Authors: Sylvia McDaniel
“If you need comforting, you know where I am,” Ethan replied, his voice earnest.
Rachel pulled out of his embrace. “Thank you. Just telling someone has relieved my burden. I better get you back to Mary.”
Ethan took Rachel’s hand and put it back in the crook of his elbow. “Don’t worry about my Mary. She’s very understanding.”
Rachel and Ethan strolled back toward camp. When they reached the edge of the clearing, a lighted cheroot flared in the shadows. Startled, Rachel halted.
“Nice evenin’ for a stroll, isn’t it, Ethan?” Wade said, his deep voice cutting through the darkness. “Especially with another man’s wife.”
Rachel felt Ethan tense. “I think I better get back to Mary. Thanks for the walk, Rachel.”
Ethan dropped her arm and hurried away.
“Was that necessary, Wade?” Rachel asked.
Wade grabbed her by the arm. “We may have a mockery of marriage, but you’re still mine until we get to Oregon. And I don’t intend on sharing you with any man. Understand?”
“You’re being vulgar. Ethan is married.”
“To most men that means nothing. Go to bed, Rachel. We’ve said enough hurtful things to one another for one day.”
* * *
The high-pitched scream woke Rachel with a start. The noise was eerie, frightening with its intensity. Wade was already up, pulling on his pants.
“What is it?” Rachel asked fearfully.
“Probably a mountain lion or panther,” Wade replied as he stepped into his boots.
Rachel jumped out of bed, pulling on her wrapper.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” Wade asked.
“The children will be frightened. I’ll stay with them.”
“I have enough to worry about right now. I don’t want you out of this wagon running around. I’ll check on the children and tell them to stay put. You stay in the wagon.”
Rachel knew from the tone of his voice it would do no good to argue.
“He’s probably trying to kill one of the oxen or horses.”
Suddenly, she realized the danger he was going out to face, and she didn’t want him to leave her side. “Please don’t go, Wade.”
In the darkness, his hurried movements ceased.
“Afraid you’re going to lose your man, Rachel?” he mocked. “I’m sure Ethan would be happy to take over.”
His words pierced her with their cruelty. “Don’t, Wade. You know that’s not true.”
“I don’t know anything of the sort. Ethan returns, and he’s either at your side or Becky’s. And then, tonight I find you two out for a stroll, without his wife. What am I suppose to think?”
Guilt covered her like a cloak until she quickly reminded herself there was no reason for her to feel shamed. She’d done nothing wrong. “Ethan is my friend.”
“Just like me, Rachel?” Wade asked as he crawled out of the wagon, leaving her bewildered.
“Be careful,” she called into the darkness.
When the cry came again, she felt as if her spirit was in tune with the animals. Frightened and forlorn, she lay listening in the darkness, worrying about Wade.
Chapter Ten
W
ade saw Rachel’s wagon off in the distance and pulled his big roan in her direction. Since the night of the dance, they’d been snapping and growling at each other worse than the panther of several nights before.
But seeing Rachel and Ethan together had ignited a fierce anger within him that seemed to build with each passing day, surprising him with its intensity. Was she blind? He wanted to rant at her for not recognizing the swindler in Ethan. Then again, if her heart pined for Ethan the way he thought it did, even eyeglasses wouldn’t help her see the man’s faults.
The afternoon heat was oppressive as he made his way to her. Alone, she guided the oxen along the barren trail.
He pulled Sadie alongside the wagon. The horse shook her head, snorting at the dust the oxen kicked up in the air. Rachel pointedly ignored him, her gloved hands working to guide the oxen up the trail, her bonnet shading her face from the afternoon sun.
“Hi,” he said, breathing heavily from the exertion of the ride. “Where are Becky and the children?”
“Daniel, Grace and Toby are spending the afternoon in Mary’s wagon,” Rachel replied, never glancing in his direction. She sat like a statue, with only her hands moving.
