James nodded, feeling a twist like a knife in his abdomen. “Sleep, Riley,” he told the old man.
He returned to the hootie and stared down at Teela. Her cheeks were liquid with tears. Her hair was a fan around her, beautiful in the moon glow, red, radiant. She was almost ivory in her whiteness, her naked body as perfect as porcelain. He lay down beside her, intending to let her sleep.
But their last sunset had already fallen.
He woke her. Silenced her words, her protests. Made love tenderly, fiercely, tenderly …
Indeed, their sunset was gone.
And dawn was coming. A red dawn. A bloodred dawn.
Chapter 21
Teela was subdued during the ride early the next morning. She kept her distance from him at first, and he thought that she was feeling ill again. He didn’t attempt to comfort, though he worried at the many deadly diseases she might fall prey to. No matter what emotions and desires tore at his heart, it was not just necessary but good that she was going to be back in his brother’s care. Harrison’s care, even. Out of the territory, with any luck!
She swam without him, using sand for soap as he had shown her, and dressed without a word in the strange new outfit Riley had brought her. He longed to seize hold of her, defy the bleak future. He turned away. He couldn’t hold her tightly enough to change the future. He braced himself as he did so, wondering if this was the last time he would ever see her. A million different things could go wrong. Osceola’s parley could turn into a desperate battle. Warren might have already made arrangements for Running Bear to be seized and hanged upon first sight. Yes, Teela was best far removed from him. There was nothing that she could do.
“Teela! Come along!” he told her when she hesitated by the water, watching the sun rise. She turned back to him. Her hair was as soft as angel’s wings, floating freely down her back, its exotic color wildly at odds with that silky softness. Her eyes were brilliant, beautiful. She lowered her lashes, though, and came to him. Riley had mounted. James put his hands on Teela’s waist to lift her atop his bay. She caught hold of his shoulders, eyes blazing into his. “Don’t go!” she whispered.
He held still for a moment, wishing with all his heart that he could oblige her, very nearly doing so.
Despite the fact that they were riding double, they made good time, both Riley and James knowing the land so well. The sun rose swiftly, but it was a beautiful day, just kissed by a hint of the coming of fall. The trees dappled green light over their heads. They made then-way through swamp and pine barrens.
Toward noon, James paused, seeing that the trail had recently been used. His brother was near, he was certain. He felt Teela jump when he let out his bird’s cry, a perfect imitation of a loon. Jarrett McKenzie came riding out of the bush toward them. He was accompanied by Robert Trent and a few of his plantation men, including some of the Indians who had long worked for him.
He didn’t dare speak to Teela. He dismounted from the bay. Jarrett dismounted from his horse as well, and the brothers greeted each other in the pathway with an affection neither man made any attempt to hide, embracing, then stepping back at last.
“My daughter?” James asked.
“Sends her love. She is very well.”
“Let’s walk for a moment, shall we?” James asked. Jarrett nodded in agreement, and the two turned, heads lowered in private conversation.
“I hear Warren has stated that I was behind the attack on the companies out of Fort Deliverance.”
Jarrett nodded grimly. “The good news is that General Jesup and most sane commanders know you too well. They don’t believe the story. Also, as you must know now, King Philip and his people were taken, and then a group of Yuchis—Blue Snake and Yuchi Billy among them. Philip sent for Wildcat, and Wildcat is a prisoner now as well.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Wildcat has told the generals in quite disdainful terms that they are fools. That Warren’s daughter would have been dead for simply wearing his name were it not for your interference.”
“Well, that’s good, for it seems Osceola has arranged a meeting with the military.”
“Yes. Some speculate that he has agreed to meet so that he can discover some way to rescue Philip and the others. Jesup has not forgotten the seven hundred men Osceola freed in June.”
James shook his head. “He has moments when he is strong, but he is sick. Really sick. I don’t think that the military commanders realize just how sick he is.”
“That may be. I hope that the next meeting will bring peace, but I feel uneasy about it.”
“What do you know?”
“Nothing—I am no longer trusted by our military friends.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We are both at a loss in this war.” James nodded, turning toward Jarrett, extending a hand to his brother. Jarrett gripped it. “Thank you,” James told him.
Jarrett shook his head. “There is nothing to thank me for. We are both our father’s sons. Perhaps the time will come again when we can be like a normal family. I pray for it. I hold your property against that time. I beg you to take care, and live to let us touch that time again.” James grinned, nodded. He glanced toward Teela. “Take care of her. It’s a heavy burden I set on you, I know, but please try to keep her out of trouble.”
Jarrett hesitated. “I think I can do so. Tara is in St. Augustine with the children. We’ve taken a house there for the fall and winter so that I can, perhaps, be nearer the present theaters of operation and step in if I am needed. It’s my understanding that Osceola’s council is going to be set not far from Fort Peyton, just seven miles south of the city. I’ll be near.” He hesitated. “John Harrington is stationed at Fort Peyton at the moment. I’m hoping he’ll prevent any confrontation that might occur once Warren rides back into the picture.”
“Where is Warren now?”
