New Frontier of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 2) Page 25

  “Go to hell,” Big Ben shouted back.

  “Piss on you!” the other man yelled.

  These men would have to die. The men who had killed John. The men who had blown a good man’s heart to shreds, killing him like an animal, with a gun meant for buffalo. In that instant, the line between revenge and justice completely disappeared. Revenge became its own wild justice. There could be no other way. This had gone too far.

  This man took too much.

  A verse from Exodus burst through his head, as though the Almighty also demanded this contemptible man’s life. ‘But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life.’ A penalty. For John’s life. For a now fatherless Little John, he would become God’s own warrior.

  He dropped the reins on the horse’s neck and, for a moment, used his knees and legs to control the gelding while he unsheathed both his big knife and Catherine’s dagger. The blades sparkled, one in each hand, even in the dim light under the canopy of thick pines. He caught the fleeting glint of the dagger’s sapphire. Blue, like her eyes. He had seen love in those eyes and he desperately wanted to see it again.

  But first, he had to kill these men.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bear reach for his own hatchet. If his plan worked, Bear would not have to use it.

  God, let me be your warrior.

  He barreled forward and drove the big gelding between the hunters causing them to stagger. He leapt off the still moving horse on his uninjured left leg, landing precisely between the two as they attempted to regain their balance. Moving with the speed and skill gained from years on the battlefield, with one swift slash of the dagger he slit the throat of the man on his left and then with his right hand instantly shoved his own knife into Big Ben’s chest, lacerating the man’s heart.

  “A heart for a heart,” Sam hissed on a ragged breath.

  Their souls trapped in that fleeting moment between life and death, the eyes of both men, just inches from his own, grew large with horror, then dimmed completely as hell claimed them.

  Both men crumpled nearly simultaneously on either side of him.

  Hot blood had splattered from the men’s wounds onto Sam’s own face and chest. Tasting their bitter blood on his lips, he sputtered and spit, trying to purge the coppery taste from his mouth. He staggered as he wiped his face repeatedly with his shirtsleeves, attempting to clear the blood from of his mouth. He looked down at his shirt, now red with both Catherine’s blood and the blood of these two scoundrels. It made his skin crawl. He ripped the shirt off his body, wiped the dagger still in his left hand, and flung the garment onto Big Ben’s body.

  His face still contorted for battle, he turned toward Bear. Clenching and unclenching his hands, he struggled for sanity. It was slow in coming.

  Bear must have sensed his volatile state of mind and said soothingly, “Sam, ye’ve already killed the bad blokes, aye?” Bear lifted a bushy red eyebrow questioningly.

  His legs spread wide in an unmoving stance, Sam could only give his head a curt nod.

  They eyed each other silently for several long moments, both gasping for breath.

  In a disbelieving voice, Bear said, “My Lord, Sam, I’ve never seen men die faster.”

  Finally able to move, he turned around and saw his knife protruding from Big Ben’s shredded heart. He stared at it until his own heart slowed. He hated killing. But he hated killers more.

  Sam reached for the blade. It had claimed the life of a murderer and, as it had many times before, saved his life. He cleaned the knife as best he could with grass and leaves, his stomach still a taut ball of tension.

  He retrieved Stephen’s whip from one of the hunter’s mounts, and then he and Bear turned to find their own horses. Eyeing the whip in his hand, he realized that he had come close to being beaten to death with it.

  Then he stared down at his own knife again. With a sense of liberation, he let out a slow breath. He would forget seeking revenge. It was over.

  He and the knife had a new purpose in life.

  Feeling at peace, he drew himself straighter, and relaxed his shoulders. Now he would use the blade to help him build a new life with Catherine.

  It would be a new beginning. At last. John would have wanted that for him. As he thought about his brother, he swallowed the despair in his throat.

  It was time to grieve for John.

  As they mounted up, Sam looked back at the two bodies, now lying in black shadows under the trees.

