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Chapter Twelve

B ernadette held the bowl of stew in her hands as the group sat on the blanket to eat.

She was trembling too much to bring the spoon up to her mouth.

She’d thought for sure they were going to die right here in the desert when Faye—the woman who was eccentric enough to live out here all by herself—shot that scorpion into the air.

At first, Bernadette hadn’t realized the woman meant to hit the scorpion.

She’d thought she had aimed for Lucas and missed.

In that moment, Bernadette envisioned the next shot hitting Lucas before she turned her gun on the rest of them.

Bernadette’s life had flashed in front of her eyes, and there hadn’t been anything of interest that popped up in it.

Next to her, Lucas and Gail were eating, although they weren’t eating as fast as Blaze, Zeke, and Faye were.

Faye had taken off the hat and duster. She wore a short-sleeved faded green dress that had seen better years.

Her dark hair was pulled back into a braid that hung down her back.

She didn’t wear anything pretty. Her style was to be practical.

Bernadette couldn’t help but think it was a shame she didn’t at least try to look pretty.

But then, why would someone living all the way out in this rugged territory bother trying to be attractive?

Who, besides a stray traveler, would there be to impress?

“I can’t believe I met Wilson’s infamous sister,” Zeke said with a shake of his head.

“People talk about you a lot where I’m from,” he told Faye.

“Whenever someone mentions Wilson, you come up. Wilson is said to give you money to help you out, but others say you depend on contributions from churches and such.”

Faye frowned. “I don’t take anything I don’t earn. I might be a woman, but I can take care of myself.”

“Yes, we can see that,” Blaze assured her.

Bernadette studied him. Did she detect a hint of interest in Blaze’s voice as he spoke to Faye? He hadn’t ever used that tone of voice around her.

“How have you been able to make it out here all by yourself?” Zeke asked.

Bernadette relaxed when she realized he wasn’t interested in Faye like Blaze was. She didn’t know what she’d do if that was the case.

“I make things from animals,” Faye told Zeke. “Belts, hats, bags. Then I go down to the neighboring communities and sell them.”

“I didn’t think anyone lived from Prescott to Quartzsite,” Lucas spoke up.

“There are plenty of settlements in the area because of the mines,” she pointed out.

Blaze nodded. “Mines will bring people out.”

“They have those in Pennsylvania, too,” Gail inserted. “Back there, they mine for coal. What do they mine for out here?”

“Mostly copper and silver.” Faye lifted the spoon to her lips then added, “Gems for jewelry.”

Bernadette’s mind went to the necklace she’d seen at the mercantile in Prescott, and she had to push back the thought that she probably should have purchased it.

The necklace, in itself, had been pretty, but every time she thought about it, she remembered how poetic Zeke had sounded when he compared the turquoise gem to the blue in her eyes.

She didn’t think she’d ever find a necklace like that anywhere else.

She doubted the necklace would be there if she ever got back to Prescott.

“How long do you think it’ll take for you to get my brother and that no-good friend of his?” Faye asked after she placed her empty bowl on the spot in front of her.

“We’re due to get to Quartzsite in a week,” Blaze told her. “We expect to find them there.”

She snapped a piece off of her pemmican. “What makes you think they’re heading all the way out there?” She put the tough piece in her mouth and chewed it.

“Some people believe there’s treasure in Quartzsite.” Blaze gestured to Zeke. “We got a map of its location.”

“Treasure has to be there,” Zeke inserted. “Bower and his gang were going to head there once they were done getting the ransom for Bernadette.” He gestured to Bernadette. “Fortunately, she is safe with us now.”

Faye’s eyebrows furrowed. “And what happened to Bower and his gang?”

“We put them in jail,” Blaze said. “It was easy. They didn’t put up much of a fight. In a way, I was a little disappointed. From their Wanted posters, I had expected more from them.”

Bernadette recalled the fight that had broken out in that cave and thought there was nothing disappointing about it.

Bower and his men seemed to put up a good fight.

She was just glad to have made it out alive and unharmed.

If Blaze thought that had been disappointing, she wondered what it would have taken to make it worthwhile.

“Wilson and Lee aren’t going to make things easy,” Faye said. “If they’d had their hands on someone as pretty as Bernadette, she would have been raped so many times that she’d be dead by now.”

Bernadette’s eyes grew wide at the woman’s bold words. Next to her, Lucas and Gail stopped eating in shock as well. Even Zeke fidgeted uncomfortably.

