Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) (25 page)

“I don’t think so,” Garrett said, lowering his head to hers. Their lips met in a fiery clash, making heat dance in his belly. He wanted Aundy, wanted to spend his life with her, more than he’d wanted anything before.

Consumed.

He was utterly consumed with the woman, and he didn’t care if everyone knew it. He loved her with an intensity he’d never imagined feeling.

She was his Viking queen. Strong, independent, and confident with that head of golden hair she so often wore braided into a crown, her sky blue eyes, and striking appearance. Like her ancestors, she had roamed into his life and conquered him completely. It took no time at all for her to pillage his heart, plunder his soul, and laid siege to his mind so his thoughts continually turned to her.

Hearing the whisper of his name as she opened herself to him, Garrett fought to keep his control.

Moaning, he grasped her face in his hands and deepened the kiss. Aundy held tight to him, her hands digging into his shoulders. This was the reason he’d been born - to hold this woman in his arms and love her with everything he had.

Suddenly, she trembled and jerked back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Moving his hand, he grasped her chin and lifted it, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“I can’t…I promised…I…” Aundy would have turned her face from him, but Garrett held her chin firmly, but gently, keeping her from moving away. She loved him so much an ache beyond any pain she’d ever experienced tightened her chest. It was because she loved him she had to stop what was between them.

“What did you promise?”

“I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with another man. It ends so badly when I do and I care for you far too much to hurt you,” Aundy admitted, although it pained her to do so.

Why couldn’t Garrett just leave her alone? Why did he have to look at her until her heart thundered in her chest? Why did he have to tease her and protect her and make her feel beautiful?

Garrett had become an integral part of her life and captured her heart, although she couldn't name the specific moment it had happened. Now she had to push him away. It was the only way to keep him safe, especially with someone after her sheep and quite possibly out to get her.

“You’re not making sense. How could you possibly hurt me?” Garrett asked, confused. He drew back, but didn’t let go. “You don’t honestly blame yourself for what happened to Erik, do you?”

Instead of answering, Aundy stood and walked to the kitchen window. Watching the moonlight illuminate the barnyard, she felt Garrett step behind her and place his hands on her arms, drawing her against his back, into his strength. She was coming to depend on it all too much.

“Aundy, you had nothing to do with Erik’s death. Not a thing. Maybe the horses would have bolted another day or something else would have happened. It wasn’t anything you did.”

“Just being with me seems to be enough to drive men to their deaths,” Aundy said, wrapping her arms around herself, knowing she needed to muster her defenses and keep away from Garrett. It was the only way she could protect him.

“That’s ridiculous. One freak accident doesn’t mean anything.”

“It happened to my fiancé and my father, too,” Aundy said, brushing at tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. “Gunther and I had plans to wed and he died alongside my father in a terrible accident that should never have happened.”

“For a smart girl with a lot of common sense, you aren’t making any,” Garrett said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Considering the fact just moments earlier she’d been every bit as involved in whatever it was that sizzled between them, he didn’t know how she could try to push him away now. “Aundy, what are you afraid of?”

“That something will happen to you, too,” Aundy whispered so quietly, Garrett had to strain to hear.

“Nothing is going to happen to me, unless God decides it’s my time to be called home to glory. You have no control over that, Aundy,” Garrett said, turning her around so she could see his face. “I’m pleased to know you care about me enough to want to protect me, but I think you’re worried for no reason.”

“I mean it, Garrett. I just can’t get involved with you. I can’t. I…”

“You what?”

Aundy shook her head and swiped at the tears that were spilling from her eyes. Garrett tried to hug her, but she pushed at his chest until he let her go.

“Please, Garrett, I think it’s best you leave now.”

“Fine, but let me give you one thing to mull over while I’m leaving you alone,” Garrett said and caught her roughly to him, kissing her like he’d never have the opportunity to do it again. Her arms wound around his neck as she held him close, returning every ounce of heat and hunger he poured out to her.

Letting her go abruptly, he grabbed his hat and gave her one last, longing look. “I meant what I said last night. Anytime you need me, I’ll be here.”