  “Let’s take their horses, but we’ll leave these two snakes for the wolves.”

  Bear sighed heavily. “Aye, Sam.”

  CHAPTER 33

  Burying John took a hard toll on all of them. During the entire funeral, Sam held Little John in his arms, the child’s pitiful grief adding to his own deep anguish.

  John’s death had hit him like a kick in the gut. He felt responsible somehow. He was the big brother. He was supposed to keep them all safe.

  After crying against his shoulder most of the morning, an exhausted Little John fell asleep. While the boy slept, Sam spent the rest of that morning just sitting at his favorite spot on the riverbank. He needed the quiet peaceful setting to mourn.

  The loss of a brother was like losing a part of oneself. He didn’t know why, maybe because you came from the same womb, but it felt like part of him was suddenly missing. Part of his past was gone, a piece of his childhood, the portion of his life held only by John. Severed for the rest of this life on earth.

  Stephen had told them all that John’s pain had finally ended. Their brother’s heart, broken and destroyed in life, was whole again in death. John was now with his beloved Diana.

  Sam had watched his other brothers suffer with the same sense of extreme loss.

  Stephen keenly missed his stallion too. He told Stephen about George’s courageous stance against Foley, saving Sam’s life. Stephen said that saving Sam was George’s finest feat. But what consoled Stephen the most was the fact that George had covered Jane’s mare recently and the mare was now in foal. With luck, there would be a George, Jr. born early next year. A colt born in a pasture Stephen had yet to find. About the same time, Stephen’s son should be born.

  Sam thought again about the only words he spoke at John’s funeral, quoting Proverbs 17. ‘A friend is a loving companion at all times, and a brother is born to share troubles.’

  Sam hung his head, hoping and praying that the future would hold no more losses as great as this.

  The next morning the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and angled rays illuminated the trunks of hundreds of trees on the river’s southern shore. Had heaven just lit a thousand torches to point Sam’s way? Was there a home out there somewhere for him? A home that could include Catherine by his side?

  The doctor had checked on both of them yesterday afternoon and said she was recovering well and would soon have full use of the shoulder and arm. Within the week, she would be feeling more like herself again.

  That good news was all he was waiting for.

  William returned about noon just as Jane served up the midday meal. He had ridden into town to give the Judge the large amount of money he had found on Foley’s body and horse.

  “The Judge decided to give a portion of it back to a farmer that was robbed and beaten while Foley and his brother raped the man’s wife. He plans to use the rest of the funds to begin work on a church named in John’s honor. He also wants to establish an endowment for widows and orphans. Unfortunately, Boonesborough already has a plenitude of both,” William explained. “He wants Sam to keep the hunters’ six horses as compensation for going after the killers and being falsely accused of murder. They’re stalled at the Fort’s stables for now.”

  Sam suspected the horses had better breeding than their malicious owners.

  The savory smell of Jane’s stew filled the somber camp. It normally made Sam’s mouth water, but not today.

  “I hoped I’d make it back in time for your stew Jane.
That’s not something a rational man would miss,” William said, trying his best to sound cheerful. “The doctor sent these books and supplies out for you.” He sat them on her nearby trunk.

  “Thank you William,” Jane said, handing him a brimming plate. “Kelly give him one of those hot biscuits you made too.”

  Leaning back against his saddle, with his own full plate, a sense of relief flooded through Sam. Now, Catherine and the rest of his family would be safe, at least from the buffalo hunters. In fact, many people would be safer now. Much safer.

  However, their safety came at great cost to all of them. They had lost a brother who found his courage when his family needed him. A man who had been there at the moment when Sam needed him. He swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to give in to the sadness that threatened to engulf him. It was time to move forward, to leave his troubled past behind, and find his own new destiny with the person who gave meaning to the word life.

  Sam peered up at William, who wore the new shirt, cravat and frockcoat he had bought to replace his old ones. The new attire made William look quite dashing, but he was glad to be back in his buckskin hunting shirt himself.

