West Winds of Wyoming (30 page)

Nell, feeling more grateful than any woman had a right to, stifled her usual smart-alecky comeback and took in the group, her heart filled with love. Her gaze stopped on Charlie. What was going to happen after they had the horses? Something, she felt sure. Change was in the air, but she didn’t know what that change was.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

B
eing in the wilderness always had the power to move Charlie’s soul. He leaned forward, giving the black plenty of rein as the gelding carefully picked his way up the narrow path strewn with pebbles and rocks that skirted the side of the mountain. Charlie took his bearings. Up ahead on the path, Dog stopped and waited.

Charlie hadn’t come this way on his route to Logan Meadows. He’d tried to find the exact trail, but this wasn’t it. Since they’d crossed a fair amount of land today and made good time, he didn’t feel like backtracking just yet. Maybe if they went a bit farther, he’d find a way inland.

The view pushed out as far as the eye could see, until the rolling land joined the base of the Bitterroot Mountains. Several good-sized lakes dotted the hills before them, and dense forest stretched forward until it thinned into miles of open range. The rise in elevation was evident by the drop in temperature. A puff of cold air crossed his face and the possibility of not finding the horses crept into his mind.

Where the path widened out, he reined up and waited for the others, listening to the scrape and clip of the horses as they grew closer. Nell was the first to arrive. She leaned forward, stretching her shoulders, and looked at the view. “You recognize this?”

She was going to be disappointed. “No.”

“We’ve just started, Charlie. None of us thought this would be easy.”

Jake was next, leading the packhorse, then came Gabe bringing up the rear. Jake reached back into his saddlebag for his jacket and Nell did the same. “This is mighty steep,” Jake said. “You’re not thinking about driving the horses back this way, are you?”

Anxiety gnawed at Charlie’s insides. So much rested on his shoulders. Nell’s desperate attempt to save the ranch depended on his recollecting a trail he’d traveled once, in a place he didn’t know, and finding horses that could be anywhere by now. What Nell expected of him was a pretty tall order. “No. Once we get over these mountains and locate the horses, I’ll need to find the path I originally traveled when I came to Logan Meadows. We won’t attempt to gather anything until we have a way down.”

“Least we got the corral fortified and the gates propped open. I hope no one comes along and closes them,” Jake said, now buttoned up all the way to his chin. Red splotches from the cold marked his cheeks, as well as Gabe’s and Nell’s.

Charlie reached in his pocket and tossed everyone a peppermint. “Can’t worry over something we have little control over. Now, let’s get off this mountainside so we can set up camp before nightfall catches us unprepared.”

“Sounds good to me.” Gabe nodded. “I’m hungry.”

Jake laughed. “You’re always hungry. I don’t know where you put it.” Jake shook his head as Charlie squeezed the black with his legs, moving him up the trail. The boys bantered back and forth but Nell remained quiet. Could she read his feelings? Did she know they were doomed to fail? In the moonlit kitchen, with Nell standing in his arms, this had sounded like a good idea. He hadn’t known then that the ranch was actually at stake. If Seth hadn’t told her about the missed mortgage payment, maybe Nell didn’t know, either. But now he did. And that was the problem because it made him feel all the worse for it.

Once they’d climbed the steepest part of the mountain, Nell gave a sigh of relief. They descended and the footing gradually became less rocky. Shale and granite gave way to soil and sparse, finely sprouted grass that colored the ground jade. Trees became more abundant and Nell’s mood lifted. Jake tossed the packhorse’s lead rope to Nell and loped off ahead, as if impatient to see what was over the next foothill. “Wait up,” Gabe called, galloping off after him, followed by Dog.

“You feeling deserted?” Charlie asked. The sun had disappeared. The quiet time between day and evening, when the sky turned pink and a hush covered the land, descended. Besides the horses’ breathing, the random chirp of a faraway cricket was the only sound.

She smiled. The Charlie she knew was back. For a while he’d been so quiet she’d been worried about him. “Yeah, I am. I hope those two don’t find any trouble they can’t get themselves out of.”

He stacked his hands one atop the other on the saddle horn and stretched up, the black moving along nicely with a ground-eating stride. “When I came this way I never thought I’d be back so soon. Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah. Very.”

“You’ve been here before?”

She nodded. “With Ben. He liked to go bear hunting now and again. I have a few memories.” A colorful-feathered pheasant darted out from under the grass a few feet away. He took flight and was gone.

“A missed opportunity,” Charlie lamented with a laugh as he watched the bird disappear under the brush. He turned in her direction. “Bear, you say?”

She laughed. “Be serious, Charlie, I’m sure you’re aware there’re lots of bears in these mountains.”

“Guess I did, now that I think about it. Stands to reason. Did you ever kill any?”

She glanced over, taking in Charlie’s expressive blue eyes. It was hard to tell where the sky quit and his gaze began. Seemed Ben’s eyes were fading from her memories, replaced with Charlie’s. She guessed that was natural. One couldn’t pine forever. “No. We never did. Didn’t even find any scat.”

