Northern Star

Chapter 36

Moments ticked by in heartbeats as Perry waited. Each low roll of thunder halted her breath. She listened for Hunter's approach, praying the storm would somehow keep him from coming to his certain death. Her wrists were caked with blood, but still she twisted, trying to break loose. If one hand were free, she could pull the gag away in time to warn him. But her task was impossible.

When a low pounding of hooves sounded above the rain and drew nearer, Perry knew time had run out. Horses screamed to a halt and footsteps hammered across the porch. She could do nothing but wait for her world to end.

Abram's voice shouted above the storm, "Wait, Hunter, it might be a trap!" Perry's body jerked, and she wished she could add to Abram's warning.

But Hunter slammed his entire body into the door, blasting through like a cannonball fired at close range.

In agony, Perry strained against her ropes, trying to pull herself away from the terrible reality before her. She closed her eyes the moment she saw his face, unable to bear the sight of Wade's bullet blasting into Hunter's body. It was enough that she saw the worry and rage in Hunter's eyes as he looked at her. She couldn't remain sane if she saw him fall.

The door to the room creaked, blending with the storm's cries, rolling in from the open back door.

"No!" a woman's voice screamed from the darkness near Wade. "Stop!" she shouted as a round from Wade's gun shattered the room. For a moment the room seemed to be in the heart of a storm cloud, the sound of the rain punctuated by the thundering cry of a weapon and the bright flash of fire.

Recognizing Noma's voice, Perry opened her eyes and searched the darkness in the corner. The black woman was standing directly in front of Wade's smoking gun. Her large frame had blocked the bullet's path to Hunter.

Noma stood rigid for a moment before she slumped forward, and then blood covered her chest like a huge scarlet flower. "Don't you… hurt my baby," she whispered between clenched teeth.

Perry watched in horror as Noma's body melted to the rug. The old woman reached toward Perry, a fist clutching the small pearl-handled knife. "My baby," she mumbled as a crimson stream flowed around her. Then her stare turned cold in death.

Tears raced down Perry's cheeks as she realized Noma had given her back her life. Above all else, Noma had loved her. In the end she'd loved her enough to face Wade and death.

Wade looked surprised and irritated that Noma had stepped in his way. He raised the gun again, cursing under his breath.

Taking advantage of Wade's moment of hesitation, Hunter flew into him, deflecting his arm as the second shot sounded. Wade growled in an animalistic rage. His fist slammed into Hunter's stomach, knocking Hunter backward. Perry struggled feverishly as the two men landed blow after blow on one another. This was a fight unlike she'd ever witnessed, for both were war-hardened soldiers and each knew it was a fight to the death.

As they fought, destroying the room in their wrath, Abram moved behind Perry. He slid a knife between her cheek and the rag. With one jerk he cut it. "Help him!" she begged.

"He'd not have it," Abram stated calmly as he worked at the ropes around her hands. "This fight has been brewing since they were children. They must settle it." Abram knew it would end in one of the men dying. He hoped it would be Wade; but should he kill Hunter, Abram would make sure Wade didn't live long enough to enjoy his victory.

The two cousins rolled in and out of the darkness. "Abram!" Perry shouted as Wade pulled a gun from his boot. The silver barrel flashed, only a blink in the firelight. Before Abram could move, Wade pulled the trigger.

Hunter twisted out of the line of fire. Wade aimed again, sighting his adversary with the steadiness of a trained marksman. But the darkness Wade had so carefully planned on to aid him now concealed Hunter.

As Wade searched for his mark a cane chair flew from the shadows, catching Wade's leg and knocking him off-balance. Hunter's body slammed into his full-force, and they moved together back into the darkness.

They became only shadows in a terrible dance of death. Perry couldn't see the gun but knew it rested between the two. She pulled at the ropes, trying to hurry Abram's progress and free herself.

A sudden blast shook the room, light flashed between the two men. They fell together to their knees. For a moment they faced each other in what was almost a farewell embrace. Perry held her breath as Wade's lean form stood in the darkness. A scream clawed its way up her throat as Wade turned toward her, his eyes wide in shock. He stepped into the firelight, gripping his stomach with both hands. Blood oozed out between his fingers like warm molasses. A look of confusion crossed his face just before he fell headlong at her feet.

Perry stared at his lifeless form. His body relaxed as blood drained from him, mixing with Noma's, which was already soaking the rug. The evil twist of his face smoothed in death, returning the handsome profile that his thoughts had distorted.

"Hunter!" she cried, at last jerking free of her bonds.

Opening his arms, Hunter pulled her to him and swung her around. For a moment there was no one in the world but the two of them. They'd come so close to hell, so close to losing each other.

