Chapter Twelve

That evening as they set up camp, Lucas waited until Zeke had gone behind a shrub to take care of personal matters before he collected branches. The last thing he wanted was to return to camp and find Zeke flirting with Gail.

Lucas couldn't believe he was jealous of Gail. In all the time they were in Pennsylvania, he never had to worry about the gentlemen trying to pursue her. Who knew he'd have to start now? And with someone like Zeke of all people?

His gaze went to Gail. She was setting out her bedroll. He supposed she was pretty in her own right. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed how rich and dark her hair was or how smooth her complexion was until now. But was she like a sunset?

At the moment, the sun hadn't dipped below the horizon. Given the lack of tall trees, he could see the sky for miles and miles. Just beyond the hills were traces of oranges, and above that, it got progressively yellow until the color turned blue. There were only a few clouds in sight. His gaze went back to her. He supposed Gail could be compared to a sunset. She wore subtler colors, like blues and purples. She didn't wear large jewelry but chose smaller gems. She wasn't flashy like most ladies. In fact, now that he thought about it, those ladies wore clothes and jewelry that made them seem gaudy. Gail was a refreshing change from that. Yes, he decided, her type of beauty was subtle. Easy to miss. Easy to pass by in exchange for another lady. Why had it taken Zeke pointing it out to him to realize it?

With a shake of his head, he hurried to collect the branches they would need for the campfire. The night was bound to be a long one. Even now, he could hear the howl of a coyote. He shivered. He felt much too exposed out here.

He didn't think it would end up taking so long to retrieve suitable branches for burning, but as it turned out, these trees' branches were considerably thinner than the ones he'd been collecting for the past two nights. By the time he was almost done, the yellows and oranges in the sky had given way to pinks and purples.

Balancing the other branches under one arm, he leaned forward to retrieve the last branch he planned to gather. He froze when he heard a rustling sound coming from a nearby shrub. He told himself not to look. He told himself to grab the branch and hightail it back to the camp. But he couldn't make himself move. Nor could he resist the temptation to look.

Beady eyes peered at him from the shrub. He held his breath. His mind tried to process what creature this was, but all he could think of was that scorpion story Zeke had told him and Gail. It couldn't be a scorpion. It was too big. Also, it couldn't be a rattler. Those were snakes, and snakes didn't have eyes that big. He waited for what had to be the longest minute in his entire life for the thing to move, but it didn't. It only stayed in place, watching him, as if daring him to come after it.

Instead of confronting the thing, however, Lucas slowly took the branch in his hand then took a step away from it. The thing remained still. Maybe this was going to work. Maybe he could get back to camp without the thing attacking him.

Just when he began to relax, a lizard ran by the shrub. The thing—a gray fox—leapt out from behind the shrub and chased the lizard. Though the fox had ignored him, Lucas shrieked and darted off, clutching the branches to his chest as if his life depended on it. He didn't stop running until he made it to the camp.

As soon as he saw Zeke hovering over Gail as she was cooking, he forgot all about the fox. Zeke had no right to be that close to Gail. He dropped the branches and marched over to Zeke. Grabbing Zeke by the arm, he pulled him away from Gail.

"Come with me," he told Zeke before anyone could protest. He walked Zeke to an area that was away from the shrub that had hidden the fox. He might be angry, but he wasn't stupid. When Gail was safely out of earshot, he let go of Zeke's arm. "I'm not collecting the branches anymore. You're doing it from now on."

"But you and Gail don't know how to cook. Someone has to be here to make sure she's doing it right. I would cook the food myself, but I don't want her to get bored. I know I get bored just sitting around and watching someone do all the work."

"Gail's smart, Zeke. She can figure out how to heat up the awful food you packed, and she knows how to open a bag of jerky."

Zeke gasped. "That food isn't awful. It's sustenance. Maybe it's not like the fancy food you rich types are used to, but when you're out here, anything that keeps you alive is good."

He narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you interested in Gail's money? Is that why you keep going on and on about us ‘rich types'?"

Zeke's eyes grew so wide that they nearly popped out of his head. "I would never pick a woman because of how much money she's got."

The moment Zeke said that, Lucas' face warmed in shame. He was the very person he was accusing Zeke of being. It'd been wrong for him to marry Gail just to get to her money. He should have married her because he loved her for who she was.

Zeke straightened his vest. "And I have something else to say, Lucas. I would never try to steal a woman who belongs to another man."

His mind going back to the present, Lucas said, "You're attracted to her. You compared her to a sunset."

"Just because I said she was pretty, it doesn't mean I want to kiss her or anything. She belongs to you. I know that."

"So why are you always hovering around her?"

"I want to make sure she's cooking correctly. That's all. If it bothers you, I won't do it anymore."

"It does bother me. She's my wife. I'm the only one who should be that close to her." And from this moment forward, he was going to put his words into action. Enough of this pretending nonsense. He was going to start loving Gail for real.

"Alright. I'll stay away from her. But if the food doesn't turn out right, don't come crying to me about it."

"I won't."

