Saddle Up(28)

He pulled her head onto his chest and stroked her hair. “Sleep now, Aiwattsi. I’ll keep you safe.”





Chapter 11


Surprised that she’d ever shut her eyes, Miranda awoke to find herself alone beside a barely smoldering fire. Where was Keith? His rifle was gone and the campsite packed up, all but the canvas bedroll she’d slept on. She sat up, rubbing her bleary eyes with panic blooming in her chest as the events of last night replayed in her mind. She reached up to touch the bear tooth necklace and felt instantly at ease. Was it a psychosomatic response, or did her new talisman really have some kind of supernatural power?

Laughing at herself, she reached for her boots, but then remembered Keith’s warning to check them first. She shook them upside down and shrieked at the two scorpions that tumbled out. She frantically smashed one with her boot heel but the other managed to scurry away. Her cry must have alerted Keith. He appeared a moment later, a frown etching his brow.

“I heard a scream. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “Just scorpions.”

“You didn’t get stung, did you?”

“No. I’m fine,” she replied. His show of concern warmed her.

“Good,” he replied, the lines of apprehension slowly easing from his face. “That would be the last thing we need right now.”

“Yes,” she reassured him. “Where were you? I was afraid you’d left me.”

“I was looking for the horses and gathering breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” She glanced down to notice his hands full of something she didn’t recognize. They were elongated, almost pear shape, and reddish in color, somewhat resembling mangos but with spines. “What are they?”

“You’re kidding right? You’ve never had them?”

“No. I don’t even know what they are.”

“Prickly pear fruit. It’s really good,” he insisted.

She eyed them suspiciously. “If I recall, that’s what you said about the rattlesnake.”

“C’mon,” he cajoled. “Have an open mind.” His black eyes glittered with mocking humor. “Here’s your chance to be adventurous, Miranda.”

Accepting the challenge, she snatched one from his hands, only to be pricked by a spine. “Ouch!” She dropped the fruit with a curse to examine her injury. “Damn it! You didn’t tell me they were dangerous.”

“It’s how they protect themselves,” he replied. “The prickliest ones are always the sweetest. One must proceed with caution, but it’s usually worth it in the end.”

“Is it really worth all the trouble?” she asked.

“I guess that remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” His gaze held hers, making her wonder if they were still talking about the fruit.

“How do you get around the spines?” she asked.

“Easy. Like this.” He picked up her dropped fruit with his gloved hand and impaled it on the end of his knife. Squatting by the fire, he rolled it in the smoldering ashes. “See? It burns the spines off. Then you just peel and eat it like any other fruit.” He proceeded to do exactly that. Slicing through the skin of the fruit, he peeled it back and offered it to her.

She hesitated. “You’re sure it’s safe?”

“Yes. Almost all cacti are edible. Of course, you’re always welcome to the beef jerky instead.”

She curled her lip. “I hate that stuff. It’s like salty shoe leather.” She sniffed and then committed herself to a tiny nibble. It was both sweet and tart, cucumberish in consistency, with tiny seeds like a kiwi. Not too bad, actually.

“Well?” He cocked a brow, urging her to take more.

“It’s all right,” she admitted. Accepting it from his hands, she took a bigger bite. “Did you see any sign of our horses?”

“Yes. I found the carcass and our horses’ tracks.”

“How do you know they were ours?” she asked.

He eyed her levelly. “Wild horses don’t wear shoes, Miranda.”

“Duh.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “I guess that was a really stupid question.”

“They were headed back in the direction of the base camp,” he continued. “If I’d been riding Little Bear, he would have come back to me, but this was only a borrowed horse.”

“Little Bear? Was he the one you were riding in California?” she asked.

“Yes. He served me well for many years, so I finally retired him. He now has the job of pleasuring the mares on my grandfather’s ranch.”

She laughed. “I can think of a worse life. Don’t you miss him?”

“Every day. But he has a new life now, as do I.” He began burning the spines off another cactus fruit. “The lion will be back,” he said. “They usually take several days to devour a kill. I’d recommend we don’t hang around here any longer than we have to.”

“What should we do?” she asked.

“We can either wait a couple of hours to see if Dave and Donny show up or set out by foot.”

“I’d rather not stay anywhere near that lion,” she said. “And I have perfectly good legs last I checked.”

He looked up with a slow, suggestive smile. “I noticed.”