  “How’s your leg faring Sam?” William asked before sitting down to eat.

  “Not much more than a bad scratch,” he lied. “Worst part was when Jane poured hot whiskey on it. I think she actually enjoyed it.”

  “I did,” Jane said, with a chuckle. “Quit your complaining and eat. You need to recover your strength.”

  “I’ll heal quickly. I always do. Stephen gave me some of Edward’s fine ‘medicine’ and that took the edge off.” The doctor thought his wound a lucky one, since the blade had entered his leg at an angle; it did not sever a major muscle or vein and would eventually heal completely. He just had to keep it clean and apply a healing ointment daily. Like Catherine, he suffered from a considerable loss of blood and it would take some time to regain his full strength.

  “As soon as we can, I suggest we all leave for Nelson County,” Sam announced. He wanted to start fresh, as quickly as possible, somewhere away from the awful problems they had faced here. Stephen would have left that very hour if it had not been for their injuries. He glanced at Catherine who was laying nearby on a pallet recovering. Her lips parted in what seemed like surprise. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Did she agree with leaving? Did she realize that she was included when he said ‘all’?

  “I’m staying,” William announced.

  Everyone gawked at William, pausing in their consumption of Jane’s delicious stew.

  “The Judge offered me the job of Sheriff this morning. He said Constable Mitchell was too young and inexperienced for the job, but the young man wants to be my assistant. The Judge also wants me to apprentice under him to become a lawyer. Maybe even a judge eventually. Apparently, he was actually impressed with my performance in the courtroom. He said I just needed to study Kentucky law.”

  “Aye, ye’re a top notch performer. I can vouch for that,” Bear said, setting his plate down, foregoing his usual second helping. Normally, one plate could never hold enough food to fill Bear, but like Sam, he probably wasn’t hungry. Bear had lost a brother too.

  “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Stephen asked William.

  “For the first time in my life, I know where my future is,” William said. He glanced at Kelly. “Kelly, I stopped by Mr. Wolf’s office. He says if you are interested, he has a job for you as a governess and tutor for his children. His wife died last year and his mother, who lives with him, has been helping out, but she is getting on in years and is not able to keep up with the four children. You can live in his home for as long as you need to.”

  Kelly ran to William and gave him a hug, seemingly unable to stop herself. Then, no doubt realizing how forward she appeared, she stood aside, her face flushing.

  He chuckled as he watched William, who was uncharacteristically flustered and smiling awkwardly. Interesting, Sam mused. Maybe William’s future really was here in Boonesborough. Perhaps his brother could help Kelly overcome her fears and her emotional wounds.

  Both Martha and Polly, who had spent much of the day crying, now giggled and clapped their hands together at the sight of William and Kelly standing next to each other. Jane tried halfheartedly to hush them, but it pleased him to see cheerful smiles on his nieces’ faces. Sam suspected that the girls hoped, for some time, that their Uncle Will would start courting their friend Kelly. Sam hoped he would too.

  William seemed thankful when Catherine spoke up.

  “Kelly, you’ll need a horse in Boonesborough. I’d be pleased if you would take my extra horse as my gift,” Catherine said.

  Tears of gratitude filled Kelly’s eyes. “Thank you.”

  The young woman bent down and gently hugged Catherine’s uninjured side.

  Sam could tell that it pleased Catherine, as much as it did him, that Kelly might at last have a chance at real happiness. Tears of fresh joy and lingering sorrow fell from both women’s eyes as they embraced.

  “Mr. Wyllie, you’ve traveled so far. Why don’t you and Jane stay here with us?” Kelly asked, wiping her eyes and looking at Stephen.

  “I’m not stopping until I know for a certainty I’ve found where we’re supposed to be,” Stephen said, looking over at Jane. “I don’t know that yet.”

  “Well then, I’ll be comin’ along to watch yer back,” Bear said.

  Stephen and Jane both appeared pleased.

