Tallchief: The Hunter by Cait London Read Free Book Online Page A

had been fitted for life.
    Strange that his aunt hadn’t given the feathers to him earlier. She’d sometimes had odd turns to her, questions she hadn’t wanted to answer. Adam frowned slightly, remembering Liam’s question about their parents’ destination. Sarah had firmly stated that she hadn’t known where they were going, that they were to call upon arrival. When Adam had questioned her, she’d become upset and he’d stopped, sensitive to her grief.
    Yet, by asking Jillian to help deliver the feathers, she’d given him something of a father he couldn’t really remember. Though Adam had paid the rent on the safe-deposit box his aunt had left, he didn’t want to open it again. After her death, he’d been eager to get away from New Pony. He’d respected her wishes and buried her in Iota, next to her sister—his mother—and family. Then as she’d wished, he’d collected her brooches and family Bible with other mementos and tossed them into the locked box in the First National Iota Bank, careless of what else was inside. Sarah….
    Adam put the lid on the box with the feathers, just as he had sealed away his past. Now Jillian had brought it back.
    Still locked in his thoughts of Jillian and her puzzling fear of him, he flipped open the file Liam had given him. Sybil, Duncan’s wife, had prepared a genealogical chart of his family. Una Fearghus, Scots bondwoman, had married the chieftain who had captured her, Tallchief. Their son, Liam, had married Elizabeth Montclair, an Englishwoman, and their son, Ewan, had gone to Alaska. He married a Frenchwoman, Josette Benoit. Their three children had returned to the American West, and Liam’s father, Jamie, had married Tina Olson.
    Adam’s eyes read the words, and his mind understood them, but contrasting images of Jillian, the girl and the woman, wouldn’t let his thoughts stay on course. Adam slapped the file closed and picked up Jillian’s check, studying the large, perfect, feminine script. He tossed the check back to the table and jammed his hands into his back pockets.
    With the crackle of the fire in the old woodstove, Adam considered his choices. He could burn the check, make his excuses, and be on his way. He could forget meeting Jillian again. Or he could take Elspeth’s recommendation to “stand and fight.”
    He reopened the box with the feathers and studied them, nestled together within the bounds of the old ribbon. Perhaps Jillian and he were like that, tied by the past, until it could be put aside and they each went on their way.
    Or not. Adam stroked the white dove’s feather, feminine beside the rakish appearance of the hawk’s. Maybe he wanted to know what haunted her, why she feared that slight brush of his lips. Maybe he wanted to tear her apart for believing Tom’s lies instead of the truth.
    He tapped the check with a fingertip. It wasn’t much, but it was all he had of Jillian. He slid it inside the file folder for safekeeping.
    Whatever ran between Jillian and himself, Adam wanted to examine it and he needed more time. He was considering his next step, when Elspeth called his mobile telephone number. “Tomorrow we’re having a family gathering at the old homestead, where Duncan and Sybil live now. We’re expecting you. Be prepared to eat.”
    “Should I bring anything?” Adam asked, and realized that this was his first family gathering. His maternal grandparents were deceased and Aunt Sarah had been his only relative.
    “Aye. Bring your heart and a good set of nerves for the children who will be sizing you up to Liam and their uncles. You’ll have tiny fingers in your ears and probably be wearing drool on your shoulder before the night is over,” she teased softly. “You’re definitely a fresh candidate for diaper changing.”
    “Aye,” he replied, returning the tease with a smile. “If you’re trying to frighten me off, it isn’t working.”
    When they said goodbye, Adam shook his head. This “family gathering”