“I’ll get him if he comes this way.” That was a man’s voice. Dragoon, it sounded like.
Riley breathed out his ire and tried to moderate his tone. “He’s better off if you let him go. Wild animals aren’t meant to be pets.”
Finally, Juniper glanced back at him, acknowledging his comment with a nod. But the pleading in her eyes made him regret his sour tone. “Lorelei needs him. If you don’t want to help catch him, at least don’t scare him away.”
Her words, the urging in her voice, made him feel like a cad. Certainly not a help to them. Just as crotchety as all these other trappers. He was right about the coyote, but that didn’t mean he had to make the situation harder.
Juniper had already turned back to help her sister, and he quieted his steps as he followed her. When he rounded the last stretched hide, the coyote pup came clear, huddled against their woodpile. Lorelei knelt low, her hand outstretched toward the tiny thing. Dragoon crouched beside their campfire, arms splayed, looking every bit thefrightening mountain man he could be. Juniper stood a little ways back, her presence keeping the animal from turning her direction, but not nearly as daunting as his brawny lodgemate.
“Here, little fellow.” Lorelei was murmuring in a sweet tone, her hand outstretched with something resting on her fingertips. Meat, perhaps? Where had she found it? “Come, Boots. It’s time to eat. Let’s get you back to the lodge where you’ll be safe.”
The pup really was tiny, no longer than Riley’s hand from nose to hind end. It wouldn’t survive in the wilderness alone, no doubt on that score. In fact, it didn’t look old enough to eat the meat she held out to it.
But the smell must be too tantalizing, for its posture changed from a crouch to an interested stretch. As Lorelei continued to murmur, the pup took one step forward, then a second. Finally, it closed the remaining distance and took the nugget from her fingers. As it worked to chew the bit, Lorelei stroked its neck, then ran a hand down its back, scooping up the pup with an easy motion.
Riley eased out a long breath, and they all straightened. Lorelei gave them all a weak smile. “Thank you for helping.” She glanced from him to Dragoon. “We have a warm meal ready for you if you’d like to come for it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dragoon rubbed his hands together as though he’d not eaten freshly cooked fare in months. “We’ll walk there with you.”
Riley could retrieve the food easily enough by himself, but if Dragoon wanted to come along, it wouldn’t hurt anything. It was unusual for the man to be up this early. Perhaps their female neighbors were a good influence on him.
Something else was different about the man today too. It wasn’t until they were both walking back from the women’s lodge, hands full of meat and biscuits, that he realized what it was. Dragoon had trimmed his beard. Instead of long scraggly ends, he’d cropped them close to his face with even lines. That must’ve taken quite a while with a sharp knife.
Perhaps he shouldn’t say anything, but so much effort begged to be commented on. He sent his friend a grin. “Looks like you went to see the barber yesterday. Does that mean you’re planning to go a’courting? I think they’re a bit too young for you.” The youngest, Miss Faith, couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen.
The man’s cheeks turned ruddy, and he kept his eyes focused ahead. “Naw, they’re too fine for a mountain man like me. It’s just that riding beside those civilized ladies yesterday showed me how much I’ve let myself slip.”
That wasn’t a point Riley could argue with, so he just nodded. At least he could trust Dragoon to be decent around the women and not pay them improper attention.
As they reached their campfire, Dragoon glanced his way. “You sure you don’t need me to ride with you up to the Gros Ventre camp?”
Riley shook his head. Rosemary had made that point clear. “I think we’ll be fine. They all carry rifles and say they can shoot them. Likely one more gun wouldn’t make a difference.”
Dragoon laid his food on one of the logs they used as a table. “I’ll walk out with you to saddle the horses when you’re ready to leave. Thought I’d run my Bessie a bit, get her ready for the race later this afternoon.”
Riley held his tongue. The man had been racing his littlebay mare at every rendezvous since they’d known each other, and though the mare could run well, they’d not won a race yet. He had a feeling the horse might be fast enough to win, but Dragoon was not a small man. He’d never figured out a kind way to tell him that might be the problem.
Dragoon studied him, a faraway look in his eyes. What was he considering? “I wonder...” He tapped his thumb on the side of his pointer finger the way he did when he was contemplating something. “That gal who has the coyote pup. She seems to like animals an awful lot. I’ll bet Bessie would run for her. She’d weigh a good bit less than I do. Think she’d ride for me? I’d give her a share of the winnings.”
Riley shook his head hard. “Have you jostled your brain? There’s no way I’d let her get in the middle of all those men drinking and betting. Not to mention the danger in the race itself. Don’t you remember that boy who got trampled last year?” Maybe Dragoon wasn’t as harmless as Riley had given him credit for being.
The man gave his head a shake, as though trying to bring some sense back. “You’re right. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I’d say you’re on the right track with finding someone small and lightweight to ride her. But not Miss Lorelei.”
Dragoon started to enter the lodge. “I’ll give it some thought.” Then he turned back. “Did you hear another horse was stolen last night?”
Riley startled. “Whose? When?” Why couldn’t men just be decent and stop coveting things that didn’t belong to them? It seemed more horses had already gone missing at this rendezvous than the others he’d been to.
“Jurgen Sanderson’s Indian pony. The one with the spotson its rump that ran so well in its first race. It came up missing last night after you’d already bedded down, I think. Surprised you didn’t hear the ruckus he raised. Swore he’d search out and cut down the scoundrel who took it.”
Riley shook his head. “Good luck to him. With so many people here, finding the animal will be nigh on impossible.”
“Don’t I know it.” Dragoon turned back to the lodge. “Yell out when you’re ready to go saddle up and I’ll walk with you. Better to have two of us to protect those women around these uncivilized varmints.”
Riley moved to his pack and tried to focus on what else they would need for the day’s travel. Dragoon was right that it might take more than him to protect the sisters. It seemed danger came even from the directions he least expected.
Nine
