It was only when the wagon rolled into their yard with her older sister on the seat, looking far more like the old Rosie than she had since the sickness, that Juniper finally took her first full breath in months. And that was the moment she’d committed that she and her sisters would be a team. Whatever any of them needed, she would be there to give.
And now, they needed to return to ranch life. All four of them working together. Selling the land and moving to Richmond had been a mistake—one that stole their father from them. But now they could right their course.
“So I assume the treatments worked?” Riley’s voice tugged her back to the present.
She nodded, the smile coming a little easier this time.“I think her lungs are even stronger now than before she took sick.”
He nodded. “Good.”
Then, as if he realized she needed a change of topic, he raised his voice and motioned ahead of them. “We’ll keep an eye out for the Crow camp over that rise and go around it if we can.”
He’d spoken loud enough for Rosie to hear from the back of the line, and she called up to them, “Should we stop there and ask if they know Steps Right?”
He frowned. “I’d rather go to the Peigan camp first, since there’s a better chance we’ll find her there.”
Her older sister nudged her mare forward and rode up alongside Juniper’s mount. “Are the Crow dangerous?”
Riley’s mouth pressed before he answered, and he kept his focus on the path ahead. “There’s always that possibility when meeting with people of a different background and customs. I try to take the measure of each person individually instead of labeling an entire tribe as dangerous. There’s good and bad in every village.” Finally, he turned to look at Rosemary. “But I also have to take you on the safest path I know. It’s more likely we’ll find the woman we’re searching for with the Peigan, so I’d rather not add a layer of possible trouble unless we need to. After all, this isn’t a cultural sightseeing trip, is it?”
Juniper barely held in a snort. And a side glance at Rosemary showed she was also trying to contain a smile, though she was doing a much better job at it. This land and the complexities of the different tribes was proving much harder than she’d anticipated—not to mention all those trappers back at the main camp.
Yet as her mare climbed the slope of the next mountain and they rose higher and higher toward the wide blue expanse of the sky, she couldn’t possibly regret coming to this place. Too bad she hadn’t brought her paints to try to capture this view. Only one sketching journal and a pencil had fit in her saddle pack. But at least she could savor the scene now and try to re-create it later.
But as she breathed in the freshness of the air and let her gaze seek out the blending of shadows that cast such different colors on the land around them, her mind kept slipping to the man riding beside her.
One thing was for certain. They had much to thank God for in sending Riley to help.
Eleven
Riley left his horse with the women as he climbed on foot to the top of the slope to see if the Peigan village lay on the other side. They’d passed the Crow camp an hour ago, but something still had him uneasy. All those horses that had been grazed in that valley...
They weren’t the Crows’ animals. They’d had their horses grazing along the banks of the Green River near their lodges, as he’d expected. And the Crow village was small enough that they only had twenty or so mounts. From what the Gros Ventre chief had said, the Peigan camp they were riding to was even smaller.
But that valley had grazed a huge herd. There was no way he could say for sure, but he’d guess upward of fifty head. Who did they belong to?
Distant sounds of voices reached him even before he peeked over the top of this low mountain. Six lodges were nestled in the flatland alongside the river below. This had to be the people they’d come to see. Dusk had already begun to settle, which meant entering the camp would likely mean a long, drawn-out meal, and they’d be offered a place tosleep. Although with so few lodges, they’d be packed in closely with their hosts.
It would be wiser to camp out here and enter the village in the morning. The Collins sisters would see that wisdom, no matter how much they wanted to push forward. He eased backward, then turned and maneuvered down the slope to the women.
The sisters looked at him expectantly as he reached them and took his reins from Juniper. “That’s where they are, six lodges by the river. It’s going to be dark soon. Unless you’d like to spend the night in a Peigan camp, we should lay out our blankets in that flat spot down the slope and wait to go talk to them in the morning.” He looked to the oldest Miss Collins for an answer. She was the one who seemed to take charge of most decisions like this. She was also the one pushing for them to move as quickly as possible.
As usual, she met his recommendation head-on. “You think it’s likely Steps Right will be there?” Normally, she always seemed to be taking his measure, but this time something like hope brightened her expression.
He had to be honest. “It’s hard to say. But if they’re friendly, they’ll want us to stay and eat well into the night. Then they’ll insist on putting us up on their best buffalo hide couches while they sleep on the dirt.”
Miss Lorelei’s eyes widened a bit, and she tucked her coyote a little closer to her side. Miss Faith looked almost eager. Perhaps a bit too eager. She might have come to this country hoping for adventure, but she’d better be careful, or she’d find far more than she bargained for.
His attention swung to Juniper, as it so often did. She was different from her sisters. Certainly not innocent andnaïve like the younger two. Well, naïve, yes, but she seemed to have a maturity about her. And she wasn’t as suspicious and hard-driving as her older sister.
She was studying him now, maybe looking for his reaction. Or maybe thinking about something totally different. Who was he to think he knew the mind of a woman?
“How early can we visit their camp in the morning?” The older Miss Collins tugged his focus toward her. “Will it offend them or break some unspoken etiquette if we go a little after dawn?”
He raised his brows at her. “Would you drop in on a perfect stranger a little after dawn back in Richmond?”
She looked the tiniest bit embarrassed. Maybe she would realize how hard she was pushing.
“No, but people here don’t take their morning meal in bed very often, I’m assuming.” Her expression finally softened. “I don’t want us to misstep and insult them. But I also don’t want to waste any time, and we have a long ride back tomorrow. What do you think is the best course of action?”
