Trail of Golden Dreams (22 page)

Josie knew she
could trust him, so she loosened the strangle hold on his neck and began to
laugh and enjoy the thrill ride.  He joined her laughter for a few twirls
and then slowed and stopped, and they kissed again while she clung to him.
After a few moments, she slid down his body, and her feet touched the ground
just as a voice called out from the dark.

“
Señor
Paladin! 
Señorita
Hart!  Are you out here?”

A long groan
escaped through Grey’s mouth.  “Dammit.  That’s Ortiz, the ranch
foreman,” he complained, whispering in her ear.  “That Mexican has the
worst timing.” 

Josie nodded in
agreement and placed her head on his chest, willing her thumping heart to still
itself. 

When the foreman
called out again, Grey called back, “
Si
,
señor
. We’re out by the
pond.”

The foreman did
not come any closer, but continued to shout from afar.  “
Señora
Gonzales asked me to find you.  She has one more surprise.”

Grey’s chin rested
on top of Josie’s head, and he stroked her hair.  She could feel his heart
beating as fast as hers.   “Tell her we’ll be right there,” he
hollered back.

“
Si, Señor
Paladin
.”

When they were
sure Ortiz had started back to the house, Grey tipped up Josie’s chin and
kissed her soundly one more time.  When their lips parted, she ran her
hand over his smooth cheek.  “I don’t mind you unshaven,” she told
him.  “In fact, I prefer you rough.”

He rubbed his
cheeks thoughtfully.  “Good, because I have one dull blade, and shaving
with it is a pain in the ass.” 

They grinned at
one another.

“I guess we’d
better get back to the house before the Mexican army sends a search party,” he
teased, picking the shawl up from the ground.

“Guess so.” She
was glad when he took her hand.  It was comforting, him holding her hand
that way.

The final surprise
Juanita had waiting for them was a large vanilla cake decorated with iced
flowers that Josie cut with Grey standing at her side.

Manuel Ortiz
sidled up next to Grey and whispered in his ear loud enough for Josie to hear. 
“Are you sure this isn’t your wedding party,
amigo
?” He stumbled away
chortling. 

When Josie looked
at Grey, his face had turned as white as a sheet.

Chapter Fourteen

Josie brushed
Traveler and Lightning as she watched the sun rise over the Gonzales
Ranch.  Her saddlebags were hung over the horn, and a new bag was tied
behind the saddle.  It contained three dresses Juanita had insisted she
take with her, as well as the lapis lazuli beads she’d worn at the party and
Juanita’s very own silver cross necklace.  Marcella had washed her pants
and long-sleeved shirt in sweet-scented soap, which she now wore.

Earlier, Juanita
had stood in the kitchen in her silk robe packing food for Josie and Grey to
take on the trail.  “You will be like a daughter to me from this moment
on, Josephine,” she’d said.  “I want you to consider me as your second
mother.”  When Josie had lowered her head, unable to meet Juanita’s eyes
out of respect for her own ma, Juanita had quickly added, “Or, perhaps an
auntie.”

Josie hadn’t known
what to say, except thank you.  Juanita had been so kind to her. Josie had
taken her hand and assured her she’d remember their time together for the rest
of her life, and maybe they’d see one another again someday. Juanita’s sad face
had brightened at that remark. 

Still unsure as to
why Pa had wanted her to meet Juanita, Josie guessed she’d never know the true
reasons.  But after this visit, she would see her pa through different
eyes—through the eyes of a woman who found the good within him, and who cared
deeply for the decent man he must have been to her.  Apparently Pa had
never taken anything from Juanita except her heart. That spoke volumes.

Josie snapped back
to reality when Traveler brayed.  “Where is Grey?” she asked the mule,
while gazing around.  After the party had ended the night before, he’d
walked her to her room and told her they’d start out early this morning. 
They still had close to thirty miles to ride before reaching Santa Fe. 
She’d closed her eyes and puckered her lips, waiting for a goodnight kiss, but
one never came.  When he’d kissed the top of her head instead and left her
to let herself through the door, she’d wanted to slam it in his face.  Out
of respect for Juanita’s home, she’d closed it normally and then stomped her foot
in exasperation once she was tucked safely inside the bedroom.

