Westward Moon (8 page)

Sparrow had no idea what time it was when she opened her eyes the next day.  She was disoriented by the strange place and it took a few moments for her to remember where she was.  Jack wasn’t in the bed with her.  The bunkhouse was cold and she burrowed under the covers to warm up.  The door opened and Jack entered with an armload of wood.  He didn’t know Sparrow was awake and he tried to close the door as quietly as possible.

Quickly he set about getting a fire going in the wood stove.  Once he had it going, he took off his coat, boots, and pants and attempted to find Sparrow under the covers.  She had them wrapped around her.

“Hey, Sparrow.  Quit hoggin’ the covers, woman,” he said.

She laughed and wouldn’t give them up. 

“C’mon, it’s freezin’ out here,” Jack said.

“No!  You’re going to be cold when you get in,” she said.

“Not for long.”

“No!”

“Ok, I didn’t want to have to do this, but…”

Jack picked her up covers and all and flipped her over.  She landed on the bed and bounced as he pulled the covers away.  Sparrow laughed as she tried to keep ahold of them.  The cold air hit her and her teeth started chattering together.

“Jack!” she protested.

“How’s it feel?  Not too good, huh?” Jack said.  “Now c’mon and get in here with me.”

They bundled up together and laughed as both of them tried to fight their chattering teeth. 

“It won’t be long ‘til it warms up in here,” Jack told her.  “That stove is a really good one.”

“Good.  I hate being cold.  I hate the cold.  I hate snow, too,” Sparrow said.

“Except for when you get to throw snowballs at people,” Jack said. 

She said, “That is different.”

“Of course it is.”

“What time is it?” she asked.

“A little after six.”

Sparrow groaned.

Jack asked, “What’s the matter.”

Sparrow didn’t want to go outside, but nature was calling.  “I’ll be back.”

Now Jack groaned.  “Hurry.”

She climbed over him and cried out when her bare feet hit the icy cold floor.  Jack laughed as he watched her hop over to his boots and jam her feet into them.  She put his coat on because it was longer and reached almost to her knees.  When she opened the door, she let out a squeal of fright because Seth stood right outside the door.

“Not now!  Move!” she said and pushed him to the side.  She ran for the outhouse as quickly as she could.

Seth laughed as he watched her go.  He went into the bunkhouse and closed the door.

Jack glared at him from the bed and said, “I’m not cookin’.”

“I ain’t askin’ ya to.  I was just comin’ over to see if you two were alive or not,” Seth said.

“What do you mean?” Jack said.

“It’s almost eleven,” Seth said.

“No, it’s not.  It’s…” Jack looked over at the clock on the dresser and swore when he saw that it had stopped. 

Seth laughed and said, “I’m supposed to tell you to come over and eat.  Your mama’s cookin’, so you don’t have to.”

Sparrow came back and her teeth chattered worse than before.  Jack pulled the covers back and she kicked his boots off and got in coat and all.  Seth smiled and said, “Don’t be too long, kids.”

He left them alone and made his way over to the cookhouse.  When he went inside, Tessa asked, “Are they all right?”

“They’re fine.  Freezing, but fine.  Jack has the stove goin’ so they won’t be too long,” he said. 

Mike burst through the door and said, “Mama!  Guess what?”

It seemed to be the boy’s favorite question.

“I have no idea,” Tessa said.  “What?”

“I know how to do algebra now!”

“You do?  Since when?” Tessa asked.

“Since I read that book last night,” Mike said as he punched Seth in the arm.

“Michael!  Stop that,” Tessa said.

Seth responded by giving Mike a dead leg.  Mike laughed, limped over to a chair and sat down.  Tessa gave Seth a withering look.  He shrugged and said, “He started it.”

“And how old are you, Seth?” Tessa asked.

Seth stopped and had to think about it.  “Oh, good Lord.  Forty-five?  I can’t be that old, can I?”

“I’m afraid so,” Tessa said.  “And with a baby on the way, I might add.”

Seth got up and said, “Yep.  Not too old to still do that.”  He winked at Tessa and moved to leave the cookhouse.

“To do what, Uncle Seth?” Mike asked as he rubbed his leg.

“Oh, your Mama will tell you all about it,” Seth said and went out the door before Tessa threw something at him.

She was saved from having to explain anything to Mike because Jack and Sparrow came in.  “Spring can’t come soon enough,” Jack said as he went over to the stove and held his hands out to it.  “Good morning, Mama.  Mikey.  Sorry.  Mike,” Jack said.

