The Hawk and the Eagle by Mischelle Creager

Author:Mischelle Creager
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 19th Century, family life, Marriage of convenience, adoption, Colorado, ranch, betrayal, vengeance, friendship, love, vows, honor, hope, starting over, children, MacPherson, Ute Indians, inspirational romance, historical, rancher, horses, dog, cowboy, second chance, women's fiction, historical romance
Publisher: Worbly Publishing
Published: 2015-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Adam stood in the darkness at the window of his bedroom, staring at the house a short distance away. He hadn’t realized until he returned from Chicago and found out that Nia had married Clay, just how much his bedroom window lined up with Clay’s room.

His fingers curled into a fist as he watched Nia in Clay’s room. What was she doing there? The light went out. A growl rolled around deep in his chest. Never before had he seen her in Clay’s room at night.

Adam slammed his fist against the wall. He had fought Indians. He had fought soldiers. He had fought outlaws. But he couldn’t fight this—the woman he loved married to another man.

He turned away from the window and left the house. With long strides, he headed to the barn. He needed a long, hard ride. A quick glance at the sky showed that the moon gave enough light to see the way.

In the barn, he headed straight to Shadow’s stall and led the horse out with just his voice. Once outside, Adam gripped the mane and slung himself on the stallion. Molding himself to the animal’s back, Adam leaned forward over Shadow’s neck. “Let’s go, boy.”

The minutes flew by as the wind blew through Adam’s hair, which was shorter now that he was Adam Hollister instead of Adam Lone Eagle. In some ways, he mourned those days when he was free to live as he wanted, free of the responsibilities of ranching, free to love Nia and dream of a future together with her.

But would he trade all he had now for what he had before? Images of PJ, Elizabeth, and Timmy—their sad, scared eyes—when he first saw them at Uncle Jasper’s house flashed through his head, followed by their faces now—grinning, excited, hopeful. The answer was no. No matter what the cost, but he would have done things a bit differently. He would have—

Something flickered up ahead and off to the side of where he was riding. It was there for a moment, then gone. Keeping his voice low, he urged Shadow to slow down. As he recalled, there were some caves up there.

He dropped down from Shadow’s back and wished he had on moccasins instead of boots. Step by almost silent step, Adam made his way closer to where he saw that flicker. He pulled the knife from the sheath he wore on his belt.

The air almost throbbed like a heart beating as it floated on faint wood smoke. Someone was out there in front of him, waiting for him. Silent as a cloud passing overhead even with his boots, Adam circled around and came up on the other side of the cave. Other smells now filled the air—none of them good.

He crouched low and made his way closer to the entrance of the cave. A sound—a whimper—drifted in the air. He drew closer.

All at once, something flew at him, knocking him backwards, forcing the air out of his chest, causing his head to strike the ground hard.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.