LeClerc 03 - Wild Savage Heart (30 page)

“I’m interested.” Molly turned her mouth to his, sighing as his head lowered.

Surprise combined with shock to prevent Hawk from completing the kiss. He remained immobile, his mouth mere inches from hers and he waited fora repeat of the movement he had felt beneath his thigh.

“Molly?” Knowing what he had felt and yet waiting for her confirmation, Hawk’s voice was rich with wonder.

“Our son has decided to start the day early.” Her smile had the mysterious glow of all pregnant women.

His gaze intensified fiercely. It was the first time she had referred to the baby as theirs. As if agreeing to her decision, the baby moved again, this time so strongly that there could be no doubt for either of them.

“Welcome to the morning, little warrior,” Hawk murmured. Molly felt him gently caress her stomach, his eyes never leaving hers. “Right now, I’m going to love your maman.”

Finally, his mouth lowered to hers in a kiss as gentle as spring rain. His hand moved up to cup her breast, his thumb teasing the nipple into pebble hardness. When Molly moaned and arched her back, putting her breast more firmly into his palm, Hawk changed the tempo of his caresses.

As if appreciating the activity, the baby was still. He was the only one who was.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“You’re tired, Molly.” Hawk held her in his arms and gently rubbed her back. “Go to sleep,
ain jel ee.”

“
I’m sorry we had to stop so early this evening, I know you wanted to get to the river.” She snuggled into his warmth and tried to forget that every bone in her body ached.

After more than a month on the trail, Molly was so tired she had to force herself to rise every morning and sheer willpower kept her in the saddle all day. But willpower was beginning to waver and she wondered how much longer she could continue at the pace Hawk set.

She tried not to complain, but by the middle of the each day Hawk could see her exhaustion in the cumbersome movements of her body. He began to insist that she have a nap at midday when they stopped to eat and rest the horses, and he began to stop far before sundown each evening. Still, the signs of exhaustion never left her face, and her natural grace was replaced by ponderously halting movements.

Molly’s protruding stomach rested against him, and Hawk felt the firm kick of the baby. He moved his hands to her belly to soothingly massage, hoping the child could feel it and would allow his mother to get some much-needed rest.

By Hawk’s reckoning, it was nearly December. Until a week ago the weather had been nearly perfect. Warm dry days were followed by cool, clear nights. There had been only a couple of days of rain, but each morning the layer of frost on the ground seemed heavier than it had been on the previous morning.

The snow had held off but now the temperatures were well below freezing at night and only slightly above during the day. He could almost smell snow in the air and he would bet that in a matter of days they would see the first snow of winter.

He was deeply concerned about the effect on Molly if they had to travel through blizzard conditions. Hawk was caught between his concern for her traveling faster to avoid possible complications if it began to snow, and his knowledge that she was already pushing herself to the meager limits of her strength each day.

Hawk had hoped to be on the Ohio River nearly a week earlier, but had slowed his pace when he saw how much Molly was suffering. He wanted to be at the river by this time tomorrow but knew he’d make the trip in two days instead of one if she couldn’t handle the miles.

Once they were on the river instead of on horseback, he knew the trip would be easier for her. Hopefully, within a week they would be at Shawnee Town. For the first time in far too many years, he’d be home.

It seemed to Molly that her toes and fingers were always cold, even with the extra socks and bulky gloves she wore. She relished the heat from Hawk’s body, snuggling against him beneath the blankets and quilt. She was tired and she desperately wanted to sleep, but she knew that sleep would be denied her until the baby quit moving so fiercely.

“Tell me more about Linsey,” she asked. Of all the people Hawk considered family, Molly was most concerned about meeting the woman he considered to be his mother.

As he thought of his adoptive mother, Hawk settled Molly against him, continuing his gentle stroking of her stomach. Until he had met Molly, Linsey had been the most important woman in his life. He more than loved her, he admired her and deeply respected her.

“Do you remember me telling you about her temper and how she swears in Gaelic when she’s angry, even though she doesn’t know what she’s saying? One day she was furious and the Gaelic was flying. She didn’t know that we had a visitor — a missionary, a Scot come to the wilderness to minister to the flock. When she turned around, words still tumbling from her lips, there he stood.”

Hawk grinned at the memory. “The poor man was beet red and I’m sure he felt he’d arrived too late to save her tarnished soul. In privacy he told Bear exactly what Linsey had been saying for all those years.” He chuckled, squeezing Molly to him. “It was months before we heard Gaelic again in the house.”

Memories of his childhood with his fiery mother drifted through his thoughts. “She’s suffered tragedy and adversity but has never lost the femininity and gentleness of her nature.

“I was nine when she lost her fifth son at birth. While she was still recovering from the birth, Matthew, her third son, drowned.”

“Oh my God,” Molly moaned in sympathy. “How could she stand to lose two children?”

Hawk closed his eyes and remembered the tragedy so many years ago. “I watched her prepare Matthew for burial. I’ve never seen such a lost look on someone’s face. But she’s a strong woman, Molly. She shed tears for her children then put her life back together. She had other children who needed their mother. She didn’t have time for self-pity.”

“When did you meet her?”

“The day I was born. An outbreak of measles had nearly destroyed our village. Linsey, Bear and Kaleb had worked to try to save anyone they could but there was little they could do.

“My older sister and my mother both caught the disease. Spring Flower died quickly but my mother hung on, maybe because I had yet to be born or maybe because she wasn’t ready to relinquish life.

“Linsey, Bear and my father all fought to save her, but after several days of soaring fevers she could fight no longer. She died, but I had yet to be born.” Molly sat up and turned to look at her husband. “Hawk, if she died, how could you be born?”

