Trail of Golden Dreams (25 page)

“On an adventure,
I guess.  They both seem to be all in one piece,” Grey answered, checking
their legs and hooves.  “Let’s get them inside.”

“Inside the
church?” she questioned.

He tugged on
Lightning’s reins and led him through the door.  “I don’t think God will
mind.  They’re His creatures, too,” he said with a crooked smile. 
“The sun will be up in a few hours.  They need all the rest they can get,
and so do we.  We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Josie shrugged and
led Traveler across the threshold while whispering in his ear, “What can I say,
boy?  He’s the boss.”

Chapter Sixteen

It was hard to
dismount; Josie’s thighs and bottom were so sore.  They’d traveled thirty
miles in twelve hours and, after nine long days, finally arrived in Santa
Fe.  Amazingly, they’d ridden the entire day without a mishap or natural
disaster, or without someone shooting at them.

Josie hitched
Traveler to the post outside the two-story adobe inn and reached into her bag
for the sweet grain.  Nothing in her saddlebags or Grey’s had gotten wet,
including Molly’s one hundred dollars, which had confirmed their belief that
the animals had fled to higher ground before the canyon had flooded.  She
gazed at the inn’s triple arched entrances as the mule slurped from her hand.

“Are you sure you
want to stay here tonight?” Grey asked, as he fed Lightning some grain. 
“We could probably bunk in someone’s barn for free.  I know a couple of
fellas who might still be around these parts.”

She pulled her
saddlebags off the horn.  “This is where we’re staying.  It’s pretty,
and I want a soft bed and a nice meal.  I have one hundred dollars. 
Remember?  Look out there.”  She gazed through one of the entrances
to an open courtyard where people sat in tables and chairs around a bubbling
fountain. The delicious aroma of onions and chili peppers wafted through the
air.  “I’m so hungry I could eat a bear.  I like it here.”

Grey
chuckled.  “Alright.  If you’re sure about spending your money this
way.”

“I’m sure,” she
stated with a firm nod of her head.  She had no intention of squandering
her cash on frivolities, but they deserved some comfort. Two rooms and a couple
of meals wouldn’t use up all the money.  Besides, tomorrow they’d find the
gold and both would have plenty of money.

“Why don’t you
take these animals around back?” she suggested.  “I see stables back
there.  Buy some quality hay for them and see that they’re bedded down
good.”  She dug into the saddlebags and slipped some greenbacks into his
hand.  “I’ll go inside and get us some rooms.” Josie turned on her heel
and then stopped and faced him again and reached into the bag and handed him
another bill.  “Get yourself a bath and change your clothes, and I’ll meet
you in the courtyard for supper in an hour.”

Grey narrowed his
eyes, but she could tell he wasn’t angry or upset.  “You’re getting bossy
again,” he muttered, attempting to hide a grin.

 “You should
be getting used to it by now,” she chuckled.  “See you soon.”

After passing
through one of the archways, her boot heels clicked across the terracotta tile
floor on her way to the reception area.  Slinging her saddlebags on the
counter, she requested two rooms for the night.  The Mexican clerk looked
down his long nose.  “We have only one room available,
Señorita
. 
Sign your name in the book, please.” A long fingernail tapped the guest
book.  Josie noticed he was missing his pinkie finger.

“Only one? 
But, I need two rooms,” she protested.

“Sorry, but we’re
full.  Only one room left.  I could rent you a spot in the stables
with the horses for one dollar if you’d like.”  He waited while she
thought it over.

What would Grey
think about them sharing a room?  Perhaps she should let him sleep in the
straw with his horse.  It wouldn’t be right for them to stay together when
they weren’t married.  But he’d gone through an awful lot, and he’d saved
her life twice.  Three times, when she counted him having to kill the
preacher and Mr. Bailey.

“How many beds are
in the room?” she asked the clerk.

“
Uno
bed,
Señorita
. 
It’s
mucho grande
.”

“Oh.”  She
considered the situation further.  Would Grey sleep on the floor? 
Even if he agreed, how could she make him do that?  She’d feel guilty
sleeping in a
mucho grande
bed alone.  Besides, he deserved a soft
bed as much as she did.  But she was the one paying for the room. 
She had the right to say who slept in the bed.  Her head spun.  Maybe
they should go to another inn.  Making this decision was too complicated.

