Sheriff Declan looked at Sager. "You realize that wily b.a.s.t.a.r.d just got your brother to take out the trash."

Logan looked over Sarah's head at Sager and the sheriff. His brother met his gaze. "Declan and I will be ready should you need us tomorrow."

"I only need you to watch out for Sarah."

Sager's expression hardened. "I do not need to be asked to guard my sister."

Logan smiled at him. He moved Sarah to one side so that he could reach a hand out to his brother.

Many Deer walked by him just then. Logan called to him. "Many Deer, this is my brother, Sager. He was the one who taught me the rope trick. If you like, he will teach it to you."

Many Deer stared at Sager for a long moment, animosity simmering in his hard gaze. Sager grinned. "Tell him if he is afraid, then I will not teach him," he said in English to Logan, making the hand signals for a coward as he spoke.

Many Deer untied the rope from his waist and handed it to Sager. "Tell him he will not sleep this night until he has taught it to me."

Logan translated the challenge. "Since you will be busy, hand me your bedrolls. I am going to sleep with my wife a short ways outside the village."

Chapter 19.

Logan watched Sarah step from the river. Twilight lingered in the western sky, but already a full moon was rising, low and orange and enormous on the eastern horizon. Its pale light glistened on Sarah's damp skin and in the water rivulets still streaming from her wet hair.

She stepped into her leggings and was reaching for her tunic, but Logan stopped her. "Just your moccasins." He moved his hand from her soft stomach up to cup a breast. The evening was warm and the breeze barely stirred. He wanted to drink in the sight of her nudity, covered only by the night.

He took up his clothing and the bedrolls his brother and the sheriff had lent them. He knelt to roll out the blankets on the eastern side of the hill so that they could watch the moonrise.

The bedrolls had been heavier than expected and he soon discovered why. In addition to routine foodstuffs in each, Sager's had a knife, a Colt, and a loaded gun belt. Declan's had a Colt, a sawed-off shotgun, a loaded gun belt, and cartridge belt. He hid the weapons under the edge of a bedroll, hoping they wouldn't be needed tomorrow.

"Good heavens! They brought an a.r.s.enal. And the sheriff was worried about the weapons they left with their horses when the women put them up."

"Sager's not one to go tracking without some firepower. Guess the sheriff's the same way."

Logan sat on the bedroll and looked up at her. Warmth pooled low between her hips as she watched his hungry gaze sweep over her. He hooked his fingers in the wide tie around her hips that her leggings were tied to. She stepped onto the bedroll, her feet on either side of his hips.

He kissed the area of her belly just above the tie. The stubble of his beard rasped against her soft skin. He bit the string and smiled up at her with it in his teeth as he pulled her a few inches farther over him.

"Logan?"

"Hm-mmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"Making love to my wife."

"I've never done it this way."

He made an unintelligible sound as he moved a finger between the folds of her s.e.x. He kissed her belly b.u.t.ton, then the soft skin of the lower part of her belly, down to her mound. Sarah sucked in a breath. Resting her hands on the crown of his head, she felt him move lower so that his tongue stroked where his fingers had just been. Warm and wet, pressing against and around the most sensitive area above her opening until she thought she might scream.

Two long fingers entered her body, stretching her, stroking inside as his tongue stroked outside. He caught her c.l.i.toris in his mouth and sucked. She bucked against his hand. His fingers were slipping in and out, in and out, in long, slow slides. She was slick. His fingers moved differently, pressing up against the upper wall of her v.a.g.i.n.a, tapping, tapping. Something thick and warm began to uncoil. Her legs felt like rubber.

"Logan, I can't stand."

He pulled back enough to answer her. "Yes, you can, honey." She missed his tongue. But something was happening, something terrible. Wonderful. His fingers rapped again and again at the same spot until she broke. She cried out as her body convulsed, her inner muscles clenching around his fingers. He pulled her down over his lap, impaling her with his erection, sending her flying into a second and third release while he pumped into her, sinking to his b.a.l.l.s in her flesh. Holding her, he turned them so that she was on her back. He covered her with his body. He twined his fingers with hers as his c.o.c.k moved inside her. There was no fear in her face. She watched him with her great, dark eyes. Pa.s.sion tightened her features. He could feel her pa.s.sion start to crest again. He cupped a breast, pressing it upward so that he could suckle her. She cried out his name as she flew over the edge, taking him with her. He ground her hips against his body, holding her tightly to him as he spilled himself inside her.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, felt him tighten his hold on her. There were no words she could find to express the depth of her love. He'd found her, protected her, cherished her. He was always true, always kind. And she stood to lose him tomorrow.

