He raised his brows. “You and three other women came to the rendezvous of ’37?” He’d heard the men talk about that year. The biggest gathering before it or since. But as suspicion slipped through him, he narrowed his gaze. “Did the four of you dress up as men?”
Her teeth flashed in a chuckle. “No, actually. We didn’t realize the extent of what we were riding into. Thankfully, one of the trappers we met at first took pity on us and helped, both with our protection and our search. We never found Steps Right, but that trapper is now married to my sister Juniper.”
Grant’s mouth pinched. That didn’t surprise him. Most men around here probably hadn’t seen a white woman since they left Missouri. Which might have been years for some of them.
“We did find Steps Right’s son, White Horse. He said his mother was cast out of their village because of a misunderstanding. He doesn’t know where she is, but he believes she’s safe—at least he did back then. We also found a herdof horses that were descendants of a pair my father sent as a gift to Steps Right for saving his life. My sisters and I started a ranch with White Horse as our partner. It’s been three years, though, and we still haven’t found Steps Right like we promised my father.”
He was beginning to understand the bigger picture, and it made his chest hurt. A promise to a loved one she hadn’t yet been able to keep... Maybe the two of them had more in common than he’d suspected.
He had a few more questions, though. “If you haven’t found her in three years, what makes you think you will now? And why waterfalls?”
Her voice rose a little. Not enough to put them at risk, but enough to show her emotion. “It’s frustrating. We started off looking for her all the time, but then as we were establishing the ranch, we didn’t have time. Then winter came, and one of my sisters was in the family way. We did find a clue in a cave where Steps Right had been, and White Horse is pretty sure she was telling him she would be staying near a waterfall. But before we could start searching for her, another of my sisters got married. And we had to build a cabin for Juniper and Riley. One thing after another. Now there are two more babes on the way, and Rosie says she doesn’t know when we’ll have time to look for Steps Right again. But White Horse saw two men from his old tribe at the trading post. Men who were known as soldiers among his people. I have a bad feeling about them. Wehaveto find Steps Right before they do.”
His throat tightened. He could understand her desperate need to fulfill the promise, even when it no longer seemed to matter to others. “And that’s why you came by yourself?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t alone at first. I left the ranch with family friends who were traveling near the falls where I found you. I didn’t find Steps Right there, but then you told me about Parson. I thought I could just ask him to draw me a map, so I left my friends and dressed up like a man to look for him. He said he couldn’t give me directions, but I could join on with him. He said he knew of several other falls that weren’t on your map. It seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. And my disguise worked. It still does.”
He could mention that he’d seen through it already, but part of that might be because he had met her before without the disguise. The others didn’t seem to pay her much notice. And with this new threat, their attention was even more distracted from her.
But that wouldn’t last forever. “How do you intend to search the waterfalls once we get close to them? I doubt Parson will escort you himself. He’ll be busy trapping.”
She nodded. “He knows I’m here to see the falls, not trap. He said he’ll give me directions once we get close.”
She did seem to have most of the details sorted out. Except...
“And what will you do once you find this woman?Ifyou find her, that is. She may have moved on already.” Or she might not still be alive, but that seemed an unkind thing to say aloud.
“I hope to bring her back to our ranch. I suppose I’ll sort through that once I meet her.”
That part wasnota solid plan. Maybe he could work out protection for them on the journey back. Perhaps he would have found Will by then, and his brother would bewilling to go with him to accompany the two women safely to her sisters.
He studied her, as much as he could see in the darkness. If he refused to keep her secret and forced her to return to her sisters, he had a feeling Miss Faith Collins would find another way to leave and search for this elderly Peigan woman. And she might not stumble across someone who would ensure her safety like he would.
In fact, chances were good shewouldn’tfind a protector. He nearly snorted. He’d already proven ill-suited to protect a woman in his care. But if he was the only one here to do it, hopefully he could be better than no one.
He sighed. “All right. I’ll keep your secret.”
She let out a breath. “Thank you, Grant. Thank you so very much.”
He couldn’t help adding, “But if at any point I think my silence is putting you in danger, I’ll speak up. I won’t stand by and let harm come to you.”
Her teeth flashed in the darkness. “I appreciate that.”
EIGHT
The men were still on edge the next day, yet Faith could finally breathe again. Knowing that Grant not only knew her secret but also promised to help her keep it and protect her should she need a hand in that area, well ... she’d never realized how wonderful it was to have a friend.
She usually had one or all of her sisters around during a new adventure. In fact, she couldn’t ever remember going on an excursion without one of them.
Grant hadn’t treated her differently today, though every now and then he gave her a long look that might garner notice from some of the others if they weren’t so preoccupied with watching for whoever was following them. Grant had also stumbled when speaking her name once, nearly calling her Miss Collins. She needed to make it clear he should think of her even in his mind as Frank.
They’d finally reached the lake where Parson wanted to set traps this afternoon. Most of the men had already unloaded their possibles sacks and metal traps, and headedin different directions to claim an area they thought most likely to produce results.
She and Grant had been tasked with unpacking the animals and preparing the evening meal. Now they’d just about finished hobbling the horses and mules.
Grant straightened and patted the bay he’d just secured. “I’ll get a fire started.”
“I thought I’d make another stew tonight and start some beans soaking so we can cook them in the morning.” That would be a nice change from meat stew every meal. After the dumplings last night, Parson had mentioned she should try to avoid using flour more than once a week. They’d only brought one small barrel of cornmeal too, which didn’t leave much except beans and meat.
