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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| 8eb974d | I'm in no need of matrimony, Father. I still my honor." Hunter jerked her to his side and, in an ominously even voice, said, "Your honor will soon go the way of the wind, Blue Eyes. You made a God promise. You are my woman! Now I say you will be my wife!" | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 2843bc6 | If you hunger, we will have nuts and fruit, eh?" Loretta swallowed a lump of air. Fruit and nuts were better than the alternative. Maybe, if she ate one nut at a time..."All right, fruit and nuts." He spread a buffalo robe beside the fire while she put the pot away and dug up a parfleche of fruit and nuts from his store of preserved edibles. Kneeling beside him, Loretta munched industriously, staring into the leaping flames, aware with ever.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 73cd301 | She swallowed, trying to avoid his gaze and failing miserably. When their eyes met, she felt as if the ground fell away. There was no mistaking that look in his eye. The moment of reckoning had come. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 0302b35 | Now they were married, even in the eyes of people. For forever. The thought panicked her as she pushed her dress down her hips and stood to step out of it. She would have to go through this disgusting ritual not just once, but thousands of times. Now she wished she hadn't tricked him into promising he would take only one wife. Plural marriage might have its benefits. With several wives he might lose track of her in the shuffle and never .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 89c10d9 | Loretta was stuffing her belongings into her satchel when Hunter stepped into the lodge. He stood in the shadows a moment, watching her. The firelight fell across her, shimmering in her golden hair, flickering across the leather that skimmed her bent shoulders. She was sobbing. The sounds cut through him. "Blue Eyes?" His whisper snapped her head around. She sprang to her feet, his eyes huge with shock, her lips pale. "I'm leaving, Hunter.".. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 01ea4a1 | Why is the misery of a child so hilarious to other children? | Joyce Carol Oates | ||
| def937f | If you flee, this Comanche will follow you. Anyone who tries to keep you from me will die. Think long and hard on this. I paid a fine bride price. You are my woman. What is mine, I keep." "You wouldn't!" She said with a gasp. "My family, Hunter?" The stunned disbelief that crossed her face nearly made Hunter retract the threat, but he knew if he did, she would run at the first opportunity. If she feared for her loved ones, she would be less.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 460758b | You will lie beside me. This night and for always. You cannot run. If you do, death will ride beside you, wherever you go. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b8510d5 | Opening it, she withdrew her neatly folded bloomers. Creeping to the bed, she laid them on the fur beside Hunter. Tears stung her eyes as she straightened. So many memories. Sadness twisted through her. Hunter, saluting her at midnight, her bloomers trailing behind him. Hunter, lifting them to his nose and sniffing the flower scent, his eyes alight with laughter. One day, when the bitterness left him, perhaps he would look at those drawers .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 2706bdf | One disastrous marriage in this family is aplenty. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| fb8d505 | Tears sprang to Hunter's eyes when she reached up to hug his neck, clinging to him even though he was the one hurting her. He had asked her to trust him this one last time. And she had. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 53eb57e | Someone must preserve the ways of the People," Warrior rasped, "someone who will sing our songs and teach our ways. Unless you do that, all that we are will be lost. You must go get your woman and take her far away into the west lands where this war does not reach." Warrior's voice shook with emotion. "To a new place, Hunter. You know the words of the song." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 8ea7dcd | They drifted back to reality slowly, limbs entwined, heartbeats erratic, bodies shimmering with sweat. Hunter drew her head onto his shoulder, unwilling to let her go. A half smile settled on his mouth. He knew this first coupling had fallen far short of what it could have been, what it would be the second time. He had been tense, and so had she, not to mention the pain he had inflicted. His smile broadened. This small woman filled the empt.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 7552846 | Over the next few weeks, the Comanches attacked with a vengeance. News came that the mercenaries, en route to attack another village, were all killed. Tales of Hunter filtered to the Masters farm, some horrible, some heartbreakingly familiar. As fiercely as the Indians waged war, Hunter still spared women and children. Loretta's eyes filled with tears when she was told by the border patrol from Fort Belknap that somewhere along the Red Rive.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 75408a2 | Over the next few weeks, the Comanches attacked with a vengeance. News came that the mercenaries, en route to attack another village, were all killed. Tales of Hunter filtered to the Masters farm, some horrible, some heartbreakingly familiar. As fiercely as the Indians waged war, Hunter still spared women and children. Loretta's eyes filled with tears when she was told by the border patrol from Fort Belknap that somewhere along the Red Rive.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 986e3ee | She realized now that there was no good or bad, no right or wrong, just people fighting for their lives. Wonderful people, who lived and loved and laughed. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 42c5a5b | The sins of others can never become the measure of your own. | Adrienne von Speyr | ||
