Broken Feather Page 13

  “As soon as we get accustomed to each other’s likes and dislikes, we should settle down into a satisfactory relationship, I believe. I will try to be patient with you. ”

  “After our rocky start, I suppose things can only improve,” she mumbled. “I did not like Broken Feather when I first met him, but we ended up becoming friends, so I suppose there is hope that you and I can learn to get along better.”

  “I should hope so. There is a nice little place down by the river where we can have our lunch,” he said, pointing in the distance. “So far, I am enjoying this time we are spending together.”

  “I can’t believe how much land you own,” Vanessa breathed, as she continued to look about her at the far-reaching fields and rolling hills in every direction.

  “I actually came here to escape the Civil War. I hated the thought that brother was fighting against brother and the States were being torn apart. Texas wasn’t as involved with the war like the other States were. Your father was happy to fight the war and tried to convince me to follow. I was a lot younger than he was, though, and even though young boys that were barely more than children were recruited into the army on both sides, I chose not to take sides.

  “I got a position on one of the ranches out here and, eventually, got my own spread. All the ranchers were making pretty good money during the war, furnishing meat to the troops, so I figured I had contributed something to the cause, before I ended up owning my own land. It was hard work, but it has been worth it.”

  “I hated the war too.” Vanessa told him. “It changed everything for us and made so many southern plantations that managed to survive the war, go under in the aftermath. When my father’s aunt died, I had no choice but to come out and join my father. I was not aware that he would just marry me off to someone to get me out of his hair.”

  “He was very concerned about you, Vanessa,” Jason said quietly. “He knew I was a stable person and would take good care of you, and that is just what I plan to do. We will make the best of it, you and me. You will see.”

  Vanessa gave him a long appraising look. In a way she wished she had not fallen in love with Broken Feather, because Jason was making it easier to like him more each day. Perhaps they could have had a successful marriage, if Broken Feather did not stand between them. She couldn’t explain her overwhelming feelings for Broken Feather, except for the fact she felt they were meant to be with each other, even in the face of all that stood against them.

  Perhaps it was a lesson both of them needed to discover, on how to trust love in the face of all odds, she thought. Maybe her strong feeling for Zack was a forerunner to her future, preparing her for when she and Broken Feather met. Having lost Zack had been a hard blow to her young life at the time. It seemed to be a turning point to her in some way. Could it be that she was trying to make it up to herself for having to give up her friendship with Zack by falling in love with Broken Feather? Life was such a mystery, she thought.

  Jason was pulling the rolled up blanket off of the back of his saddle and laying it in the grass by the river. Then he helped Vanessa down from her horse and led her to the blanket.

  “Sit here, my sweet, while I bring the food, he told her, kissing her hand before she seated herself on the blanket.

  She gave him an affectionate smile, liking the way he had called her ‘my sweet’. Vanessa watched as he pulled the lunch MacGregor had prepared for them from his saddle pouch, thinking he was looking rather handsome, dressed in his clean work clothes. He had a certain swagger when he walked that she was beginning to admire. The morning was warm and now as the sun was straight overhead, it was even warmer. Jason had unbuttoned several buttons on his shirt, and Vanessa liked the way his tanned skin was peeking through at her between the gap.

  “I hope you like the food,” Jason was saying as he approached. “MacGregor is a fine cook. He used to cook for a well-to-do family in England before he came to America.”

  “Yes, Mags was telling me she used to be a lady’s maid when she was in England. They must have worked in the same household.”

  “Maids were not supposed to hobnob with the men who worked in the house. The gentry wanted their maids all to remain single. Having children would just disrupt a maid’s routine, and the hired help was to appear invisible, you know. The only way they could be together was to leave the establishment. However, they never did have any children together, which is a shame. I wouldn’t have minded it if they had a family.”

  “I suppose you like children, by the way you talk,” Vanessa said.

