This was a unique situation for Tanner. In his world of design and mines, others looked to him for direction, expertise, and skill. He was as good in his field as Fox was in hers. For reasons he could not have explained, he regretted that Fox would never see him in his natural role as he was seeing her in hers.
The thought made him smile and shake his head. Ordinarily he didn't feel a need to impress a woman or court her admiration. But he'd never met a woman like Fox.
* * *
CHAPTER 6
They spent a chill frosty night at altitude in the Shoshone mountains. In the morning, after crossing a rough divide, the company descended to a canyon that housed the deserted remains of a pony express station. Indians or settlers had stripped the station to the stone foundation. Here the well was dry, and if Fox hadn't earlier ordered everyone to carry extra water, there would have been no coffee for supper or breakfast.
The following day stretched long and tedious, skirting house-size rock formations before crossing the Reese River. The water level was low at this time of year and the mules plodded across without incident, but Hanratty's mount balked at entering the water.
He tried shouting, then spurring the animal, and finally jumped to the ground and attempted to lead the agitated horse down the bank. The horse reared and foam bubbled on his lips, his eyes rolled.
Red-faced and angry, Hanratty cussed and pulled on the reins, river water washing over his boots.
Before Fox could hand off the mules and start back across, she saw Tanner ride up to Hanratty and insist that Hanratty take Tanner's horse across. Words were exchanged then Hanratty swung up on Tanner's bay and ran it across the shallow river.
Curious, Fox pulled her hat down against the sun and watched to see what Tanner would do. First, he led Hanratty's horse away from the water, talking softly. Continuing to murmur, he stroked the horse's neck until the animal was calm. Then Tanner tied his bandanna around the horse's head and eyes before he led the horse into the water and walked it across the river.
"Hell, I could have done that," Hanratty swore.
"Yeah, but you didn't." Jubal Brown smirked.
Once the men were on their own mounts and the company moving again, Fox turned in beside Tanner. "How'd you know what to do back there?"
"Mules are used in the mines to haul the ore carts. Occasionally something spooks them and they balk." He turned his head to look at her. "This strikes me as being in the category of asking how you know where north is."
"Sorry," she said with a smile. "I didn't mean to sound as if I'm surprised." But she had been, a little.
And that wasn't fair. None of the men were the greenhorns Fox had expected, and that included Tanner. It hadn't been necessary to instruct anyone how to dig a fire pit or how to fold a bedroll efficiently. Even Tanner took his turn cooking and served up a meal as competently as Fox could have done.
As if he'd read her mind, he said, "I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness looking for Jennings's mines." His eyebrow lifted. "Did you think you were going to nursemaid a novice?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
Her mustang shifted to avoid a rock, pushing her leg against Tanner's. Lightning flashed up to her thigh and her cheeks heated. Damn it. What was it about this man that turned her into a quivering adolescent? He gave her a look that made her mouth go dry. Her leg brushed his and suddenly a fire ignited in her stomach.
"You make me mad," she said, scowling at his broad shoulders and open collar.
"Really? How's that?"
"I don't know. You just do." Touching her heels to the mustang's sides she trotted away from him, her face still hot.
On the positive side, Tanner's mention of Jennings was exactly what Fox needed. She hadn't spent as much time planning her revenge as she had expected she would. Worse, some days she forgot to apply Peaches's sun protection, and sometimes she simply didn't feel like sleeping with her hands immersed in bacon grease. If she was going to have the choices she wanted, she needed to focus more on Jennings and stick to her beauty routine.
Riding up next to Jubal Brown, she extended her hand for the mule's lead rope. "Thanks for spelling me. I'll take them now."
"I don't mind leading them a while longer."
Well, well. Hiding a smile, Fox stayed beside him. "So you're going home to join the war."
"Might as well. Seems I've worn out my welcome in the west."
Meaning the law was after him. Fox nodded, wondering how old he was. Twenty? Twenty-five? Some men weren't destined to die of old age.
