“We’re going northward, which is the same general direction I’d planned before, though the route we’re taking is a little more to the west than I think that little Peigan band seemed to be aiming. Maybe once we find Dragoon and get his horse back, we can turn east until we pick up the trail of that band again.” Assuming it didn’t rain and wash away their tracks between now and then, or a herd of buffalo didn’t cross the path to cover sign of the Indians.
At least the sisters had realized this may not be a quick search. He knew without them reminding him how much they wanted to find Steps Right quickly and fulfill their father’s last request.
If his own father had left him with a mission like this, would he be as determined to carry it out immediately? He’dlike to think so, but it was hard to imagine. Ward Turner had left his family in spirit years before he left them in body. When they finally received word of his death, there were never any last messages or final words to his wife and son.
He straightened. Thoughts like that would only send him to a place he didn’t need to go. “I guess I’m ready to turn in. If you’re all up to it, we should be in the saddle at first light.”
They had much ground to cover tomorrow, and they’d need every bit of strength they had to accomplish it.
Twenty-Four
The sun beat down on Juniper relentlessly as they rode past the morning hours and into early afternoon. Dragoon’s tracks—and those of the horses he’d been following—had been winding around several mountains, staying to the lower rocky terrain.
Now they’d begun to climb upward.
Ahead of her, Riley’s horse let out a whinny, the high-pitched sound shaking the animal as it pricked its ears toward the top of the slope.
She eyed the place. Something must be up there. Had they finally caught up with Dragoon, or was this a stranger?
Another nicker drifted down from the peak, and Riley’s gelding responded immediately. The two animals seemed to know each other.
A moment later, a horse and rider appeared on the top line, silhouetted by the sun at their back.
Was that Dragoon? Maybe, but from this distance she couldn’t be certain.
“There he is.” The relief in Riley’s tone couldn’t be missed.
Dragoon rode down the slope to meet them, and as hecame close, his scowl clearly showed the outcome of his search.
When they drew up, Riley spoke first. “Find her yet?”
Dragoon’s pressed lips disappeared beneath his beard as he shook his head. “I keep thinking I’m getting close, then I lose the tracks completely and it takes too long to find them again. Whoever has her is a master at covering his trail.”
He glanced back over his shoulder toward the top of the slope. “I might’ve lost the tracks again on these rocks.”
Riley nudged his horse forward. “Let’s get looking, then.”
Juniper guided her mare behind his pack mule as before, and with the horses pushing hard, they soon reached the top of the incline.
Dragoon reined his gelding in and pointed to the ground. “See, here’s the last track I found. I went downhill a ways but don’t see another yet. Sometimes he doesn’t take a straight path but turns left or right through a section where the ground won’t pick up his tracks. Confounded rascal.”
After glancing at the ground a minute, Riley lifted his head. “Let’s spread out as we move down the hill. Stay two or three horse-lengths away from the person on either side of you.”
They followed his instructions, and with Ol’ Henry on one side of her and Faith on the other, Juniper searched the ground.
Dragoon had dismounted to see better, and his voice carried over the hillside. “Look for any marking that could have been made by a horse, more than just tracks. A scratch on the rock, a wet mark, even a spray of sweat.”
They traveled a quarter of the way down the slope before Lorelei’s voice rang out. “I found something.”
Dragoon moved her way but called to the rest of them, “Keep looking until we know for sure this is from them.”
Juniper turned her focus back to the ground, but she couldn’t help regular glances at her sister and Dragoon as he crouched and examined the ground. Seeing the two of them together brought back the time she and Rosie came upon them outside their lodge. At least there hadn’t been any more hint of an attraction between the two. At the moment, Dragoon seemed far more focused on the ground than on her sister.
Within moments, he stood and stepped gingerly downhill, scrutinizing his path as he moved. “There’s another one. This is definitely their trail.” He turned to his horse and mounted as he called out to the rest of them. “We found it.”
Dragoon’s restless tension had begun to affect them all now that they’d been back with him a full day. Juniper took in a deep breath, then released it slowly, consciously loosening the tightness in her shoulders as she sat up straighter in her saddle. The man had barely agreed to camp last night and only conceded after it became clear they would need to ride through a patch of trees that were too dark to see hoofprints.
They’d been back in the saddle as the sun lightened the eastern sky, then pushed hard all morning. Riley made sure they allowed the horses to rest every so often, especially as the day heated and harsh rays beat down on them.