“Good morning, you two,” Tessa said.  “Obviously you slept well.”

“Yes.  Like a rock,” Sparrow said.  Her stomach growled.  She saw Mike rubbing his leg and asked, “What happened to your leg?”

“Uncle Seth,” Mike said.

Jack laughed.  “Gave you a dead leg, huh?  He’s the best at that.  He knows just where to hit.”

Tessa shook her head.  “I will never understand the male need to hurt each other and call it having fun.”

“Mama, what is it that Uncle Seth isn’t too old to do?” Mike said.  He hated not knowing things, something he got from his mother. 

Tessa could have cheerfully murdered Seth at that moment.  “Nothing, Mike.  Please don’t worry about it.”

“Is he really forty-five?  He doesn’t look it,” Mike said.

“It’s hard to believe, but he is,” Tessa confirmed.

“Jeez,” Jack said.  “I never think about anyone getting older.  How old are you now, Mama?”

“Jackson Samuels, you know better than to ask a lady her age,” Tessa said in a testy voice.

Sparrow laughed.  “I know how old you are.”

Tessa said, “Sparrow, you’re supposed to be on my side as another woman.”

“I’m twenty-three,” Sparrow said.

“Well, I am not anymore.  I was almost your age when I came here,” Tessa said.

Jack laughed as he started cracking eggs into a pan.  “So you’ve been here sixteen years.  If you were around twenty-three then, that makes you—.  Ow!  Ow!”

Jack backed away from the stove and faced Tessa who was winding her towel again.  His back hit the wall between the stove and sink and he was trapped.

“Mama, I’m sorry, I was just kiddin’, put the towel down, I won’t say anything, I promise,” Jack said.  His words came out in a long stream as he sought to mollify her.  Tessa’s towel snaps hurt worse than a bee sting and Jack had no desire to feel any more of them.

“Are you going to pursue that line of thinking?” she asked as she arched an eyebrow at him.

“Nope.  No way.  On my honor, I won’t say anything more about it,” Jack said as he shook his head.

Sparrow laughed at the sight of big, strong Jack’s fear of his mother. 

“Yeah, you laugh, Sparrow, but you’ve never had her snap a towel at you.  It hurts like hell!” Jack said.

Tessa chuckled and let him off the hook.  “Very well.  Finish cooking your eggs.”

Cautiously Jack went back to the stove and did as she directed.  Sparrow watched him cook and smiled.  Everything to do with cooking was second nature to him and his purposeful movements were fun to watch.  Sparrow’s gaze settled on his hands and she longed to feel them caressing her again.

She averted her eyes before anyone saw what she was feeling.  To distract herself she asked, “Jack, why did our tribe stay for the winter?”

Jack sighed.  “The buffalo are getting scarce and when Black Fox sent scouts down south to try to find some herds, there weren’t many.  There are more up here right now, so he felt that it was better for the tribe to stay this winter.  Plus there are a lot of deer around this year so they can hunt them, too.  If they need to, they’ll buy some steer from us.  But I know Uncle Marcus will give them some of his steer.  He always does if need be.”

“I see,” Sparrow said.  “What do you think they will say about my escape?”

Jack gave her an encouraging smile as he put a plate of food in front of her.  “I think they’re gonna be happy that your safe and be glad to see you.  You know how fond they are of you.”

Sparrow smiled.  “Yes.  I know.  I can’t wait to see them.”

Jack filled another plate and sat down.  “Then let’s go to camp after we eat.”

“Yes.  I would like that,” Sparrow said.  She laughed when she saw the heap of food on Jack’s plate. 

“What?” he said around a mouthful of home fries.

“For someone who didn’t want to cook you sure cooked a lot,” she teased him.

He swallowed and said, “I can’t help myself.  I get in a kitchen and I just have to cook.”

Tessa said, “Yes.  I know.  When you come around at mealtime, I just sit down and let you take over because you always do.”

“Sorry, Mama,” Jack said.

“Oh, I’m not complaining.  I don’t mind at all,” Tessa said.  “Well, if you are all right, I’m going to go finish that chapter I’ve been working on.”

Tessa had published a book a few years earlier, which had met with great success.  She was now working on her second book.

“Ok, Mama.  Good luck,” Jack said.

“Thank you,” she said and left.

