Beyond The Horizon by Connie Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

Blade Johnson to her breast, thinking how much she missed her own closeknit family. The little boy was precious to her, and she would miss him terribly when they parted. Callie’s strength had slowly returned, and fortunately her milk was plentiful enough to keep her baby well fed and happy. As its youngest member, he soon became the darling of the wagon train.
    Clive Bailey took to stopping by frequently to visit the baby, but the premise did not fool Shannon. She did her best to discourage Clive, but he remained insensitive to Shannon’s coolness. When an impromptu dance was announced for their Sunday night entertainment, Clive plotted to get Shannon alone.
    Blade rarely attended these festivities, nor was he invited. He usually stood on the sidelines to watch and listen, recalling with fondness some of the festive balls he had attended before and after the war. He had never lacked for partners then. But out here on the Western frontier, he was a misfit, a man neither white nor red, living on the fringes of society. Occasionally Nancy Wilson or one of the other young ladies insisted on a dance, but he usually declined, unwilling to flaunt custom or anger parents.
    The dark, mysterious pools of Blade’s eyes followed Shannon’s lithe figure as she flitted from one man’s arms to another’s. His body reacted spontaneously to the memory of how she felt in his arms, all soft and warm and vibrantly female.
    Spinning to the music of the fiddler, Shannon suddenly found herself dancing with Clive Bailey. She still hadn’t forgiven him for behaving so despicably toward her and the smile faded from her lips.
    “I’ve not had the opportunity to properly apologize for acting like a fool, Shannon,” Clive said. His obsequious smile did little to ingratiate him with Shannon. “I meant no disrespect. I don’t know what got into me. Can you ever forgive me?”
    “It is over and done with,” Shannon said with cool disdain. “I don’t wish to speak of it. Perhaps my traveling alone gave you a false impression of me.”
    “If we can start over again, I promise to behave like a perfect gentleman.”
    Shannon doubted Clive Bailey’s sincerity, but her generous nature prompted her to give a grudging consent. A sly smile curved Bailey’s thin lips as he whirled Shannon around the circle of dancers.
    Blade’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he noted Clive’s preoccupation with Shannon. Though he hated to leave Shannon in Bailey’s clutches, Blade slipped stealthily into the shadows, melting like a wraith into the darkness. There were still several wagons he hadn’t searched for hidden weapons and he couldn’t have asked for a better time than the present to do it. The impromptu revelry had drawn everyone to the music and dancers. With the stealth of a cat Blade slipped into a wagon belonging to Fred Hankins and his family. Fred was a loud-mouthed braggart who abused his family shamefully. But no matter how badly Blade wanted to involve the man in gun smuggling, he found nothing to suggest his guilt.
    He chose another wagon in the circle and again came away without a shred of incriminating evidence. Perhaps Washington was mistaken and the guns were already on their way to Fort Laramie concealed on another wagon train. The next wagon in line belonged to Clive Bailey, and as usual his driver, a big Swede named Olson, lounged nearby. Blade cursed his rotten luck. Time and again Blade had been prevented from searching Bailey’s wagon because of Olson’s annoying habit of spending his leisure hours leaning against the rear wheel whittling on a piece of wood. Somehow, Blade reflected grimly, he’d have to devise a way to get Olson away from Bailey’s wagon long enough for him to inspect it.
    Excluding Bailey’s wagon, Blade was left with two others to search, one of them belonging to the young Johnsons. Glancing toward the festivities, Blade noted that both Johnsons were occupied. Howie was with a group of men and Callie sat