To Wed In Texas

SEVENTEEN

DANIEL WOKE TO A ROOM ALREADY WARM WITH morning. Karlee had gone from his side without a word. He lay silent for a long while thinking of what they'd talked about last night and what he'd done.

A question kept lurking in the back of his mind. Why hadn't she protested or said something when he'd felt of her breasts so completely? Was she simply enduring what she thought she had to in a loveless marriage? Dear God, he hoped not. Then, his touch would have been something dirty and cruel.

If she liked his exploration of her body, she'd shown no sign of it. Surely, if his touch affected her a fraction as much as it had him, she would have said something. He could still feel the fullness of her against his palm.

The only thing he knew for certain was that she must not have hated it or she'd have reacted. She wasn't a woman who kept her feelings to herself.

But, then, why hadn't she said anything? He'd lost a night's sleep thinking about what he had done, and she hadn't bothered to say a word. He wasn't sure he could ask her. He had a strong feeling he didn't want to know the answer.

Allie brought his breakfast. One bite told him Karlee hadn't been the cook.

“Where's my wife?” Daniel mumbled between bites of unburned eggs.

“She took the twins into town to shop,” Allie answered in her usual shy little voice. “She said she'd be back by noon. We needed some supplies, and she mentioned something about buying a nightgown and more material.”

“Material?”

“She makes the most wonderful dolls for the twins. She buys cotton for a dress and uses the scraps to fashion dolls like I've never seen.”

“I've heard her working.” Allie's praise surprised Daniel. She usually talked to everyone, except Wes, as little as possible.

“Adam's talked her into making one of her dolls for his daughter, and Valerie said she wants one to keep for her children someday.”

“Where is Adam? He's usually in to check on me by now like a mother hen.”

“One of the Buchanan boys came for him before dawn. Willow's time is coming a month early.”

Daniel tried not to react. Willow would do fine. Women had babies all the time without dying. But the girl was a part of his family. “Is everything all right?”

Allie didn't answer for a moment too long. “I think so,” she finally said as she hurried from the room. “I'll let you know if I hear anything.”

Wolf's assurance a few minutes later was no more convincing. Daniel didn't have to ask for details. Something was wrong. Birthing at the Buchanan house was a normal occurrence, not something they'd send to town for a doctor to help with.

He tried to listen to Wolf's account of all the trouble brewing over who might be responsible for the fire, but all Daniel could think about was poor little Willow. He'd been through a night of labor with his wife and watched her die in his arms. He didn't want to think about that happening to another woman.

He spent the morning worrying and listening for Karlee's return. Finally, he heard her voice in the kitchen, but she didn't bother to come into the parlor and check on him.

Just before noon another Buchanan boy showed up at the kitchen door asking Karlee if she could come directly. Without a word to Daniel, she loaded the twins in the wagon and left. He could hear her asking Allie to take care of him like he was a pet left behind on the porch.

Daniel acted like a wounded bear for the rest of the day. Willow must be having problems or Adam wouldn't have sent for Karlee, and then she'd left without saying good-bye. Which pretty much told him, Daniel decided, how she felt about last night.

He shouldn't have touched her. But she practically asked him to, talking about how big her breasts were when she knew he couldn't see them. How else could he judge?

Forcing himself to stand, Daniel welcomed the pain. Anything to straighten out his mind. He'd always known right from wrong. He had never done anything he didn't consider right and fair. He was an honorable man.

But he'd touched Karlee boldly… Daniel made himself take a step.

She probably thought him a mad man or worse… he forced another step.

After all, how many men go around touching their wives so openly? Daniel almost tumbled with the third step as he realized… all of them.

Grabbing hold of the chair, he smiled through the pain. He'd touched his wife, not committed a crime. He'd simply touched his wife. There was no doubt in his mind, he was twenty-three and getting dumber everyday.

Wolf's heavy-footed stomp came down the hall. “You're walking!” he yelled from the open doorway.

Daniel smiled. “I may be blind, but I am still aware of what I'm doing.”

Wolf moved nearer. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine. Is there any blood on the bandage?”

“Not a drop.” Wolf rested his hand on Daniel's arm. “You want me to help you make it back to the bed?”

“No. I'll stand for a while.” Daniel gripped the chair tightly and tried to appear relaxed. “Have you heard from Willow?”

