Chase the Wind (12 page)

“I love you so much,” she said. He held her tenderly, as if she
would break.

“I love you more than my life,” he said. They stood in each
other’s arms like that for a moment.

Then they went down to the dining room and had a late break
fast. Faith knew Ian was still worried that Mason might come after
them. Even though they were now married, she knew Mason was not the type to give up easily. He would come after them just for revenge. Ian was keeping to the lesser known roads, but she knew
that neither of them would rest easy until there were several more
miles and a couple more rivers behind them.

“I was thinking, Ian, there’s no reason for Randolph to know we were headed west. Wouldn’t he think we were going back to Rich
mond?” she asked as they ate breakfast.

“I think Mason is the type to cover all the options.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “I won’t hide it from you, Faith.
I’m not afraid of anything in this life but losing you, and he’s not
the type to stop, especially now, after you put that bullet in him.
It isn’t easy for us to hide, either. People notice you because of your
beauty, they notice me because of my height, and they’ll notice Storm because of his unusual coloring. That’s something I can’t
change, so I’m hoping to stay clear of places where we will be seen.
From now on, we’re going to stick to ourselves and travel the less
known routes and hope he gets tired of looking.”

“I know you’ll do everything you can to protect us,” she said. As
long as Ian was next to her, she felt as if nothing could hurt her.

“I’ve got another surprise for you.” He smiled across the table.

“Ian, all your money will be gone before we get to where we’re
going,” Faith protested. Ian just grinned at her and pulled her up from the table. He led her out back to where Storm was waiting, saddled and ready to go. Storm wasn’t interested in Ian, however; his attention was devoted to a black mare standing next to him at
the rail. She had the same delicate look as Katrina, and was very
flashy with a white blaze and four white stockings.

“Mrs. Duncan,” Ian said with a bow and a wave of his hand, “I’d
like to present to you the founding members of the Duncan horse family—and by the way, your ride for the rest of the trip.”

“She’s lovely,” Faith exclaimed as she made friends with the
mare. “Is this what you were up to last night?”

“Since it’s Sunday, I thought I should get us provisioned before
today. I noticed her down by the livery, and the man was willing
to strike a deal.”

“I love her. What’s her name?”

“I’ll leave that up to you.” He gently lifted Faith up to the saddle.
She noticed that her rig included saddlebags that seemed well
stocked with supplies. Ian’s own rig held a pack where she had been sitting and a rifle attached to the side. Ian noticed Faith’s
survey of their belongings and he shrugged his shoulders. “I guess
it’s belter to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have

it,” he explained and hung her bag over her saddle horn. He fin
ished putting his belongings on Storm and gracefully mounted.
They rode off, the cook coming out to wish them well as they left.
Ian just grinned at Faith as they rode by the waving woman.

“I guess I won’t have to worry about starving to death,” she said,
and Ian laughed. The day was pleasant, the weather still mild from
the storm a few days past. Faith was much more comfortable riding
on her own, although she did miss the contact with Ian. They
followed a route that was a bit north of the main trail that most
settlers took. They passed a lot of farms and small communities
and were for the most part the only people on the road. The rolling hills and valleys they were used to had given way to flat land that stretched for miles before them, occasionally broken by groups of
trees.

The riding was easy, for which Faith was grateful, and the two mounts traversed the miles rapidly. Ian and Faith took notice of everything, Ian often pointing out a house that caught his attention
or
a
barn design that looked practical. He was planning their
home—he could see it in his mind—and he wanted Faith to see
it too.

Faith, meanwhile, was trying out several names for her mare and
finally settled on Tess. Ian approved, and she christened the mare
with a rub on her finely arched neck. The mare responded by shaking her head, causing her mane to fly out in all
directions.
Storm thought she was flirting with him and began to show off,
jumping into a trot. Ian steadied him with a firm hand.

“I guess I’ll be spending our trip keeping this rutting beast in line,” he said when the horse had settled beneath him.

“Just as long as he’s the one acting up and not you,” Faith said
with a lecherous look on her face. Ian flashed his grin and then got down to the business of finding a place to stay for the night. He finally settled on a sandy creek bank along a deserted stretch
of the
road, and they set about making camp. After a quick meal Faith decided that a bath was just what she needed, and the
creek offered the perfect opportunity. Ian joined her and they were soon on the bank, rolled up in the quilt, enjoying the benefits of mat
rimony.

Day after day passed in much the same manner. The weather would change on them from one day to the next, they were either seeking shelter from passing thunderstorms or seeking relief from
the heat. Ian found Faith a straw hat with a wide brim to help keep the sun off her delicate features. He just turned more bronze in the sun, his hair now shot through with streaks of gold. They traveled on, Ian growing more relaxed each day as the threat of pursuit became unlikely. Faith was just content to be with Ian, no matter what the weather or the traveling conditions. They stayed to themselves, occasionally stopping in a town for provisions, mostly making do with what they could find or catch.

