The Lawman's Vow

Moving to his left, she began scraping away the sand along his length, her bare hands hollowing out a space beneath him. She dug furiously, reaching as far under him as his bulk would allow. As he sank into the recess, his body began to rotate onto its side.

So far her idea was working. But the physical contact was more intimate than anything Sylvie had ever experienced with a man. As the backs of her hands rubbed across bone and solid male muscle, she felt herself growing curiously warm. The unaccustomed heat flowed through her, simmering like the ruby-red jam she made when the wild strawberries ripened in midsummer.

Caution shrilled warnings in her head. She was alone here with a child to protect. Her father had taught her to assume the worst of any stranger who showed up. Saving this man could be the most dangerous thing she’d ever done. But Christian decency demanded that she try.

She could hear the breath whispering in and out of his nostrils. She could feel the warmth of his skin and hear the low rumblings of an empty belly. But he hadn’t opened his eyes or uttered a sound.

Two years ago her father had brought home a dog-eared medical book. Sylvie had read it so many times that she could quote parts of it from memory. But she wasn’t a doctor. And she certainly wasn’t a miracle worker. The plain truth was, the man could die right here on the beach.

But she wouldn’t let herself think of that now.

Her fingers pawed the sand, widening the hollow she’d made. His body was already tilted. Now all that remained was to roll him onto his back.

It was easier than she’d expected. He tumbled over with an audible grunt, the first sound she’d heard from his lips. Sylvie’s breath seemed to stop as she studied him.

His eyes were closed, his hair sand-plastered to his forehead. A purple bruise lay along one cheekbone, a bloodied gash above his temple. For all the battering, he had a noble face—almost princely with its chiseled nose, strong jaw and lightly cleft chin. His features were marred only by a puckered scar that pulled at a corner of his mouth. That slight imperfection gave him a sardonic look, as if he were smiling at some secret joke.

Was this the face of a good man—a man she could trust with her safety and Daniel’s? Or would saving him turn out to be the worst mistake of her life?

Transfixed, Sylvie leaned over him. Her finger skimmed a trail down his bruised cheek. Her touch sent a quiver through his body. Sensing it, she drew back, almost afraid to breathe. A sense of possession stole over her, as if, in saving the man’s life, she’d somehow made him hers.

His closed eyelids twitched. His throat worked. A moan emerged from between his lips, then a single labored word.

“Catriona…”

The name stung like the brush of a nettle. It didn’t matter, Sylvie told herself. She’d known all along he might belong to someone. And wasn’t it a good sign, that the first word out of his mouth was a woman’s name? If he had a wife or sweetheart, how bad could he be?

“Here’s the water, Sylvie.” Daniel’s voice made her start. She glanced around to see him standing just behind her, holding the canteen.

“I told you to stay up top,” she scolded him.

“I wanted to see.” He stared down at the stranger. “Maybe he’s a prince.”

“A prince? Whatever are you talking about, Daniel Cragun?”

“A prince from the sea, like the one in your story.”

Sylvie shook her head. “That’s make-believe, silly. He’s just a man.”

“No! Look!” Daniel pointed to where the stranger’s left hand lay against his side. On his middle finger was a heavy gold signet ring, set with a sapphire the size of Sylvie’s thumbnail.

Under different circumstances, Sylvie would have been intrigued. Right now she had more important things on her mind.

“Get back and stay back,” she told her brother. “I don’t want you too close when he wakes up.”

Kneeling, she cradled the man’s head in her lap, reached for the canteen and twisted out the stopper. She’d need to be careful, lest she cause him to choke.

Raising his head, she tilted the canteen and gave him just enough water to wet his lips. He jerked reflexively, coughing and sputtering.

“Careful,” she said. “Just a sip.”

He groaned, stirring against her. His eyelids fluttered and opened.

His eyes were a deep, dark blue, as blue as the sapphire on his finger. They stared up at her in blank surprise.

“Where am I?” he muttered. “And who the devil are you?”

Chapter Two

He was dead, that had to be it. And those silver eyes looking down at him, set in a porcelain face and haloed by a nimbus of spun-gold hair, belonged to an angel. Or maybe to a beautiful demoness.