"Logan," she said in a broken whisper against his neck, her arms and legs still wrapped around him. "Let's run away. Let's go far and fast and never stop."

He stroked her back, his hand warm and calloused. "What's this? Run like cowards?"

"I cannot live without you."

He pulled back. Her hair was nearly dry. He smoothed it from her cheek, held it still beneath his palms as he gripped her face. "Nor I you." He studied her face. "You have nothing to fear about tomorrow. It is just a fight. I will not take careless chances."

"You are already so injured from Swift Elk's attack."

"I will not fail tomorrow. I will not lose. Believe in me, even if you believe in nothing else." Still embedded in her warmth, he moved inside her. "I want you again. A hundred more times tonight." He wanted to drive every memory of every other man out of her mind so that when she saw the two who had nearly destroyed her life tomorrow, she would have no room in her mind or her soul to think of any man but him.

Cloud Walker's warriors stood in a wide circle, forming a natural arena. The sun was directly overhead; it beat down on the three men with blistering heat. Swift Elk paced toward Logan, who stood in place, watching him come near. None of the three had a weapon, nor did any in the first circle of observers. This was a fight to the death in straight hand-to-hand combat.

Each man was dressed in a breechclout, nothing else. No moccasins covered their feet. Hawkins, being unfamiliar with the attire, was the most disadvantaged. Logan kept his eyes fixed on Swift Elk but monitored Hawkins with his peripheral vision. The former chief did not speak to Hawkins. Didn't look at him or signal in any way that he could perceive, but it felt as if they moved in sync, both focusing on Logan as the first target.

Swift Elk charged toward him. Logan jumped to the side at the last moment, shoving an elbow into his ribs as he went past. Hawkins grabbed him, trying to trip him. Logan rolled to his back, taking Hawkins with him, using the fast motion to flip Sarah's first husband. Logan bounded to his feet as Swift Elk grabbed his wounded arm, digging his fingers into the bandage until blood darkened the white linen. Logan gripped his shoulder, pulling him forward, banging his forehead against Swift Elk's. They staggered apart.

Hawkins was on his feet. He slammed a fist against a dark bruise on Logan's back. Logan arched in pain, but turned to face his attacker, grabbing his fist before he could land another blow, spinning him around in front of him. Just as they turned, Swift Elk landed a punch that was intended for Logan. If he'd hit Logan's cracked rib, he would have driven it into his lung. Instead, the punch landed in the middle of Hawkins's chest.

Seeing his botched hit, Swift Elk grabbed both men and tripped Logan, dropping them to the ground. Logan still held a sputtering Hawkins in his arms. He wrapped an arm around Hawkins's chest and another around his jaw. "This is for Sarah," he said before snapping the man's neck.

Swift Elk tried to kick Logan's head, but he rolled to the side and jumped to his feet. The two men circled each other within the ring of warriors. The cut on Logan's temple began throbbing. The blood on his cheek told him the cut had opened up again. He swiped the blood from his face just as Swift Elk jumped him, landing a fist in his stomach, a hard cross to his nose.

Logan kicked Swift Elk's knee, bending it sideways, snapping the kneecap. He followed with a kick to the groin. Swift Elk rolled to the side and tried to drag himself away. Logan stared down at him, heard him begging for death. An image flashed in Logan's mind of what Swift Elk had done to Sarah when he'd captured her, what he'd allowed his men to do for weeks until he'd married her. She'd begged for mercy and never received it.

He had no stomach for killing, but he hadn't lied when he'd told Sarah that mad dogs had to die. Swift Elk had dragged himself over to the nearest warrior. He begged him to kill him. The man stood as if unaware of Swift Elk. Logan looked around the ring of people, desperate to see Sarah. He found Sager and Declan watching him, their faces somber. Sager turned away. Logan swayed. Then he saw Sarah. Sager had lifted her to one of their horses. She was fine. She was safe. If Cloud Walker had him killed after he ended Swift Elk's life, Sager and Declan would get her out of there.

