Melinda Heads West (4 page)

He studied her near the stream. He couldn’t help thinking that her actions were almost sensual. When he looked around, he saw the rest of the men were watching, too. “All right,” he said to all of them. “That’s enough. Let’s figure out what we’re going to do about eating.”

Lucas took over from him. “There should be game in these parts. Why don’t you and you go down and see what you can come up with for a meal.” He indicated a couple of the men, who checked their weapons and headed off.

“The rest of us need to gather wood and start a fire. It will get cooler down here as the sun sets. We’ll cook whatever the men bring back.” Lucas looked around as if he was checking out the spot they had chosen. Then his eyes came back to Mindy. “You stay here. You’ve had a tough time of it — just rest up.”

• • •

Mindy wanted to agree but instead her pride stepped up. “I’ll gather wood with everyone else.”

“Suit yourself, but be sure you go in twos. Why don’t you stick with Boone, there?”

Her mouth dropped open as she shot a glance at her Tormentor. He smiled.

“I’d rather … ”

“Is there a problem?” Lucas asked.

“No.” Mindy closed her mouth. She wouldn’t create trouble, regardless of the circumstances, but she glared at the dark man, daring him to cause more annoyances. The other men shambled off while Mindy and Boone stared at one another.

The Tormentor stood. “Well, come on then. Let’s get going … or do you need me to carry you?”

Angrily, Mindy tried to come to her feet but got tangled in the hem of her dress. She spent a moment twisting and pulling her skirt out from under her. She fumed and fussed under her breath.

Boone shook his head and cursed. “I’ve watched this just about long enough.” He crossed the distance between them in a couple of long strides, pulling a knife from his pocket and flipping it open.

Mindy drew back and started to scream just as Boone jerked the hem of her dress out from beneath her. “Stand up,” he ordered. Meekly complying, she watched the knife draw closer.

Boone made a cut in the lower part of her dress and then ripped off the bottom foot of material.

“How dare you!” Mindy sputtered.

“I’ll tell you how I dare, young lady. I’m tired of watching you fall, and I’m sick of you holding us up. This will make things easier on everyone.” He clicked the knife away in one smooth move. “Now come on, let’s get that wood.”

Mindy wouldn’t admit it aloud for anything, but the loss of the bottom portion of her thick and dirty skirt had freed her legs considerably. Walking without the heavy encumbrance allowed her more ease of movement and enabled her to keep up with the quick moving man at her side.

She shot him a sidelong glance. He was tall and swarthy, and exuded self-confidence. She bristled. Why did all men think that just because they had been born male it somehow made them more intelligent and important to the world? She huffed.

“Am I going too fast for you?” Boone asked, without slowing his steps through the brush.

“Not at all!”

He grinned and looked at the bottom of her skirt. No doubt taking all the credit for her quickened pace.

“I’m just happy to be off that road and out of the sun.” Mindy hopped over a fallen log.

“I suppose so. You are a sight, though.”

Mindy stopped. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“You’re a mess. Your face and arms are burned to a fine crisp. Your hair is a rat trap.”

Mindy’s blood bubbled. “And you think you look better?” She was furious. She was witness to a man who actually
did
look better. The sun had added to his tan and made him look a bit more rugged.

“Maybe not. But I figure you’re headed to greet some man. Why else would you be traveling alone? I don’t think he’ll be too pleased by what he finds at the other end of this trip.”

Mindy hauled back to slap him, but Boone easily caught her arm and pulled her close. His eyes blazed. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, little lady.”

“Oooh, if I only had my gun,” Mindy said. “You’d be eating those words.”

“Well, you don’t.” He spun her away. Just like that, he dropped the subject and glanced around. “This looks like a good place to pick up some firewood. Stand still and I’ll load you up.”

“I’ll get my own, thanks.”

Mindy selected a spot on the ground and started choosing wood that would be perfect for building and maintaining a fire. She toted branches and twigs from the trees surrounding the two of them to her pile and was idly waiting for her tormenter to say something derogatory about her process or selections when she noticed him bent over to pick up the pile he had collected. She was overcome by an evil impulse and couldn’t help herself. Picking up a large branch, she whacked him across the back. He fell to the ground and lay there cursing.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Mindy held one hand to her mouth. “Bless your poor heart! Can I help you up?”

