“They won’t find us where we’re headed.”
He sounded awful sure of himself, but he’d known about the river crossing and how to avoid Buffalo Gap Road. Whether he bragged or spoke the truth, she was stuck with him now. At least he seemed to know his way.
Drizzle stung her face like needles of ice. She hoped it kept up long enough to cover their tracks but she was near freezing already. Any colder and she couldn’t stay in the saddle. Her rough gloves offered protection, especially to her left hand tucked in the sling inside her coat, but both hands were stiff with cold. Numbed fingers on her right hand barely gripped the reins. The tightness in her chest worried her. Maybe she’d be fine once she could get warm and dry.
As if reading her mind, he said, “Won’t be much further, then you can rest and get out of the weather.”
To her mind they moved straight up. At times she lost sight of the man. She couldn’t tell where the trail lay, and had to trust the horse’s instincts. Several times the mare stumbled on the slick rocks, and Alice feared they’d both shoot off into space.
Zach stepped behind a rock and disappeared. As if trained, her mare followed right into the side of the mountain, but stopped when the mules balked. She tugged the mules’ lead rope, but Brownie and Blue refused to come into this unknown place. Magically, Zach appeared beside her, leading her horse then driving the mules in.
“Where are we?” she asked and it sounded as if she spoke into a well. A musty smell filled her nostrils. Though she had never been in a cave before, she figured she was in one now.
He whispered, “Shhh. Wait where you are while I get us a light. Sound carries in here.”
He struck a match, lit a lantern, and turned the wick low. She peered around at a cavern so deep that she couldn’t see the end. Boulders littered a fairly level floor. From the supplies stacked at one side she guessed he’d been here before.
“I’ll get a small fire going in the back corner. Have to keep the light down so it doesn’t show at the opening.”
The sound of drizzle turned to heavy rain outside. Now that they were under cover, she welcomed the downpour. “Maybe that will cover our trail.”
“Even if they know we came up here, they won’t find the cave as long as we’re quiet and keep it dark. The entrance is hidden from the trail.”
She sagged in relief. At last, maybe she could relax. If, that is, she could get off this horse without falling. Her body refused to cooperate. She wondered if she had frozen to the saddle and if she’d ever be warm again.
He coaxed a fire to life, then stood. “You look all in. Let me help you down and fix you a place to sleep.”
All her independence and determination fled. For a warm, safe place to sleep she’d trade everything she owned. She allowed him to lift her from the saddle as if she were a child. He sat her on a rock.
“I’ll dig us a latrine behind that boulder you’re on.”
“What’s that mean, a latrine?”
“A makeshift privy.” He retrieved a small miner’s shovel.
“Inside here? Reckon that’d sure be handy ‘bout now.”
“If you can stay awake a few more minutes, I’ll have us set up for our stay here.”
“I’ll be fine now we’re off the trail and you have us a fire going.” A lie. If she didn’t lie down soon she’d keel over.
He dug a trench and stepped back. “Now I’ll give you some privacy while I move the animals to the back. In the next room of the cave there's a makeshift stable.”
He moved off and she took care of her needs after fumbling for what seemed long minutes to undo her buttons. Her wet clothing, stiff with cold, resisted her tugging it down and back up and she couldn’t refasten the britches. She wondered how one-armed people managed to dress? Her solution was to tug her shirt down over the pants to hide the gaping placket.
Outside, rain turned to sleet pounding against the rocks. A few ice pellets bounced into the cave and rolled across the floor. Wind howled as it whooshed in the cave’s entrance. She moved near the fire in hope she could at least be less cold.
He came toward her. “This all you’ve got for a bedroll?”
She nodded. “What’s wrong with it? That was Mama’s best quilt.”
“It may be pretty as hell, but it won’t keep you warm in here.”
“I’ll be fine by the fire.” Another lie. Lordy, even if she sat on the fire she’d still be shivering.
“I hear your teeth chattering. Climb in that blasted bedroll of mine and I’ll put this quilt over it. If you don’t take care you’ll have pneumonia and I’ll be stuck playing nursemaid.”