The clerk drummed
his four fingers on the counter.  The door opened behind them and a couple
walked through.  The man stepped up to the counter and said, “One room,
mister, and be quick about it.”  He slapped some greenbacks on the
counter.

“
Señorita
?”
the clerk queried.

In a split-second decision,
Josie paid the man.  “I’ll take the room.  Is there a tub?  I
forgot to ask.  I desire a hot bath.”  The bath she’d taken at
Juanita’s had remained etched in her mind as a most pleasurable experience and
one she planned to partake in often, once she was rich and living in San
Francisco.

“
Si, Señorita
. 
I’ll have someone fill it immediately.”  The clerk stuffed her money into
a drawer and whistled.  A young girl appeared from around a curtain behind
the counter.  The clerk spoke to her in Spanish, and she rushed off. 
Josie assumed he’d instructed her to go fill her bathtub. 

“I’ll take a room
with a tub, too,” the other man told the clerk, smiling at his wife.

“No more rooms,
Señor
,”
the clerk informed him. “We’re full.”  With that, the man grumbled an
obscenity and escorted his wife out the door.  The clerk handed Josie a
key and told her where to find the room.

“How late can I
get supper in the courtyard?” she asked.

“Until ten
o’clock,
Señorita
.”

 “
Gracias
.” 
She walked down the hall, feeling proud about securing a room, with a tub to
boot!  It felt wonderful to have money in her pocket.  
And I’m
going to have a whole lot more once I get a hold of those gold nuggets. 

When she arrived
at the room, the door was open and the young girl was preparing the bath. 
“
Hola
,” Josie greeted.  She dropped her saddlebags on the floor
next to the bed and gazed around.  It was a small space, but very
comfortable and warm feeling. The one window was covered with a blue shutter,
and a bureau stood against a wall, while more red tiles lay underfoot.  A
kiva fireplace was tucked into the corner.  Exposed wooden beams spanned
the ceiling, and soft blankets covered the double bed. She was pleased. 

After handing the
girl a shiny coin when the tub was full, Josie locked the door behind
her.  She couldn’t wait to get out of her dirty riding clothes.  Once
they were peeled off, she stepped into the tub, sighing.  This was just
what she needed for her sore muscles and legs.  As she soaked, she gazed
over at the bed.  Her skin prickled at the thought of sharing it with
Grey. Her eyes drifted close, and she recalled the times they’d kissed and when
he’d touched her under her shirt.

How will he
react when he finds out we’re sharing the room, and the bed?  What will he
expect tonight?  What do I want from him?
  Her imagination ran
free. 

Nine days ago
she’d been a nineteen-year old girl who was inexperienced, lonely, and resolved
to the life she’d been dealt.  But she’d also been a girl who knew her own
mind, wouldn’t allow men to walk over her, and could take care of
herself.  She hadn’t had any money, but she’d always had pride and
motivation.  Like any girl her age, she’d fantasized of a better life,
though all her hopes and dreams had been locked deep inside. 

Now she was a
woman who was so close to making those hopes and dreams come true.  She’d
made friends with an Indian, outrun outlaws, experienced birth and death, slept
outdoors in the cold, and gone without food.  More importantly, she’d
looked into the eyes of someone who’d come to mean the world to her, and
realized she meant something to him, too.  She’d learned to trust a man,
and she’d let her heart be captured.  

Josie pictured
Grey lying next to her in that big bed with his body stretched out on hers, his
mouth covering her mouth, and them loving each other till the sun came
up.  Shivers raced through her body.  Thoughts of his fingers pushing
through her hair and his hands caressing every inch of her brought on tingles
that ran from the top of her scalp to the tips of her toes. 

She loved Grey
Paladin. When she first spied him on Cemetery Hill in Dry Gulch, she’d thought
he was an outlaw.  Never in a million years would she have imagined she’d
be making a journey with him and fall in love.  Scared, but willing to
take a chance at true happiness, she’d let the man rope her heart.

 “I love Grey
Paladin!” she shouted aloud.  Then she slapped a hand over her mouth and
giggled.  Her lips curved into a sly smile.  This was an easy
decision to make.  She’d share her bed with him tonight, and anything else
he wanted.