Mike moved down to sit by Sparrow.  His leg was finally back to normal.  “She never did tell me what Uncle Seth wasn’t too old to do.”

Jack chuckled.  “I have a hunch, but I’m not going to say.”

Mike smiled and said, “Is it about sex?”

Sparrow looked at him with wide eyes.

Jack said, “That’s not appropriate to talk about in front of women, Mike.”

“Why?” Mike said.  “Why is everyone so secretive about it?  I mean, it’s described in the Bible and everything.”

“What?” Jack said with a confused look.

“Yeah.  One guy was a couple hundred years old and his wife was ninety and they had a baby,” Mike said.  “I don’t know how that’s possible since women tend to not be very fertile in their later years, but it’s in there.”

“You read the Bible?” Jack asked.

“Sure.  Don’t you?” Mike said.

“No.  I mean when I was younger I did some, but I haven’t read it in years.”

“You should.  There’s some funny stuff in there,” Mike said.  “Plus, there are romantic poems and stuff in the Psalms.  I like them.  Well, Pa asked me to clean stalls today so I better go do it.  See you guys later.”

Jack stared after Mike and then looked at Sparrow who was trying not to laugh.  “Well, how ‘bout that?  I had no idea he read the Bible.  I think there’re a lot of things I don’t know about him.”

“I would say you’re right,” Sparrow said.

Jack shook his head and finished his food.

After their meal, they rode down to Jack’s house.  There were no tracks in the snow, so Jack knew that no one had been there.  It was a good sign.  Jack showed Sparrow around the house.  There were now two bedrooms, a study, washroom, parlor, and the kitchen had been enlarged.  Sparrow thought the house was pretty and she could imagine living there.

              She longed to begin her life with Jack and wanted to start planning their wedding as soon as possible.  Looking out the window, she saw the barn out back that was big enough to hold three horses.  There was also a shelter for the four steer that Jack kept.  Marcus had been feeding them for Jack.

              She smiled when she felt Jack’s arms come around her from behind.  “What do you think?  Will you like it here?”

              Sparrow leaned back against him and said, “I will love it here.  I would love it anywhere as long I was you.  But, yes, it is a pretty little house.  I like that there is already a room to use as a nursery.  I want a baby, Jack.”

              Jack tightened his arms a little.  “Me, too.  I want that so much.  I have a delicate question, Sparrow.”

              “It is ok.  Go ahead.  I’ll tell you anything,” Sparrow said.

              “How is it that you didn’t get pregnant?”

              Sparrow smiled.  “There are secret things that women can do to help prevent pregnancy.  It doesn’t always work, but it lowers the chance that she will conceive a child.  I took it every day, sometimes twice a day even though you’re not supposed to.  I was not going to give him a child.”  She fought the tears that threatened.  “I only want to have children with you.”

              Jack heard the distress in her voice and turned her to face him.  “You are so brave, Sparrow.  And smart.  I would have welcomed any child of yours, but I gotta confess that I’m happy you didn’t get pregnant by that ass.  I want to be the one you have children with.”

              Her full mouth drew his attention and he couldn’t resist kissing her.  She sighed as their mouths met and she took her gloves off so she could feel the texture of his short hair against her fingers as she ran them through it.  Jack undid her coat and caressed her back and sides.  She felt so good and flames of desire began to burn bright within him. 

              Sparrow answered his growl with one of her own and the sound drove Jack wild.  His hands left her body to get rid of his coat.  Then he took her in his arms and held her tight against him.  Sparrow’s pulse quickened as he kissed his way to her ear and lightly bit her earlobe.  Her hands fisted in his shirt and she moaned. 

              Jack felt Sparrow score his neck hard with her teeth and lost control.  He picked her up and took her into his room and backed her over to the bed.  Desire smoldered in her dark eyes and Jack wanted her with a shocking intensity.  Her eyes never left his as she undid the buttons of his shirt and pushed it off him.  His chest was hard and nicely contoured.  She kissed his warm skin and Jack shuddered. 

              Jack’s voice was rough with passion as he said, “This isn’t like when we were younger, is it?  It’s so much stronger and I don’t trust myself, Sparrow.”

              “I don’t trust myself, either.  You’re right; it is more powerful, Jack.”

              “I keep asking myself what we’re waiting for,” Jack said.  “On one hand, it seems silly not to be with you like that and then my conscience gets to me.  Both are fighting to win and I don’t know which one is going to eventually come out on top.  For right now, it’s my conscience.”

