Chapter Twelve

Brody awoke slowly as the birds began singing their songs with the sunrise. He snuggled closer to the soft body in his arms and pressed his lips to her hair. His heart was lost to this woman. Whether he had wanted to ever fall in love or not, he was in deep. She had awakened something in him that had been dead a long time.... His heart. He loved making her smile, making her laugh, making her temper flare.

"Mmmm..." she moaned in her sleep and he felt himself grow hard as she threw her leg over his and he wondered what her dreams were of.

"I'm in trouble," he whispered. He had no doubt that she desired him. The signs were plain to see. The way her eyes would darken, her pupils would dilate and the passionate flush that covered her face and neck. But did she love him?

Love? Why had the word love entered his mind? Did he love her? Of course he did. But loving and caring for people led to heartache. Hadn't losing his family taught him that? Of course to feel her tender body pressed against his made every fear of being hurt seem worth it.

"Grant..." she whispered and she became restless next to him. It was as if cold water had just been poured over his head and he quickly moved away from her and walked over to the stream.

Grant? Grant was the man she was dreaming about? Brody had been a fool to even think about falling in love with that woman. She was engaged after all. He crouched down and splashed water over his face and then began to stomp out what was left of the fire.

"Good morning," Elizabeth's voice came from behind him.

He could hear her standing up and stretching and he grunted in reply, "Get a drink and put some of that leftover meat in your pockets. We gotta try to find a homestead or something today so we can figure out where we are."

Elizabeth shivered at the coldness in his voice. Was this the same man that had held her so tenderly all night? "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Just fine." He took a drink of water, stuffed some snake in his pockets, grabbed the gun and then began walking giving Elizabeth no choice but to rush and grab some food before chasing after him.

***

The sun was high in the bright blue expanse of sky above them and Elizabeth cursed its heat as it beat down on her. She could feel the sweat, plastering her shirt to her body and running between her breasts. Her hair was soaked with it and she kept wiping the burning droplets from her eyes. She had tried several times over the last few hours to make conversation with Brody but he didn't seem interested and she wondered at the change in him. He wasn't acting like himself. Even his posture and steps had changed. Gone was the confident stride with his shoulders and head held high. He was now walking like a man who had lost something important or suffered some huge defeat. His shoulders were slumped and his boots dragged the ground with every step. She wondered if it had something to do with the nightmare he'd had last night.

Elizabeth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize he'd stopped until she ran into his broad back. She stumbled backward and would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Thank you," she gasped.

He just shrugged and let go of her, "We'll rest under those trees for a while. It's green over there and I'm guessing there's water of some kind." Elizabeth nodded and followed him to the grouping of green trees and bright grass. Sure enough there was a small pond, not the ideal water for drinking but it was better than dying of thirst.

"Why are you acting different today?" Elizabeth asked as they munched on the leftover snake and leaned against the trees they were sitting under.

"What makes you think I'm acting different?"

Elizabeth tilted her head, "You're more bristly and less arrogant today."

"Is that so?" he questioned dryly.

"Are you angry with me or is this about the nightmare you had last night?"

"Nightmare?" he asked without looking at her. He pulled his knife from his boot and dipped it in the pond beside him before running it over his cheek to shave the hair away.

"Yeah, the one that had you yelling my name," she replied and she saw the knife jump just a little and worried maybe he'd cut himself.

"I'm fine. It was just a dream."

"I died, didn't I?" she asked with a shiver.

Brody wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her when he saw that shiver pass over her but he forced himself to stay where he was and continue shaving, "Don't worry Miss McCready, I'll get you back to your fiancé' safe and sound."

"Fiancé'?" Elizabeth asked, raising a brow.

"Did you forget about him already?" Brody asked trying to sound uninterested. "Grant, I think his name is. At least that's the name you called out while you were lying in my arms."

"I said his name?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied and she could hear the bitterness and jealousy in his tone.

Elizabeth thought back to the dream she'd been having. It had started out as a good dream as Brody's big calloused hands had touched her body and his firm lips had kissed hers passionately, but that had quickly changed. Brody had become Grant and it had been his cold lips touching her. His soft hands trying to grope her through her clothes and she had been trying desperately to get away from him.

"That wasn't....."

He cut her off, "I really don't give a shit."

Elizabeth saw that he already had his face nearly hair free and she wondered how he did that so quickly and without a mirror.

"Yes you do," she replied with a faint smile, "You're jealous."

His eyes met hers and flashed with anger, "I am not jealous."

"Yes you are. You're jealous."

"Over you?" Brody sneered. "Why the hell would any man get jealous of a pant wearing, cussing, dirty, improper woman like you? Why a man would have to be pretty damn desperate to get jealous over you."

