Free The Beloved Woman by Deborah Smith Page A

certain no one would find them. I understand.”
    He stepped down from Watchman, went to the small mare tethered to a sapling, and led her to Katherine. “Up you go, gal. It’s not safe for us to stay here long. Too far from town.”
    She faced him, and grief and bitterness made her eyes glow like polished onyx. “Of what concern is my safety to you, sir? You’ve done your duty. Buried the dead. Rescued the orphan. I’ll go west with my people, and you can put your conscience at ease.”
    “Goddammit,” he said fiercely, hurt by her disdain. “You’re determined to leave me. But I’m not gonna let you end up alone and like the rest of the Cherokee women around here. If you don’t know what the gangs are doing to ’em, I’ll tell you.”
    She swayed and raised a hand to her mouth. “Are you saying that my mother and sisters … even little Sallie …”
    “
No.
” It was easy to lie, easy to tell any lie that would wipe away the horror in her eyes. Cursing his thoughtless tirade, he quickly wound the horses’ reins around a tall shrub, then pulled Katherine into his arms. Her pride failed her, and she leaned against him.
    “Forgive me, gal,” he murmured. “No. That didn’t happen to them.”
    “I don’t believe you,” she said sadly. “But I don’t want to know the truth either.”
    He eased her head against his shoulder and felt her tears on his skin, though she made no sound. Finally she managed to say, “Not many people care. Why do you?”
    He shut his eyes for a moment. Sitting there in church this morning, he’d made his decision—not that he’d been moved by some spiritual revelation. No, he’d simply admitted what he’d wanted all along, no matter how much trouble it caused.
    “Come over here and sit down.” He led her to a shady spot under a maple tree, and when they were seated he put his arm around her shoulders. “Why do I care?” he repeated. “I guess I’ve got selfish reasons, gal—Katie … Miss Blue Song.” He cleared his throat. “You’re a beautiful woman, a woman with education and culture. I want you for my wife.”
    She gasped softly, then gazed at him in absolute disbelief.
    “I do mean it,” he said grimly. “I really do.”
    “Do you think I’d ever marry a white man? Sitting in the midst of what white men have done to my family, how can you ask me to marry you?”
    “Because I’m not your enemy, and you know it.”
    She pressed her temples as if trying to force calm thoughts into her mind. “This is amazing, sir. You think you can have whatever you ask for. And why do you ask? It doesn’t make sense. You can have so many other women.” She looked up sharply. “I knew Qualla and Big Pumpkin. They were friends of my mother’s.”
    “And they were fine gals too. I cared about ’em. It wasn’t easy for me to say good-bye when they decided to go west last month, but I knew that every day they stayed just put ’em in more danger.”
    “You’ve done without women since then, and now you’re desperate?”
    He made a sound of disgust. “If I was just lookin’ for a pretty piece, I wouldn’t have to marry to get it!”
    “You should be perfectly happy using the girls at the houses of entertainment in Gold Ridge. Rebecca told me that you even considered buying one of the establishments, but Sam talked you out of it.”
    “I thought I could run it a lot more kindly than the old bitch who was in charge! If you’d seen the way those places treat their girls, you’d want to help too!”
    She gazed at him askance. “You’re a commendable humanitarian. Or so it appears on the surface.”
    “Look, Katie.” He squeezed her shoulders and exhaled wearily. “I don’t want to use those girls, all right? I don’t want to pay for that particular kind of pleasure. I’d rather go without.” He arched a brow. “Or get married.”
    “What about Amarintha Parnell? Or some other respectable girl in town?”
    “Too much trouble. They got more webs