to work a little harder; he had to breathe a little deeper.
The timberline was below them. Above were a series of steep slopes littered with treacherous talus and dotted with boulders. The ping of metal horseshoes on rock was constant as their animals strained to defy the cant, and gravity.
Nate was in the lead. They had been climbing for hours when he came to a shelf and drew rein to await the rest.
Edwin Ryker was close behind. He swung his sorrel in next to Nate’s bay and idly scratched the scar where his left ear had been. “We need to talk.”
“Flap your gums but keep it short.” Nate was keeping an eye on Erleen Woodrow. Her mare was giving her trouble. It didn’t help that Erleen wasn’t much of a rider.
“What do you expect to get out of this? They are paying me a hundred dollars, and I’ll be damned if I will share.”
“Did I ask you to?”
“Not yet.”
Nate shifted his gaze from the struggling mare to Ryker. “I have no interest in their money.”
“Then why put your life in danger for a bunch of strangers?”
“They need help.”
“That’s it?” Ryker snorted. “I never took you for the noble type. Your son certainly isn’t.”
Nate placed his hand on one of the .55-caliber flintlocks tucked under his leather belt. “Insult me or my son again and you will find out exactly how noble I’m not.”
“Sheath your claws,” Ryker said quickly. “I have nothing against you. But we’re different, you and me. I’d never help these yacks if they weren’t paying me. They are sheep waiting to be slaughtered.”
“You don’t care about anyone but yourself, is that how it goes?”
“I make no bones about how I am.”
“Says the man who helped my son escape from men who were out to kill him. You are not the ogre you would like us to believe.”
Ryker laughed. “I don’t give a good damn what anyone thinks. As for your son, I helped him to spare my hide. There was a chance he might have gotten away on his own and come after me later. I didn’t want that. Your boy is a holy terror when he is out for blood.”
Nate opened his mouth to dispute it but didn’t. Ryker was right. Zach
“So tell me. Are you thinking what I am thinking about Sullivan and his family?” Ryker asked.
“There’s a chance they are still alive.”
“You know better. It has been more than a year since anyone heard from them. We’ll find bones if we find anything, and then only if we find the valley and their cabin.”
“Do you always look at the bright side?”
Ryker laughed again. “I like you, King. For a mountain man you would make a fine schoolmarm.”
The mare was floundering. Stones and dirt cascaded from under her scrabbling hooves as she sought to keep her balance. Erleen leaned well back, the reins taut in her white-knuckled hands.
Cupping a hand to his mouth, Nate hollered, “Bend forward, over the saddle!”
“See what I mean about yacks?” Ryker said. “These infants don’t even know how to ride.”
“Bend forward!” Nate shouted again, and this time the woman listened. Almost immediately, the mare regained its footing and laboriously climbed the final twenty feet to the shelf.
“Praise God!” Erleen exclaimed. “I thought for sure I would take an awful fall.”
Ryker winked at Nate. “See what I’ve had to put up with?”
“How much farther to the pass?” Erleen asked.
“Another hour yet.” Nate checked the rest, but no one else was in trouble. Peter was a fair rider. The four youngsters did better than their parents, but none of them could compare to Aunt Aggie, who controlled her mount with superb skill. “That sister of yours can handle herself.”
“Agatha? Well, she is older than me by almost twenty years.” Erleen fiddled with her bonnet. “Our folks had nine children. She was the eldest, and I was the youngest.”
Ryker said, “One kid would be one too many for me. Brats at ten are brats at twenty, and I can do without the aggravation.”
“Must you be so crude, Mr. Ryker? I have asked you before to be civil, and it would delight me greatly if you would at least try.”
“What are you in a huff about? All I said was that most kids are brats.”
Peter joined them, then the girls, then Fitch and Harper. Last to reach safety was Aunt Aggie. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were twinkling with excitement. She brightened even more when Nate complimented her riding.
“Thank you, kind sir. It is unfortunate you have a wife. My third husband died on me five years ago and I have not come across a likely replacement.”
Erleen colored from neckline to hairline. “Is there no end? Have you no modesty or decorum? And in front of Anora and Tyne, no less.”
“That’s all right, Mother,” Anora said. “We don’t mind. We like Aunt Aggie.”
“She is the best aunt ever,” Tyne agreed.
“Agatha can be charming, I grant you,” Erleen responded. “But she can also be as crude as Mr. Ryker, and I would rather she doesn’t influence you with her sinful ways.”
“Oh Lord,” Aunt Aggie said.
“Don’t take that tone with me, sister. Three husbands is two too many. You always have been too lax when it comes Tomen and your tart tongue.”
“I should hope so,” Aunt Aggie said.
Since Peter was imitating a lump of clay, Nate held up a hand. “Enough, ladies. I don’t care to listen to you bicker every foot of the way.”
“Oh, this is normal for us,” Aunt Aggie said. “My little sister has always thought she is better than I. She never passes up an opportunity to point out my flaws.”
“You are impossible,” Erleen said.
Peter finally stirred. “You heard Mr. King.”
Nate reined the bay around. Other than pockets of scrub brush and a few small boulders, the next slope presented no problems. He twisted to mention to the others to be sure to string out in single file, and happened to glance past them at the forest below.
It took a few seconds for Nate to realize what he was seeing. Then he blinked and it was gone.
Ryker was next to him, and asked, “What was that look on your face just now?”
“Have you seen sign of anyone following you since you hooked up with the Woodrows?”
“No. Why do you ask?” Ryker twisted to scan the lower slopes. “Is someone trailing us?”
“At least one.”
“White or red?”
“He was too far off, and in the shadows.”
“So it could be either.” Ryker scowled. “Damn. And here I thought I was doing a good job of keeping them safe.”
“I thought you didn’t care about anything except the money.”
“They can all be scalped for all I care,” Ryker snapped. “I’m only thinking of my reputation. People aren’t going to want to hire me for a guide if I go and get some of them killed.”
“Be careful, Edwin.”
“Huh?”
“I’m beginning to like you.”
“Go to hell.” Ryker jabbed his heels and rode on.
Chuckling, Nate stayed where he was and motioned for the rest to go on by him. Peter nodded as he went past. Erleen smiled. Aunt Aggie drew rein.
