! How could a girl raised so easy choose a hard and dangerous life like Michaels offered? Traveling from one dirty town and loud saloon to another; always being around drunks and whores and gunslingers; going
up and down that treacherous river on one of them big boats so Michaels could lie and cheat while he plied his dirty trade. You know what kinds of things go on in those saloons and riverboats. It wasn’t any place for a lady like Marissa or a small child. Surprised me Michaels kept them around for seven years. I kept hoping Marissa would come to her senses and return home. She never could see the evil in that man, or wouldn’t admit she could to me or herself.”

“You sure you want to dig this up tonight?” Travis asked. He knew how painful this subject was for Nathan. Besides, he had heard most of this tale before and it always made him angry. Travis loved and respected the older man; he would risk any peril to defend him. During the seven years since Nathan Crandall had saved his life, Travis had learned much about Nathan, and his defiant, selfish daughter.

Travis had met plenty of vixens like Marissa and had forgotten all except two vicious bitches. Conniving, greedy females rubbed him the wrong way. He despised vain, spoiled creatures who only cared about themselves. Marissa’s eyes told wicked tales and seemed to shout them louder than a cannon roared, though Nathan was too much the loving father to hear them. It had taken years after that horrible incident for Nathan to find happiness and peace of mind, and he had still been suffering when they had been thrown together. Maybe that mutual need for love and peace had sparked the rapport and bond between them. Together they had healed each other’s wounds. Now some evil force was thrusting this imposing girl into Nathan’s life and emotions. She possessed the power to hurt Nathan as deeply as Marissa had, and he could not allow it. If she was like her mother, she could destroy Nathan Crandall.

“Maybe I am partly to blame, Travis. Maybe I should have let Marissa have her way. Maybe I should have tried
to buy off Michaels. Hell, I made sure Marissa learned about his other women and deceits. She wanted to stay deaf and blind to his weaknesses; she refused to believe my reports. Michaels turned her into a spineless, emptyheaded fool who would follow him anywhere! Maybe I was too busy with the ranch to see what was happening to my little girl. Maybe if I had remarried and had given Marissa a mother who could supply love and guidance, then she wouldn’t have gone bad. Women can be such fools when it comes to a handsome face and charming front. Michaels thought all he had to do was outwait me, then move in here and take over. I’ve wished a hundred times I had shot the bastard. Hell, he tried to have me killed twice! If those Kiowas hadn’t murdered him, me and him would have tangled eventually. If Michaels had truly loved her, I would have done anything to help them. Why didn’t my little girl listen to me?”

Nathan picked up his glass and poured himself another drink. Travis remained silent and observant, a lingering trait from his Indian upbringing. “If it had been anyone but my child, I would have said she was getting what she deserved. I loved that girl, Travis. If only she could have admitted she was wrong and let me help her get away from that snake. If we’d only been given a little more time…”

Travis empathized with Nathan as the older man was forced to retrace a torturous path. “Just before she was murdered, she and Michaels seemed to be at their last stand. I told her over and over that she could return home with Rana any day or night. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent money for food and clothes. Maybe poverty and shame would have opened Marissa’s eyes and driven her home. But I couldn’t let them go hungry and naked and sleep in barns or over saloons. I wonder if he even let her keep the money. Knowing that beast, he probably took it and gambled it away. Those two girls saw plenty of
hard times. No, I should have given in to her pleas; maybe they would still be alive.”

“No, Nate,” Travis argued. “Marissa would have had to have been the one to break it off with Michaels. He would have destroyed you and this ranch. Let this matter rest,” he urged. Travis had never seen Nathan so insecure, so determined to place the blame on the wrong head. He knew that Nathan was being plagued by doubts and self-recrimination, but the man did not deserve them, for Nathan had done what he had thought was right for his child and for himself. That was not true of his own father. Jeremy Kincade had duped and betrayed his child for selfish reasons.

“I can’t, Travis. I have to think about Rana. You and her are all I have left. If you had been here years ago, Marissa wouldn’t have looked at another man. I could have left the ranch to you two. You know I think of you as the son I never had. If I can’t get Rana back, it’s yours. If I do, you two will share it.”

