Page 44 of Wagon Train Honor
“I’m going to check on Bertie,” she informed Angela and slowed her steps while Ma and Gabe passed her.
Alice butted Ruby until she patted her head. Limpy followed, his tongue lolling out, and she bent to pet the dog.
Bertie edged aside his goat to be at Ruby’s side. “Why Robert bring his horses?”
“Because Gabe thought it too much work to do on his own.”
“He eat with us every day? Sleep with us?”
The same questions crossed Ruby’s mind. “I expect he will. Do you mind?”
“He Carson’s friend?”
“That’s right.”
“He your friend too?”
“I think so.”
Bertie nodded. “He be my friend too?”
She laughed and patted her big brother’s back. “Of course.”
“I like him.” He walked sideways to look at her. “You like him?”
“He seems like a nice man.”
Bertie laughed and clapped his hands to get his pets’ attention. He trotted away, Limpy and Alice at his wake.
Bemused by the conversation, Ruby slowed her steps. The whole entourage traveled at the oxen’s plodding pace.
In a few moments, the horses caught up to her. Robert called, “Might get dusty.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve dealt with dust. At least it isn’t smoke.”
“Sounds like a story.” He handed his lead rope to Walt, swung from his saddle, and, bringing his horse, walked beside her, urging her far enough away that they walked on grass rather than the dirt ground up by animals’ hooves and wagon wheels. “Are you talking about campfire smoke or something else?”
“A prairie fire. We were almost burned to death.”
He jerked to a halt. “What happened?”
She recounted how they were crossing the dry grassland when a fire threatened to overtake them. “We escaped when the wagons dropped into a small draw Joe didn’t even know was there.” At some point in telling the tale, she’d caught his hand and gripped it hard.
“God rescued you all.”
Was his voice deeper than usual? The words coming out fractured? As if he cared? Well, of course, he did. He was a Mountie, after all. Perhaps it was time to change the subject.
“I thought the men who brought the horses would help you get them to the fort.” Seemed the normal thing to do with that many animals.
“They were anxious to get back to their families.”
That made sense in one way, but still. It didn’t seem quite right.
Joe rode up the hill to the far side of the horses, pulled to a stop, and looked around full circle. It wasn’t unusual for Joe. After all, he was the scout and always alert for danger. His spotting the prairie fire so early enabled them to escape it. But there was something about the way Robert watched the man and the way his breath fired out when Joe moved on.
Narrowing her eyes, she studied Robert.
He developed a sudden interest in rearranging the reins in his palm.