Even though the
bed was the softest she’d ever slept in, it had taken some time for her to fall
asleep, because she’d been so angry and confused.  Grey had pawed her like
an animal out by the pond and then refused to kiss her goodnight.  She
didn’t know what to think about the man, except that he could be a real jackass
sometimes.  One minute he’d kiss her and sweet-talk with words that
sounded as close to poetry as anything she’d ever heard.  The next minute,
he patted her head like a dog, being as careful with his actions as a naked man
climbing a barbed wire fence.  She suspected his quick change in attitude
had been the result of the stupid remark that Mexican ranch foreman had made
about that being their wedding party.

She jammed her
cowboy hat down on her head.  There was no use spending more time or
energy analyzing Grey Paladin.  The man was a mystery in more ways than
one, but she was determined not to let his wishy-washy mood bother her
today.  She was so close to making her dreams come true, dreams of a new
life.  Anxious to get started on this next leg of the journey,
exhilaration coursed through her body.

When she heard a
commotion near the outbuilding, she craned her neck around.  Grey drove
the buckboard wagon out, pulled by a big spotted horse.  The rattling
wagon was loaded down with sleepy whores.  As the wagon neared, she could
see they were still wearing the clothes they’d partied in last night, wrinkled
as the dresses were.  Some had tried to fix their hair and makeup, but
most didn’t seem to care about their appearance at this early hour.

One soiled dove,
however, looked rather perky.  She was a curly redhead whose merchandise
tumbled out of her pink bodice.  She sat next to Grey on the hard seat,
snuggled a bit too close for Josie’s liking. 

“Mornin’, Josie,”
Grey called from atop the seat.  He touched his finger to the brim of his
hat, as if he were a neighbor stopping by to say hello.

“What’s going on
here?” she demanded, frowning. 

He told the horse
to whoa.  “This morning, Juanita asked me if we could haul these women up
to Galisteo.  Apparently, Manuel got so drunk last night he stepped on a
pitchfork, fell backwards into a feed trough, and broke his foot.”

“Why can’t one of
the ranch hands take them?” Josie asked, not caring that Manuel the big mouth
had injured himself.

“Every single one
of ‘em is drunk.  Juanita’s letting them sleep it off, but she wants the
ladies out of here when they wake up.  We’re going right through Galisteo
anyway.  I told her it’d be no problem.  She said we could leave the
wagon and horse at the livery and stables, and she’d send someone up for them
later.”

Josie and the
redhead locked gazes.  When she scooted even nearer to Grey and batted her
lashes, Josie narrowed her eyes.  Grey apparently got the message, because
he moved as close to the edge of the seat that he could.  “Alright,” Josie
relented.  “We can hardly turn Juanita down after all she’s done for us.”

“I thought you’d
feel that way.”  When he winked, she turned away so he wouldn’t see her
smile.  That same shiver she was growing accustomed to when in his
presence shimmied down her spine. What
was
it about the man that made
her react this way?

  He jumped
off the wagon, sauntered to her and said, “My gear’s packed already.  I’ll
tie Lightning to the back of the wagon, and we’ll be on our way if you’re
ready.”

“I’m ready. 
Do you want me to lead Lightning?  I think he’d rather be trailing
Traveler than a bunch of loose women.”  She threw an irritated glance at
the redhead again.

Grey’s gaze
ping-ponged between the two women.  He chuckled.  “Lightning’s a
stallion, in case you’ve forgotten, Josie.  He likes the female
persuasion, and it’s been awhile since he’s been around any.  He might
enjoy their company.  Take a gander at the wild look in his eye.”

Josie took note of
the horse’s enlarged pupils.  “Maybe we should put blinders on him
then.  These aren’t the kind of females he should be keeping company
with.” 

Grey’s dark eyes
were full of mischief.  He’d obviously caught her double meaning and
decided to play along, teasing her.  “I don’t think my horse is that
particular when it comes to mating.”

She gulped and
felt her face warming.  “Well, if you ask me, he ought to watch where he
puts his pecker,” she snapped. “He’s likely to catch something real bad if he
ain’t careful.”  Jerking the horse’s lead rope out of Grey’s hand, she
jammed her foot into her stirrup, done with the game. Her bottom smacked
against leather when she sat her seat.

Grey laughed out
loud.  “I have a feeling we’re not talking about Lightning anymore.”

