Chapter Two
Bonnie Thatcher leaned forward in the saddle, staring at a part of the Washita River that could drown a man, and eyed the deep water.
“River ain’t too deep here,” Dallas Griffin called out from the other side of the river. “Only up to a cow’s neck. Deep enough, though, if you’re scared of water?—?”
“I ain’t scared of no water!” Bonnie barked.
She was lying through her teeth. The truth was, she didn’t know how to swim a lick. Didn’t matter if the water was over her head, up to her chest, or just touching her hips—rivers scared her. If she couldn’t see the bottom, she didn’t want to get anywhere near it.
Never know what’s under the water… but at least the current ain’t moving fast.
Bonnie focused on the cattle. Dallas was across the river, preparing to move the herd out of the water.
All she had to do was gently push the herd out from her end.
Easy work. Nothing to it. The herd was enjoying a nice cooldown from the heat.
Once they moved out of the river, they’d drive them up to the camp and settle down for the night.
Only, I ain’t wanting to go into that river.
She’d only been on the trail for a day. She had met up with Dallas after escaping from Roscoe Carver.
Escaping had been dangerous. Dallas had quit working for him a week back.
When Bonnie had seen him in Caldwell, she’d told him that she was one of Roscoe’s ranch hands.
Not that pretending to be a man was easy.
She’d had to chop off her hair, and she always kept her coat on, the collar pulled up over her neck, whether it blazing hot or not.
She also wore a brown bandanna over her mouth.
“Name’s Brandon. Got shot when I was young’un…
lip is all torn up. Don’t like nobody to see,” she’d said in a voice that sounded like a sick boy rather than a grown man.
“I quit Carver,” she’d continued, standing outside of the general store while her horse took a drink from a trough. “Where you riding to?”
“Ran into a friend, Ace Carter. He got work from Henry Mayberry. Know him?”
“Henry Mayberry owns a large spread over in Brown Hills, right?”
“Yeah, he owns a real good spread. Hired Ace to run cattle up to Wichita. Ace needs some hands. Didn’t see fit to be working for a snake like Roscoe Carver no more. Wish I’d never took on with him to start with.”
“Think he could use any more extra hands?”
“Wouldn’t hurt to ask. He’s got the herd up in North Rock. We can ride and catch up. Told him I needed a day or so to rest before I joined up. I ain’t no young bull no more.”
“I’ll ride on up to North Rock and wait for you, then.”
Bonnie had known Roscoe would be looking for her. He’d killed her best friend, Rosalind—shot her down when he found out she was hiding Bonnie.
He promised to kill me if I ever tried to escape again.
Bonnie stared at the river. She’d waited for Dallas to show up in North Rock. Ace hadn’t been there, but they’d managed to catch up to him yesterday in the northern part of the state. Dallas had vouched for ‘Brandon,’ and that had seemed to be enough for Ace, who’d told her to ride drag.
He barely said two words to me. Ain’t seen much of him since.
When Bonnie saw a man step out of the trees close to where Dallas was sitting on his horse, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “Dallas!”
Dallas went for his gun, but on the slow side. “Hold it, mister!”
The man raised his hands. “I ain’t no threat! Done ran up some fellas upriver. Just looking for my mule, old-timer.”
“Saw a mule some time back.” Dallas pointed in the direction he’d seen the mule with his gun.
“Mighty grateful. I’ll be moving on.”
Bonnie watched the man trudge on without making a fuss, her heart racing. She’d thought the stranger was Jack for a minute.
She struggled to calm down. Jack is Roscoe’s best hand—and he can track snake across a desert. If Roscoe finds me, he’ll kill me as sure as I’m sitting here.
“You sounded mighty worried, Brandon!” Dallas called across the river. “That fella ain’t nothing but a drifter.”
Bonnie’s eyes followed the man carefully as he drifted away. She was certain Dallas knew she was a woman, but he hadn’t let on yet.
He’s too old to be a fool. He knew from the moment we met up back in Caldwell.
He’d seemed surprised to find ‘Brandon’ waiting for him in North Rock.
I expect he thought I’d ride on.
“We best get the herd moving!” she called to Dallas.
Even as she said it, Bonnie felt her heart sink.
She didn’t want to drown. Her clothes were dirty, along with the rest of her.
She wasn’t as strong as a man, and riding in the saddle all day was hard on her.
Keeping up with the rest of the men was a struggle, too, and sometimes, all she wanted was a pretty dress and a soft bed—not to mention a bath.
Pa might’ve raised me up like I was a boy—and I’m just as rough, too—but I’m still a woman, dagburnit.
