Page 9

Chapter Seven

Z eke woke earlier than the others. The morning was nice and quiet.

As he watched the sunrise, he couldn’t help but think of Bernadette.

The black of night was pretty, for sure, but there wasn’t much to see beyond the moon and stars.

Come sunrise, however, the sky lit up. It would start out with darker colors like purples and blues.

Then the pinks and oranges would follow.

And before long, the yellow gave way to the pure blue color of the sky.

The colors were most striking following the darkness of night.

Zeke had seen plenty of pretty women in his time, but when he looked at Bernadette, it was like finding out what beauty truly was.

It was a shame all he could do was look at her.

It was even more of a shame that he would probably think of her every time he saw a sunrise.

A twig snapped, and he turned from where he’d been resting against a tree. Blaze would have been too quiet. Blaze knew better than to make a sound when approaching someone. So he expected to see an animal. Instead, Bernadette was heading in his direction.

He straightened up and gave her a greeting.

He thought she might pass him. Perhaps she was heading for the stream.

But, to his surprise, she sat next to him.

He glanced over at the others. They were asleep.

He didn’t dare hope she might be coming over to him because he’d caught her interest. He must remember that there was no way he could compete with Blaze.

“I can’t sleep,” she told him. “I figured I’d come over here. I don’t want to be with the others when they’re all asleep.”

“You’re more than welcome to sit with me. I’m just watching the sunrise.” He could only pray she didn’t detect his excitement. He forced himself to take a deep breath and then slowly released it in the manner his ma had taught him years ago. “I got to sleep early. I’ve been here for a half hour.”

“Don’t you get bored just watching the sky?”

He shook his head. “I never get bored watching a sunrise. The colors change as the sun gets higher. In all the times I’ve watched them, no two sunrises are exactly alike. That’s what makes each one a pleasure to watch.”

She looked at the sky and gave a thoughtful nod. “I suppose it is pretty. I’ve never noticed how many colors are in a sunrise, though I have noticed them in sunsets.”

“I enjoy sunsets, too, but there’s nothing quite like a sunrise.” And the comparison between her and the sunrise was even more striking with her being so close to him.

A long moment of silence passed between them.

He scrambled to think of something to ask her, but his mind kept coming up with the most inappropriate things, such as, ‘How is it possible someone as lovely as you didn’t find a husband back in Pennsylvania?

’ or ‘Do you think you could ever be content with someone who’s just a deputy?

’ And he definitely couldn’t ask her what it would take for her to give up Blaze.

Thankfully, she prevented him from having to come up with something by asking, “How long have you been a deputy?”

“Five years.”

“And you enjoy it?”

“Yes, I do. Ever since I was a kid, this is what I wanted to be.” He paused. “Well, I wanted to be a sheriff like my uncle, but for that to happen, he’d have to die, and I don’t want that. I’m happy just being a deputy.”

He wasn’t sure what she thought of that, but he imagined he hadn’t impressed her at all. Then again, how could anyone compete with Blaze?

“Do you go out a lot on these ventures to track down bandits?” she asked.

“No. To be honest, most of the time I’m needed to get a dog out of someone’s yard or to settle a dispute between neighbors who can’t get along. Once in a while, a fight will erupt in town, and it can get violent. My uncle usually intercedes in those situations.”

Probably because his uncle agreed with Blaze on his inability to properly handle direct confrontation. What he most wanted was to prove to them, and everyone else, that he could stand up in the face of danger and succeed. Maybe, with Blaze’s help, he could finally accomplish it.

He let out a sigh. “I really was trying to help at the canyon. I’m not saying that I can barge into a cave and take on all three outlaws like Blaze did.

But I was hoping I could free myself of the ropes and get you out of there while Bower and Big Mike were sleeping.

I thought we could sneak out of there without Squiggy noticing.

” He shook his head. “I worked on those ropes until my wrists were bleeding.” He glanced at the marks the ropes had left.

He wasn’t sure if they would become scars since some went deep.

She examined his wrists, and her eyes grew wide. “How long were you trying to free yourself of the ropes?”

“I started as soon as Bower and Big Mike went to sleep. I don’t remember when I ended up falling asleep, but I’m sure I was up for most of the night.

