Page 12 of Tender Is the Storm

  She turned around and glared at him, remem­bering last night. "I'm here to marry your brother, not you."

  "The Apache keep it all in the family," he told her. "When a warrior dies, his widow is expected to marry her husband's brother."

  "I'm not an Apache, and neither are you." But she wasn't forgetting that he had lived like one.

  "You're not from around here, are you?" he asked.

  "No, I'm from ... St. Louis," she said nervously, remembering the tale Lucas had made up.

  "How did you meet Lucas? He hasn't been back East for a couple of years."

  She looked away. "Lucas can explain better than I."

  "Was it love at first sight?"

  "Mr. Holt!"

  "Don't tell me it's none of my business. After all, he's my only brother and my only family."

  "I wish you had remembered that fact last night," she said harshly.

  There was a very slight shrug to his shoulders. "One's got nothing to do with the other as far as I'm concerned. Like I said, you're not married to him yet."

  It was too much to hope that he might regret his deplorable behavior. She should have known that. He stood up, his eyes growing brighter. She felt the same curious constricting in her chest she had felt last night, and she had to breathe deeply to get any air at all.

  He started to approach her. "Stay away from me, Slade." She held the steaming cup of coffee in front of her, the warning clear.

  He stopped. "You're going to put up a fight?"

  "Every time," she said.

  "But you can't win," he told her plainly. "If you were holding a gun it would make no difference. Don't you understand?"

  His hand snaked out and took her wrist in an iron grip. He forced her hand to the counter, exerting enough pressure that she had to let go of the cup.

  "I give you credit for trying, honey." Was that amusement in his voice? "Just don't try it again. And wear that pretty blue nightgown tonight."

  He kissed her hard and fast, then let go of her and walked out the door without a backward look.

  Chapter 17

  “MACK?"

  "Back here!" he called.

  Sharisse walked through the barn uneasily, cover­ing her nose against the odor. She found Mack in a large stall at the rear, where two young foals were nudging each other out of the way to get at the sweets Mack was offering them.

  She was amazed at her daring in being there, but she had no choice. Slade's threat was real. If she stayed, he would have her.

  Lucas was the only one who could protect her. But it was too late in the day to send Mack after him, for it might be very late by the time Mack and Lucas ar­rived back at the ranch. She couldn't take the risk.

  "Can you prepare a horse for me, Mack?"

  He eyed her skeptically. "Luke mentioned some-thin' about you never havin' been on a horse."

  "That's true, but he also said I would have to learn sometime."

  God, let him tell her there was an old buggy or something around. She was terrified of getting up on a horse.

  "That's the truth. You plannin' to practice, or was you goin' to town?"

  "Actually, I want to find Lucas. I was hoping you could take me to him."

  "Shoot. They're a good three, four hours' ride from here!" he exclaimed. "And there's no tellin' where they made camp. It would take me days to hunt 'em down. I can't be away from the ranch that long." He gave her a probing look. "What's so all-fired impor­tant that it can't wait a day or two? He should be back soon."

  She couldn't very well explain, and her nerves were getting worse. "Will you just get me a horse, please?"

  "Not if you're gonna do somethin' foolish. Now if you was to ride to town first and get you a tracker who could find 'em in less than a day . . ."

  She brightened. "Yes! I'll do that." She didn't know what she would pay a tracker with, but she would worry about that later.

  "So that's what you aim to do?" he asked, suspi­cious.

  "I'm not a complete fool, Mack. I just didn't know that I could hire someone to take me to Lucas. Now that you've explained that . . ."

  "All right then, I'll get you Sally. She ought to give you an easy first ride."

  She watched him amble off to the back corral. She wrung her hands, wishing he would hurry.

  She was wearing her heavy traveling skirt, the only thing she had that she could possibly ride in, and every petticoat she possessed under it for pad­ding. She no longer had a blouse to wear with it, and rather than borrow one from Willow and have to ex­plain, she had taken an old shirt of Lucas's that she could button to the neck. The cuffs had been rolled up several times, She had found an extra wide-brimmed hat of his, too, and had bound her hair into a tight bun beneath it. To put it mildly, she had never looked more ridiculous. But that wasn't impor­tant, in light of the way things were.