"Do you really believe it somehow demeans you to assist Mr. Hernandez?"
"He's a Negro."
"He's an old man with rhumitiz and a cough."
"If he can't handle the job, he should have stayed home."
"It that were true, he would agree. But it isn't true. Mr. Hernandez and I both believe he can handle the job. The thing is, we're a team here, Brown. If one of us could use a helping hand, the rest of us have an obligation to offer that hand."
"I'm doing it, ain't I? So why are you chewing on me?"
"Because I'm sorry you made me punch you," Fox said, fixing her gaze ahead. "Some times that's the only way to get a man's attention."
"I can think of other ways a woman can get a man's attention."
She gave him a look cold enough to wipe the grin off his lips. "You best forget that I'm a woman, Mr. Brown, or you could get yourself shot or knifed."
"I just meant"
"I know what you meant, and you can keep those kind of remarks to yourself."
Riding forward, she slowed near Hanratty. "Is everything all right?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Damn all. Every man in the group had a burr under his butt today. "Have you seen anything that might be Indians?"
"Are you fixing to give me another lecture about our noble red brothers?"
Fox strove for patience. "Outside of me, you have the best eyesight in the company. I'm just asking if you've seen anything."
"I've seen some antelope, a couple of rabbits, and a coyote."
"All right," she said, narrowing her eyelids down to slits. Leaning forward, she prepared to ride ahead where she could be alone and away from surly men.
Hanratty reached out and touched her arm. "Tell me something."
"I've seen some rabbits myself, and a couple of deer."
A grin broke across his whiskery face. "I ain't seen any Indians. I did see two men about two miles that way." He tilted his head south. "Riding the same direction as us, only traveling light and moving fast."
"I saw them, too. So what do you want to know?"
"Does Tanner think me and Jubal Brown stole the missing gold pieces?"
Fox hadn't seen that one coming. She stared at him. "There wasn't a hint that Tanner thought the coins were stolen. He appeared to believe like I did that we overlooked the missing coins when we searched. It would be easy to do. They were scattered over a wide area."
Hanratty nodded and pulled down his hat brim.
Fox didn't ask if he or Brown had stolen the coins. That was the kind of question that got a person killed. Surely neither of them were that stupid. She drew a long breath, inhaling the scents of sage and grass, man and horse.
"We're looking for a lake. Should be over that next rise."
"I'm going to ride ahead and kill something." When Fox raised her eyebrows, Hanratty added, "For supper."
"I wouldn't say no to a couple of fat rabbits."
She watched him gallop east, kicking up coils of sandy dust. Maybe they all needed a hard ride and a chase to soothe tempers sharpened by the daily tedium and by having to live in close quarters with other loners like themselves. Tomorrow or the next day, Fox would send Brown out by himself. Tanner, too.
She mentioned the idea to Tanner after they had set up camp between the lake and a small meadow where the grass was lush and starting to turn green. The horses and mules had found heaven.
"I wouldn't mind doing som
e exploring on my own," Tanner commented, taking in the scenery. "This is beautiful country."
"You don't think every range looks the same?"
They climbed one mountain range, searched for the pass, then dropped down to a valley, climbed the next range, dropped down to a valley. Fox had made the journey enough times to see and recognize shapes or faces in rocks and peaks, and the valleys were subtly different, each with its own character. But to most people, particularly to people like Tanner who hadn't grown up in the west, the ranges and valleys usually looked monotonously alike.
"Why did you ask that?" Tanner gazed at her with an intense expression that made Fox half believe that her emotions were writ large across her forehead. "Do you think each range looks like the next one?"
"Well, no," she said, frowning. Once again she had asked him a question that was turning out to be a mistake. And feeling agitated and dumb because of it. "But I thought you might."
Annoyance quirked his mouth before he turned to study the mountains rising in front of them. "Is there mining nearby?"
"As a matter of fact I'm planning to stay in a mining camp tomorrow night." She almost asked how he had guessed, then remembered that he was a mining engineer and managed to save herself an embarrassment. "How long have you worked for J M and M?"
