Chapter Fourteen

The midday sun beat down on the three travelers as they continued to go northwest. Gail was certain it was hotter in this area of Arizona than it'd been when they were in Flagstaff. Not significantly hotter, but hotter all the same. Though there were more trees around them today than there had been yesterday, they weren't exactly the kind of trees that offered substantial shade. She had to resist the urge to unfasten a couple of the buttons on her riding jacket to ease some of the sweat that trickled down her back. While she knew it wasn't sinful to show her blouse, the dust would ruin it.

"We'll camp just outside the canyon tonight," Zeke called out. "I know you're eager to get Bernadette, but we have to wait until tomorrow. As my ma likes to say, ‘Haste makes waste.'"

Gail looked his way to see if he had directed those words to her, but to her surprise, he had included Lucas in that statement. Good. The last thing she wanted to deal with was him treating her like she was stupid again. Now that they were getting close to Bower's hideout, she was beginning to feel tense. Undoubtedly, Lucas was feeling the same way.

"You already told us we're not doing anything until tomorrow," Lucas told Zeke. "Did you honestly think we forgot?"

Zeke shrugged. "I don't know if you did or not, but it's ‘better to be safe than sorry'. My ma likes to say that, too."

"Alright, Zeke, we get the point," Lucas said. "As my ma used to say, there's no sense in ‘milking it'." He glanced Gail's way and winked to indicate he had used that phrase to go along with the other phrases Zeke had just used.

"We better pay attention to what Zeke has to say, Lucas," she chimed in. "We wouldn't want to ‘cry over spilled milk'."

He grinned to let her know he enjoyed her response.

"I don't know what milk has to do with this, but as long as you two do what I say, we'll be fine," Zeke said.

Lucas and Gail glanced at each other and chuckled under their breaths. This was nice. Gail had never had someone she could share private jokes with before. Growing up, she'd often felt left out because the other girls formed little groups where they shared secrets and jokes. They hadn't refused her from joining them, but she'd understood they had a level of closeness that excluded her. With Lucas, she had that kind of closeness with someone now.

Zeke pulled his horse to a stop. On instinct, Gail followed suit. Lucas also drew back his reins.

"What is it?" Lucas asked.

Zeke held up his hand. "I saw something up ahead."

Gail searched the area. She didn't see anything but a lot of trees, some of which were quite tall. However, upon closer inspection, she did note the sunlight reflecting off of a lake in the distance. But that couldn't be what was bothering Zeke.

Her gaze went to Lucas who seemed just as baffled as she was. She leaned forward on her steed so she could get a better view of Zeke to see where he was looking. She followed the path of Zeke's stare and saw something hovering behind one of the pine trees. She had to squint since the object was too far to see that well. At first, she thought it was an animal, but when it shifted, she noted the stature of a man. She gripped her reins. They weren't at the canyon yet. This couldn't be Bower or one of his men, could it?

"You two need to get over to those trees." Zeke nodded to their left. "There's trouble up ahead."

"Is it Bower?" she asked in a low voice.

"Can't say from this distance, but we don't need to take our chances," Zeke replied.

"If he has two others working for him, wouldn't it make sense to have me go with you?" Lucas pointed out.

Zeke gave him a look that let Gail know Zeke thought that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. While she didn't take delight in Lucas being insulted, it was good to know she wasn't the only one Zeke didn't think was smart enough to handle things.

Lucas gasped in offense. "Forgive me for thinking that one clumsy deputy going up against three bandits all by himself is a bad idea."

"I have been training for this kind of thing my entire life," Zeke shot back. "And I am not clumsy. I just trip on things from time to time. There is a difference."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you think you can handle whoever is watching us all by yourself, do so. Gail and I will be out of the way."

Gail followed Lucas to a spot where the trees were the densest. Gail glanced over her shoulder and saw Zeke going off of the trail to better conceal himself from the stranger's view. As much as she hated to admit it, it did seem like he had an inkling of what to do in situations like this. If he had gone charging off toward the stranger, that would prove he had no sense at all. Maybe they wouldn't have as much trouble getting Bernadette as she feared.

She pulled her horse next to Lucas' and waited to see what Zeke would do.

"All of those years I spent studying in school, it never once occurred to me I should have taken a class in how to shoot a gun," Lucas said with a shake of his head. "I could be with Zeke helping him right now instead of waiting to see what will happen."

"Just because he has a gun, it doesn't mean he knows how to use it. Remember, he once dropped a gun."