The devil eyed her suspiciously. “No, don’t touch me.”

“I must have picked up a stick that was too big for little ol’ me … Oops!” Mindy turned to her task again hiding the big smile that bloomed across her face.

They finished gathering the wood in silence and started back to the clearing by the creek. Boone was grumbling under his breath the whole way.

• • •

As they drew closer to the camping area, Boone suddenly threw his pile down and leapt on Mindy, knocking her to the ground. He brought one big hand around to cover her mouth. Startled, Mindy instinctively went into fight mode, sure that the man had gone crazy and intended to reciprocate for her earlier attack. What he planned to do wasn’t clear, but her fears were great. She cried out against his palm, shaking her head and twisting her body beneath his.

“Shut up, woman!” Boone hissed.

Mindy realized that his attention wasn’t on her at all. Instead, his gaze was focused into the distance. She craned her head to see what he was looking at, but brush covered the ground around her. As she quieted she could hear the faint sound of men talking.

“I’ll let go if you think you can be quiet.” At her nod, Boone continued. “You stay here. Do you hear me? Don’t move.” She nodded once more. She wasn’t a fool!

Boone got up on all fours and then to his feet. He crept silently through the woods and Mindy could barely see his backside when he stopped. He listened for a while before backtracking to her.

“It’s the men who killed Gibb,” he whispered. “They’re looking for the money on the stage.”

“My bag!”

“Forget your bag!”

At that moment, they heard more voices, and then shots rang out through the forest. Mindy and Boone dropped to their faces on the ground. Mindy covered her head and began to cry. Boone scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her. “Shut up! You’ll let ’em know we’re here!”

Mindy stifled her crying by shoving a hand into her mouth and biting on it. In a moment, they heard the sound of hoof beats, which gradually grew fainter.

“We have to go check on our men!” Mindy cried.

Boone shook his head. “Not yet. We’ll stay here a minute to make sure those thieves don’t come back. Then I’ll slip up there to check on things and get your bag. Do you have more food in it?”

Melinda sniffed. “Yes.”

“We’ll need it. I set it down by a tree; maybe they didn’t see it. For now, just get comfortable.”

“Well, get off me!”

“Sorry! I was trying to protect you. I forget you can take care of yourself.”

Mindy shoved at the man, pushing at his vest. An odd sound resulted, a crinkling, like of paper.

Her eyes widened. “What is that?”

Boone’s dark eyes narrowed. “None of your business. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your questions to yourself.”

“It’s the money from the stage! You stole it!”

“You, little lady, need to shut up.”

Boone watched as Mindy rolled to the side, grasping her legs in her arms and sending him a hooded look. He knew she hadn’t trusted him, but figured she hadn’t thought of him as “evil” before. Stealing from the stagecoach would certainly put him in that category.

Somehow, he felt a little let down at the idea, but quickly shook off the notion. If the girl thought he was the scum of the earth that was fine by him.

“Stay here,” he told her. “I’m going back to check on the campsite.”

“I’ll do as I please!”

“Suit yourself. But this is a good place to keep from getting killed. I don’t think your momma wanted you coming home in parts.” He was relieved to see her head drop into her skirts and thought perhaps she’d stay put. But Boone had only taken two steps toward the campsite before hearing her rise. He glanced back. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“My momma didn’t raise a coward,” Mindy said with raised chin. “I’ll stay a ways back till we see what’s what, but I’m coming.” Boone lowered his brows and began to speak, but she quickly added, “You can’t stop me.”

“Oh, I could stop you. But you’re welcome to choose your own misfortune. Now stay behind me and stay quiet. I don’t care what you see or hear — you stay quiet! You got it?”

“I’m not a simpleton, Boone. I know people have probably just been killed. I’m not looking to join them.”

That answer satisfied him somewhat and he turned, taking off through the brush at a steady pace. Mindy followed more slowly.

Approaching the clearing, Boone squatted near a scrub pine and watched the area for a few minutes. There were two bodies laid out in agonized positions on the ground several feet from each other. It was the men who had gone after food for the rest of the group.