They might as well have tied my hands with chains.

” He rubbed his wrists as he recalled how much pain those ropes had caused. “Those men really know their knots.”

She chuckled.

He hadn’t meant that last comment as a joke, but since she laughed, he supposed it could be seen that way. He smiled. “Well, you don’t often come across men who know their knots like they do.”

She laughed harder, and his body warmed in pleasure. If only he could manage to be entertaining all the time. Then he would never feel alone.

“What are you two laughing about?” Lucas asked as he came over to them.

Zeke looked at the camp and noticed that Blaze and Gail were still asleep. That was good. He didn’t need Blaze to think he was trying to steal Bernadette from him.

“We were just thinking of how good Bower and his men were at tying knots,” Bernadette told Lucas.

Lucas frowned. “You think that was funny?”

“It wasn’t funny at the time,” she clarified, “but now that we’re here and they’re in jail, we can see the humor about the situation we were in.”

Lucas shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever find that funny. I was sick with worry about you.”

Bernadette rose to her feet and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry, Lucas. I never meant to dismiss all the worrying you did on my behalf.”

While Zeke wouldn’t want to be her brother, he did wish she would kiss him.

Ideally, it would be on the lips, but she could kiss him anywhere, and he’d be happy.

Pushing aside the thought, he stood up. Soon, it would be time to head out.

The best thing he could do while Bernadette and Lucas continued to talk was make breakfast.

Around noon, Bernadette washed her face in the stream. As Gail approached, she smiled. “The sand really picks up while we’re riding those horses, doesn’t it?”

Gail returned her smile and removed her gloves. “Blaze says that it only gets sandier from here. It won’t be long before we’re in the desert. I read books about the desert when I was a child. I’m anxious to find out how accurate those books were.”

“Do you miss Pennsylvania?”

With a shrug, Gail dipped her hands into the stream. “As long as I’m with Lucas, I don’t miss anything.”

Bernadette should have realized Gail would answer that way.

Lucas and Gail were starting to seem like one person.

The more time they spent on this quest, the more Bernadette noticed the two were inseparable.

Had Lucas not needed to relieve his bladder, she doubted Gail would be over here talking to her right now.

Bernadette’s gaze went to Blaze. He and Zeke were looking at the map.

Blaze gestured in the direction they were heading, and Zeke offered a nod.

Gail chuckled. “I would never have believed it if I wasn’t seeing it for myself.” She cupped water in her hands and brought it to her lips to drink.

“What can’t you believe?” Bernadette asked.

Gail finished taking her drink then answered, “I can’t tell for sure, but it seems like Blaze and Zeke are becoming friends. Have you noticed how Blaze has taken him under his wing? Lucas said Blaze has been teaching him how to shoot while throwing different distractions his way.”

“What kind of distractions?”

“I’m not sure. Lucas only said something about Blaze carrying a snake he’d just killed when they went out to practice yesterday.”

Bernadette inwardly shivered. So far, she hadn’t had the misfortune of coming across a snake, and she hoped she never would while they were out here. While in the cave, she’d had to deal with enough bugs as it was.

“It’s nice that Blaze can kill things like snakes,” Gail went on. “I bet that makes you feel better about being out in Arizona. The last thing you want is something like that making a home in your house.”

“I hadn’t thought of encountering snakes before, but thanks for the idea.”

Gail gave her an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. But you have nothing to worry about. Blaze can capture anything.”

Bernadette supposed there was that. If one had to be stuck in Arizona, it was nice to have a husband who could kill things like snakes—then carry them around to scare a deputy while the deputy was trying to shoot targets.

“Is something wrong?” Gail asked.

Bernadette didn’t feel like saying anything bad about Blaze. It was obvious that Gail thought he would make the perfect husband. However, she supposed she could ask Gail something while they were alone. “How did you know Lucas loved you?”

Gail’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“Well, I mean, I can tell he loves you. Anyone can tell that. He’s around you all the time, and he isn’t shy about touching your hand or kissing you. But when he was courting you, how did you know he loved you?”

“He told me.”

“He told you that right away?”