Free Marna by Norah Hess Page B

move Marna made. They
weren't fooling him. And that Corey, staring at Marna
so intently he made her blush. Finally Matt had had
enough and ordered them all away. But Caleb made
some excuse for dropping by every day. Matt stopped
to gaze thoughtfully before him. Maybe he was keeping
an eye on the wrong man. Maybe he'd better start
watching Caleb instead of Corey.
    It was early afternoon when the last log was forced
into place. Mama hurried to daub it, then scrambled to
the ground. There was one last thing she wanted, and it
would take some arguing.
    She followed Matt inside, where he had gone to admire his fireplace before returning to camp. She stood
beside him, commenting softly, "Isn't it grand? The
cabin will be toasty warm on the coldest night."

    Matt nodded, and she added in a rush, "All it needs
is a mantel to set it off."
    "Woman, forget it!" Matt exploded. "I'm not puttin'
another lick of work on this place. A mantel is just
plain foolishness."
    "It is not," Marna flared back. "It will pretty up the
room. Besides, where will we put the clock?"
    "You damn woods queer fool, we don't have a
clock."
    "We will have. Grandma has one for me, and that's
where I want it."
    Under the pretense of squirrel hunting, Caleb came
by and walked straight into their heated argument. He
sat down on the hearth and listened to them quietly, a
dreamy look on his face as he watched Marna. Agitated,
she paced back and forth, her grace reminding him of
a mountain cat sliding through the forest. When Matt
wheeled and stalked angrily out of the cabin, Caleb
rose to his feet and fell to studying the area where
Marna wanted her mantel. After a couple of minutes he
turned to her and remarked, "If you'll help me, I think
I can do the job."
    "Oh, Caleb, could you?" She came and stood next to
him, her eyes studying the wall also.
    Her nearness and the faint scent of roses that teased
his nostrils were too much for Caleb. He reached for
her and grasped her waist. Startled, she stared up at
him. His hand came up and brushed the hair away from
her face. His eyes probed her features, finding the
beauty beneath the grime. He pulled her into his arms,
whispering, "Why do you hide your beauty, Marna?"
    Marna's hands came up against his chest. She pushed
away from him. "Let me go," she begged, her voice
quivering.
    Caleb released his pressure but kept his arms loosely
around her waist. "Marna, why do you stay with Matt?
Putting up with his insulting orneriness? He's never
gonna make you his true wife. You know he prefers squaws. He's bedded them since he was a youngster.
Let me build us a cabin. I'll love you like you should be
loved. I'll never look at another woman."

    "No!" she whispered fiercely, straining to pull away.
"For better or worse, I'm Matt's wife."
    "But damn it, Marna, he doesn't love you. Don't you
understand, he only married you because he felt obligated." His arms tightened, pulling her back in his
arms, his lips trying to capture hers. She jerked her
head back and forth, trying to avoid them.
    So engrossed were they in the silent struggle that
neither heard the heavy door swing open. It wasn't until
Caleb had almost caught her lips with his eager mouth
that he became aware of Matt's presence as he slammed
the door with a bang.
    Caleb's body went stiff. He swung away from Marna,
one arm still around her. "I couldn't help myself, Matt.
I love her."
    Wordlessly Matt stalked toward them, his face grim.
Caleb held his gaze. "Let me have her. You don't want
her. You know why you married her."
    "Yeah, it's too bad she didn't save your life, you're
so hot to have her." Matt's eyes ran insolently over
Marna's trembling body. "I think I'll keep her, though.
Some real dark night when I can't find a squaw, she
might take the edge off my appetite."
    His words ripped through Marna with the force of a
blow. With a whimper of mortal pain she jerked out of
Caleb's arms and rushed out of the cabin.