“Don’t say a word. Not a word.”
“Hey, you were the one who started this. That was a vicious kick you gave Bullet. I’m only trying to help.”
“Uh-huh.” She managed to loosen the strings and pulled. “You know I was aiming for you, not your horse.”
“I think we’ve already established that your aim leaves something to be desired. Maybe you should think about spectacles.”
“I have a pair. I wear them for close work. I don’t need them for distance.”
“If you say so.”
Phoebe removed the bolster and let her skirt fall in place. She smoothed the material over her hips, transferring the bolster from one hand to the other as she did so. The lightweight wool skirt was ill fitting where it had been stretched, but there was nothing that could be done about that. She looked up at Remington. She held the bolster under one arm; her free hand rested on her hip.
Remington regarded her from under raised eyebrows. She really had no shame. He swore if she had solid wood flooring under her feet, she would be tapping a foot at this very moment. The only thing stopping her was the inability to make a satisfying sound.
“Well?” she asked. “What happens now?”
“We get your mare. She’s about a hundred yards ahead. This would be your opportunity to walk.”
Phoebe was not sorry about that. She started off. “You can ride ahead. You don’t have to provide an escort. I imagine you’ve had your fill of that.”
“I’m not leaving your side.”
“Whose idea was it that you escort me at all? Fiona’s?”
“My father’s.”
“I’m thinking it was at Fiona’s urging. She doesn’t trust me to put one foot in front of the other without specific instruction.”
“Seems to me you’ve mastered it.”
“Exactly.” She moved the bolster from under her arm so she could hug it in front of her.
“You’ve removed that thing but is there some reason you’re still attached to it?”
Phoebe stopped, turned the bolster over, and held it up for him to see the small row of buttons on the underside. “Jewelry, the remainder of my money, a half-dozen lace handkerchiefs, and an extra pair of spectacles. Inside. Wrapped in cotton batting.”
“I see. Explains lumpy.”
“It does indeed.” She went back to hugging the bolster and picking her way carefully over the uneven ground. “What if the mare bolts?”
“Then you’ll have to keep walking.”
She did just that. “How long were you following me?”
“Escorting, remember? Not following.”
Phoebe did not take the bait. “How long?”
“I was supposed to board the same train as you in Chicago. That’s where I was. I didn’t make it. I caught up to you in Saint Louis but I kept my distance.”
She nodded. “So it was you. I don’t know why you thought it was necessary to try to convince me otherwise.”
He shrugged. “I decided to join your car after we left Denver.”
“So you’ve always known I wasn’t carrying a child.”
“Let’s say I was surprised when Mrs. Tyler told me you were. I didn’t have an unobstructed view of you in Saint Louis or in the car. But Mrs. Tyler also mentioned lumpy and I confirmed that for myself when I helped you to your feet in the cabin.”
