Colorado Bride (31 page)

She started forward toward the cabin, but stopped. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a grave marker. When she turned she saw there were two of them. She looked toward Found. “Are those your parents?” He nodded, but the soft, open friendliness was gone from his glance. There was an odd mixture there which Carrie couldn’t quite interpret. It looked like a cross between anger and fear, but it was such an unexpected mixture Carrie thought the failing light must have misled her. The markers were starkly simple, two crossed sticks with nothing more than the initial and the last name. In a few years there wouldn’t be anything to show these people had ever lived. Privately she thought
that
was quite sad, but then she remembered that they would live on in Found, and she felt less melancholy.

“I’m just about to die of thirst,” she said to Found. “Is your well still good?” Found lowered the battered metal bucket into the well and came up with it half full of water, but Carrie didn’t like what she saw. The water was dark and brackish. “I can’t drink that,” she said, drawing back. “It might give me cholera or something.” Without a word, Found disappeared and reappeared a moment later with a small bucket of cool clear water. “Where did you get that?” she asked. “I didn’t see any stream.” Found pointed to a part of the canyon wall that looked exactly like every other part of the wall. Carrie could see nothing until she followed him to where water seeped out of the rocks and collected in a series of small rock basins. “I would never have thought to look for something like this. I could have died of thirst with plenty of water here all the time,” she said, thinking out loud again.

They returned to the cabin and were about to enter the front door when they heard the sound of more than one horse coming up the canyon. Before she could think, Found was pulling her hard by the hand, virtually dragging her into the surrounding brush. Carrie thought it was probably a good idea to know who was coming before she revealed her presence, but her reluctance to meet strangers didn’t account for the look of terror in Found’s eyes. Clearly someone had been in the habit of coming to this cabin who frightened him badly. But they had hardly settled into a hiding place among the scrub pines when Carrie caught sight of Lucas’s head above the low-growing vegetation. Her first impulse was to rush toward him in relief, but some second thought kept her in her hiding place.

He came up the trail looking as if the only thing in the world he wanted was to make sure she was safe. His eyes were glued to the ground and lifted only occasionally to make a sweep of the surrounding canyon walls. His haggard expression testified to the worry that had been his constant companion since he reached the station to find her gone, and the slump of his body in the saddle betokened the dread with which he followed her trail. Suddenly her conscience gave her a sharp prod, and Carrie knew she couldn’t prolong his misery a minute more. She stood up and walked into the cabin yard to await him.

Yet no sooner did Lucas set eyes on her than his expression turned to black thunder, and she could have sworn lightning would flash from his eyes any minute. It was really quite touching, and if it hadn’t been so serious, she would have laughed out loud. She would have to try very hard to remember how he looked before he saw her because it was obvious she was in for a rough tongue-lashing. Under the circumstances, one of them saying things they didn’t mean was going to be quite enough.

When he came closer, she saw he looked more relieved than angry and he was leading her mare, and she was so relieved to know she wasn’t going to have to walk back to the station she didn’t much care what he said to her.

“I was hoping you would have returned to the station earlier,” Carrie said calmly, trying to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. “Then you might have caught up with me before that treacherous animal ran away.”

As soon as Lucas reached Carrie, he was off his horse and sweeping her up into a powerful embrace. “Are you all right? When I found your mare coming back down the trail, I was worried you might be lying somewhere with a broken neck.” Carrie hadn’t expected this reaction, and it was some time before she could catch her breath and answer him.

“I didn’t fall,” she said, trying to reassure him. “I sort of tumbled off.” Lucas didn’t understand. “I was about to dismount when she was startled by some quail. I would have gotten back into the saddle, but she made a sharp turn and I tumbled off.”

“Were you hurt?”

“No. Anyway, Found came along right after that, and he’s taken very good care of me.” The glance Lucas threw the boy was anything but grateful.

“If I had one grain of sense, I’d leave you this horse, turn around, and never come near that station again,” Lucas said as he released Carrie from his embrace. “You are be most stubborn, hardheaded woman I’ve ever met, and a man would have to be crazy to even think about marrying you.”

“Whatever can you be talking about?” Carrie said, trying to keep a straight face. “Found ran away because we doubted his honesty and took his money when we had no right to do either. I had to come after him.”

“You didn’t have to come by yourself?’

“You weren’t around, and Katie had to stay to meet the stage. I figured he wouldn’t come out of hiding if he saw Jake.”

“I know all about your brilliant reasoning. I had it out of Bemis before I broke his stupid neck. I still can’t believe that I was
the
one who recommended that prize fool to you.”

“As I remember, you gave him a glowing recommendation.”

“You’re not going to get me off the subject on this one, my girl. You blatantly ignored what I said after you went chasing those Indians. You started out in country you’d never seen, you went off alone when you knew nothing about finding your way around a wilderness, and you did it on a horse not accustomed to a saddle. And what for? To chase after some boy who can take good care of himself without any help from us.”

“That’s not the point,” Carrie replied, refusing to be put in the wrong. “I adopted him without even asking him if he wanted to be adopted, and then we practically accused him of being a thief. I couldn’t let him run off thinking we weren’t his friends. A child his age needs someone to take care of him, even if he can get along by himself.”

“I quite agree, but you took a damned awful risk running off in strange country. You could have gotten lost or hurt yourself. Who knows what could have happened.”

“Well, fortunately nothing did, so you can stop worrying about it.”

“So you’re going to go on thinking you were right all along?”

“I won’t have to think for myself at all. You’ll be only to happy to tell me what to think.” Carrie was finding it increasingly difficult to remember that Lucas had been worried about her. “Should we go back, or do you think we ought to spend the night here?”