Slamming the door on his way out, Aundy was sure Dent and the boys could hear it at the bunkhouse.

Leaning against the counter to brace herself, Aundy didn’t think her legs could hold her without support. Not when she watched every dream she’d ever had for a happy-ever-after walk out the door. Forcing herself to stay away from Garrett was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done, especially when her heart kept whispering he was the one she could love for a lifetime.

Chapter Seventeen

“It says, ‘Titus gave the city of Jerusalem over to his soldiers with orders for them to sack, burn and raze. More than a million people died in the siege with those kept alive turned into slaves. Many were sent to be fodder for the gladiators and beasts in the Roman arenas.’” Nik stopped reading the history book in his hand and looked at Aundy as she mixed up a cake recipe handed down in her family for many generations. “What do you suppose it was like, being in one of those arenas?”

Pouring the batter into a pan and placing it in the oven, Aundy sat down across from Nik and thought about his question.

“I suppose it would have been loud, for one thing. Think of all the people there, not to mention the noise from beneath the arena where they kept the men and beasts. From what I understand, there were vendors selling all sorts of things, so they were probably calling out to people, trying to get them to buy their wares. It probably smelled pretty bad with all the blood and animals there, and the sheer number of people watching. It was probably hot, standing on the sand they used in the arena,” Aundy said, trying to remember her ancient history lessons. “What do you think it would have been like to be a gladiator? What if you were in your own country, minding your own business, when one day the Roman army shows up and declares war against you. You fight, but despite your best efforts, you’re captured. Resisting is futile and you’re forced to comply. After days, maybe weeks of journeying, you find yourself at a ludus where you’re told you’ll train to fight in the arena or you’ll be killed.”

“What’s a ludus?” Nik asked, enraptured with Aundy’s perspective of ancient history and the interesting way she shared it with him.

“It was a training school for gladiators. They would break the men down and then build them back up as fighting machines,” Aundy said. She’d always liked history lessons. When they finished studying Roman history, she’d move Nik on to the Vikings. Tales of her ancestors’ battles often stirred her blood.

Thinking of her blood stirring made images of Garrett come to mind, so she slammed the door on those thoughts, much like he’d slammed the door on her several nights ago.

“How do you know so much about history, and everything?” Nik asked, sweeping his hand across the table to emphasize his point with the piles of books and papers covering the surface.

Aundy smiled, straightening a stack of the boy’s homework. “I always enjoyed school and learning. Books were a way to travel to faraway places I knew I’d never see in my lifetime.”

Nik looked at her, balancing what she was saying against what some of the men told him about book learning being a waste of time for a poor shepherd boy.

Sensing his hesitation, Aundy grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

“Come with me,” she said, tugging him to the front room. Studying the bookshelf, Aundy pulled several titles from their places and set them on table in front of the sofa. Pushing Nik down to the seat, she grinned at him.

Picking up the first book on the pile, she handed it to Nik, then grabbed a parasol from the hall tree by the front door. Holding it like a sword, she prepared for an imaginary battle. “Dumas’
The Three Musketeers
lets you engage in sword fights and great battles for honor and truth,” Aundy said, jumping around the room, lunging at Nik with her pretend sword, making him laugh.

Grabbing the next book, she tossed it to him. Catching it, he read the title
From Pole to Pole
. “What’s this one about?”

Pulling a quilt off the arm of the sofa, Aundy draped it over her head so it fell down her back and stuck her hands in front of her like claws. “You can read all about the adventures in the torrid and frigid zones of both poles. How else would you get up close and personal with a polar bear?”

Leaping at Nik like she was going to eat him, he jerked back against the sofa with an astonished look on his face.

“What if you were stranded on a deserted island for years and years like Robinson Crusoe?” Aundy said, plopping on the chair across from him, looking around forlorn, like she was lost and alone. “Just think of what it would be like. The things you’d see and smell and taste and hear.”

Nik sat up, anxious to see what she’d do next. She handed him the last book from her stack and grabbed the pail by the desk she used to collect discarded paper. Upending it, she beat on it like a drum and marched around the room, pretending to have a gimpy leg while humming
Yankee Doodle.