Blaze, however, didn’t give any reaction to the fact that this woman spoke in such crude terms. He simply turned his gaze to Lucas.

“This is why we can’t keep stopping in every town we come across.

We’ll be lucky if we catch up to them at this point.

” His gaze then went to Zeke. “Now do you understand why I didn’t want to waste time in Prescott?

Unless they’re known to linger from town to town, we’re at least a day behind them.

We have to head out at dawn tomorrow, and we have to make good time. ”

“Take me with you,” Faye interrupted before Lucas or Zeke could pose an argument that Bernadette could see they were ready to make. “I helped raise Wilson, and I’ve known Lee since the two became friends at the schoolhouse. I know things about them that no one else does.”

“This could be a trap,” Zeke told Blaze. “She could be helping them.”

Faye glared at Zeke. “What makes you think I’d align myself with the likes of them?”

“Well, Wilson is your little brother,” Zeke said.

Bernadette hated to say it, but the same thought had occurred to her. What if Faye was lying to them?

“How dare you!” Faye stood up and gestured to her shack. “Go on and check it out. See if I have anything that makes you think Wilson or Lee have been here.”

After a tense moment, Zeke said, “I will check it out.” Then he set down his bowl and went to the shack.

“Those two won’t dare come in this area,” Faye told the rest of them, her tone leaving no room for argument. “They know if they do, I’ll shoot them. The last time I saw my brother, he was running off on his horse after I put a bullet in his right buttock.”

“You shot him in the butt?” Blaze asked.

“I missed,” she grumbled. “I was aiming for his back. The runt was too fast as he got on that horse. But that was five years ago, and I’ve gotten much better with my shooting since then.”

“Given the way you shot that scorpion, I believe it,” Blaze said. “I say we take her,” he told the group.

Bernadette couldn’t believe her ears. Since meeting him, Blaze hadn’t struck her as the type to blindly believe someone. He seemed far too guarded for that kind of thing. Zeke was the one who seemed more likely to trust someone without proof. But, in this case, Zeke was the one showing caution.

Zeke returned, and Faye gave him an expectant look.

Zeke sat back down and picked up his bowl.

“While I didn’t find anything suspicious,” he told Blaze, “I’m not sure we should be quick to make a decision on this.

No offense to you, Faye. It’s just that out here in this territory, it’s hard to know who can be trusted.

Do you have anything that can reassure us you won’t warn your brother that we’re coming for him? ”

“I’m letting you sit here in front of my house and eat my food,” Faye replied in such a matter-of-fact tone that one would assume that’s all the proof anyone needed.

“Well, yes,” Zeke slowly began, “and we appreciate your hospitality. However, this could all be a ruse to earn our trust.”

Before Bernadette had time to blink, Faye leapt at him.

Zeke’s bowl went flying through the air as she pinned him onto his back and put a knife up to his throat.

“If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it already. The fact that you’re still breathing in front of me proves I’m not trying to earn your trust.”

Zeke’s face went completely white, and Bernadette couldn’t blame him. She’d found Faye intimidating before. Now she was really afraid of her. Even Lucas and Gail were clutching their bowls and holding their breaths.

“She comes with us,” Blaze spoke up, not the least disturbed by what just happened. “We can use her expertise.”

Faye relaxed and returned to her spot on the blanket. She slipped the knife on a slit she had in her boot and sat down.

Zeke waited a moment then sat back up. He touched his neck and examined his fingers to make sure there was no blood on them.

“How did you learn to move so fast?” Blaze asked her.

Faye grabbed another piece of jerky. “I taught myself to be quick. People who aren’t quick end up dead out here. Your deputy isn’t ready to face off against my brother and Lee. They’ll have a bullet in him before he can reach for his gun.” She took a bite of the jerky and glared at Zeke.

“I don’t plan to confront them out in the open,” Zeke replied. “I’ll be hiding.”

“Anything can happen in the span of a few minutes,” she argued.

“One moment, you think you’re safe, and the next, a slight move of a knife can kill you.

I just demonstrated it. Who knows if my brother and Lee will discover your hiding place and sneak up on you?

If I can get to you while we’re sitting here in front of everybody, they can get to you while you’re crouched somewhere hoping to get a good shot in. ”

“She makes excellent points,” Blaze agreed. “We’re dealing with men who know what they’re doing. She’ll be an important addition to the group. I don’t care what anyone else says. She’s coming with us.”