She smiled into the surrounding darkness. Exhilaration and happiness flooded her, making her pulse race and her limbs as weak and pliable as porridge. She loved Trevor, and part of her wanted to shout it into the hills. What would her sisters say when they found out? What would Trevor’s brothers say? It didn’t matter.

  Everyone had accepted Cora’s sudden marriage to Nathaniel, and Anna’s surprising relationship with the eldest Wilder brother, Ethan. There was no reason why anyone would consider it strange that she and Trevor had grown to love each other. Caroline stirred the contents of the cup. Would Trevor want to marry her? It was too soon to even think about that. She put the spoon away and turned back to the man lying on the ground a few feet away.

  “Here, drink this, and then I think you need to sleep. In the morning, I’ll reassess your wound.” She paused before adding, “I washed as much blood out of your shirt as I could, but it won’t be dry until morning.”

  Trevor took the cup from her and swallowed the bitter drink in one gulp. “How’s the wound on your hand?”

  “Healing. It’s far better than the flesh wound you have.”

  “I found the coyote. He isn’t rabid.”

  Caroline nodded and released her breath as relief swept through her. The only mad individual she needed to worry about now was William, and he was the last person she would waste her thoughts on at the moment.

  Trevor eased himself back on the ground. “Where’s your bedroll?”

  “I don’t have one.” Caroline glanced at him from where she stood by the fire.

  “Come over here. Looks like I’ve got both blankets. We’ll share. You need to get some sleep, too, and I’m not going to lie on top of one blanket and under another while you’re sitting out in the cold.”

  She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. Share a blanket with Trevor? Sleep with him?

  Sleep, Caroline. That’s all he’s inviting you to do.

  Her heart raced in her chest when she eased down next to him on his uninjured side. Why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden, and her limbs go weak with anticipation? There was nothing to worry about. Trevor would never take advantage of her.

  He pulled the cover up over both of them, then brought his arm under her neck and she rested her head against the crook of his shoulder. His hand caressed her arm and his fingers played in her hair. The fire crackled, creating shadows all around them.

  Caroline nestled against Trevor’s warm body and closed her eyes. She was meant to be right here. Not in a Boston parlor, or in a big-city hospital, and certainly not with William, but right here in the wilderness with this man. Like Aimee Osborne, she could be a healer to people who needed her in the mountains.

  “I’ve spent many nights out in the open, thinking of you lying in my arms like this.” Trevor’s voice drifted through the darkness. He kissed the top of her head. “I never thought it would happen.”

  “Hopefully your dreams didn’t include you being wounded from a gunshot.” Caroline glanced up at him and smiled although it was too dark now to really see anything but flickering shadows. A coyote howled somewhere in the distance. She asked the question she’d wondered about since she’d found him.

  “Do you know who shot you?”

  Trevor’s chest heaved. “I didn’t see the shooter. It could have been any number of men. I’ve brought in a lot of criminals, and haven’t made a lot of friends over the years.”

  William as a suspect came to mind first, and Caroline shuddered. She mentally shook her head. Her former fiancé had gone to great lengths to try and get her to marry him, but it was inconceivable that he’d shoot someone. William was a doctor. He’d taken an oath to do no harm. Besides, he wouldn’t have even known how to track Trevor in the wilderness. Surely, it was as Trevor had said, and it was someone holding a grudge against him. That meant, however, that his life would always be in danger, didn’t it?

  “Why are you doing this job if it’s so dangerous?” Once he delivered her to Cora, would he return to Fort Laramie and continue to bring in outlaws for the army? Did she dare ask?

  Trevor’s arm around her tensed. He shrugged. “I wanted to do something other than sit around at Harley’s Hole. I ended up at Fort Laramie, and after capturing an outlaw who’d been robbing people on one of the wagon trains, the commanding officer hired me on to do the job full time.”

  Caroline closed her eyes again. The smell of campfire mingled with the scent of his warm skin.