He felt like bloody hell, which argued for the demoness theory. His head ached. His eyes burned. Every bone and muscle felt as if it had been pounded like cheap beefsteak. The few words he’d spoken felt as if they had been ripped from the raw depths of his throat.

Worst of all, he had no idea what had happened to him.

“Don’t try to talk.” One cool hand eased his head upward. He felt the metal mouth of a canteen against his chapped lips. “Just a sip for now. Too much might make you sick.”

The water was fresh and cold. He craved more than the swallow he took, but she was right about getting sick. His throat and stomach felt as if they’d been scoured with a holystone. Best to take things slow.

Coming more awake now, he could hear the lap of the tide and the sharp mewl of seabirds. His skin, hair and clothes were gritty with sand. Had he been shipwrecked? It seemed likely enough, but he had no memory of being on a boat. The blankness was unsettling. But no doubt everything would come back once his head cleared.

Pouring water into her hand, she splashed the worst of the grit from his face. The palm that grazed his skin was callused. His mysterious rescuer was no lady of leisure. But there was an ethereal quality about her, like a fairy-tale princess dressed in faded calico. Nothing about her made sense.

She eyed him warily as he tested his hands and feet, stretching his arms and legs. He was sore all over, though nothing seemed to be broken. But his ears were ringing, and his head throbbed with pain.

Only as he shifted his shoulders did it dawn on him that he was lying with his head in her lap. His senses seemed strangely acute. He could feel the shape of her thighs through her thin cotton skirts. He could feel the flatness of her little belly and the warmth of her skin. He could hear the soft cadence of her breathing. The close contact was having a most ungentlemanly effect on him. At least he knew his body was functional. But he was well on his way to making a fool of himself.

With a grunt, he heaved to a sitting position. The dizziness that swept over him blurred his sight for a moment. As it cleared he saw that he was in a cove ringed by jagged rocks and pine-crested cliffs. Beyond the entrance, sunlight glittered on the open sea. Nearby, on the sand, lay the wrecked hull of a boat.

The beauty who’d awakened him knelt at his side, one hand resting on a club-shaped chunk of driftwood. Peeking around her shoulder with wide brown eyes was a small, black-haired boy.

Lord, who were these people? Where was he?

The boy stepped into full view. His feet were bare, but his clothes were clean and well mended. He looked the newcomer up and down, his eyes sparkling with childish curiosity.

“Are you a prince, mister?” the boy demanded.

He managed to find his voice. “A prince?” he rasped. “Do I look like a prince to you?”

“Maybe a little.” The boy frowned, then brightened. “If you aren’t a prince, where did you get that ring on your finger?”

He raised his left hand to look. The fathomless blue sapphire, framed in gold, gleamed in the sunlight. If the stone was real the ring could be worth a small fortune. It was hard to believe these people hadn’t stolen it from him.

“Well, what about it?” the boy demanded. “If you’re not a prince where did you get that ring?”

“Where are your manners, Daniel?” the young woman scolded. “The gentleman’s our guest, not our prisoner.” She turned, her expression still guarded. The sea wind fluttered tendrils of sunlit hair around her face. “I’m Sylvie Cragun,” she said. “This is my brother, Daniel. And who might you be, sir?”

Her speech was formal, almost schoolbookish. She seemed to be well educated, or at least well-read, he observed. Odd, given her faded dress and work-worn hands. His gaze flickered to the driftwood club. Her manner was friendly enough, but something told him that, at his first suspicious move, she’d crack it against his skull.

Her silvery eyes narrowed. “Your name, sir, if you’d be so kind. And it would be a courtesy to tell us where you’ve come from.”

“My name is…” He hesitated, groping for an answer to the question. But nothing came to mind—not his name, not his family or his occupation, not his home or his reason for being here.

She was watching him, her gaze growing stormier by the second. He shook his head, the slight motion triggering bursts of pain. “I don’t remember,” he muttered. “God help me, I don’t remember anything.”

Sylvie stared at the stranger. She’d read about memory loss. The medical book said it was most commonly caused by a blow to the head. The gash above his temple made that explanation plausible. But that didn’t mean it was true. Until she knew more, she’d be foolish to believe anything he told her.

