Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

got lonely in these mountains, but to take a woman against her will was despicable. He swore that if he found this woman’s man, and she had been an unwilling wife, he might have to kill him. He stood abruptly and ran a hand through his hair, clenching and unclenching his jaw as he paced by the fire. Why this sudden strong emotion to hurt someone over a woman, a white woman, he didn’t even know?  
    Elk Runner found Daniel’s camp sometime after dark. He brought two rabbits and a grouse. Silently they skinned, plucked, and gutted the meat, then skewered it on sticks to roast over the fire.
    “What will you do with her?” Elk Runner finally spoke.
    “You are the one who found her.”
    “I already have a wife.” Elk Runner shrugged. “I give her to you. Besides, she is too small for my taste. She hardly has any meat on her bones.”
    “Take her to your village and have Little Bird tend to her until she is recovered.” Daniel didn’t relish the thought of spending any time with this woman. He had learned his lesson well years ago. Thankfully, he only encountered white women in St. Louis when he traveled that far to trade his furs. That amounted to once every couple of years.
    “We do not speak the white man’s tongue,” Elk Runner reminded him again. “She would be better off with you at your cabin. You know the white man’s ways.”
    “Perhaps we should find her man,” Daniel suggested.
    “I did not see any tracks that indicated she had a companion,” Elk Runner said. “But I will go in the morning and retrace her trail. Perhaps I can find out where she comes from. Someone is probably looking for her. No one leaves a woman behind in these mountains. Unless,” he added thoughtfully, “she is crazy like I said, and her man was trying to get rid of her.”
    Daniel’s eyes perused the feminine creature lying there. She appeared small, frail, and helpless. Was she crazy? No man would deliberately get rid of her. In this wilderness, she would be a most sought-after prize.
    “You can help me build a travois in the morning before you go. I can’t carry her all the way back.” Elk Runner was right. He didn’t have a choice but to take her back to his cabin with him. As he studied her some more, a peculiar sense of protectiveness took hold in him. The sensation was puzzling. Hadn’t past experience taught him that a white woman was nothing but trouble? Even so, he would make damn sure no more harm came to her while she remained in his care. He would do no less for anyone else in need of help.
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    Aimee stirred awake. Faraway voices echoed in her head. There wasn’t a spot on her body that didn’t scream out in pain. Her pulse throbbed painfully in her injured foot. Lifting her heavy eyelids slightly, reality set in. Someone had rescued her. Her skin tingled as life-giving heat seeped into her body, although she still shivered under the blanket. Her mouth and throat didn’t feel as if she’d swallowed a wad of cotton anymore, but she knew she had to be dehydrated. When she opened her eyes a bit more, the silhouettes of two men sitting by a campfire several yards away came into view. They were talking in a strange language. They had to be Indians.
    Oh God, I hope they’re friendly . Her mind conjured up a vague memory of strong yet gentle arms carrying her. Or had that been a dream? If these two meant to hurt her, wouldn’t they have done it by now?
     The vulnerability of her situation hit her full force.  Dammit! Zach should have known better than to send her off like this on her own, or at the very least, prepared her better. What had he been thinking? He must have known how dangerous this would be for her. Then again, what had she been thinking? She’d been thinking he was lying, that’s what. And she had convinced him she was up to the challenge of a wilderness survival trip.
    Snippets of her conversations with Zach echoed in her mind as she lay there, wondering how she was going