Zeke turned back toward the camp then said, "You might want to tell her to get that skillet away from the fire because it smells like the biscuits are burnt."

Lucas waited to make sure Zeke went to his bedroll—which was not anywhere near Gail—then headed over to her. Since Zeke had a habit of annoying Gail whenever he questioned her ability to cook, Lucas settled for asking, "Do you need any help?"

Gail pulled the skillet off of the fire and set it on a rock. "No, I'm done." She glanced in Zeke's direction. "Did he send you over here to check on how I'm doing?"

"No. In fact, I told him to leave you alone."

She relaxed. "Good. I don't feel like having him talk down to me again."

Now that he had succeeded in letting Zeke know he needed to stop thinking of Gail in terms of sunsets, Lucas supposed it wouldn't hurt to smooth out some of the friction between her and Zeke. "He doesn't mean to do that."

"He's constantly treating me like I'm a child. Like earlier today he was telling me where California and Pennsylvania are. It's all I can do to stop myself from throwing this skillet at his head." She rose to her feet and lowered her voice. "He's all puffed up with his sense of worth. He thinks he's this great big heroic figure, but he's not."

Lucas' eyebrows furrowed. "You don't believe he can rescue my sister?"

"I don't believe he's so brave that he handled that scorpion the way he claims, nor do I think he goes through the desert on all of those adventures. Remember how those men were making fun of him in town for letting a harmless snake scare him? Zeke is all talk. He's no more qualified to be out here than we are."

Lucas frowned. She hadn't come out and answered his question, but it sounded like she didn't believe Zeke could rescue Bernadette. "Do you think we're wasting our time out here? Should we have hired someone better to help us?"

"You and I are here. We might not be familiar with this territory, but we're learning. We can help Zeke get Bernadette."

"How?" As far as Lucas could tell, they were not qualified to confront a group of bandits. They'd spent their entire lives with servants at their beck and call. This was the first time they'd ever been forced to take care of themselves. What good were they against people who had grown up in this area? "We've never used guns. We'll be useless in a gunfight if one erupts."

She put her hand on his arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You and I are smart. My father says that wisdom is more important than brawn." She kissed his cheek. "We can't figure out all of the details before it's time to rescue her, but we will succeed." She released him then placed their food on the small plates.

He wished he shared her confidence. His gaze went toward the northwest where the canyon was. He couldn't see the canyon yet, but Zeke assured him it was there. And his poor defenseless sister was also out there with a group of degenerate men. Once more, he prayed she was alright.

***

Bernadette Reid's back hurt from sitting up against the wall of the cave for the past few days. As much as she shifted around, she couldn't get comfortable. She'd never felt more disgusting in her entire life. Her face, hands, and hair were covered in dirt. She'd made an attempt to wash up at a stream on the way to this hideout, but she'd only gotten dirty again by nightfall. After that, she gave up and let her appearance become as unkempt as the land around her. Her pretty dress was beyond repair. There was also no saving her hat. That had blown away in the wind days ago.

She didn't dare lie down in case her three captors decided to do something other than keep her in the corner of the cave. So far, the leader of the group—Bower—forbade the other two from touching her, but she did worry about the looks they kept giving her. None of the gentlemen ever looked at her that way in Pennsylvania. They had always treated her with the utmost respect. But she was a long way from Pennsylvania, and these were not gentlemen.

At the moment, the three were gathered around a small campfire in the center of the cave. The one named Big Mike was cooking beans in the center of the large circular area. The smoke drifted up through the hole at the very top of the cave. Bower was sharpening the end of a thick branch he had picked up on the way here. Squiggy was keeping lookout at the entrance of the cave.

"How long do you think it'll take the ransom money to get here?" Squiggy asked Bower.

Bower shrugged. "Either her brother sends the money to Cooper's bank, or he takes it upon himself to come and rescue her himself. If he comes here, it will take some time. The girl came here all the way from Pennsylvania."

"If he's smart, he'll use the Western Union to transfer the money to Cooper's bank," Big Mike said.

Bower shrugged. "Ponying up $1,000 might not be something he's willing to do."

Squiggy shook his head. "Cooper's an idiot. We might have made a mistake in trusting him to deliver our ransom note to the telegrapher in Bellemont. That girl's brother might not have gotten the note."

Bower pondered the possibility for a long moment then nodded. "Things could turn out that way."

Big Mike swore. "If it does, what are we supposed to do with her?" He gestured to Bernadette.

The three turned their gazes to her, and Bernadette quickly crossed her arms to cover her breasts in hopes they wouldn't be thinking what she worried they were thinking.

Unfortunately, Squiggy asked, "Can I have her?"

Bower swore and slapped his knee in aggravation. "What's wrong with you? As long as she's a virgin, we can sell her. One way or another, we'll get money for her."

Squiggy didn't hide his disappointment.

She released her breath. Thank goodness Bower only saw money when he looked at her. She prayed Lucas would figure out a way to save her before Squiggy lost his patience and acted on his baser urges. Her gaze went to the setting sun. Maybe, just maybe, help was already on the way.