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“Possibly, but I think as long as we stay on the road, we’ll be fine.” Theo squinted his eyes, as though he was trying to look into the distance through the inky darkness that surrounded them.
“I think there’s a town about an hour ahead. Let’s stop there and get an early start in the morning.”
“Okay,” Rena said, continuing to drive the team until Theo pointed to her left.
“There’s a meadow there with trees surrounding it, and the river isn’t far. It’s a good place to rest.”
Rena guided the wagon beneath a canopy of trees on the outskirts of a tiny town she’d passed through when she had ridden Scout to Holiday.
Now that they were on their way home, with all the dynamite packed into crates behind them, Rena just wanted the trip to be over. The responsibility of getting the explosives safely to the mine pressed on her until she felt like her back might break beneath the weight of it.
“You sleep awhile. I’ll keep watch,” Theo said, shifting more comfortably on the seat once she’d stopped the wagon.
Rena slid down beneath the seat, used the wrapped parcel from Maggie’s shop as a pillow, and went to sleep the moment she closed her eyes.
When she awakened, it was still dark out, but the moon had moved across the sky. She rolled out from beneath the seat and looked up to find Theo glancing down at her.
“Sorry I woke you. I about fell off the seat.”
She laughed softly. “Sorry I missed seeing that. You ready to go?” she asked, sliding out of her makeshift bed and standing.
“Sure. Since we’re both awake, we might as well head out. At this rate, we might even make it to the mine by this evening.”
“If we do, I sure won’t complain to have this trip behind us.” Rena hopped off the wagon. “Just give me a minute.”
Without waiting for Theo’s reply, Rena headed further into the trees to answer nature’s call and was on her way back to the wagon when she felt like she was being watched. She heard something breathing and had no idea if it was man or beast. Frightened it was something that would startle the horses, she wanted to put distance between them and whatever it was.
Rena took off running toward the wagon, pouring on every ounce of speed she could muster. Her leg screamed in protest, but she ignored it, sprinting back to the wagon and swinging up to the seat.
“Go! Go! Something is chasing me! I don’t want it to spook the horses.”
Theo snapped the lines, and the team started forward. Fearful of letting them go too fast, Rena pulled her pistol and turned on the seat, facing backward, watching for something to leap out of the darkness with claws or fangs bared.
She blew out a relieved breath when a hound dog wandered into the meadow and plopped down in a beam of moonlight, watching them leave like he’d missed the opportunity to tag along with a friend.
“It was a dog. An old hound dog,” she said, holstering the gun and looking at Theo.
He started to chuckle, and she giggled, then they both were laughing as they passed through a sleepy town and continued toward Holiday.
Dawn was just breaking when Rena took out the rest of the treats from the bakery. They shared the last cinnamon bun, then ate the pastries. Rena took over driving to give Theo a rest as they passed through another small town. A few hours later, she needed a break just to stretch the tension from her shoulders and ease the knot in her leg.
She pulled off the road and stopped, then raised her arms over her head in a long stretch.
“Go ahead and take a little walk while I stay with the team, then it will be my turn.”
“Let’s water the horses first. I can hear water.” Rena took the bucket that was stowed beneath the wagon and followed the sound of water to a river. She stood on the edge of the bank to fill the bucket and carried it back to the wagon. While she stayed with the horse, Theo refilled it and carried it back two more times.
“While they nibble some grass, you go do whatever you need to,” Theo tipped his head toward the trees that separated them from the river. “Just don’t fall in the water.”
Rena rolled her eyes at him, then walked out of sight. She tended to her personal needs, washed her hands in the cold river water, and froze when she watched an elk drinking on the other side. It was one of the most majestic things she’d ever seen.
She eased back from the water and returned to find Theo walking around and swinging his arms, apparently trying to get the blood flowing through his limbs.
“There’s an elk at the river,” she whispered to him.
He strode off toward the water on silent feet. She was glad they had nowhere to haul the meat because she was certain if there’d been room in the wagon, he would have shot the animal and taken it home with them.
Rena didn’t mind eating wild game, but she hated the thought of such a proud animal dying to fill her stewpot.
