“When he discovers the wealth that awaits him, he’ll go.”
“Tell me of this wealth,” Storm said, reaching for the clean shirt and handing it to Burke.
A cool autumn wind had suddenly interrupted an otherwise warm day, and she offered him protection against it, handing him the clean shirt.
He accepted, slipping it over his head. “The Dakota Territory can be unforgiving and generous at the same time. My father claimed over three hundred acres. Longton Ranch raises the best cattle in the territory, not to mention the horses we train and sell. The town of Longton prospers also, thanks to my father’s generosity. He built the town, started the first bank, brought a doctor there, built a church and a school, all while remaining friends with his Sioux neighbors.”
“That must have been a feat.”
“If you knew my father you would know it was his nature to treat everyone fairly and honestly. He believed that a man was nothing without integrity. He lived it every day of his life. That was the attribute my mother so loved and admired in him, and, as she had often told me, made her feel so very safe with my father.”
“How lovely that she should trust him so unconditionally.”
“She told me he had earned it. He was a good man, a good husband, and a good father. She couldn’t have asked for more.”
“Your mother has also passed?”
“She died one week after my father. I expected it. They were too much in love to live without each other.”
“How sad for you.”
Burke shook his head. “No. I’m happy that they’re together. And once I find my brother, I know they both will be at peace. My mother had looked forward to raising Cullen as her own and was just as disappointed as my father when he was not found.” He turned to her. “What of your parents?”
“Not worth talking about.”
“That bad?”
Storm shrugged. “I barely remember my father. He left when I was young. My mother thought I ate too much and was too much of a burden. She gave me away to a family, but after a couple of months they gave me to another family, who treated me decently enough.”
“That’s horrible,” Burke said, appalled at Storm’s loveless childhood. Was that why she rescued people? Had she felt so abandoned that she reached out to others suffering the same fate?
“It is the way of things here. You survive or you surrender. I prefer to survive.”
“I can see where you got your courage.”
She smiled. “Life gave it to me many times over.”
“What of the future?” he asked. “You can’t remain an outlaw all your life.”
“I don’t think of the future.” She turned to stare at the creek.
What she really meant was that she believed she had no future. She was an outlaw and would forever be hunted and perhaps one day caught. The thought chilled his bones. He could not fathom the idea of Storm rotting in a jail cell or, God forbid, being tortured endlessly, death her only chance to escape.
“You should think of the future,” he insisted. “What will you do when your outlaw days come to an end?”
“I doubt they ever will.”
He didn’t like the hopelessness he heard in her voice. “You don’t know that for sure. Anything can happen.”
“It would take a miracle. This is my life and I accept it.”
“Why? You fight for others. Why not fight for your own future?”
“I do not live beyond this day, for I do not know if I will see tomorrow. I will do what I must and leave the rest to fate.”
“Not good enough,” he said adamantly. “Fate is what you make it. You said you’d rather survive than surrender. Leaving your life to fate is surrendering.”
A soft smile lit her face and sent a jolt to his heart. He convinced himself it was out of concern he felt for her. She was a young, beautiful woman who had the right to a good life. She needed a good man who would love her, protect her, and provide for her.
“Fate cannot be swayed, Burke. It is there whether we like it or not. But enough talk of fate. Let me tell you of the Scottish people. Hopefully it will help you better understand your brother.”
“If you’re an example of the Scottish people, then I already know something of them. They’re stubborn fighters who refuse to surrender even if it’s for their own good.”
“That we are,” Storm agreed, “but we don’t surrender for we are bound to this land through generations who have spilled their blood for it, and its people will fight to their last breath to keep us free.”
How could he argue with her? He fought for his land and the freedom it brought him. He would die defending his land if necessary.