Free Reckless Desire by Madeline Baker Page A

Blackie was looking after the stock. The mare hadn’t foaled yet.
    Leaving the jail, I went to visit Victoria. She was looking a little better, though her eyes were haunted and sad. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, and then I drove over to Pa’s place.
    Rebecca had persuaded Pa to go back East to visit Beth, but they had postponed their trip, neither of them wanting to leave until after Hawk’s trial.
    Pa ranted and raved about the injustice of it all. Arresting a man for protecting his wife. Who’d ever heard of such a thing?
    It was a delight to see Pa’s temper flare, I mused with a grin. He was a sight to behold when he was riled. As a girl, I had always said his temper matched the red in his moustache, and though his moustache was all gray now, his temper hadn’t cooled a bit.
    Rebecca let him carry on for several minutes, and then she laid her hand on his arm.
    “Sam, that’s enough,” she said quietly, and Pa’s tirade came to an abrupt halt. “Hannah, is there anything we can do?”
    “No. Judge Roberts is hearing the case, and Whitley Monroe has been appointed to defend Hawk.”
    “Roberts!” Pa flared. “Clive Roberts is an Indian hater from way back, and that limp wrist Whitley Monroe won’t lift a finger in Hawk’s behalf.”
    “I know,” I agreed morosely. “But what can we do? Shadow asked Judge Roberts for a postponement until we can get another lawyer, but he refused. The trial is set for this Friday.”
    “Damn,” Pa muttered. “I wish we had time to get ahold of Ethan Smythe. I hear he’s made himself quite a reputation as a defense lawyer back in St. Louis.”
    “So I’ve heard,” I said. “But there isn’t time.” I chewed on my lower lip for a moment. “Pa…”
    “I’m listening.”
    “I’m worried. Shadow promised Hawk that he wouldn’t hang or go to jail.”
    Pa frowned. “What are you saying, girl?”
    “Just what you think I am. If the jury finds Hawk guilty, Shadow’s going to break him out of jail.”
    “Oh, no!” Rebecca gasped. “Hannah, you mustn’t let him do such a thing.”
    I uttered a short laugh. “Me, stop Shadow? You know that’s impossible.”
    Rebecca nodded. “I know. Once he puts his mind to something, he does it.”
    “There’ll be hell to pay if Shadow crosses the law,” Pa mused aloud. “Does he understand that?”
    “Of course he understands, but he doesn’t care. He made Hawk a promise, and he’ll keep it or die trying.”
    It was dark when I got home. Worried and lonely, I paced the parlor floor, my ears listening for Shadow’s footsteps. Ten times in as many minutes I went to the window and looked out, but saw only darkness.
    Too upset to eat, I drank several cups of lukewarm coffee, then sank down in a corner of the couch, staring into the fireplace.
    I had almost dozed off when I heard Shadow’s step in the hall. Rising, I flew into his arms, lifting my face for his kiss. He was here. He was safe. For now, nothing else mattered.
    I sought comfort in his arms that night, needing to feel his strength, not only physically but spiritually. I knew he had gone to commune with Maheo that afternoon and though he had not yet told me what had happened, I sensed that something significant had transpired between Shadow and his special spirits, the hawks.
    Shadow made love to me tenderly that night. It was not passion that forged us together, not desire, but need. I found strength in his nearness, a sense of renewal and rebirth. Hawk had been born out of our love, and that same love would see us through the trying days ahead.
    Later, our bodies still united, Shadow told me of his trip to the hills, of the thoughts that had drifted down the corridors of his mind, of the heat and the hunger, and of the hawks. I marveled at what he told me. Always, the hawks had been there when he needed them most, and I listened in awe as he related their words.
    I was nearly asleep when I felt Shadow’s lips brush my cheek, and far off in the