| 0857ff5 | When we sin, we think we are geniuses; when we confess, we know we are idiots. | Adrienne von Speyr | ||
| 7cda709 | As she lifted the skirt to examine it, Hunter stepped into the lodge, sending her scurrying for cover under the buffalo robe. Flashing her a mischievous smile, he said, "Maiden sent the clothes. Next time, you will not be wrapped in so much , yes? It will take us much less time to do nothing." He turned and left the lodge before Loretta realized he had made a joke. It took even longer before she smiled. There was a promise behind the light.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| c38d037 | As she lifted the skirt to examine it, Hunter stepped into the lodge, sending her scurrying for cover under the buffalo robe. Flashing her a mischievous smile, he said, "Maiden sent the clothes. Next time, you will not be wrapped in so much , yes? It will take us much less time to do nothing." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| bed6860 | Flashing her a mischievous smile, he said, "Maiden sent the clothes. Next time, you will not be wrapped in so much , yes? It will take us much less time to do nothing." He turned and left the lodge before Loretta realized he had made a joke. It took even longer before she smiled. There was a promise behind the lightly spoken words. " | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 6ac365c | If it's a draw between a baby and Henry, I'll kick his ornery butt all the way to the fancy house in Jacksboro and tell him to stay there this time." Appalled and uncertain how to react, Loretta said, "Fancy house?" "You don't think he goes there to get tobacco and coffee and the for us, do you?" Rachel touched Loretta's shoulder. "Don't look so woebegone. He leaves me alone for nigh on a month after. I consider it a blessing." Loretta .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| a056fb7 | Uncle Henry visiting a fancy house? Oh, Aunt Rachel, I bet those ladies double their rates when they see the likes of him coming!" "No doubt," Rachel said grimly." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b222f4d | Hunter! Take me with you! I love you!" she called. "I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it!" He remained there, his arm still lifted, for several heartbreaking seconds. Then he wheeled his stallion and disappeared from sight. Hollow-eyed, Loretta stared after him. She had asked him to choose, and she had lost. Her legs buckled under her weight, and she fell to her knees, the pain inside her so excruciating that she couldn't breathe. " " The win.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 7d860e3 | Can I have just a moment with the priest?" "For why?" "Just to ask him something." Hunter's grip on her arm relaxed. " , hurry." Loretta cupped a hand over the priest's ear and quickly whispered her request, then stepped back to Hunter's side. The priest considered what she had said, then nodded. A moment later he blessed the young couple before him, and the ceremony began. The words bounced off the walls of Loretta's mind, making no sense.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 0cdede3 | Hunter, I think I'd better leave you, yes? So you can make peace with your woman." With a grimace, Hunter nodded. "Her heart is laid upon the ground." "Is it me? I will make talk with her." "I don't think it would be safe," he said wryly." -- | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 5fb109b | I am Comanche, yes? A , cruel one. This is what you run from? A heathen. A man who will beat you? Or maybe throw you to his friends? That would be good, eh? I could find a man so stupid he would take you!" Releasing her hair to cinch a bruising arm around her waist, Hunter fell silent, nudging his horse forward into a jarring trot. His hand on her hip was heavy, the bite of his fingers uncomfortable but not cruel. Loretta leaned against .. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 81a7bda | I am Comanche, yes? A , cruel one. This is what you run from? A heathen. A man who will beat you? Or maybe throw you to his friends? That would be good, eh? I could find a man so stupid he would take you! | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 3a4f6cc | You belong to me. Forever, for always! Within you is my seed. A Comanche man does not give up his woman. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 7f68dac | Loretta Jane, I got me this deep-down feelin' that we've bit off a hunk too big to chew." "We're fine. Trust me. I rode to Hunter's village, didn't I?" "With directions from Hunter!" | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 76c6c97 | We're fine. Trust me. I rode to Hunter's village, didn't I?" "With directions from Hunter!" "Well, from now on I have to follow my nose." "Enjoy it while you still have one." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 2f97c55 | The ability to suffer and the ability to love are one. | Adrienne von Speyr | ||