“Still in the interior, south of us now, I believe. Hunting down more women and children. If he follows his orders, he should not come around to hound us at least for a few months.”
“That’s a relief,” James murmured, glancing back toward Teela again. She looked so stoic, seated atop the bay. She would probably remain so, as still and silent as a statue, even if Robert approached her. James lowered his head, glad. Robert was one of the best men James knew. He had the ability to make anyone feel at ease, to draw out conversation, even laughter, when there was none to be drawn.
He looked back up at his brother. “Jarrett, you have to give me one promise.”
“What’s that?”
“You don’t risk your life for mine.”
“James—”
James set up a hand. “If things go badly, interfere only if I ask you to do so. Things are more deadly now than ever before. My association with you could bring daggers into your back from your white friends, as could your influence on my part hurt me among the people at this time. I beg of you, don’t interfere now. If you can help me at any time, and safely so, I won’t hesitate to call, I swear it, big brother. Now, I want your word.”
Jarrett, dark eyes somber and unhappy, hesitated. “James, these are difficult times—”
“Your word, big brother. White Tiger.”
Still Jarrett hesitated. “My word,” he agreed grimly at last.
“Take Teela to safety. Send her away. Make her marry Harrington if that is what it will take.”
Jarrett crossed his arms over his chest, arching a brow at James. “How many things have you managed to make that woman do, little brother?”
James smiled slowly. “Well, a very few. The key is never to let her know that there are any weaknesses in men.
“Hell, if it comes to it, drug her. Drag her down an aisle rolled in a blanket if need be. Just keep her from harm. Perhaps you can put her on a ship out of St. Augustine. That was what she intended to do when she was traveling north before Otter’s band attacked the group. That would be best. Try to make her leave. Please.”
“My word again. I will
do my best.”
“Thank you.”
“But …” Jarrett began.
“But what?” James asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at his brother warily.
“Well, you have chosen this life.”
“I didn’t choose anything. I was born with this!”
“And which parent would you rather not have had?”
“Neither, of course—”
“You could build a plantation on the land you own right outside Cimarron.”
“Under these circumstances—”
“Right. You cannot refuse to be part of this. So therefore you choose to be a part of it. Perhaps she has chosen the same.”
“Well, she can’t. She’s got to go, dammit.”
Jarrett lowered his head, lifted his hands.
“She could be risking her fool life.”
“Some people choose to do so.”
James let out a growl of irritation.
“Jarrett—”
“I will do my best. My word.”
James inhaled deeply. “Thank you.”
“You do something for me. Your word,” Jarrett said.
“What is that?”
“Keep yourself safe.”
James smiled, nodded. “That’s it, I guess.”
“Another good-bye.”
They turned in unison, heading back toward the others and the horses. James went straight to Teela, lifting her down from the bay. The warmth of her body fell against his, slid against it as he lowered her to her feet. Her eyes were on his, glittering. She drew her hands from his shoulders even as he set her down. Jarrett cleared his throat discreetly. He, Robert, and his men moved ahead in the clearing, followed by old Riley. For a moment they were alone in the strange peacefulness of the clearing.
“You’re not going to ask me not to go again?” he inquired.
She shook her head. “You’ve already made the decision. What does it matter what I say? You’re going.”
He nodded. “Jarrett will get you to St. Augustine. You were ready to leave the territory. Now you must go.”
“Must I?”
“You said yourself that it was your course of action to leave the territory when Otter and his band attacked you and the soldiers.”
“Yes, but … so much has changed.”
“I told you to go—”
“You’ve also told me to marry John Harrington.”
“Teela, dammit, don’t argue with me—”
“Why? Everything in your life must be so neat and tidy. It’s time to go to war again, so you put Teela away, you cannot play with her any longer.”
He suddenly couldn’t bear the parting, or that glitter, cold and disdainful, that had come into her eyes. He wanted to shake her. He drew her hard into his arms, pressed his lips to hers one last time, determined to taste and remember. He wanted her to feel his fury and his anger, know the harshness, feel again that what she had said herself was true—his bitterness made him a fire, a fire that burned others …
When he released her, she was shaking. Her lips were swollen and red. Her eyes were alive with a blaze of their own. “Yes, damn you, I’m done playing with you!” he snapped.
He didn’t dare look at her again. He leapt, an Indian, bareback, up on his bay.
And rode away from her as quickly as he could.
* * *
With Jarrett and his men, as with James, it was possible to move very quickly through the landscape.
Jarrett was exceptionally eager to do so. Their small party was heavily armed, and if Osceola was still wielding any power, they were safe, but he wasn’t eager to take any chances.
The men were incredibly polite to Teela, constantly solicitous. She was grateful. James’s last stinging words remained in her heart. He did not mean them, she told herself. She had taunted him into them. But throughout the day she was chilled to the bone. She felt the pain of losing him as she might feel the pain had some piece of her been cut away. The worst of it was that she was so afraid he would be killed. He was a strong man. But no man was stronger than a bullet. Yes, he could probably best a number of soldiers, but if her stepfather came against him, he could command more and more soldiers. No one could stand up to battle forever. Any man could be tricked, fall prey to treachery.