After a few weeks they found themselves facing the Mississippi River and turned south to cross over into St. Louis. After the days of traveling on their own, they were overwhelmed by the number of people making the passage. Ian began to seek out large groups of men, to listen in on their conversations. He would mingle into the group, make a few comments about heading west and then let the others ramble on, each one having an opinion on where the best settlements were, where the best land was, where the safest place was. It was a trick he had learned when he had been racing Storm, and it had served him well.

The most important thing was to be settled somewhere before winter. That ruled out going to Oregon or California, where most of these people seemed headed. Iowa territory seemed to be the place for them, probably the western part. It had just been opened to settlers, and if he could believe what he heard, the land would be good for what he wanted. Also, there were a lot of forts in the area to protect against Indian attacks, and the army would need horses, as would with all the travelers heading further west. He decided the best course was to go on to Independence, then north to St. Jo. It was midsummer now; they could be settled before autumn was upon them, he was sure.

They spent the night in St. Louis at a small inexpensive hotel that Ian found after asking around at the docks. Faith protested at spending the money, but he insisted, not knowing when he would have a chance to treat her again. They enjoyed the benefits of a bath and a fine meal, and especially enjoyed the comforts of a soft bed after spending many a hard night on the ground. They finally fell into an exhausted sleep sometime after midnight, Faith wrapped securely in Ian’s arms.

The morning was soon upon them. Ian, always an early riser, woke up his usual cheery self. Faith was hard to rouse, and when she finally did wake up, she bolted directly to the chamber pot and
lost the expensive dinner she had eaten the night before. Ian held her until the heaves were over and carried her back to the bed. He rinsed out a cloth at the washstand and cleaned her face. Faith just
lay there under his careful touch.

“I guess the food was too rich after what we’ve been eating lately,”
she finally managed to say when the room stopped spinning before
her.

Ian didn’t respond; he just looked at her tenderly and kissed her
forehead. She sent him on down to breakfast, the thought of eating
anything sending her stomach into spasms. He returned a short time later with a biscuit and helped her to sit up and take a few
bites of it along with some sips of water. She soon felt better, and
insisted that they be on their way.

They joined the caravan of people traveling west out of the city,
but soon overtook them, making better time on horseback than
the wagons loaded down with children and household items. By
nightfall they had caught up with another group and decided to make camp with them, Ian liking the safety of numbers now that
he was in unfamiliar surroundings. The group was lively, excited
about the future. This was their first night out on the trail, and they were making the most of it with music and dancing around
the fire. They readily included Ian and Faith, who was feeling much
better, her eyes sparkling when Ian whirled her around to the music. Afterward, they curled up in her quilt by their own fire and
counted the stars above. Ian talked some more about his dreams
for their place, and Faith was soon lulled to sleep by the sound of
his voice.

The next morning she was awake for the first time in their mar
riage before he was. She carefully slid out of his arms and lost the
contents of her stomach behind a tree.

“Poor child,” she heard behind her when the spasms had
stopped. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and felt
a comforting hand on her back. It was one of the women from the group; she was around ten years older than Faith and was traveling with a husband and two almost grown sons. “It’s hard at first, but
you’ll soon get used to it.”

“What. . . what are you talking about?” Faith asked. Her mouth felt like the inside of a horse’s hoof, and she was having trouble
making polite conversation.

“Having a baby, of course. It always starts out this way.”

Faith dropped to the ground and put her head on her knees.
She began mentally counting in her head. They had been together
close to a month, and she had last had her time a week before Ian had found her. She must have conceived right at the beginning of
their marriage. She was going to have a baby. The woman was still
hovering over her.

“Didn’t you know?” she asked.

“I didn’t even think about it,” Faith admitted. “There were too
many other things going on.”

The woman snared an understanding look with Faith. “It was
like that with me and my first son, and here he is near grown,
practically a man himself, and I wasn’t much more than fifteen
when I had him. Got with him right off, probably our first night
together.”

Faith just blinked at the woman’s ramblings.

“Where is your mother?” the woman asked her.

“Dead a long time,” Faith replied.

“Poor child, let me give you some advice.” Faith leaned against
the tree while the woman shared her experiences with her. Some of what she said seemed to make sense, some of it Faith decided
didn’t need repeating or remembering. She began to feel better after
she had sat for a while and decided that, like the morning before,
a biscuit might do her some good. She thanked the woman for her
kindness and went back to where Ian was packing up their camp.
He flashed his grin at her and handed her the remainder of the biscuit from the previous morning. He had wrapped it and stuck
it in his pocket when she was done with it. Faith looked at him in
amazement.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Oh, come on now, Faith, it had to happen sooner or later.
There’s a purpose to what we’ve been doing besides pleasure.” He took her in his arms. “Getting sick two mornings in a row is a sure
sign. The stable master back in Richmond had seven children. I
don’t think I’d know his wife unless I saw her losing her dinner
over the fence.”

Faith playfully attempted to punch the iron chest in front of her.
“Don’t you think this will make things harder on us now, trying
to start a place, with me having a baby?”

Ian kissed the top of her head. “It will just make things more
wonderful. We’ll have a baby in the spring, and hopefully foals
running around soon after that. It sounds like paradise to me.”