Chapter Nine

During the course of the day, Lucas' mind kept going back to the investments he and his father had made through Hankman's Investing . He wished he had known how terrible the men in that business were before they agreed to invest all of their money with them. Neither he nor his father were qualified to find the best investments. They could manage to hire good employees to run their steel mill, but that was as much business savvy as they had.

Had he known he could have sought Mr. Patterson's advice on which investing company was good, he might not have ended up in financial trouble. But if he had done that, he wouldn't have needed to marry Gail.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. He glanced Gail's way. The sun was beginning to make its descent for the day. The pinks and purples weren't out yet, but the yellows and oranges were spread across the sky. His mind unwittingly went to Zeke's comparison between Gail and the sunset. What was it that Zeke had said about sunsets? They're easy to miss, but when you take the time to really look at them, they take your breath away. Was she really like that?

He couldn't argue she was easy to miss. The only reason he had noticed her was because of her father's bank account. He pushed aside the spark of guilt that wanted his attention. It wasn't like he married her with the intention of taking a mistress. He had been committed to being faithful to her. He just hadn't figured that he would ever desire her.

Zeke called out for them to stop.

Lucas pulled the reins of his horse and turned his attention to the deputy.

"This will be a good place to camp for the night," Zeke said as he slid off his steed. "Lucas, do you know how to get a fire going?"

Lucas shook his head. "No." He was sure Gail didn't know, either, since she'd never slept outside before, but he found himself looking her way. To his surprise, she rolled her eyes. Lucas frowned. Did Zeke annoy her?

"If you ask me, we made great progress today," Zeke said as he tied the reins of his horse to one of the nearby trees. He looked up at Lucas with a satisfied smile. "If we can keep this pace up, it won't be long before we reach the canyon."

Lucas examined the landscape around them. There was a mountain in the distance, but it was hard to see much more than that over the trees. While the trees weren't as plentiful as they were in Pennsylvania, there were a sizable number of them along their path. "Where's the canyon?" Lucas asked.

Zeke gestured northwest. "Over in that direction."

"How long will it take for us to get there?"

"Now that we got a full day's ride in, we should be there in three days."

Three days? "That's a long time," Lucas said in shock.

Zeke retrieved his camping gear from his saddle. "Not really. I've been to the north side of the canyon, and that is a lot farther than where we're going. We only have to go to the south rim."

"How can you be sure the bandits will take my sister to the canyon?" Lucas pressed. "They could go anywhere out in this remote land."

"Bower is looking for gemstones that are in the canyon. There are a few families in California who will pay good money to make gemstones into jewelry."

"What does that have to do with my sister? If all they wanted was money, they could have taken her jewelry and purse then left her alone."

Zeke set his gear on the ground and rubbed his chin. "Can she cook? Men get tired of cooking for themselves."

"No, she hasn't cooked a day in her life."

"Why not?"

"Because she didn't need to. My father hired a cook to make the meals."

"Oh, well, if she's rich, maybe they will post a ransom for her return."

"I didn't get a ransom note," Lucas pointed out.

Zeke shrugged. "Then maybe they want a cook, or maybe they want someone to do the laundry."

Lucas didn't like the sound of this. Zeke made it sound like they were looking for someone who did the job of a wife without being married. Maybe wives in his social circle didn't do those chores, but other wives did. "Are you sure those men aren't harming my sister?"

"After Bower got the clap, I doubt he'd want to go near a woman."

"What is the clap?" Lucas asked.

"It's something you get from sleeping with a lot of women you aren't married to."

Lucas's gaze went to Gail to see if she knew what Zeke was talking about since she was a woman, but she shrugged. Lucas sighed. "Zeke, I'm not from here. You need to talk in terms I can understand. What is the clap?"

"It's a disease." With an uneasy glance at Gail, he added, "Bower has pus coming out of that part of his body where he urinates. He's been to the doctor twice now for a cure, and all the doctor's done is put water up the hole to drain the pus out. Turns out, the water treatment doesn't seem to be working."

"That's enough." Lucas held his hand up to stop Zeke from talking anymore. Good heavens! If he knew that Zeke was going to get graphic, he never would have allowed Zeke to explain it. Now he knew why Zeke had given that tentative look in Gail's direction.

Lucas hurried to get down from his horse, praying the whole time that his poor sister's virtue would, indeed, remain intact. Rape would be awful in itself. But adding one of those diseases of the flesh to her agony? Lucas couldn't bring himself to dwell on it.

"Well, you asked," Zeke replied. "You can't blame me for what Gail heard."

"You're right," Lucas said, even though it pained him to admit it. "Next time, I'll wait until we're alone before discussing anything private." He went to Gail who waited for him on her steed.

"Now you can understand why Bower won't touch your sister," Zeke said. "A man goes through everything Bower has, and the last thing he wants to do is be with a woman."

Before Gail took his hand, Lucas turned back to Zeke and set his hand on his hip. "Are the two men with him in a similar predicament?"

