Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (40 page)

Chapter 8

Kyle brought the ax down hard on the round log propped up on the chopping block. Cursing loudly when it didn’t split cleanly in two, he took aim again. His second strike was more productive. With a splintering sound, the wood broke in half, the two halves tumbling to the ground. He bent to pick up another log, and stacked it on the block. Swinging his arms back with greater force this time, the blade sliced clear through the wood. He swiped the back of his hand across his wet forehead, and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

“Dammit,” he cursed again. He drove the ax into the chopping block to anchor it, then sat down. Resting his elbows on his knees, he held his head between his hands, staring at the ground. He could work himself to the point of exhaustion all he wanted, but visions of Katelyn refused to leave his mind.

He’d had his share of infatuations with girls, but nothing as intense as the feelings and stirrings Katelyn evoked in him. He didn’t understand how a refined eastern lady could affect him the way she did. Their worlds were so vastly different, they couldn’t possibly share anything in common.  All he knew was that he couldn’t – admittedly didn’t want to – stop thinking about her. She aroused a longing in him he couldn’t explain, and her vulnerability only made him want to protect her and keep her safe, if she’d let him.

Thoughts of another girl entered his mind. Madeline. He’d been smitten with her, too, years ago. They’d met when Kyle accompanied his parents to Virginia City, and he found himself spending more and more time there, to be near her. After a while, she wouldn’t stop questioning him about his life in the wilderness, and wanting to know about the heroic acts he’d performed. When she came right out and asked if he planned to do something as legendary as what his father had done, Kyle’s infatuation with her ended quicker than he could blink. He’d left the city in anger.

Kyle inhaled deeply, and despite the memory that brought a bitter taste to his mouth, his lips curved in a smile. Katelyn didn’t know anything about him, or his legendary hero father. If he could draw her out of her stuffy Boston shell, even just a little, he sensed a vibrant, passionate woman under that sealed-up exterior. At times, he thought she wanted to open up to him and tell him more about herself, but then she closed up again. There was something she wasn’t telling him, something she was afraid of, and he knew if he asked her about it outright, he’d lose any chance of earning her trust.

A blood-curling, terror-filled scream broke through the quiet of the morning, jolting him out of his deep thoughts. Kyle’s head shot up, as his heart dropped to his stomach. He leapt off his seat and grabbed his Winchester that was propped up against the chopping block, and sprinted toward the river.

What could have caused Katelyn to scream with such fear? She couldn’t be drowning. That would have produced a different sound. Kyle’s eyes scanned the riverbank as he neared the area where he told her to go, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Even a peaceful elk doe venturing too close to the water could possibly have caused such terror in her.

Another scream spurred him forward faster. By the time the trees came into view, he saw her cowering at the water’s edge, her hands clutching at the scant towel that barely covered her. Near the tree several yards to her right, looking stunned and surprised, stood a man wearing nothing but a breechcloth. He held his hands out in front of him, palms out, signaling he meant no harm. The dazed look on his cousin Josh’s face almost made Kyle laugh, if he hadn’t been enraged with worry for Kate.

“Katelyn, it’s okay,” Kyle called to her, slowing his pace.  Josh had already seen him, raising his eyebrows in a look of complete bewilderment. Damn! Why the hell wasn’t Josh wearing any clothes? To Kate, he must look more terrifying than one of the Crow warriors who captured her the other day.

Katelyn’s head whipped around when she heard his voice, the long strands of her wet hair dripping water down her shoulders and front.  She darted toward him.
Please don’t drop that towel, sweetheart.

“Kyle,” she cried out, her voice both frantic, and filled with relief. She grabbed hold of his arm, and scrambled behind him. Her entire body shook. Kyle wasn’t sure if from the cold, or fear. Probably a bit of both. His arm reached around her middle, and he pulled her up close to his side.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he said in what he hoped was a soothing tone, looking down at her, and offering a reassuring smile. “That heathen over there won’t hurt you. He’s absolutely harmless.”

“How . . . how do you know?” she stuttered, her wide eyes darting between him and Josh.

Kyle’s smile widened. “That’s my cousin Josh.” Her eyes grew rounder still. To his cousin, he called, “Hey, Running Wolf, have some common decency and turn away from the lady.”  To his annoyance, Josh walked toward them instead, his eyes volleying from him to Kate. He stopped within a few feet of them, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. The corner of his mouth curved in a grin. Kate shrank back and scooted further behind Kyle, her grip on his arm tightening.

“How ‘bout an introduction?” Josh asked, his grin reminiscent of the animal he was named for.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll introduce you to my rifle in a minute if you don’t go and bring the lady’s clothes.” He nodded to the dress and undergarments on the ground several yards away.  For emphasis, he raised his Winchester. Josh held out his hands in mock surrender, but turned and picked up the garments, holding them as if they were something disdainful. Kyle released his hold on Katelyn’s waist, reaching around to grab the clothes out of Josh’s hands. He turned his body to shield her from his cousin’s view.

“Are you all right?” he asked softly, pulling her against his chest to offer his warmth. She’d begun to shiver uncontrollably. She nodded, and buried her head in his shirt.

Josh’s voice behind him called out, “I’m . . . ah . . . going to take that bath I had planned on when I ran into your . . . ah –”

“Just go, Josh,” Kyle said between clenched teeth. A loud splash a moment later prompted him to release his hold on Katelyn. “Here, slip into your dress. You’re freezing cold.” He held the garment up over her head, afraid that if she took hold of it herself, her towel would fall away from her body. Not that the visions that possibility conjured up in his mind weren’t enticing, but definitely not under the current circumstances.