* * * *

Grey sat at a
table in the corner waiting for her.  When Josie entered the courtyard,
their eyes met, and she could see he was pleased with the way she looked. 
She’d brushed her hair until it shined and left it down to fall around her
shoulders.  One of Juanita’s dresses, a red one with a full skirt, sash,
and open neck, fit her body like a glove.  She’d even plucked a rose from
the garden and stuck it behind her ear like she’d seen Mexican women do.

Grey’s eyes popped
open when she greeted him with a soft, “Hello.”

She was pleased by
what she saw, too.  He’d taken her advice and gotten a bath, though he’d
obviously chosen to forego a shave.  Apparently, he’d remembered her
saying she preferred his rough cheeks to smooth.  He smelled like the
lavender soap she’d used in the stream the day he saw her naked.  It was a
wonder he had any of it left, it’d been so small.  His hat was in a chair,
and she noticed his dark hair had been trimmed and combed neatly, which meant
he’d been to a barber. Still dressed in black, as usual, his clothes appeared
to be freshly laundered and pressed.  He jumped up and pulled out a chair
for her.

“Thank you, Grey.”
His chivalrous action made her feel like a true lady.  When he took his
seat, his gaze raked her. 

“Josie, you’re as
pretty as the day is long.”  She smiled.  “And we’ve seen some
awfully long days,” he finished.

When she laughed,
he joined her, and she wished she could hold the image of the two of them in
her mind forever.  She smoothed a napkin over her lap and picked up the
paper menu, which listed six choices—all Mexican.  “Do you see something
you like?” she asked.

He was still
staring at her.  “Yes, I do.”

She cleared her
throat and smiled shyly.  “Grey, I meant, have you’ve chosen something
from
the menu
?”

“Oh!”  He
perused the selections quickly, shut the menu, and said, “I can’t get over how
you look.  That dress is…well…it’s…” His words trailed off.  It
seemed he had trouble finding the right thing to say.

“Red is a nice
color, wouldn’t you agree?” she said for him.

He nodded. 
“Yep.”

The waitress
approached.  She was a Mexican woman with full lips and even fuller hips,
who batted her eyelashes at Grey.  He didn’t seem to notice her, which
made Josie feel even more special than she already did.  He had eyes only
for her. 

“What will you
have?” the waitress asked, offering him a seductive gaze.

“Josie,” he said,
“what are you having?”

“I’ll take the
enchiladas and rice.  And a Sarsaparilla, if you have one.”

“I’ll have the
same,” he replied absently, “only make my Sarsaparilla a cold beer.”

The waitress
scribbled the orders on a slip of paper and then stood there, blinking her
eyes, as if she were waiting for Grey to pick her up and carry her into the
sunset.  When he didn’t bother to look up, she shrugged and walked away.

“Did you get the
animals settled?” Josie asked him.

“Yep.”  He
slapped the table with his hand like he’d just remembered something.  “You
won’t believe this, but I know the fella who works the stables here.  His
name’s Zachary Stamps.  We worked on the same ranch for a time, some years
back.”

Josie leaned
forward with her hands fisted under her chin, hanging on every word that came
out of Grey’s mouth.  “Is that so?  What a coincidence.”

“I told you I knew
a few men up here.  Anyway, I asked Zack where I could buy a good
rifle.  I lost mine in the flash flood, you know.”

She nodded,
remembering that terrifying day.

“He told me of a
gun shop in the plaza that’ll be open early in the morning.  He asked me
what I was doing here in Santa Fe.”

“You didn’t tell
him, did you?”

“Of course not,
but the question took me by surprise, so I mentioned I was going hunting near
Nambe and I’d only be around for a day or two.  Zack wanted to know what I
was hunting for, and he got a strange look in his eye.”

Her brow
furrowed.  “What kind of strange look?”

Grey glanced
around and lowered his voice.  “Well, he asked if I was going anywhere
near the falls, because if I was, I might not get up the trail alive.”

“What?”  She
gasped softly.  “Did he say why?”

“He said he’d
heard there’d been some rock slides up there recently.  He didn’t know if
they were caused naturally or if the Tewa Indians had put in some booby
traps.  He told me I might have to blast my way through if I planned on
getting up to the falls.  He said that’s where most of the elk are.”