Untamed by Sharon Ihle Read Free Book Online

fire. She tugged on the trigger again, using all her strength. As before, nothing happened. By then the savage had disappeared into the bowels of the barn, leaving Josie with nothing to do but follow his directions.
    Feeling trapped and helpless again, she returned to the cabin and stepped into the comparatively warm room. Still wearing Daniel's coat, she trudged over to the shelf and slid the useless pistol back in its place. A fire was roaring inside the stove, and a pot of coffee and kettle of water were perched on top of the greasy stove. Pausing there a moment, she warmed her frozen hands.
    "See any bears?" asked Daniel, still lying in his bed.
    "No," she muttered. "It's a good thing, too, because that gun of yours doesn't work."
    "You tried to fire it?"
    Caught, she gulped. "Ah—yes, I thought I saw something moving in the trees."
    "There's nothing wrong with that gun. Are you sure you had it fully cocked?"
    She turned to him at last. "Cocked?"
    "Did you pull the hammer all the way back before you fired?"
    Josie wasn't at all certain what or where this hammer could be. She only remembered seeing her brothers pull back on the trigger—again, and again, and again.
    She shrugged out of Daniel's coat, hanging it back on the correct antler as she said, "I only know how to pull the trigger. It didn't work."
    Daniel laughed. "My gun isn't a revolver. I guess I should have mentioned that. How's the coffee doing?"
    "I don't know," she said, more concerned with her immediate problem. "I saw your brother going into the barn with his bag. He looked as if he might be taking a trip. Is he planning to take us back to Miles City today?"
    Daniel pushed up to a sitting position, propping himself there by a pair of fur-covered pillows. Then he patted the mattress beside him. "Come sit down. There are a few things I ought to explain."
    Although the last thing she wanted to do was get near this man, she figured Daniel was her best chance at freedom. She joined him at the edge of the bed, but did not sit down.
    "I'm not your enemy," he said quietly. "And though it may not seem that way, neither is Long Belly. It was his idea to bring you gals up here, not mine, but he honestly thought he was doing a good thing. I want you to know that if I'd had any idea what he intended to do when he left here that day, I'd have done everything I could to stop him."
    Josie could detect nothing but sincerity in his tone or expression. Sensing an ally, she pleaded her cause. "Then don't you think you ought to do everything you can to make him take us back?"
    "I would if I could." He slowly shook his head and grinned, amused by some private thought. "As the Indian agent at this Reservation, it's undoubtedly my duty to see you ladies safely back to Miles City, but since I went and busted my leg, there isn't much I can do for now."
    At this news, the fact that Daniel McCord was actually in charge of the savage who'd kidnapped her, Josie stomped her foot against the dirty floor, raising a cloud of dust
    "I had no idea you were an authority out here. A man in your position should have no problem forcing that savage to take us back where we belong. There's a storm brewing that could keep us here for weeks."
    Daniel smiled then with compassion and even the hint of understanding, an expression that gave her a glimmer of hope.
    "As an Indian agent, my job is to see to the needs of the Cheyenne, not cater to the whims of white folks who'd just as soon see every last Indian dead."
    "If I have a wish to see that Indian dead, it's only because he kidnapped me. I hardly think returning me to Miles City can be thought of as catering to a whim."
    "Sorry, but he doesn't think of it as kidnapping. I'll try to talk to him about this again when he gets back, but don't get your hopes up. Long Belly is one stubborn Indian. Once he gets something stuck in his head, you pretty much need a stick of dynamite to get it out. Right now his head is full of buffalo that talk to him when