Lynna Banning - Dreaming Of A Western Christmas - His Christmas Belle / The Cowboy of Christmas Past / Snowbound with the Cowboy

“I hope we are stopping for lunch,” she ventured.

He did not answer, just dismounted and walked back past her a good thirty paces, studying the ground. Then he straightened and stood looking off toward the hills, his eyes narrowed. With a shake of his head he strode back to his horse and slipped the rifle out of the leather case.

Oh, she did hope it was another rabbit! She was so hungry she would eat it half-cooked. Or even not cooked.

But he did not raise the gun or aim it at anything. He just stood without moving, looking back the way they had come.

Suzannah shifted in her saddle. “What is wrong?” she called.

“Shut up!” he hissed. Still he did not move, and then he slowly raised the rifle, pointed it at something off to their right and sighted down the barrel. The back of her neck began to prickle.

Minutes passed and nothing happened except for the raucous cry of a crow somewhere over her head. She squinted her eyes and peered in the direction the gun barrel was pointed, but she could see nothing but scrubby brush and sparse clumps of trees.

And then she noticed a faint puff of gray dust far off in the distance. It seemed to be moving, and abruptly Mr. Wyler lifted his rifle and walked back to the horses.

“We’re being followed.”

Her body went cold. “What? Are you sure?”

He pinned her with a look that straightened her spine. “Lady, if I say someone’s following us, you can bet your diamond earrings there’s a rider on our trail.”

“But who is it?”

“Don’t know.” He swung into the saddle and positioned his horse nose to tail with hers. “Do you know who shot your driver, Mr. Monroe?”

“N-no.”

“Hate to ask this, Suzannah, but what did the wound look like?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Was there more than one shot? Where did the bullet enter? Was the flesh clean or ragged around the—”

The color left her face and Brand broke off.

“He was sitting on the driver’s bench,” she said unsteadily, “driving the oxen, and I heard a crack and he tipped over to one side and fell off onto the ground. I climbed down and...and there was a lot of blood. I dragged him to the wagon and I...I don’t know how I got him inside, but I did.”

“You see anybody?”

“No. I was inside the wagon when it happened.”

“Did you hear more than one gunshot?”

“Y-yes. Three, perhaps. Why are you asking all these questions?”

“Trying to figure out who killed Monroe. And why. Who knew that you were carrying a large amount of money?”

“Mr. Monroe did. I paid him in cash, in advance.”

“In private? Did anyone see the transaction?”

“I don’t think so. It took place at the bank in Independence.”

Brand nodded. “Pretty public place, the bank in Independence.”

“Could it have been Indians?”

“Indians would have whooped and hollered and probably taken the man’s scalp. And you.”

“Me!”

He leveled a scathing look at her. “Well, hell, lady, think about it! A pretty woman way out on the plain. Shouldn’t have to paint you a picture.”

“Oh. Well.” She was quiet for a long moment. “Then who do you think it was?”

“Had to be some lowlife out to steal some money. Probably followed your wagon train all the way from Missouri, hanging back until Monroe got separated from the others.”

Brand wondered why whoever it was hadn’t closed in on her and just taken what they wanted. Something must have scared them off—Indians, maybe. Now he figured whoever was following them would still be hanging back, trying to catch them unawares. Up ahead was scrubland, then the trail started climbing over rocky ground into the mountains. They didn’t have much time.

“Suzannah, think you could get that horse of yours to go a little faster?”

“I suppose so. How much faster?”

“We’re going to try to outrun whoever’s behind us.”

“But—”

“No time for but s. Come on.” He wheeled his mount and kicked it into a trot, then looked behind him to watch her. When he saw her gig the mare into a canter, he touched the black with his heel and broke into a gallop. He could tell she didn’t know how to run a horse full-out, because the mare’s hoofbeats flagged, then sped up, then flagged again. By some miracle she managed to keep up.

He prayed she wouldn’t lose her nerve. The trail started climbing, then veered into a section of large flat rocks. Her horse’s hooves clattered right behind him and he had to smile. She was probably terrified, but the girl was no coward. A kernel of admiration lodged in his brain.

They climbed up a mountainside so steep the horses began to slow and stumble. He shot a glance at Suzannah behind him and smiled again. Her face was white and set, but she wasn’t falling behind.

More rocks, and more struggle for the horses, and then the trail suddenly leveled out at the entrance to a cave. Bear den, probably. Or an Indian hideout. Didn’t matter. He pulled his gelding to a halt, dropped out of the saddle and waited for Suzannah. When she trotted up, he grabbed for the mare’s bridle.

“Whoa, girl. Easy, now.”

Suzannah’s breathing was coming in hoarse gasps. He waited until she could talk, then signaled her to dismount.

“We’ll hole up here,” he said.

“What? Where?” She leaned over the saddle horn, panting hard.

“In that cave. Horses, too. Hurry up.”

She slid from the saddle like a sack of wheat. He grabbed the reins out of her hand and led both horses to the mouth of the cave.

“Inside,” he ordered. “Quick.” He laid his free arm across her shoulders to hurry her up. She was shaking so hard she could scarcely make her legs work, but she managed to stumble to the cave entrance.

“It’s dark in there!”

“Yeah. Move it!”

She shrank back. “Are...are there wild animals in there?”

He gave her a little shove forward. “Only in the winter.”

She took two steps past the opening and froze, her eyes huge with fear. “But it is winter.”

“Keep moving,” he ordered. He maneuvered the two horses under an overhanging rock near the cave.

“Mr. Wyler, I do not think—”

“Right. Don’t think. Just do what I say, and do it quick. Get the saddlebags and the bedrolls and stash them inside.” He lifted off both saddles and set them just inside the entrance, then grabbed his rifle and a length of rope. Quickly he hobbled the horses, caught his saddlebag as Suzannah lifted it off and dug in the depths for two handfuls of oats.

The cave smelled musty, but it was clean except for wisps of dried grass here and there. Dark as Hades, but safe. When his breathing returned to normal he assessed their refuge.

He assessed Suzannah, too. She’d moved only a few steps past the entrance, and he could see that her body was still shaking. Her breathing was so jerky he thought she might be crying, but a glance at her face told him she wasn’t. At least not yet.

He moved forward and laid one hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be safe here. Not comfortable, maybe, but alive come morning.”

She just stared at him. “And what do we do in the morning?”

He thought her lips were trembling, but in the dimness he couldn’t be sure. “In the morning we’ll find out who’s following us.”

“And tonight?” she said in a small voice.

He hesitated. She was plenty scared, but she wasn’t crumpling up into a pile of jitters. “Tonight we count our blessings and give thanks to the god of caves. Then we eat supper and get some sleep.”

“Can you build a fire? It is extremely dark in here.”

“No fire. Can’t risk someone seeing the smoke.”