Jodi Thomas by In a Heartbeat Read Free Book Online Page A

whispered. “I need to talk with you.”
    She crawled from the bed and followed him to the main room. She knew her hair was wild around her shoulders, but his tone was too urgent to delay.
    When they reached the fireplace, he stooped to add a log. When he stood, he was only inches from her. “I just got word that we may be attacked at dawn.”
    Joanna sucked in her breath.
    “Don’t worry,” he quickly continued. “We’re better armed and protected than you might think, but I need your help. Can you wake your aunt and the girls? Try not to excite them but get them dressed and over to the mess hall within the hour. There’s a cellar under the building and I think it will be the safest place for you all.”
    Joanna nodded and turned to follow his orders, but his sudden grip on her hand pulled her back.
    “One other thing. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about how I had lied to you.” He pulled her gently toward him. “I’m not sorry about the kiss.”
    Joanna looked up into his black eyes that reflected the firelight. “Neither am I,” she whispered.
    Colt relaxed his grip. “I’ll promise you it won’t happen again. It wouldn’t be fair to you. You have to understand one thing about me, Joanna, I no longer believe in love.”
    Suddenly the air seemed thick between them. She had trouble breathing with him so close. “I’d better get the girls, Captain Barnett,” she mumbled, and stepped away, wishing she was strong enough to hit him and make him believe in her.
    Colt’s face hardened into a mask. “Thank you, Miss Whiddon.” He was all officer now. None of the man she’d held that rainy night remained.
    Half an hour later Aunt Etta was walking toward the mess hall with the girls following her like little ducks. She carried a huge basket of food in one hand and Joanna’s Bible in the other. “Come along, girls. We’re going on a picnic just like I did the winter of the great dust storm that blew away half the livestock in Ohio. Just wait and see, it’s going to be great fun.”
    Joanna brought up the rear, her arms loaded with blankets. She’d never loved her aunt more than she did right now. She knew Etta had never been on any adventures except in her mind, but somehow it didn’t matter in the least.
    Sergeant Buckles met them at the door. “Captain says to set up in a corner here on the ground floor. If any trouble starts, then you can move to the cellar.”
    Joanna nodded. “I’ll go ahead and take the blankets down now and save you the trouble.”
    Aunt Etta handed Buckles her basket. “That’s wonderful news. Now we can cook in the mess kitchen. Have you got the coffee on?”
    The sergeant looked confused. “Coffee?”
    “Of course.” Etta took the lantern from his hand and shooed the girls toward the kitchen. “Everyone knows men have to have coffee to be wide-awake at dawn. Hurry up, we don’t have more than an hour before sunup.”
    Joanna walked from sentry to sentry, carrying the pot of coffee in one hand and cups in the other. Each man told her she should be back inside but thanked her for the hot brew. When she finally reached the captain’s post, she had only one cup left.
    “What are you doing out here?” His voice was laced with anger . . . and concern.
    “I had to bring coffee,” Joanna said as if the words made some sense.
    “But we may be attacked!” Colt was so angry he sloshed the hot liquid over his fingers.
    Joanna wiped his hand. “Oh, I’m not afraid,” she whispered. “I don’t believe in Indians.”
    Colt pulled his hand away. “You’ve gone as crazy as your aunt Etta with all her tales.”
    “Not at all,” Joanna countered. “If you can’t believe in love, I can’t believe in Indians.”
    Colt raised one dark eyebrow and stared at her. “Not believing in love doesn’t get you killed.”
    “Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside a man’s heart can dry up and blow away.”
    “Would you rather me believe in your Valentine’s