by Paty Jager
Isaac crouched next to her. “Allie. We need all our supplies,” he said in a low voice.
“But we can spare a can of beans.” She stood, crossing to their supplies and plucking a can from one of the food boxes.
Isaac was beside her before she could turn around. His hand caught her wrist. “Allie, you just showed them we have plenty of supplies. They’re out here hunting for food for their families because the reservation doesn’t provide enough food for them.”
She started to protest. “They’re—”
“Hungry. And hungry men can’t be trusted.” Isaac released her wrist. “Feed them the beans. Then I’ll escort them away from the cave.”
Alamayda thought Isaac was being overly dramatic about the warriors. They sat by the fire talking to one another in their own language. She wished she knew what they were saying. To her mind if they had wanted to hurt them and steal the supplies, they would have done so without disturbing the mule.
She returned to the fire, opened the can, and poured the beans into the skillet to warm them. “I have some day old biscuits,” she said, opening the cloth holding the biscuits.
The warriors each took a biscuit, nodded, and bit into them. The older one smiled and continued eating his biscuit. The younger warrior looked at the bread and nibbled.
Isaac crouched beside her again, being her protector. She liked how he made sure the men understood she was precious to him.
When the beans steamed, she divided them into the two tin coffee cups and added spoons before handing them over to the warriors. The younger warrior crumbled the remains of his biscuit into the beans.
Alamayda picked up Isaac’s plate, handing it to him, and then returned to eating her meal.
When all four were finished, she gathered the plates, cups, and skillet into a pail.
“What are you doing?” Isaac asked, his gaze resting on the warriors who didn’t seem the least bit in a hurry to leave.
“I was going to the creek to wash the dishes.” Alamayda stood.
Isaac’s gaze flickered from her to the men and back to her. “I don’t want you out there alone, but I don’t trust leaving them alone in here.”
“We all go,” the older warrior said, standing.
Isaac’s mouth opened as if he were going to say something, but he just shook his head and motioned for everyone to walk to the entrance. He followed them, grabbing the lantern as he walked by.
Alamayda waited on the ledge for Isaac to light the way to the creek. The two warriors headed that direction ahead of them. She didn’t understand Isaac’s mistrust of the two. They seemed harmless to her.
She washed the dishes while the men all stood guard. A giggle bubbled in the back of her throat, but she kept it silenced. She knew enough about male pride to keep quiet and let them all think they were stronger than the other. After the dishes were clean, she splashed water on her face and started toward a clump of bushes.
“Where are you goin’?” Isaac asked, stepping between her and the bushes.
“I need to relieve myself before settling in for the night.” She tapped her fingers on his chest and he stepped to the side.
“Oh no, you don’t,” he said.
Alamayda glanced over her shoulder and saw him keeping the warriors by the creek. She did giggle then.
Back at the cave, Isaac handed Alamayda the lantern. “Go inside. It’s time these two left.” He faced the warriors, and Alamayda entered the cave. She put the dishes in the box, tidied up around the fire, and spread their bedrolls.
Isaac entered the cave, followed by the warriors.
Her lips curved into a huge grin. “Couldn’t get rid of them?” she asked.
“It’s not funny.” He spun around. “You two sleep on this side of the fire.”
Alamayda stepped forward and extended her hand. “I’m Allie. What are you called?”
The older warrior grinned and clasped her arm above her wrist. “White Hawk.”
“Pleased to meet you.” She extended her hand to the other warrior.
He clasped her arm in the same manner. “Bear Walker.”
“Pleased to meet you, Bear Walker and White Hawk.” She glanced at Isaac. His brow was wrinkled in a frown. “This grumpy man is Isaac.”
The two warriors grinned.
“Him not happy we stay,” White Hawk said.
“No. But what you told me makes me think you do want to be our friends.” Isaac grasped Alamayda’s hand and led her to the bedrolls.
Chapter Thirty-one
“What did they say?” Allie asked as Isaac released her hand and reached up on the ledge to turn the lantern off.
Isaac didn’t want to tell her the warriors had come across tracks of three men and horses who were following them. White Hawk said the men had remained back every time he’d stopped for Allie to rest. After seeing the magic Allie put in her drawings the two warriors took it upon themselves to make sure nothing happened to her.
“I’ll tell you. When we’re settled in our bedrolls.” He placed the lantern within reach of his bedroll and slipped out of his duster. He wasn’t undressing like the nights before. Not when the men could decide now was the time to make their appearance known.
The sounds of Allie undressing and sliding into her bedroll, would have started his heart racing any other night. Tonight, he had too many worries on his mind. He slipped into his bedroll and rolled her direction. She rolled against him, and he wrapped an arm over her.
“What did the warriors tell you?” she whispered.
“There are three men following us. They’ve been staying back, but the warriors don’t trust the men. That’s why they came to you when I left you alone. They feared for you and now that they’ve seen your drawings they want to protect you even more.” He kissed her forehead. “Allie, I don’t know what the men who are following us want, but I promise, I will protect you with my life.”