He twisted in the saddle and studied their back trail. “I’m glad to hear that. Still, we need to be cautious with the food in camp.”

“Always.”

Up ahead, Gabe and Jake came loping back in their direction.

“We found a good spot to set up camp,” Gabe said. “There’s water and a stand of trees gives a bit of shelter.”

“Good work.” Charlie glanced around again, taking in his surroundings, then gave her a secretive wink. That was when she realized he’d been kidding her about the bears. He couldn’t have traveled all this way on his own without knowing how to take care of himself. She smiled, liking everything about him. His gentleness, his ability to make her smile. The way she felt safe whenever he was around.

Gabe and Jake crossed around back behind them, then rode up on both outside positions until they were riding four across. Charlie pointed at Jake’s stock whip, then fingered the one on his saddle.

“I was never very good with these.”

“Just like casting a fishing rod. Let it drag by your side as you ride along, then, when you want to pop it, throw your wrist forward and pull it back fast. Ain’t supposed to touch the animal, of course. Gets ’em moving real good.”

“You make it sound easy. But I know different.”

Jake held up his hand and wiggled it around. “The secret is all in the wrist.”

The horses, sensing that quitting time was near, strode ahead willingly in the fading light, ears pricked forward. The scent of water wafted by, tickling Nell’s nose. She was anxious to get out of the saddle. Get some supper rustled up. Stretch her aching muscles and wash her face.

“Right over yonder,” Jake said. He pointed to a level area between some trees and a small stream with plenty of grass for the horses. “Farther out is a good-sized stream we’ll have to cross tomorrow if we continue in our current direction. Those hills will act as a windbreak when the mountain breeze stirs up tonight.”

They halted a few feet away. “Looks good,” Nell agreed. “And I’m saddle weary anyway.”

Charlie nodded. “Since we’ll be moving on early, we won’t unpack much. Just our bedrolls and a pot to heat some beans. The coffeepot, utensils, and the lanterns. Gabe and Jake, get the supper going. Nell will help me with the horses. I’ll gather some wood and dig a fire pit.” The North Star had just appeared over the top of the trees and the crickets were in full swing.

Still in the saddle, Jake sat up straight with a jerk. “What? I thought Nell would do the cooking.”

“She will. And so will I, and so will the two of you. Out here we’ll share the chores—no matter what they are. Cooking and cleanup is a bit of a bugger. Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean Nell should shoulder the responsibility of fixing every meal herself.”

Gabe and Jake’s grumbles faded away when everyone dismounted and loosened their cinches. Charlie went straight to the packhorse and unbuckled the rigging. With a tug, he slipped the heavy load off the animal’s back, then muscled it to the ground.

Delighted with Charlie’s decision, Nell went to the far side of the large pack and sank to her knees in the tall grass. After working the thin ropes that held the lanterns to the crossed wooden frame, she set them on the ground and fished around for the matches in a side pocket. After she lit the wicks, she was careful to make sure the match was extinguished. The grass was drying out and she didn’t want to start a fire. The natural light was fading fast and the boys would need the illumination to be able to sort through the canvas compartments for foodstuffs. By now, a few more stars had made their appearance in the sky. She opened another pocket, withdrew a handful of the jerky they’d brought along to feed Dog, and tossed it to him.

Charlie went from horse to horse, unsaddling and haltering. He had three done before she had finished Coyote. She could hear Gabe and Jake discussing what they should do for food. “Just open a couple of cans of beans for tonight,” she called. “They’re in the large compartment, and the can opener’s in the side. I brought along bread that needs to be eaten tonight and tomorrow, before it’s hard as a stone.”

Turning with Coyote’s lead in her hand, she met Charlie on his way over. “I’ll take those,” she said, taking the other four leads and splitting them between her two hands. The breeze had turned into a light wind, moving the grass at their feet.

“You sure you can handle them all at once?”

She wasn’t sure if he could make out her I-can’t-believe-you-just-asked-me-that expression in the dimming light. “Pretty sure, Charlie.”

“That’s right. You’re the horse trainer of the bunch. The animal talker. Why did I doubt?”

She laughed. “You makin’ fun?”

“Never,” he called over his shoulder. She watched him take one of the lanterns and head for the trees, most likely in search of firewood.

As she headed for the stream, she studied the terrain for the shape of any other large animal quenching its thirst after a long day. Seeing nothing but the quiet landscape, she approached a long, easy-sloped bank and carefully stepped forward, three horses on one side and two on the other. Front feet in the stream, they all drank for a good minute. She let her hand linger on Coyote’s withers, taking in his contented attitude.

Foaled on the prairie, her horse always preferred being out in the open spaces. He lifted his head high, water dripping from his muzzle. His nostrils flared when he inhaled the fresh air. He spooked at something and stepped toward her, but she knew his giddiness was caused by the adventure at hand. “Easy, boy,” she crooned. “We have a long week ahead. You’re gonna get your fill of wild scenery and wide-open spaces. Scents on the air that stir your blood.”

A voice came out of the darkness behind her. “What’s he saying back to you?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE