Teton Splendor (15 page)

Joseph glared at him. “Lucky for us that man was a bad shot,” he remarked.

Lucas scoffed. He glanced down at his wound. “Like hell he was a bad shot. He got me.”

“But he wasn’t aiming for you,” Joseph argued. “Maybe if you hadn’t been spying, you wouldn’t have gotten shot. Serves you right that the bullet hit you.”

“Well lucky for all of us he decided to hightail it outta there rather than reload his rifle and take another crack at you. He might have killed me with a second round. Who’d you rile so badly that he wanted to shoot you?”

“Wish I knew,” Joseph mumbled. He stood, and turned toward Sophie. “Let me have those bandages,” he said, holding out his hand.

“I’ll do it,” she said, her chin raised. “Or did you forget that I’m quite capable of bandaging a wound?” Her eyes widened to add to her challenge.

Hell, no, he hadn’t forgotten that she could apply a bandage. A flood of heat coursed through him at the memory of her daily ministrations when she tended to his flesh wound. Her tender woman’s touch had held more healing power than a medicine man’s herbs and magic chants.  It was for that exact reason that he didn’t want her wrapping Lucas’ wounds.

Joseph swallowed back his irrational thoughts, and stepped aside. “My brother can be quite the crybaby when he’s wounded,” he remarked with a smirk on his face.

“Not if there’s a pretty woman tending to me,” Lucas retorted, and flashed Sophie a wide grin. 

Joseph ground his teeth. Sophie glanced from him to Lucas, then back to him. Their eyes locked, an unspoken longing written clearly in her brown depths before she broke contact and knelt to the ground beside his brother. The warmth in her gaze dissolved his irritation quicker than the sun’s hot rays on a patch of snow, and he watched silently while she wrapped the bandages around Lucas’ shoulder.

Thoughts of her kiss surfaced, and a warm feeling enveloped him, tightening around his heart. In two days, she would meet her grandfather. What would happen after that? Was there a chance that she might choose to stay where she was born rather than return to Boston? Why had he waited so long to make his feelings known? Hell, he hadn’t even told her.

I love you.

Three words he never thought he’d say to another woman. He’d fought his attraction to Sophie from the first time he saw her. He’d stubbornly refused to acknowledge those feelings all these weeks. Today, all day, he’d watched her, riding tirelessly and without complaint like she’d done every day since leaving St. Louis. By the time he called a halt for the night, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer. His need to hold her and kiss her was stronger than the desire to protect his heart. It was no use. He had already hopelessly lost himself to her, and watching her return to Boston might just kill him.

Joseph gathered his rifle off the ground and headed toward the creek. He stood and gazed off into the distance, his senses tuned in to the sounds of the evening. From now until they reached his family’s homestead, he couldn’t let his guard down. As soon as he delivered Sophie safely to her grandfather, he was going after the man who attempted to kill them today. He needed answers.

“So, you found Raven.” Lucas appeared alongside him, and stared off into the distance across the water for a moment before turning his eyes on him. The knowing grin on his younger brother’s face was more than irritating. The white material of the bandage wrapped around Lucas’ shoulder and chest stood out sharply against the surrounding darkness. Joseph glanced back toward the fire. Sophie sat with Caleb, her eyes on him.

“She goes by the name Sophia Yancey,” Joseph forced from his mouth.

“Must have been quite the journey west by the looks of what I saw today.”

“What are you doing here, Lucas?” Joseph asked gruffly, cutting off his brother’s insinuations.

Lucas rubbed at his chin. “I really wasn’t expecting to find you here, and especially not with a beautiful woman in your arms. But since you asked, I’m on my way home from a hunting trip. Couple of days ago I ran into a village of Blackfoot.” He paused, and glanced toward Sophie. “I saw Feather in the Wind.”

