Read Online Raven and the Cowboy: A Loveswept Historical Romance by Sandra Chastain - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sandra Chastain
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that was collapsing with every touch.
5
The horses and the burro were bedded down. Tucker returned to the cabin to tell Raven he hadn’t found any food.
“It’s time for us to talk,” she said. “Let’s step outside.”
He followed her, glancing back at the man who was barely breathing. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“I don’t believe that Luce will live.”
“Don’t suppose your spirits would give him a hand?” Tucker asked flippantly, his control being tested by the certainty of her knowledge.
“I think they may already have.”
Tucker glanced around the sharp gouge in the earth in which the cabin was hidden. It was as bleak and lifeless as the old man inside. How could anybody spend their life in such a place?
“I don’t know how he made it this far,” Tucker said.
“He had a mission, I think, and now that it is nearly over, he’s losing the breath of life. About your protecting me, I was wrong to ask it of you.”
“And I was probably wrong to agree. So, what now?You go your way and I go mine? I don’t think so, Spirit Woman.”
“I had to do this, Tucker. All you had to do was bring me to Luce.”
“And if I leave you, you’re going after that treasure, aren’t you?”
“I must go.”
“Even if it means dying?”
“Even if it means dying.”
She was so proud, so regal, standing there beside a piece of gray rock in the sunshine. It wasn’t only that she stirred his blood, it was more. In some strange way, she was the promise of the tomorrow that he’d denied himself. She might die, but she wouldn’t give up. And she wouldn’t allow him to give up either.
“I’m probably the biggest kind of fool, but I can’t walk off and leave you. What else do I have to do, anyway? Besides, a piece of land in Oregon is worth a little gamble. What do we do now, you and me?”
“First, about last night,” she said shyly. “I mean, when I awoke, you were—you’d given me your coat.”
It wasn’t the coat that she was remembering, and he knew it. It was what had come before. Tucker reached for her hand and held it gently, his fingers moving idly back and forth across her wrist. He glanced down at the contrast of her soft skin against his.
She, too, was watching. He could see her breath catch in her throat as if she remembered his touching her. What in hell was he doing? Tucker let her go. He was looking for a treasure, not a woman ready to depend on his staying around.
“So I gave you my coat.” He strode up the trail. “I’d have done the same for Luce. We’ll be partners, that’s all. If we survive to find it, and I doubt that we will, I’ll goto Oregon and you can go—wherever it is you plan to buy land.”
“Oregon,” she mused. “I’ve heard there is fine land in Oregon. But there is good land in Colorado also.”
“Oh no! Don’t get the idea that I intend to nursemaid an entire tribe of Indians.”
“I’m sorry, Tucker. Of course I don’t expect you to do that. I know it is dangerous, and I’ll understand if you choose to leave at any time. You’ve brought me to Luce, and that was all you were destined to do.”
“Why are you so sure that we were destined to do anything? If your grandfather was dying, he could have been hallucinating.”
“No, he saw the truth. But I saw you as well, in my dreams. Your animal spirit is that of the cougar.”
“What was I doing?”
“The raven was trapped. The cougar freed it from the rocks.”
Birds again. He didn’t want to think about that now. Every time he ran into an occurrence he couldn’t understand, she dragged out something mystical to confuse him even more. Tucker reminded himself that he was far too practical to believe in the spirit world. If he couldn’t touch it, taste it, or smell it, it didn’t exist.
For almost ten years, he’d managed to avoid responsibility, forming any close ties, any situation that would draw him into making a commitment. He’d taken a stand three times in his life, and
5
The horses and the burro were bedded down. Tucker returned to the cabin to tell Raven he hadn’t found any food.
“It’s time for us to talk,” she said. “Let’s step outside.”
He followed her, glancing back at the man who was barely breathing. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“I don’t believe that Luce will live.”
“Don’t suppose your spirits would give him a hand?” Tucker asked flippantly, his control being tested by the certainty of her knowledge.
“I think they may already have.”
Tucker glanced around the sharp gouge in the earth in which the cabin was hidden. It was as bleak and lifeless as the old man inside. How could anybody spend their life in such a place?
“I don’t know how he made it this far,” Tucker said.
“He had a mission, I think, and now that it is nearly over, he’s losing the breath of life. About your protecting me, I was wrong to ask it of you.”
“And I was probably wrong to agree. So, what now?You go your way and I go mine? I don’t think so, Spirit Woman.”
“I had to do this, Tucker. All you had to do was bring me to Luce.”
“And if I leave you, you’re going after that treasure, aren’t you?”
“I must go.”
“Even if it means dying?”
“Even if it means dying.”
She was so proud, so regal, standing there beside a piece of gray rock in the sunshine. It wasn’t only that she stirred his blood, it was more. In some strange way, she was the promise of the tomorrow that he’d denied himself. She might die, but she wouldn’t give up. And she wouldn’t allow him to give up either.
“I’m probably the biggest kind of fool, but I can’t walk off and leave you. What else do I have to do, anyway? Besides, a piece of land in Oregon is worth a little gamble. What do we do now, you and me?”
“First, about last night,” she said shyly. “I mean, when I awoke, you were—you’d given me your coat.”
It wasn’t the coat that she was remembering, and he knew it. It was what had come before. Tucker reached for her hand and held it gently, his fingers moving idly back and forth across her wrist. He glanced down at the contrast of her soft skin against his.
She, too, was watching. He could see her breath catch in her throat as if she remembered his touching her. What in hell was he doing? Tucker let her go. He was looking for a treasure, not a woman ready to depend on his staying around.
“So I gave you my coat.” He strode up the trail. “I’d have done the same for Luce. We’ll be partners, that’s all. If we survive to find it, and I doubt that we will, I’ll goto Oregon and you can go—wherever it is you plan to buy land.”
“Oregon,” she mused. “I’ve heard there is fine land in Oregon. But there is good land in Colorado also.”
“Oh no! Don’t get the idea that I intend to nursemaid an entire tribe of Indians.”
“I’m sorry, Tucker. Of course I don’t expect you to do that. I know it is dangerous, and I’ll understand if you choose to leave at any time. You’ve brought me to Luce, and that was all you were destined to do.”
“Why are you so sure that we were destined to do anything? If your grandfather was dying, he could have been hallucinating.”
“No, he saw the truth. But I saw you as well, in my dreams. Your animal spirit is that of the cougar.”
“What was I doing?”
“The raven was trapped. The cougar freed it from the rocks.”
Birds again. He didn’t want to think about that now. Every time he ran into an occurrence he couldn’t understand, she dragged out something mystical to confuse him even more. Tucker reminded himself that he was far too practical to believe in the spirit world. If he couldn’t touch it, taste it, or smell it, it didn’t exist.
For almost ten years, he’d managed to avoid responsibility, forming any close ties, any situation that would draw him into making a commitment. He’d taken a stand three times in his life, and
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