              So saying, Jack left her and went outside without dressing again.  She went to the door and watched as he jumped off the porch and flopped down face first in the snow.  The cold snow felt good on his heated body and he lay there for a little while.  Sparrow laughed and came over to try to get him up on his feet.

              “Jack, you’re going to freeze!  You do not even have a shirt on,” she said.             

              “I don’t care.  It feels good,” he replied.  The snow was helping to cool his ardor.

              Both of them heard a twig crack somewhere in the woods ahead of them.  They were instantly on the alert.  Jack got up off the ground and acted as if he hadn’t heard the sound. 

He took Sparrow’s hand and said, “Ok, you win.”

She looked up at him and smiled.  Sparrow saw the guarded, fearful look on his face and began feeling afraid.  They jumped up on the porch and Jack pushed her inside as quickly as possible.  He slammed the door shut just as an arrow sailed through the air and sank into it.  Jack locked the door and ran for his coat.  He didn’t bother with his shirt. 

              He hastily shrugged into his coat and ran into his bedroom.  When he came out, Jack held two pistols.  He pressed one into Sparrow’s hand.  “You know what to do with that,” he said.  When he’d first become a deputy, Jack had taught her how to shoot and she was a good shot.

              Sparrow nodded.  Her dark eyes were wide with fear.  Jack checked out the windows looking out the back of the house but saw no movement.  He loaded his coat pockets with ammo.

              “We’re gonna make a run for the trail.  Getting to the camp is going to be the best bet for us.  They’re waiting out by the road that goes up to the ranch, so we can’t go that way.  I don’t know if they know that Uncle Marcus had a trail from here.  I hope not.  We’ll go out the study door.  You see any of them, you shoot.  Don’t ask any questions.  Don’t think about it.  Just shoot, ok?”

              “Yes.  I understand.  I hope I get to kill one,” she said with a smile even though she was frightened.

              Jack smiled back.  “Me, too.  .Ok, let’s go.”

              Silently Jack opened the door in the study that led outside.  He was thankful that the hinges didn’t make any noise.  Cautiously they crept out into the snow.  Jack was heartened by the fact that there were no tracks leading to the trail entrance or around the back of the house.  Both of them had their guns at the ready as they began running for the trail.  They made it into the woods, but suddenly found their way blocked by two braves.

              Jack never hesitated as he raised his pistol and shot one in the head.  Sparrow’s gun went off and the other one spun around as the bullet slammed into his right shoulder.  As they ran by the downed Indians, Jack put another bullet in the one that had only been injured.  He was taking no chances of the brave getting up again. 

              Normally Jack wasn’t so violent, but their situation was dire and he was going to do whatever he had to do to keep them alive.  They ran full out.  Their blood was chilled by the sound of a war trill behind them.  Another one answered from the front.  Jack swore as he realized the trap they’d set for him and Sparrow.  Grim determination kept him from panicking.  His training not only by the Lakota, but also by Mitch surfaced and he began considering their options. 

              He kept Sparrow by his side as much as possible to shield her with his body.  Jack wanted to try something so he let out his own war trill and waited as they kept moving.  Soon he saw a brave poke his head out from behind a tree not too far from where they were.  Jack shot and thought he grazed the brave’s head.  As they passed the tree, Sparrow saw that the brave lay on the ground.  Blood oozed from his head, seeping into the snow.  Jack shot him again and then said, “Keep watch.  I gotta reload.”

              Swiftly, Jack put more bullets in his gun.  A barrage of arrows came from their left side and Jack forced Sparrow off the trail to the right while he shot in the direction from which they’d come.  He heard one cry of pain and grinned wickedly.  Then he got down on his hands and knees and began crawling through the snow.  Sparrow followed suit. 

              They continued this way for a little while, but when things remained quiet, Jack and Sparrow stood up when they reached a stand of trees to hide behind while they assessed the situation.  Jack decided that they couldn’t stay where they were much longer.

              “On three, we’re gonna run like hell and go down through the ravine instead of back on the trail,” he whispered in her ear. “Ok?”

              Sparrow nodded and said, “Ok.”

              He silently counted it off and they started running through the trees.  More arrows came their way.  Jack didn’t slow down as the ravine edge loomed.  He took Sparrow’s hand to make sure she didn’t either.  Right before they went over the edge, Jack felt something sink into his left calf and knew that he’d been hit. 