“Why ask my opinion? You’re the woodland nymph who can dash about without regard for consequences that plague normal folk. I’m sure you can do anything you wish.”

“Well, I can’t give you the spanking you deserve,” Carrie said angrily, “though the mere thought of it gives me considerable pleasure.”

If there’s any spanking to be done, my dear Carolina Marsena Terwillinger,
I’m
the one who’s going to do it.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort, so stop acting like a self-appointed dictator, and let’s start back. I don’t want Found to be out too late.”

“You don’t want Found to be …” Lucas was unable to finish the sentence, and his unsuccessful attempts to get another off the ground restored Carrie’s good humor.

I’m sorry I upset you, Lucas, I really am, but I couldn’t wait. And I truly thought I could catch up with Found and be back within an hour. It was so easy to follow the Indians I’m afraid I assumed it would be equally easy to follow Found. I never stopped to realize he probably knew as much about living out here as the wild animals.”

The sincerity of Carrie’s apology prevented Lucas from taking his frustrations out on her, and that made him furious. He had come back to find Carrie gone on a wildgoose chase and Jake calmly working on his harnesses. It was a good thing Katie had come out to the barn when she did, or he might really have broken Jake’s neck. And it would have served him right too, the half-baked idiot. He had virtually tricked Carrie into hiring a man he thought would look after her when he wasn’t around only to discover the fool was letting her wander over half of Colorado by herself and making only the feeblest attempts to stop her.

And he had spent a pleasurable hour rehearsing all the things he was going to say to her and what he would like to
do
to her when he caught up with her only to have it all go out of his mind when he found her mare running loose. Immediately he was plagued by the most awful images of Carrie lying at the bottom of a ravine or canyon with her neck broken, or of her lying on the trail at the mercy of any man or animal that came along. It had been the worst thirty minutes of his life.

And now she had apologized very nicely, just like the Southern lady she pretended to be when it suited her purpose, and made it impossible for him to tell her that she had much more in common with a mountain wildcat than a lady. Of course, he probably preferred the wildcat, but that wasn’t the point. If this girl wasn’t broken to bridle, she was going to drive him to do something drastic, and so far he was making no progress at all. Now she was sitting on that no-account mare and smiling as if she was actually proud of herself for getting in the saddle unassisted.

“Climb up behind me, Found,” Carrie said. “You can’t walk all the way back.”

“He can ride with me,” Lucas said, doing his best to hold his temper in check. “You’ll have enough to do to stay on that horse.”

“How ungallant, and after I explained how it happened. It’s partly your fault anyway.”

“My fault!” Lucas’s voice practically rose to a squeak.

“You had no business going off all afternoon without telling me. I couldn’t very well wait for you when I didn’t know when you would return, or even
if
you would return.”

“You
knew
I was coming back,” Lucas said, turning abruptly to face her while he helped Found climb up behind him. “You did know that, didn’t you?” Carrie’s gaze dropped before his flashing eyes.

“Yes, I knew, but I truly couldn’t wait. I’m sorry.” Lucas ground his teeth. His anger wasn’t appeased and Carrie didn’t seem the least bit sorry for what she had done. It was possible she was sorry to have gotten him so upset—although he wasn’t even sure of that—but he had no doubt that should a similar occasion occur tomorrow, she would do the very same thing, even in worse circumstances. Maybe he’d been wrong about her being half Southern lady. Maybe she was two completely different people. When she needed help, or wanted any kind of assistance, she could become the most charming, the most beguiling mite of a woman he had ever known. But if she wanted something, she didn’t hesitate to step out of the
lady
role and pick up any other characteristics she might find useful. If there was ever a female who had earned her red hair, it was Carrie Simpson. Yet corner her, and you’d find yourself facing not a Colorado wildcat you could tackle with a clean conscience, but the Southern lady again, inviolate and absolutely out of reach behind her prim smile and starched petticoats.

And it didn’t matter in the least that Lucas knew what she was like out of those petticoats. Without having to think about it, Lucas knew that what she had given him was like an honor bestowed on him, a kind of sacred trust that he couldn’t violate no matter what she did. It was the most priceless thing a woman can give a man, and he was bound to protect her with his very life; and he knew he would do just that. Damn! He hadn’t even asked her to marry him, and he was already bound hand and foot. Never again would he underestimate a pint-sized female from Smithfield, Virginia. If he had any sense at all, he’d get on the nearest horse and head back to Texas. All they had there were Mexican bandits, hard-bitten gunslingers, a few million wild longhorns, and three kinds of poisonous snakes.

“You know you may not be able to keep him,” Lucas said after they’d traveled a few minutes in silence. “He should be the responsibility of the court, and they will insist that a search be made for any relatives.”

“Naturally,” Carrie said, turning in the saddle to face him. “But I don’t think we should do that until Found gets over the distress of being abandoned. It’s quite possible we can do permanent damage if we upset him again too soon.” Lucas could think of few people less likely to be upset by change than a boy who’d survived several months in the wilds by himself. He was much more likely to become unhinged from the trauma of going to school or having to wear shoes and a clean shirt.

“How long do you think you should wait?” It was a dangerous question, probably stupid as well, but somebody had to ask it, and he was the only candidate.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Carrie replied innocently. “I think Found ought to tell us that.”

“And how are you going to tell since he refuses to talk? And I’m sure he is equally unable to write!”

“How clever of you to put your finger on the crux of the matter so quickly.” This was the first time Carrie had ever given Lucas credit for having the answer to anything, and he knew he was in trouble. “We’ll know he’s ready when he starts to speak.”

“But that could be months,” Lucas protested.

“Yes,” Carrie said sadly. “I’m told that these things can affect a child very deeply.”