Chapter 16
“That held us up for half a day,” Morgan growled as he set up camp.
“Those two are gonna get cold tonight.” Owen tried not to smile, and thinking about Stan helped with that.
Clive and Sly Duncan looked mighty foolish with the cuffs cut off their shirtsleeves, the buttons cut off their shirts, the pockets from their trousers, and a few inches cut off the bottom of each pant leg.
Morgan and the others had found razor-sharp edges hidden in all of those places, tucked between the folds of cloth and almost impossible to find if a person didn’t know they were there.
Owen had never seen anything quite like it.
They’d searched the two men’s clothes thoroughly, and that included checking some extremely personal articles of clothing.
Every button on their shirts and pants was made of metal, and their edges had been sharpened with a whetstone.
They all had to be cut off. They were wearing longhandles, and except for the sharpened buttons on the shirtfronts, their underwear was left intact.
And now they’d used up the day and had to settle in for the night.
Getting out of these mountains had become annoying.
Owen couldn’t stop himself from occasionally wondering if Roz—who was supposedly leading them to the nearest town—knew where she was going.
Still, she probably knew as well as anyone.
The land was so rugged, peppered with cliffs and canyons, that he’d be able to find his way out of here only by trial and error.
Morgan admitted he’d never gone so far into the mountains in this direction.
And between the slow trail, the escape attempt, and frisking their prisoners very thoroughly, they hadn’t made much progress today.
Of course, none of that could be blamed on Roz and her supposed knowledge of the mountains and the location of the town.
Owen made the decision to leave Roz to her guiding for a couple more days, and if they were still wandering deep in the wilderness after that, then he’d speak up. Time to try something else.
They ate in the full dark and settled in for the night. Again, Owen had to stand watch. Tonight Boone offered to help and declared himself well enough to stay awake.
Roz and Delaney offered too, but didn’t argue much when Owen turned down their offer. They were as exhausted as everyone else.
Owen sat up until Morg took over. As the two men passed in the night, in a voice lower than a whisper, Morg said, “I wonder where Tex got to.”
It was all there. Unspoken, but there. The fear that their friend had met with a deadly fate. Nothing of that was said out loud, for what good would that do?
Owen rolled himself up in his blanket and was asleep before any more dark thoughts invaded his mind.
Stella awoke to a vivid red sunrise. “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight.” Her ma often quoted that old saying as she woke to another day of living without a husband’s help. She said she’d gotten used to such a life, that it didn’t bother her much anymore.
Reading her own meaning into it, Stella wondered if life wasn’t easier with her pa and her brothers. When they came home, rough and growly after living in the wilderness, it was like having a family of ornery bears stop by.
Thinking about her family confused her. She loved her pa and her brothers, but being dragged into the wilderness life they loved didn’t suit her.
Despite the red sky, with the beginning of another long day that might lead to a reunion with her family, Stella was far from delighted. She dreaded what lay ahead.
But this wasn’t night. This was a sunrise, the morning. The rest of the saying was “Red sky in the morning, shepherd take warning.” She took that warning seriously. Still, it was a spectacular sunrise.
With a full belly for the first time in days, and whether a good omen or not, the sun rising in the east gave them the right direction to head.
She studied Tex—asleep near the now-cold ashes of the fire—and wondered how she’d ever get control of her life.
Not wanting to wake him just yet, she tried to move silently as she rose.
Only then did she remember her fall yesterday.
Every muscle hurt. Stifling a groan, she walked to the stream and washed the sleep out of her eyes.
They’d eaten every bite of the rabbit meat last night.
Now she had no real job to do, and there was no rush to get on with the day.
Gazing at the glorious sunrise, then turning to the downhill slope before them to the east, she realized that time didn’t matter much.
And the sooner they accepted that, the better off they’d be.
Tex’s eyes flickered open.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile. Her voice was a little scratchy, her eyes heavy from sleep.
He smiled back. “Are you hurting from your fall yesterday?”
She gave a little shrug. “Some new aches added to the ones the river dealt us. Nothing to slow me down.”
He nodded. “Might as well get going then.”
“I wonder how long it’ll be before we find our way out of here.”