  “I was the oldest in my family, having seven younger brothers. I am glad they were all too young to go to war. I was pretty much in charge of them, growing up, until I left. I do miss them all. I offered to give them a job here on the ranch, but they had already gotten involved in their own lives by then, and some are still too young to be living a rough Texas ranch lifestyle.”

  Jason settled down beside Vanessa and began opening up the packages of food, handing Vanessa a sandwich, and taking one for himself.

  “MacGregor packed a bottle of wine, but no glasses to drink it from, so we will have to share the bottle,” he smiled, after removing the cork, and passing the wine to her.

  “I am sure we can manage,” she smiled, taking a sip. “This is very good,” she mumbled.

  “My favorite,” he responded, as she passed the bottle back to him, and he took his own swallow.

  “This is turning out to be a very lovely day,” Vanessa murmured, after she had eaten her sandwich and leaned back on the blanket.

  She was feeling a little droopy-eyed after consuming more wine than she had intended.

  “I agree,” Jason said. “Let me feed you some grapes,” he suggested, popping a grape into her mouth.

  “If you keep this up, you will start to spoil me,” Vanessa laughed as she ate the grapes Jason kept popping into her mouth, while eating some himself.

  “Anything for you, my darling,” he smiled.

  Now he was calling her his darling, she thought. It sounded rather sweet, she decided lazily to herself.

  “So I am your darling now, am I?” she murmured.

  “I do believe you are,” Jason said, leaning in and kissing her lips. “Your lips taste of sweet wine and grapes,” he whispered, before kissing her again.

  Vanessa couldn’t stop herself from reaching her hands out and caressing his bare chest through the opening of his shirt. At her touch Jason deepened the kiss, while his fingers fumbled with the buttons on the front of her dress, seeking the same pleasure.

  Vanessa caught her breath, at the feel of Jason’s fingers caressing the softness of her breasts, and when his lips wandered down to join his fingers, she let out a contented sigh.

  At that moment, they heard someone clearing their throat. The two had been so involved with what they were doing they hadn’t heard the rider approach.

  “I am sorry to intrude,” Broken Feather stated, “but I was sent out to find you. One of your hired hands was gored by a steer, and they need you back at the ranch. They have sent for the doctor but felt you should be there when he arrives. We are not sure how serious the injury is, but it didn’t look good!”

  Jason jumped to his feet. “Who was it that got injured?” he asked as he began buttoning up his shirt.

  “It is your foreman. He was working with branding some of the new cattle, and one of the steers took a disliking to it, and managed to catch Bradford with one of his long horns. Mags is tending to him right now until the doctor arrives.”

  “Take care of Vanessa for me,” Jason ordered. “Let her rest a bit, though, I think she has taken too much wine and isn’t steady enough to ride.” Then he was leaping upon his horse. “I will see you back at the ranch later, my dear,” he called over his shoulder to Vanessa, who watched, wide-eyed, and then let her eyes settle on Broken Feather. He looked a little blurry, though, so she closed her eyes. Jason had been right. She had drunk too much of that delicious wine.

  “Y
ou looked like you were enjoying yourself,” Broken Feather murmured, looking down on her, noticing the opening in her dress that she had neglected to button back.

  “I was with my husband. He has every right to enjoy me however he wishes. Why don’t you have some wine, Broken Feather? There is some left in the bottle. It might put you in a better mood,” she said noting the gruffness in his voice when he had accused her of enjoying herself.

  He had no right to be upset at her, she grumbled to herself. She was trying to get this conceiving business over with, she justified.

  “Maybe I will have some wine,” Broken Feather stated, as he picked up the half-empty bottle, uncorking it and taking a long swig. “This is pretty good stuff,” he murmured, taking another long drink.

  He knelt beside her on the blanket, his eyes focused on the opening of her dress, and the view of her soft mounds jumping up at him. He smiled and started to take another drink of wine, but some spilled onto Vanessa’s skin and she gave a start.

  “Don’t worry,” Broken Feather smiled, “I’ve got it,” and he dipped his head and began licking the wine off of her bare skin.