Joseph clenched his jaw. Why would his brother bring up his former wife, the woman who had tossed him aside five years ago? He concentrated his gaze on the treeline beyond the creek. His feelings for her had vanished over the years. Lately, the only woman in his thoughts sat twenty yards behind him. Sophie was as attracted to him as he was to her, he was sure of it. Her stolen glances over the course of their journey, her willingness to fall into his arms earlier today, her response to his kiss; it all confirmed it. But were her feelings strong enough to keep her here, with him?

“She told me she wants you back.”

Lucas’ words jolted him as if he’d been punched in the stomach. His head whipped around to stare at his brother.

“She has a husband. And a brother who would just as soon kill me than have me look at her,” Joseph said through clenched teeth. The thought of the woman he used to call his wife left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Her husband and brother were both killed in a raid against the Crow. She has no other blood relatives who can take her in. She wants to come back to you.”

Joseph laughed slowly. “I’m sure there’ll be another warrior she can marry.”

Lucas shrugged. “Some men have more than one wife.” His chin jutted toward Sophie.

“I’m not interested in two wives,” Joseph growled. He stared at his brother, daring him to say another word. He was fully aware that Lucas was merely taunting him, but with his heart in turmoil over Sophie, he was in no mood to play along at the moment. “I’ll take first watch. Get some rest and I’ll wake you in a few hours.”  He turned on his heels and headed further upstream, letting the darkness swallow him up.

Chapter Fifteen

“What a magnificent view!”

Joseph resisted the urge to turn around in his saddle to glance back at Sophie. Instead, he gazed off into the distance, taking in his familiar surroundings. By tomorrow, they would be at his folks’ homestead. The snow-covered jagged peaks of the Teton Range rose steeply from the valley floor in the distance. The mountains’ imposing presence and regal stature were like silent white guards welcoming him home. Growing up below these mountains, he’d become accustomed to the view, but something struck him differently today. Sophie’s incredulous wonder and gasps of surprise and delight throughout the day infected him with excitement. Through her eyes, he saw the mountains in a fresh, new way.

All day, Joseph had led them closer to the vast valley below the Tetons that his family called home. He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Warmth filled his heart as he watched and listened to Sophie’s reactions to the land. His eyes roamed the beautiful scenery that spanned before him. When was the last time he stopped to even truly take notice? Sophie opened his eyes to the splendors of the land he’d taken for granted for so long. Unencumbered by foothills, the mountain range rose from the valley covered in coniferous forests, which gave way to alpine meadows. In the early parts of summer they were strewn with wildflowers. Would Sophie be here next season when the flowers bloomed in all their yellow and purple glory, or would she have chosen to return to the gray and crowded mansions of Boston?

Joseph followed the course of the Snake River that wound its way toward the mountains. An almost euphoric excitement passed through him. There was so much he wanted to show her. Should he take her past the string of glacial lakes that shimmered like jewels on a sunny day along the base of the mountain range, or through the wetlands along the river to observe the moose and elk that called the area home? How much time would he have to show her his mountains, and perhaps convince her to stay?

You have all winter.
If she has plans to return to Boston, it’s too late in the season.
She’s going to have to stay until the snow melts the following spring.

Of course, just one winter here might send her packing the minute the passes cleared. For now, they had been lucky with the weather, but the season was rapidly changing. The leaves on the aspen trees had already begun to change color from their summer green to spectacular shades of yellow, and fiery reds.

“Is there always snow on those peaks?” Sophie asked. Lucas, who brought up the rear of the group, had kept up a lively commentary about the landscape and any animals they saw throughout the day. A herd of pronghorn had spooked Caleb’s horse a while ago, but the boy had managed to control the skittish animal before it bucked him to the ground or took off running. They’d stopped to listen to the bugle of an elk as he called out a challenge to any other bull in the vicinity. The fall rut was about to begin.

“This late in the year, there’s not much snow,” Lucas said. “What you’re seeing is mostly ice, and it never melts. Me and Joseph used to climb right up them peaks. If it ain’t ice you’re standing on, it’s pure granite.”

“You’ve climbed to the top of those mountains?” Sophie asked, renewed awe in her voice. Joseph turned in his saddle. The sparkle and wonder in her eyes when he looked at her took his breath away.