“However long it takes, I reckon.”
“That’s the answer of a man who’s just too stubborn to moan and whine and complain. How am I supposed to do it if you won’t?”
Tex chuckled, then got to his feet to ready himself to hit the trail again. Within minutes, she was falling in behind him, not one bit interested in being left alone in the mountains in the middle of nowhere.
The next morning, Owen and the others were moving before the sun was up, and for once Roz seemed to be going somewhere, acting as though she had a destination in mind.
She took the lead, with Jesse right behind her.
Morgan was leading Sly, who still looked the fool with his clothes trimmed short and the buttons all missing.
Owen came next with Clive behind him, then Boone, then Delaney.
Marley brought up the rear, leading a saddle string of Duncan horses.
A wider spot in the poor excuse for a trail brought Delaney up to Owen’s side.
He preferred it this way. He told himself it was because he wanted Marley and Boone right behind Clive and himself behind Sly, but he also liked her company.
He remembered that kiss. He’d done his best not to let that happen again, yet he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
She leaned close to him, and it was almost shockingly pleasant. She spoke low enough that only he could hear her, and he was forced to lean even closer to her.
“We shouldn’t have left those horses at Roz’s place,” Delaney said.
Owen furrowed his brow. “We brought them along.”
“I don’t mean the Duncan horses. I meant Roz’s extra horses.
She had a few horses there beyond the ones she and Jesse rode.
I didn’t think of it at the time, but if the Duncans came after us on foot, and they kept following, they could find Roz’s place and get back on horseback. I’ve been fretting over it.”
Owen wasn’t the worrying kind usually, but this fact grabbed his attention. “You’re right,” he whispered.
He tried to remember just how many horses Roz had. They’d been wandering in and out of the woods on the edges of Roz’s mountain meadow.
“I remember a big old gray stallion, and there were two spring foals. So there at least had to be a couple of mares. Mustangs, one white and one chestnut, but there could have been more than that. Maybe there were two brown mares and they never stepped out into the clearing at the same time. I never thought to count them.”
Delaney said, “Roz didn’t have any more saddles. There were two in her barn, and we took both of them. Two bridles that I saw, too. We took them too. But they could rig a bridle with rope and ride bareback. I’ve wondered how tame her horses are.”
“Only two Duncans left. We have to figure now that they’re on horseback.”
Delaney nodded. “Stella and I talked some. She said there were seven, but we’ve captured two, Morgan shot Leland, and two of her cousins abandoned them after Leland was shot. Yep, there should be a pair of Duncans still after us—assuming she’s telling the truth.”
Owen doubted very much that she was. Why hadn’t Tex and Morgan captured the other two? After they’d grabbed the ones standing watch, they could have done it. Yet Morgan didn’t think he could get to them without shooting trouble, and he wanted to avoid that.
Owen gave her an admiring look. “You have really thought this all the way through, Delaney. We’d be wise to consult you every time we make a decision from now on.”
She gave him a perky grin. “Yes, you would.”
Owen couldn’t help but return her smile.
Then he started thinking again. “Boone and Marley need to keep a closer eye on our back trail.” He slapped himself on the forehead.
“It’s been all of five seconds and I am already underestimating you.
“You can watch our back too when you’re not up here with me.
’Course, it’s hard to watch when we’re winding through the woods. ”
“It’s been more woodland than open space since we started moving this morning. We should be well ahead of the Duncans. Still, we’ll keep watch.”
He turned to look at her fully. “Don’t hesitate to tell me what occurs to you, Delaney. I appreciate it.”
Her worry seemed to ease some. He wondered if he should mention how pretty she was.
But before he could pay her the compliment, she said, “I’ll drop back and have a word with Boone and Marley. Then I’d like to ride up here for a time. Neither Boone nor Marley are talkers, and they don’t like me talking either.”
Owen laughed. “I like talking with you just fine.”
“Even with all this madness, I’m glad I decided to come west.”
A smile bloomed on Owen’s lips. “I’m glad you decided that, too.”
“All my life my family’s been busy moving around, following after Pa or making our lives without him. I wonder if Pa will finally stop moving. He says he plans to. It’d be nice to have a real home, put down some roots.”