[Desert Roses 03] - Beneath A Harvest Sky (37 page)

“Oh, Sonny,” Rainy whispered so as not to wake Duncan in the front seat, “I pray you’re safe.”

Thoughts of Sonny refused to leave her mind. She wondered where he was and whether or not Gunther had given up on the idea of forcing Sonny to travel with him. She thought of Sonny’s dreams and plans for Alaska and tears came to her eyes.

I thought I was strong, Lord. I thought I could handle
just about any test or trial. I thought the only real problems I
had were finding a husband and clearing my name—both
very selfish ambitions.

Now I sit here, unable to help anyone or to do anything,
and I’ve never been more frustrated. I’ve always relied on my
education and wits. I’ve always felt ever so self-sufficient and
capable. But I’m not, Lord. I’m not. Please show us what to
do. Please help us to get out of this mess without harm coming
to anyone
.

She worked her way back into her sleeping place and tried to get comfortable. Just when she thought it impossible to fall asleep, Rainy was once again dreaming of the dry desert lands.

Hours later Rainy woke again, this time with the distinct feeling that something was happening. She feared for a moment that Gunther had returned, but after craning her neck to see, Rainy was relieved to find their campsite still deserted.

“It’s nearly sunrise,” Duncan murmured from the front seat.

Rainy could see a hint of light and color on the eastern horizon. “What are we going to do? Our signal fire hasn’t brought any help, and the roads have been deserted all night.”

“Someone’s bound to come through here,” Duncan offered. “Aren’t the harvests going on in the area? Aren’t people bringing crops in for sale? Moving cattle or sheep—that kind of thing?”

“We can’t count on that. This isn’t exactly the main road.” Rainy straightened up and leaned against the car door to ease the tension in her back. “We’ve used almost all the water in the canteen. I still can’t hope to walk very far, but you could get to Winslow and—”

“I’m not leaving you here,” he said, sitting up to look over the seat at her.

“But we don’t have any water.”

“We can drain the radiator and use what’s there. I don’t know what it will taste like, but we can try to filter it with a piece of cloth.”

Rainy realized it was a good idea. “That would give you enough to take in the canteen.”

Duncan’s jaw tightened. “I said . . .”

Rainy reached out and touched his hand. “I know what you said, Duncan, but if you don’t go for help, we may die out here just as Gunther planned.” She looked out the window to the horizon. “It’ll be fully light before long and the heat may become unbearable. If you leave now, you could get to Winslow before the worst of it and get back here with help before the afternoon heat becomes too stifling.”

Duncan sighed and gripped her hand tightly. “There has to be another way.”

Rainy shook her head. “But there’s not. We’ve only got a bit of the food left. Enough for one meager meal, but that’s it. Look, if we’re going to survive this, we both need to make sacrifices.”

“But if Sonny manages to ditch Gunther and Chester, he’ll know where to come to find us. I really think we should stay here with the car.”

“But Gunther and Chester know where to come too,” Rainy reasoned. “You have to see that there’s no other way. Right now you’re in good shape. You’ve had food and water and rest.” She smiled and added, “What little rest could be had.” Sobering again, she continued. “But, Duncan, hours from now that won’t be the case, and if no one shows up and Sonny still can’t get to us, we’ll gradually grow weak and sick from the lack of water.”

She saw Duncan’s look of resignation and knew he finally agreed. “All right,” he said. “I’ll go.”

“Good. You’ll be back before you know it and then we can help Sonny. I only hope we’re not too late,” Rainy said, feeling her emotions go topsy-turvy on her again. “I just hope he’s all right. We used to be close enough to sense when the other one was in danger, but I can’t sense anything at all. You don’t suppose that means . . .”

“Don’t even say it,” Duncan said. “You know better. Sonny is a survivor. He’s not going to be defeated by the likes of Gunther Albright and Chester Driscoll.

You’ll see. He’s probably already figured a way to get himself out of this. Remember, we sent word to Rich-land and told him where we were headed and what you were doing. Did you let any of your Hopi friends know that you were coming?”

“Yes, I sent a message with a courier. The group was only going as far as Canyon de Chelly, but she promised to take it over after the tour was completed.

I’m sure Istaqa knew we were on our way to see him.”