"I don't know. I only know about Bower because the doctor told me about it when I took my ma in to see him. She had a fever at the time. She's better now."

Lucas waited to see if Zeke wanted to add anything else before he turned back to Gail and helped her down from the horse. An unfamiliar warmth swept over him. He smiled at her and was happy to note the shy smile she offered in return. He was used to seeing that kind of smile on her face, but something about it seemed different this time.

"We have to set up camp, and there's a lot to do," Zeke called out, interrupting the moment Lucas was sharing with Gail. "I could use some help."

Lucas had to fight back the urge to tell Zeke he could wait since they had spent a significant amount of time waiting for him during their breaks throughout the day. Lucas didn't know why Zeke needed so much time to take care of his personal business, and he wasn't about to ask. He was just glad that Gail was here. Gail offered him a sense of normalcy in this unfamiliar world. That normalcy, especially after he had learned about the clap, was nice. To show his appreciation for her presence, he squeezed Gail's hand then let it go.

***

"Don't forget to stir the beans," Zeke told Gail an hour later as she was cooking over the open fire. "You want to make sure all of those beans are hot when we eat."

Gail bit down on her tongue so she wouldn't snap at him. Unbelievable. Did Zeke really think she couldn't figure out how to heat up beans? All of her life, she'd been raised to be polite. A lady smiles at all times, she'd been instructed. There was no way she could smile at Zeke right now. He'd spent the entire day talking down to her. It was no wonder he was a bachelor. No woman wanted to be treated like a child.

"Are you scared about being out here?" Zeke asked.

She kept her attention on the pot. "No."

"Huh. I would think you'd be, what with you being a woman and all. The Arizona wilderness isn't exactly a place for one, you know." A long moment of silence passed before he asked, "Are you looking forward to seeing the canyon?"

She shrugged. "It's hard to know if I should be when I don't know what to expect. Everything I've seen so far isn't what I expected Arizona to be."

"What did you expect?"

"No trees. A cactus here and there. No water. Sand as far as the eye can see. Maybe some rocks jutting out of the ground," she replied.

"What gave you that idea?"

"I read books about deserts."

"Really? You read books?"

She sighed at the shocked tone in his voice. "I mentioned reading books when I was talking to your uncle at the jailhouse." When he gave her a blank look, she added, "You were right there." She stopped herself before her voice became too sharp. He was really trying her patience!

"Oh, right. I forgot about that. Did you read those books about deserts when you found out Lucas' sister went missing?"

"No, I read them when I was growing up."

"Why? Were you planning on seeing a desert when you were a kid?"

"No," she replied. "I read about it out of curiosity."

"Huh. I didn't think people like you bothered to read about things that didn't concern you."

Her gaze went to the trees where Lucas had gone to retrieve extra branches to keep the fire going through the night. When was he going to be back?

"I suppose not all of you are snobs then," Zeke continued. "Ma warned me a long time ago to be wary of the fancy people out there. ‘They'll take advantage of you,' she used to say. ‘They assume the lot of us are beneath them because we aren't well-to-do like they are.' But you and Lucas don't seem like you're all high and mighty to me."

He went over to her and peered into the pot. She had to fight the urge to shift away from him. He ought to be glad she was ‘one of those fancy people' because fancy people weren't rude like he was.

"You did a good job," Zeke said as if she should be pleased he extended her a compliment. "I wouldn't have thought you could bake beans, but you did." He patted her on the back. "Maybe tomorrow you'll get to cook the eggs."

That was it! She'd had enough of his insults. She was ready to tell him he smelled like a pile of rubbish when Lucas emerged from the trees with an armful of branches.

"Get away from my wife," he told Zeke.

She blinked in surprise. She'd never heard Lucas use a sharp tone like that before.

Zeke let out a chuckle and, thankfully, backed away so she didn't have to smell him anymore. "I was just seeing how she was coming along with dinner."

"All she's doing is heating up beans. Any idiot can do that." Lucas dumped the branches near the fire. "I thought you were going to make sure our canteens were full so we have enough water for tonight." He reached for his canteen and shook it. "Hmmm… Mine hasn't been filled." He checked hers. "This is almost empty, too."

"I'll get to it," Zeke said as he ran over to pick them up. "I stayed here because I wanted to make sure she was safe."

"Safe from what?"

"From danger."

Lucas gestured to the area that was vacant of any other people. "What danger, Zeke?"

"Danger is everywhere out here," Zeke replied, not seeming to understand that Lucas was upset with him.

Gail, however, did note the upset. Zeke had been annoying her, but Lucas hadn't been there to hear the way he had talked down to her. Lucas also didn't seem to catch the little comments Zeke had directed her way during the day that let her know he didn't know she was smart enough to be on this trip with them. So what did Zeke do to upset him?

"You two have led a safe life in Pennsylvania," Zeke continued. "You don't see this land the way I do."

Lucas put his hands on his hips. "You don't need to be that close to Gail while you're looking at the land."