Wade wiped the back of his shirtsleeve against his sweat-laden brow. “What about Becky?”
“She’s riding with Mrs. Simpson,” Rachel said, her voice clipped and short.
“Pull over. I’ll drive the wagon for awhile.”
“That’s not necessary.”
Wade shook his head. The woman was bound and determined to try his patience. “I don’t like you driving alone.”
Rachel threw him a nasty look, her mouth pinched with disapproval. “I’ve driven this wagon the last two hundred miles without you. What makes me so incapable today?”
“You handle a team of oxen better than most men, but the closest wagon is a quarter of a mile back.”
“And the children would make a difference?” she retorted.
“No, but at least they could holler for help.”
“I know how to scream.”
“Just stop the wagon and let me drive,” Wade demanded as he leaned over his saddle, trying to reach the reins.
Rachel moved them out of his reach. “Just a moment,” she said, reluctantly pulling the team to a halt. “I was enjoying my solitude this afternoon. It’s not often I have time alone.”
“It’s not often we have time alone,” Wade replied.
Rachel’s glanced at him, a stunned expression on her face.
The wagon came to a halt, and Wade tied his horse to the back. He walked to the front and climbed up onto the seat beside Rachel. Taking the reins from her hands, he called to the oxen. When they were moving at a maximum trudge, Wade turned to Rachel.
His gaze skimmed her. “You’re mighty quiet today.”
“I’m hoping you’ll go away if I ignore you,” Rachel said, staring at the countryside.
“Are you going to ignore me the rest of the way to Oregon?” he asked.
“If that were possible, I just might consider it. Especially after you left me alone to worry about you the other night.”
Wade couldn’t help but smile. Though she’d said it in irritation, it felt good to hear her concern. “I thought you’d be happy to hear that the panther had me for breakfast.”
“You’d have given the poor animal indigestion.”
“Maybe so. But I’m sure Ethan would be happy to take my place by your side. He could have you and Mary, both” As soon as he said the ugly words, he wanted to take them back.
Rachel turned and gazed at him like she’d smelled a skunk.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Oh come on, Rachel. You were out strolling around in the dark with the man. Married women don’t stroll with other women’s husbands. Especially men who used to court them.”
“You’re being ridiculous. Mary knows it was innocent.”
“You told me at the dance that you didn’t love him anymore, but then I find you out sauntering in the woods with him, your arm entwined with his. You moaned his name when I kissed you that first time. What do I believe, Rachel?”
“You don’t know me very well if you think I would sin with another man’s husband,” she replied, her chest heaving with indignation. “How could you even question what I would do with Ethan. He’s married to my friend.”
“Because it doesn’t matter to men like Ethan if they’re married or not. They’ll drop their pants for just about any woman who is willing.”
“Wade! That’s despicable! You obviously don’t know Ethan.”
“I see him with you. I see him with Becky. He’s a blatant skirt chaser, Rachel. Or in your starry-eyed puppy love, have you failed to notice?”
“Puppy love! I love Ethan as a brother. Nothing more!”
“Open your eyes, Rachel. The man likes women. He undresses them with his eyes. He stands so close he’s almost touching them,” Wade said as he pushed his hat back off his face.
“You’re being ridiculous. Ethan’s no different from any other man. You’re assuming he thinks like you.”
“Honey, I don’t just look. If I see something I want, I go after it. But I’m not married.”
“Thank God.”
“What does that make you?”
Rachel glared at him. “Our marriage is only pretend!”
“If Ethan is so wonderful, why didn’t you marry him when you had the chance?” Wade asked.
“I told you, my father sent him away. My mother had just died, and he needed me to help him run his church and orphanage.”
“If you’d loved Ethan, it wouldn’t have mattered. You’d have married him anyway.”
“I was young. Papa needed me.”
Wade took a deep breath and clicked to the oxen. “But those feelings are still there, aren’t they, Rachel?”