“You can’t remember your own name?” Daniel asked in wonder.

“Not at the moment.” His wry chuckle sounded forced. “Give me a little time, it’ll come.”

“But if you don’t know your name, what can we call you?” Daniel persisted.

He shrugged. “For now, anything. You decide.”

Daniel pondered his choices. “Rumpelstiltskin?” he ventured. “I like that story a lot.”

“I was hoping for something shorter,” the stranger muttered.

“Can’t you think of an easier name, Daniel?” Sylvie asked.

The boy’s frown deepened. He pondered a moment, then sighed. “I can’t think of anything good. Will you help me, Sylvie?”

“Let me think.” As Sylvie scrambled to resolve the question, the opening line from the book she’d been reading flashed into her mind.

Call me Ishmael…

Ishmael, the wanderer cast up by the sea, with no last name and no home. What could be more fitting?

“We will call you Ishmael,” she said.

The scarred corner of his mouth twitched upward. “I take it you’ve been reading your Bible,” he said. “That, or Moby Dick.”

“Either way, I think it suits you.” Sylvie’s face warmed as their gazes met. Here was a man who’d read the same book she was reading. A literate man—a gentleman perhaps, who could teach her something about the world. True, he might be pledged or even married to someone else. But surely there could be no harm in a friendly exchange.

As she rose to her feet, the realization struck her.

The man who couldn’t remember his own name had remembered a book he’d read.

Memory loss could be selective, she supposed. But what if he was lying to hide his identity and win her trust? He could be a fugitive running from the law, maybe a ruffian who’d take cruel advantage of a woman and child. There were such men, she knew. Her father had warned her about them. “Keep the shotgun handy when I’m away, girl,” he’d told her. “If a stranger comes in the gate, pull the trigger first and ask questions later.”

The old single-barrel shotgun lay ready on a rack above the cabin door. Sylvie knew how to load the shot and black powder and set the percussion cap. Her aim was good enough to bring down ducks and pigeons for the cooking pot. But she’d never fired at a human target.

Could she do it if she had to? Could she point the weapon at this compelling stranger, pull the trigger and blast him to kingdom come?

She could, and she would, to protect her little brother, Sylvie vowed. Nothing was more important than Daniel’s safety.

But she wouldn’t let things get to that point. She would keep the gun close and watch the man’s every move. At the first sign of suspect behavior she would send him packing. It sounded like a good plan. But she was already at a disadvantage. The stranger was bigger, stronger and likely craftier than she was. In saving his life, she’d already put herself and Daniel at risk.

Maybe she should have left him under the boat to drown in the tide.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, Sylvie knew she couldn’t have done such a thing. She couldn’t condemn a stranger who had not yet done them any harm. Every life was precious in its own way. How could she presume to judge who was worthy to live?

She could only do what was humane and what was reasonable—and what was prudent, which in this case meant staying on her guard.

“How did you two get here?” He squinted up at her, the sun glaring in his eyes. “You didn’t come out of nowhere.”

“Our cabin’s up there, at the top of the cliff.” She glanced toward the high-water line, where barnacles clustered white against the rocks. “The tide covers this beach when it comes in. You can’t stay here, and we can’t carry you up the trail. That leaves you with three choices—walk, crawl or drown.”

“Well, I don’t think much of the last one.” He shifted, wincing with pain as he struggled to get his legs beneath him. “Mind giving me a hand?”

She reached for his outstretched fingers. Glinting on his sapphire ring, the sun scattered rainbows over the white sand. The powerful hands that closed around hers were smooth and uncallused. Maybe he was a gentleman after all. Or, more likely, a handsome criminal who lived by his wits.

“Ready?” He pulled against her slight weight. Sylvie braced backward as he staggered to his feet. Standing, he was even taller than she’d realized. Swaying like a tree in the wind, he loomed a full head above her.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Just dizzy,” he muttered. “Head hurts some.”

“Here, have some more water.” She handed him the canteen. “If you want to rest awhile, there’s time before the tide comes in.”

“No. Might get worse.” Lifting the canteen, he drank deeply, then returned it to her. “Let’s go now.”

Daniel had been standing to one side, watching wide-eyed. Their father was a small, wiry man, and the boy had seen only a few other adults. To him, this stranger must look like a giant.

