He exhaled a weary breath. “Look, sweetheart, I have my musket right here to help steady me. See?” His gaze softened to one of concern. “I won’t fall. All you need to do is hang on real tight an’ take one step at a time.”
Aware that every moment she held the group up meant their pursuers would get that much closer, Rose swallowed. It had been rather comforting that he’d called her sweetheart….
“I’m turning forward now.” Nate let go of her hand.
“All right.” Quickly she clutched on to the back of his thick leather belt, the knuckles of her cold hand turning white as snow. “I’m ready.” Please help me, Lord. Keep us safe. All of us.
Nate slowly edged forward. And slippery as the going was, Rose amazed herself by managing to follow him as she carefully placed one foot in front of the other.
Nearing the halfway point, he stopped. “You’re gonna have to let go whilst I get around this here branch.”
Her heart stopped then pounded double time. Did she have good enough footing?
“Let go, Rose. It’ll just take a second, then I’ll help you around it.”
She knew Robert and trusting little Shining Star watched her from behind, and she felt like such a coward. Father in Heaven, I need Your help again. She forced her fingers to uncurl from Nate’s belt and stood there, holding her breath.
Using the broken-off branch for support, he stepped around it to the other side then balanced himself with his musket and reached for her.
Rose had to take a step forward on her own, over moss she knew was exceptionally slippery out here over the water. She was already bone tired, and now her whole body started to shake. Her legs felt rubbery.
He met her gaze straight on. “You can do it. Go for the branch. I’m here.”
Afraid to take a breath lest she lose her balance, Rose determined to take the terrifying step. Gingerly she put her foot down then shifted her weight, leaving the safety of the previous spot. She reached for the branch. Her foot slipped! She felt herself starting to fall!
“I’ve got you.” Nate caught her arm, pulling her back up. “Grab on to the branch.”
Shaking like a leaf in the wind, she grabbed hold with both hands. His big hand covered hers, and he flashed an encouraging smile. “Soon as we get to the other side, I’m slicin’ some grooves in the bottom of them shoes of yours. That should keep ‘em from slippin’ so much.”
He truly did know how difficult it was for her to keep her footing. He did care. The realization warmed her insides.
His voice brought her back to the moment. “Now, hang on to the branch with your left hand, an’ I’ll pull you around with your right. Don’t worry about losin’ your footing. I got you.”
And Rose knew he did have her. Not just her hand. He had her whole heart. If only …
Chapter 33
Nate had to admire Rose. She’d managed to keep up with him for the past half hour as they followed a narrow trace downstream. It did help having Shining Star carrying Jenny Ann on her back. But Rose. His Rose. By the time he’d gotten her across the stream and off the fallen log, she’d been shaking so hard he’d wondered if he should pick her up and carry her. His compassion won out, and he pulled her into his arms, soaking in her nearness, never wanting to let go—until Bob gave him a playful shove.
Her strong religious convictions still taunted Nate, but no matter how desperately he tried to harden his heart toward her, the need in those dusky blue eyes drew him, tore at him. The thought of her being taken captive by the Senecas and made to suffer unspeakable horrors made his knees buckle. And little Jenny Ann …
He called himself every fool name he could think of for not insisting on taking the two of them back to civilization the minute he and Bob got back to the trading post. He knew what the French were up to, that they were closing in, and that it was only a matter of time before they had Smith’s trading post in their sights.
He became aware of the sound of rushing water. They were coming up on the river at last. Eager to search the bank for a craft of some sort, he turned to his friends. “I’ll run ahead an’ see if I can find a canoe hidden in the reeds.”
“Don’t show yourself till you’re sure no one’s out on the water searchin’ the banks,” Bob cautioned.
In moments, Nate reached the edge of the trees overlooking the river. A quick visual scan of the area revealed no pursuers, but the river curved about a quarter of a mile downstream. Men could come paddling around that bend at any second.
