Tykota's Woman (Historical Romance) (14 page)

She heard him walk away, and she held her
back straight until the sound of his footsteps
disappeared.

It was a long time before Makinna fell asleep, and when she did, it was with the memory of his lips on hers.

Tykota paced the floor of the inner cavern,
paused to splash water over his face, and fought
against going to Makinna and finishing what he
had started earlier. But he mustn't. Their lives
were never meant to join. She had family waiting
for her in California, and he had to honor the
promise he'd made to his father.

He had watched the proud tilt of Makinna's
head and knew that he'd hurt her tonight. But it
was better to hurt her a little now than to hurt her
much more later on. In the ravine, he had
awakened emotions in her that should have been
left for her husband. She was young and
inexperienced and had mistaken desire for love.
When she returned to her world, she would meet
a man who would-

He stopped himself, unwilling to think about
another man touching her as he'd done. In his
heart, she would always be his. But in the real
world, she could never belong to him.

He did not sleep, and when the sunlight
filtered through cave's ceiling, he was still
awake. But he knew what he must do.

Makinna stood on the ledge, looking out at the
desert. She didn't hear Tykota came up beside
her, and she jumped when he spoke to her.

"Makinna, I have to leave you here for a day
or two. You will have plenty of food and water."
He had his gun belt slung over his shoulder, and
he placed it beside her. "I am leaving this with
you. You will be safe if you do not wander out
of the cave as you did yesterday. Will you
promise me that you will remain here until I
return?"

Unable to find her voice, she nodded.

He stared into her eyes for a moment, as if
there was something he wanted to say, but
finally he turned away. She watched him
descend the mountain and disappear below the ridge. Frantically, she searched for him, but he
had already melted into the landscape.

Never had she felt such an emptiness. Not
even with the death of her mother and brother
had she felt so alone.

She walked to the inner chamber, stripped off
her gown, and waded into the pool. She
remained there for over an hour, allowing the
cool water to soothe her aching body.

But nothing could soothe her aching heart.

The hunted had now become the hunter. Tykota
knew that he had to have horses if he was going
to get Makinna out of this desert alive. The
Apache would know by now that he was
traveling with a woman, and that that made him
even more vulnerable to them.

It didn't take him long to come upon their
trail. They were making no effort to cover
their tracks, since they had no fear of just one
man and a female. He slipped behind a boulder and watched as they set up camp. All he
had to do now was wait to catch one of them
alone.

There was an urgency within him. He would
need two horses if he was going to outrun and
outsmart his enemy.

The dying sun cast jagged shadows across the
desert as Makinna watched for Tykota. He had
been gone for three days, and she was certain that something had happened to him. He was
dead, or he'd be back by now.

Apprehensively, she looked at a bank of
clouds forming in the west: heavy, dark, ominous clouds that arched above the horizon like
black smoke. Thunderstorms had terrified
Makinna ever since she'd gotten lost in the
woods when she was five years old. She could
still remember the terror she'd felt as she had
huddled beneath a tree while thunder boomed
and lightning struck all around her. She had
been panic-stricken when lightning had hit a
nearby tree, splintering it and causing it to
burst into flames. With the dark terror known
only to a child, she had been certain she would
be struck by those jagged spears and burn just
like the tree.

Somehow her father had found her, cold and
wet and huddled in the darkness. That night she
had trembled beneath a warm blanket and basked
in the affection of her family, but she never
recovered from her fear of thunderstorms.

She rushed back into the cave and went to the
inner cavern, thinking it would be safe there and
perhaps she wouldn't be able to hear the thunder.
She stared through the opening at the top,
watching as the sky grew darker and darker.
Soon the blackness became so deep, so
frightening, that she welcomed the intermittent
flashes of lightning that gave her a moment's
reprieve from the black void.

Makinna clung to the walls of the cave, her
fear becoming like a living thing that could
pounce on her at any moment. She was sobbing
as she dropped to her knees, so frightened that
she couldn't stop shaking. Just when she thought
she could stand it no longer, strong arms came
around her, and she was pulled against a hard
chest.

"Makinna, it's all right," Tykota said, holding
her tightly. Her fear struck at his very soul. "The
storm will not harm you. You are safe in here."

She buried her face against his chest,
trembling. "I have... always feared storms," she
gasped between sobs.

Tykota had never seen her cry, so he knew her
fear must be unspeakable. "It will not harm you
in this cave. The lightning cannot penetrate solid
rock."

That thought calmed her. Or was it being in
Tykota's arms that made her feel safe? She drew
on his strength and was comforted by it.

"I thought you weren't ever coming back."

He brushed tumbled hair out of her face and
spoke as a father might to a frightened child. "I
would never desert you, Makinna."

She looked up at him just as a flash of
lightning illuminated his face. She was stunned
by the softness she saw in his expression. Or was
it a trick of the shadows?

The emotions between them were as electri fying as the lightning that tore the sky. But now,
instead of fear, desire rippled through her
in waves. "Hold me. Hold me tight," she
pleaded.

Tykota's arms tightened about Makinna, and
he felt her melt against him. She trusted him, and
he was waging a war within himself, trying not
to think of her softness, her curves, her lips
pressed against his neck.

