Savage Beloved

“Leave,” he insisted, trying to raise himself up on an elbow but collapsing back down to the pelts, too weak to do anything but lie there. “Return to the village . . . to Two Eagles. If he or any of my people ever learn of your . . . acquaintance . . . with me, you will be turned away . . . shunned.”

“I can’t think about that now,” Candy said softly. “I can’t . . . I won’t . . . leave you without doing what I can for you.”

She leaned down closer to him and looked him square in the eye. “Let’s chance it, Spotted Bear,” she blurted out. “Return home with me. I see no other way, because I know nothing about what to do for a fever such as you have. Please return to your village with me. Two Eagles is not the sort to be cruel, especially not to someone of his own band . . . someone he thought was dead.”

“I . . . am . . . so ill . . .” Spotted Bear said, his voice breaking. “I believe I will die without proper care, but I . . . can’t . . . ask this of you. Your life could be ruined because of me.”

“I am willing to chance it if you are,” Candy said, but inside she was terrified at the thought of losing Two Eagles. Without him, her life would be meaningless.

“You . . . would . . . do this for me?” Spotted Bear asked, tears filling his eyes.

“Yes, and I am going to do it,” Candy said deter-minedly. “I must take you for help.”

She looked toward the entrance flap when she heard her horse whinnying, then gazed into Spotted Bear’s feverish eyes again.

“But how can I get you to the village?” she wondered. “You are too ill to travel on the horse.”

“I . . . will . . . instruct you how . . . to . . . make a travois,” Spotted Bear said.

He grabbed her hand. “Are you certain you want to risk everything for this . . . weak . . . sick man?” he asked, desperation in his voice.

“I don’t believe I will be risking anything,” Candy murmured, yet deep inside herself she knew there was a chance that she was.

If Two Eagles didn’t understand, she could lose him.

“Time is wasting. You need to get help as soon as possible,” Candy said firmly. “Now tell me how to make that travois.”

She carefully followed the instructions he gave her, and soon the travois was ready for traveling.

She attached it to her horse by two long poles on each side, which would be dragged behind her steed, with Spotted Bear secured safely on it.

“Can you make it out to the travois?” Candy asked, not sure if his legs would hold him up. “You are so weak.”

“If I . . . have . . . to crawl, I will,” Spotted Bear said, tumbling sideways from his bed of pelts. He paused and gazed up at Candy. “Your whole life could change . . . because . . . of me. This is the time for you to change your mind.”

“I’m taking you home,” Candy said, her voice breaking. “So come on. I’ll help you to your feet. I’ll get you outside to that travois, one way or another.”

She felt his weight tugging against her as she grabbed him by the waist until he finally made it to his feet.

She had to half drag him because it was impossible for someone as tiny as she to hold him up.

But finally she had him secured on the travois and wrapped snugly in a blanket. Then she mounted her mare and headed back in the direction of Two Eagles’s village. The wolves, among them Shadow and White Wolf, ran alongside the travois.

Candy and her entourage traveled steadily until she knew that the village was just up ahead. Then the wolves, except for Shadow, suddenly scampered away and were soon hidden in the trees at Candy’s far right side.

Candy understood their need to hide when they had sensed the nearness of other humans. Now she, too, saw riders in the distance. They were riding ahead of her, going in the same direction she was traveling. It was Two Eagles and his warriors making their way back home after many hours of council at the other Wichita village.

They were moving in a much more leisurely fashion than Candy, who was riding as fast as she possibly could with the travois being dragged behind her. It was apparent that Two Eagles wasn’t aware yet of her presence behind him.

She drew rein and stopped. Her heart pounded inside her chest, for she was suddenly afraid of the consequences of what she had chosen to do.

If she lost Two Eagles’s respect and love, oh, what would she do?

She gazed over her shoulder at Spotted Bear. She saw that his face was beet red with fever and he seemed unconscious.

She knew that he was worse!

She looked ahead at Two Eagles again.