“Yeah, Joseph nearly broke his neck the last time,” Lucas chuckled.

“I wanna climb that mountain,” Caleb chimed in, and pointed to the highest peak.

“Well, partner, maybe you and I can do that someday,” Lucas said, grinning at the boy. Caleb beamed, and threw a hopeful glance at Joseph.

“Maybe when you’re a bit older,” Joseph said, shooting a warning glance at his brother. Climbing the Teton peaks was dangerous and foolhardy, but for two boys growing up along their base, it had seemed the natural thing to do. Caleb would have to wait a few more years, though, before he was old enough to take on such a challenge. A slight smile swept over Joseph’s face. Every boy should have the kind of adventures and freedom he and Lucas had enjoyed during their youth.

“I would love to see everything from so high up,” Sophie said softly, as if to herself. Joseph raised his brows. He reined in his horse and brought it up alongside hers.

“You’d climb those mountains?” He shot her a disbelieving look. Instantly, her chin raised, her eyes blazing with what he had come to recognize as a sure sign her feathers were getting ruffled.

“You think I’m incapable?” Her eyes narrowed in a challenging glare. “Several months ago you thought I couldn’t handle the journey west. I’ll prove you wrong about climbing this mountain, too, Joseph Walker.” She nudged her horse into a trot.

A sudden wave of desire flooded his veins as he stared after her. She hadn’t ceased to amaze him yet. And if she was talking about climbing the Teewinots, did that mean she had plans of staying here? Joseph swallowed as his heart rate increased.

“Guess I’d better go after her.” Caleb let out a loud sigh. He was about to nudge his horse forward when Lucas said, “She’s fine. We can all see her from here.”

Caleb stared wide-eyed at Lucas. “But I’m Miss Sophie’s chaperone. Joseph told me I was a better man for the job than he was.”

Joseph groaned silently at the wide grin his brother flashed his way. His fingers tightened around his reins, and his horse tossed its head in protest.

“Is that right?” Lucas asked. “I’m thinkin’ you’re gonna lose that title soon, Caleb.”

Joseph clenched his jaw.

A relieved look washed over Caleb’s face. “Well, to tell you the truth, it was getting a bit tiresome watching out for her all the time.” His eyes scrunched together in deep concentration, then widened as if something finally made sense to him. “Joseph said unmarried ladies have chaperones. Does that mean she’s getting married?”

Lucas shot a quick glance at Joseph, then smiled at the boy. “Could be, my friend. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Caleb shrugged. “Well, until then, I’d best stay with her for now.” He kicked his horse into a trot. “Hold up, Miss Sophie,” he called loudly.

Joseph couldn’t help but smile after the boy. After yesterday’s incident, Caleb was taking his chaperone duties more seriously than ever before. How would he ever get another stolen moment alone with Sophie when Caleb hovered over her like a mother hen?

Lucas chuckled loudly, then flashed him that annoying grin of his.  “That’s some kid you found there. And some woman, too. Sounded to me like the lady means business about climbing that mountain, big brother. I hope you can handle her.”

Lucas leaned forward in his saddle and stared over at him. His eyes narrowed as he studied his face.

“You haven’t even told her, have you?”

“Told her what?” The leather of Joseph’s saddle creaked when he shifted his seat. 

Lucas guided his horse closer to him. His grin widened. “I don’t recall you ever ogling Feather in the Wind the way you look at Raven. You’ve been hit hard, but I never figured you for a coward, Joseph. Why don’t you tell her that you love her?”

Joseph gnashed his teeth together. First Chase Russell, now his own brother. He sucked in a deep breath. Perhaps they were both right. He had waited long enough.

“What do you know about love, Lucas?” Joseph retorted. “You don’t sit still long enough to notice a woman, let alone fall in love.”

Lucas grinned. “Oh, I notice. I just ain’t had cause to sit still yet. Not like you. But if you’re sayin’ you ain’t interested in Raven, if you’d rather take Feather in the Wind back, you just say the word. Raven’s mighty nice to look at, and she’s got grit, too.”