He walked over to Swift Elk, who clung to the legs of one of the warriors. He gripped his head and twisted fast, ending his life. When he straightened, he looked around the circle of warriors. No one moved or spoke, but the whole a.s.sembly seemed to spin and dance. He fell to one knee, coughing on the blood from his broken nose.

A loud cry went up among the men. Cloud Walker shouted to the Great Spirit, thanking him for sending the two bad-hearted men to their demise. One of the warriors gave Logan a knife, told him to take Swift Elk's scalp so that he couldn't enter the great hunting grounds of the afterlife.

Logan shook his head, refusing to take the knife. Let someone else deal the final insult. He would do no more. Then Sager and Declan were there, standing over him. Sager knelt before him. He was saying something, but the words made no sense to Logan, couldn't get through the humming in his ears. His brother held the back of Logan's head and cracked his nose back into place. Logan bent over and vomited from the pain and the blood and the tension of the fight.

Sager and Declan helped him to his feet. Sarah pushed her way through the crowd, rushing to Logan's side. He crushed her to him, heedless of the dirt and blood covering him. The humming receded. He was still unsteady on his feet, but the world began to right itself very slowly.

When he looked up, Cloud Walker was there. His face was filled with resignation, relief. He reached for Logan's forearm. Logan clasped his arm. "You have said you would not kill a friend. I am glad to see you could kill an enemy."

"It is done."

Cloud Walker nodded. "It is done," he repeated, making the hand signal for the end of a transaction.

"What happens now?"

"Tonight, we will feast. We will dance and celebrate the people we once were, our great heroes who are no longer among us, and the heroes who will help us in our new path.

"Tomorrow, we will begin our move to the agencies. We cannot live peacefully in our own lands. Your people have seen to that. We will be a long time recovering from the wounds your people have caused."

Logan knew no words could lessen the pain Cloud Walker and his people faced in leaving their lands and giving themselves over to the agencies in the Dakotas. Logan was glad for the pain from his broken nose, for it explained the water in his eyes. "If you have need of me, send word through my posts or to the ranch near where you found me yesterday. I will come if you summon me."

Cloud Walker nodded. "It is good to know that we have one friend among our enemy's people." The chief walked away, keeping his head raised, his shoulders square, his broken heart hidden from his people.

The four began making their way through the crowd to their horses. Declan helped Sarah to mount, while Sager got Logan into his saddle. Logan forced himself to straighten. He looked across the proud faces of Cloud Walker's people. He hoped he would see them again, though he knew something had changed that day, something that would never again be the same. He looked at Sarah, who watched him with a steady, intense regard, then at his brother and the sheriff, who were likewise watchful.

He nodded. "Let's goa"" He stopped himself from saying "home." The Circle Bar wasn't his home. Maybe it never really had been. He'd grown up there, but he'd long known he was just a placeholder for Sid's only blood son. He couldn't blame Sid for that, and he no longer blamed Sager. It just was, that's all. He'd made a life outside the Circle Bar, one he was proud of, one that had helped many people.

Sarah was his home now. Wherever she was, he would be, and he would be complete.

Chapter 20.

A half hour from the Circle Bar, Logan began to sway in his saddle. His eyes were swollen shut, he could no longer direct his horse, instead depending on his mount to follow the others in the group. His head was throbbing, the pain and movement making him nauseous. He couldn't even grind his teeth, because that sent more pain shearing through his skull. All he could do was breathe, but even that hurta"his cracked rib felt as if a steel trap had clamped down on his side.

Sager and Declan flanked him closely. He forced himself to straighten again. "Logan, give me your reins," Sager ordered. "Declan, put Sarah up there behind him."

"Bad idea, Sager," Logan growled as they came to a stop. "If I fall backward, I will crush her, and we'll still both fall off the horse."

"Don't bet on it, Logan. I'm stronger than you think," Sarah said, gripping fistfuls of Logan's leggings. "Lean back against me."

"You're as big as a minute, woman. Not even that, maybe just a half minute." He felt her nod against his shoulder toward Sager. They moved into a trot. Logan cursed and took hold of Sarah's hands, holding her to him even as he leaned back against her.

