Chapter 3

Faith sucked in hard breaths, her heart racing as she struggled to get a foothold. Her boots only slipped off the wet rock. Should she let go and fall into the water below? It must be at least three body lengths down.

She couldn't give up so easily. What if she hit rocks in the pool? Or the waterfall sucked her under, raining down its powerful flow on her body? Could its strength break bones?

Gathering her strength, she used her arms to pull herself up and managed to get her chin above the rock. The edge of her vision caught motion on the bank, just in front of her. Then a hand gripped her arm. The thick fingers of a man.

Faith glanced up as she was lifted. The stranger grabbed her other arm and hauled her onto the rock, the stone scraping her belly through her wet clothing. The moment she reached solid ground, she turned her body to sit, taking in her rescuer.

A man, wearing the same kind of loose cotton shirt and trousers most of the trappers wore in the summer. Except he was clean-shaven, his hair not grown long like the men who traveled in this country. He wasn't too old either. Somewhere in his twenties.

That thought made her a little self-conscious as she still sat on the ground, her skirts twisted around her legs. "Thank you."

He nodded and stepped back, putting more distance between them. "Be more careful. You could have drowned."

She worked to keep from frowning. He didn't have to be rude about it. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." She worked for something close to a smile.

His brows gathered in a scowl. "It's your safety you should be concerned about. What are you doing out here?" He glanced around, and of course he didn't see anyone who might be her companion. His expression was a bit darker when he turned back to her. "Are you here alone?"

Perhaps she should be miffed by such an impertinent question. He didn't act as though he would take advantage of that fact, so he must be a decent sort. Despite his growling.

He might think it improper for a woman to explore a waterfall without companions, but his opinion didn't much matter. As she pushed up to her feet, he stepped forward like he would offer help. But then he moved back instead. Probably still concerned about the no chaperone bit.

She brushed the dirt and leaves from her skirts. "I'm looking for someone." Maybe she should ask if he'd seen Steps Right. If he came to this waterfall often, he might have spotted her.

They had to talk loudly over the waterfall, so she started down the hillside toward the path that had brought her here. He followed but didn't respond. When they were far enough away to have a normal conversation, she spun to face him.

He jerked to a halt, then backed a step, putting that distance between them again. His brows must stay permanently lowered in a scowl. He would be handsome if he smiled, but this must be his way to ward off would-be friends and admirers.

She offered a pleasant expression. "I'm looking for a friend. A Peigan woman named Steps Right. She's older, maybe around fifty years, with long white hair. Have you seen her around that waterfall by chance?"

His mouth pinched as he shook his head. "Yesterday was the first time I've been here."

He didn't ask why she was looking for a Native woman more than twice her age. Didn't ask why she would be searching so close to the falls. Didn't say anything else at all.

And just to spite him, or maybe make him uncomfortable, she should answer those questions he didn't care enough to ask. She wasn't normally given to talking overmuch, but something about this man made her want to step forward and poke his chest. Move into his space and push until she cracked the grumpy fa?ade he wore like porcupine quills.

She squared her shoulders and smiled. "Steps Right is a woman my father met many years ago when he and a friend came to this land to trap through the winter. She saved his life, and now he's asked us to return a gift to her. We've located her son but are still looking for the woman herself. We have reason to believe she might be staying near a waterfall. This is the first one I've searched, and I thought maybe there would be a cave behind the water. That's why I got so close. But there's not a cave here. I guess I'll have to keep looking."

The longer she talked, the more his scowl relaxed. It had now faded completely into a raised-brow look that said he either didn't believe her story or couldn't fathom how he'd come to be standing in this mountain wilderness listening to a white woman prattle on so.

Either way made her want to grin more.

She propped her hands on her waist and tipped her head at him. "You don't know of any other waterfalls in the area, do you? Perhaps to the north or northeast?" Maybe there would be others along the route Elise and Goes Ahead planned to take.

His brows dipped again, and she almost regretted asking. But this expression was more thoughtful and less grumpy than before. "I don't remember seeing any that direction. Only farther west."

She straightened. "You've traveled a lot through these parts?" The rendezvous was happening somewhere around here, though Elise had said they wouldn't be venturing close to it. He must be a trapper who'd come to stock up on supplies.

But he shook his head. "I came with the supply wagons. I have a map that shows the terrain. Waterfalls too." He reached into the pocket sewn into his waistband and pulled out a paper folded into a small square.

He lifted a wary glance to her as he unfolded the document, as though he wasn't sure he should reveal this secret. It was all she could do not to jerk the paper from his hands and feast her eyes on its contents. But she dropped her hands to her sides as she leaned forward to see what he opened up.

Pencil marks covered the surface, and it took her a moment to make sense of lines and curves. He pointed to a tiny cloud on the left side. "This is where we are. That's the falls you almost died in."

She rolled her eyes, but he didn't look up to see her.

He pointed to an area near the middle of the page. "There's a waterfall here. Then two more along this river here. And another there." He slid his finger to the right side.

Excitement tingled through her. "Where are they? How far, and is there a trail?"

He hesitated before answering, as though weighing the risks of sharing the information with her. "They're all to the west. Not a place for a lady to travel alone."

"I'm not alone. I'm with friends."

He sent a glance toward the trail.

"They're back at camp." Maybe she was being foolhardy by making it so clear she was out here alone. She quickly added, "But I didn't come here by myself. I'm here with ... my brother." The words slipped out of their own accord. It wasn't true, of course, but he didn't need to know that.

She glanced over the man's shoulder, then nodded that direction. "I see him coming now." She shifted her focus back to the map. "How would we get to these falls? Is there a trail or a road?"

The man looked where she'd motioned, then turned back to her. It was hard to tell if he believed her or not, but he was focusing on the map again, so hopefully she'd accomplished her purpose.

"I don't know if there's a trail. The map doesn't show it. You'd have to ask someone who's been out that way."

She lifted her gaze to him. "Do you know anyone who has?"

Something flickered across his expression, like a door closing. "I'm sure there are trappers who have. But that won't help a woman like you."

Urgh, this man was frustrating. But she held in her ire and gave an understanding nod. "My brother can speak with them. Do you know who he should ask? And where he might find them?"

Once more the man regarded her for a long moment. Too many heartbeats pounded in her chest as she waited, but she didn't back down. Just kept a pleasant—yet capable—look on her face.

"A man named Parson at the rendezvous. He's staying in a lodge with a lean-to tent staked next to it, near this end of the camp. I think he's been that way before, and he's getting ready to lead a group there again." He raised a staying hand. "You don't want to travel with those trappers. Just get directions from them."

Relief swarmed through her, and she tried not to let her grin spread too wide. "I'll be sure to tell him that. Thank you."

The man nodded, then turned toward the trail. He didn't say good-bye, but he certainly seemed to be leaving. Probably worried she'd ask more questions he didn't want to answer.

As he strode away, an impish thought slipped in, and she couldn't help herself as she called out to him. "Wait, I didn't catch your name."

He paused and glanced back, his expression guarded. "Allen. Grant Allen."

Now she couldn't help her grin. "Thank you, Mr. Allen. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Once more he nodded and turned away. This time she let him go.

She had much to figure out in order to keep going on this search for Steps Right. She couldn't disappoint or worry her family, but she also couldn't lose her first viable lead.

Was there a way she could possibly accomplish both?