Elizabeth felt a pain so sharp in her chest it felt as if he had driven his knife into her heart. Tears threatened to spring into her eyes and she quickly blinked them away and rose to her feet.

"Well if that's how you feel about me, Mr. Atkinson, then I see no reason why we should stay together. I'm fairly certain I can take care of myself out here and I don't need the help of some arrogant, stubborn, pain in the ass like you."

Brody fought to keep his face free of emotion, "Fine." He tossed the gun at her feet and she picked it up.

She waited for him to tell her not to leave. Waited for him to tell her he was sorry. Waited for him to give her one single reason to stay...... He didn't. She squared her shoulders, turned on her heel and walked away from him without letting a single tear slip down her cheek.

***

Brody finished shaving his face and then rinsed it off in the stream. He was trying to convince himself that the sudden loneliness plaguing him had not been caused by Elizabeth walking away. She had walked away from him and hadn't shed a single tear. So much for thinking he meant something to the woman.

Then he thought about the harsh words he'd spoken and mentally kicked himself. Of course she walked away from him! She was proud, headstrong and independent and after he'd spoken that way to her, he had known she'd take off. He blew out a breath and knew he had to go after her.

Letting her wander out there alone and in harms way was simply not an option. He was about go after her when a gunshot filled the air, followed by the yipping and growling of coyotes and another gunshot. High pitched whines and growls and a feminine scream reached him and Brody took off running as fast as his long legs could carry him while praying to God to keep her safe until he got there and could take over the job.

***

"Brody!" Elizabeth screamed desperately.

She didn't know if he'd be able to hear her or not, or if he'd even care but she was going to die if someone didn't come. She had used all the bullets in the gun and five coyotes lay dead but five more were closing in. She was backed against a tree and swinging the gun like a club to try to keep them away but any moment now they would lunge at her and she would be helpless against them.

Her worst fears came true as one of the coyotes lunged at her and just before its teeth clamped onto her face a whizzing sound passed by her and a knife sunk to its hilt in the side of the coyotes head. The coyote fell to the ground and Elizabeth turned to see Brody coming toward her like some kind of natural disaster wielding a thick stick as a club.

He jumped between her and the coyotes and swung the stick, breaking one of the beasts ribs. The remaining coyotes quickly decided this meal was too dangerous and they ran off and out of sight.

"Brody...." Elizabeth gasped and suddenly her tears wouldn't stay back. She prided herself on never crying but in that instant, all of her hurt, fear and relief surged at once and crying was the only thing she could do. She sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She didn't realize that Brody had dropped to his own knees in front of her until his arms wrapped around her and pulled her tightly against his chest.

"It's okay," he whispered soothingly.

"No, it's not," she managed to croak.

One of his big hands closed around the back of her neck and the other stroked her hair, "Elizabeth, I didn't mean what I said back at the pond. Dammit, I don't even know why I said it. I ain't use to caring about anybody and so caring about you is new and I'm still trying to figure out what to do about it." Elizabeth buried her face deeper into his chest and cried harder.

"When I said I wasn't jealous, I lied. Damn straight I'm jealous of the fact that you're engaged to a man that ain't me. Honestly the thought of him touching you fills me with a rage so damn big I'd like to kill something," Brody growled.

"I'm not gonna marry him," Elizabeth replied against him. "I don't want to marry somebody that I don't love."

Brody pulled her away from him and tilted her head up so he could look at her. He used his thumbs to clean the tears from her face, "You don't know how glad I am to hear that. But, what about the ranch?"

Elizabeth shrugged and gave him a sad half smile, "Like you said, it's only dirt and cows, right?"

"Oh cowgirl, I'm sorry your father is putting you through this. I promise when we get back I'll talk to him. I'll let him know you're more than capable of running that ranch without a husband."

Brody might as well of slapped her in the face. Without a husband.... So he didn't want her to marry Grant but yet he didn't want to marry her.

"We should get going," she said standing suddenly. "I'm sorry I wasted all the bullets."

"Bullets that save your life aren't wasted," Brody countered.

He stood and hugged her again, this time to reassure himself that he had made it in time and she was okay and whole. The feel of her body pressed against his caused his desire to rise but he fought to hold onto his self control. If he started with her now, he wouldn't stop until he'd made love to her and that wasn't something he wanted to do in a field full of dead coyotes.

Brody pulled away, walked over to the coyote his knife had killed and pulled the knife from the beast's head before sticking it back in his boot.

As they started walking again Elizabeth grew tired of silence, "What was your nightmare last night?" she asked as she looked at his broad back. He was once again walking with that confident, cocky step that he normally had. The walk of a man who knew he could take care of himself and anything that came along because he had already seen everything the world could throw at him.

"It started with my family," Brody replied. He had never shared the story of what had happened to his family with anyone but he wanted to share it with her. If there was anyone that could help cure the heartache he'd held onto for so many years, it was this amazing woman.

