One fact he was fairly certain of, the bear hide she possessed was likely the one she and Andy had killed the night before joining them. The episode that must surely have terrified them both.
Elias seemed to weigh his answer. “The salt might help keep the fur safe, but it’s likely the rain will ruin any trading value. The hide will do plenty well to keep you dry, though.”
Her lower lip slipped under her teeth as uncertainty tugged her features. A look he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen on her face. “All right.”
After turning back to the pack, she extracted a large bundle of oilcloth, which was wrapped around the dark fur peeking from inside. She began unfolding the pack as white crystals fell from inside. “This is likely large enough for two or three of us to sit under. We can use the oilcloth for shelter, too.”
While they set to work piling the goods that should be kept dry, Seth let his mind spin through the next few hours. It was nigh time to bed down for the night, but that wouldn’t be fruitful if this was a heavy downpour. How long would the storm last?
Heavy drops began pelting, and lightning lit the air twice more, followed closely by thunder. The second blast was almost as loud as when they’d been sitting around the fire.
While Seth unrolled a fur, he moved toward Elias. “You think the horses are all right?”
The man glanced toward where they’d left them, but the darkness was too thick to see. “They’re hobbled, so they can drift toward the trees on the other side of the lake. There’s not anything else we can do to help them.”
The rain drove harder, and Seth slipped back into motion. “This pelt is big enough to shelter one person.”
“And I have a wolf hide that’ll work for another.” Elias raised a mottled fur. “You want it Mrs. Gray?”
“Andy and I will use the oilcloth.” She motioned for her son to join her as she sank down against one of the trees.
“That’s all we have then. Best we sit close an’ maybe we can all get covered.” Elias moved toward them and settled on the other side of Andy.
Seth wasn’t sure they’d all be able to snuggle under the three scant coverings, but he and Samuel had both donned their coats before the drops came. Water ran down his face, and his collar was already soaked, but this certainly wouldn’t be the first time they’d gotten wet in a rainstorm.
He scanned the camp to see if there was anything left needing attention. The supplies and wood were covered, and the fire had sizzled to a thin stream of smoke.
“Come sit.” Rachel’s voice broke through the din of raindrops. She held the oilcloth over her head with one hand, and patted the ground beside her with the other. There was enough space there for him and Samuel to sit under the shelter of branches.
He strode toward them and took the spot beside Rachel—no way was he leaving that place to Samuel.
Especially when she inched closer to her son and bid Seth move nearer. “I think if we all scoot in, the oilcloth will cover you both.”
It had been a lifetime since he’d sat so close to a woman, and her warmth seeped all the way down his arm, his hip, his thigh. She didn’t seem to mind the closeness, which was the biggest wonder of all. Or maybe she cared enough that he and Samuel not sit in the rain. Either way, he would relish these few minutes.
The rain fell in sheets, drenching everything in sight, including the ground. Water soaked into the seat of his trousers, but he could live with the discomfort. The pounding drops were too loud to allow for talking, and the steady noise combined with another long day in the saddle soon had him yawning.
A few minutes later, Rachel touched his knee to get his attention. She pointed to Andy on her other side, his head resting on her shoulder. His thin frame rose and fell with deep breaths.
The sleep of the weary. And rightly so. If the ride hadn’t exhausted the boy, the hour of swimming should have finished the job.
Rachel looked back at Seth with a smile, and he lost himself in the thick emerald of her eyes in the darkness. She was so beautiful, this woman. So strong, yet so achingly fragile. As much as she fought to take on a man’s role, she was woman, every part of her.
His hand longed to reach up and touch her face. To lean closer and kiss her lips. He wouldn’t do it, of course. But that didn’t stop the ache.
He looked away before she could see the turn of his thoughts, bringing his gaze back to Andy. After a nod and a smile, he settled back against the trunk of the tree. As much as he loved sitting so near her, she made his body come to life more fully than when he’d jumped into the icy lake.
In fact, he may just need another dunking in the water when this was over. Clearly, there would be no sleep for him tonight.
RACHEL WOKE TO AN ACHE stabbing her neck. She attempted to raise her head, but the pain pierced harder. So she took a moment to make out her surroundings in the dim light of early dawn.
She was sitting upright, Andy pressed against her shoulder. And her cheek rested on...
Awareness crept in with a heavy weight. Her first response was to jerk away from the man she was leaning against. But if she did, he’d awaken and know she’d spent the night pressed against him. And her pride just couldn’t stomach the thought of giving him that satisfaction.
Except this was Seth.
He didn’t act like the other men she’d known. Not like Richard. If she could trust her instincts, she was fairly certain Seth wouldn’t gloat or try to press his advantage if she gave him quarter.
Still, she eased her head off his shoulder, biting down against the pain spearing her neck. She couldn’t stand without waking Andy, but the ache in her middle told her she’d need to do so soon. Her morning ministrations called, and she should check on the horses after the night’s storm.
As if he felt the loss of her touch, the man to her left shifted, his body stiffening in a stretch as he extended his legs in front of him.
