"Aw." The disappointment came clearly in his tone, even over the distance.
But Jericho didn't have time to soothe him. He turned Pinto as he called again. "I mean it. Don't touch the horses until I'm with you. I won't be long."
Hopefully.
CHAPTER8
Jericho pushed his gelding into a lope and followed the creekside trail. Surely more women hadn't come already. These, he wouldn't allow to stay. He'd turn them around at the creek and send them back to wherever they came from. If he had to pay their fare—or double it—he would gladly do so, just to be rid of them.
He didn't have any money with him now, though. Maybe he could call for one of the boys and have them bring gold down while Jericho held the newcomers in place.
The last thing he needed was anyone else coming up the mountain. Not just because letting strangers get friendly with his family always brought disaster, but because he had to protect their mine and livelihood.
As he neared the place where Crowley, the Raven who always signaled newcomers, circled overhead, he slowed Pinto to a walk. Voices sounded through the trees. Men's voices.
As if he hadn’t been hard enough. He pushed the gelding into a faster walk. Had one of his brothers already come down to meet the stranger? They knew better than to make their presence known unless they recognized the person.
Or maybe this mail-order bride had brought a father or brother. He groaned inside. The last thing he needed was an angry family member claiming Jericho had wronged his daughter and demanding recompense.
But as he rode closer, he picked out Gil's voice. He and Jude were working at the mine, trying to finish moving the full crates of sapphires—the work Jude and Jonah had been doing yesterday when the accident happened.
When he rounded the bend and saw who Gil spoke to, relief swept through him. Two Stones sat on his spotted horse—and even better, he held a rope attached to a long-eared donkey.
Jericho couldn't help but grin as he closed the distance between them. Finally, something was going right.
He pulled up beside Two Stones and dismounted. "You found one."
The Salish brave nodded and grinned back. "I did. Took much riding to find, then I had to give all the gold and another horse with it."
Jericho moved to the donkey and ran his hand down its scruffy gray coat. It was a sturdy female with a head too large for its body. But its eyes were kind and calm, and it brayed softly as Jericho rubbed its nose. "Thank you, my friend. She’ll be a big help."
Two Stones shrugged. "I am glad to help."
Jericho eyed the man. "For the horse you had to give, do you want to pick from our stock, or would you rather have gold coin?" Two Stones interacted with whites enough that he could trade the coin for whatever he needed.
A twinkle touched the man's eye. "I get my own horses."
Jericho nodded. "Ride up to the house with me then so I can get you money." They'd talked many times about the superior qualities of the spotted horses Two Stones bought from the Nez Perce. Jericho wouldn't mind purchasing a mare himself and adding her to his breeding program. Maybe he'd give Two Stones enough money to obtain goods to trade for such a horse.
Most of the Salish lived quietly in the villages of their ancestors, growing cammas on plots of land handed down from one generation to the next. But Two Stones had restless feet, staying on the trail as often as he could. He'd stopped in to introduce himself when Mum and Dat first came to this mountain and had helped hoist some of the logs to build their cabin.
He'd been a good friend since then, one of the few the Coulter family possessed. And the only man Jericho trusted on the ranch. Two Stones had answered their questions about the colored stones they first found in the creek and had only shrugged when Dat told him they were sapphires and worth a great deal of money to the white men in the east.
After swinging back up on Pinto, Jericho took the rope from his friend. "Follow me to the house. Are you hungry? Jonah was injured yesterday and is laid up in bed. He'll be glad if you come speak to him."
"I guess I'd better get back to help Jude." Gil sounded reluctant, but Jericho gave him a nod.
They certainly didn't need another accident. Loading the wagon wasn't usually dangerous, only hard, heavy work. Jude had said Jonah slipped as the horses were already backing, and by the time he called out, the animals couldn't stop the heavy load in time on the slope.
He met his brother's gaze. "Be careful."
Gil returned a cheeky grin. "That wouldn't be any fun."
While Jericho tightened his grip on his reins to keep from throwing something at his little brother, Gil turned his mount and trotted off, disappearing into the trees.
Two Stones chuckled, and Jericho nudged his gelding up the slope toward the house. "We have other visitors too."
As he told about the advertisement and the two women now lodged in Lucy's old room, Two Stones’s chuckle turned to a belly laugh. Jericho sent him a dark look, but the man only shook his head, barely able to catch his breath.
