By nightfall Allie’s bones were so tired she slid from the saddle when Wes finally stopped the horses.
He caught her and carried her to the stream’s edge. Wrapping her in both blankets, he watered and brushed the horses and built a fire without her help. He took the time to boil coffee and make flat bread out of the flour mixture from his pack. When he served her supper, it looked like a feast.
Allie ate all he handed her and drank the warm brown liquid in her cup. It tasted terrible, but she could feel the warmth running through her body all the way to her toes.
‘‘I’ve pushed you too hard,’’ he finally said as he watched her from a few feet away. ‘‘Why didn’t you say something?’’
‘‘Never mind,’’ he answered his own question. ‘‘I know why. You’re afraid I’d leave you somewhere along the trail if you complained.’’
Again, she didn’t answer. She didn’t see the need.
‘‘I’m not going to do that, Allie. I’ve nothing to offer you but my word.’’ He leaned back against a tree trunk. ‘‘Somewhere you have people, your people. I’ll help you find them.’’ He studied her closely. ‘‘Do you remember anything?’’
Allie shook her head. She remembered the boy in the field telling her to have a plan. She remembered her mother’s body in a pile of bodies. But they were dead. They could be of no help.
‘‘Somewhere you’ve got someone worried about you.’’ Wes yawned and set down his coffee cup. ‘‘I can feel it.’’ His eyes closed in sleep.
Allie stood slowly with the blankets wrapped around her and moved to his side. She cuddled beneath his arm and spread the quilts over them both.
I have you here,she thought, relaxing next to him. He was as close to family as she needed. Slowly, an inch at a time, she was learning to trust him.
Just before sleep drifted over her, a twig snapped.
Allie didn’t move.
Another snapped.
She stretched her hand to her boot and pulled out the knife.
A dark form slipped from one cottonwood to the other in the shadows by the water. The few remaining brown leaves on the trees seemed to smear his outline, concealing him as the wind shifted.
Straightening, she stiffened every muscle in preparation.
The intruder drew closer, shifting from trunk to bush as silently as moss spreading. With each passing moment, darkness played into his hand as the fire burned lower and the last rays of daylight faded.
Panic pumped through Allie. Should she wake Wes? Defend them both? Or run? If she made any sudden moves, the man would be aware she knew of his arrival. If he carried a gun, they’d both be dead before Wes could fire a shot.
Allie stood slowly as if wanting to warm herself by the fire. She circled until the smoke and flames danced between the intruder and her. In a blink, she was gone, vanishing into the blackness as if melting into the scenery.
Silently, she crossed between the trees. Watching every movement. Listening to the slightest sound. She could feel the man’s presence though she couldn’t see him. She could sense his nearness, layered in danger. The cold breeze against her face barely registered. She lifted her bothersome skirt above her knees and bunched it in one hand. Ignoring the brush scratches against her legs, she slipped through the night toward the stranger.
Crossing the undergrowth without a sound, Allie watched as the shadow advanced toward the spot where Wes slept.
Wes didn’t move. He had no idea of the danger he was in.
Allie circled behind the intruder and began to close the distance to his back. Raising the knife, she filled her lungs with air so that all her strength could go to the kill.
Just as the shadow stepped into the glow of firelight, Wes rolled to his knee, raising a Colt to point directly at the man. Allie lunged forward, her knife poised.
‘‘Wes?’’ the stranger managed to say a fraction of a second before Allie hit him from behind.
Her skirts tripped her final step toward him, sending her plummeting at him without control. The knife struck his back, but the blade was not true. It veered off his leather coat without penetrating.
The stranger stumbled forward as her body pounded against his.
Wes fired as they tumbled. Allie felt the bullet pass close enough to move her hair.
The stranger hit the ground with a thud. She landed square on top of him, pushing the air from his lungs.
With all her strength, she pulled away from him and raised the knife for another try. But Wes’s sudden movements startled her.
‘‘Allie! No!’’ he yelled.
She held the knife with both hands high in the air, ready to plunge.
‘‘Allie!’’ he yelled again. ‘‘Stop!’’
The man didn’t stir beneath her. If he had, she might not have listened to Wes’s words. Survival was so strong within her, it was hard to stop and listen to anyone.
Slowly she climbed off the stranger, keeping her knife ready.
‘‘Allie,’’ Wes said more calmly. ‘‘He’s a friend.’’
Without taking her eyes off the intruder, she backed toward Wes. When she was safe at his side, she lowered the knife, but didn’t return it to the hiding place in her boot.
‘‘Vincent?’’ Wes moved in front of her. ‘‘Vince? I thought you were dead.’’
‘‘Darn near made me so,’’ Vince Edward grumbled as he stood and wiped the dirt off a hopelessly filthy pair of pants. ‘‘I came in slow to make sure you were alone. I never figured both you and this woman would try to kill me. A knife in the back and a bullet through the heart, nice reception.’’
Wes replaced his Colt in the holster. ‘‘You don’t appear to be bleeding with that complaining, so no harm done. You should know better than to sneak up on a fire after dark.’’
‘‘I don’t know anything anymore. I thought I was safe riding watch before the stampede, but three men tried to kill me.’’ He limped closer to the fire. ‘‘They thought they had when they searched my body and took all my gear. But I was still breathing and, thanks to the stampede, they didn’t have time to finish the job.’’
‘‘But I looked everywhere for you.’’ Wes joined him. ‘‘I wouldn’t think a wrangler as homely as you would be hard to find.’’
Allie stared closely at the tall stranger. He was built wide in the shoulders and stood as tall as Wes. He looked like he’d been on the trail for several days, but even with the covering of dirt, she’d guess him a handsome man. Wes must truly be his friend to be able to call him homely to his face and the man not take offense at the lie.
‘‘I was hurting bad after they took turns beating me. They planned to kill me without a sound, but the fight I put up stirred the cattle nearby.’’ Vince rubbed his leg as if he could rub away the pain. ‘‘While they were trying to quiet their mounts and stay out of the way of a few hundred longhorns, I followed my grandfather’s plan of escape and hit the river. By dawn, I was miles south with a knife wound in my right leg that still gives me trouble.’’
He looked toward Allie. ‘‘Before I tell you more, don’t you think you should introduce me to your bodyguard?’’
Wes pointed with his head. ‘‘Vincent Edward, I’d like you to meet Allie. Allie, this is the friend who gave me the map for safekeeping.’’
Vince raised an eyebrow, waiting for more of an introduction, but Wes didn’t offer one and it would have been impolite to ask more. He tipped his hat to the woman who’d tried to kill him. ‘‘Nice to meet you.’’
Allie backed away.
‘‘She doesn’t talk much,’’ Wes answered for her. ‘‘I’m helping her find her family.’’
Vince straightened suddenly. ‘‘I almost forgot. When I missed you at your brother’s by a few hours, he handed me a letter to bring you.’’ Vince disappeared into the darkness, then reappeared, pulling his horse.
He flipped the cover on his saddlebag and handed Wes an envelope. ‘‘Adam said this was one strange letter and maybe you should take a look at it before you head toward your treasure at Goliad.’’
Wes turned the brown envelope over in his hand then leaned down to his saddlebags resting by the tree. ‘‘I need to give you back the map. Now that you’re alive, it’s no longer my treasure.’’
Vince raised his hands, unwilling to even touch it. ‘‘No, thanks.’’ He backed away. ‘‘That treasure has caused me enough trouble. I promised myself that as soon as I found you, I was heading home. The map is all yours.’’
