He took another drink. ‘‘I figured while everyone was waiting for him to pass on, I’d just wait for you to come out. Then I’d snatch you up and bring you home where you belong. After the funeral, we’ll move back into that big house. Since the law thinks you’re his bride, you’ll get everything. By the time he’s cold, you’ll be mine in the eyes of the Lord. I can promise you that.’’
Kora pulled at the ropes. ‘‘He’s not dead.’’
Andrew wasn’t listening. ‘‘We need a better place to hide until you come to your senses. I wouldn’t want anyone finding us until you wise up. You liked me enough once to marry me. I figure it’ll just be a matter of time until you do again.’’
‘‘Let me go!’’ Kora screamed, her patience at an end. The man was insane if he thought time would change anything. ‘‘I’m not, nor will I ever be, your wife!’’
Andrew gulped a long swallow of whiskey. He leaned across the table and slapped her hard.
Kora felt her ears ring and her eyes blur.
‘‘I didn’t want to do that,’’ he said almost in tears, ‘‘but you got to come to your senses and realize you still belong to me.’’
She could feel his whiskey breath only inches away as his hand doubled back and struck her again.
‘‘You got to see the facts, girl,’’ he mumbled as he grabbed his bottle and moved away from her. ‘‘I got to do whatever it takes to make you realize I’m your husband. I got to.’’
Kora was silent as her head rocked forward.
TWENTY-SIX
KORA KNEW IT HAD TO BE MIDAFTERNOON. THE DUGOUT was warm with streams of light shooting through tiny cracks in the roof. Dust danced playfully in the sunbeams, as if nothing was wrong with the world.
No one from Winter’s ranch had come for her. Could it be possible they didn’t know she was missing? Something was delaying them. The range war Win always talked about might have started, or Win may have grown worse. A hundred thoughts came to mind.
Cramps in her legs made her muscles twitch. Her wrists were raw from trying to free her hands. The rope around her waist kept her from breathing deeply, and the wooden back of the chair seemed to be cutting into her spine.
Andrew Adams had finally drunk himself into a deep sleep. He’d wandered over several times during the morning to slap her and then spent time telling her how much he hated doing it. After each cruelty came a sermon. Kora hated the sermons worse than the blows. He mumbled on and on about having parents who’d known right from wrong and that they had finally beat rules into him. Now he saw it as his duty to make her see the error of her ways.
The last time he’d tried to convince her of how important it was for her to listen to him, he’d been so drunk he’d missed when he’d tried to hit her. The action had infuriated him, sending him headlong into a drinking binge.
Since the first slap, Kora remained silent. She knew the only thing he wanted to hear, and he’d have to beat her to death before she’d claim to be his wife. The whiskey changed him into a different man. But whether he was a sober coward or a drunken bully made no difference in her conviction to be free of him.
She was exhausted from having no sleep the night before. Her body ached, but she didn’t dare close her eyes.
Andrew lay across a filthy bed. His bags were packed by the door. He was waiting until nightfall to take her away. His plan was to disappear until she’d grown accustomed to him, then return to claim Win’s land. If someone didn’t get here soon, it would be too late to find her.
An hour passed, then another. Kora tried to move so that she was comfortable. Just as she felt her eyes closing, the door slowly opened.
‘‘Winter,’’ she whispered, thinking her prayers had been answered. Somehow he’d recovered from the bites and found her.
But to her shock, Dan walked through the door. He moved in his slow way to the fireplace and sat down on the ground in the dark corner where his chair had once been. His thin body folded into the shadows, almost disappearing.
‘‘Dan,’’ she whispered, knowing he’d never hear her. ‘‘Dan, please help me.’’
But he didn’t move.
Kora whispered his name again, realizing somehow he’d climbed into the wagon last night to sleep and Andrew hadn’t seen him before dawn. Knowing he was here added responsibility, but no comfort.
Dan didn’t budge as she whispered his name again. She had to look closely even to be sure he was there.
‘‘Dan!’’ she begged. ‘‘Please hear me!’’
She was trying to cross twenty years of not listening. Somewhere along the line Dan had stopped hearing, and he couldn’t be pulled back now. The war had killed a part of him, and all her calling couldn’t bring him back.
‘‘Dan! Please! Hear me!’’ He was her only hope of getting free. If he could just help they could be gone before Andrew Adams woke up. ‘‘Dan, it’s Kora.’’
Andrew mumbled in his sleep and rolled over. ‘‘What?’’ he yelled.
Kora looked down, trying to act as if she were asleep in the chair. Her hair fell over her eyes, making a curtain she could barely see through.
Andrew rubbed his face and stumbled forward. ‘‘Did you call me, girl?’’
Kora fought back the fear. She had to do something fast to get both herself and Dan out of here. She could wait no longer for someone to save her.
‘‘I’ve decided you’re right, Andrew. I am your wife.’’ Kora bit back her lie.
He glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
Kora forced the words. ‘‘I’ve been remembering all those things you said in your letters. You’re right, I was your wife first and that’s the way it should be. If you’ll untie me, I’d like to cook supper. I’m really hungry.’’
Though he stood staring at her, he was still just drunk enough to believe her. ‘‘And you ain’t mad at me for smacking you? ’Cause you know I didn’t want to have to do that, but you wouldn’t listen.’’
‘‘I’m not mad,’’ Kora lied. ‘‘You did what you had to do.’’
‘‘That’s the truth.’’ He straightened, proud that she’d seen the light. ‘‘I knew you couldn’t be happy with that half-breed no matter how rich he is. Folks say he’s the hardest man in the county.’’ He looked down at his feet. ‘‘Since we’re starting out, I want to tell you somethin’. I didn’t write those letters, but they was my thoughts. I ain’t never learned about writing.’’
Kora couldn’t bring herself to say anything against Win. ‘‘I belong here, with you,’’ she answered. ‘‘Whether you wrote the letters or not.’’
‘‘That’s right, you do.’’ Andrew smiled a yellowed grin. ‘‘All I want is a woman to work around the place and warm my bed at night. I won’t even smack you around if you behave yourself. In time you’ll settle in just fine.’’
Kora studied him, feeling sorry for him. He was a little man who seemed to be shrinking before her eyes.
‘‘You will warm my bed tonight, won’t you, girl?’’ he asked.
‘‘All right,’’ she forced herself to say. ‘‘Now, untie me.’’
He pulled out a long hunting knife from his boot and slit the cord he’d used to tie her to the chair. Leaning, forward, he untied her hands. ‘‘I don’t want no trouble. I only want a wife,’’ he mumbled. ‘‘I never wanted any trouble, but a man can’t just let somebody take what’s his without doing something.’’
He tossed the knife on the table and staggered toward the door, swelling in victory. ‘‘But don’t get any ideas about running off again or I’ll beat you, yes, I will.’’ Puffing up his chest and straightening his belt, he said with pride, ‘‘My pa used to have to beat my ma ever’ now and again, but I never heard her complain. After the beatings, she was always real nice to him.’’