Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Lawmen [The Lost Collection] (Siren Menage Everlasting) (19 page)

“We might be able to come back for them,” Adam said.

Amanda wondered if he was placating the man, or if he meant it.

“Doesn’t matter,” Warren said. He sat back on his haunches and gave Adam a level look. “It’s only a saddle.”

It took a bit of time to rig everything to carry. In the end, aside from the saddles, they left behind the two cooking pots, keeping only the coffee pot. They figured it could serve double duty. They also only packed one tin plate and one cup. They’d share.

Food with utensils and weapons, plus their canteens and the bedrolls, and a couple of items of clothing apiece were the most they could manage. They used rope to fashion slings so the bedrolls could be carried across their backs.

Amanda had wrapped her journal in her bedroll, and she divvied up the money she’d brought, giving some to each of the men. She slung her rifle over her shoulder, the strap on it keeping the weapon in place. The load she had didn’t feel heavy at the moment. She wasn’t willing to bet that it wouldn’t be damn heavy by the end of the day.

“How far you figure we can go in one day?” she asked as they set out.

“In my army days, we marched a good twenty miles a day, and with heavier packs,” Adam said. “If we can manage half that, it’ll be good. I know of some settlements we can head toward. We might be able to replace our horses. But we’re looking at walking for at least three, probably four days.”

“Well hell.” Amanda exhaled heavily. Getting upset over the situation wasn’t going to help. In fact, it had been her experience in life that getting upset over having to do hard or unpleasant things just made them that much more difficult.

Together they set off, their pace solid, unrushed. Adam pointed the way, and as the land was wide open leaving the lake, they walked abreast.

Chatter gave way to silence. Several hours later, the landscape changed subtly in the way Amanda had learned meant a water source lay ahead.

Amanda was delighted to see the stream.

“Water feels nice and cold,” Adam said as he squatted near the stream.

 
“I’m tempted to soak my feet.” Amanda said as she refilled her canteen.

“And just days ago it was your pussy you needed to soak,” Warren said, kneeling on the bank next to her.

Amanda laughed. “Yeah, I prefer that kind of ache, actually.”

“Hold that thought,” Adam said. “How bad are your feet, honey?”

“Feet and legs sore, but I’ve more walk in me. You?”

“Yeah, about the same. I don’t want us to rest too long right now. We’ll tighten up. Can we go a bit longer before we have a good rest?”

Amanda got to her feet and Adam gathered her into his arms. She allowed herself to snuggle, to lean on him for a moment. She pulled back then stretched up to kiss him. His taste sustained her.

Adam turned her into Warren’s arms. He kissed her and she relished this taste, this pause, which felt more refreshing than a nap would have been.

“That’s better,” she said. Both men smiled at her. “All right, I’m ready.”

The continued walking the trail, the men flanking her. Amanda felt her energy dwindling. They’d been chatting about inconsequential things. But as the day waned, she fell silent.

“Oh, look.” She’d cast her gaze to the bushes beside them and spotted berries. “Nearly over ripe, but good,” she said after she’d tasted some.

They all ate some, and Amanda used her bandana to carry a few for later.

Just before sunset, they stopped and made camp. They found no stream nearby, so dinner was jerky and berries and minimal sips from their canteens. Warren started a fire, so as the night chilled, they at least could keep warm.

“Come here,” Adam invited. He didn’t have to ask twice. Amanda snuggled in between them praying that by the morning her legs would be less sore.

The sun hadn’t begun to warm the air when they set out the next morning. It didn’t surprise Amanda they kept her in the middle between them.

She stumbled once after about an hour. Adam and Warren both caught her.

“Wait here while I get you something,” Adam said as he pulled out his knife. They were more or less surrounded by trees on this part of the trail, trees that seemed to grow thicker on either side of them. Amanda almost felt like they were making their way through a dense forest.

Adam walked into the trees to the right and emerged a few minutes later with a long, fairly straight branch.

“A walking stick. Good idea, thanks.” Amanda grasped the crude tool and thought it would work well.

He nodded, then said, “I think we could all use one.” It only took him a few minutes to fashion two more.

The stick did make the walking easier in that she felt a little steadier on her feet. The sun beat down with real intensity, and only the presence of the trees providing intermittent shade gave some relief. Perspiration ran down her back and down between her breasts. Her legs began to burn and her feet hurt.

“It’s about noon,” Adam stopped, looked up at the sky. “Let’s take a break.”

“I’m for that,” Amanda agreed. She hoped she could just lie down on the ground for a few minutes and let her entire body rest.

“I hear water,” Warren said before she could shrug off her pack. They listened, then followed the sound just a few hundred feet to the north, further into the trees. They found the river, a shallow one, with fairly wide-spread banks. The sound of rippling water was caused by the rocks that protruded, forming a tiny cataract.

Amanda couldn’t hold back her groan as she tried to drop the pack from her shoulders. Adam was there in an instant, easing it away from her, setting it down.

“Here, let me help, honey.”

She groaned again, this time in bliss as he put his hands on her shoulders and began to squeeze and release.

“I met a man of the Cherokee Nation just before I settled in Waco,” Adam said. “His mother is a healer and had taught him many different remedies for common complaints. This was one.”

“It feels good.”

“Tonight when we camp, I’ll do the rest of your body. For now, why not stretch out for a bit?”

Amanda took a drink from her canteen, then took Adam up on his suggestion. She stretched out on the ground and reached for her pack to use as a pillow.

“Use this one of mine instead,” Warren said. “It’s got our clothes in one end of it and it’s a bit softer.”

He was right. One end of his pack felt almost as good as a real pillow. “Thanks.”

