Page 11 of Wagon Train Honor
“My ma thought so.”
Their gazes held as they laughed together.
With steps as unhurried as those bringing them here had been rapid, they made their way through the dark green trees.
She stopped and caught his arm to slow him. “Doesn’t this smell wonderful?” Tilting her nose upward, she inhaled deeply, eyes closed and an expression that spoke volumes about her enjoyment. Her chin came down. Her eyelids popped open. “You can smell it, can’t you?”
“Of course. It’s pine and decaying leaves.”
“Yeow. That sounds terrible.” Her nose wrinkled in a most fetching way.
“Not at all. To me, it smells like rich soil. The kind that would produce bumper crops.” His sigh maybe said more than his words, revealing his deepest hope. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she nodded.
“I hadn’t thought of it like that.” With a slight kick, she disturbed a pile of fallen leaves. “It is kind of a pleasant smell.”
“The best.” His shoulder angled against the nearest tree as they studied one another.
A soft chuckle whispered from her. “Look at that. We almost have something in common. I like the flowers. You like the soil.”
“Almost?” No, he wasn’t going to start echoing her again. “I’d say we almost have something else in common.”
Her raised eyebrows encouraged him to continue.
“Yup. You like drawing, and I like watching you do so.”
Her chuckle erupted into laughter that sent birds rushing from the trees, disturbed by the sound. Quite unlike his reaction. “I could listen to you laugh all day.”
He could listento her laugh all day! Did he really say that? Ruby pressed her lips together and knelt beside the decomposing leaves, pretending an interest she didn’t feel. Just because she’d been forced to agree to this man accompanying her was no reason for him to think it meant anything more. There was no need for him to take advantage of the situation.
Yet…
Fine. Yes, she’d enjoyed his company, at least part of the time. It was mildly reassuring to know someone paid attention to their surroundings while she lost herself, like he said, in her efforts to capture every detail of the flowers in her sketchbook. And she was grateful he’d shown her the orchids.
“I never thought to see orchids in Canada.”
He squatted beside her and ran his fingers through the rich soil, as he called it. “Not many realize there are some here. The Cypress Hills are an unusual formation. It’s the highest bit of ground between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.” He lifted a handful of the soil to his nose and inhaled the scent. “Remember that scientist fellow I said was around? An interesting man but a bit strange. He said the evidence supported the idea that the area had never been touched by glaciers.” He let the dirt sift through his fingers. “Of course, I had to take his word on the matter because I know nothing about such things.”
“I could learn all sorts of wonderful information from such a man. I wish I could have met him.”
Robert dug his fingers into the soil again. “Because he was a scientist or because he was strange?”
“Not because he was strange, silly.” She gave him a little push, which put him off-balance. Or else he pretended it did. And he fell to the forest floor, his legs jutting out like stilts.
He righted himself. “Haven’t I shown you something wonderful and amazing?”
Was his injured tone real or not? She couldn’t tell. But to be on the safe side, she better mollify him. “I thank you, again, for showing me the orchids.”
“There’s lots more I can show you.” He leaned close enough she could see how large his pupils were.
Because it was getting dark!
“I need to return and help Ma.”
On his feet, before she finished speaking, he held out a hand and pulled her upright. He didn’t release her hand, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, she didn’t pull free. They looked at each other, their faces shadowed by the fading light.
With a start, she put a step between them. “Ma will be wondering?—”
“Indeed. I must get you back.”