Travis smiled. “You’ve done plenty for me, Nate. I wouldn’t be alive now if you hadn’t found me and taken me in. I know I gave you lots of hard times and smart mouth, but you turned me around. If Michaels hadn’t been pulling at Marissa with pretty words and smiles, you could have turned her around too,” he encouraged his friend, even if he did not believe these last words. He wondered how Marissa had turned out so badly with a good father like Nathan Crandall.

“The last time I saw Rana, she was a beautiful, vivacious child. Marissa had brought her to visit me for a month, probably trying to change my mind about taking them in before winter started. I could tell she was getting tired of always moving around and ignoring Michaels’s lies. She was tense and moody. She was weakening, Travis. I should have pressed her harder. She looked so weary and sad. I think Michaels was starting to give her a
hard time, maybe threatening to get rid of her and the child if she couldn’t get any money out of me. You should have seen those two girls together, Travis. Little Rana had arrived a quiet, shy, frightened child. She loved it here on the ranch. I watched her open up and come to life. After a few days, she was full of laughter and chatter, always following me and the boys around and asking countless questions. I think that was the first time since her birth she was getting enough food and rest and play. She thrived on the sunshine and attention, and she wasn’t timid or afraid anymore.”

Nathan’s voice and expression went cold and harsh. “They only stayed two weeks. That no-good Michaels showed up and took them away. The minute he walked in the door, I saw a change come over Marissa and Rana. He sapped the life and joy right out of their bodies. He was a cold and clever bastard, but I saw through his little game. He had been giving me a taste of what I was missing. He figured I would relent. I was hoping my daughter had regained some of her pride and spunk and she would stand up to the vermin. God forgive me for saying that only Marissa and Rana would be welcome here. Michaels called my bluff and I lost Marissa. If she hadn’t died, I think she would have returned home within a month. She’s gone forever, Travis, but I can get Rana back with your help. Will you take me to Soaring Hawk?”

Even if he disagreed with Nathan’s explanation and plans, Travis realized he had to yield to his friend’s plea. The truth was that he did not know how he felt about this matter. “I’ll do what I can to get her back for you. Just make sure you understand the consequences if she and the Oglalas don’t agree with our actions. You know the government sent every Union soldier they could find into that area to subdue the Dakota Nation. Maybe they have rounded up and fenced in some of the tribes, but those Oglalas and Hunkpapas will never make peace with
whites who are stealing their lands. Those ex-Yankees don’t realize who they’re challenging in Red Cloud, Gall, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Soaring Hawk. Blind lambs to the slaughter, Nate. Even if we can get in and out alive, bringing Rana back with us will be nearly impossible. We could stir up more trouble and danger for the whites and Indians by stealing part of Soaring Hawk’s family. Do you want to risk causing a new bloodbath?” Travis observed the effect of his words on Nathan. Travis was not afraid to risk his life, but he did not want to risk Nathan’s.

“I want her, Travis. I need her. Help me do this the right way. Once Soaring Hawk hears the truth, surely he’ll let Rana return to her real family. If necessary, I’ll get on my knees and beg him.”

“When, and if, we reach the Dakota Territory, promise you’ll let me handle everything. Promise you won’t interfere with whatever I say or do. Maybe we can come to some peaceful compromise.”

“How soon can we leave?” Nathan questioned eagerly.

Travis reminded Nathan, “We’re already running weeks behind on our spring roundup and cattle drive. I don’t see how we can take off for the Oglala camp until we return from Sedalia. Say six to eight weeks. Then we should be able to reach the Dakota Territory within three or four weeks. If all goes well, we might have her home by mid-August.”

“That’s two or three months! If things are as bad as you said, Rana could be injured or killed before we reach her,” Nathan protested.

“Soldiers wouldn’t kill a beautiful white girl.”

“Even if she behaves like a Sioux enemy?”