“What if you could walk right beside General George Washington as he defended our great country during the Revolutionary War?”

Setting down the pail and picking up the scattered papers, dumping them back inside, Aundy collapsed on a chair and blew the tendrils of hair out of her eyes that escaped the braid around her head.

“Tell me, Nikola Zorian Gandiaga, don’t you think books are a wonderful, magical thing?” Winking at the boy, Aundy thought she might have gone too far with her antics as he continued to stare at her, not saying a word.

When Nik finally jumped to his feet and clapped enthusiastically, she decided perhaps not.

“That was amazing!” Nik said, excitement filling his face. “Wait ‘til I tell the guys about this.”

“Now, hold on a minute,” Aundy said, grabbing Nik’s arm before he could rush out the front door. “There will be no telling of tales, my young man. None at all. That performance was just for you, so you best keep it to yourself. I’ve got a dignified reputation to uphold you know.”

Aundy thrust her nose in the air with an exaggerated haughty demeanor until she smelled cake.

“Oh, gracious! I forgot the cake,” she said, running to the kitchen to pull the pan from the oven, letting out a sigh of relief it hadn’t burned.

“The cake would have been a worthy sacrifice for all that,” Nik said, giving Aundy a teasing smile.

“Oh, go on with you,” Aundy said, helping Nik gather up his books and papers. He finished the glass of milk he’d been drinking and snatched a few cookies to take with him. “You can have a big piece of cake tomorrow, but only if you promise to be quiet about your lesson this evening.”

“I promise,” Nik said, wishing like everything the men could have seen Aundy in action. She would have made a great teacher, if she wasn’t so busy trying to learn to be a farmer. “Night, Aundy.”

“Night, Nik. Be sure you get some sleep,” she said, giving him a hug on his way out the door.

Watching him saunter to the bunkhouse in his gangly stride, Aundy smiled. He was such a bright boy with a good heart, she couldn’t wait to see what kind of man he was going to grow up to be. She hoped one every bit as kind, strong, and handsome as a certain neighbor whom she couldn’t keep out of her thoughts.

Since she’d pushed Garrett out of her life, she forced herself to stay away from Nash’s Folly. She picked up the telephone at least once a day to call and apologize, realizing those who listened in would have a heyday with the gossip if she did that.

Out riding the fence yesterday, she thought she saw him in the field and started to wave, then thought better of it.

If her traitorous heart had just listened to her head and not fallen for Garrett Nash, she wouldn’t be feeling so heartbroken and desolate.

Going to the front room and putting the books back on the shelf, she grinned, thinking of the fun she’d had with Nik this evening. It reminded her of happy times she’d shared with her brother and sister when they were younger. Lars never liked school, always more interested in something that involved activity, so Aundy would act out some of his lessons in an effort to help him learn. Ilsa liked to join in, and the three of them had a high time studying and playing together.

Wishing Ilsa had been able to join her, Aundy frowned as she thought about the letter that arrived from her sister. Although Ilsa was more than ready to come, their aunt kept finding reasons to keep her there. The girl thought she might have to steal away in the night to escape. Aundy certainly hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Folding the quilt and putting it back on the sofa, she checked the lock on the door and extinguished the lamp.

Falling into bed exhausted, sleep was a long time coming as she thought about her farm, her family, her duties, and her love for Garrett.

Standing at the kitchen sink early the next morning, she heard several loud pops and dropped the glass she was holding, shattering it in the sink.

Racing out the kitchen door, she was half-way to the barn when Dent and the hands poured out of the bunkhouse.

“What was that?” she asked, her eyes wide with fright. She thought she knew what it was, but hoped she was wrong.

“Gun shots,” Dent said, running in the direction of the sheep, yelling orders as he went. “Fred, Bill, saddle up and meet us in the pasture. George and Glen, get out on patrol, see what you can find. Li, keep an eye on things here. Hank’s with me, we’ll check on Nik and Lem.”

