Johanna Lindsey - Brave the Wild Wind

“Yes, I would.” She was quite serious. “It is rather disconcerting to suddenly find I am wanted by so many men. I am not used to it, and I don’t understand it. It is not as if I am a vision of beauty, you know.

I’m usually sweaty and dusty from work, and dressed in pants. Why, Little Hawk didn’t even see me in a dress until today. Yet he and Chase—”

“So that is the name of the other one?” White Thunder interrupted.

“We will not discuss him,” Jessie said stonily. “Just tell me, is Black Bear Hunter happy with his wife? Can I expect less hostility from him now?”

“He is happy, but how he will feel about you I cannot say.”

“Where is he?”

“He went hunting, and he should return any time. In fact—” White Thunder stood up, his expression alert. “I believe that is his victory cry. You hear it?”

“Yes. You go ahead, White Thunder. I’m almost finished.”

“You are sure?”

“Yes. Little Hawk will be inspecting Black Bear Hunter’s prize, so he won’t bother me, and I’m not worried about anyone else. Go on.”

Jessie finished washing her hair. She didn’t hurry. As much as she had on her mind, she wasn’t curious about Black Bear Hunter’s prize. She would hear of it later, she was sure.

Imagine Black Bear Hunter wanting her, too! She shook her head, bemused. It was all so strange, the different aspects of wanting. Blue had wanted her. Little Hawk wanted her. Chase had wanted her, but only for the one time. And Black Bear Hunter fought his desire, continually hostile because he wanted her. In all of that, where was love? Rachel had only pretended to love Thomas, and what Thomas had felt couldn’t be called love, for it had turned to hate. In books, real love was bountiful, but Jessie had never seen two married people display the kind of love she had read about. Was there really any such thing as love?

A little while later, dressed, her hair still wet but braided in two neat plaits, Jessie turned toward the narrow path leading up to the camp. Little Hawk stood there, blocking her way, standing with his feet slightly apart, his arms crossed over the wide expanse of his chest. He had removed his ceremonial shirt and his leggings, and was wearing only his breechcloth and moccasins.

Jessie managed to hide her surprise. She stared levelly at him.

“If you are finished, I will walk you back,” Little Hawk offered.

“So now you will speak English?”

“When it is only the two of us, it is necessary,” he replied with a shrug. Then he said abruptly, “You should not be here without the gun you carry on your hip.”

“It wasn’t needed. I wasn’t alone until just before you came. You did just come, didn’t you?”

“If I say yes, will it make you happy?”

“What kind of answer is that?” Jessie snapped.

“You would rather hear that I came while you were still drying yourself?”

Jessie’s eyes blazed. “Why didn’t you make yourself known? You had no right to... to stand there and watch me!”

“You let White Thunder watch you.” He made the observation calmly.

“He didn’t watch me,” she insisted. “He wouldn’t do that. He’s my friend. I trust him.”

Little Hawk grinned. “You will learn to trust me.”

“How can I when you sneak up on me?”

“Hold, Looks Like Woman.” He cut her off and in two steps he was beside her, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Why are you angry? Do you begrudge me the sight of you when I have made my intentions clear? Is it not reasonable for a man to seek out the woman he has asked to marry? I did not know I would find you as I did, but I am not sorry. The sight of you gave me much pleasure.”

He went on to say something more, but he had switched to his own language, and while Jessie was confused at the change, he kissed her.

It was a shock. She felt it right down to her toes. It frightened her, and she was powerless to resist.

When he finally let her go, he stood looking at her intently, passionately. He smiled, thinking he had won that round. “You have the sky and the forest both in your eyes, and when you are angry, they light up like the stars. But you must learn to curb your temper, Looks Like Woman. My first wife is a gentle woman

—she would not understand these emotions of yours that rage like storms.”

“You needn’t worry!” she said hotly. “I won’t be meeting your wife—ever. And I can walk back to camp myself, thank you.”

She tried to pass him, but he caught her arms. “Does it bother you this much that I have a first wife?” he asked softly.

“Of course it does.”

“But I can love you both.”

“I know your customs,” she said defensively. “But I am from a different culture, and I couldn’t be happy sharing a husband.”

“Then I will give up my wife.”

“Don’t you dare!” Jessie gasped. “I couldn’t bear that. I couldn’t live with myself if you did that. You must care for her.”

“Yes, but I want you, Looks Like Woman.”

Jessie wanted to scream. “Look, I’m not even a virgin,” she said quietly, her cheeks turning rosy. “So forget about me and—”

“That does not matter.”

“It doesn’t?” she asked, disbelieving.

“No.”

Having nothing further to say to him, she pushed away and ran up the path.

He let her go but called after her, “A Sioux does not give up easily, Looks Like Woman.”

“You’d better learn to!” she shouted back at him just before she broke through the bushes and saw the camp.

She heard him laugh and ran faster, running all the way to Runs with the Wolf’s tepee.

CHASE woke slowly, the pain in his head making him groggy and disoriented. His shoulders hurt and his hands were numb. What the hell?

His eyes flew open. There were tepees around him, and a group of Indians sitting about a fire, not far away from him. He tried to move his arms, and rawhide cut into his wrists. The pain cleared his senses. Chase moaned, wishing he hadn’t awakened.

One of the Indians heard Chase and motioned to the others. Two rose and approached him, looking down at him. He was sitting on the ground, his hands tied to a pole behind his back. As he looked at them, he tried not to look afraid. Both Indians were young, probably younger than he was, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“You have broken our treaty, white eyes,” the taller man said. “You will suffer the penalty for that. But first you will tell us who sent you here to spy on us.”