"I love you." Perry sobbed softly.

"I know, darling," he answered. "I-" The sound of approaching horses stopped him. He pulled her close as he listened. Within seconds shouts came from the front of the house.

"They've caught up with us," Abram announced as he lifted several of Wade's loaded guns. "You get Miss Perry away and I'll distract them."

Hunter draped Perry's cape over her shoulders. "Trust me," he whispered. Then, turning to Abram, he added, "I'll take the back way to the farm. It's longer, but safer for her. Meet me at the Star as soon as you can."

Abram wrapped the guns in a quilt and threw them into the fire, then followed his friends.

When they reached the horses, they could hear men pounding on the front door. Hunter lifted Perry into the saddle and swung up behind. He turned his horse toward the trees while Abram turned toward the road.

Within a minute they were in the shadows of the trees. He slowed slightly as the sounds of shots rang from Wade's room. "Hold on tightly, darling. Those burning guns won't give us but a few minutes head start."

There were a thousand questions in Perry's mind, but all she cared about right now was being with Hunter. They were safe, and Wade could no longer hurt them-that was all that mattered. She leaned her head against him and relaxed.

They rode for an hour through the trees. The storm blew cold splashes of rain against them, but Perry felt warm in his arms. Hunter knew his way amid the brush as only a man who'd memorized a path in boyhood could. Finally, when all was quiet around them, they stopped by a stream and he lifted her down. The night was dark and stormy, making them appear as only silhouettes to each other.

"Why are we stopping?" Perry whispered, as though the other shadows might hear.

"I want to wash your wrists," he answered as he knelt beside a stream.

"It's nothing." She wished to see his face. With an exhausted sigh she sat on a huge rock beside him.

He worked gently, washing the blood away. After rummaging in his saddlebag he wrapped each wrist with a dry cloth. "Those men are chasing me because they believe I'm a traitor. If we're caught, I'll be hung."

"How could they think such a thing?"

Only the rumbling wind answered Perry, then Hunter let out a sigh. "I suppose to some in the South I am a traitor. I didn't come to North Carolina just to see my grandparents. Both times I've brought papers from President Johnson. There are men on either side who want peace to come, and others who know only hate. The president is worried about the way Reconstruction is moving. He fears radicals will bleed the South dry. He asked me to meet with whomever became governor. There are many, North and South, who don't want the pain of the war to end."

He knelt beside her. "There's already talk about refusing to seat Southern congressmen when the House resumes. If North Carolina resists, so will the other Southern states. The wound left by the war will fester and bleed for years."

Perry touched his hair with her fingers. "Why are you telling me this?"

Hunter captured her hand and kissed it tenderly. "You have a right to know. I'm putting you in great danger by loving you. I want you to come with me, but if we're caught-"

"You have papers with you now!" It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Hunter's words were direct. "And I'll die before giving them up, but I have no right to put you in such danger.''

"Do you want me with you?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"More than life," came his reply in only a heartbeat. "I want you with me forever. When I realized you'd been kidnapped, it was like someone had ripped a part of me away." He pulled her into his arms. "You asked me once if I cared for you. You're my world, all the happiness in my life. You're my dreams and my reality. I love you beyond the definition of the word."

"Then I will go with you," she whispered, knowing her home would always be in the circle of his arms.

Hunter didn't kiss her but gently lifted her back onto the saddle. He held her tightly as they moved on through the endless shadows of trees. There were no more questions between them, no more secrets. They loved each other, belonged to each other as completely as if they'd said wedding vows in the darkness.

Just before dawn, they reached the end of the trees. Hunter lowered her to the ground. "We'll go on foot from here." He unsaddled the horse and turned it loose. "Granddad's place is just over the rise. We can hide there. In a few hours we'll raise the Northern Star and float over any traps set for me."

They moved in silence to the barn. Perry was beginning to feel the lack of sleep and the cold night air, but she said nothing. Hunter opened the plank door a crack and stepped in, pulling her in behind him.

The barn was clean and mostly bare. The red, white, and blue silk of the balloon waited, ready to be unrolled, but the basket lay upside down. "We should be safe in here. Those men were from Raleigh and have no idea which way I may have been traveling." Hunter lifted one side of the basket. "It's not as grand as the loft, but we can hide in here."

Perry slid across the straw and into the overturned basket. Hunter followed, lowering them into darkness. Waiting for her eyes to adjust, she moved to the other side and listened to his breathing in the silent closed space. The darkness and the smell of hay welcomed her with the knowledge that she was once again alone with the man she loved.

"Angel?" he whispered, knowing she could be only a few feet from him. "Dear God, Perry, don't be afraid of me."