  “How did William take the news that you no longer want to marry him?”

  Caroline’s eyes flew open. She had to tell him. It was better to hear it from her than when they returned to the wagons. Trevor needed to know because, no doubt, William would be furious that his plan to marry her hadn’t worked.

  “He wasn’t too happy, as you can probably imagine.”

  Trevor shifted slightly next to her. “No, I wouldn’t think he’d be pleased. I’m surprised he let you borrow his horse to come looking for me.”

  Caroline pressed her lips together. Why did he always have to be so observant? He knew she was keeping something from him, but he was giving her a chance to tell him without having to ask outright. Caroline raised her head and leaned on one elbow. She looked at him, but his features were difficult to make out in the darkness, and the fire had died down to only glowing coals.

  “There’s something I have to tell you, Trevor.”

  Trevor’s chest rumbled in a chuckle. “I figured.” After a pause, he added, “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything, Caroline.”

  “I know, but I don’t want you to get upset, not with your wound and since you’ve just recovered from a fever.”

  Trevor’s body grew rigid next to her. “What happened with William, Caroline?”

  She swallowed. “Promise me you won’t get angry.”

  “I promise I won’t get angry with you. I already know I won’t like what you have to tell me about Dr. King.”

  Caroline sucked in a deep breath, then recited everything that had transpired earlier that morning. Trevor listened without interrupting, although his body tensed during various parts of her story.

  “When you still weren’t in camp after I took William’s horse and rode back to our own wagons, I went looking for you before he and Mr. Anderson returned.”

  Trevor didn’t say anything for what seemed like hours. He wouldn’t have fallen asleep. Caroline waited, her heart pounding nervously.

  “Trevor?”

  His arm tightened around her, bringing her closer against his side. His voice was deadly calm, and his words spoken in a quiet whisper, low enough that she had to strain her ears to hear.

  “The next time I see William King, he’s gonna wish he’d listened to me back in Boston, and hadn’t come on this journey.”

  Chapter 16

  Trevor’s side ached as he guided his horse toward the gates of Fort Laramie. An assorted group of people camped outside the fort along the banks of the Platte, including peddlers, Indians, and emigrants with their wagons. He glanced at Caroline, who rode her horse next to him. She looked at him at the same time, and they both smiled.

  He hadn’t been this happy in years. Two days ago, she’d revealed that she loved him. Together, they’d made the decision to ride straight to Fort Laramie rather than returning to Burt Anderson’s outfit. She’d seemed rather glad when he’d suggested it.

  “I’d rather have the shooter think I’m dead until we get to the fort, if it is someone from the wagon train.”

  “You don’t think William had anything to do with it, do you?”

  Trevor had laughed. “He couldn’t shoot the broad side of a barn. No, I don’t think it was William, but I’m beginning to wonder about those two men with whom he’s been getting so friendly.”

  While William had seemed overly controlling of Caroline, he wasn’t the one who had shot him. Regardless, anger consumed Trevor for what the arrogant doctor had done, or tried to do, to her. The thought that she might have been forced into a marriage with him made his blood boil. Not only was he going to have a talk with William King, but he was also going give Burt Anderson a piece of his mind.

  Before Anderson’s outfit rolled into Fort Laramie, he hoped to make Caroline his wife, if she accepted. He’d put off asking her long enough. The last couple of days had been new for both of them. After their first kiss, and the ones that followed, Caroline had acted rather shy and uneasy around him.

  Openly expressing their feelings had been new territory for both of them. Asking her to marry him was the logical next step, and the sooner, the better. Now that they’d reached Fort Laramie, there was no reason to wait any longer.

  Trevor stopped his horse and glanced around before they entered through the gates of the fort. Clusters of wooden buildings and adobe structures were scattered haphazardly around the parade grounds. The white remains of the old adobe fort gleamed before them. It had been originally built by fur traders, and was the place he’d called home for the last five years. This might be the last time he came here for quite some time.

