Whispering Hills of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 3) (14 page)

“Perhaps you are in need of a few extra gold coins sheriff?”

“Keep your coins in your pocket you weasel. Now, turn around.”

“I am a man of considerable means. I’m sure I can find an amount that will persuade you.”

“No amount of money is worth a man’s honor,” William replied, making his voice lashing. “I swore an oath to uphold the law. Right now, though, I wish I hadn’t. Because then I could just kill you for what you did to Kelly.”

Harpes took a step forward, but did not turn. “Just how do you intend to dispense this law? It’s just the two of us. Out here in the middle of nowhere.” He raised his chin with a cool stare in William’s direction.

William pulled his pistol. “With this. And if Kelly says you harmed her, a sturdy rope. For the third, and final time, turn around.”

Harpes hardened his features and slowly turned.

William reached into his saddlebag for the ropes Harpes used on Kelly.

Harpes spun, and teeth bared, charged, shoving his head and
shoulder into William’s stomach.

The impact sent them both flying to the ground.

CHAPTER 12

K
elly drifted in and out, her hazy mind refusing to come awake despite how hard she tried. Why was she sleeping? She continued to struggle toward wakefulness, but it was like trudging uphill through a murky gloom. Finally, she managed to wake enough to open her eyes. Her muddled wits strained to make sense of where she was. Where was William? She could hear Sam and Bear’s voices, sounding muffled and distant, but not William’s.

She also smelled coffee brewing. Her sense of smell seemed heightened and the aroma wafting through the air was marvelous, like sugar browning or nuts roasting.

“I made this coffee strong enough to float horseshoes,” Bear told Sam. “and I let it cool a wee bit.”

“Let’s see if she’ll drink any,” Sam said.

She felt one of them lift her neck and she tried to open her eyes again but her heavy eyelids wouldn’t stay open. Her breaths were shallow, her awareness coming and going.

Bear dribbled the lukewarm brew into her mouth and she swallowed. Never had coffee tasted so good. It was strong, but its
warmth soothed her thirst and the brew took the feel of cotton off her tongue.

Sam and Bear made her drink several more times until she finally sputtered some of the coffee out.

“Kelly, can you sit up? We need to be on our way,” Sam said, tossing the rest of the coffee.

Kelly pushed herself up and leaned on Bear’s big arm for support until her head cleared. “I feel well rested,” she said after a few moments, “like I’ve slept for a week. Just how long was I asleep? And why, for heaven’s sake, was I asleep at all?”

“We’ll explain later, after we are on our way,” Sam said.

“I’ll carry her first,” Bear volunteered. He mounted and Sam gently lifted her up into Bear’s arms.

Kelly settled herself against Bear’s massive chest, but resisted the temptation to go to sleep again. “Where’s William?” she asked, still somewhat groggy after a few minutes. “I thought I heard his voice too.”

“Perhaps in your dreams,” Sam replied smiling.

“He’ll be happier than a butcher’s dog to know ye’ve come around,” Bear said, sounding pretty happy himself.

“Come around?” Kelly asked, the coffee finally starting to wake her up.

“Ye were drugged Miss Kelly,” Bear said, “by that evil man who stole you away.”

“Drugged. That’s why I feel so…so strangely.”

“Yes, Kelly,” Sam said, “but you’ll be fine. You’re safe now.”

“Where are we? Bear, turn me around so I can see where I’m
going,” she said.

“All right, lass,” Bear said. He lifted and turned her so her legs hung off the horse to his right and she could face forward.

“Who was that man and why did that man take you?” Sam asked.

“His name is Harpes and he said he wanted to give me an education,” Kelly answered, trying to remember more of what exactly had happened to her.

Bear and Sam exchanged a meaningful look. What it meant eluded her, but she felt sure they didn’t trust the stranger. Neither did she. Why did the man drug her? She’d been cooperative. She had agreed to go with him to Lexington. He had no reason to drug her. Unless…unless he meant to do her harm. Numb with shock, and increasing rage, she started to rub her sore wrist, but then stopped. Her chest swelled with her determination. No, she told herself. No fear. No more fear.