              Sparrow started sliding down, but Jack couldn’t keep his balance and began tumbling down the steep embankment.  Sparrow was powerless to help him as he went rolling past her.  She didn’t cry out because she didn’t want to give away their location.  She looked back at the top of the ravine but it was blocked from her view by dense trees and undergrowth.  If she couldn’t see them, she hoped that they couldn’t see her and Jack, either.

              She looked back down the ravine to see Jack bounce off a boulder and roll even faster down towards the bottom.  Sparrow began crying silently and moving as fast as she safely could to reach Jack as he hit the bottom and lay still.  She skidded to a stop and then ran to Jack.  He lay face up.  Sparrow saw the arrow that had gone through Jack’s calf and wanted to weep even more. 

              Instead of giving in to the tears, however, Sparrow jammed her gun into her coat pocket and started looking Jack over more thoroughly.  There was a gash on his forehead and some scratches.  She picked up some snow and began rubbing it on his face and slapping him lightly.

              “Jack!” she whispered urgently.  “Jack!  Wake up!”

              Jack heard her voice from somewhere far away and started to respond.  When he opened his eyes, he saw her tear-streaked face.  Her midnight eyes gazed at him fearfully.  His head felt like someone kept thumping it with a club and his left lower leg burned and throbbed like nothing he’d ever experienced before.  His ribs protested when he tried to move.

              “Jack!  You have to get up.  We have to get to camp!” she whispered at him.

              He looked down at his leg and saw the arrow sticking out on both sides of it.  He swore loudly.

              “Shh!” Sparrow said and started pulling him into a sitting position.  “I’ll help you.”

              Jack couldn’t get over on his knees because the arrow was too long.  He knew it would be too dangerous to remove the arrow because he could bleed to death.  Bending painfully at the waist, Jack broke off first one side of the arrow and then the other.  Then with Sparrow’s help, he was able to get up.  He tried to walk on it just a little bit and almost went down again because it wouldn’t hold him. 

              He didn’t see his gun lying anywhere on the ground around them.  He must have lost it during his fall down the side of the ravine.  “Sparrow, you’re going to have to make a run for camp.  I’m going to follow you as fast as I can, but I need your gun.  I lost mine.  Go get help.” 

              She nodded, handed him her gun, and began running.  There were some women who might have argued with Jack, but Sparrow knew that Jack was right and arguing would only waste valuable time.  She was a fast runner and Sparrow jumped over fallen trees and dodged branches as she ran.  Soon she started recognizing the woods around her.  She smiled as she came out onto the trail a short distance from the village.  Her old hoot owl call sounded and it was answered.  She then whistled the melody warning the sentry of danger. 

              Immediately the sentry sent out his own alarm.  Sparrow ran onward and into the camp.  People pointed and exclaimed about her as they recognized her, but Sparrow never slowed as she raced to Black Fox’s tipi.  He had heard the alarm and was already outside.  His eyes grew big when he saw Sparrow.

              She ran to him and grasped his arm.  “No time to explain, great chief,” she said as she panted.  “Jack is back there in the ravine. He is injured.  Arrow to the leg.  Follow my tracks.  Father’s braves came after me.”

              Black Fox didn’t respond.  Instead he began barking orders as Wind Spirit handed him his weapons.  Then he led a large group of braves while giving instructions about how he wanted the village protected until they returned.

              Jack had crawled into a thick mass of brush because his leg and ribs kept him from moving very far.  He’d used a large pine branch to sweep snow over his tracks as well as he could.  As he lay panting, he hoped that Sparrow had made it to the village safely.  The thought of her being hurt or killed after he’d just gotten her back was unbearable.  He could deal with anything else as long as she was all right.

              His position was tenuous because if he had to shoot, they would know exactly where he was and then not even his gun was going to save him.  Jack knew his only hope of survival rested with his Lakota family arriving in time.  Until then, Jack worked on quieting his breathing.  He could smell his sweat and the faint odor of blood from where it still seeped from his leg. 

              Knowing he needed to keep hydrated, Jack ate snow until his head began to throb worse from the cold stuff.  He wiped sweat from his forehead and then lay still.  Jack’s eyes began to close as shock started setting in.  He fought it valiantly.  Jack knew that if he fell asleep, he would die one way or another.  Either Two Dog’s men would get him or the elements would.  He picked up more snow and scrubbed his face with it to keep alert.  Jack prayed that his family would show up soon.