Unable to resist the promise of warmth, she asked, “What about you?”
He smoothed his bedding near the fire and draped Mama’s flower garden patterned quilt on top, then folded it all back for her to slide in. When finished, he stepped aside.
“All ready for you. I’ll be back as soon as I finish with the animals.”
She noted he had avoided her question, but all she could think about was warmth. Seemed like it took a long time to take off her rain-soaked jacket and boots, and she longed to get out of her britches, too. Wondering if she should retrieve her things from the next part of the cave, she hovered near the fire.
He reappeared and plopped her carpetbag down beside her. “You have dry clothes in here?” he asked.
Grateful, she nodded and opened the case then dug out dry pants, socks, shirt, and drawers. She looked at him, waiting for him to turn his back. He stared at her then acted embarrassed, as if it suddenly hit him why she waited.
“The animals are about set. I’ve taken the packs off the mules.” He handed her a wool scarf. “Pull that over your head and up around your face to protect against the cold while you sleep.”
“Thank you.” She wanted to ask about it but only said, “It’s soft as velvet.”
“If you can do for yourself, I’ll step back in there while you get fixed for sleep.”
Too tired to talk further, she nodded. When he was out of sight, she changed into the dry clothes then climbed into the pallet. She’d heard about these fancy ready-made bedrolls instead of a blanket like her family used. All soft and fluffy and filled with goose down, it should have warmed her. Her teeth chattered and she couldn’t stop shivering even with the quilt added over her. She pulled at Pa’s coat and spread it over the quilt and laid back down.
Zach Stone reappeared and stopped beside the bedroll. He’d changed into dry clothes. “Scoot toward the fire.” He took off his boots and made ready to climb in beside her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She was outraged and frightened at the same time that he would try to take advantage now they were safe.
He shot her a stare as icy as the sleet falling outside. “Look, lady, I can’t begin to tell you how sick I am of women right now, so don’t think for a minute I want this any more than you do. Or that your charms are so great I can’t resist them. This is a double bedroll I had special made for...well, never mind why. If we sort of, um, scoot together we’ll both be warmer. No use either of us freezing or catching pneumonia.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t afford to be sick now, though she already sensed ague coming on. She wriggled to the side nearest the fire and lay on her good shoulder. After all, she wore her clothes, even if she did leave the pants placket undone. He had shared with her and she supposed she should be grateful he hadn’t left her to freeze alone in Mama’s quilt—or at camp for Rusty and Frank to find.
He slid in. “We need to touch so our body heat keeps us both warmer. Have to put my arms around you. It’ll be like we’re two spoons stacking together.”
Then his arms encircled her and pulled her snug against his lap. She was glad he’d had extra clothes so nothing cold and wet touched her. Everything pressing against her was warm and firm. She wriggled back into him seeking his heat. Oh, my, part of him was too firm.
Chapter Six
He tightened his hold and growled in her ear, “Quit moving
around and go to sleep.”
“How do I know you won’t wait ‘til I’m asleep and then steal my mules and things? Tired as I am, I’ll sleep like the dead if I ever relax.”
“Miss Price, I’m a man of good reputation hereabouts, not a thief. Besides, right now I’m all you’ve got. You’ve no choice but to give me your trust.”
Alice snuggled into her nest. “Reckon you’re right. I haven’t had any rest in ages. Not just while I’ve been on the run, but for months before that while Pa needed nursing. If I let myself, I’ll likely sleep for days.”
His voice was soft and gravelly all at the same time near her ear. “Go ahead. We’re protected and dry here. I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.”
They were close as feathers on a duck, but he hadn’t made any wrong moves. Gradually, warmth spread to chase the cold. She felt safer than she had in a long, long time.
She had a strange wish to turn and snuggle her cheek against his broad chest. Exhaustion must be affecting her mind. Her last thought was that she wouldn’t mind being cuddled like this every night.