At the house, people erupted from the front door, including Sid, a beautiful blond woman, and several young boys, their voices raised in a cacophony of excitement. Sarah felt Logan stiffen. His tension slipped into her. She couldn't help staring at the woman who had to be Rachel. The woman who'd rejected Logan. She felt an unwelcome wash of jealousy slip through her. Did he still have feelings for her?

Rachel smiled at her. Sarah nodded in response to the tentative greeting. She'd never been jealous a minute in her life and didn't like the feel of it now.

Sager dismounted, catching Rachel as she launched herself at him. He knelt and hugged each of the three boys, his sons, Sarah realized. He looked at Sid. "Why are you here? I wanted you to wait at Old Jack's."

"Your wife wanted us here so that we could help when you got back. Maybe you haven't noticed, but when she gets the bit between her teeth, there ain't much a person can do. Boys, stand aside, let your dad and the sheriff get Uncle Logan down." He waved the children back.

Sager helped Sarah down; then he and Declan got Logan off. Declan took his head, Sager his feet, and they carried him up the front porch.

"G.o.d Almighty, Logan. What happened, son?" Sid whispered.

Logan tried to smile but wasn't sure the gesture made it to his lips. "It's a long story."

"And it starts with a woman," Declan scoffed.

"Of course," Sager added, giving Sarah a quick wink.

"Don't pay them any heed, Sarah," Rachel said, taking her arm. "They'll only be worse if they think they can get to you."

"Rachel?" Logan held up a hand.

She took it quickly, pressing a quick kiss on his sc.r.a.ped and bruised knuckles. "Hi, Logan. We thought you'd never come home again."

"Honey, think you could scold him when we get him to his room?" Sager asked. "He ain't exactly a lightweight."

Sarah pulled free of Rachel's hand and hurried down the hallway to turn down the covers on the bed in Logan's room. She settled the pillows behind Logan. When she straightened, the room was filled with people. His father, Rachel, Sager, the sheriff, a couple of the ranch hands, the housekeeper, and three boys jostling for position in front of the adults. All of them wore faces filled with love, worry, and fatigue. These weren't people who hated Logan. Not a one of them. Why had he left them?

"Out. All of you. Out. He needs to rest," she insisted.

Sager grinned at Sarah. "Looks like you got yourself a little she-bear after all, brother." He went over to her and pulled her into a hug. "I told you he'd live to tell." He kissed her forehead, then took Rachel's hand and headed for the door.

"Shout if you need anything, Sarah," Rachel called as Sager pulled her from the room. "I'll bring bandages and a medical kit."

The room fell silent. She listened to the noise grow distant down the hallway.

"Sarah, honey, you still here?"

"Yes."

"Come over here."

She sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes were swollen shut; red vied with black, blue, and purple for the primary color of his face. She choked back a sob.

"That good, huh? This is nothing, sweetheart. Well, it's a little worse than usuala""

"Logan Taggert, don't you dare tell me you're often in fights. I won't have it. I just won't."

He lifted a hand to her cheek. "I want to get something straight right now, honey. You're my wife, Sarah Taggert." He must have felt her brace for an argument, for his thumb quickly covered her lips. "We were married in the way of the Great Spirit and before G.o.d. I have grave doubts about your first marriage's validity. We know Hawkins used several aliases. There might have been several other women he married and cheated just like you. In a couple of weeks, when I'm allowed to get up and about, we'll redo our vows, here, in front of friends and family. Until then, you are my wife. You will sleep here in my room, in this bed, with me."

"What about your family? What will they think?"

He pulled her onto the bed, into the crook of his arm, against his side. "Sager has already accepted you. Rachel will be happy to have another female so nearby. And Sid will love you because I do. They are your family now." Logan threaded his fingers through hers. "What is it, honey? You're wound tight enough to break."

Sarah sighed. This was not the time to be fretting about her petty worries.

"Out with it."

"Do you still have feelings for Rachel?"

"I do. Very strong feelings." She started to pull away, but his arm tightened around her. "They are exactly the same type of feelings I have for Sager or Sid. h.e.l.l, even Rachel's dad, Old Jack. They're family. I would give my life for any of them, as they would for me or you." He kissed the top of Sarah's head. "But I am not in love with her. I never was. I love you. And only you." He nuzzled her forehead. "It's kinda fun having you jealous. Tell me about it again."