"Family?"

"Yeah. Nine years ago the yanks came through and my pa made my brother Jacob and I take our two young sisters under the floorboards and hide them. The yanks killed my pa for no reason. He offered them food and they didn't even let him finish speaking before they put a bullet in him. Then they grabbed my two older sisters Catherine and Christine and my mama and..." Brody stopped speaking, the memory proving to be too hard to speak out loud and he felt Elizabeth's gentle hand on his shoulder and took strength from it.

"Once the yanks were gone, Jacob and I came out with Susie and Sally and the yanks had killed our entire family. Jacob and I both changed in that moment. He became pa. He didn't want revenge, he just wanted to go on living peacefully and raise the girls. I wanted to kill every damn man I could find in a blue uniform. And I killed a lot of them. Jacob never forgave me. He said I abandoned them when they needed me. Even after the war ended I didn't go home. How could I? That wasn't home any more. That was what my dream started as and then it changed and lets just say I liked the new direction it took even less than the first."

"I'm sorry you went through all that." Elizabeth offered.

Brody shrugged and grabbed her hand in his as they walked. Elizabeth swore that somehow her hand must be attached to her heart, because she felt it contract and then fill with love as he took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb along her smooth skin.

"The war was a bad place," he admitted.

Elizabeth looked at his face. With it clean shaven the way it was now, the angles were even sharper, the scar more prominent on his cheek, "How did you get that?" she asked.

His firm lips turned to a frown and he looked out over the grassy land, "In battle. I'd actually become friends with another boy. He was eighteen, a year old than me at the time, and the whole idea of war was exciting for him. He was in it for fame and glory. He liked to laugh and I guess he reminded me a little of Jacob. We were crouched about ten feet from each other loading our rifles when a mortar fired and it landed right in his lap."

Elizabeth gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, "But don't they explode?" she asked through her fingers and he nodded as his green eyes took on a haunted look.

"Yeah. The only thing that saved me was that he threw himself over it. He sacrificed himself for me. He knew he was dying either way so I guess he figured there wasn't no sense in letting it take both of us," Brody ran his finger over his scar. "A small piece of shrapnel got my cheek is all."

"And you try to say you're not tough," she teased, hoping to lighten the mood and take that haunted look away from him.

"I ain't tough. Just lucky." He looked down at her and she saw something shining in his eyes. Something she had seen in her fathers eyes when he told her all those stories about him and her mother. It was love. Brody loved her.

***

"Where the hell is my daughter?!" Ernest exclaimed.

Thomas shifted his feet and twisted his hat in his hands, "We can't find a single sign of her or Brody, sir. We've searched all the fields. We've sent men to nearby towns. No one has seen them."

"I'll kill that Brody Atkinson when we find him! He better not have laid a single hand on my little girl!"

"For what it's worth, sir, I don't think Brody would have hurt Miss McCready. He was awfully sweet on her. Maybe they ran away together."

"Preposterous!" Grant exclaimed. "Why would she agree to marry me and then take off with that ruffian?"

Thomas was confused. He had no idea what the hell them big words meant. Preposterous? Ruffian? Grant looked like a pissed off peacock trying to fluff his feathers.

"It would make more sense then Brody kidnapping her, sir." Thomas insisted looking back at his boss.

"Where's Braxton?" Ernest demanded as his wheezing worsened. This stress was making him sicker by the minute.

"Town," Thomas swallowed hard. "He's waiting for one of them to turn up. He said he'd come back to the ranch tomorrow night at the latest. He's hoping somebody in town will know something."

"When they are found I want that kidnapping bastard brought to me and I want to take care of him myself!" Ernest hissed.

Thomas tipped his head, "Yes, sir."

Ernest pointed at the door, "Now get out!"

Thomas and Grant quickly left and once they were downstairs Thomas rounded on Grant, his brown eyes flashing with anger as he put his hat back on his sandy colored hair, "Brody would not have hurt her!" Thomas declared. "That man cares about her a hell of a lot more than you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Grant demanded.

"You haven't lifted a single finger to try to find her. You don't give a damn about Miss McCready. The rest of us are out busting our asses trying to find her and you just sit here and drink the bosses scotch and enjoy the cushy surroundings. You better believe when they get back I'll tell Miss McCready all about you and that the only reason you're here is for this ranch. She'll see through all your fancy clothes and pretty words for sure and you'll be lucky if Brody don't put a bullet between your eyes just for leading her on like that."

Thomas turned and stormed from the house leaving Gavin standing there trembling with fear. He was afraid of Brody. There was something about that man that made it clear that he wasn't a man you wanted to cross.

Grant could only hope that Thomas was wrong and Elizabeth would still agree to marry him... He wanted this damn ranch.