“No. If you have a chance to stay alive don’t worry about me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you died saving me.” She kissed his lips. “Promise me we’ll keep each other alive.”
His heart raced with excitement. She loved him. “I promise we will live to be together.”
“That’s all I want.” She snuggled her head against his chest, and her breathing turned shallow and even.
He was glad she could sleep. She’d put in a long hard day and deserved to rest. That she could sleep knowing there were men out there following them gave his heart another jolt. It meant she trusted him to keep her safe.
The warriors didn’t make a sound once they settled in near the entrance of the cave. Between the mule and the warriors, he’d know if someone approached.
***
Isaac woke and heard movement close by. He eased his hand onto his Winchester and sat up, the rifle pointed in the direction of the noise.
Allie’s wide eyes peering back at him, startled his senses.
“Why are you pointing that at me?” she asked.
Sunlight from the entrance, threw a golden halo around her head.
He shook his head and lowered the rifle. “I heard noise and thought someone was sneaking up on us.”
She clanged pots and pans around the fire. “I doubt that. White Hawk is on guard duty while Bear Walker is out getting us some meat.”
Isaac ran a hand over his growing beard. “How late is it?” He thought he’d fallen asleep right away.
“The sun just came up.” Allie mixed ingredients in a pot, then dropped dollops of the mixture into the hot skillet. “Thought I’d make hot cakes this morning.”
He nodded. It was a nice change from biscuits. He leaned toward her. “You haven’t told White Hawk and Bear Walker about the gold have you?” He didn’t think the men would steal from them, but gold was tempting to most people.
“No. I figured the less they knew the better for them. Especially with those others being so snoopy.” She placed three cooked hot cakes on a plate and handed it to him. “Breakfast in bed
.” Her eyes became dreamy. “All those years I fed my mother in her bed, I thought wouldn’t it be nice if someone made my breakfast and brought it to me.” She shrugged. “It will never happen but it’s a nice dream.”
Isaac made a mental note to make sure he served Allie breakfast in bed. He ate the cakes before crawling out of his bedroll and making a trip outside.
White Hawk stood inside the trees in the area that would be the easiest to approach the ledge and cave. After Isaac took care of business, he went over and stood by the warrior.
“I appreciate you and Bear Walker sticking around, but I’m sure you have families who need the game you kill.” Isaac watched the man’s face. He didn’t move an eye or show any sign of emotion.
“We return when ready. Drawing Woman must not be harmed.” White Hawk continued to stare into the trees.
“We’re staying here and not leaving for a long time,” Isaac said, trying to make the man understand he should continue with his hunting.
“I know.”
Isaac stared at the man. “You know? How?”
White Hawk peered at him like he had uttered a curse. “You have much food. You not leave packed.”
Shaking his head, Isaac returned to the cave. Allie was busy moving their supplies around and making a kitchen of sorts by stacking the food box and cooking box and setting like supplies together.
If unloading the mule and packsaddles hadn’t told the warrior they were staying here, this certainly did.
Allie glanced his way. “I’m about finished. We can look farther back in the cave with the lantern.”
He’d almost forgotten why they were here. Even when he was looking for gold, he never had the fever others had. Isaac nodded and picked up the second lantern, filling it with oil, and lighting it. By the time he had the lantern ready, Allie stood beside him.
“Do you think we need a pick?” she asked.
“Let’s see what we find first.” Isaac headed into the darkness beyond the murky light from the entrance. More rocks of varying sizes scattered across the cave floor. The side walls were rocks wedged together with streaks of dirt. Some rocks were granite and others were dark with white streaks. Isaac knew enough about mining gold to know the white streaks were quartz and where one found quartz there was usually gold.
The cave started closing in on them. Allie had been walking beside him but no longer could. She held onto the back of his shirt as he moved forward into the narrowing walls.
The light grew brighter as the tunnel became smaller and smaller. The cave not only became narrower but the ceiling sloped closer and closer to the ground. The air was cooler, damper.
Isaac dropped to his knees. The light cast down the tunnel glinted off an object. “There’s something shiny down there. I’m going to check it out. You stay here, we both don’t need to get stuck in this tunnel.”
When Allie didn’t answer, he reached back to make sure she was behind him. He felt her hand still clutching his shirt. The area was narrow and he couldn’t turn around.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I-I don’t like the dark. I feel like I can’t breathe.” Her voice was low and gasping. Her grasp on his shirt tugged.
“Allie, darlin’, we can back out, and I’ll take you back to the fire. You can wait for me to check this out from there.” He started backing up.
“No! We’re here now.” Her hand released his shirt. “You saw something shiny? Like gold?”
“I’m not sure. Somethin’ shiny caught in the light in front of us.” He reached behind him, touching her knee. “You sure, you’ll be all right waiting for me?”
“I have to be. Go.” She pushed gently on his back.
“I’ll be right back.” He crawled farther into the tunnel. Twenty feet in, he could see a strong box, but the tunnel became even narrower and his shoulders wouldn’t fit.