Katelyn slipped her head and arms through the opening of the dress, and pulled it down over her body.

“You can get dressed proper back at the cabin,” he said, and gently pulled her wet hair free of the dress. He touched a hand to her cheek, and she raised her head up to meet his gaze. “I apologize for my cousin,” he whispered, his gut tightening. His fingers grazed her soft skin, and his throat constricted painfully.

“It’s not your fault,” she said, her voice faltering. “I’m sorry I screamed.”

Kyle grinned. “I think you may have scared him more than he scared you. He’s usually not this tongue tied.” He tore his eyes away from hers, and offered her the rest of her clothing. “Go warm up in the cabin. I’ll be there soon.”

She took the clothes, and scurried off. Kyle watched her retreating form, the memory of the glistening wet skin on her arms and shoulders, and her trembling body pressed against him engrained in his mind. An almost imperceptible rustling sound behind him prompted him to turn around to confront another wet body.

“Explain,” Josh demanded, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, his shoulder-length black hair slicked back against his head.

“How about you explain yourself first,” Kyle scoffed. “What the hell are you doing, scaring her like that with your crazy Indian act? You used to do that to my sisters all the time.”

“I had no idea there was a woman bathing in the river. It’s the last thing I would expect to find here,” he said in feigned outrage. “And your sisters never screamed like that. They usually threw rocks and dirt at me.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “Try that excuse on someone else, cousin. You knew damn well that she was there. How much did you see?”

“Enough,” Josh grinned brightly. Kyle clenched his fist, the urge to hit his cousin overwhelming him.

“Don’t worry, Kyle. Her skin and hair are too light for my taste.” He dropped his hands to his sides, and headed for the trees, returning moments later, fully dressed in a buskin shirt, leggings, and moccasins. A hunting knife was strapped to the belt at his waist, and he carried a bow in his right hand. Slung over his shoulder were several rabbits. He stared at Kyle for a moment, his eyes searching his face as if the answers to his unasked questions would materialize on their own.

“So, who is she?” he finally asked.

Kyle turned and began walking back toward the cabins. Josh matched his long strides.

“Laughing Badger picked her up in the woods a couple of days ago,” he finally said.

“And he brought her to you in a gesture of friendship?” Josh’s eyebrows rose.

“No,” Kyle ground his teeth. He may as well come clean. “He ambushed me when I was on my way home. I probably would have lost my scalp by now if he hadn’t brought Katelyn to his camp. She cut me free, and we got away.”

Josh laughed. “You let yourself get caught by that dumber than a porcupine Absaroka, and then a woman saves your hide?” He shook his head.  “You’re spending too much time with those eastern dandies.”

Kyle scowled at his cousin, but had no response. He had been careless, and it was his own fault he go caught. Josh was sure to remember this, and mock him every chance he got. It was yet another reminder that he’d never live up to his father’s feats.

“So, what are you going to do with her now? Looks like she’s latched on to you like a tick on a coyote.”

“I’ll take her to Virginia City when I deliver those horses.”

Josh jumped in front of him, stopping Kyle from moving forward, and put a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t keep her here that long,” he said adamantly.

“Why not? Where else am I supposed to take her? Back to Laughing Badger?” Kyle shook himself free of Josh’s hand, and skirted around him.

“You can’t keep a woman here, are you crazy?” Josh tried to step in front of him again. “Especially not a prissy female like her. Where’s her man?”

Kyle scowled. “She stays. She has no one.”

Josh’s eyes widened. “You have feeling for her.” He grinned brightly. “You, who always told me living with four sisters was enough female company to last you a lifetime.”

Kyle ignored him, and pushed past. What did he feel for Kate? He wanted to protect her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. She set his body on fire whenever he touched her. He shook his head. He had to sort things out in his own mind.

“She can’t live in your cabin, Kyle.” Josh just wouldn’t stop, would he?

“Fine, I’ll give her a buffalo hide and tell her to camp out in the woods.” Kyle threw his hands in the air and glared sideways at his cousin.  “Your Shoshone customs are admirable, Josh, but they don’t apply to me, and certainly not Katelyn.”

“She can move to your parents’ cabin, and I’ll sleep in grandma’s room,” Josh suggested.

They’d almost reached the cabins. Kyle sighed deeply. It was a good idea, he realized. Having a cabin to herself would give her privacy. “I’ll talk to her,” he said.

Josh nodded his head, apparently satisfied for the moment. “I have something for you,” he said, reaching into the pouch slung over his shoulder. He produced a crumpled up envelope, and handed it to Kyle. It had his name on it, and his parents’ address in Virginia City. “I went to visit my father after seeing my Akaideka relatives,” Josh explained. “Your father asked me to bring this to you.”

Kyle stopped just outside his cabin, and tore the envelope open. He quickly scanned the letter it contained, along with a newspaper article, then folded it back up. Getting ready to open his cabin door, he glared at his cousin. “Apologize to Katelyn,” he said, then turned and walked in.

No sooner had he stepped into the room, and Katelyn came darting from his grandparents’ bedroom. Her hair still hung in wet strands down her back and over her shoulders.
I need to find her a hairbrush.
His heart leaped when she favored him with a wide smile, which quickly faded. Her eyes focused on something behind him, and Kyle realized Josh must be right there. His cousin strode to the center of the room and unceremoniously threw the bundle of rabbits down onto the table with a loud thud. Kate visibly flinched.