  "You running away from me, beautiful?"

  Sharisse jumped, turning to face Slade.

  "I. . . I was just . . ."

  "She wants to see Luke about somethin'," Mack volunteered as he came back. He was leading Sally, a small sorrel. "I told her she oughta just wait, that he'd be back soon enough, but the gal's stubborn. Gonna find someone in town to take her to him."

  Slade was looking at her with an unreadable ex­pression.

  "It's none of his business where I'm going," she snapped at Mack.

  "I don't see why not, him bein' Luke's brother," Mack grumbled. "And shoot, he knows the moun­tains better'n anyone. He could find Luke before the sun set. Why don't you ask him to take you?"

  Sharisse paled, shaking her head wildly. "That's out of the question."

  "Why?" Slade asked smoothly. "I've got nothing better to do. I wouldn't mind at all."

  "I couldn't impose."

  "You wouldn't be."

  "But-"

  "There's no use arguing, Miss Hammond." Slade cut her off. "I couldn't let you ride out of here alone. There's just no telling who you might run into be­tween here and town. Of course," he added with a grin, "you can always stay put and wait for my brother to come to you."

  The insinuation was clear. Stay put, and wait for Slade to come to her bedroom. He was trapping her. If she stayed, she was lost. But he wasn't going to let her leave without him. He could just as well carry out his threats on the trail. Which was the lesser danger?

  He took her silence for agreement and moved off to get his horse.

  She followed him until they were out of Mack's hearing. "You know why I was leaving," she hissed. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" He didn't an­swer, didn't even look up. "I want you to leave me alone. Can't you understand?"

  As if he hadn't heard a word she'd said, he glanced over his horse, shouting to Mack, "No need to ready that one for her, Mack. She'll ride with me."

  "I won't!" Sharisse said.

  "You can't ride astride in that tight skirt, not un­less you're willing to bare your legs, which I'm sure you're not."

  "I won't go with you at all," she whispered furi­ously.

  She turned to leave, but he gripped her waist, and in a moment she was deposited sideways on his horse. Before she could even attempt to slide off, he was up beside her, his arms holding her in front of him. He gathered the reins in his hands.

  "Don't scream, beautiful," he breathed softly. "The old man will only think you're frightened of the horse."

  By the time she had reasoned that out and realized that Mack might be smart enough to guess other­wise, it was too late. Slade was galloping out of the barn, and her frightened gasp truly was because of the horse. She couldn't help herself. She heard him laugh, but she didn't care. Her first ride on a horse was everything she'd imagined it would be—horri­ble. Yet when he slowed the horse to a trot, it was even worse. The jarring was so bad, her teeth rattled.

  Several miles from the ranch, Slade stopped. "I don't mind you holding me tightly, honey, but it really isn't necessary. I'm not going to let you fall off."

  She loosened her grip to le
an away from him a ways, but didn't trust her position enough to let go of him completely. The ground seemed terribly far away.

  Keeping one arm firmly across her middle, Slade turned in the saddle to get something from the back of the horse. "Lift your butt," he said as he turned back.

  "What?"

  His expression was as bland as ever. "Brace yourself on the horse's shoulders and lift up so I can stick this blanket under you. It's going to be a long ride, and you might as well be comfortable."

  "Oh." She dared to ask then, "You mean you really will take me to Lucas?"

  They rode at a steady pace for the rest of the day without another word. Could she trust him? Would he really take her to Lucas?

  The land rolled by, with rusty-hued buttes and red-rock cliffs and the ever-present yellow-green of towering cactus. The flowers were a marvel in that sun-baked land. The golden baeria and purplish-pink owl's clover dotted the mesas, and higher up in the mountains grew violets, veronica, and gentian.

  The air was cooler, too. After they had ridden some hours, the vivid blue sky began turning violet in the east and bright orange-gold in the west. She worried over whether they would find Lucas before the light was gone—and whether Slade was taking her to Lu­cas at all. Just then he surprised her by saying, "We're here."