Lucas frowned. "I never thought to ask him how good he was at hitting his mark. What if he accidentally shoots Bernadette?"

"I doubt the sheriff would have let him come with us if his aim was that bad."

"Even if there was no other deputy to help us?"

She considered that possibility then shook her head. "No, he still wouldn't have sent us with Zeke. He would have found someone in town who is good with his aim. A lot of those men in Flagstaff had guns."

"Those men didn't think that highly of Zeke's skills."

"No, they didn't, and I don't think the sheriff does, either. But the fact that the sheriff would rather have us with Zeke than one of the other men tells me that a lot of men living here aren't qualified to help us save your sister."

He grimaced. "Do you think we should have hired someone in Pennsylvania to help us?"

It probably would have been a good idea, but what could they do about it now? "All we can do is hope Bower and his men are as inept as the rest of them."

She could tell he didn't like hearing that. She didn't blame him. Dwelling on the things they should have done, however, did nothing to help their situation. All they could do was work with what they had. Like him, she had assumed qualified men would be easy to find out here.

A gunshot rang through the air. They jerked. The horses were equally startled, and it took a moment to settle them down.

Another gunshot rang through the air, followed by a, "I know it's you, Cooper Vance!" from Zeke.

They edged around one of the pine trees and saw Zeke pursuing the other man, who was now on horseback. The two didn't fire any more shots. They were too busy avoiding the trees. Cooper was heading north. Zeke was close behind.

Gail frowned. The trail they had been on wasn't far away, but if Zeke kept going into those trees, they might lose him.

She wasn't the only one thinking that, for Lucas asked, "Should we go after them?"

She was about to say yes when they heard another gunshot. Her horse took off for the west. She struggled to bring the steed under control, but the reins slipped from her hands.

"Gail!" Lucas called out after her.

She didn't have time to look back at him, and she was too much in a panic to call back. She tightened her legs around the saddle and gripped the saddle horn so she wouldn't fly off of the animal. Another gunshot rang through the air. She couldn't be sure, but she thought the bullet flew past her.

Heart pounding, she leaned forward and just barely avoided the low branch hanging on the tree that her horse passed. She grunted. This wasn't working. She had to get this steed under control. She heard a horse pursuing her and prayed it was Lucas. She had come out to help rescue Bernadette, not get kidnapped, too!

She heard another gunshot. This one was much further away. Her strength renewed, she used one hand to grab the reins that were flapping along the horse's neck. Once she had the reins in both hands, she straightened up in the saddle and pulled the reins back. The horse protested for a moment but finally slowed to a stop.

She released her breath. That was much too close.

Lucas pulled up next to her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. Though she was shaking, she kept her grip firm on the reins.

He scanned the area around them. "I think we're out of harm's way."

She waited until she was no longer breathing so heavily to respond. "At least we know Cooper isn't a good shot." If he had been, she'd have a bullet in her right now.

"Don't joke about things like that," Lucas admonished.

"I wasn't joking. I was merely making an observation. To be honest, I'm relieved." She pulled the pins out of her hat, took the thing off of her head, and wiped the sweat from her brow. She was still trembling.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I was just scared. I thought he was going to kill you."

"I know you were only concerned." She offered him a smile. "It's nice to know you worry about me."

"Of course, I worry about you. I don't want to lose you."

While she was touched by how much she meant to him, she realized they had another problem. "Do you see Zeke?"

He turned his attention to the forest around them. All was quiet. Even the animals were being silent at the moment. The gunshots hadn't only disturbed her. It had disturbed them, too.

She couldn't make out another person, or even a horse, anywhere. For all intents and purposes, she and Lucas were alone. Her horse shifted under her as if it didn't like this outcome any more than she did.

Lucas looked at her in alarm. "I don't see Zeke anywhere. Did you see where he went?"

"I did before my horse got spooked and ran off. Now I'm not sure where he is." Which was a shame since he knew the way to the canyon. She might not have thought much of him, but he did know the terrain. She examined their surroundings. The lake she'd seen before was closer now, and upon further inspection, it was really more of a pond than a lake. Still, it was water. They could refill their canteens and let the horses drink. It was hard to say when another water source would become available. "Maybe we should rest over there for a while."

"What if Zeke doesn't find us?"

She couldn't deal with that possibility at the moment. She was still shaken up from almost falling off the horse and almost being shot. She needed time to calm down so she could think clearly. "We'll deal with that problem if it happens." Without another word, she led the way to the pond.