Aundy picked up her skirts and ran after Dent and Hank. Her side ached and her lungs burned, but she kept running.

Topping a rise, they could see five dead sheep in a pool of blood that stained the grass crimson. Not far from them was a motionless dog, a bleating lamb and the unmoving form of Nik.

“No, not Nik,” Aundy whispered, willing her legs to carry her to the boy. Dent reached him first and carefully rolled him over. Blood poured from a wound in his upper chest.

Dropping to her knees, Aundy held Nik’s head on her lap and brushed her hand along his forehead. “Oh, you poor baby. Nik, you’ll be okay. We’ll take care of you. Nik, please be okay.”

Aundy turned her head to wipe her tear-stained cheek on her shoulder, while Dent ran to Fred, who arrived on horseback. “Call the doc and the sheriff. If they don’t answer, ride for town,” Dent yelled at Fred as he spun around and took off to house. Turning to Bill as he arrived, leading another horse, Dent mounted as he sent him to get the wagon so Nik could be moved to the house. The cowboy raced off, following Fred.

“I need to find Lem, Missy. I’ll stay here, but I’m gonna look around,” Dent said, turning to Hank, who stood nearby, his face blanched white at the sight of all the blood. “Hank, walk over to that grove of trees and see if you find anything.”

Dent rode off in the opposite direction, studying the ground.

Aundy fished her handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped Nik’s face. He had lost all color and the fact he hadn’t stirred worried her. This reminded her too much of the day Erik was injured.

She should never have let Nik stay out with the sheep after she had the first threat. Looking at the boy, she knew he would have snuck out to be with the sheep regardless of what she said.

Bumped from behind, Aundy lifted an arm and Butter wedged his little body next to her side, bleating pitifully.

“I know, Butter. I know,” Aundy said, rubbing her arm over the lamb’s head. He flopped down on the grass next to her and sniffed at Nik, bleating again.

Forcing herself not to look back at Bob, Aundy knew the dog was beyond helping.

Hearing the jingle of harness and the pounding of hooves, Bill and Fred topped the rise in the wagon, bouncing wildly as they urged the horses to go faster.

Aundy saw Dent dismount behind a tree and wondered if he found Lem. She prayed the cowboy was alive.

Sending up prayers for Nik and all her men, Aundy held onto Butter as the wagon creaked to a stop beside them. Bill and Fred had grabbed a few saddle blankets to cushion the bed of the wagon. Aundy scrambled to climb in the back, sitting down so the men could place the boy with his head resting on her lap. Fred picked up Butter and set him beside her.

“Thank you,” she said, glancing up at him with tear-filled eyes. She knew how much Fred disliked the sheep. To see him so tenderly pick up the lamb threatened to unravel the few threads keeping her from falling apart.

Dent was waving at them from the tree, so Bill and Fred guided the wagon that direction while Hank ran over.

“Help me get him loaded, boys,” Dent said, motioning to Lem. Although unconscious, he was breathing. A bloody cut on his head appeared to be all the damage he’d suffered.

“Looks like someone knocked him out. Probably clubbed him with a rifle,” Dent said as they placed Lem in the wagon next to Nik. “Head back to the house. I’m gonna do a little sniffing around while we wait for the sheriff.”

“He’s out of town, but Kade and the Doc both said they’d be here as quick as they could,” Fred said, nodding to Dent as Bill turned the wagon toward the house.

Pulling up by the front door, Aundy carefully moved and lowered Nik’s head to the wagon bed before accepting Bill's hand and jumping down.

Running up the porch steps, she raced into Erik’s room, glad she’d aired it recently after sorting through Erik’s things. Now the room looked orderly, if impersonal.

Flinging the quilt off the bed, she folded back the covers and turned as Bill and Fred carried the boy in the door.

“Bring him in here,” Aundy said, watching as they gently carried Nik to the bed and carefully placed him on top of the sheet.

Aundy ran to the kitchen to get some rags and start boiling water while Bill and Fred helped Lem in the house. Disoriented, he managed to walk into the front room with the support of the other two men.