Captive Heart (Cartwright Gals: A Romancing the Ponderosa Spinoff Book 2)

Chapter 8

I feel Brie sigh and I know she's already asleep. Shane continues to walk towards us, obviously mad that Brie moved but I don't care, she's exhausted and she probably isn't going to wake up for a while either. I could tell by the look on her face and the way her words were so slow that she was going to fall over at any given moment no matter what anybody did. I figured I might as well make that fall a little bit softer by having her lay her head in my lap. I look up and find Shane standing over us, hands on hips, ugly scowl on his gruffly bearded face.

"Canaday, what do you think you're doing?" I had forgotten how his voice always sounds like a deep, rumbly growl.

"Letting the girl get a little bit of sleep." I snarl back. "She ain't going anywhere so don't worry your sorry hide about her running off again."

"Watch your tongue, Canaday," he bends down, whipping out his knife again, which he points at me, "or I'll cut it out."

We hold each other in an intense glare; I don't back down but I can see my stare slightly unnerves him as he finally looks away. Standing back up, he puts the knife away before he lets out an angry growl and stomps back to his partners. When we crossed paths five years ago I was, or course younger, but I also didn't have any attachments, I just drifted to and fro. Now it's different, I have a family and a woman I love more than anything. Even though we aren't married yet, I'd die for Brie or anyone in her family. We're all a tight knit bunch that feel like a giant family despite the fact we aren't all blood kin. I've always wanted to be a part of something like that and now that I've gotten it, I won't let it all be ripped away from me without a fight.

Wanting to lean back against the rock but knowing I can't thanks to my tied hands, I watch the sleeping girl in my lap instead. Despite the fact that the position she's laying in has to be uncomfortable, she sleeps like a rock. Her chopped off hair sticks to her sweaty face and I wish I could brush it off but I can't. Just thinking about how Shane chopped off her hair like that makes me ache inside. Brie told me a while back right after we started courting, that when she was fifteen she had to chop off all of her hair at chin length. She had been doing homework at the table and had fallen asleep, head pillowed on her book. In her sleep she knocked over her bottle of ink with her elbow and it ran into her hair, staining a great deal of it. Her mother had no choice but to cut it all off at her chin. She said she wore a bonnet whenever she left the house for a full year after that and I know it's taken her those ten years to grow it as long as it was. Brie's not a vain person in the least, but her hair was something special to her and now she's going to have to grow it all out again.

She turns slightly in her sleep and I notice her locket's missing. Shane must have taken that too, and it must be the way he figured out who she really was. Shane's dealt her quite a few blows in the short time he's had her, first the locket, then her hair, and now me.

Leaning back as far I can onto the rock, I begin to try and come up with an escape plan. I have two days before Ben and the boys bring the money, but something in my gut and how well I know the Cartwrights tells me that they'll try to get us out of this pickle without the money and the two days. Yet I never take anything for granted, so I've still got to try and find a way out of here should something happen.

Realizing Shane'll probably tie Brie's hands behind her back once she's awake, throws my initial plan of having her untie me during the night out the window. Anyways, I don't think she could physically make it through another night of running. The heat of the day and the warmth coming from Brie are making my head foggy so I quit trying to come up with a plan for now and just keep an eye on Shane and his boys.

About an hour later, the smell of beans and bacon drifts towards me. It makes my empty stomach rumble, reminding me that I only had a hasty cup of coffee this morning, but at least that was more than Brie had. She's still sleeping soundly in my lap and is bound to wake up since she hasn't moved but once and that was right after she fell asleep. Even though it's only been an hour, my shoulders already feel like they're on fire and I lost the feeling in my legs over half and hour ago.

I hear bickering over by the fire again. I look over to find out what all the fuss is about and see Carlito walking towards us with a canteen and two steaming plates. Without even realizing it, I let out a sigh, the sight of him partially wiping away the fear that they were going to starve us.

"Wake the senorita up," he tells me with a scowl, "or she'll not eat until tomorrow."

"Brie, wake up." She doesn't move, so I bounce my legs slightly and try again, this time using her real name, "Gabriella, wake up."

The bounce does it and she stirs slightly, waking up. Still half asleep, she glances up at me and then over at Carlito. She slowly sits up, her movements stiff and she lets out a quiet, protestful groan. As soon as she has her back against the rock, Carlito plops her plate in her lap and sticks the canteen between us. Reaching down, he unties her hands and she slowly begins to eat. Pulling me roughly forwards, he unites my hands, too, and picks my plate off the ground and nearly spills it on me as he practically throws it on my lap.

He stands and watches us as we try to empty our plates as quickly as possible. The second they're empty and we've both taken a drink from the canteen, he grabs and throws them in the dirt beside him. He yanks me forwards yet again and he ties my hands behind my back. Turning to Brie he doesn't tie her hands in front of her again, just like I figured, he ties them behind her. He grabs the plates and canteen before he walks back to the others.

"Feel better?" I ask her as soon as he's gone.

"A little. What time is it?"

"I figure about noon."

"It's going to be a very long day." She sighs.

" 'Fraid so."