"Fifteen years. A lot longer than I expected to."
Fox gazed into her coffee cup and inhaled the scent of roasting rabbit wafting from the campfire behind them. Supper must be almost ready. "What do you think of your boss? Mr. Jennings?"
"I like him." Tanner finished his coffee. "He runs a fair and honest operation."
That was not what Fox had expected to hear. "Now that surprises me. I heard Hobbs Jennings is a no good thieving son of a bitch."
Tanner turned to face her and she noticed that the paleness of working underground had vanished, replaced by a weathered tan that deepened every day. The polish had rubbed off his boots, and his trousers were as dusty as his jacket. He was starting to look more like Fox preferred a man to look, only much more handsome.
A frown pulled his eyebrows. "Where did you hear that?"
She shrugged. "Here and there."
"Hobbs Jennings pays a higher wage than other mine owners, and he takes care of a miner's family if the miner is killed or injured on the job. He's concerned about efficiency and profit, but he's also concerned about safety. Many owners aren't."
Irritated, Fox started toward the campfire. "Saint Hobbs? I don't believe it. You just don't know him well enough."
"And you do?"
She heard the puzzlement in his voice and realized she'd said more than she should have. Planting her fists on her hips, she considered the rabbits spitted above the fire. "My mouth is watering."
It was Peaches's turn to cook. "Thanks to Mr. Hanratty, we're goin' to have a feast. I've got corn bread making, too."
They had stopped early to let the animals graze. They'd have a couple hours of daylight after eating. "Are you up for chess?"
"Best ask if you're up to getting your butt whipped."
Fox smiled. "Someday I'll beat you."
"And someday the moon is gonna fall right out of the sky."
The rabbit tasted as delicious as it had smelled, and Peaches's corn bread melted in the mouth in butter-soaked goodness. Midway through the meal Fox noticed Peaches staring at her with what he called his "significant look." When he had her attention, he rolled his eyes toward Tanner's plate. It took a minute for Fox to understand what Peaches wanted her to notice. When she did, she inspected Hanratty and Brown, too.
Hanratty, Brown, and Fox ate with their forks clutched in their fists. Tanner used his utensils the way Peaches insisted refined folks did. If Tanner noticed how Fox ate, and of course he must have by now, he would place her in the same class as Hanratty and Brown. Fox might have a background lacking in the social graces, but she considered herself head and shoulders above the likes of Hanratty and Brown.
Frowning, feeling like she was putting on airs, she switched her fork in her hand. She hoped Tanner would notice that she was no longer eating like Hanratty and Brown.
"I believe I know Hobbs Jennings as well as anyone in the company," Tanner stated after they'd eaten.
Fox kept her gaze fixed on the chessboard Peaches was setting up. Peaches flicked her a glance when he heard Jennings's name.
When she didn't respond, Tanner cleaned his throat. "You're implying that you know someone who's been with J M and M longer than I have and you believe he knows Jennings better than I do."
"This person has known Jennings much longer than you have." Fox spoke reluctantly, mentally kicking herself for bungling things.
"Can you tell me his name?"
"No." Sitting on the grass, Fox studied the chessboard as if she'd never played the game before. "You open," she said to Peaches.
"Damn it, Fox, you're irritating the hell out of me."
"Then go away so me and Peaches can play chess in peace."
"What exactly did this person tell you about Hobbs Jennings?"
Finally she looked up at him. "Jennings is your boss and I can see why you'd be loyal to him. Let's leave it at that."
For a moment he held her gaze, then he turned and walked toward Hanratty and Brown, taking a cigar from his vest pocket.
"I made a mistake and I know it," Fox said to Peaches, "so don't say anything."
"I believe the sun protection is working. The bacon grease and remembering to wear your riding gloves is helping your hands, too."
"Are my cheeks still chapped?" She knew her lips were, but they were gradually getting smoother.