And no more shame.

She straightened herself and held her head a little higher. From now on, she would not let herself feel anything other than self-respect. No longer would she question her worth. She felt as if her dormant dignity had renewed itself while she was sleeping. With a sense of strength filling her, she came fully awake. With abrupt clarity, she immediately thought of William. “Where’s your brother?” she asked.

“He’s gone after the bastard. Oh, excuse me, lass. He’s gone after your captor,” Bear corrected.

“Gone where?” she demanded.

“When we finally caught up to you, your abductor let go of your mare and took off like a lightning bolt,” Sam answered.
“After William determined that you were all right and told us to escort you back to Boonesborough, he took off after the man. By now, your abductor is probably experiencing the fullest extent of the law.”

Kelly wasn’t sure what Sam meant, but she was concerned for William. “Will he be all right? What if that man hurts him?”

“Nay, tis far more likely it will be yer abductor who will be feeling the hurtin’,” Bear said.

“Stop these horses. Right now!” Kelly ordered.

After they both slowed their mounts, Sam asked, “Why Kelly? What’s wrong?”

“We are not leaving William to fend for himself against that horrible man. If he drugged me, he might do the same to William, or worse. Turn these horses around this minute!”

“Kelly, William is quite capable of taking care of himself. He’s been dealing with outlaws for years,” Sam said.

“Aye, he’s been known to deal with several at a time. One will na be a problem for William,” Bear agreed.

“I would not leave him if I thought he was in serious danger,” Sam said. “William possesses considerable skills with weapons. And he’s shrewd and brave. Rest assured, he can handle this Harpes.”

“You cannot be certain of that. I spent time with that man. He’s slick as an egg white and I don’t trust him. You have to go help your brother and you have to do it now!” She felt a curious pull toward William and she was growing more ill at ease by the minute as her concern for him grew. An uncomfortable shudder passed through her.

She peered at Sam, imploring him with her eyes.

“Kelly, we can’t risk letting you get hurt again. William would never forgive us if something happened to you. We need to get you safely back to Boonesborough. It’s what William wanted,” Sam argued.

“But William didn’t know what I want,” she said determinedly, “and I want you two to go help him.” Her emotions swelled with a driving need to be with William. Now, not later. She had to be sure he was all right. With pulse-pounding certainty, she wanted to be near him. Just his presence brought her joy, but now she could no longer deny herself his touch, his affection, too. Her heart thudded within her and her breaths quickened. “Put me down, Bear. I can ride my own horse now.” Sam had been pulling her mare behind him.

“Nay, Miss Kelly. You may be awake now, but the drugs may make you fall asleep again soon and we do na want ye to fall off yer mare, now do we lass?”

“Certainly not, however, I am well awake now.”

“Kelly, Bear’s right. You should stay put for a couple more hours, till we know the drugs have fully worn off,” Sam said.

“All right, I’ll agree, but only if you go back to find William,” she said, meeting Sam’s disapproving eyes without flinching.

Although she thought of both Sam and Bear as brothers, it wasn’t easy standing up to the two enormous, equally obstinate, warriors. But she had to convince them to go to William. She glanced uneasily over her shoulder, back in the direction they’d come from. Her confidence that she was right spiraled upward. With desperate firmness, she said, “If you don’t turn these horses around, I will jump down from here and go myself. And if I break a leg or my foot when I jump, it will be your fault.”

“Och, but the woman can be stubborn,” Bear complained to Sam.

“Indeed,” Sam said, with a smile.

Powerful relief filled her when Sam turned his mount.

McGuffin peered ahead, anxious to catch his first glimpse of William and his brothers. He prayed they would have already caught up to Kelly and that she would be all right.

