“Leah,” Justin shouted, as he ran down the hill toward her. He held her at arms’ length and looked into her eyes. “It’s tr
ue, isn’t it?” he whispered. “This is what’s been hanging over your head all this time, isn’t it? You could have told me.”
As he started to pull her into his arms, Wesley’s hand clamped on his shoulder. “That’s my wife you’re handling, Stark, and if you want to keep your face on that side of your head, you’ll release her.”
Leah stepped between the men before another battle started. “Justin,” she said loudly, “legally, he is my husband and he has the right to change his mind as often as he pleases. Today he wants me, tomorrow I may be free again.”
“Leah,” Wes warned.
“I’m sorry, Justin. I wish I’d had enough courage to tell you before this happened. But I was afraid…” She looked down at the ground, unable to continue.
“I understand, Leah,” Justin said. “It’s him I blame for this. You don’t deserve a woman like her, Stanford.”
Wesley put his hand possessively on Leah’s shoulder. “Deserve her or not, she’s mine and I plan to keep her.”
Chapter 14
Leah trudged along behind Wesley through the silent, roaringly loud forest. Her eyes kept darting this way and that, trying to see behind trees and bushes. A sound in the distance made her jump. Ahead of her, Wesley didn’t even turn at Leah’s sound.
In the morning he’d turned every time she’d given a little squeal of fright, then smiled smugly and turned back around. Leah swore she’d be quiet from now on, but she broke her vow constantly. Never had she been so far away from people. She’d grown up surrounded by brothers and sisters and the only time she’d left was to live at Wesley’s plantation, where there’d been even more people near her. On the trip toward Kentucky, they’d never been out of sight and sound of many people.
Now for the first time in her life she was alone—or at least very close to it. The way she felt now, Wesley didn’t count as a human being. Very early that morning they’d loaded goods into packs.
“Which horses do you plan to take?” John Hammond asked.
“We’re going where a horse can’t go,” Wesley answered, slinging the pack on his back.
Refusing to comment or even look at Wesley, she put on her much smaller pack. She was swearing to herself that she’d show no fear.
Kimberly stayed close to John and it was unusual to see her up so early in the morning. Usually she stayed in bed until breakfast was cooked. Leah wasn’t sure if Kim wanted to be near John or if he was insisting she stay there. But Leah was too caught up in her own problems to worry about Kim.
“Ready, Mrs. Stanford?” Wes asked.
Leah wouldn’t look at him, but when he started walking, she was behind him.
Now they’d been walking for hours. Leah was tired, and long ago they’d left all sights and sounds of other people. Only she and the buckskin-clad man in front of her seemed to be left on the earth.
“Can you climb up there?” Wes asked, stopping and pointing.
Leah looked up at the steep climb to what seemed to be a cave opening. Curtly she nodded, but she wouldn’t look at Wes.
“Give me your pack.”
“I can carry it,” she said, starting forward.
Wesley caught her pack and half pulled it from her back. “I told you to give me your pack and that’s what I meant. You give me any more trouble and I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you.”
Still without looking at him, she slipped out of the pack and handed it to him. It wasn’t an easy climb, especially in her long skirt, but every time she had difficulty, Wes was there with a hand freeing her skirt edge, steadying her at her waist, and once giving her a boost on her seat.
When she reached the top, she didn’t thank him but stood on the ledge, flattened against the stone wall and peering into the blackness that was the cave. “Do you think there are any bears in there?” she whispered.
“Maybe,” Wes answered unconcerned as he put their packs on the ground. “I’ll have a look.”
“Be…be careful,” she murmured.
“Worried about me, are you?”
She met his eyes. “I don’t want to be left here alone.”