Chase didn’t recognize the man who spoke to him as the one he had seen by the creek with Jessie. But he noted the blue eyes, the difference in his facial structure, and he took heart.

“You’re half white, aren’t you?”

“You will answer questions, not ask them,” was the harsh reply.

“This is ridiculous,” Chase said impatiently. “I don’t know who attacked me, but he’s made a mistake. I’m not from around here, and I know nothing about your treaty. And I’m not a spy.”

Chase waited while the two men conferred in their own language. Then the taller man faced him angrily.

“Black Bear Hunter says you lie. It was he who captured you. He found you concealed on the creek bank, watching our village. He thinks the Army sent you here, and he will know the truth of it even if he must force it from you.”

Chase felt his insides tighten. “This is all pointless. I came here to find Jessica Blair. And I know she’s here. Ask her about me.”

The two Indians spoke again, and this time the shorter one stalked off angrily. Chase dared to take hope when the other one turned to him, his features relaxed, beginning a slow smile.

“You should have said that much sooner,” the brave scolded.

“I can see that,” Chase replied. “But your friend wasn’t too happy about it, was he?”

“No. He would have preferred to kill you.”

Chase paled. “Is that the penalty for breaking a treaty? But the Army wouldn’t stand for that.”

“The Army left this area at our demand. We destroyed their forts, we drove them back. They would not break the treaty for one man, even if they had sent the man themselves. This region belongs to the Cheyenne and the Sioux, and the Army agreed that no whites should trespass.”

“Yet you allow Jessica Blair to break the treaty?”

The Indian frowned. “She is a friend to us. And just who are you?” he demanded, his expression solemn.

“Jessie knows me. If you’ll just tell her Chase Summers—”

“Chase!” the Indian echoed. His eyes narrowed. “I think Looks Like Woman would prefer to let my brother have you.”

With that, he walked away. Chase tried to call him back, but he wouldn’t stop.

What the hell had made him so angry all of a sudden? All he had said was his name. Chase grew very uneasy. Jessie must have said something about him, and whatever she had said, it couldn’t have been good.

The sun set. No one came. The Indians at the fire drifted off, and still no one came. Chase tried working on his bonds, but they were firm. He began to feel desperate. Where was Jessie?

When Jessie did come, she came with the blue-eyed Indian, and Chase didn’t recognize her at first. She looked like an Indian, wearing the Indian dress and knee-high moccasins, her hair fastened in two braids. Her expression was impossible to read. Was she there to help him or to gloat over his predicament?

“You could have come a little sooner,” Chase said, trying to make his tone light.

Jessie’s expression didn’t change. “I was sleeping. White Thunder saw no reason to wake me just to tell me you were here. You weren’t going anywhere.”

“Thanks.”

Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “Keep your sarcasm to yourself, Summers. No one got you into this mess except you.”

“Damn it, all I did was come here to get you!” Chase snapped.

White Thunder took a step closer to Chase, and Jessie grabbed his arm. She pulled him away, and Chase watched them arguing. Then Jessie came back alone.

Chase was amazed. “You speak their language.”

“Yes.”

“What was that about?”

“He didn’t like your shouting at me. Now look, I can understand your being upset, but I suggest you keep a civil tone. There’s no point in angering him, when he already wants to just leave you here.”

“Why?” Chase demanded. “What the hell did you tell him about me?”

“Just the truth. That you used me. You had your fun and then were terrified that I might want to marry you because of it. Do you deny it?”

“You never did let me explain, Jessie.”

“There was nothing to explain. It was all quite clear,” she said stiffly.

God, how he wanted to shake that composure out of her. “What about you, Jessie? I could say the same damn thing about you. You had your fun. You used me. What if I had insisted on marriage because of it?”

“Don’t be absurd,” she snapped.

“No, you think about it. Who would have been the one to back off then?”

“But you wouldn’t have insisted on marriage,” she said quietly now. “And you never even gave me a chance to find out what I was feeling.”

The hurt in her voice caught at his heart. “I told you I was sorry, and I meant it. You may not have thought it was such a big deal, losing your virginity, but I was so shook up about it I didn’t know what the hell I was saying, Jessie.”

“This is all beside the point. I told you I wanted to forget it.”

“It’s not beside the point when your Indian friend wants to slit my throat because of what you told him.”

“If you must know, I told him very little. He saw that I was upset and drew his own conclusions. He just happens to be very protective of me.”

“What is he to you, if I may ask?”

“A very close friend. And you’ve put off long enough telling me what you’re doing here.”

“How close?”

“Never mind!” Jessie snapped. “What’s wrong at the ranch to bring you here?”

“Nothing is wrong at the ranch.”

“Nothing?” A fiery gleam entered her eyes. “Don’t tell me Rachel sent you after me again.”

“She was worried.”

“Damn!” Jessie exploded. “What are you, a puppy, to jump to her every bidding? She could have gotten you killed.”

“Hold on.” Chase grew uneasy, for White Thunder was watching them closely and frowning.

“You listen to me.” Jessie lowered her voice. “You had no right to follow me. I don’t need a watchdog, and if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be you. This region is a second home to me, but it’s a death trap for you. You’re damn lucky Black Bear Hunter didn’t kill you outright when he found you. And you’d better hope your luck continues, because you’re leaving here alone. I won’t be there to help you. You’ve wasted your time—again.”