“Not a word, and it's good'n dark outside.” Wolf's voice moved across the room. “Karlee told me she'd be there as long as she's needed. There's plenty of women to help with the twins. One of the Buchanan women could have probably helped Adam, but he wanted someone he could trust not to overreact if problems came aplenty.”

Daniel shook his head. He wouldn't exactly put Karlee in that category.

Wolf must have seen Daniel's doubt. “You don't know what a rock that woman of yours is. Behind that blindfold, in this room, the world must look pretty calm to you, but the town's in chaos. You wouldn't believe the folks knocking on your kitchen door. Some hurt, some needing food. She don't talk about it none, but she does what she can for them all. Adam's seen her, and so have I.”

“I'm glad she can help.” Daniel would have been disappointed if she'd done less.

Wolf cleared his throat. “I might as well tell you before you find out. You know that little room you keep out in the barn?”

Daniel wasn't aware anyone knew of his room framed into the corners of the barn. When Willow had been in the house, he slept there. It wasn't much more than a cot and desk, but it was his private hideaway from the world.

“Of course I know about the room.” Daniel waited.

“Well, Karlee found it last week and cleaned it out. She stored all your books in a box and gave the room to an old woman who had nowhere to go with her kids.”

Daniel didn't comment. He would have done the same thing.

Wolf paced. “Well, it seems the woman claims to have a brother, and he had a wife and three kids.”

“Don't tell me they are all in that room.”

“No.” Wolf hesitated. “They moved into the barn. I put your horses in the corral. There's enough of an over-hang from the barn roof that they'll stay dry if it rains.”

“Good.” Daniel knew Wolf had more to say. “ Anything else?”

“Well, yeah. The brother's wife had parents who arrived from Germany three days ago along with her two brothers and their families.”

“How many people are living in my barn?” Daniel interrupted.

“You don't want to know,” Wolf answered. “But I'm telling you all this, because one of the reasons Karlee went to town this morning was to find a few of them jobs.” Wolf laughed. “She talked two folks into hiring men they couldn't even communicate with. Then, after they gave the men jobs, Karlee argued for a higher wage.” Wolf shrugged. “Which she got by the way.”

Wolf sounded like he stood near the windows. “I don't know if you are aware of it or not, Danny boy, but you've got a woman who can handle crisis. In this part of the world, that's no small talent. No matter what Adam's facing out at the Buchanan farm, you can bet Karlee's there to help.”

Daniel forced himself to walk back to the edge of the bed. When he was seated once more, he asked, “Will you cut off the blindfold? I'd like to sleep without it tonight.”

Wolf grumbled. “All right. But I'll be in to put it back on before first light.”

He cut the bandages around Daniel's eyes and took the lamp with him as he left the room.

Daniel leaned back against the covers, pretending the night was the only reason he couldn't see. He knew Karlee wouldn't return this late, so he wouldn't have a chance to apologize. Not that he would anyway. After all, a man didn't say he was sorry for touching his wife. He opened his eyes and stared out at the cloudy grayness beyond the windows.

He told himself he could touch her anytime he wanted. After all, they were married. He could just say it was his right in the eyes of God and man. He could even make love to her.

Daniel swore at himself in the darkness. He couldn't take her, or force her. He couldn't demand anything of her. He wasn't that kind of man. He couldn't make love to her if he didn't love her, even if she said she didn't mind. It not only would make her less than she was, it would make him less of a man.

Karlee stood on the Buchanans' porch and watched rain wash night into charcoal gray. She studied the shadows as if she expected an answer to materialize before her eyes.

Willow had been in labor twelve hours, and there was no sign of it ending. Karlee felt like she'd explained everything to the woman a hundred times. Adam had assured her all was fine, but Willow still cried and worried and gripped Karlee's hand with each contraction.

“You holding up?” Adam moved behind Karlee and placed his arm on her shoulder. “We may have a long night ahead.”

“I'm fine,” Karlee answered, liking the way he accepted her as family. “The twins are tucked in between the other children. I can help as long as needed.”

“Thanks.” Adam patted her shoulder. “I'll try to get this baby born and you back to your husband as soon as possible.”

Yelling Karlee's name, Willow drew them back into the house. Hours later, just after sunrise, the newest Buchanan entered the world. Samuel Adam. Exhausted, Mother Willow slept comfortably.

Granny offered Karlee a bed, but she refused, wanting to get back home. The old woman next offered to allow the twins to stay the day and play. Karlee knew she'd have to have at least a few hours sleep, so she agreed. She could easily come back out before dark and pick them up.

