Chapter Fifteen

They waited for an hour before they gave up on Zeke coming for them. Lucas checked the saddles to make sure they were secure on both of the horses. Then he checked the reins. Everything was in order. God willing, Gail wouldn't lose control of her horse again, but if she did, he had done everything to make sure she could regain control as soon as possible. He didn't like to think of how close she'd come to dying. His mind unwittingly went back to the warning his horse instructor had issued, ‘If you fall, you might not just break a limb; you might break your neck. You have to maintain control of your horse at all times.'

Lucas took a deep breath and pulled himself back to the present. Gail hadn't fallen. She had managed to regain control of the steed. The man had decided she and Lucas weren't worth pursuing and had left. For now, at least, they were safe.

He wished he hadn't sent his poor sister to Arizona. He wished he had gotten the nerve to propose to Gail before he arranged for her to marry Blaze Levi. If he had secured things with Gail beforehand, Bernadette could have stayed in Pennsylvania. But because he worried he wouldn't be able to marry Gail, he had scrambled around to secure Bernadette's future with the most promising man he could find—and he had done it where she would be far from any scorn that might come from the family's financial ruin.

"I think we can reach the canyon if we go in this direction," Gail called out.

Lucas turned his attention to Gail who was sitting on the ground with a map laid out in front of her.

"From what I can tell, we are here." Gail pointed to an area on the typographical map. "This looks like the pond and these are the surrounding trees." She glanced up at the sky. "Zeke was heading north. So we just need to go in this direction." Her finger moved along the map. Then she leaned closer to the map and squinted. "We can probably reach the edge of the canyon by nightfall like planned." She straightened up. "It's a long day of travel, but maybe we'll manage to catch up to Zeke." She snorted. "I can't believe I'm actually looking forward to seeing him."

He chuckled. "They do say, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.'"

She groaned. "You're not going to start reciting familiar phrases, are you?"

"Well, it's better than ‘crying over spilled milk.'"

When she glanced his way, he wiggled his eyebrows in a playful gesture.

She laughed and folded the map. "Please don't be like Zeke. I don't think I could handle it."

"I'll never be like him. He enjoys roughing it outside."

Gail grinned as she slipped the map into her satchel then stood up. "If we want to get to the canyon by nightfall, we'll have to pick up the pace. We can't afford to go as slow as we've been going." She secured the satchel to her saddle.

"As long as the horses can tolerate it, I don't mind a faster pace."

"If they show signs of exhaustion, we'll slow down."

She stood at the saddle and waited for him to help her up. Despite their grim situation, he looked forward to these moments when he could touch her. Usually, he would just assist her into the saddle. But this time, he didn't lift her up right away. He took a moment to appreciate the subtle beauty he had missed for a very long time. She seemed surprised he was just watching her. On impulse, he removed his hat and gave her a kiss. Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink, and she offered him a shy smile that made her even more enjoyable to look at.

Feeling a bit shy himself, he put his hat back on then placed his hand on the small of her back and helped her onto the saddle. He hurried to untie her horse's reins from a tree then gave them to her. Their fingers brushed, and sparks of excitement traveled all through him. His heart gave the oddest leap. Not sure what to make of it, he cleared his throat and hurried to get his own horse.

***

Lucas was exhausted by the time the sun was beginning to set. "Are we there yet?"

Gail pulled her horse to a stop. He stopped next to her. She had retrieved the map from the satchel over an hour ago and had made it a habit of checking it from time to time. Now, she pulled the map out from under her arm and opened it.

He was beginning to think this journey would never end. Around five, they discovered horse tracks—a couple of them from the looks of it—and had agreed the bandits had probably gone this route, so they went this route instead of the one Gail had originally planned to take. He scanned the area around them but didn't see any signs of another person.

"I think we covered eight miles in the last hour," Gail said as she studied the map. "So that brings us to about here."

She pointed to a spot on the map, but it didn't mean anything to him. Unlike her, he'd had no fascination with learning how to read maps. That was a decision he was quickly regretting. But how was he to know he'd ever leave Pennsylvania?

"The trees make it harder to figure out where we are," Gail continued with a thoughtful tone in her voice. "From what the map shows, we shouldn't be too far from the canyon. A couple of more miles, perhaps." She glanced at the sky. "The sun sets in the west. We're heading northwest, and the canyon is northwest of Flagstaff." She shook her head and folded the map. "I thought Arizona was supposed to be a desert. I didn't expect all of these trees. I feel like those books I've read lied to me."

Noting the overwhelm in her voice, he said, "I didn't even know Arizona had a desert." The horse shifted under him, reminding him of how tired he was. "Can we stop here?"

"If we stop now, we won't be there to help Zeke rescue Bernadette tomorrow," Gail argued. "We're already running behind schedule because Cooper was shooting our way, and we wasted an hour waiting for Zeke."

"I know, but I'm too tired to keep going. I don't think I can make it all the way to the canyon tonight. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep right here on this horse."

Gail paused then nodded. "I suppose we can't do anything for Bernadette on our own. One more day might give us time to find Zeke. Or, for him to find us."