“Good. When you didn’t show up, he probably began to check what happened. Maybe he would have even called La Posada.”

“It’s possible—if the phone lines are working. The system isn’t always the best out here.”

“I understand,” Duncan said, nodding. “But between Istaqa knowing and Richland being apprised of the situation, someone is bound to come to our rescue and to Sonny’s.”

“I hope so. I couldn’t bear it if . . .”

Duncan smiled reassuringly. “Nothing bad will happen. Trust God to have this under control. It’ll work out. You’ll see.”

Rainy wanted to see. She wanted to have hope, but even as Duncan bustled around outside the car, preparing for his walk to Winslow, she was losing faith.

Soon she’d be alone, and though she couldn’t tell Duncan, she was terrified. What if Chester Driscoll came back for her? Once Duncan was gone, she’d be defenseless.

She couldn’t tell Duncan her fears. He’d just insist on staying at her side, and Rainy knew their only hope was in his walking to Winslow. She sighed and reached for one of her mother’s cookies.

“Oh, Mother, I wish I’d listened to your apprehensions. I know I’m in this fix because of my pride and determination to control everything. I should have listened to you and given thought to what you had to say.” She took a bite of the cookie to ease the rumblings in her stomach, but the dry texture only made her more thirsty. Funny how water didn’t seem all that important when there was plenty of it.

She heard Duncan working to drain the radiator and wondered how awful the water would taste. It would be better than dying of thirst, but the thought still caused her to shudder.

I should never have tried to keep this from Dad. He
wouldn’t have allowed me to leave with Gunther. Had I not
tried to sneak around, I would be safe at home and Sonny
wouldn’t be in danger
. Her regret threatened to eat her alive. This must have been what her father had tried to teach her so long ago about obedience. If Rainy had obeyed, she’d be safe now. Instead, she’d endangered the lives of not only herself but Sonny and Duncan as well.

Glancing up, Rainy noticed a hint of dust on the horizon. She strained her eyes to make out the forms of several riders on horse and mule.

“Duncan!” she cried. “Riders are coming.”

Duncan came around to where she sat. “Where?”

Rainy pointed to the north. “I think they may be Hopi.” Struggling, she got out of the car and hopped around to the front. Duncan came up to support her.

“Yes! I think it’s Istaqa.”

Rainy began to wave wildly while bouncing on her right foot. “Istaqa!”

The man at the front of the entourage waved and Rainy relaxed against Duncan. “He sees us. We’re going to be all right.”

“I already knew that,” Duncan said with a grin. He pulled Rainy close. “I couldn’t possibly lose you now.”

Rainy looked deep into his eyes. Without hesitation she stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. “I never knew what an optimist I was marrying.”

“You didn’t know you were even marrying me until yesterday.”

“Hmmm. Well, maybe my heart knew.”

“And maybe it was just the seductive spell of the desert and the harvest sky,” Duncan whispered.

She grinned. “Or maybe the spell woven over me by one very handsome Scot.”

“Hmmm,” he said against her ear, “maybe.”

She stood in Duncan’s supportive embrace as Istaqa and six other Hopi riders and two extra mules came to a halt in front of the broken-down car.

“Una sent me out. She said you must be in trouble, otherwise you would have let us know why you didn’t come to us yesterday.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Rainy said. “My brother is in real danger. The man I was bringing to you turned out to be the very man who’s been behind the artifact thefts. Gunther Albright was a good friend of my family, but apparently he’s been stealing what he could for some time.”

Istaqa eyed Duncan suspiciously. He nodded as if in greeting, then turned his attention back to Rainy.

“This Albright man, he has your brother?”

“Yes. Sonny and Duncan showed up yesterday, and Gunther forced Sonny to take him and his partner, a man named Chester Driscoll, back to Winslow. I twisted my ankle; otherwise Duncan and I would have walked to Winslow last night.”

“Would you have any water you could spare?” Duncan suddenly asked. “I’m afraid Albright dumped most of ours, and the prospect of drinking radiator water isn’t very appealing.”

Istaqa signaled to one of his companions and a waterskin was handed down. Duncan helped Rainy drink first and then drank his fill before handing the bag back to Istaqa.