| 114f902 | Holy Mother, you near shot my foot off, you damned fool woman!" "Next time, I won't miss." Henry sputtered, so mad he looked fit to bust. "Rachel, I swear, I'll give you the hidin' of your life for this." "Touch her, Uncle Henry, and I'll knock you senseless with a chunk of firewood," Loretta inserted. "And if she don't do a good job of it, I'll finish it for her!" Amy yelled from the loft ladder. "Good for you, Ma! Give the old wart toad w.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| bc505bf | Holy Mother, you near shot my foot off, you damned fool woman!" "Next time, I won't miss." Henry sputtered, so mad he looked fit to bust. "Rachel, I swear, I'll give you the hidin' of your life for this." "Touch her, Uncle Henry, and I'll knock you senseless with a chunk of firewood," Loretta inserted. "And if she don't do a good job of it, I'll finish it for her!" Amy yelled from the loft ladder. "Good for you, Ma! Give the old wart toad w.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 1853c42 | The hate has gone from you to a faraway place you cannot find, as it was spoken in the prophecy. That's why it is time for you to walk your own way. You must fight the last great fight for the People, yes? And you must fight it alone. I have to stay here. For our mother, my children. You're our hope, our only hope." "You call it hope? I call it running away." "No! When we run, we find someplace familiar and safe. Winter will be upon us soon.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| acde8b7 | Staring at her with impenetrable blue-black eyes, the warrior on the black nudged the animal a pace forward. With that relentless eye-to-eye contact, he held her pinioned where she stood. For what seemed a lifetime, he studied her, not moving, not speaking, his lance still held aloft. Loretta's courage disintegrated, and a violent tremor swept the length of her. He noted the shudder, and his observant gaze trailed up her body in its wake. H.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 8532ca0 | Hunter's name drifted to him on the wind, the call barely discernible yet shrill, like the whisper of a lost soul searching for solace. He reined his stallion to a halt, bracing himself against the sound, teeth clenched, eyes closed, his trapped breath searing his throat. His woman still called for him. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| c2bd71f | Hunter's mother stood over him, wringing her hands, while he gathered his gear to ride out. "My , your anger burns too hot. I fear for your woman when you find her." His body tense, Hunter strode past his mother to his horse. "She has dishonored me." "She does not know our ways. Is it a dishonor amongst her people to leave her husband?" Hunter slung his bags over his stallion's back, securing them to the surcingle. "It is a dishonor here.".. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 9fe10c0 | Why is my father not here? I will tell you why. He knows she scattered the horses of every man in the village, leaving us defenseless against an attack. He knows she left without permission. He knows she has dishonored me! He sits in his lodge and says it is sure enough a good thing if I find her and beat her." "He sits in his lodge because he has old knees that ache." | Catherine Anderson | ||
| 4f8e4c0 | Henry jerked up his left suspender and raked his hand through his hair, looking at the hole Rachel had shot in the puncheon. "What in hell you gonna tell people happened to your floor, missy?" Rachel smiled. "Why, I'll tell them how quick you got in and fixed it, Henry. We can't have holes in the floor, can we?" | Catherine Anderson | ||
| ba661bf | The horses have all been found. No harm was done." "It took us two days to gather them! On foot! I will never hear the last of it!" | Catherine Anderson | ||
| b1177b5 | It took us two days to gather them! On foot! I will never hear the last of it! You call that no harm? Whatever punishment I choose, my woman deserves it, and more. Name me one woman you know who has run away from her husband. Just one, , and I will cool my anger. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| cf36826 | Lances, leaning like drunken soldiers standing guard, lined the perimeter of the property, feathers fluttering, their slender shafts black lines in the moonlight. Henry had learned his lesson after the Comancheros' visit. This time he had let the lances be. Loretta wondered which was Hunter's. If she knew, she could take it inside and keep it in the loft. The child might never have anything else. Tipping her head back, she studied the moo.. | Catherine Anderson | ||
| d1fe4af | We can't tarry. Let's gather food and light out." "Without seein' Ma?" "There isn't time." "I'm not leavin' until I see my ma. It's not me Hunter's after!" "He'll snatch you back all the same! He has crazy ideas about family when he marries up with a body. The way he figures, you belong to him now. He doesn't think Uncle Henry watches after you proper." "He reckons right. Pa don't watch after nobody but Pa." | Catherine Anderson |