Travis dodged that question by focusing attention on another problem. “Have you forgotten that Harrison Caldwell is breathing fire on your neck? Last summer and winter were bad for us, Nate; we borrowed plenty of money to get through. If we don’t get those cattle to
market soon, he’ll force Mason’s bank to call in your loans so he can buy them up. If we lose that sale or get there too late for good prices, we’re in deep trouble. He’s already found ways to take over nearly every neighboring spread and close us in on three sides. That only leaves us protected by the river and McFarland’s spread. I don’t like the idea of being surrounded by that snake. Do you want to lose the Rocking
C
Ranch to that rattler while we’re off chasing a ghost? Patience, Nate, or you won’t have a home to bring Rana back to. Not unless you don’t mind my having to marry Clarissa Caldwell to get it back for us,” he teased cunningly to relax Nathan’s tension and concern.

“I’ll thrash you with a leather strap if you ever seriously glance in that vixen’s direction. You just keep leading her down a flowery trail to keep an eye on her old man. Harry will hang back as long as he thinks he can get hold of this ranch through you and his daughter.” Nathan cautioned, “We’d best make sure he doesn’t learn about Rana, or he might see her as a kink in his dirty plans. Just keep letting that pretty vulture believe she’s got her talons wrapped tightly around you and we’ll be fine.” He chuckled. “Little Clarissa and her father won’t be none too happy when they get a look at my beautiful granddaughter.”

Both men’s gazes went to the mantel to eye the girl mentioned. Travis grinned and devilishly agreed, “Nope, Miss Clarissa Caldwell won’t take kindly to Rana Michaels’s arrival at all. I wonder just how accurately Soaring Hawk named his adopted daughter.
Watogla Tate,
Wild Wind… Lordy, Nate, we might have us a tough taming job ahead.”

Later, at supper, Travis’s keen instincts were alert. He asked, “You’ve thought it over carefully and you’re sure you want to do this?”

Nathan’s blue eyes locked with the lively green ones of
the man who was like the son he had never had. He sighed deeply and nodded. Travis had given him back his spirit, his vitality, his pride; Travis had brought him happiness and a new reason for living. He knew something of the hardships, loneliness, anguish, and humiliation the younger man had endured. But those emotions and experiences had toughened Travis; they had made him nearly invincible; they had honed his talents, instincts, and body into a powerful force that few men rashly challenged. Over the years since coming here, Travis had lost much of his brittleness and wariness. Nathan knew that his love, acceptance, and help had changed that coldness and filled that emptiness. He knew he had done as much for Travis as Travis had done for him, and understood that Travis might be leery of returning to the people he had rejected for the whites.

Nathan asked soulfully, “What would you do if she were your flesh and blood, Travis? If she were your daughter or sister or wife? I owe her, son. I’m the reason she was born, and maybe the reason she was captured. If not for my self-righteousness and obstinancy, Marissa would be alive and Rana would be at home tonight. I should have found the courage to kill that bastard she married!” Nathan declared, some of his old guilt and rage returning to plague him.

“You’ve got to face reality, Nate. What if she isn’t Rana? This trip will be long and dangerous. It could take weeks to locate Soaring Hawk’s camp. We can’t just ride in and demand her return. If we ask too many questions along the way, word will spread and they’ll get suspicious. We could get killed before we reach her.”

Nathan fused his worried gaze on the man who was half-Indian and a highly trained warrior—a fact known only in these parts by Nathan Crandall. Travis’s knowledge of the Indians and their language could be vital to his success. Yet the search for Rana did not have
Nathan as concerned as asking Travis to return to the Dakota Territory with him, for Nathan suspected the emotional and physical agonies that this fearless man had experienced there. While doctoring Travis’s muscular body years ago, Nathan had viewed the scars of the Sun Dance and those of a brutal torturing. To force Travis to enter that territory again might refresh those painful years, those horrible events, those traits that had taken Nathan a long time and a lot of love to alter. He asked himself if he dared risk losing Travis to death or to the “old ways,” in order to rescue a girl who might not wish to be returned home. Yet, there was no one who could better understand and deal with this present Rana or the hazardous conditions in the Sioux territory than Travis “White Eagle” Kincade.