Page 40 of Mail-Order Lady

“I will.”

He lifted his gaze to hers, and wariness crept back in. “If you see anything on the road—anyone—you wake me. Don’t go past anyone alone. You wake me.”

She nodded hard. “I’ll wake you.”

He blew out a long breath. Then he handed her the reins.

The leather was warm from his grip and heavier than she’d expected. She settled the straps between her fingers the way he did it, the off rein wrapped once around her palm.

He sat there another moment. Not moving.

“Go on.” She forced an encouraging smile. “Get some rest.” If he would just lie down, his body would take over. She had no doubt.

He climbed over the back of the seat with stiff movements, like he’d pushed well past his limits.

She waited as he settled in his usual spot at the back of the wagon bed.

Bea murmured something as she spread a blanket over him.

At last he seemed settled. She turned her focus to the team, released the brake, and loosened the reins. With as deep a voice as she could muster, she quoted what Robert always said starting out. “Walk on.”

The geldings shifted forward with a lurch that she hadn’t quite anticipated, and she gripped the reins tighter.

She could do this. She was doing it.

The team settled into their walking rhythm, and the wagon rolled along the flat stretch of trail.

The horses responded to her commands as cleanly as they responded to Robert’s. The near gelding pulled left as he’d said. She kept the small pressure on the off rein, and the wagon held its line.

She glanced back once, quickly, just because she couldn’t help it.

Robert had folded himself into the space Bea cleared beside the supply crates. He lay on his side with his back to the rear of the wagon, his coat pulled up over his shoulder. His eyes were closed.

Bea sat near him with her hands folded in her lap and her dark eyes on Clara. She gave a single small nod, and that hint of a smile curved her mouth.

Clara turned back to the road and eased out a long breath. Maybe sleep would help whatever Robert was worried about.

They’d reach the ranch in three days, and all could settle back to normal. She’d be there to help Kate as time progressed toward the baby’s birth.

And Robert…how would things change with Robert?

He was her husband now. She, his wife. Things should definitely change. Shouldn’t they?

He’d told her nothing needed to. Marriage in name only, though he’d not used those exact words.

Yet driving this wagon, giving him the chance to sleep, finally being a helpmate and not simply a responsibility… This felt righter than anything had in so very long.

Maybe she could find a way to be more for him. A true friend. Yet…friendship seemed hollow compared to this yearning that tightened her chest.

More than a friend. She wanted to be…a partner?

Maybe. One step at a time. She’d have to figure out what that might look like.

CHAPTER 11

The cottonwood at the head of the lower meadow came into view a half mile out, and a little of the tightness in Robert’s chest unclenched.

He’d been seeing it in his mind for three days.