• • •

Boone studied the scene patiently. Twilight was setting and the darkness would help cover their tracks if the men came back. As much as he hated it, he had the woman to think about now. He wasn’t used to considering anyone but himself, and he liked it a lot better that way. He’d be happy when this journey came to an end and he could say he’d seen the last of this particular female creature. She was a burr in his side.

“Did you see the second man over there?”

Boone turned and there was murder in his eyes. “You’re a curse, you know that?” he hissed. “It’s not the thieves you’ll have to worry about if you keep this up!”

Mindy rolled her eyes. Boone felt his blood pressure rise. If they hadn’t been striving for silence, he would have shot the woman himself. It encouraged him to think for a minute of other quiet ways of doing away with someone. But then he shook his head, dispelling the sweet visions.

“I want you to stay here by this tree.
Please
continue to make as much noise as you can.” Boone said, grinning in spite of himself. She was determined to do the opposite of everything he said, so let the bad guys have her. “Just make sure I’m far enough away first.”

Mindy plopped down by the tree trunk and crossed her arms. It appeared she had finally gotten the message. Satisfied, Boone crept off. He didn’t look back.

The clearing was silent, except for the sound of the brook babbling by innocently. Both corpses had their eyes open. It appeared neither had seen the end coming. Boone visited each body in turn, closing the eyes and checking the pockets for any important items that might tell who the men were or where to send the personal effects.

“I knew it! You are nothing but a low-down, good-for-nothing chicken thief! As soon as you get a chance you’re stealing, and from dead men!”

Boone flipped to his back and jerked his gun out, meeting the angry stare of Melinda, with hands on hips. She reminded him a little of his grade school teacher, who had always believed she knew everything, too. He aimed the gun for the center of her forehead.

“Bang. You’re dead,” he whispered, then shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you? This ain’t a quilting bee, lady. There are real men out there who want to find the money from the stagecoach — ”

“Which
you
have!”

“ … and they are willing to kill to get it.”

“Well, then, let’s give it to them!”

Boone stood and knocked the dirt off his pants. “Now that’s a swell idea! What do you suggest? That we send them a flowery invitation to an afternoon tea here by the creek? Maybe we’ll ask them real nicely not to kill us when they’re all done!”

“If they only want the money … ”

“You are a sight! Have you ever been in the real world before? These men aren’t like the ones who come to call on you back home,
ma’am
. They are
killers.
They don’t care to hear what you’ve got to say or how your life might be considered valuable to some people back in New York.”

“Mississippi.”

“Whatever!”

Boone suddenly took stock of his surroundings. “Balls of fire, woman! You’ve got us both hollering down the heavens. If those men are anywhere close, they know we’re here now! You work on me like sandpaper, you know that?” He removed his hat and rubbed his head angrily. “Get your bag!”

“I thought you were going to — ”

“I said, get your bag! We’ve got to go!” Then catching the look on her face, he said, “Don’t worry, we won’t go too far — there are still two members of our party unaccounted for — Lucas and that Byler fellow. We’ll watch from a distance for a while and see if they show up. Since we haven’t heard any other gunshots, we should be able to presume they’re still alive.” Boone turned to go, mumbling under his breath. “But mark my words. Next time, I’ll make sure you go with Lucas instead of me!”

Twenty minutes later, there was a rustling in the trees on the distant side of the campsite. Boone dropped low, shoved Melinda behind him, and pulled out his revolver.

“Hey! Where is everybody? Hello?” Lucas approached the clearing loaded with firewood. Byler followed him, carrying two small limbs.

Just as the newcomers caught sight of the dead men, Boone stood, still holding his weapon. Lucas dropped the firewood and drew his gun. Byler stepped back. Mindy covered her head.

The two men stared each other down.

“What happened here?” Lucas asked, gesturing with his head to the splayed bodies.

“The thieves, I reckon,” Boone answered, unlocking the hammer on his firearm and lowering it slowly. “They came while we were in the woods.” He pointed the nose of his gun to the pile of limbs that Lucas had dropped. “I don’t suppose we’ll be needing that anymore. We can’t start a fire and risk them seeing the smoke. Sure as sunshine, they’ll be back. We need to get out of here.”