Driving home was the first time she'd had a minute to think of Daniel. If she hadn't been called away, she planned to say something to him about their night together.

She'd felt him trying to lie so still beside her. Known he was awake. Guessed he wrestled with himself and what he'd done. He said he didn't want her near, but he'd taken more time caressing her than had been necessary to determine size.

He might never want to love or care for her, or be near her. But she didn't feel the same way. She thought she'd never have a husband. Now that she did, she wanted a real husband.

Karlee closed her eyes, forcing back the tears as she realized her need to love was greater than her need to be loved. If he'd just let her love him. Like Wolf said, it was a decision people make. She felt like she had a lifetime of love stored up inside her. Daniel, despite his moodiness, was a good man. She could love him and the twins. It wouldn't matter that he would never love her. It might not be the romantic kind of love poems are written about but more a practical kind of love.

She wasn't some woman he could marry and forget about. Karlee planned to make sure he knew she was around and that she could help him. He was a kind man, with a body that stopped her heart from beating when she saw him fully bare. He might not want a wife, but she wanted a husband, and she planned to have one.

Karlee set her jaw. She had nothing to lose. She started without anything. If she ended up without him, she was no worse off than she'd been all her life. And she found it hard to believe he could like her any less than he did now. He seemed to have to force himself to talk to her most of the time. But she'd keep trying.

This was no half-baked scheme. This was a great idea, for sure, this time. This was her one shot. When the time was right she'd tell him she'd decided to love him and all she asked in return was to be allowed to do so.

When she reached the house, she was too busy to speak to Daniel. The boy everyone thought of as John- except the boy himself-had toppled his chair and cut a gash in his head only moments before Karlee entered the kitchen.

She watched an exhausted Adam square his shoulders and open his bag. Wolf and Wes held the boy still while Allie cried and the doctor worked. Karlee moved around Adam as she had all night at the Buchanan home, guessing what he needed before he asked.

When the stitches were finished, the three men went to wash off the blood in the horse trough out beside the barn. The kid had managed to splatter them all with what he believed to be his pure Apache blood. Wes was the last to leave, glancing first at his tiny wife and than at Karlee. His gaze seemed to ask Karlee to look over this fragile woman he loved so dearly.

Karlee nodded in answer to Wes's unspoken question, then turned her attention to Allie.

“I won't be ten minutes, Allie,” Wes whispered. “I'll wash up and then help Adam with his horse.” He closed the door, not expecting an answer.

Allie didn't seem to hear Wes as she cried softly and knelt beside her bound brother.

“I'm sorry.” She brushed his hair back from the bandage. “This is all my fault. You shouldn't be tied and forced into a way of life you don't want.”

For the first time, Karlee saw no hatred in the savage's eyes. Only a pleading flickered from his dark depths. He wanted to be free, and he would keep trying until it killed him.

Allie must have seen it also, for she stood slowly and walked to the sink.

When she reached for a paring knife, Karlee's hand covered Allie's. The small woman looked up at Karlee with her broken heart shimmering in her blue eyes.

“I know what I'm doing.” She gripped the knife and pulled away. “I have to help him before the men get back. My brother won't fight us, but he might try to kill one of the men.”

Karlee nodded. She wasn't sure what her sister-in-law planned, but she'd back her up. There was an intelligence, an understanding within her that Karlee didn't question. Somehow Allie and the boy were connected by more than just the hope of a bloodline. Somehow their souls blended.

Allie crossed to her brother, speaking in a mixture of Apache and English. “I'll cut you free,” she whispered. “If you kill no one. You must go before they return.”

The boy looked at her with the same blank stare he'd always used, telling her all he'd ever communicated… he didn't understand.

Allie sawed at the rope tying him to the chair and repeated her bargain.

John's chest rose and fell as he breathed for the first time without the restraint of the rope over his chest. He didn't move as Allie knelt and slashed the rope binding his feet.

He'd always fought, he'd always struggled, but now he sat perfectly still as Allie moved behind him with the knife.

“I'll set you free,” she repeated. “I've no right to force you. You told me to run for the trees when we were children. Now I tell you to do the same. Run for the water's edge where the trees grow thick in the shallow. No one will find you in the bayou.”

She said the words again in another language. “You told me to have a plan. You told me to run even if you fell. But I was afraid. When you were hit, I curled next to you. Now you must run. Run, John!”

The blade slit the last rope free.