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Chapter Seventeen

B ernadette and Zeke made it to the camp just as the sun was dipping below the horizon that evening.

“I think I see our horses.” Zeke picked up his pace and went to the group of shrubs where a horse lifted its head.

Bernadette let out a relieved sigh and found a spot to sit.

Her feet were killing her. Poor Zeke had carried her part of the way since some of their path was rockier than others, but even his attempts to protect her feet had only gone so far.

Ignoring the indecency of it all, she pulled off her stockings and inspected the bottoms of her feet.

Just as she feared. There were a couple of blisters and scrapes on them.

“They left our horses and our things for us!” Zeke called out as he led the horses out of the shrubs. “Well, you don’t have your bedroll or clothes here, but you do have your boots. I guess the Red Ghost?—”

Realizing he had stopped talking, she lifted her head in his direction. His gaze was on her legs. Her face warmed. Zeke was looking at her legs in a way that made her entire body tingle in pleasure.

Mindful of her modesty, she shifted so that her legs were straight in front of her then covered them with her skirt. “What were you saying about the Red Ghost?”

He blinked then shook his head. “Right. The Red Ghost. Yes.” He gestured to the two horses.

“We have our horses. Now we don’t have to walk anymore.

The others also left us food and canteens.

We’ll have enough until we reach the next town.

Unfortunately, the only clothing you have here are your boots.

The Red Ghost must have run off with more than us and your bedroll.

Don’t worry. We can get whatever you need in town.

I have a little more money in my bedroll.

My ma always told me to keep your money in more than one place.

That way, you don’t lose everything at once. ”

His gaze went back to her legs, and though she was still covered properly, her heartbeat quickened in excitement. It was funny how she no longer minded his interest. In fact, it was rather nice.

“I’m looking forward to wearing boots,” she said after struggling to come up with something to say. Imagine her being at a loss for words around Zeke.

His attention went to her feet, and he frowned.

“That’s worse than I thought they’d be, but you’re in luck.

My ma always sends me off with some of her homemade salve with arnica in it.

After I let the horses take a drink, I’ll get some water and wash your feet.

Then I’ll put the salve on them. Come morning, you’ll feel a lot better.

You can wear a pair of my socks. That will keep the salve on your feet safe when you wear your boots tomorrow. ”

Surprised he knew so much about healing cuts and bruises, she asked, “Do you have to deal with wounds often?”

“Not really, but it helps to be prepared. As my ma says, ‘to be forewarned is to be forearmed’. You stay there, and I’ll be back soon.”

She offered a nod and watched as he took the horses to the small stream.

Since he was no longer looking in her direction, she lifted her skirt.

She inspected the bottom of her feet again.

Before she came to Arizona, she’d never been so sore.

She didn’t know why she thought life out here would be comparable to Pennsylvania.

Lucas had warned her that she wouldn’t have servants.

He had told her she would have to learn to cook and clean.

She had come prepared to do those things.

She just hadn’t thought the territory would be so full of outlaws that she’d get stuck making her way through a good portion of the state chasing after them.

But maybe this was for the best. Imagine if she had reached Hardyville without incident.

She would have married Blaze. She never would have met Zeke.

The initial attraction she’d felt for Blaze had been based on her awe of his bravery and strength.

The more she got to know him, the less awed she was by him.

She held no ill will toward him. He was kind.

But he didn’t love her, and, if she was honest with herself, she didn’t love him, either.

It was strange how her initial impression of Zeke had been one of disappointment, and yet, the more she got to know him, the more she realized he didn’t lack bravery; he simply hadn’t known how to best utilize it.

It was nice that Blaze had taken him under his wing and shown him how to direct it so that he was effective.

She had to admit, she was impressed with the way Zeke hurried to save her from the Red Ghost. Then he protected her from the men at Granite Wash Pass, and he led her here where they were safe.

She had no doubt he would get her to Quartzsite safely as well.

Her attention went to him. He was at the stream with the horses.

It might be nice to go to Flagstaff with him.

She’d get to meet the mother he spoke so fondly of.

She’d get to live in his home to do all the things she had thought she’d come to Arizona to do for Blaze.

She could see being his wife and having his children.

He would make a good father. She stopped her thoughts before they went even farther.

Look at her, planning out a future to a man who hadn’t even proposed to her!

She shook her head and turned her attention back to her feet.

Something was bothering Zeke, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The sensation had been tickling the corner of his mind, just out of reach.

He’d been experiencing this sensation ever since the group came across Faye.

That ‘something’ finally came to him as he slept by the campfire that night.

Wilson’s sister had been seen going to a town close to Flagstaff with a chunk of gold. Zeke recalled his uncle telling Lucas and Gail that when he first met them at the jailhouse.

As they were debating which group of outlaws had kidnapped Bernadette, his uncle had mentioned that Wilson’s sister had been seen at the bank with a small chunk of gold. That bank had been in the town next to Flagstaff.