  When Vanessa purred at the feel of it, he poured more wine upon her and began lapping it up as well. As he enjoyed the taste of the wine and the feel of her skin beneath his tongue, he continued working the buttons of her dress open, giving him more territory to distribute more wine. When she didn’t complain, Broken Feather finished undressing her until she lay so beautifully before him, a perfect receptacle for him to apply more wine to lap away.

  Slowly Broken Feather dripped more wine upon Vanessa’s body, making a trail to places he wished to sample, and then he sampled them freely. Vanessa was a little confused, not sure whether it was Jason or Broken Feather making her feel so divine. At the moment, her mind was too fuddled to try and straighten it out, so she just accepted the deliciousness of it all.

  As Vanessa whimpered beneath Broken Feather’s attempt to sample the wine from her body, he became bolder in his desires. He regretted that he had not taken advantage of the three days they could have been together if he hadn’t been so stubborn in his need to get Vanessa to agree to leave Jason and become his woman instead. She seemed to be enjoying her husband too much for his own liking and now he wanted that same enjoyment Jason had been sharing with her.

  The wine was starting to affect his thinking, now, and all he could consider was how wonderful Vanessa felt against his lips and how the taste of the wine mixed with the texture of her skin was starting to go to his head. The trail of wine slithered over her body tempting him to follow the path it took, eagerly encouraging it to lead him to more rewards.

  Yet once he achieved each reward, it wasn’t quite enough. He had to have her completely, and against his better judgment, he took what he felt was due him for remaining on the sidelines, while Vanessa tried to conceive an heir for her husband.

  It didn’t’ make sense, Broken Feather growled to himself. If she loved him, why didn’t she just refuse Jason until he gave up and asked her to leave him? Broken Feather was frightened that she would turn from him and go to Jason in the end and the very thought prodded him on, taking her in a rush of desire and fear, all mixed into one.

  Vanessa responded to him the way he dreamed she would, but from time to time she murmured the name Jason, seeming to forget she was with Broken Feather. It must be the wine, Broken Feather decided as he reminded her it was him who had her in his strong embrace, pouring out his frustrated love upon her in spite of his vow not to touch her in such a manner, for fear of her conceiving his child instead.

  “You know how much I love you, Vanessa,” he whispered as he continued to enjoy the moment. “Come with me to Mexico and forget about giving Jason an heir. It will just make everything too complicated. If you want babies, I will give you all you desire.”

  “Jason likes children,” Vanessa murmured, and then gasped when she felt Broken Feather surge forward a little more demanding than she had expected.”

  “But he won’t like it if it happens to be my child that you bare,” he said gruffly. “You belong to me, not him, Vanessa. You should be trying to have my children, not his.”

  “He is my husband, I owe him,” Vanessa muttered in reply.

  “And what do you owe me, the man who saved you from being washed away in the flash-flood? You said you love me, Vanessa. Does it mean anything to you? Come away with me, right now. Leave Jason and stop this madness!”

  Vanessa opened her eyes, trying to clear her head. “What is real madness is that you are here with me like this, Broken Feather! I thought we were going to wait until I had conceived before we risked…”

  “I am risking everything the longer you remain with Jason. If you don’t leave him and come with me, I am going back to the army, and leave you here to deal with your choice.”

  “You would leave me?” Vanessa cried?”

  “Why should I stay only to witness you in another man’s arms? You married the man, so you might as well face whatever your choice brings.”

  “You can’t mean it,” Vanessa whimpered, starting to sober up a little.

  Broken Feather didn’t reply. Instead, he tried to lose himself in the feel of her and the smell of her, and how between anger and love, his body was taking over, rushing to be fulfilled in a demanding force that was beyond his control. Vanessa cried out, whether in pleasure or pain, he wasn’t sure. He was too consumed in taking all he could from her as his final act of defiance and love.