She dared a glance at his face, and he met her look with a sleepy smile. “I guess we made it through the storm.” His voice came out in a low murmur, its sleep-roughened timbre sending an unwanted tingle down her arms.
“We did.” She kept her voice soft, but it must have been loud enough to wake her son, for he raised his head.
He looked around, his hair pressed up where he’d leaned against her shoulder. “Is it morning already?” The words summoned a yawn.
“It is.” She leaned forward and pushed herself away from the tree. “I’m going to check the horses.”
After finding tree cover to attend to morning needs, she headed toward the grassy area where they’d left the animals. “Winter. Here, boy.” The morning seemed so still, she almost hated to break the quiet with her voice.
The horses and mule weren’t where they’d left them, but she heard a snort through the fog that had settled in this end of the valley.
As she moved forward, Elias’s mule appeared through the mist. He ripped up a bite of grass, then raised his head to eye her as he munched.
“Hey, boy. You look like you weathered the storm just fine.” She rubbed his shoulder, scanning the rest of his body for injuries. All seemed well.
Moving on to the two burly geldings the Grant brothers rode, she accepted an affectionate snuffle from one as she took his jaw in both hands. “It’s good to see you, too.” Animals were so much easier to be around than people. You never had to worry about artifice or ulterior motives.
She patted his shoulder, then stepped forward and did the same to the other gelding. These two were a matched pair, perfect for twin brothers. Were the animals brothers, too?
After stepping past the second chestnut gelding, she scanned the fog for her and Andy’s horses. “Winter. Summer. Where are you?”
Andy had named the animals for their colors, and she still loved the titles. Winter’s white-gray coat reminding her of snow, and Summer’s golden body just like the warm sun of a summer day.
She made her way farther, extending a hand through the dense white crystals that blocked her
view beyond the reach of her arm. The lake’s edge appeared suddenly, only a step away.
Altering her course, she followed alongside it. “Winter. Come, boy.” The horse didn’t answer, and she strained to make out the sounds of grazing or something else that would alert their presence.
She wasn’t quite sure where she was around the edge of the lake, but she must be somewhere along the short end. A tree suddenly loomed in front of her. A dark trunk with spiny needles above her. A pine.
“Winter, Summer. Come eat.” She must have walked past the animals without seeing them.
Turning, she retraced her steps, keeping the lake on her right side. Hopefully, she’d see them on her way back to camp. If not, she’d have to wait until the fog faded. Either way, this would give them a chance to graze.
The animals needed plenty of fodder to ready themselves for another long ride.
Chapter Eleven
I should have braced myself better for this blow.
~ Rachel
When the fog lifted, their horses were nowhere to be found.
Rachel fought the fear surging in her chest as she called out across the valley for the animals. Elias and Samuel were gathering in the mule and the two chestnut geldings, removing hobbles so they could bring them to the camp for their morning ration of oats.
Where had the other two gone?
“I’ll go find them, Ma.” Andy reached for a rope and slung it over his shoulder.
“I’ll look, too.” There was no way she was staying here to clean dishes while their prize possessions wandered away through the woods at the edges of the valley. “You hike along the tree line that butts against the mountain. I’ll go through the center of the woods at the far edge.”
“I’ll look through the center of the woods.” Seth’s strong voice made her spin to face him. “My legs are longer. I can cover more ground. You can search to the right of us.”
He was right about his ability to move faster than her shorter legs—especially since she was wearing skirts—but it irked the way he took over and reassigned her role. These weren’t his horses, they were hers.
“This is the way I can help best.” His voice dropped in volume, the words spoken only to her. His eyes begged for her to allow him.
She stilled. There was wisdom in his suggestion, but the path was quite likely the place they'd find the horses, as it contained the most space where they could be hidden. Could she give over control of the hunt to him?
She inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled. “All right. But call out if you find them.”
A half hour later, she’d hiked to the mountain cliff they descended the day before, with no sight of the missing animals. She halted at the incline, scanning the slope for any sign of the horses.
The animals would be hard-pressed to mount that grade wearing hobbles. And it only made sense they would seek shelter in the trees.
Turning toward where Seth had gone, she strained to hear any sound that he’d found them. Should she head that way and see if he needed help?
He said he would call out.
She should turn the other way and search through the thin copse of trees on the left side of the lake. It wasn’t likely the horses had traversed that far—they’d have had to walk by the camp to reach it. But she should cover every possibility.
Searching that area proved fruitless, and soon she trudged back toward camp to see if Andy or Seth had found the horses. Where could the animals have gone? And what in the world would she do if she couldn’t find them?
The possible reality of that last thought slugged her like a rifle bullet. Her shoulders sank under the weight, and she forced down a burn in her throat. She would not cry, no matter how bad things grew.
As she reached the campsite, it was easy to see the forms of three animals and two men working amongst them.
But no others.
Samuel Grant met her with a grim set to his mouth. “Where all have you searched?”
She motioned toward the areas. “I’m going to see if Seth or Andy found them. They must have. There’s no other place the horses could have gone without climbing a mountain.”