“Don’t worry, Sir, your daughter will be located. With William, Captain Sam, and Bear after her abductor, he stands little chance of success,” Boone offered.

“I pray you are correct, Sir,” McGuffin answered. “I have much to say to my daughter. And much time to make up for. I had just come to collect her and take her home when she was abducted.”

“Can I ask how Kelly came to be in Boonesborough and why you are just now coming to claim her?” Boone asked.

McGuffin told Boone what he knew of the events that led up to Kelly being in Boonesborough. He was ashamed that he didn’t fully understand what happened himself. He should have had the good sense and patience to question her further and listen to what William had been trying to explain.

“I sense you are struggling with other problems as well,” Boone said.

“The last few years, ever since my beloved wife passed, I have cultivated a regrettable habit of drinking whiskey too often and too much. It’s caused problems between me and my daughter.”

For a moment, Boone didn’t say anything. He seemed pensive, not judgmental or angry. “Fine whiskey is one of Kentucky’s
proudest achievements and we’ve developed a reputation for our distillers' skills, especially Bourbon County, just north a short distance from where we are now. They’re blessed with the right assets —a steady good crop of corn, sweet water, and abundant hardwoods for making barrels. But, the brew can be a powerful temptress if one does not possess the ability to know when to put the cork back in the bottle. I’ve known others who have had the same problem. Some overcame it and some didn’t. Only the strongest of men win that difficult battle. What kind of man are you? Strong or weak? Are you prepared to lose someone you can’t bear to lose—someone you love more than your own life?” Boone’s blue eyes pierced the distance between them.

McGuffin stared squarely back at Boone, asking himself the same questions. The day of reckoning has come, he thought with fearful clarity. He drew his lips in thoughtfully. A few moments ago, his life nearly came to a horrifying end. Was this a chance to start a brand new life? As a man and as a father? With a startling realization, he decided that it was. If he didn’t take this chance now, he might never have another one. He could lose the only person he loved in the world—his beautiful daughter.

“I’m going to stop drinking. I swear to God and to you, I am. Right now.” He halted his horse and reached behind him and into his saddle bag. He wrenched out his jug, and with his heart beating rapidly in his chest, he let the contents escape to the earth below. It pained him, like pouring out his own blood.

“Emptying that jug out won’t banish the desire for it from your body,” Boone said, looking down at the puddle of wet earth. “There’s only one thing that can.”

“What’s that?” McGuffin asked, anxious to hear the answer.

“Love is the only answer. Love for, and from, your maker. And
love for your daughter. As far as love for God, as scripture says, it has to be with your heart, soul, and mind. All three. And as for God’s love for you, if you let it fill you, strengthen you, there’s little room left for temptation or evil.”

In that moment, McGuffin recognized that Boone, considered a formidable Kentucky warrior, was a kinder, gentler, spirit than most people knew.

Perhaps God would be too.

CHAPTER 13

T
hey both fell backwards, tumbling against William’s squealing stallion. Smoke side-stepped as the two men plummeted underneath the horse. With Harpes weight on him, William’s back slammed into the hard ground. He caught glimpses of Smoke’s hooves stomping around their heads, dangerously close, as the stallion tried to get out of the way. His breath deserted him and his mouth gaped open, but he couldn’t let the lack of air in his lungs stop him. He thrust his knee into Harpes’ stomach and tossed the man off to his left.

Quickly searching for his weapon, knocked out of his hand as they both crashed against his startled mount, he spotted the pistol to his right and darted over to it. William snatched up his flintlock and straightened while sucking in much needed air.

Harpes scrambled upward and drew his own weapon.

In the next instant, they both held pistols aimed at each other’s heaving chests.

He stared into the man’s malicious grey eyes, flashing like silver lightning, knowing Harpes could kill him in the next instant. Any chance of a future with Kelly could vanish with a single tiny
lead ball fired from Harpes’ flintlock. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Drop your weapon,” William ordered, narrowing his eyes. “I caution you to give up now.”