She stretched her hand in the darkness and touched his searching fingers. "I'm not afraid," she answered.

He pulled her to him and they sat against one corner of the basket. "We are in great danger, yet all I've thought about for hours is holding you." He kissed her forehead lightly.

Rising to her knees, she removed her cape and spread it across the hay.

"You'll be cold." He pulled off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Use this as a blanket and try to get a few hours sleep."

Pushing him down against the velvet layers of her cape, her soft laughter filled the tiny space. "I've no wish to sleep."

As his body slid next to hers the memory of another night in a barn loft flooded his senses. He'd thought he was in death's grip when she lay beside him, giving him her warmth. He'd been past caring about life, then she'd moved her body against his, showing him what he'd miss if he gave up. When the pain had been too much for him to bear, he'd reached for her, and the warmth of her body next to his had given Hunter reason to fight.

Now she pulled his hands around her, cuddling against him, her body wanting more than just warmth. "Darling, what are you doing? Much as I'd like to, we have no time."

She lifted his hand and laid it across her lace-covered breast as her lips burned across his cheek.

"We can't do this now!" Hunter's voice was low with passion. All the time he'd wanted her, and always she'd pulled away. Now she was giving, and his rational mind ordered him to stop. "We can't…"

In answer she shoved his hand lower, pushing the lace from the velvety globe of her breast so that his fingers were filled with her flesh. Her mouth covered his protests as her hands slid beneath his shirt to glide over his chest.

Finally, when Hunter could pull his lips from hers, he mumbled, "We must stop. This is madness, angel." She was kissing his face, ignoring his protests. "We'll be in Washington soon. I'll make love to you in a proper marriage bed."

She laughed at his hesitation. Pushing his hands over her hips as she knelt above him, she slowly untied her camisole. The morning light had turned the inside of the basket from chocolate to milky gray. When the first tie lay open, she worked on the second. "Tell me to stop, my love, and I will." She'd been so near death a few hours before that now she wanted only to taste life. "Just say one word. Order me to stop."

Hunter was silent.

"Tell me you haven't longed for me in your dreams as dearly as I've longed for you." The second tie fell free, opening Perry's very heart to this man she'd loved from the moment she'd seen his face. "Tell me you don't love me and I'll stop this torture." She twisted the bow loose on the next tie. "From the moment we met, we've never known how much time we would have together." Perry pulled the last ribbon free and the camisole fell open. "But we have this moment, and for me it is my lifetime."

Hunter watched her with passion-filled eyes, loving, wanting, and cherishing her all at the same time. She lowered her mouth over his and began driving him mad with her feather-light kisses. "Tell me to stop, my love," she whispered against his open mouth, "or make love to me." With her final demand she lowered her bare breasts against his chest.

He surrendered willingly, twisting her in his embrace until he lay atop her. "I'll make love to you, my angel, now and for the rest of my life."

There was no more time for words as he undressed and lay beside her. Gently he kissed her body and moved his fingers over every inch of her flesh, forever branding her as his own. His fingers glided as smoothly as the balloon crossing a cloudless sky. The taste of her was as clean and fresh as mile-high air over snowcapped mountains. He was drifting into a passion that spanned his life's horizons and to which there'd never be a setting sun. He'd reached for an angel and captured perfection in his arms.

She followed his lead, loving the way his muscles tightened beneath her touch. Running her fingers over the scar on his shoulder, she remembered every time he'd held her, every moment his lips had touched hers, but none were as sweet as this moment, this time. There was no taking in his actions but only a giving-a giving of all the love he'd banked for a lifetime.

When he entered her, she didn't cry out in pain. All the discomfort was drowned in a flood of pleasure. They were together as one, and he found the piece that had always been missing from his life. He belonged to her as completely as she belonged to him. As he moved within her they floated to heaven and sealed for eternity a bond between them.

Stretching with the sweet pleasure that filled her, Perry drifted back to earth. She curled beneath Hunter's arm and fell asleep. No matter what happened, she knew he loved her, and that, somehow, was all that mattered.

Hunter lay awake, loving the way she felt in his arms. A tight knot twisted in the pit of his stomach. He loved her, totally and completely. When she'd given herself to him, it had been Hunter who'd surrendered his heart. He had sworn never to care deeply for a woman, but she'd broken down all his defenses. And now she was at the very core of him.

He smiled finally, understanding his father and grandfather. He wanted a lifetime with Perry, but even if he had only this one moment, it would be worth all the pain of losing her.

Hunter leaned to kiss her sleeping forehead as the sound of the creaking barn door reached his ears, shattering the peace from his mind.