“I don’t know when anything has ever tasted so good,” Rainy commented. She grimaced at the throbbing pain in her ankle. “Can you get us to Winslow?”

“I’ll take you there,” Istaqa replied. He turned to the man at his left and gave instructions in Hopi. The man immediately brought up the two extra mules, then motioned for three of the other men to follow.

“I’ll send my companions back to alert our people. If this man you speak of is waiting for you in Winslow, or if he’s on the trail up ahead, we will need to know that others can get the word out.” Istaqa’s square-cut black hair blew gently in the breeze as his dark eyes narrowed. “I will make sure this man is stopped. I will see your brother safe.”

Rainy felt a deep love for her friend. The compassion he felt for her and Sonny was very evident. “I know you will.”

————

“This is ridiculous!” Gunther Albright paced back and forth as Sonny worked to dig out the car.

“I can’t help it, Gunther. Those patches of sand get me every time—just ask my sister.”

Sonny hid his grin as he bent over the log he was using to try to free the tire from the sand. He wasn’t trying too hard, however. After spending the previous afternoon driving in circles, Sonny had managed to get them stuck in the sand. He calculated they were only about five miles from Winslow, but Gunther had no idea where they were and neither did Chester.

“We’ll die out here if you don’t dig us out,” Chester said, his voice in a panic.

“We aren’t going to die, Chester,” Sonny answered as he eased up and pretended to reassess the situation.

“Some of us may if you don’t figure a way out of this mess,” Gunther declared. “I didn’t come all this way to spend the night in the middle of nowhere, yet that’s what you’ve forced upon me. Now that it’s getting light, I expect you to dig us out of this hole and get us to Winslow.”

“I’m working on it, Gunther. I don’t want to be out here any more than the rest of you,” Sonny said in a serious manner. He stared Gunther in the eye. “After all, you’ve left my sister and friend to die. I want out of here every bit as much as you do.” He saw that the older man was exhausted. Gunther had refused to sleep, fearful that Sonny might somehow free the car and leave without him knowing it. The old man wouldn’t even leave the car unless Chester was sitting in it for insurance. Now Sonny knew they were both ready to drop, and he planned to use that to his advantage.

“I don’t much care what you want. Get back to work. I don’t intend to spend even another hour here.”

Sonny went back to the pretense of digging out. He walked to the edge of the road and picked up a few stones and put them in front of the car tire. Seeing that he was working, Gunther went back to where Chester sat in the shade of some scraggly mesquite.

“This is a fine mess you’ve gotten me into,” Sonny heard Gunther say. He lowered his voice then, however, and Sonny couldn’t hear any further comments. He watched from the corner of his eye as Gunther eased onto the ground and leaned back to rest. He pointed to Sonny and said something to Chester. Sonny could only imagine that he was instructing the man to keep watch. Chester nodded while Gunther pulled his hat down over his eyes. With great reluctance, Chester got up and walked to the car.

“Don’t try anything stupid, Gordon. I’ll be sitting here in the car watching you the whole time.”

“You do that, Driscoll. I’ll feel a whole lot safer just knowing you’re on guard.”

Chester frowned but nevertheless crawled in behind the wheel of Sonny’s touring car.

Sonny grinned again and got down on the ground. He dug around the wheel and glanced every so often over to where Gunther dozed. It wasn’t long until he heard snores coming from the front seat of the vehicle as well. When he was certain that both men were asleep, he jumped to his feet and hiked out across the desert toward Winslow.

At a good lope, Sonny knew he could make the distance in a little over an hour. He was in good shape and had an ample supply of water in the canteen he wore on his hip. He also felt confident that God had provided this moment for him. He was rested and alert, having slept through most of the night. He could do this. He would do this and he would rescue Rainy and Duncan before it was too late.

The day was still rather pleasant by the time Sonny walked into Winslow. He went immediately to the town marshal and explained the situation.

“We’ve already had word from some Indian Bureau man named Richland,” the marshal told Sonny. “I’ve had my men out searching the area, but they were told over at the hotel that Albright had already left the area.”

“Yes, he’d taken my sister and headed north to Hopi country. Albright and Driscoll are stuck just northeast of town. I can lead you there. My sister and friend, however, are stranded about fifteen miles north, just off the main road. They’ve been there all night and they don’t have water.”