They rode very late and made no fire that night. Jarrett didn’t want to attract parties of either Indians or soldiers. He was hoping to bring her into St. Augustine quietly, and give them all time to adapt before she was forced to talk to any of her father’s friends in the military.
When they did stop, Jarrett and Robert created a bed for her from a tarp and blankets, with a saddle for a pillow. Jarrett sat down beside her, leaned against an old oak, his rifle at his side. “You can sleep,” he told her. “You’ll be safe, I promise.”
“I have no fear with you or James,” she assured him. He was quiet a few moments, then said, “Teela, this war is going to go on and on. I see no hope for a solution. If new boundaries are created, the settlers will overstep them again. The Indians will send out their hunting parties when the food in their poor sections runs scarce. Many of the generals think they can stop the war by capturing the chiefs. There will be more chiefs. Young warriors will grow to cunning leaders.”
“Why are you telling me this? These things I already know,” she said softly.
“Because I know your intentions regarding my brother now, Teela. You are in love with him. With no prejudices and no reservations. But you shouldn’t be. The world will not allow what lies in your heart. You need to sail away as you were going to do. Forget everything and everyone here.”
Teela sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. “You have told me my intentions—or what I feel at least. Now tell me about your brother. He saved my life. I never planned what I feel. I’m like the arrow of a compass, ever pointing north, and he is north. And when I’m with him, I cannot give a damn about the rest of the world. Yet, sometimes, it is as if he has come to dinner at your house, enjoyed the fullness of a meal, the feel of soft white sheets against his flesh—and then ridden away, needing no more. He can be brutal—”
“James has hurt you?” Jarrett queried, his voice gruff.
She shook her head. “Only with his words. So tell me, where is the truth in him?”
“The truth, Teela, is that he is obsessed with you. But he knows what I have told you is the real truth—this war could go on forever.”
“He loves you and Tara and his daughter. You all love him in return. So—”
“We all know that he could be killed any day. We accept that in our hearts. Do you, Teela?”
She lowered her head. “He has told me to leave, or marry John Harrington. Does he mean it?”
“If you were to marry Harrington, he would probably want to slash Harrington’s throat and have you drawn and quartered. But yes, he means it.”
She lay back down, tears stinging her eyes, and not wanting Jarrett to see them. She was startled when she felt a soft shifting of her hair from her face, and felt a very light, paternal kiss on her forehead. “He wants you to marry Harrington because he loves you, little fool,” he said softly. And that was all. He sat back against his tree, his rifle at the ready. The night breeze moved very gently around her, and she slept for the few hours left before first dawn.
They were back on the road incredibly early. They were not far from the city of St. Augustine, but Jarrett wanted to slip in before most of the citizenry awoke. Teela had never been to the city, but even in Charleston she had heard stories about it and the Spaniards who had founded it. They had always been seeking gold and the fountain of youth Ponce de Leon had been promised by the early Indian tribes, decimated now, that he had found within the peninsula. The architecture was charming, old government buildings with balconies and arches interspersed with more modern dwellings, some in wood, some in masonry. She did not look long, though, for as they passed through an old cemetery, Jarrett pointed out the giant Castillo de San Marcos, Fo
rt Marion, rising off a spit of land against the water. “Let’s not run into soldiers now!” he told her, and they hurried down the streets to the old Spanish house he and Tara had taken.
Once they arrived, it was wonderful for Teela to see Tara, Jennifer, and little Ian McKenzie again. Wonderful, even, to soak in a very hot tub, sip sherry, wrap up in a soft cotton nightgown provided by her hostess.
It had been a hard ride, and she was exhausted.
But she was glad of Tara’s company after her bath. Glad to have Tara by her. She was brought a rich red steak with corn and a fruit garnish, and she had to admit that the dinner was absolutely delicious. When she finished eating, she was still weary, but content to sit back in a heavy upholstered chair and have Tara brush the snarls out of her hair.
“Newspaper reporters may soon be after you,” Tara warned her. “Anything to do with Indian abduction and captivity always intrigues readers.”
“I wasn’t abducted! Surely, Tara—”
“I know that, of course. But that’s my point. You should speak with a reporter. Let him know that James McKenzie saved your life. It’s amazing what sway public opinion can sometimes have over the army.”
Teela swung around, catching Tara’s hand and meeting her gaze. “Is James in greater danger because of me?”
Tara sighed. “Well, he is an outlaw at the moment, most certainly. But it is not because of you. It is because Warren is a treacherous liar. If you’ll allow me, I can see to it that you speak to the right person. Warren’s lies will be disarmed. You should do so soon, before your ship leaves.”
“My ship?”
“Well, you were returning to Charleston?”
Teela swallowed hard. “I—I’m not ready now.”
“But perhaps you should,” Tara suggested softly.
Teela shook her head stubbornly. “I’ve caused trouble for James, but now perhaps I can change that.”
“And what are you going to do? Run out and shoot down both the Indians and the army?”
“I’m going to give your reporter the story,” she said firmly.