Zach lay with the sleeping woman curled against him. Her soft curves taunted him. Exhaling his frustration, he pulled her closer seeking to warm her shivering body.
This is what it would have been like to have a woman belong to him, and to belong to her in return. Except she would return his embrace and they would make love before they dropped off to sleep in one another’s arms. Reminding himself he was through with women, he damned himself for a fool for even thinking about such things.
He wondered about the men who chased her. In spite of her story about the gambling, he’d like to know what she’d done to warrant their pursuit? Given that he figured part of what she carried on the mules to be sacks of money, he wondered if she’d robbed the two chasing after her. Didn’t seem like the type, but then hadn’t he already proven himself a bad judge of women?
Did he want to get into a ruckus with the men pursuing her? Was she as naive as she seemed? He was certain some of those sacks contained coins. Had her pa kept his money buried at home, or had she stolen from someone?
Remembering that she couldn’t fend for herself, she’d never pull off robbing a bank. He figured the money belonged to her just as she said. Best consider how to help her escape. Should he take her to the ranch for a while? She’d planned to leave on the stage, so he’d better head for town.
The thought of men after her riled him. What kind of men inspired that much fear? From what little she’d said, Zach figured she’d had a tough life. Much as he wanted nothing to do with another woman, he couldn’t abandon her to men like those or leave her wandering around with no sense of direction.
She whimpered in her sleep and he shushed her as he would a baby. His reassurances quieted her, and he wondered again what kind of woman he held and what demons chased her even in dreams. He sure hoped they were less evil than the monsters in his own nightmares.
He awoke early and slipped from the bedroll without waking her. With the spyglass he carried in his saddlebags, he stood just inside the cavern entrance and checked out the area, careful not to let sunlight reflect from the lens. Soon he spotted two riders below, one of whom trailed a third horse, riding off in the wrong direction. Good. He hoped last night’s storm had washed away all his and Miss Price’s tracks.
She slept like the dead just as she’d said she would. Frequently during the day Zach checked on her. Her face burned with fever and he couldn’t rouse her. He made jerky broth and forced her to swallow that and some water, but he doubted she waked enough to remember it.
Zach had a major problem on his hands. Her health had worsened and he figured she was coming down with pneumonia...if she didn’t already have it. He decided to let her sleep today, then get her out the back way tomorrow.
But where to take her? If they showed up in Palo Pinto Town, he was known to most of the people and her arrival would be subject to report if the men chasing her came asking. If he took her to his place near Radford Crossing, she could rest up, but then what? His aunts would latch on to her like fleas on a hound.
When dark came, he was no closer to a solution. He banked the coals of the small fire and slid in beside her. She snuggled to him as if this were an old routine. It made a man think.
Chapter Seven
Someone tugged at her. Reality returned and Alice opened her eyes. Before she could scream, a hand clamped over her mouth.
“Ma’am? Miss Price? Wake up for a bit.” Zach was kneeling beside her. He whispered. “Shhh, it’s just me. Someone’s coming on the trail.”
She blinked and nodded. He removed his hand and smiled. Sunlight streamed in the entrance and lighted a patch of the cave floor. Sunbeams slanted across his dark hair like a halo. He’d certainly been her guardian angel so far.
“Come look at these fellows riding this way. Tell me if they’re the ones chasing you.”
She slid out of the bedroll and reached for her boots, pausing only long enough to muffle a cough. What if her stepbrothers saw the cave entrance? Would they shoot Zach to capture her? Would Zach shoot them to protect her? She adjusted her arm sling and hurried to his side.
In the dim light from the cave’s entrance, her breath frosted in the frigid air. He put his finger against his lips to indicate quiet, so she said nothing. At the large rock near the entrance, he pulled her in front of him. She hadn’t taken time to put on her coat, so he snuggled her up against his muscular chest and held the edges of his coat around her. His thoughtful gesture renewed her longing for a man like him.
