Her inner beauty definitely added to the appeal. The way she was so devoted to her sisters. The intelligence she so often showed in her questions and quiet suggestions. She didn’t push her opinions or crow when she was proved right, just offered her quiet presence as support. The younger sisters definitely looked up to her, and that alone said much. Yet did they realize what a treasure they had in her? He had a feeling they didn’t.
And she could even cook over a campfire. How much more could he ask than that?
He struck the thought aside as he stepped into the camp.Several of the women looked up at him, but it was Juniper’s sweet smile that drew his notice.
Her gaze searched his face. “Are you hungry? The meal should be ready in just a few minutes.”
Now that he thought about it, his belly had been grumbling for a while. Yet the aroma drifting from the fire wasn’t merefood. This was a meal, a delicious experience. A stack of meat was laid to the side, and Juniper worked with something that looked an awful lot like johnnycake.
His belly gave a fresh leap, and his mouth watered of its own accord. “You got flour?” Apparently he’d been fooling himself about the need to ration his supply. They could gladly scoop from his flour barrel to make food that looked and smelled this good.
“Mr. Dragoon brought us some and asked us to use it in the meal this evening.” She looked hesitant, as though she thought she might have done the wrong thing.
He grinned. “Good. Wish I’d done that myself.”
A shy smile brightened her face, but she covered it by turning back to the food.
He moved his own focus to the others just in time to see Rosemary watching him. Her expression looked as wary as a mother elk protecting her young. Not trusting, and not about to back down. She’d shown herself to be protective of her younger sisters, a fierce leader of their group.
When he was looking at Juniper, he must have shown something of his thoughts in his expression. Either that or she suspected her sister was partial to him. Did she not approve of him, then?
But even if he did admire Juniper, she would be leaving soon, so he couldn’t let himself grow attached. The sistershad plans back in Virginia, and he was content here among these mountains. Rosemary had nothing to be concerned about.
He ignored the pressure in his chest and shifted his focus to the other two. Faith was working a needle through the bunch of cloth in her lap, and Lorelei sat with the coyote, stroking its fur.
Riley nodded to the animal. “Looks like he’s grown in these few days.”
Lorelei looked at the pup with a smile that bordered on besotted. He appreciated the companionship of animals as much as the next fellow, especially working as a trapper through the long winters, when he liked his horse and pack mule a lot better than his campmates some days, but her attachment to that pup seemed a bit extreme. Maybe losing both parents made her look for that connection in animals. He well knew how the pain of loss could bring on irrational thinking. He’d watched that happen with his mother. Thankfully, Miss Lorelei didn’t seem as affected as Mother had been.
“Have you learned anything about the horses?” Rosemary’s voice broke into his thoughts.
He lifted the sketch, which had wrinkled with the day’s activities. “I showed this at all the races. I think I must have spoken with half the trappers here at least. Maybe more.”
She lifted her brows. “And?”
“Most said they’d never seen the brand. There was one old fellow who remembered a trapper who rode a horse with a marking like this on its shoulder, but he said it was at least two years ago when he saw it, maybe three.”
Eagerness spread across Juniper’s face. “Could he describe the horse?”
Riley hesitated. “Not really. He said he thought it might’ve been sorrel. I’m thinking the white bonnet would’ve been something he’d notice, so it must’ve been the mare.”
Rosemary frowned. “How would the trapper get one of the horses from Steps Right?”
He shrugged. “Traded, I imagine. That’s pretty common.”
Faith let out a dramatic sigh. “So you’re saying there’s almost no chance Steps Right still has both horses. And it’s quite possible the two horses aren’t still together. We’ll spend all this time and effort looking for them and simply find two grizzled old trappers.”
Juniper turned to her sister. “It’s actually Riley who’s put in all the time and effort today.” She looked back at him. “Did you even stop to eat?”
It’d been forever since he’d had a woman worry about whether he missed a meal. He let himself rest in those blue eyes. “I took food with me.”
She nodded with a little smile, then dropped her focus back to her work. Since her gaze no longer held him tight, he turned to Faith. “There’s a good chance you’re right. It’s impossible to say for sure, of course. But I’m far less confident that seeking out the horses will lead us to Steps Right.” And he’d not thought it a strong possibility to begin with.
“What then?” Lorelei finally raised a tentative voice. She certainly was the quiet one in the group.
He released a long breath. “That’s what I’ve been thinking through. It seems the most likely way to find her is the way we’d started off searching. Go from one camp to the next, asking if anyone knows her.”
“Do you think they’ll tell us the truth?” Rosemary looked doubtful.