  If Caroline accepted his proposal, he’d turn in his resignation and take her home to Harley’s Hole as his bride. There was no reason for him to work for the army any longer. Before talking to the major, however, he needed to get the question asked.

  Men glanced at them as they entered the fort. Soldiers nodded to him in greeting, some unsuccessful at hiding their surprise of seeing him in the company of a woman.

  “Is this your latest arrest, Wilder?” someone shouted. Trevor turned to see Corporal Andrew Thomas march toward him with a wide smile on his face. He’d always liked the man, and had been on several patrols with him in the past.

  “You might say that.” Trevor halted his horse. “Have you seen Lieutenant Matherson?”

  The corporal nodded. “He was in his quarters a while ago.” His eyes drifted to Caroline, and a knowing smile passed over his lips. “Got some business with him, do you?”

  Trevor grinned. “I do, and I’d best go see to it right now.” Before the curious Corporal Thomas could say anymore, he pointed his horse in the direction of the officers’ quarters.

  “It hasn’t changed much since the last time I was here.” Caroline glanced around, wide-eyed, as she looked at the hustle and bustle at the fort. The trading post was doing good business, as usual, even though the trader charged high prices for his goods.

  “Not much changes here.”

  Trevor guided his horse through the center of the fort to the livery.

  “I thought the other officer said you’d find Lieutenant Matherson at his quarters. Why are we stopping at the livery?”

  There was nowhere for them to be completely secluded, but at least the livery was slightly out of the way and not as busy with people passing by. This might be his one chance to talk to Caroline in private.

  She stared at him with a confused look on her face. Stopping in front of one of the corrals, Trevor gritted his teeth as he stepped from the saddle.

  The wound was healing nicely, but certain movements caused more discomfort than others. Caroline had done a good job sewing up his wound, and the willow bark tea helped, too. She’d fussed over him like a mother hen for the last two days.

  Trevor glanced at Caroline, who’d made no move to get off her horse. This certainly wasn’t the best place to ask her if she’d marry him. A better place would have been at their camp the night before, or the morning after he’d woken up with her nestled against him, warm and with a content smile on her face. Certainly not here, where men strode by with curious glances on their faces.

  “There’s something that’s been on my mind, and I need to get it out before we see the Lieutenant. And, this is a good place to leave the horses.” He stepped around his horse and raised his hands to help Caroline out of the saddle. His lips curved in a grin when she rolled her eyes.

  “You won’t give up, will you?”

  Caroline swung her leg over the back of the saddle. With a smug look on her face, she led her horse to the hitching rail. She’d refused his help each time he’d tried to assist her in and out of the saddle.

  “I see you still won’t let me help you.” Trevor came up beside her. “Just as stubborn as your sister. What have I gotten myself into with you?” He grinned when she shot him a narrow-eyed look. With each day they spent together, away from the wagons, Caroline had become more assertive, and more like the person he remembered. No doubt it had to do with being away from William and the final vestiges of Boston.

  “I told you before, I can get off a horse myself, Trevor Wilder. You should be a little more concerned about your stitches ripping and causing you to bleed again.

  Trevor grinned at her tirade, then pulled her into his arms and stopped her from continuing with a kiss. For as long as he lived, he’d always find some excuse to kiss her.

  “You’ve done a good job of taking care of me, Dr. Hudson. I’m healing well, so there’s no need to make such a fuss.”

  “As long as you do what you’re told, but the recovery will be prolonged if you keep being so stubborn and thinking you’re invincible.”

  “You make me feel invincible,” he murmured against her neck, eliciting a shiver from her. He wrapped his arms more fully around her, and kissed his way from her neck to her lips.

  Caroline wrapped her arms around him and smiled, her eyes warm and glowing with love and desire. Sleeping with her under the same blanket for the last few days had been bliss as well as torture.