  “What about me?” Little John asked, his pensive eyes searching Sam’s face.

  Like his father, and Sam, Little John would be very tall, already at least a head taller than other boys his age. He had his mother’s strawberry blonde hair and it hung as straight as a ruler on a loveable face. But an undisguised hurt and longing replaced his normal sweet expression.

  The bereft boy sat on the ground next to him. The child had stayed there all afternoon, his little hands wiping away the big tears that regularly sprang up. With his head bowed and his body slumped, Little John also toyed with the small knife Sam had given him. It broke Sam’s heart when Little John had said he missed his father and then clung to him, weeping.

  He gently patted his nephew’s leg before he answered. “Little John, I want you to be my son. I’ll never be as good a man as your father, but I’ll try to be as good a father,” Sam promised.

  Little John looked at him with wide glistening eyes. “And I’ll be a good son.” The boy stood, flung out his arms, and hugged Sam around his neck.

  He had to admit, it felt good. He hauled Little John against his chest, embracing the boy who was now his son. He choked back his rising emotions, hoping he could provide a good home for the boy. It was time he took the first step.

  He winked at Little John, smiled conspiratorially, and then edged the two of them closer to Catherine. Little John grinned back at him as though the boy suspected what Sam was about to do. This was one smart boy.

  She gave Sam a weak smile and blinked with bafflement. Then she looked away, her face a mask of uncertainty.

  Catherine didn’t know how much he had changed. He was no longer just a protective brother chasing a secret revenge. Now he would be looking for his own land, his own home, and his own future. A future he wanted to share with Little John and hopefully Catherine. She had given him back his heart. Now he could not only live, he could love.

  If she would still have him.

  His stomach rolled at the possibility that she would not. But he could understand why she might not.

  He had foolishly turned away from her, just before Foley shot her, and before he could tell her he loved her. Did he reject her love one too many times? What a fool he’d been.

  He also got himself embroiled in a deadly feud that resulted in her nearly losing her life. Was she rethinking her choice to stay? Would she still have the courage to remain in Kentucky? With him?

  Catherine learned, as they all had, that securing good land in Kentucky was likely going to
be problematic and a lengthy process. Would she be willing to wait months, even years, for a new home?

  She also now knew that he had used her dagger to slice a man’s throat. Without saying a word, she had gulped back tears when he returned the dagger to her. Did she consider him a brutal killer? It was a brutal act, but, by God, the man deserved it.

  They were all reasons she might reconsider staying. Couple any one of them with the fact that her affluent family would expect her to return and Sam realized there was a very good possibility that she would want to leave Kentucky. It would kill him if she wanted to return to Boston. Now, he couldn’t imagine his life without her.

  Moreover, would she accept him now that he was responsible for his brother’s son? She would have to take Little John too. He would never abandon the boy.

  She had to want both of them.

  He wished he could steal her away—somewhere private and picturesque—because what he had to say was important and personal. But with their injuries and his concern for Little John, he would have to make do. He would not leave the boy now, even for an hour. Little John needed him. This would just have to do.

  He took a deep steadying breath and reached for her hand. Then he smiled at her, perhaps the first genuinely happy smile he had ever given her.

  Her face lit up, her grin broader this time, and it gave him the courage he needed.

  “Catherine, you’re the only one who has ever looked at me and seen the man I was meant to be. The man I am with you is the man I want to be. And that man is in love with you.”

  Happiness spread across her pale beautiful face and a cry of joy broke from her lips.

  “Will you consent to be my bride, now and forever, and will you accept Little John as our child?”

  Catherine’s eyes, full of life and warmth, stared back at him. Then she slowly studied everyone else, including Little John. She seemed to be asking for their blessing before she answered. It was a big decision. Not only would she become a wife, she would become a mother.

  He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  Then her blue eyes turned to him, sparkling with joy, as she said, “I will Sam.” Turning to Little John, she said, “I will Little John.”