Amanda laid her head down and closed her eyes. She could hear the men’s voices, but couldn’t make out their words. It seemed like only minutes later someone stroked her shoulder.

“Mandy? We have to get moving, honey.”

Amanda sat up. “I fell asleep?”

“Only for about half an hour or so. Sometimes a catnap like that can do you a world of good.”

Adam helped her up. She excused herself to move further into the bushes to pee, returning moments later. Warren helped her put her pack and her rifle back in place. Adam proffered her walking stick and her refilled canteen, and they headed off.

She decided Adam had known what he’d been talking about. That short nap had made a huge difference in her mood, and how her body felt. The pack didn’t feel quite as heavy as it had before she’d slept, and she thought her legs might just hold out until the end of the day.

“I guess if you’re used to living in a more rural area, this walking isn’t so hard,” Amanda said. “I walked in Richmond, but never very far, and always along busy and cluttered city streets, so it didn’t seem as far, either.”

“You mean as opposed to the great American West,” Warren said, making her laugh.

“Warren’s a city boy, too,” Adam said. “Born and raised in Philadelphia. He doesn’t see the attraction in land with rocks, trees, rivers and no people.”

“I’m a lawyer? No people equals no business,” Warren said.

“City boy doesn’t show on you,” Amanda teased him. “Well, except for your Northern accent, that is.”

“I don’t have an accent. And besides,” Warren quipped, “I
can
see at least one advantage in being on land with no people in sight. Unfortunately, I’m likely to be too tired again tonight to make love to either of you.”

The terrain changed subtly, trees now growing fewer and farther between. The land opened up, became more rolling grasslands, a gently sloped downhill grade that was still uneven for walking on.

“There’ll be another river up ahead. We should be able to reach it before nightfall. We’re fortunate in that, at least. There’s really plenty of water all the way from here to Tahlequah. Although I hope we don’t have to walk that far.”

A few minutes later, Amanda was tempted to tell Adam to be careful what he wished for. She’d been focusing on her feet, on the changing ground beneath them and not the vista in front of her. Adam and Warren both stopped walking, their gazes fixed ahead of them on the trail.

“Not again.”

Warren’s tone alerted her and she looked up to see what had snagged the men’s attention. The sight before her chilled her to the bone. She didn’t think. She just reacted. Relaxing her shoulders, she let the load she carried slip from her body, then slowly brought her rifle forward until she held it in both hands.

There, on the horizon, shrouded in a dust cloud kicked up by horses’ hooves, a band of riders came toward them.

Chapter 17

Adam dropped his pack and eased his rifle down and into his right hand. Keeping his movements subtle, he sidled to his right so that he stood slightly in front of Amanda and Warren. The riders coming toward them rode with purpose, and quickly. Though too far away for him to see any details, logic told him such a large party could only be a Cavalry unit or Cherokee warriors.

Not a speck of blue uniform was in sight.

This band was larger than the one that attacked them by the lake. If they were gunning for trouble, he and his lovers were dead. In his peripheral vision, he noticed his lovers working just as subtly as he had to arrange themselves so they could have a clear line of sight for shooting, and become targets themselves.

“Easy.” He knew he couldn’t prevent either of them from doing what they would. He supposed they felt as protective of him as he did of them.

“What? No shooting until we can see the whites of their eyes? Didn’t that get the British killed a century ago during that little revolution we held?”

Despite the moment, Amanda’s quip made him smile. “I meant easy, I’m not convinced they’re hostile.”

“They are many, and we are few, and they are heading toward us so fast they’ve made a dust cloud,” Amanda said.

Adam couldn’t fault Amanda’s logic. “
I
could run on just my own two feet and make a dust cloud. The ground is dry.”

“They’re not holding their weapons,” Warren said.

Adam nodded. “Yes, I see that.”

It only took a couple of minutes for the riders to reach them. Adam immediately recognized the man in front.

“Adam. I see you’ve encountered the
Ani-Yun' wiya’s latest problem.”

Adam sighed, his relief so great his knees almost buckled. “You could say that, Peter.”

“I apologize on behalf of my chief, and my people. We have been tracking them. If we do not stop these rebels, soon, they will bring grief upon all of us.”

“They attacked us at Eufaula Lake, day before yesterday,” Adam said. A quick sideways glance told him his lovers had lowered their weapons.

Peter raised one eyebrow. “You’ve managed to come a good distance, then. None of you were injured?”

“No, they just stole our horses.”

Peter turned to his people and said something in the Cherokee tongue. Then he faced Adam again.

“My father’s ranch is only about two hours’ ride from here. We’ll take you there. You will need to rest. And eat. My mother and sisters would be honored to attend to your sore legs.”

“Thank you.” Adam glanced over at Amanda and Warren, then looked back at Peter. “These are my good friends, Amanda Dupree and Warren Jessop.” Then to his lovers he said, “Peter Smith. His father is one of the chiefs of the Cherokee Nation.”

“I am really happy to meet you,” Amanda said.

Peter nodded, then gave a signal. Three warriors came forward and dismounted. The horses they offered were without saddles, but Adam didn’t care. One of the Cherokee gave him a leg up. “Amanda? Come here, sweetheart.”

Adam thought she might protest, because one of her best and worst traits was a fierce independence, a need to stand on her own two feet and do things for herself. In this instance, she’d be better off riding with him. He’d ridden bare-back before, but he doubted she had.

In the next instant, she surprised him. Without a word of protest she came to him, raised her arms. Warren lifted her, and Adam settled her on the horse in front of him.

“I’ve sent Johnny ahead to let my father know we’re coming. The rest of the party will continue following the trail of our quarry.”