Rachel clenched her fists. “You stubborn man, I told you the other night I didn’t love him. Nothing has changed today!”
“But that was before I caught you stargazing with him.”
She took a steadying breath before she replied, “I don’t love him, Wade. We were talking about my father.”
The wagon rumbled along in silence. He’d believed her the night of the dance when she said she didn’t love Ethan anymore. Maybe stars had gotten into his own eyes that night, blinding him to her infatuation with the other man. Still, seeing her with Ethan had made the pointed toes of his boots curl and his fists clench.
“You know, if it’d been Becky out strolling in the dark with that rascal, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But when I saw the two of you—Hell, Rachel, I know we’re not really married, but you’ve got to at least act like my wife.”
Rachel started to laugh. “When have you ever been concerned about how things looked to other people, Wade Ketchum? You come home drunk and singing at the top of your lungs in the wee hours of the morning and expect me to believe you’re concerned about appearances?”
“Well, you’re supposed to be my wife. Decent women don’t go walking with men who aren’t their husbands after dark.”
Rachel’s chuckles filled the air. “For once in your life, be honest. Tell me what’s really bothering you. Admit that you’re jealous of Ethan and the attention he receives.”
“Is that what you think?” Wade demanded, yet he inwardly cringed. He wasn’t jealous, but damn, the sight of Ethan and Rachel strolling alone in the moonlight had twisted his insides into one big knot.
Rachel chuckled. “Well, you’re certainly acting jealous.”
Wade pulled on the reins. The oxen bellowed at the abrupt tightening of the harness around them. The wagon creaked and groaned until it came to a stop.
Reaching down, he set the brake, and then tied the reins around the handle. He glanced into Rachel’s challenging eyes and felt himself drawn into their depths. With lightening speed, he hauled her into his arms, and onto his lap.
“Why in the hell would I be jealous of a scrawny preacher man?” he asked in a deep, gruff voice.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” she said, flustered, her tone taunting.
With a muffled curse, he crushed her lips with a punishing kiss. Instantly, a sizzle of heat spread throughout his body, replacing the urge to hurt with a burning inferno designed to give pleasure.
She tasted of honeyed sweetness and innocence, and he knew one quick taste would not be enough. He wanted to pull her into the back of the wagon and show her how a man could make a woman feel. He wanted to be the man she dreamed about. He wanted to hear her whisper his name.
With a flourish he pushed back her bonnet until he found the pins that held her finely-textured tresses. With practiced ease, he undid the topknot, releasing her hair in glorious waves. With a whisper, the pins fell to the floor of the wagon.
Reluctantly, he released her lips and slowly raised his head, his fingers still threaded through her hair. Their eyes met and clashed.
Her breathing was fast and shallow, her pupils dilated with passion. “Are you trying to brand me with your kiss, so everyone will believe I’m your wife?” she whispered.
Wade felt a clutch at his heart. Why? This woman was strictly off limits. If he wasn’t careful she was going to tie a permanent marriage knot around him.
“You’re not, my wife.”
The flames of desire burning from her eyes quenched. She pushed at his chest until he released her. Plucking the pins from the floor, she had her hair back in place with two quick twists.
Finally she turned to look at him. “You’re right. I’m not your wife. Don’t forget it again, Mr. Kethcum.”
With an irritated growl, Wade untied the reins and released the brake. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore. Part of him wanted Rachel, part of him said he was a fool. He called to the oxen, and with a gentle lurch the wagon took off.
* * *
The last week had been torture. They had made it beyond Devil’s Gate, Split Rock, the Ice Slough, and they had crossed the South Pass over the Continental Divide.
Wade had dreaded the crossing, expecting a narrow gorge at a high, mountainous crest, but the pass had turned out to be a grassy valley. The emigrants had never known when they’d passed from the east to the west of the Divide, the crossing unspectacular with its flat meadows. Tonight, for the first time, they camped on the west side, closer than ever to Oregon.