Gail's eyes widened. Was it possible that Lucas thought Zeke was interested in her? She knew that Zeke wasn't interested, but maybe things seemed different from Lucas' perspective. Her heartbeat picked up in excitement. She never thought someone wonderful like Lucas would be jealous over her. It was unexpectedly flattering. He really did love her.

"I'm heading out to get more water for us," Zeke assured him before he hurried off for the stream.

Lucas shook his head then glanced her way. "He wasn't bothering you, was he?"

Pleased, Gail smiled. "I'm glad you're here. He seems to think I can't heat up a pot full of beans. I might not have cooked anything before, but no one is so stupid that they can't stir some beans." She rolled her eyes in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I'll be happy if he doesn't come near me again. He smells like a pile of garbage."

Her ploy worked, for he relaxed. "Yeah, I noticed. I guess they don't bathe out here as much as we do."

Content that the mood was lighter, she pulled the pot back from the fire and straightened up. "When I get back to the hotel, the first thing I'm going to do is take a bath. I can't believe I used to think all that washing was a waste of time."

He chuckled. "You weren't the only one. I won't take it for granted ever again. Do you need any help?"

She glanced at the small bowls and spoons that Zeke had set out. "I don't think so. The meal seems simple enough. Zeke said something about biscuits, but all I see is tough meat by the bowls." She went to the bowls and poured beans into them. "I'm sure he called it pemmican."

Lucas studied the squares of hard meat and grimaced. "Those things look like little bricks. How do people live like this?"

"If this is all you know, you probably think this is great."

"Yeah, you're probably right. We wouldn't know any better if we grew up here."

Their eyes met, and they shuddered. Like him, she couldn't imagine living her entire life here. Thank goodness they had been born and raised in a more civilized part of the country.

She put the pot on a rock then slipped the spoons into the bowls. "Will we bring Bernadette back with us to Pennsylvania after we find her?"

He accepted the bowl she gave him before he settled onto the ground next to her. He crossed his legs and placed the bowl in front of him. "I'm not sure I can. She's supposed to marry Blaze Levi. Did I tell you about him?"

She sat with her bowl in her lap. "A bit. He lives in Hardyville."

"He's a rancher of about 1,400 acres. He recently acquired it."

"Through an inheritance?"

"I assume so," Lucas replied. "He didn't explain, and I didn't think to ask. He mentioned having some ranch hands but needed a wife so he could have children to pass the ranch to when his time comes."

She nodded. It would be difficult to get children without a wife. "Is Bernadette looking forward to the marriage?"

He paused for a long moment. "I don't know. All I was thinking about when I arranged the marriage was that she would be living comfortably. I did a little research and found out 1,400 acres is a good-sized ranch. Blaze has a little over 500 cattle, and about 200 goats. He said he could give her a good life. With that many animals, he has to be doing well in this territory."

"It sounds like it."

"He sounded like he would be good to her." He let out a sigh. "He's a lot better than the outlaws roaming around here."

She placed her hand on his knee. The touch was more intimate than anything she'd done in the past, but it seemed necessary, given the topic they were discussing. Ignoring the heat rising up in her cheeks, she said, "We'll find her, Lucas, and when we do, we'll take her to her intended."

They heard Zeke coming back, so she removed her hand from Lucas' knee.

Zeke waved his hand in front of his nose. "Whatever you two do, don't go right behind those trees over there." He gave a nod to the west. "That's the last time I eat habaneros in my stew. I swear that restaurant cook is trying to kill me. I don't recall ever having so much trouble while taking care of business. You ever feel fire coming out of your tail?"

Gail grimaced. Why did Zeke have to be so crude about everything? First, he went on about Bower's condition, and now he was going on about this?

"No, and we don't want to hear about it," Lucas said, saving her from having to listen to whatever else Zeke was going to share.

Zeke shrugged. "Alright." He set two canteens in front of them then went to get his bowl. "Oh, don't forget to take the meat."

He picked up two of the pemmican blocks and threw them in Lucas' direction. Lucas caught them.

"Those will get you through the night without being hungry," Zeke added before he sat a couple feet away from them. "We're going to need plenty of these for the trip. It's a good thing my ma always makes them."

Lucas glanced at them then at Zeke. "Did you wash your hands after you were done behind those trees?"

Zeke looked offended he would even ask such a question. "Of course I did. What do you take me for, a heathen?"

Feeling better, Gail accepted the pemmican Lucas held out to her.

"To be honest, Zeke, I don't know what to think when it comes to you," Lucas replied.

"Well, I am a perfectly respectable young, hardworking man," Zeke told him. "One of these days, I'll even be considered a hero around these parts. You just wait and see."

Gail didn't know how that would come to pass, and by the expression on Lucas' face, she noted he was equally skeptical. Zeke didn't strike her as the hero type. She could see him assisting the hero, but that was about it. She supposed that only time would tell if her estimation of him was accurate or not.

Being stuck out here with Zeke wasn't how she had pictured her honeymoon, but she was with Lucas, and that's what mattered. It was much better than being alone in Pennsylvania. Content, she ate her meal in silence.