“Take the canteen and go on ahead, Daniel,” Sylvie said. “Be careful, now. Wait for us at the top.”

As Daniel scurried toward the trail, she cast around the beach for a scrap of driftwood to serve as a walking stick. Finding a suitable length, she thrust it toward the man she’d named Ishmael. “This will steady you. If you get dizzy, drop to your knees. I’ll be right behind you, but if you fall, you’re on your own. I can’t hold your weight.”

“Understood.” She could feel his eyes taking her measure, perusing every curve and angle. He’d made no move to touch her, but the intimacy of that gaze sent a thread of heat through her body. She lowered her eyes, staring down at her feet. There was a beat of silence in which nothing moved. Then he took the stick from her, tested it in the sand and turned away to follow Daniel up the cliff.

The trail was slippery from last night’s downpour. It was so narrow that in some spots, Ishmael, who was still getting used to his new name, had to turn sideways to fit his shoulders between the cliff and the trail’s sheer edge. He couldn’t recall having been afraid of heights, but looking over the side was enough to make his stomach lurch.

Well ahead of him now, the boy climbed with the easy confidence of a monkey. A prince, the child had called him. It struck Ishmael as an innocent joke. Right now, the last thing he felt like was a prince. He was damp and filthy, with waterlogged boots, salt-stung skin, a bruised body and a throbbing head that couldn’t remember a damn thing worth knowing. So far, all he’d recognized was a name from a book about a white whale and a one-legged captain. He could remember the entire story, but he couldn’t remember reading it.

Call me Ishmael…

It was the name that had triggered his memory. Maybe, given time, more names would spark more memories until they came together like the pieces of a puzzle, to make his mind whole again.

Meanwhile, it was as if he was wandering blindfolded through a maze with nothing to guide his way.

The sapphire ring could be the key to his identity. But so far it meant nothing to him. He’d been startled, in fact, to see it on his finger. Did it mean he was wealthy? Or that he belonged to an important family? Ishmael grimaced, half-amused at such grandiose ideas. He could just as easily be a thief who’d stolen the damn thing. He’d probably been shipwrecked while running from the law.

From the trail behind him came the light sound of breathing and the swish of calico against bare legs. He checked the urge to turn and look at his pretty rescuer. Dizzy as he was, a backward glance could send him pitching off the trail. The temptation wasn’t worth the risk. But that couldn’t stop him from thinking about her.

Was she wearing anything under that calico skirt? He imagined those legs walking, thigh brushing satiny thigh…

Damnation! He couldn’t let himself get distracted by those thoughts when every step took so much concentration. A fine thing that would be, to survive shipwreck only to tumble down a cliff from fantasies about a woman’s skirts. He willed the image away but allowed her eyes to linger in his memory. Framed by thick mahogany lashes, they were the color of a dawn sky in the moment before the sun’s rays touched the clouds.

Sylvie. The name was as innocent and elusive as she was. He liked the sound of it. He liked her. Memory or no memory, it was clear that he had an eye for the ladies. But he’d be a fool to start anything with this one. She was young, not much more than twenty by his reckoning. And she probably had a daddy with a shotgun waiting to blast any man who laid a hand on her. Even if she didn’t, he would keep his proper distance. Trifling with such a creature would be like crushing a butterfly.

Ishmael was surprised to discover that he had a conscience. It was puzzling, given that he had no idea who he’d been before he opened his eyes on the beach. Did he have manners? Principles? Was he honest? Had he been taught to respect women?

He could be married, he realized. He could have a wife and children waiting for him, back wherever he’d come from. All the more reason to keep his distance from the intriguing Miss Sylvie Cragun.

The boy had reached the top of the trail and vanished above the rim. Ishmael willed himself to keep plodding upward. The dizziness seemed to be getting worse. Cold sweat trickled down his face. His breath came in labored gasps, but he pushed himself to keep moving. He hadn’t come this far to die falling off a blasted cliff. Besides, there was something else driving him forward, something urgent, he sensed, that had to be done. If only he could remember what it was.

Questions clamored in his head, beating like black wings. So many questions, all demanding answers.