She buttoned her
lip before she said something she’d regret, and gave him her shoulder and
clucked her tongue.  “Yah!” she called.  Off trotted Traveler with
the white stallion on his heels.

“Hey!  Wait
for us!” Grey shouted, as he hopped into the wagon and flicked the reins.

* * * *

One of the wheels
fell off near some ancient Indian ruins, causing all the ladies to scream when
the back end of the wagon thumped into the dirt.  Josie had to hold in a
snicker when legs and arms flailed every which way as whores from the front end
slid into whores in the back corner. 

Grey shook his
head in disgust.  “Dammit!”  He leapt from the wagon seat and strode
around back to investigate.  Josie steered her mule over, with his horse
following.  “This is what happens when you do a good deed for someone,” he
mumbled.

“Looks like we’re
all taking a little break,” she informed the women.  “Crawl out and find
some shade, if you can.  This could take a while.”  She perused the
ruins in the distance and realized the kiva structures wouldn’t be much
protection from the burning sun.  At least the low walls would provide a
spot for sitting, or the wanton ladies could walk around and stretch their
limbs if they wanted.  Josie climbed down from the mule and tied him and
Lightning to the front of the wagon. Grey strode over to where the wheel had
rolled and lugged it back.

“Do you need help
fixing it?” she asked, while noticing he sweated up a storm.  Too bad,
since he’d looked so cool and refreshed when they’d left this morning.

“Nope.  I
know how to fix a wagon wheel.  Why don’t you go over and keep those
sporting women company?  They probably have a lot of stories to
tell.”  He hooked his thumb in their direction and rolled up the sleeves
of his black shirt, then pulled some kind of tool from his bag and knelt in the
dirt.

“I don’t care to
hear any stories those
sports
have to tell,” Josie replied, squeezing
her eyes into slits. When she took notice of his muscular biceps, her stomach
fluttered uncontrollably.  “How do you know I’m not an expert at repairing
wagon wheels?” she asked.

He glanced
up.  “Are you?”

She
hesitated.  “No.”

“Then don’t bother
me.  I’d like to get this done as fast as possible.  It’s hot as
Hades.”  He proceeded to ignore her and check the hub.

Josie
shrugged.  “Suit yourself.”  As she stomped toward the ruins, the
redhead was walking her way.  “Where are you going?” Josie asked.

“To sit with
Grey.”  The woman’s nose rode in the air as she passed by, and her wide
rear end wiggled with each step.

Grey? 
She
was on a first name basis with him?  Josie spun around and marched back to
the wagon.  “I’m back,” she announced, as she plopped at his feet. The
redhead leaned against the wagon on his right side, flirting with him.

He looked
up.  “I can see that.”  His gaze swung back and forth between the two
women.  They glared at one another like lions wanting to rip each other’s
throats out.  “Have you two met?” he asked.

“No,” they chimed
in unison.

“Josie, this here
is Violet.  Violet, meet Josie Hart.”   They nodded and grunted
hellos.  Both watched as Grey struggled to replace the wheel without the
proper tools.  Sweat poured down his face and rolled into his eyes.

“Let me wipe your
face, sugar,” Violet offered.  Leaning over, she pulled a hankie from her
cleavage and dabbed off the perspiration. 

Josie’s ire boiled
hot enough to scorch her veins.  The redheaded vixen wasn’t about to wipe
Grey’s face, or any other part of him!  “Get away from him,” she hollered,
scrambling to her feet.

“Beg your
pardon?”  Violet wrinkled her pert nose as if she smelled something rank.

“I said leave him
alone.  If anyone’s gonna wipe his sweat off, it’ll be me.  We’re
together.”

“Josie…” Grey
started.

“Tell her we’re
together, Grey!  Make her go over and sit with the others.  I don’t
want her here.”   Panic blossomed in her chest at the thought that
Grey might like this redheaded floozy more than her.

He threw down the
makeshift tool he’d been using and said, “Josie, calm down.  There’s no
need to get riled.”

Violet stared at
her with a little smirk on her face.  Josie glared at Grey and slammed her
hands onto her hips.  “Aren’t you gonna tell her we’re together?” 

He sighed and
wiped his face with his shirtsleeve.  “Let me get this wheel fixed so we
can get down the road before we all roast.”