  "Where?"

  There was nothing to see. They had been following a twisted path up the mountainside, the path strewn with boulders and thick mesquite shrubs. Steep rock walls hampered the view.

  "You don't think they would leave a herd of horses out in the open, do you?" he said. "The San Carlos Reservation isn't that far from here. Rene­gade Apaches scout this area."

  "Renegades?" she said fearfully, turning to glance over her shoulder at him. "But I thought all the Indi­ans were confined."

  "Some don't like to be confined," he replied smoothly. "Arizona has been plagued by discon­tented warriors for more than twenty years. We are in the path of the forays they make across the bor­der."

  "Then we could have come across a band of Indi­ans at any time?"

  "Does that scare you?"

  "Of course it does."

  "No reason," he said casually. "The only Indian around here at the moment is Billy, and he's as harmless as they come."

  She looked around. "How could you know? And where is he?"

  "Should be on the other side of that narrow pas­sage up ahead," he said, ignoring her first question. He got down from the horse and held his hands up to her. "Come on."

  She gripped the pommel of his saddle. "How do you know? Was their trail that easy to follow?"

  "Billy knows enough to cover his tracks."

  "Then how could you—?"

  "I lived in these mountains for a time. I used to track the wild herds myself. Billy and I have used this spot, among others."

  Of course he knew his way around. Lucas had told her about the eight years Slade had spent in the wilderness. And the renegades he had spoken of? He probably knew them personally!

  She slid forward, bracing her hands on his shoul­ders, and let him ease her to the ground. But he didn't let go of her. Before she could lower her arms, he jerked her against him and fastened his mouth hungrily to hers. She couldn't think clearly. There wasn't even time to struggle before her body be­trayed her, delighting in the sudden rush of heat that made her reel. Her arms circled his neck of their own accord.

  A muffled groan escaped him, and he abruptly let her go. She stumbled back against the horse. What had stopped him this time? His eyes were glowing dangerously, but was it desire, or anger?

  Wordlessly he grabbed her wrist and dragged her along behind him through a rock-walled passage.

  She couldn't break his hold. She couldn't control him—or her own fate. Either Lucas would be in that passage or she was about to be ruined by his notori­ous brother.

  Chapter 18

  THE sight of horses roped off against the side of the cliff made Sharisse giddy with relief. Billy was squatting by a fire, roasting meat. He glanced up with surprise as Slade pushed Sharisse through a narrow opening and into this small area.

  The rock walls ended abruptly on both sides of the improvised corral, the steep mountain slope con­tinuing on from there. Huge boulders marked an­other level exit nearby. The whole rugged scene was bathed blood-red by the setting sun.

  Billy stood up. He was dressed exactly as he had been when she'd first met him, looking every bit as savage.

  "What'd you bring her here for?" Billy asked bel­ligerently.

  "She wanted to find Luke," Slade replied tone-lessly.

  Sharisse moved quickly away from him, closer to Billy. Billy made her just a little less nervous than Slade did.

  "Where is Lucas?"

  "You're crazy," Billy told her plainly. "We'd have been on our way home tomorrow."

  "Well, how could I know that?" Sharisse said de­fensively. "Please, where's Lucas?"

  Slade came up beside her before Billy could an­swer.

  "It's good to see you again, Billy."

  "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come around again." Billy was relaxed, grinning now.

  Slade shrugged. "Luke seems to be doing all right by himself. With your help, of course," he added, looking at the corralled horses. "How many are his?"

  "More than half," Billy chuckled. "You taught him well before you took off."

  "Billy, where is Lucas?" Sharisse demanded sharply.

  "Back yonder somewhere." He nodded toward the exit opposite the opening she had entered through. "I ain't seen him all day," Billy explained. "He caught a young buckskin that was sniffing around the herd while the stallion was away. We couldn't keep him with these mares. He was stirring them up too much. And with so much horseflesh to choose from, he wouldn't settle down." He grinned, think­ing this subject awfully delicate for her ears, una­ware that she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. "Had to move him away from their scent. I guess Luke's decided to keep him company."