What a relief. Lucas really didn't think he could make it any longer. "Can we set up a campfire tonight?" As soon as Lucas asked the question, he realized it was a stupid one. The fire made him feel safer than being out here in the dark, but it would also attract the bandits. His sister's safety had to come before his fears.

Gail's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Even with the trees, a fire will—"

"I know," he interrupted. "The wrong people will notice. I miss being inside a place that has walls and a roof."

"You mean a house?"

"I'd even take the hotel we stayed at in Flagstaff where the drunks get into fights."

She grinned. "I wouldn't say that, but I miss being inside a home, too."

"Really? You seem to manage to sleep just fine."

"I never had trouble sleeping. I just don't like getting up in the morning knowing I've been sleeping on a hard ground all night. I miss my bed."

Yes, he missed the bed, too, but he was too spooked by being out here for his main concern to be the hard ground.

"Well, if we are going to stay here tonight, we might as well set up camp." She scanned their surroundings. "Do you see one of those watering holes anywhere? There should be one if those bandits took this path."

Lucas helped her search for one and found it. Once their horses were satisfied, they filled their canteens. Having set up camp a couple of times now, they managed the task in short time, proving that repetition was a good teacher. Unfortunately, Zeke had the eggs, beans, and biscuits. All they had was pemmican and jerky.

"I'm sure Zeke would approve of the way I can open the bag to take these out. Pick your favorite." Gail showed the pemmican and jerky to Lucas.

"I noticed that Zeke didn't bother you while you made breakfast this morning," Lucas pointed out.

"Only because you pulled him aside last night and warned him stop. Which I appreciated, by the way."

"It wasn't much." Especially since what he'd really done was tell Zeke to leave her alone completely. But she didn't need to know he'd gotten jealous of another man being near her. He glanced between the pemmican and jerky. "I suppose I'll have the jerky."

"A fine choice. I think the pemmican will fill us longer. We'll need that in the morning."

The two sat by their bedrolls and ate in silence. A week ago, the silence would have bothered him. He was used to her rambling about something, and though his mind would wander, it was nice to hear her voice in the background. Now, he was beginning to realize the reason she'd spent so much time talking was that she'd been nervous around him. The silence indicated her comfort, and that was also nice.

"Do you think we'll find where Bernadette is when we get to the canyon?" he asked when they finished their meal.

She shrugged. "Zeke made it sound like he knew exactly where to go, but if the canyon is that big and has that many hiding places, it's not going to be easy to find her."

"I've never seen a canyon before. Maybe it's not as big as he made it out to be."

"That's a possibility."

After a moment, Lucas asked, "Did Zeke say anything to you about Cooper?"

She took off her hat. "No, he didn't mention anyone named Cooper to me. Did he tell you about him?" She placed the pins securing her hair into the hat then set the hat on the ground.

"No. All I know is what he told me about Bower, Big Mike, and Squiggy. I don't know how Cooper is involved in any of this."

"He could have joined the others without Zeke realizing it, or he could have been out here and doesn't like Zeke, so he started shooting at him. I wouldn't be surprised if Zeke has some enemies."

He wasn't surprised to hear her say that, considering how much she didn't like Zeke. To lighten the mood, he teased, "It doesn't matter if you like Zeke as long as you like me."

She shot him an amused smile. "I hope I like you. I married you."

He chuckled.

"One thing I'm most looking forward to is a bath," Gail said as she removed her riding jacket.

"Didn't you bring any more clothes with you?"

"No. I was busy making sure I brought the canteen, the map, the compass, the bedroll, the horse, and some pemmican."

"What about the clothes you had on when we were at the hotel?"

"When I heard that Zeke was heading for the hotel to get you, I hurried out of the shop before getting them. Please don't tell Zeke. I don't want him to make some snide comment about how forgetful I am."

"I won't say a word about it to him," he assured her. "If it makes you feel better, the only clothes I have are the ones I'm wearing."

Lucas scanned the area. Soon, the sun would be setting for the night. In some ways, the trees worked to their advantage. It hid them. And tonight, when the moon and stars were out, no one would see them at all since they weren't going to light a fire.

On the other hand…the trees could hide bandits as well. He shuddered. He was in no position to protect Gail if he had to.

His gaze went back to her. "Are you going to be alright tonight?"

"It's a little chilly out here, but my clothes and the bedroll will keep me warm."

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her if she worried about the bandits or about wild animals, but he thought better of it. He didn't want her to struggle with sleep like he did.

After they got ready for bed, he took off his hat and boots. Then he slipped into his bedroll. Already, he missed the warmth and comfort of the fire. He closed the distance between him and Gail so he could draw her into his arms.

At once, he felt much better. It was ironic when he thought about it. He had married Gail because he was scared about his family's financial situation. Now he was holding her because he was scared one of the strange creatures out here was going to sneak up on him while he slept or a bandit might come up to them while they slept. He was glad she had insisted on coming along. If it wasn't for her, he didn't know what he'd do.