***
Alamayda sat in the dark, her gaze focused on the flickers of light that appeared around Isaac’s body as he crawled deeper into the black hole. Her body shivered. When Isaac was with her, she didn’t notice the cold or dampness. Hugging her body with her arms, she wished she had on Isaac’s duster. Not only would it keep her warm, it would smell like him and give her comfort.
How had her father found gold in this cave? It didn’t make sense considering the way the walls and ceiling closed in to nearly nothing. She’d always read about gold mines as having tunnels a person could stand in and swing a pick.
The sliding sound of Isaac pulling himself along the ground stopped. Silence wrapped around her and a shiver vibrated her body. Why isn’t he moving?
“Isaac, are you stuck?” she called.
“No. I’m coming back.”
True to his word the sound of his movement grew louder and larger flecks of light appeared in the blackness. His foot bumped her knee.
“What did you find?” she asked as he twisted a shoulder toward her and the lantern filled the small space with light. The way his brow wrinkled and his lips were turned down, he wasn’t excited. He appeared baffled.
“There’s a strong box at the back of the tunnel. But I can’t fit my shoulders through far enough to get a hold on it.”
“A strong box? What would one be doing in this cave? One that father said was a gold mine?” The minute she said the words, her heart squeezed. Had her father been part of an outlaw gang?
Isaac shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of it. But if we want to know what’s in that box, you’ll have to crawl in there and drag it out.” He cupped her chin in his palm. “I know you don’t like being in this small space, but if we want to keep this between just us, you’re the only one who can get that box.”
She peered into his eyes. He spoke the truth. The only way to know what was in that box was for her to crawl in there and drag it out.
“I can follow behind you if that helps.”
The caring that softened his eyes gave her the resolve to tackle her fear of close spaces. “If you follow, it will help me know I’m not alone.”
He leaned toward her and kissed her lips. “That’s my girl. You’ll also have the lantern to light your way.” Isaac released her chin. “Back out so we can change places.”
She crawled backwards until there was enough room for Isaac to slip past her. The closeness of his body sliding against hers, sent a different kind of shiver up her spine. His hard body pressed into hers for the briefest of moments started heat curling in her belly.
“You ready,” he said in a husky voice when he was behind her.
It took Alamayda a couple seconds to find her voice. “Yes.”
She pushed the lantern he’d left sitting in front of her and crawled on her hands and knees behind the light, until she had to drop to her belly and crawl, pushing the light. She spotted the shine of the box when she lowered to her belly.
Focusing on the box and the sound of Isaac behind her, she shoved her body through the smaller opening and forward until she could grab a handle on the side of the box.
The box was two feet long, a foot high, and a foot wide. She gave a yank on the handle, but the box wouldn’t budge.
“It’s too heavy. I can’t make it move,” she said.
A hand rested on her left leg above her boot. “Can you stay there while I go back and get a rope? You can tie it to the handle. Then we’ll crawl back to where we can stand and we’ll pull it out.”
Isaac’s hand on her leg and the reassuring tone of his voice had her thinking she could do anything.
“I’ll wait here.”
He squeezed her leg and his hand disappeared. The sound of his body scooting backward started her heart racing. Before panic stole her voice she said, “Hurry.”
“I will,” came his faint reply and the sound of him moving faster.
Alamayda stared at the box. What made it so heavy? Had her father put it here? Where did he get it? So many questions and no answers.
Before she had time to return her thoughts to the
tunnel she lay in, the scraping and grunting sounds of Isaac returning told her she wasn’t alone.
His hand grabbed her leg, making her jump and squeak.
“Sorry,” he said, his hand moving up her body. “Here’s the end of the rope.”
Alamayda reached back, the rope and Isaac’s hand dropped into her palm. She wrapped her fingers around the rope and pulled it up in front of her. Looping the rope through the handle, she tied the end to the handle of the box.
“It’s tied,” she said.
“Back on out.” Isaac gave her leg a tug.
She started backwards, dragging the lantern with her. The second she felt space above her body she moved to her hands and knees and kept backing out.
An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to her feet. She left the lantern sitting on the ground and flung her arms around Isaac’s neck, pressing her face into his shoulder and savoring the feel of his arms. She hadn’t panicked waiting for him, but to feel his arms and stand on her feet in an area with room, she finally relaxed.
“Hey.” Isaac captured her head in his hands and held her face in front of his. “You’re right here, nothing happened to you.”
She peered into his shadowed face. This man had all the qualities a woman could ever want in a man. Honesty, security…before she could think of another word, his lips descended and covered hers in a warm welcome.
All her fears vanished. His soft lips moving over hers, starting fires and sparks in her body, told her as long he was around she never had to fear a thing.
“Drawing Woman!”
One of the warriors called into the tunnel.
Isaac withdrew from the kiss and placed his forehead against hers. “You go on and see what they want. I’ll grab the rope and start pulling.”
She nodded and wobbled a bit when Isaac released her. He grabbed her arm, helping her steady.
“What about the lantern?” she asked.
“Take it with you but when you can see, leave it for me to walk toward.”
“I don’t like leaving you back here alone,” she said, as a shiver rippled through her body.
“I’ll be fine. Go see what your friends want.” He handed her the lantern.