  Sharisse was staring at that passage. It was grow­ing darker by the moment. What if Lucas stayed away from camp all night?

  She glanced hesitantly at Slade and found him watching her with dark amusement in his eyes. She moved away from him again, circling around the fire. His laugh sent shivers through her.

  "Get my horse for me, will you, Billy?" Slade asked, his eyes following Sharisse. "It's been a par­ticularly trying day."

  Sharisse caught her breath. And leave them alone? No thank you.

  "I think I'll just go and find Lucas myself, rather than wait," she said quickly.

  "Well, hold on." Billy stopped her, bending to scoop a large chunk of meat into a piece of rawhide.

  He wrapped it thickly, then tossed it to her. "As long as you're going, you can take him this and save me the trouble—in case he was thinking of bedding down with the stallion all night."

  "He'll join us, once he knows I'm here," Slade said. "I'm looking forward to seeing him, so don't keep him too long, beautiful." His eyes held hers. "He and I have something to settle, and I don't want to put it off."

  Sharisse nearly ran through the dark passage be­tween the boulders. She didn't feel safe at all, not even after leaving Slade behind. The narrow trail widened, but the light was nearly gone and she could barely see. Everything was dark, frightening shad­ows, especially on the side of the path that was a steep drop down.

  She slowed, taking each step carefully. She had, of course, no idea how far ahead Lucas was, and she prayed the feeble light would last until she found him. She nearly ran into a tree as the path turned sharply. To the left was the beginning of a thick pine forest. Ahead the path continued through more walls of rock. She kept moving, then stopped. The path di­vided suddenly, one trail leading back the way she had come, or so it looked.

  "Lucas?" Please let him answer. "Lucas?"

  She waited breathlessly, but there was no sound at all. The sky was cut off behind her, and rather than move into the darkness to her
right, she turned to­ward the forest. At least, up ahead, the sun was still visible.

  But after some time, she still hadn't found him. She turned back, but when she finally got back to the place where the trail had divided, she hesitated again. Should she risk getting completely lost or take the path she knew? It was a matter of finding Lucas or spending the night alone with Slade and Billy.

  She moved into the unknown. The path veered to the left, apparently straight into the heart of the mountain. But no sooner was Sharisse enclosed in darkness than she saw firelight. She ran toward it. Next she saw the horse, tied with a rope staked to the ground. There was a small round area enclosed by large boulders, a dead end unless you were agile enough to climb smooth rock.

  Lucas apparently was. He lay flat on top of the huge rocks with a gun trained on her. Sharisse froze.

  "Sharisse? What the hell are you doing here?"

  He jumped down from the rock in one easy move­ment, walking to the blanket by the fire. He re­turned the gun to the holster lying there next to his saddlebags. The sight of him gave her pause. He wasn't wearing a shirt. His blue pants were tucked into knee-high black moccasins, just like Slade's.

  "Lucas? It is you, isn't it?"

  "What kind of question is that?"

  "More important than you would believe," she said raggedly, beginning to feel all the effects of the last few hours.

  "Have you met my brother?" he asked. "Is that why you're not sure it's me, Shari?"

  Shari. That was all she'd needed to hear. Slade wouldn't know that way Lucas shortened her name and added the French pronunciation.

  "Oh, Lucas!" She ran to him and threw her arms around him, bare chest or not. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!"

  "I can see that," he murmured, holding her tight­ly. "Maybe you better explain."

  She held him, marveling at the sense of safety he gave her. "It was awful," she told him in a rush. "I hope it doesn't distress you, but I have to tell you I don't like your brother at all."

  He set her away from him so he could look at her face. "What did he do?"

  "He . . ." She paused. Now that she was safe, she felt almost foolish to have been so frightened. Would he ridicule her if she told him? "Oh, must we talk about it now? I think . . . I've brought you your din­ner, see?" She handed him the meat she had been clutching in her hand. "Billy wasn't sure if you would be joining him tonight, so he sent this."