“Tell me where I am.” He raised his voice to be heard above the rushing waves below. “Does this place have a name?”

“The only name we call it is home,” Sylvie replied. “It’s not any kind of town, just a cabin in the forest. Keep moving, and you’ll see it in a minute.”

“No, I mean where is it? Where are we?”

“You really don’t know?”

“Would I be asking if I did?” His foot slipped on a clump of moss. He jabbed the stick into the trail, legs shaking as he righted himself.

The next time she spoke she was closer, less than a pace behind him. “You’re two days’ wagon ride north of San Francisco. Since the boat we found with you is a small one, I’d guess that’s where you came from. Does that sound right?”

“No more or less than anything else does.”

“You don’t remember San Francisco?”

He raked his memory, using the name as a trigger. San Francisco. Fog, rain and mud. The cry of a fish hawker. The smells of tar, salt and rotting garbage. He groped for more, but the impressions were dimmed, like something from his boyhood. He remembered nothing that made him think he’d been there recently. He shook his head. “It’ll come. Maybe after I’ve rested. What…what date is it?”

“It’s Tuesday, the twenty-fourth of March. Living here, it’s easy to lose track, but I mark off each day on a calendar.”

“What year?”

He heard the sharp intake of her breath. “It’s 1858. You don’t even remember what year it is?”

“I don’t remember anything.”

“Except the name of a character in a book.”

Ishmael had no answer for that. With all that remained of his strength, he dragged himself over the top of the cliff. Breathing like a winded horse, he leaned on his makeshift walking stick and filled his eyes with what he saw.

Close at hand, anchored near the cliff’s edge, was a complex system of pulleys and windlasses attached to what looked like a harness for a horse or mule. Best guess, it was rigged to haul heavy loads up from the beach—most likely wreckage that had washed into the cove. In the near distance a low buck fence surrounded a cabin that was unlike anything his eyes had ever seen—at least, so far as he could remember.

The roof and sides were all of a piece, fashioned of weathered oaken planks that were shaped and sealed to watertight smoothness. Seconds passed before Ishmael realized he was looking at the overturned hull of a schooner, mounted on a low foundation of logs to make a sturdy home. A nearby windmill, for pumping well water, turned in the ocean breeze.

“My father built all this.” Sylvie had come up the path to stand beside him. “He cut a wrecked ship into sections and used pulleys like these to haul them into place. We’ve lived here for almost eight years.”

“That’s quite a piece of engineering.” He willed himself to stand straight and to speak in a coherent way.

“My father is a clever man, and a hard worker. He takes good care of us.”

“And your mother?”

“My mother died before we came here. Daniel’s mother died when he was born.”

“I’d like to meet your father. Is he here?”

Her eyes glanced away. Her fingers tightened around the driftwood club she’d carried up from the beach. “Not right now,” she said, “but we’re expecting him home at any time. He’s probably just coming up the road.”

She didn’t trust him. Even through the haze of his swimming senses, Ishmael could tell that much. But how could he blame her? She and the boy were alone here, and he was a stranger.

Surely she had nothing to fear from him. Only a monster would harm a woman and child. And he wasn’t a monster. At least he didn’t feel like one. But how could be sure, when he had no idea what sort of man he was? He could be a thief, a murderer, the worst kind of criminal, and not even be aware of it.

He raised a hand to his temple, fingering the swollen lump and the crust of dried blood that covered it. Pain throbbed like a drumbeat in his head. He’d suffered one sockdolager of a blow. That would explain his memory loss. But would the damage heal? Would his memory return? For all he knew, he could live the rest of his life without remembering who he was or where he’d come from.

Dizziness hazed Ishmael’s vision. He tried to walk, but stumbled on the first step. Only the stick saved him from falling headlong.

“Are you all right?” Sylvie’s eyes swam before him. She had beautiful eyes, like silvery tide pools, their centers deep and dark. “Can you make it to the house?”

“Try…” The ground seemed to be rolling like a ship’s deck under his feet.

“Let me help you.” She thrust her strength under his arm, her slight body braced against his. Leaning heavily, he staggered forward. Her muscles strained against his side. Ishmael forced himself to keep going. If his legs gave out, he would be dead weight for her to move.