In his urgency, he slid, more than scrambled, down the steep bank. It wasn’t a likely spot for someone to stash a canoe, but he had to look anyway.
His moccasins became waterlogged in the ice-crackled edges as he slashed through reeds and cane in his frantic search for a craft of any kind. But by the time the others called down to him from above, he’d found nothing. Nothing! Not that he’d expected a real answer to that pathetic prayer of his.
They needed to get across the river and onto the trail back to civilization. Time was running out. He called up to Bob, “Send the women down to braid some reed strips into rope. Give Star your knife.”
Rose didn’t wait to be told twice. She slid down the muddy bank to him.
He pulled his own blade out of its sheath and handed it to her as she gained her feet.
“What are we doing?” She headed for the nearest reeds even as she asked the question.
“Buildin’ a raft faster than you’ll ever see, that’s what.”
She tucked her chin but set right to work without further questions.
“Baby’s comin’ down,” Bob said as he lowered Jenny Ann in the cradleboard.
Nate caught hold of the bottom of the carrier and brought it the rest of the way, astonished at how good the tiny girl had been. He’d heard somewhere that babies loved being walked outdoors, and this little gal was sure proof of that. He propped the cradleboard against the bank and started crawling up to the top as Star slid past him.
Bob was already at work with his hatchet, slicing small branches off a fairly straight limb from a downed fir when Nate reached him. A second tree had fallen nearby, shearing branches from smaller trees on its way down. As if God knew we’d need those limbs. Nate scratched his head in wonder.
Maybe the Almighty had heard his prayer after all and knew there was no canoe to be found. Maybe that’s why He’d allowed the trees to fall where they had. Nate reached for another limb to strip. God truly was with them! It wasn’t for his sake, of course, but for Rose’s and Bob’s …and maybe even Shining Star’s.
Bob tossed a stripped limb aside and reached for another with barely a pause. “I’ve been thinkin’. The village dogs weren’t barkin’ their heads off when those canoes came in. Did you notice that?”
“I did.” Working swiftly, Nate stripped his branch and heaved it onto the steadily growing pile. “I’m thinkin’ they might’a been muzzled. If you noticed, there was only three spots of light from fires. Our wigwams. Somebody must’a come in and made a deal with Red Hawk beforehand.”
Pausing for a second, Bob met his gaze then resumed working. “When we was havin’ our friendly little talk with ‘em yesterday, do you s’pose they already knew what was comin’?”
“Who can say?” Nate didn’t slow down as the unreadable Shawnee expressions came to his mind. “All I know is they didn’t come right out an’ make us any promises, did they?”
Bob glanced back toward the path they’d traveled. “No, they sure didn’t.” He sliced his hatchet down another limb. “But I guess we can’t blame ‘em. Why get kilt over who’s gonna run the tradin’ post?”
Nate mulled over his friend’s words. “Right. But it still galls. Them gals could’a been torched in their sleep. Thank the good Lord we came back when we did.”
A grin spread across Bob’s face. “Right, Nate. Thank the good Lord.”
Rose gawked at the pitiful raft Nate and Robert were pushing across the shelf of ice to the frigid water and vowed not to pan
ic the way she had earlier. The two frontiersmen had gotten them this far. They were all tired and hungry and cold, but they were still alive and relatively safe. She took a closer look at the newly built contraption. Limbs no more than three inches thick were tied together with reeds and leather strips cut from the men’s leggings. Still, she had no choice but to trust it would hold together and not sink. Even if the rickety thing did manage to somehow stay atop the water, the fir fronds blanketing the raft weren’t enough to keep them all from getting thoroughly soaked—but she refused to think about that.
Nate had been true to his word and ridged the soles of her shoes, so Rose stepped carefully behind the men on the slick ice without slipping. She glanced over at Jenny Ann happily bobbing along in the cradleboard on Shining Star’s back. Hopefully the baby, at least, would stay out of the icy flow.
Nate motioned her forward. “Crawl to the front and lie flat.”
