“Patience,” she silently muttered.
By the time Adam returned to her, Olivia almost wept for joy. She took the offering of beef jerky and dry bread and clutched them against her chest in thanksgiving.
Tears wet her eyes, and she murmured, “Thank you.”
Adam appeared taken aback by her reaction. It might appear as a meager offering to him, but to her who hadn’t eaten in two days, it was a bountiful feast.
“I have more,” Adam mentioned as she devoured the bread and beef jerky.
She shook her head, struggling to chew slowly even though she wanted to guzzle the whole grub down in one minute. It would be sufficient to tide her over until she reunited with her family again.
She didn’t want to be greedy. He was obviously going on a journey. She had already shortened his ration of water and food.
Thankfully, the marshal stopped asking questions and watched as she ate. When she was done with the simple meal, she drank some more water and blushed when she belched a little.
Adam rose and took the empty container of water. He stretched forth his hand at her.
“Come with me.”
Her eyes enlarged and she looked at him with suspicion. “To where?”
“Ruby Rock.”
Her eyes widened. The marshal might have been kind to her but there was no way she was going to follow him into a white man’s town. She would rather continue walking in the forest, searching for her people, than go anywhere near white people.
With her mouth set in a mutinous line, she shook her head.
Chapter 4
“But I don’t want to go to Ruby Rock.”
Surprise filled Adam. He had not expected that she would refuse to come with him to town. He wondered why she would prefer to roam the forest for an Indian tribe whose location she didn’t know.
And then the answer hit him.
Peering at her with inquisitiveness, he asked, “Are you afraid to come with me?”
She eyed him with parted lips and then said, “Aren’t you a marshal?”
He shrugged. “Yes.”
“Then I’m not afraid of you.”
Adam didn’t know what to say at that. Pleasure filled him at the knowledge that she trusted him. It was mighty foolish of her to take the words of a stranger just like that. But since he meant her no harm, he didn’t mind.
Unable to stop himself, he remarked in a firm voice, “For the sake of next time you find yourself in such a situation, I suggest you don’t easily accept the words of a stranger at face value. I could be anyone lying about being a marshal.”
Adam had expected her to become wary of him, but she instead looked indifferent to what he said. Adam believed it was living with Indians that made her nonchalant about her safety. From what he knew about Indians, they lived simply, taking one day at a time and accepting things as the will of the spirits of their fathers.
She corrected his assumption a few minutes later when she said, “Some minutes before you rode in this direction, I prayed to God for a helper. Your presence was a confirmation of His answers to my prayers.”
It took everything in Adam not to snort. He should have known when he saw the bible beside her that she was one of those who went about talking about a nonexistent God. It had surprised him seeing her in Indian attire, speaking about an Indian family and holding a bible. Now, he understood she was a preacher who had lived among the Indians.
Afraid that she might start preaching to him, he quickly changed the subject.
“If you aren’t afraid of me, why don’t you want to come with me to Ruby Rock?”
“That’s because I want you to take me to my Indian family.”