Letting her gaze follow the direction he pointed, she saw two men on horseback with a third horse trailing behind. Though they were bundled up against the weather, she recognized Frank and Rusty as well as the horses. She held her breath, praying they’d ride on by and there’d be no trouble. In the frosty air the sound of the horses’ hooves and the creaks and jingles of the tack sounded clear.
Rusty shifted in the saddle and peered around. “Because of that bitch we’re stuck out here freezing our balls off instead of sittin’ in front of a warm fire countin’ our money. We’d damn sure better find her soon or we’re done for. Fernando has one hell of a bad temper.”
Frank huddled on his saddle. “He’ll have to wait ‘til we find her, won’t he?”
“No, dammit, can’t you understand? He can shoot us anytime he wants, and all because of bad cards and that bitch running away.”
Frank pulled his hat lower against the wind. “He’s pleasin’ himself at The Flat while he’s waitin’, isn’t he? Besides, he’s our friend and he ain’t gonna shoot us just ‘cause she run off.”
“The hell he won’t!” Rusty spat a stream of tobacco juice. “He don’t put up with losing something he wants, not for long, and he wants her.”
“Why would a man hanker for a prissy stick like her anyway? I like a woman with a little meat on her bones.” Frank’s gaze flicked up right at the cave as he rode by.
Alice held her breath, but he didn’t pause or appear even to blink. Zach squeezed her as if to reassure her.
Rusty shifted his chaw to the other cheek. “Beats the hell out of me, but he’s got it bad for her. Gets a hard on just watching her. Ha, bet he’ll teach her not to be so uppity once he gets hold of her. He uses women up plenty fast.”
“If Pa hadn’t been ailin’ I sure as hell wouldn’t of let her stay on in the first place after her mama died. She ain’t really our kin. Should of....” Frank’s words were lost as they rode on up the trail.
Her stepbrothers had passed by without spotting the cavern entrance just as Zach had predicted. Alice exhaled, only to realize she had let herself lean against Zach while his strong arms cradled her. She fought to stop the tears streaming down her face lest he see and feel sorry for her. The urge to turn and bawl on his broad chest almost overwhelmed her, but she wanted no man’s pity.
His mouth was near her ear. “You slept around the clock and then some. I was getting worried.” He
turned her gently to face him and used his bandana to dab at her tears. “You’re feverish. Sooner we start, sooner we can get you where it’s warm. You need to bed down longer?”
Tenderness from this giant of a man touched her and increased her desire to lean against his solid. She ached everywhere, wanted to sleep for a week, and needed a gallon of water, but she couldn’t give in to weakness. When he let his arms fall away and moved to retrieve her coat, she immediately sensed the loss of his comforting strength.
He freed her arm from its cradle long enough to slide it into the coat sleeve and she thought she’d faint from the pain. Then he helped her don the coat and repositioned the sling.
Her face must have paled, because he asked, “Hey, you’re not gonna faint are you?”
She shook her head, noting he kept the scarred side of his face slightly turned from her even now. “I—I’m okay if you want to move on, but what if they realize they’ve missed us and turn back. How can we avoid those two for sure?”
“The trail they’re on takes miles and miles to work around these mountains. Reckon they’ll stop off at Calgando.”
“Calgando? That must be where Pa told me to try if I missed the stage at Russell Springs. No, that doesn’t sound quite right.”
“Not likely. Stage only goes through there once a week. Might have said Golconda, which is what they used to call Palo Pinto Town.”
She tried the word in her mind. Golconda. Golconda.
“Yes, Golconda sounds right.”
“No matter. We’ll go through to the other side of the mountain and head west quite a ways ahead of them.”
“Through the mountain?” she asked, thinking she must have heard wrong. “Listen, Mr. Stone, you’ve been real kind so far, but you’re still a stranger. I need to know where we’re going.”
He stared at her a second and she feared he was losing his temper. Instead, he nodded. “The closest stage stop is Doyle. We’ll head there.”
“Don’t reckon Pa mentioned Doyle. Still, if the stage stops there, that’ll do.”
High Stakes Bride, Men of Stone Mountain Book 2 Page 4