As she did, Rose tried to convince herself it was a warm summer afternoon, and she was going punting on the Thames for the simple pleasure of it. She struggled to ignore her thrumming heart. Mustering a brave smile as she passed Nate, she followed his instructions, working her way to the front of a space that measured a scant five feet wide and had an uneven aft not more than seven or eight feet long.
Unbidden panic started to rise when Shining Star slid into place belly-down beside her. The cradleboard on the Indian maiden’s back resembled an upturned cocoon. Jenny Ann looked over at Rose and grinned, innocently oblivious of the danger facing them all.
This was crazy! Someone needed to get the baby out of here! But just as she reached to snatch up the child, Nate and Robert shoved the makeshift craft out and dove onto it.
It dipped under the water! She gasped as shockingly cold waves rushed across her legs. Then the raft bobbed up again. It was actually floating!
Nate loomed above her. “Scoot to the center. I need room to paddle.” Paddle? The men hadn’t even chopped off the ends of the branches for fear the noise would draw their pursuers. Still, she inched toward Star and looked back at Nate.
He dipped a slab of bark into the water and began using it to propel the rude craft.
Rose rolled her eyes. The current was dragging their little raft downstream, toward the trading post they’d just fled, yet they expected to get across this wide expanse before it reached the settlement—with those pieces of bark? They couldn’t have covered more than five or six miles during the night before veering toward the river.
Glancing back to Robert, she saw that he’d wedged a slab of wood between two of the central limbs, like a rudder.
Slightly encouraged, she arched her upper half toward the side. Cupping her hand, she reached into the icy current, to help.
“Here.” Nate handed her the bark. “Use this.”
As she took it and began paddling, he picked up another chunk and paddled with her. On the other side, Robert did the same.
To her surprise, they started to make progress! But would they make it across to the other side before drifting down to the village? The river was so wide. And canoes could slice across to them in no time at all.
Oh man …this was a mistake. A big mistake. The farther out on the river the raft got, the more vulnerable they were. The realization sank in Nate’s stomach like a boulder. A single canoe coming around the bend carrying armed men was all it would take to do them in.
Still, bad choice or not, they had to keep going. He and Bob could probably outrun persistent trackers, but not with two women and a baby along. Lord, did I make the right decision? We’re sittin’ ducks out here.
He kept a steady eye focused downriver. Ignoring his aching shoulder muscles as he dug his bark shard into the water time and again, he willed the sluggish raft to move faster.
“Let it drift downstream a little,” Bob said. “Look. The ice juts farther out over there.” He pointed at a spot not far away.
Hallelujah! Nate stopped paddling and let the river take them farther downstream, where a chunk of peninsula with overhanging trees had shaded that frozen stretch from the heat of the sun.
“Only fifty or sixty more feet! Paddle! Paddle!” he urged. They were going to make it!
Once they came to the solid ice, Nate indicated some roots poking up out of the frozen water. “Climb up them roots,” he told Rose and Star. “We don’t wanna leave no trace of where we came out.”
Bob was already at work chopping the raft apart and tossing the remains into the current. Nate yanked out his own knife, and within a minute no evidence of their rude little craft remained. They swapped satisfied grins, and the two of them grabbed their muskets and mounted the roots to join the women.
As Nate climbed up behind his pal, Bob let out a hoarse whisper.
“Duck!”
One foot still dangling off the edge, Nate flattened himself to the ground. He lifted his head a fraction and peered around the mound of roots out toward the river.
Out in the middle of the flowing current, a long canoe loaded with a dozen men, half of whom wore French uniforms, sliced silently upstream. One of the Frenchmen had a telescope but at the moment had it pointed at the opposite shore.
Nate slowly pulled his foot up and crawled behind some brush just as the soldier swung the long tube in his direction. Keeping low and peeking through the branches of the shrub, Nate held his breath, watching, watching, as the telescope focused on this shoreline. Had they left any visible sign? Would Jenny pick this moment to cry out?
