Touched by Little Sparrow’s vouching for Kaylene, knowing that the woman must have been kind to her. Little Sparrow was cautious to whom she offered friendship. Fire Thunder bent on a knee before his sister.
Speaking in sign language, which he hoped Kaylene could not understand, Fire Thunder explained to Little Sparrow that he had no intention, whatsoever, of harming the white woman. He told Little Sparrow that he had feelings for the white woman that he had to sort out.
No, no matter what happened, he was not going to harm her.
But for now, he was going to use her as a pawn.
Little Sparrow gazed up at her brother with wonder. She was confused as to how her brother could have feelings for a woman that he had only met moments ago.
But relieved that he meant Kaylene no harm, Little Sparrow gave Fire Thunder a tender hug, then went back to Black Hair. She smiled at Black Hair as he lifted her on his horse with him. Fire Thunder swung himself into his saddle behind Kaylene.
A sensual thrill swept through Kaylene when Fire Thunder slipped his muscled arm around her waist and held her in place before him in his saddle. The toes of her bare feet curled with delight, and she sighed as he bent down close to her, his bre
ath hot on her cheek.
“Behave,” he whispered as the sweet fragrant smell of her hair caused his insides to warm with need.
Kaylene flashed him a frown over her shoulder. But she didn’t speak, for fear of her voice giving away her feelings, feelings that confused her. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to fear him. But neither emotion plagued her.
She must remember that the fate of both her and her father lay in the hands of this powerful Kickapoo chief. She must do nothing to stir his wrath any more. For now she would cooperate. Hopefully, somehow, she could find a way to release her father later. They both would flee into the dark, even though she wanted nothing more than to be held in the arms of this handsome Indian.
When sensual thoughts would creep into her consciousness, she would keep reminding herself that he was her enemy.
Fire Thunder gazed into Kaylene’s green eyes, glad when she turned them away from him. He must fight this pulsing need for this woman. For now, family came first. His sister’s vengeance must be dealt with!
Sinking his moccasined heels into the flanks of his proud steed, Fire Thunder rode away from the campsite, his warriors following dutifully.
Kaylene took one last look over her shoulder, to see how her mother was faring. She stiffened and tears spilled from her eyes when she discovered that her mother had fainted.
Fighting back the tears, feeling helpless, Kaylene turned her eyes back around and focused them on her father. She was confused about him. It looked like he may have purposely abducted the small Indian child, yet he had said that she had come to him, asking to stay with the carnival.
Yet Little Sparrow’s behavior toward Kaylene’s father made Kaylene believe that, yes, he may have abducted her and made up the story to make himself look less the rogue.
And to have caged her!
Did that not prove that his intentions were evil . . . that he thought only of his own selfish needs, not the child’s?
Yet, she just would not allow herself to believe that her father could be this evil. Yes, while growing up, at times she had feared her father. She had felt that something was missing that should be there between a father and daughter. And she would never forget the times she had witnessed him physically abusing her mother!
Was her father just basically cold and evil?
No. She would not think that about him at this time, when he lay tied so helplessly to an Indian’s horse.
She wanted to think the best of him. She wanted to believe that the child had come to him, perhaps having fled from the Kickapoo village for another purpose.
But again, there was the missing boy. What had happened to him?
Had this small Indian girl fled with the young boy, both running from something in their lives that was not pleasant? Had the young girl had a change of heart after seeing that the world could be cruel to her everywhere? No. Kaylene would not think the worst of her father. Not until there was absolute proof that he was evil through and through, and that he had abducted the girl.
Kaylene could not help but wonder, though, just how many lies her father might have told her through the years. Was that dark side of him that she had grown to know even worse than she ever imagined?
She shivered at the thought of him possibly having abducted the child. If he was this evil, was there something about herself that might one day prove that she was just as evil? As sinister? Because her father’s blood ran through her veins!
They rode awhile longer, then Fire Thunder drew a tight rein and stopped his horse at the border of Mexico and Texas, at the Rio Grande. He wheeled his horse around and faced his men.
“Many Horses and Black Hair, dig a pit in the ground!” Fire Thunder shouted. “You know what sort I mean. Leave the center unexcavated and higher than the ground around it.”
“What . . . ?” Kaylene gasped, paling at the thought of what this pit might be for.