said.
âYes,â she said. âI wouldnât want Brideââ
At that moment the wagon began to rock again.
âShe canât get comfortable,â he said.
âGive her time.â
âYou know,â he said, âyou wonât be living in great comfort in Shasta. I mean . . . it is a mining camp youâre going to.â
âWe know that,â she said, âbut it will still be better than where we were.â
âI hope so.â
She pressed her cheek to his shoulder, then said, âI better get back to sleep. Iâll see you in the morning.â
âEarly,â Clint said. âIâll have some breakfast ready.â
âI look forward to it,â she said, âand a lot more.â
She went back to her bedroll and wrapped herself up in her blanket. Clint could still taste her on his lips, and he recalled the freckles on her chest. He wondered how far down they went.
*Â *Â *Â
Kemper stared out into the darkness, wondering why he had to stand watch. After all, they werenât being followed; they were doing the following. Ahern snored from his bedroll, and Kemper poured himself another cup of coffee.
SEVENTEEN
Clint had a fresh pot of coffee ready when the girls woke up, and some strips of bacon. He had to go to the wagon and give it a shake to wake Bride, whoâafter tossing and turning most of the nightâseemed to have settled down.
âTime to get up,â he called. âBreakfast is ready.â
âIâm coming,â she moaned.
Clint turned and walked to the fire, found Bridget waiting there for him.
âI must warn you, Bride is not a morning person.â
âThatâs okay,â he said. âIâve ridden with few people who are.â
âHere she comes.â
Bride climbed down from the wagon, stumbled a bit on the way to the fire. Bridget handed her a cup of coffee.
âI did not sleep very well,â she complained.
âYouâll get used to it,â Clint said. âHere, have some bacon.â
She accepted the plate, and sat down at the fire.
âWill we be getting to a town today?â she asked.
âProbably not,â Clint said. âUnless we come across a small one Iâm not aware of.â
âThere must be many towns in the West you are not aware of,â she observed.
âIâm sure there are.â
That seemed to make her more hopeful.
When they were finished with breakfast, Clint said, âIf you ladies will clean up, Iâll take care of getting the horses ready.â
âYes, weâll do so,â Bridget said.
âOkay, thanks. And make sure the fire is out. Pour the rest of the coffee on it, and then kick it until itâs out.â
As Clint walked away, Bridget noticed Bride looking at her strangely.
âWhat did you do?â Bride asked when Clint was out of earshot.
âWhat do you mean?â
âYou know what I mean, dear sister,â Bride said.
âI did not do anything, Bride,â Bridget said.
âIs that the truth?â
âIt is,â Bridget said. âDo you want me to swear on the Bible?â
âI do not want you to swear,â Bride said archly. âI believe you.â
âFine. Letâs clean up, then.â
âWith dirt?â
âYes,â Bridget said, âwith dirt.â
*Â *Â *Â
A mile behind them another camp was breaking for the day.
âDid you get any tobacco?â Kemper asked.
âI did.â He passed his partner some tobacco and paper.
âCan I smoke?â Kemper asked.
âWeâre still upwind,â Ahern said. âGo ahead.â
Ahern finished kicking the fire to death, then went to saddle his horse. Kemper made a cigarette, lit it, and started saddling his own horse.
âWhy donât we go ahead of them?â he asked.
âWhat?â Ahern asked.
âIf we know where theyâre going,â
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