He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
Gently, he guided her through the narrow
opening to the outer cave. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then let me show you and tell you about the
storm you are frightened of. An Indian learns at
an early age that if he understands his enemy's
strength, it diminishes his fear."

He led her out into the rain and turned her
toward the valley. Her heart was still pounding
furiously.

"Take a deep breath, Makinna. Feel the rain.
Smell the rain. Become part of the storm. Feel its
power. Respect its strength, and do not try to
ignore it or take it lightly. Become as one with
the storm. Then there is nothing in the storm that
will harm you."

She did smell the rain being absorbed by
the dry earth, and that scent somehow
reminded her of home. It was the same
cleansing smell that came right after an April
shower.

Tykota gazed down at her. "Do you feel the
force of the storm bringing the earth renewal,
Makinna? Listen. Listen to the song of the earth
as it responds to the storm. Where there was
desolation, the rain brings life."

She felt the heat of his body, and it was
definitely bringing hers to life. "Yes," she
whispered through trembling lips. "I feel it."

His gaze went beyond her to the rumbling sky.
"Think of the storm like a man giving life into
the body of a woman. The land would die
without the storm." His gaze fastened on her
lips, and he felt as if his soul was on fire. "And a
man will die inside without the love of his
woman."

Rain pelted against her, plastering her hair to
her face and her gown to her body. "I don't
believe I shall ever fear a storm again," she said,
as he turned and led them back into the cave. "I
don't know if it is because you are with me, or
because of what you said, but the fear is gone
now."

He wanted to pull her against him. He wanted
to ask her to be his woman and to walk through
life with him. But where he must go, she could
not follow. Where he went, she did not belong.

"Fear, like every other emotion, can be
conquered, Makinna. It takes only the will and
the need."

"Can love be conquered as easily, Tykota?" Tears began mixing with the wetness already on
her cheeks. "Can love be cast aside like
something unwelcome and unwanted?"

He stared at her for a long moment and then
said harshly, "Love is the easiest of all emotions
to conquer." He glanced away, since he couldn't
look into her eyes, knowing he was wounding
her, wounding himself. "Make ready to leave.
We ride out tonight."

"Ride?"

"That is right. We ride."

Her eyes widened. It occurred to her that
the only way he could have acquired horses in
this desert was to take them from the Apache
warriors. "They are Apache horses, aren't
they?"

"Not anymore." He shoved the dried meat into
a leather pouch and handed it to her. "It will be
better to leave while it is storming so the rain
will wash away any tracks we might leave
behind."

"Yes, I can see the sense of that. Can I also
assume that the Apaches whose horses you took
will want them back?"

He looked at her. "No," he replied. "They will
not be needing them anymore."

The significance of his words hit her hard. She
shivered at the knowledge that Tykota could be
as ruthless as the Apaches tracking them. He
would do whatever it took to survive. "You
killed them, didn't you, Tykota?"

"Makinna," he said impatiently, "when your
enemy is riding and you are on foot, you have
little chance of evading him."

She felt little sorrow for the men he'd killed.
After all, they had attacked Adobe Springs and
killed everyone. Would have killed Tykota and
her, had they remained. She nodded. "I will be
glad for the horses."

"Can you ride?"

"Of course."

"Sidesaddle, I assume."

"Yes, I-"

"You will be riding bareback." His gaze was
hard. "All I ask of you is that you stay on the
horse and keep up with me." He moved away
from her and through the narrow passage to the
crystal cavern, where he would fill the water
skins he'd taken from the dead Apaches.

When he rejoined her, his tone was abrupt,
and he didn't even look at her. "We must leave
now."

She shouldered the leather pouch and
walked out of the cavern. She tried to shake off
the sadness she felt at leaving this magical
place. But she knew they could not stay here
forever.

His voice cut through her musings. "You will
have to be careful as we make our way down to
the ravine where I tied the horses. The slopes are
slick in places."

It was a difficult descent, and when they
finally reached the bottom, Makinna was
trembling with fatigue, drenched, and muddy.
But she told herself this was not as hard to
endure as the scorching sun and the thirst that
had plagued them on the first part of their
journey.

Makinna approached the horses with
trepidation, glad, at least, that the lightning had
moved farther to the east.

Tykota took the food bag from her and
secured it to his horse. He then gripped
Makinna's waist and lifted her onto her horse.

At first riding bareback felt awkward, but in
time she adjusted to it. She tried not to think
about the man who had died so that she could
ride.

It was raining harder now, and although she
was soaked to the skin, she was grateful for the
coolness. When the sun rose and the rain
stopped, it would be sweltering, and they would
once again have to contend with the Apaches
tracking them, likely angrier and more
determined than ever.

Tykota urged his horse into a gallop, and
Makinna gripped the sides of her mount with
her legs, praying that she would not be
unseated. The Indian pinto was smaller than
the horses she was accustomed to, but after
they had been riding for over an hour, she gained a new respect for the sturdy animal. It
was responsive and surefooted as it raced across
the rugged terrain with tireless energy.

They rode through the night to put as much
distance as they could between themselves and
the Apaches.