Page 23 of Teton Sunrise

After his claim of ownership, Evie had told him in no uncertain terms that she would never belong to him, and had stormed into Aimee’s medical tent. For fear of his own temper getting the better of him, Alex had thought it wise to try reasoning with her again another time. If Evelyn found out that he had no real hold on her, she was just the type of woman to try something foolish and leave. For her own safety, it was better that everyone believed she was his newly acquired wife, at least until they both could figure out what to do. Now all he had to do was keep his own distance.

“Why are you not with your lovely young bride?” Laurent asked when they were out of earshot from the rest of the men.

Alex stopped in his tracks and faced the Frenchman. He and Laurent had been friends for four years, ever since Alex had helped him escape from a war party of Blackfeet. From then on, they had traveled the wilderness together, trapping and hunting the streams and tributaries of the Snake River Country below the Teewinots, sometimes venturing further north into the Yellowstone. While Alex was committed to the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, Laurent had always been a free trapper. Now that Alex had cut his ties with the company, he was eager to reach the small, secluded valley at the base of the great Teton Mountains. Laurent made his home in that valley, and last winter they had planned for Alex to build his own cabin.

Glancing over his shoulder, Alex leaned toward Laurent and said in a hushed voice, “You know damn well she’s not my wife. I didn’t pay you anything for her.”

Laurent shrugged and grinned. “You have not paid me the amount you boldly proclaimed you would pay for her. All I ask is one beaver pelt.” He held up a hand as if warding off an attack. “I will accept nothing more. Then she is yours.”

Alex scoffed. Absently, he kicked at the rocks on the ground, stirring up dust. “Do you think I want Evelyn bound to me in that way? She already thinks I murdered her folks. Besides, I ain’t no good for her.” He stared at the ground.

“Mon ami, when will you stop running from your past?” Laurent placed a heavy hand on Alex’s shoulder. “You are not your father.”

Alex raised his head and stared at the Frenchman. The bruises on Evie’s wrists proved otherwise. “What the hell am I supposed to do with her?” He worked the muscles in his jaw. “This arrangement is no better than the slave trade in the east.”

“You are mistaken, my friend,” Laurent said, an easy smile on his face. “The young mademoiselle has been under my protection since she boarded that boat in St. Louis. She consented to allow me to be her guardian. I have not abandoned that duty.”

Alex stared at him blankly. “I don’t understand.”

“As her guardian, it is within my right to choose a husband for her, no? I choose you.” He poked a finger in Alex’s chest, making him wince when it jabbed his incision. “The bride price is one beaver plew.”

Alex blinked and shook his head. His eyebrows scrunched together. Laurent laughed and slapped him on the back. “It is simple, no? If you were to go to the father of an Absaroka or a Shoshoni, and ask for his daughter in marriage, he would name his price. This is no different. Mademoiselle Lewis has no father or male relative to give her away in marriage. As her guardian, that duty falls to me.” He paused, staring intently at Alex, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

Alex scoffed, shaking his head at the Frenchman’s logic. “Those are the ways here in the mountains. Evie is hardly an Injun. She’s the type of woman who would want a church wedding and be married up all proper like.”

“Who says you cannot offer that to her? In time? Until the time comes when you go to St. Louis, she is married to you according to the customs of the land. A la facon du pay.” Laurent stopped smiling. His jaw muscles tightened, and his lips were drawn in a tight line. “It is the only way to protect her from men like Oliver Sabin. You know this is true, Walker.”

Begrudgingly, Alex agreed with Laurent’s reasoning. Hadn’t that been his intent already when he bartered for Evie? To protect her from the likes of Sabin?

“Why didn’t you simply bring her to me? You said you knew I’d be at rendezvous already. Why did you have to put her through the humiliation of a barter?” Alex’s voice rose in sudden anger. He hadn’t thought to ask these questions the previous day.

“Sabin forced my hand,” Laurent shot back. “He wanted the little mademoiselle ever since it was revealed that she was on board that boat. I did what I could to protect her. Once we got to rendezvous, all I could do was buy an hour’s time. If he had not been so insistent, I would have sought you out myself, and simply given her to you.” He stared intently at Alex, then smirked. “Besides, you will be doing me a great favor, too. Now that you have a wife, Whispering Waters will see that I am the man for her, and not you.”

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