Limp and sated, she reluctantly tore herself away from his embrace. “I need to check on the baby,” she murmured in his ear. “It’s almost dawn.”
Gabriel drew her down for one last lingering kiss. “You’re a good mother to her. Salai is lucky to have you.”
She smiled. “I’m the lucky one. If not for her, I’d have left long ago, without ever really knowing you. It was Salai who brought us together.”
The morning mist was heavy, and she could barely make out the cabin as they walked toward it hand in hand. Suddenly, Silla stiffened. “The door is open.”
She jerked away and ran toward the front porch, Gabriel at her heels. Silla dashed inside. As he leaped up the steps, she came out again, frantic.
“She’s gone! Salai is gone. She must have woken up during the night and wandered outside, searching for me.”
“I’ll find her. She can’t have gone far. Don’t follow me. You need to stay near the cabin in case she comes back.”
Before she could protest, Gabriel disappeared into the mist.
Silla dashed back inside and grabbed her bow and arrows. Surveying the area around the cabin, she spotted a tiny footprint in the damp ground. Using all her skills she began tracking the child’s movements, following a trail few white men would recognize. A small body moving through the field did not bend the grass the way a large creature would. The signs were far more subtle.
Putting aside her fear, she allowed instinct to take over, moving swiftly through the mist.
* * *
Gabriel ran to the barn and grabbed his rifle, slinging the musket ball pouch and powder horn over his shoulder. He was terrified for Salai, but he hadn’t wanted to show it in front of Silla. The bear was wounded, in pain now as well as hungry. If it came upon a helpless child with the same distinctive human odor as the creature that injured it, the bear would surely take out its wrath on her.
Making his way silently through the meadow, Gabriel realized how difficult his search would be. He dared not call out and risk drawing the bear’s attention if the animal was still in the area. But the grass stood taller than the child. She could be anywhere.
Gabriel smelled the bear before he saw it. He stopped dead. With its heightened senses, he knew the bear could smell him, too. The creature was so close he’d only have time for a single shot. He raised his rifle, steadied the butt against his shoulder, and took a deep breath.
A dark shape charged out of the mist, grunting and snarling. Gabriel sighted down the barrel and pulled the trigger.
There was a blinding flash and a loudboom, followed by a roar even more deafening than the blast from the rifle. The huge creature reared up on its hind legs a few yards in front of him, blood pouring from the wound in its chest. Crazed with anger and pain, determined to attack even while dying. Though he knew there was no time to fire another round, Gabriel reflexively began loading his rifle.
Time slowed to a crawl. He watched the bear take a step toward him, then another. Suddenly an arrow shot past his head and pierced the bear’s eye, the shaft driving deep into the animal’s brain. The beast stopped in its tracks then crashed to the ground at his feet.
Whirling around, Gabriel saw Silla standing frozen as a statue, one hand still gripping the taut string of her bow. Salai cowered near her feet, rubbing her eyes and whimpering. It looked as though she’d fallen asleep in the grass, only to be awakened by the fierce roar of the charging bear. He uttered a silent prayer of thanks that his little family was safe.
Taking a breath, Gabriel met Silla’s eyes.
“I see you still haven’t learned to obey my orders.” His voice betrayed none of the emotions flooding through his body.
“You said do not follow you. I did not. I followed the trail Salai left.”
She was rational and composed, as always.
“I also said to stay near the cabin.”
“Yes, you did.”
“And you disobeyed me.”
“Yes, I did.” She returned his steely gaze, defiant as ever.
“You saved my life and probably yours and Salai’s as well,” he said slowly. “But that doesn’t alter the facts. You were willful and disobedient. I will not have a wife who ignores my commands. Tonight, after we’ve taken care of the baby and secured the cabin door so she can’t wander away again, we will go back to the barn. You will pull up your skirt and lie across my lap. You’ve earned yourself another spanking.”
* * *
Wife? Silla barely took in the rest of his speech.
“What do you mean, ‘wife’?”