Reed Strong is about to be executed for the killing of an Army Fort Commander when he is rescued by the Fort commander's widow, Callie McCallister. A desperate woman, she can only inherit her late husband's estate if she has born him a child. Her proposition to Reed? Make her pregnant and she'll help him escape the gallows.
Reed Strong is a champion of lost causes. An ex-rebel soldier, he’d gone to Texas to rebuild his life after months in a Yankee prison camp. Now, he stands accused of killing the nearby fort commander during an Army raid on an Indian village. Knowing that the man was bent on slaughtering the women and children of the reservation made little difference in his defense. Accepting his fate, Reed is taken to the fort, injured and practically a condemned man, to await his trial and subsequent hanging. Once inside the fort, his wounds are tended by the fort commander’s widow—Callie MacCallister.
Callie, after having been sold into marriage to Colonel Tom MacCallister by her abusive step-father, is finally is free of her cruel husband but finds herself in a far worse situation. As a condition of her nuptials, she’d agreed to inherit none of her husband’s money unless their union produced a child. Desperate to get back to her home in Kansas and to her younger sister who is in the hands of her stepfather, she has only one course of action. She must seduce the very man accused of killing her husband and convince him to help her become pregnant in exchange for her helping him escape the fort.
Excerpt
“Do you want to die, Mr. Strong?” Her voice was quiet, but firm, her question cutting into his mind like a razor.
Reed hesitated before answering. Finally he closed his eyes. “No, Ma’am, to be honest with you, I don’t. I’ve seen lots of death in the last five years. I’ve lost my family and far too many friends on both sides of the war. I know I don’t deserve to keep breathing while so many good men and women have passed on. And, while I gladly would have traded my own worthless hide for any number of people, the fates wouldn’t have it that way. God help me, I really don’t want to die now except for a good cause. Stopping Tom McCallister from killing innocent people was enough of a reason. At least it seemed so at the time.” When he finished speaking, the timbre of his voice had dropped to nearly a whisper.
“Then perhaps you and I can help each other. I will put it simply. I need something from you. The fact is my late husband managed to maintain his commission for these many years because of his family’s wealth. He easily purchased many friends and subdued any enemies to secure his position in the military. He purchased me as well.” She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, her voice was stronger, almost bitter. “When we married, he had papers drawn up, stating that upon his death, I would receive none of his family inheritance unless our union produced a child. I am not sure whether our failure of accomplishment in that area is due to my own inadequacies, or his. For all his power as an officer, my husband lacked the talents to command any success in the bedroom, at least where his wife was concerned.” She gave off a bitter laugh. “So, I am now widowed and childless. Neither state bothers me particularly. But, I have a younger sister and stepfather whom my husband has been supporting since our marriage began. Without my husband’s charity,” the woman nearly spat the term; “I have no way of taking care of them.”
“I’m sorry. If I had any money, I’d gladly give it to you. It’s not like I’ll have much need of it...” he stopped, his own thoughts crowding out his voice.
“It isn’t your money I’m asking for. And, if you agree to help me, I will see to it that you escape from here before the judge comes. Think about it, Mr. Strong, you get a another chance.”
He looked up to her then. Even in the dim light, she was a beauty. Soft, round, eyes now a murky jade coloring. Her pure, pale skin almost glowed in the candlelight. Despite her vision of beauty, Reed felt a small tingle of suspicion at the base of his spine. Something was not right about her being here. And yet, if she was without her husband it was Reed’s fault. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for her present situation. But, the nagging thought at what she might be proposing gave him a both a singular fear, and a disturbing thrill. Sitting back in her chair, and crossing her arms, the commander’s widow remained quiet and unmoving.
Reed lay quietly, thinking. He considered himself lucky those few sparse moments. He drank in the sight of her. She’d changed into her black, mourning dress, which enveloped her like a dark specter. And yet, the dismal attire didn’t detract from her beauty. Her form and shape were of gentle, soft curves. A distant part of his mind longed to reach out and soothe her distress, to open her small hands, and salve the sadness that seemed so much a part of her.
Reed shrugged. “Just what is it you want me to do?”
She looked away for a moment. When she turned back to him her face became lined with desperation. “I want you to give me a baby, Mr. Strong.”
Callie held her breath. The words had come tumbling from her own mouth, sounding as though someone else had spoken. For a moment a stunned silence sat between them like a phantom.
The turmoil of the past few days, even of the years he’d spent on the battlefield all disappeared as she sat quietly beside him. He’d somehow come to be at peace with himself in the last hour. Settled for the first time in his life, and knowing that he was about to die, Reed considered her plight under different circumstances. He all too well remembered her gentle touch, and the way she’d comforted him moments before. But, he had no illusions. Her brazen request was one of desperation, and if there was anything Reed understood, it was despair. If they had met another time, another place, he could very easily fall in love with the golden-haired beauty. As he watched her nearly still form sit, tensely waiting for his answer, Reed knew that she’d likely not be able to save his life. What decided his actions was that his last effort on the earth was not a killing one, not couched in battle and blood, but in loving a woman. It was the best legacy he could think of.
“I’ll help you, Mrs. McCallister.”
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