Joseph glared at his brother. “Her name is Sophie. Stay away from her,” he said in a low voice. Lucas laughed, and kneed his horse forward to follow Caleb.  

Joseph lagged behind. Why the hell did he allow his brother to goad him like that? Even if Lucas was right. He had to make his feelings and intentions known to Sophie. He didn’t want her to leave, to return to Boston in the spring. Feather in the Wind entered his mind, but only briefly. Would he have considered taking her back if he hadn’t met Sophie?

Joseph scoffed. He couldn’t even remember what it had felt like to be in love with the Blackfoot girl. Had it even been true love? His intense feelings for Sophie left him both ready to conquer anything and weak at the same time. He was absolutely certain that he was in love with her. Something had drawn him to her from their very first encounter, and he couldn’t deny it any longer. Her kiss the night before proved that she had feelings for him, too.

Glancing ahead toward the three riders, his mind cleared. After she met with her grandfather in a few days, he would tell her what was in his heart, and ask her to be his wife. He had nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain if she accepted him. 

Joseph’s eyes shifted to the surrounding trees, surveying the area for any unusual movement. He’d barely slept the night before, even though Lucas had taken a turn at guard duty. His brother’s shoulder had caused him pain during the night, but he would never admit it. Lucas seemed better today, but he didn’t have full use of his arm. If they were attacked again, Joseph didn’t know how much help his brother could offer.

Joseph continued to mull over the events of the previous day. Why had their attacker fired only one shot? He would have had time to reload his rifle and try and kill him or Sophie when they dashed for the safety of the trees, even with Lucas covering for them. The most important question he wanted answered was, who was the shooter after? Himself or Sophie? One possibility was that Lloyd or Andrew Preston might hold a grudge against him. Had they sent a killer after him? If that were the case, the man wasn’t very good. He had missed several opportunities to take a clean shot.

It was almost inconceivable that someone might be after Sophie. It was certainly not Oliver Sabin who was trailing them. How would the man have caught wind of her, after nearly twenty years? 

“We should make camp here for the night,” Joseph called after another hour. He pulled his horse to a halt among a thick grove of conifers. The area afforded a nice view of the mountains in the distance, and a stream trickled close by.

“Caleb, come help me with my horse,” Lucas called before dismounting. Joseph caught his brother’s glance, and the quick nudge with his chin toward Sophie. She had already led her gelding toward the creek. The animal dropped its head toward the water and drank greedily. Taking advantage of his brother’s unspoken offer, Joseph led his horse next to Sophie’s, and reached for her hand. Her head shot up toward him, and she sucked in a quick breath. Her cheeks flushed visibly, and the shy smile she offered and coy glance from beneath her dark lashes ignited a fire in his chest that spread quickly throughout his body. Her reaction was more than encouraging.

“I’ll scout the area to make sure we’re safe here,” Joseph said, trying to keep his voice even. He stepped closer. Sandwiched between the horses, he heard Lucas instruct Caleb in what to do to set up camp in the background.

Sophie held still. An expectant look washed over her, and Joseph fought the impulse to pull her into his arms.

“Do you think that shooter is following us?” she asked, and darted a quick look toward the trees.

Joseph clenched and unclenched his jaw muscles in rapid succession. Time for some honesty. He’d been careless all those weeks ago, and they almost paid the ultimate price.

“He’s been following us at least since the accident on the Ohio, near as I can tell,” he said. There was no sense lying to her. She had a right to know that her life might be in danger. “I thought we’d lost him after St. Louis, but apparently not.”

Sophie’s eyes drew together in a worried frown. “Who would follow us, and why?” she asked softly. “And why haven’t you told me?” A hint of annoyance flashed in her gaze.

“I didn’t want to upset you for no reason. And I wish I knew who he is and why he’s after us. But I am going to find out. Once you’ve met your grandfather and are safe at my folks’ place, I plan on finding him.”