"Not as bad as when we left Carson City."
In an eyeblink, Peaches took a bishop and one of her knights. Fox stared at the board in disbelief. "How did you do that?"
"You aren't paying attention, Missy." He withdrew a cigar from the pocket of his overalls and Fox recognized the band around it. "You got other things on your mind."
"That's one of Tanner's cigars."
"It is. Me and Mr. Tanner been getting acquainted." Peaches drew on the cigar and closed his eyes in pleasure. Then he captured one of Fox's rooks. "That man knows a bit about everything."
"He never offered me one of his fancy cigars."
"That's probably because he doesn't think to. I doubt Mr. Tanner knows many ladies who smoke."
"But that means he thinks of me as a lady. Nobody thinks" Biting her lip, she blinked down at the board. Did Matthew Tanner think of her as a lady? No, he couldn't possibly. But he might be thinking of her as a woman.
What did he see when he looked at her? Right now he'd see her sitting Indian-style on the dry grass, covered from neck to knees in her old poncho, her hair dusty and in need of a wash. Tendrils had pulled loose and floated around her cheeks. She suspected she was beginning to smell as ripe as the men.
"What kind of things do you and Tanner talk about?" She took another of Peaches's pawns, no triumph in it.
"We talk about everything and nothing. About the war and how it might go, about development moving west, about the Indian problems. He knows the names of the stars and the names of different kinds of rocks. He's read all the books we have."
Why couldn't Fox talk to Tanner about those things? Instead, her mouth went dry and all her social talk blew away like grains of sand on a wind. She ended up asking him personal questions that annoyed him, or babbled about weather and scenery, and usually finished by putting her foot in her mouth.
"Does he ever ask about me?" Sighing, she watched Peaches mount an attack on her queen. The game was turning into a rout.
"Every now and then."
"What kind of questions?" She kept her head down.
"Like when did you and me hook up? Did I teach you to read and write and do sums, or did you go to school? That kind of thing."
Heat burned on her cheeks. "How do you answer?"
He pounced on her queen. This would be one of the shortest games they had played. "I answer withou
t any details. Don't volunteer anything."
"Does he ever offer any information about himself?"
"Not much. I know he's plenty worried about his pa. I have an idea his pa expects a lot out of him. Maybe more than he can give. Maybe more than anyone could give."
Fox raised her head. "What's that mean?"
"I 'spect it means Mr. Tanner can't ever please his pa. Probably means he feels he's always disappointing his father."
Fox sat back and thought about that. Not having parents, she knew she cherished an idealized view of the parent/child relationship. In her vision, both parties gave and received unconditional love even though Fox suspected there was no such thing as unconditional love.
Turning her head, she watched Tanner talking to Hanratty and Brown. They stood near the bedrolls, smoking, occasionally laughing. All a person had to do was look at Matthew Tanner to know he was the kind of man who did the right thing, a man whose word was as good as a contract, a man with duty and loyalty at the core of his character. She could not visualize him failing at anything.
It occurred to Fox that if there was anything worse than having no father, it might be having a father you could never please, a father who looked at you with disappointment.
"Your butt is whipped."
When she jerked her attention back to the board, Peaches's men had captured her king. Fox swore as he picked up the pieces and stacked them back in the box. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't give you much of a game." A flash came into her eyes. "Why do you care if Tanner knows the name of the stars? It was you who showed me the Big Dipper and how to find the North Star. You already know the names of the stars."
"A few," Peaches agreed. "But not like Mr. Tanner does. He knows constellations."
"You do, too."
"Not as many as Mr. Tanner knows."
"Peaches Hernandez," her eyes came down in slits, "are you trying to make Tanner look good in my eyes?"
"I 'spect he already does, Missy."
Part of Tanner's job was to judge the mood of the miners and listen for complaints as he traveled among the JM&M holdings. Hobbs Jennings did not want to be the last to know about a problem brewing in his mines. He wanted to know quickly, while there was time to solve any difficulty.
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