Comanche Rose Read Online Free PDF

her evil spirit. But Bull Calf stood his ground, trying not to show fear. Of all of them, only he had been kind. She kept her head averted, afraid he'd look into her face and know she'd duped him.
    Hap tried to study her through the fog in his mind. Her face was gaunt and dirt-streaked, her greasy hair a matted nest of God only knew what, and her tattered clothes were filthy. She didn't look much like a white woman until she raised her eyes to him. They were blue, and a furtive hope flickered in them. He didn't have to ask—he knew she'd been through hell. As he looked at her, he didn't trust himself to speak.
    Behind her, Bull Calf explained, "She no talk— loco. You take woman, tell Haworth only one," he insisted. "He give food, give smoke white chief promise!"
    "Look, I—" Knowing he had no strength to help her, he ran his tongue over cracked, wind-raw lips. "I'll try to send somebody back for you," he promised lamely. "I'm sorry." Her eyes widened, then she blinked back tears, shaming him. "I can't—I'm in no shape—" His voice dropped almost to a whisper as he looked away. "I'll get somebody. I won't forget—"
    "No! You can't leave me!" Annie cried. "You're my only chance!" Lunging at him, she grabbed his leg and clawed his arm, pulling herself up as she put her moccasined foot on his boot. For a moment she hung there, both of them teetering awkwardly. Then she managed to get her leg across the roan's back. As he struggled to keep his balance, she settled her body behind the saddle and leaned forward. Pulling the blanket up to cover her head and shoulders, she slid her hands beneath his coat to grasp his gun belt.
    Shocked that she'd spoken, Bull Calf reached out to her, but she leaned away. "Let's go!" she yelled behind Hap's ear. Her foot kicked Old Red's flank, and the horse broke free, jerking the bridle out of the Comanche's other hand. Hap caught the saddle horn and held on.
    Still stunned, Bull Calf stared after them, then found his voice. "You tell white chief Bull Calf no take woman— you tell him! Tell 'um give food!" he shouted.
    "You'll rot in hell first," Hap muttered under his breath. As he said it, the woman's knee bumped his left thigh, making him sick to his stomach. It was all he could do to gasp, "Got a bad leg. Damned thing's sore as a boil. Got to watch out for it. Can't stand—"
    Feeling him weave unsteadily, she reached around his waist and locked her thin fingers together across his stomach, holding him within her tight embrace. Despite the heavy hide coat, his body felt cold and his shirt was as soaked as if he'd been in the river.
    "You sick, mister?" she asked over his shoulder.
    He started to deny it, then swallowed the words with another wave of nausea. "Yeah, well, you don't look too good yourself," he managed finally. "Be damned lucky if we make it in."
    "We've got to. How far to the agency?"
    "I don't know," he gritted out.
    All he could think was that he had to concentrate on getting there. He was so tired, so damned weak. He felt like some old man about to nod off, but he couldn't. He had to keep thinking. He had to keep his mind going somehow. With an effort he pursed his lips and tried to whistle "Dixie," but after the first bar he lost his place and had to abandon it.
    As silence descended like a curtain between them, the sleet came down harder, icing everything it touched, even his mustache, laying a deceptively pretty glaze over rocks, bare limbs, and dead grass. If the heavy snow would just hold off a little longer... just half an hour longer...
    They were going to make it. They had to. She'd come too far, endured too much, to give up now, Annie told herself fervently. She was holding freedom within her grasp, and God could not abandon her now. Closing her eyes, she prayed for the man in front of her, for her own safety, and for Susannah. Always for Susannah. She didn't know how long she prayed, only that she did.
    His whole body shook as if he had the ague, and yet he