He scrubbed a hand through his hair, the same motion Seth did when he was frustrated. He scanned the camp. “I’ll come with you.” Then to Elias, “Do you need anything else before I join the search?”
“No, son. I’ll hold down the fort ’til you bring ’em back.”
When they reached the edge of the woods where Seth searched, Samuel cupped his hands around his mouth and called for his brother in a booming voice.
“Here.” Seth’s voice wasn’t far away, maybe fifty strides or so into the trees. “Andy and I are coming back.”
Rachel’s pulse jolted. “Do you have the horses?” They must have found them.
“No.”
The single word crashed through her hope, shattering jagged pieces inside her. She could do nothing but wait as the sound of their heavy steps drifted through the woods. Where could the animals have gone? Maybe Seth saw signs of them and was only coming back to get help for a more thorough search.
As they appeared through the trunks, she tried to study their faces in the dim light of the woods. Both seemed grim, but neither Seth’s large frame nor Andy’s smaller profile looked despondent. Maybe they had an idea where the horses had gone.
For to be left without mounts in this massive wilderness would surely be enough to make her son’s shoulders slump.
Seth met her gaze as he neared, stopping before her. He propped his hands on his hips. “I walked as far as the rear edge of the trees. The mountains form a sort of canyon in that area, like a river once ran through it. I picked out a few hoof marks in the mud left from last night’s rain.”
The fragments of hope tried to form in her chest again. “Then we should follow them.” She started forward, moving around him to hike the path he’d just trod.
“Wait.” He grabbed her arm.
She froze, her heart pounding in her throat. Every instinct told her to jerk away. His grip wasn’t tight, but it seemed to be clutching harder with each passing second, pressing on her chest so she couldn’t breathe.
He released her, and she forced herself to take in a breath.
“Wait.” His voice was softer this time, almost gentle. Did he realize how she struggled against so much fear? Irrational fear in this case, yet she couldn’t seem to stop herself. So many times, Richard had grabbed her arm when the drink took hold. And never was it a harmless gesture.
She forced herself to focus again on the horses. What had Seth been trying to tell her? “Why should I wait?” She didn’t dare look at his face, for he would see too easily the turmoil in her gaze.
He let out a breath, and the sound almost drew her focus. But she stopped herself.
“Elias said we’ll be traveling that way when we leave, so I thought it best we pack up our camp and head out. I found this.”
She jerked her gaze to what he held up. A strip of leather—one of those used for hobbles—dirty and ragged at the torn edges.
She sucked in a breath and looked to his face. “Do you know whose it is?”
He shook his head. “I suspect the other horse broke loose from his, too. That means they’re free to move as far as they want. We’ll stand a better chance of reaching them on horseback.”
She looked back toward the camp, her mind swimming. “How can we all go on just three animals?”
“We can double up. You and Andy are both light. Our geldings are of good size to add another small person. We’ve used up a lot of the foodstuffs, so Elias’s mule can carry most of your things. If we don’t carry dry firewood for tonight, we should be fine.”
He was probably right, although the thought of riding so near one of these men made her throat clutch again.
But she could do it. She had to.
SETH TRIED TO ACT AS though nothing moved him about the woman sitting in front of him in the saddle, but it was impossible.
In truth, e
verything about this woman moved him. From her indomitable strength to the vulnerability he glimpsed every so often when she struggled to overcome her fears. He’d seen enough to have a few suspicions about what had occurred in her past, and just the thought of someone taking a hand to her was enough to make his blood boil in his veins.
He couldn’t focus on that now, though. She needed him to be calm. To be strong for her in the face of this possible loss.
She began the journey with her back so rigid she rarely touched him. He kept one arm loose around her so he could hold the reins. All three saddles had gear stacked high behind them, so it was necessary for her to ride in front. Hopefully, this doubling up would only last a few hours so the extra weight wouldn’t be too hard on the horses.
Maneuvering through the woods with the animals so loaded wasn’t easy, and he fought to keep the branches from striking Rachel’s face and arms.
She did an admirable job catching limbs and holding them aside as they passed, but the frequent movement kept her brushing against his arms, his chest, his shoulders. Every touch made him achingly aware of her.
Maybe by the time this ended, he’d be fully numb to her. The effects of overexposure.
He could only hope.
They finally emerged through the woods, where the mountain ranges on either side drew together to form the ravine. Rachel had relaxed through the twisting and bending the forest required, and she now sat easy in the saddle, as though she were born on a horse.
That ability to make riding a horse look easy could only come from much time spent in the saddle. Was it only the journey west that gave her this ability? Maybe he could ask in a roundabout way.
“How long have you had these two horses?”
She seemed to startle at his words. Maybe he’d spoken too loudly.
But she didn’t hesitate long before answering. “We bought them back in Missouri with what was left from selling the house. That was last autumn, so they’ve been with us a little less than a year. They’re good horses. I’m not sure what spooked them so badly in the storm. We’ve surely been through worse before.”
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