  When he reached the crescendo, his body was spent, trembling in the aftermath, as Vanessa murmured something he didn’t bother to decipher. He must have passed out either from the effort involved or the wine. When he woke, Vanessa was still beneath him. It appeared she had passed out from the wine, and was still sleeping.

  Just having her there beneath him excited him once again, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking advantage of her, as he tried to heal his wounded heart, knowing this would be the last time he ever touched Vanessa. He vowed to leave, as soon as he deposited her back at the ranch.

  Vanessa never woke as he enjoyed her sleeping body, and he decided it was just as well. He wouldn’t be able to face any rejection from her, when she came to and realized he had used her in such a way, even if it was out of love. He hoped she didn’t even remember it. She seemed rather confused as to whether it was even him or Jason making love to her. She could just believe it was Jason, for all he cared. He had to wash his hands of her, or he would go mad, he decided. Besides, she was a married woman, and if they ever got caught, they would both be punished. It was just as well, he decided.

  Broken Feather got dressed and took his bandana, rinsing it in the river, coming back and washing it over Vanessa’s body, cleaning every trace of wine that may have clung to her. Then he put her clothes back on, and watched her as she slept. When she finally blinked her eyes open, she looked at him in confusion.

  “Broken Feather, what are you doing here, and where is Jason? I must have fallen asleep, because the sun is starting to go down.”

  “You drank too much wine,” Broken Feather told her the truth. “Jason had to go back to the ranch for an emergency. Bradford got hurt. He left me here to watch over you until you had rested enough to ride back to the ranch.”

  “Goodness. Have you been here waiting all this time?”

  “I enjoyed it,” Broken Feather mumbled. “However, during that time, I was able to think everything out, and I believe it may be best if I return to the army again. I can’t remain here watching you with Jason, and if you don’t love me enough to come with me to Mexico, then you might as well stay with Jason and make the best of it.”

  “You can’t leave me,” Vanessa cried, leaping to her feet and flinging her arms around him.

  “You know very well, this is never going to work, Vanessa. You said so yourself. I am Black and an Indian. If you can’t accept me for who I am, who else will? I can’t pretend to be your servant, or remain here as a ranch hand so
you can have your cake and eat it too. You ask the impossible of me, Vanessa, and though I love you, I can’t continue with this charade. You must either choose Jason or me. You can’t have both of us. I will give you time to decide. I will remain at the fort with your father for a year, and if by that time you have not produced an heir for Jason, and change your mind, or if you change it sooner, you can come to me. If you decide to remain with Jason, I will return to my people in Mexico, and wish you happiness.”

  “No,” Vanessa sobbed. “Jason is kind to me, but I don’t love him. I don’t think I could ever feel about him the way I feel about you.”

  “Then come to Mexico with me, and stop all of this madness!”

  “You have no way to support me, and I can’t live like an Indian. If you came with me to Louisiana…”

  “Jason would have to divorce you, before he would ever allow you to go back to Louisiana. If you admitted to our love affair, he would have a reason to divorce you.”

  “No, he would probably shoot you first, and then I would have nothing!”

  “Then I suppose you must content yourself with Jason. As much as it pains me to let you go, I have no other choice.”

  “Jason just said today that he was happy you were here working for him and he was going to pay you well to insure you remain. Would you want to give that up? The army barely pays you anything!”

  “In the end, he will regret I ever remained here, Vanessa, and you know it. As long as we are in a place where we can see each other, we could never remain apart, and we would eventually get caught.”

  “This is all unfair,” Vanessa wailed.

  “I agree. Only you refuse to have me on my own terms, and I can’t have you on yours. So it is better this way.”

  Vanessa clung tightly to Broken Feather until he finally pried her lose and sat her up on her horse, throwing the blanket up behind her and attaching it to her saddle. Then he swung up onto his own horse, and started galloping in the direction of the ranch, and Vanessa was hard put to keep up with him. He didn’t want to give her the opportunity to talk him out of it, because he was already starting to regret his decision as it was. One sad look from her and his heart would cave, and he would be right back where he started from.