The canoe sped on with no order to change course. When the soldier switched his attention to the far shore again, Nate hauled in a lungful of air, only now realizing he’d been too tense to breathe.
He scrambled up the rise to where the women lay beneath some low evergreen branches with the baby between them. Rose was kissing Jenny’s eyes, one after the other. She’d been keeping the baby entertained and quiet.
Coming to his feet, Nate reached down and tugged Rose gently off the ground. Her hands were so very cold. Cupping them between his own, he rubbed them to generate some warmth and get the circulation going. “We’re safe. For a while, anyway. Once we get far enough away from this river, I’ll start a fire so we can dry off.”
“And warm up,” she breathed around chattering teeth as she shivered from head to toe. “That would be heavenly.” Her eyes glowed with gratitude.
Nate couldn’t stop looking at her. Even all bedraggled, her hair askew, her heavy cloak smelling of wet wool, why did she have to be so alluring? Knowing he had to get her warm, he picked up the cradleboard. “Here, let me help you get Jenny hooked on.”
Chapter 34
Nate could hardly believe their good fortune. Surely God had a hand in leading them to the cavelike recess in the hillside. An outcropping of rock sheltered it overhead, and the natural shape of the concavity offered protection on three sides. When they found some dry wood scattered in back of the space, as if Someone knew they’d be coming, he was tempted to believe in miracles. Maybe all those prayers Bob and Rose kept sending up, to say nothing of his own pitiful pleas, really did make a difference.
Removing his partially dry fur robe, he spread it out on the ground for the women to sit on. Their quiet cooperation throughout the ordeal seemed to him another miracle …especially since Rose had never been too shy to express her opinion about things.
He and Bob were used to maintaining silence during these past years since they’d been exploring, and they worked together just as quietly now as they knelt down to get a fire going. While Bob struck his knife repeatedly against a piece of flint, Nate nudged fragments of dry moss beneath the flying sparks.
A tiny flame soon burst forth. Nate blew on it gently until it grew enough to add twigs.
Sighs of pleasure erupted from Rose and Shining Star, and he looked up to see admiration in their eyes. At least for the moment, it seemed he and Bob were their heroes.
“We should be safe here for a while,” Nate said. “Long enough for our clothes to dry, any
way, an’ maybe get something into our stomachs.” He knew he shouldn’t keep looking at Rose, but she seemed like a magnet to his eyes. He drank in the sight she made, cuddling Jenny Ann within the warmth of her damp cloak. Giving himself a mental shake, he tore his gaze away. “Have any jerky tucked away in that haversack, Bob?”
“Some, I reckon.” He broke a twig in half. “I’ll check once we get this fire goin’ good.” He added more sticks to the growing flames.
Nate nodded. “I prob’ly have some in mine, too. We’re gonna want somethin’ to flavor that cornmeal.”
“I wish I’d have had the foresight to bring something as well.” Rose’s sad comment drew Nate’s attention back to her.
He flashed an indulgent smile. “You looked after Jenny an’ kept her quiet when it mattered. That was more than enough.”
A tender glow of gratitude returned to her blue-gray eyes, and the sight was almost enough to be his undoing.
He shot to his feet. “You can handle this, Bob. I’ll go down to the river for some water.”
“Be careful, Nate,” Rose called after him, her voice soft and low.
He opened his mouth to reply then clamped it shut and turned on his heel. Didn’t the woman know that was what he was desperately trying to do?
The overcast sky added dampness to the day, making Rose’s search for dry moss difficult, since she’d been instructed to remain within sight of the camp. She moved aside a clump of dead leaves with her foot and found a small strand of green to add to the meager supply she’d already found. A gust of cold wind swirled her cloak open, and she used her free hand to tug it more closely about herself while she continued her search.
Detecting footsteps not far away, she glanced up to see Nate returning to camp, gingerly balancing his gourd cup and a small pan in either hand as he walked. She thought it odd that he’d used such little containers to tote water back to the shelter.
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