  “I know how stubborn you Hudson women are. Nathaniel told me he has to keep Cora in line all the time and remind her who wears the britches.” He winked and held her at the waist.

  “Did he now?” Caroline raised her head and scrunched her forehead, her lips quivering in the smile she couldn’t hold back. “And how does Nathaniel keep my sister in line?”

  Trevor’s eyes roamed over Caroline’s face. The girl he’d thought was lost to him actually loved him, and if she said, ‘yes,’ she was going to be his wife in a short while. It seemed unreal.

  “Like this,” he murmured, and pulled her firmly into his arms and kissed her again, regardless that they stood in the open where everyone could see.

  Caroline drew back slightly when he ended the kiss. “What did you want to ask me that you couldn’t ask by the mercantile?” She sounded slightly out of breath.

  Trevor smiled and held her gaze. His hand came up to brush along her soft cheek. “I love you, Caroline,” he murmured while his pulse throbbed at his temple. Facing an opponent pointing a gun at his chest seemed less intimidating than what he was about to ask.

  “I love you, too, Trevor. I’ll never stop saying that.”

  “Glad to hear it, because I want you to say it every day for the rest of our lives.” He shifted in front of her and reached for her hand. “Caroline, I’d like it if you would . . . that is, I want to know if you’d be agreeable . . .” He leaned back and looked into her love-filled eyes, then took in a deep breath. Why was this question more difficult and terrifying than facing an entire horde of outlaws? “Caroline, would you –”

  “Trevor Wilder?”

  Trevor cursed silently at the sound of his name coming from somewhere behind them. With a groan, he released her, then turned to see Harvey Stanton, the postmaster, rushing toward him waving an envelope. The balding man glanced from Trevor to Caroline, and his cheeks took on a rosy red color.

  “Sorry, Trevor, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” His eyes continued to dart around apologetically. “I saw you heading for the livery, and wanted to catch you in case you left again. It’s happened before.”

  “I’m not leaving right away this time, Harvey.”

  The older man shifted weight from one foot to the next, still clearly uncomfortable. His gestures reminded Trevor of a prairie chicken doing its mating dance. He reached for Caroline’s hand and led her to the postmaster.

  “Very good then,” Harvey stammered. “I was getting ready to wire Boston, and I have your payroll here. I was wondering if you’d like me to forward it to Dr. Matthew Osborne, as usual. The reason I ask is because you mentioned last time that you weren’t sure, since the young lady would have graduated in June and there would be no further tuition expenses.”

  Trevor stared at Harvey. Once again, he cursed under his breath. Next to him, Caroline stiffened. She pulled her hand from his, and when he glanced at her, her eyes widened as she stared back.

  His chest heaved as he inhaled. “No need to wire the money to Boston anymore,” he said as he took the envelope without looking at Harvey. He grabbed Caroline’s hand and nearly dragged her along behind him, skirting around the horses and away from the postmaster. Caroline dug her heels in and resisted, pulling back against his hold.

  “Trevor? What’s going on? What did he mean about sending money to Boston for tuition?”

  Trevor faced her. This was not how she should have found out. She shouldn’t have found out at all. Caroline’s eyes bore into him. Then they pooled with tears.

  “You’ve been paying my tuition?” Her words were barely a whisper. She shook her head. “I thought Matthew was my benefactor.”

  “I asked him to take care of it for me and not say anything to you. I –”

  “How did you even know I needed funds to continue my schooling?”

  Trevor rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He should have been honest with her the other night when she’d asked questions about his job with the army. “I saw the letter you wrote to Cora. She’d left it on the table in Harley’s cabin. I didn’t mean to pry, but it was right there, in plain sight, and it was a letter from you, so I couldn’t help myself from reading it. I had recently been offered the army job, and this gave me the push to accept it.”

  “You took a dangerous job, where you could have gotten killed, because of me?”

  Tears slipped from Caroline’s eyes, and Trevor took a step closer. He swiped at her cheek, then pulled her into his arms.

 

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