Bonnie feared her attempts to disguise herself was futile at best. Dallas obviously saw right through her lies, clear as day, but what about the others?
Did Ace suspect her? She made her voice as low and deep as possible, her full lips covered.
She wore her dusty brown hat low over her eyes to hide her long lashes.
Everything about a woman was different from a man: her face, the shape of her body, the pitch of her voice—even the way she walked could give her away if she wasn’t careful.
Yes, her trail clothes were baggy enough to hide her curves… but when she had to do her business, she couldn’t just go squat behind a tree the way a man did—goodness gracious, no—she had to slip off and take care of it without anyone seeing.
Soon or later, folks are gonna figure it out. I better worry about that later.
Right now, she needed to focus on getting the herd across the river without drowning.
Bonnie eased her horse forward. “Easy, boy… nice and easy…” Slowly and carefully, she guided her horse into the river. “That’s it… that’s?—?”
Bonnie’s voice was cut off when her horse stepped off a shallow spot and sunk down into a deep trench. River water rushed up over her lap.
Panic immediately set in. She let out a very unmanly shriek and yanked back on the reins so hard that the horse let out a high-pitched whinny and reared.
The next thing Bonnie knew, she was flying from the hot saddle and splashing into the river. She sank down to the muddy bottom like a rock before bolting upward. Her head broke the surface, but her mouth was full of water. She began choking.
“Help! Help me?—?!”
“Water ain’t even over your head—just stand up!” Dallas hollered.
But Bonnie was in a full-blown panic. In her mind, there was a watery abyss below her. She kicked her legs, convinced that she was dying. She felt her foot connect with something and vaguely realized that she’d kicked a steer when the steer bellowed and lunged away from her.
“Calm down, dern it!” Dallas yelled. “You’re panicking the beef!”
Her head went back underwater for a few seconds, but before she could cry out for help again, a hard hand grabbed her arm and yanked her up so hard, she shot out of the river like a bullet.
“Stand up!” Ace yelled. “Water is only up to your chest!”
Bonnie struggled to hold onto Ace’s arm as her legs fought to find ground. Her boots landed on a muddy platform that, to her relief, felt stable enough to stand on. Didn’t matter. She was still choking on water and gripped with panic. “Don’t let go?—?”
“Come on!” Ace dragged Bonnie out of the river as Dallas calmed the herd. “Can’t you swim?”
Bonnie stumbled over to a tree and began to retch, spewing water.
“Leave him be, Ace,” Dallas called. “Ain’t no shame in not knowing how to swim. Lots of fellas can’t get across a river when the water is deep!”
Ace was staring at Bonnie through narrowed eyes, obviously annoyed.
Bonnie fought to deepen her voice while checking the bandanna over her lips. “I’m okay…” Luckily, her hat had stayed on.
Mighty glad it’s got that strap that goes under my chin.
“We’re not even into the Oklahoma Territory yet,” Ace growled.
“We’ll get there soon, Ace. Just calm your bullets,” Dallas said. “I’ll get the cattle to the camp.”
Bonnie tried to hide her shock at hearing Dallas get tough with the trail boss. “I’m okay—just don’t like deep water, is all. I’ll help Dallas with the cattle.”
“See that you do,” Ace grunted and looked at Dallas strangely. “Camp ain’t too far up. Finn and Clyde got coffee and beans going.”
“Sure could use a good cup of coffee, Ace. Me and Brandon will get the herd moving. At least the river cooled them down good enough.”
“Yeah, coffee sounds good,” Bonnie mumbled as her horse stumbled onto the riverbank, shaking its head and sending water flying into the air. She rushed over and mounted up, murmuring to soothe the grumpy animal. Then, she set about pulling the herd together in the rear while Dallas took the front.
To her dismay, Ace didn’t ride off the way she’d expected.
“I best stay with the herd,” he said when he saw her looking at him.
What a mess. She’d nearly drowned. Her hat and bandanna might’ve stayed in place, but the wet fabric of her clothes was clinging to her body, showing far more of her curves than she’d like.
If Ace finds out I’m a woman, he’ll run me off for sure, and I need to stay with this pack for now. They’re a safe ride all the way up to Wichita. Roscoe won’t be thinking I hitched up with a cattle drive.
Bonnie struggled to calm her pounding heart, keeping any stragglers in check as Dallas led the herd up to the camp. When they finally arrived, she glanced over to see Ace wearing a deep frown. But he didn’t say anything else about the incident.
“Good clearing over there. We’ll settle the herd down,” Ace said. “Finn and Clyde will pull first watch. You and Brandon take the second watch, Dallas. I’ll handle the last.”
And that was that—at least for the time being.