“Patience,” he chided gently, pulling her back into his arms. “It’s a long story and you’re supposed to be trying to go to sleep.”

“I couldn’t go to sleep now if my life depended upon it. Explain how you were born please.” Hawk settled her in place and continued his tale. “There was an old woman, called the grandmother by my people, who tended my mother at the last. Linsey has told me many times that while she, Bear and my father stood in horror and watched the contortions of my mother’s belly, the grandmother took matters in her own hands. She slit open the womb and pulled me free.”

“If she hadn’t been there and known what to do …” Molly couldn’t finish the statement but pulled Hawk’s hand to her mouth and softly kissed his palm.

“I’m not sure the grandmother knew exactly what to do, maybe she knew there was little to lose and much to gain. With so many people dying I’m sure a birth gave hope to everyone. After my father welcomed me, I was put in Linsey’s hands. She named me and cared for me when it was impossible for my father to do so.

“After the epidemic was over, he took the remainder of the tribe west. Because I was so young, I was left with Linsey and Bear. I was nearly five years old before my father was able to return for me. From that time on I spent my life living with my people for a few months and then with Bear and Linsey for a few months. The Cub always went back and forth with me, not only because we were inseparable but I think Linsey used it as an assurance that Limping Wolf would return me to her when he brought the Cub home.”

“Thank God for the grandmother,” Molly whispered fervently.

Hawk smiled in the darkness and kissed the top of her head. “Linsey had her hands full. I was only four months old when the Cub was born. Little Kaleb was born the next year and Matthew two years later. Will, John, James and Mark all came along in the next few years.”

“Eight boys! The lady had her hands full!”

“There were only four of us after John and Matthew died. It was a couple of years before Jamie and Mark arrived on the scene and then they were too little to get into trouble with us. They were just starting to look for trouble when the Cub and I left for the university.”

Hawk’s voice drifted away. “They’re nearly men now and it’s been so long since I’ve been home, I won’t even know them.”

“Were you bad and did you cause her all kinds of problems?” Molly delighted in the thought of Hawk as a child.

“None of us was exactly bad,” he replied hesitantly. “But we weren’t exactly good either. Occasionally Bear would put the fear of God — or usually the fear of Bear — in us and we’d be remarkably good for a few days.

“Linsey will love you,” he added, perhaps trying to change the subject.

“You don’t know that! She may take one look at me and wonder where she went wrong in raising you!”

Hawk smiled, hugging her tightly. “She’ll take one look at you and your expanding belly and be thrilled that she’s going to be a grandmother.”

Molly frowned, concerned about Linsey’s true reaction. “Hawk, do you think she’ll accept my child as her grandchild once she sees he wasn’t fathered by you?”

“Ain jet ee,
Linsey took a newborn Shawnee child as her own. Many times she has fought as fiercely for me as for her natural sons. Trust me, she will accept you and the child and dare anyone to comment about his conception.”

“I hope you’re right.” Molly understood Hawk’s boundless love for Linsey and was concerned that he might be forced into choosing either herself or Linsey.

Knowing that time, and Linsey, would prove him right, Hawk didn’t bother to continue the discussion. He rubbed the tight skin of her stomach and began the familiar chant that would relax M oily and help her to find the sleep she so desperately needed.

Because of the cold nighttime temperatures, Molly had abandoned her long flannel nightdress and she now slept in a warm buckskin shirt that belonged to Hawk. Softer than velvet, the long sleeves hung below her fingers, and the hem came to midthigh.

Feeling her begin to relax, Hawk continued the chant. His hand slipped beneath her shirt and he rubbed her soft tight flesh. His fingers drifted through her feminine curls and he closed his eyes, picturing his dark hand against her creamy skin.

Fearing that he would hurt her or the babe by making love to her in her exhausted condition, Hawk had refrained from intimate touches. The simple act of stroking her began to have a marked effect on him. He shifted his body away from her so that she wouldn’t become aware of it.

In spite of his warming passions, Hawk found himself soothed by the intimate touches and he allowed himself to drift into the light sleep that kept him on the point of alertness in case of unexpected danger.

After weeks of wilderness, Molly was not impressed by the waterfront settlement on the Ohio River. Unpainted slatboard houses, weathered log cabins, and tents formed the dusty main street, and only street. The whining screech of a saw mill, the rattling of wagons, raucous laughter and an occasional report from a rifle seemed invasively loud to ears accustomed to bird song, the wind through the trees and rustling from small creatures never seen.

“We can spend the night here if you’d like,” Hawk offered.

Molly didn’t even have to consider his offer. “No,” she replied firmly. “It’s only midday, we’ve still got plenty of daylight left.” She held firmly to the reins, wanting desperately to reach for his hand for security as inquisitive, lecherous looks were turned her way.

Hawk was aware of the speculation of the hunters who milled around. He was relieved at Molly’s decision, hoping to get her out of the town before the trouble that he could feel brewing erupted into a free-for-all.

“I’m going to get a room at the inn for you. You can take a long hot bath and nap on a bed while I see about trading the horses for a boat.”

“I’d rather stay with you.” The thought of a bath and a bed were inviting, but knowing that she’d be without Hawk’s protection was daunting.

Hawk understood her unspoken fears and felt anger begin to brew beneath his unruffled surface appearance. The looks she was receiving were the very thing he’d warned her about. The men were still uncertain of their relationship but he had little doubt that as soon as they detected her condition they would become obnoxious in their comments and actions. He hoped he could prevent it from happening by installing her in a room and out of sight.

At the battered building sporting a sign that labeled it as an inn, Hawk dismounted and helped Molly from her horse. The exterior of the structure left much to be desired, as did the dirty appearance of the man who stood in the open doorway blocking their entrance but it was the only inn available.