Word spread fast when outlaws were involved, and the people were mindful to keep an eye on Wilson’s sister since she was connected to Wilson. The sister even went from one nearby town to another, going to churches and accepting all the help she could get.

But Faye had told them that she never took money from her brother. She even said she didn’t take money from any churches. “I don’t take anything I don’t earn,” she’d said. “I might be a woman, but I can take care of myself.”

Zeke’s eyes flew open, and he bolted up into a sitting position.

He should have remembered all of this the day he met Faye.

It wasn’t good for a deputy to miss something like this.

He might have inadvertently put the group in danger by allowing Faye to join them.

Either the woman with that chunk of gold had been Wilson’s sister or Faye was. Both women couldn’t be the same person.

“Is something wrong?” Bernadette’s voice seemed unusually loud in the silent night.

His head snapped in her direction. He had given her his bedroll to sleep in while he chose to wear his poncho for warmth. She was watching him, and from the looks of it, she wasn’t even tired.

“Have you been lying there awake?” he asked in surprise.

She nodded. “I can’t sleep. There’s too much on my mind.”

“Really? What?” She hadn’t mentioned that anything was troubling her while he took care of her feet and cooked their dinner.

“I don’t know how to talk about it.” She paused. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No, it wasn’t a nightmare. I was just remembering things. I now know why I don’t trust Faye.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she sat up. “Why?”

“Well, in my line of work, I have to know where the outlaws were last seen, where they might be heading, and who they might see along the way. Naturally, a sister is someone an outlaw might visit.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” she said.

“Did you notice that Faye says she never takes anything from Wilson?”

“She came out and said she won’t take anything from him. She doesn’t want to be connected to him.”

“Yes, that’s what she said. But my uncle, who is a sheriff, spoke with the sheriff in Walnut, and Wilson’s sister took a gold chunk to the bank in that town. She exchanged it for bills and coins.”

“Where is Walnut?” Bernadette interrupted.

“Just east of Flagstaff.”

“That seems like it’s a far way from where we found Faye.”

He nodded. “I think so, too. Faye was in a home. She had been there for a while. She doesn’t seem like a nomad.” He hesitated to explain what that was since Gail had gotten upset with him for explaining things to her that he wasn’t sure she knew. He paused and waited for Bernadette to respond.

“What’s a nomad?” she asked.

“It’s a person who goes from one place to another.

Kind of like what we’re doing right now.

” He turned toward her. “I don’t get the impression Faye does that.

I’m not even sure the woman we met is really Faye.

It could be some woman who claims to be Faye.

Faye is notorious because of Wilson. Anyone who knows who Wilson is knows he has a sister named Faye.

And while we know the name, very few of us know what she looks like.

I, myself, don’t know. The Wanted posters feature Wilson, not her. ”

“So this woman who goes from one town to another says she’s Faye?”

Zeke had to think over the question for a moment to make sure he gave her the correct answer. “Yes, she does. She tells everyone she’s Wilson’s sister and needs help because her brother abandoned her.”

Bernadette frowned. “That’s not the impression I get from the Faye we met. This Faye wants nothing to do with him.”

“Right.” He tapped the ground, barely noting the cool sand beneath his fingertips. “I need to warn Blaze. I doubt he’s ever come across anyone who can tell him what the real Faye looks like.”

“It doesn’t help that no one ever made a drawing of her.”

“Why would they? She’s not the one breaking the law. She just asks for people to help her. There’s no crime in that.”

“But how would she get a chunk of gold?”

He shrugged. “Maybe Wilson did give it to her. Maybe he does help his sister out.”

She seemed to consider the possibility and must have decided he could very well be right since she offered a nod of agreement. After a moment, she shivered and pulled the bedroll up to her neck. “I don’t like any of this. I wish people could just be who they say they are.”

“I didn’t say the woman we met isn’t Faye. We just don’t know.”

“It’s the not knowing part that makes this difficult. Wondering if we’re with the real sister or not only complicates something that is complicated enough as it is.”

She had a point. This did make things more difficult.

But he had signed up for this kind of thing when he became a deputy, and he was not going to shirk his responsibilities.

He had more than himself to think about.

His gaze went to Bernadette. He had people like her to protect.

He had people like Lucas and Gail to protect.

He had people like his ma to protect. And even if he wasn’t fond of a few people in Flagstaff, he had a duty to protect them as well.

A lawman didn’t discriminate when it came to justice.

All were to be given his best effort. When he saw Blaze, he would need to share what he knew about the woman going around central Arizona claiming to be Wilson’s sister.

“Don’t you worry,” he told her as he wrapped the poncho more firmly around himself to ward off the chill in the air. “I won’t let my guard down around the woman we picked up along the way.” He settled back on the ground.

“I know you’ll keep me safe.”

She did? He glanced her way. Her eyes were closed, and he realized that though she was having a difficult time falling asleep, she was giving it another chance.

He turned his gaze up to the sky and smiled.

It was nice knowing that she trusted him to keep her safe.

It would have been a good feeling regardless of who trusted him, but he had to admit it meant more since the trust came from her.