Page 67 of Rocky Mountain Rendezvous

White Horse lifted an arm to point toward the mountains. “Beyond those two peaks. A cave hidden to most.”

She followed the line of his finger and picked out the pass he must mean. It might take at least a half day to get there, depending on whether the slope was steeper than it seemed from this distance.

As she studied the spot, movement at its base caught her attention. A rider separated from the mountain, coming toward them at a lope. Nay, more than one person. As the strangers traveled the grassland that stretched between them, the single figure separated into three.

Tension thickened the air as they watched the newcomers approach. Rosie motioned for Faith to join them. Thankfully, their little sister had gone the opposite direction in her wanderings than these men now approached.

“White men.” Riley murmured the words as details of the strangers became easier to see. The man in the lead wore a thick beard. The others too, from what she could see.

At last, the men halted in front of them, and the fellow in front raised a hand in greeting. “Howdy.”

Riley had edged his horse to the front of their group, and now nodded to the men. “Hello.”

The one in front pushed his hat brim up and swiped a sleeve across his brow. “Y’all must be the sisters I’ve heard tell so much of.” Then, as though he finally realized he was in the presence of ladies, he jerked the hat from his head and slapped it on his chest. “Pardon me, ma’ams. Been a while since I’ve been in civilized comp’ny.”

Juniper gave him a reassuring smile as Riley responded, “You fellows leaving the rendezvous?”

The man doing all the talking propped his arm on the front of his saddle and leaned in. “Yep. Been waitin’ for Wally there to show up a’fore we left. Near gave up on ’im, but then he crawled into camp lookin’ as puny as can be.”

He pointed back at one of those behind him, a fellow who, now that she looked closer, did look a bit pale and willowy under his bushy beard and buckskins. She didn’t have to ask why, for the spokesman kept talking.

“Turns out he’d been laid out nearly on his deathbed, burnin’ with fever so’s he started seein’ visions.” He turned back to the man. “Tell ’em, Wally. Tell ’em about the Indian woman who tended you.”

But before Wally could speak, the front man turned back to her group. “You won’t believe his story. I know I don’t. He swears it’s true, though.”

Juniper wanted to tug the man’s horse aside so they could hear the story from Wally himself, but thankfully, the fellow in front reined his mount over so they could see Wally better.

He looked like a strong wind could blow him over, and when he spoke, his voice came out soft and a little raspy, asthough he didn’t have enough strength to speak louder. “I took sick with the influenza, I think. Least that’s what it felt like. It came over me in camp one night when I was on my way to the rendezvous. Last thing I remembered was huddlin’ under my buffalo robe, tryin’ to get warm. Next I woke up, I was laid out in a cave, a big fire roarin’ not far from my pallet. An old Indian woman sat nearby it, mixin’ up somethin’ in a bowl. I had enough sense to wonder where I was an’ how I got there, but not much more than that. The fever was eatin’ me up somethin’ awful.”

Juniper could barely breathe. The woman. She had to be...

But before she could ask, Rosemary spoke up. “Do you know her name? Where is she now?” The desperate hope in her voice was as strong as that pressing in Juniper’s chest.

But Wally shook his head. “I remember her sayin’ a few things, like tellin’ me to drink and pourin’ a liquid in my mouth. But I wasn’t clear-headed at all. When I did finally wake up with the fever gone, she’d taken off too.” He shrugged. “I left the cave an’ found my horse grazin’ outside. Knew I’d be late for the rendezvous an’ mighta missed it altogether, so I got myself to the Green River Valley quick as I could.”

Frustration welled inside her. “You didn’t look around for her?” She slid a glance to White Horse, who was watching Wally with an intensity she could almost feel.

When she turned back to Wally, he looked apologetic. “Sorry, ma’am. I needed supplies somethin’ desperate, an’ I knew the wagons had prob’ly already left, so the only way I could get trade was to catch Bert an’ Marty here.”

“But what did she look like?” Rosemary voiced the question.

He frowned slightly, like he was struggling to remember. “Old. Pure white hair in braids. A little on the heavy side.” His expression cleared. “An’ I remember she had this bracelet made o’ blue beads. Real pretty things that glittered in the firelight.”

Excitement lit in her chest. That had to be Steps Right. Surely.

Riley must be thinking the same, for his voice hummed with hope. “Can you take us to that cave? How far from here?”

The man frowned again, then turned and stared back at the mountains he and his friends had just ridden from. “I think it’s not far as the crow flies. Prob’ly on the other side o’ that tallest one.” He pointed to the peak that rose above the others.

Then he turned and looked from one of his companions to the other. “I reckon I’m not opposed to leadin’ you there, so long as Bert an’ Marty don’t mind takin’ the time.”

Bert, the fellow who’d been doing all the talking at the beginning, shook his head. “If it interests you that much, we can oblige you.”

While Rosemary, Riley, and White Horse discussed logistics with the men, Juniper nudged her horse up next to Riley’s. Maybe they’d finally found a clue that would lead them to Steps Right.

Yet even then, this wouldn’t be the end of their journey.

As soon as they finished building the ranch house, Riley planned to track down a preacher-turned-trapper he knew who could perform the marriage ceremony for the two of them.

Then they could spend the winter helping her sisters andWhite Horse build the barn and other outbuildings and get the ranch in order. When spring came, they’d head to the southernmost tip of the Rockies—or whatever place Riley had been planning to start their expedition.

She glanced over at her beloved, and he turned to meet her gaze. Every other sound faded as she sank into the love in his eyes. Every moment with this man—whether on the mountaintops or in the deepest valleys—would be an adventure.

An adventure she couldn’t wait to begin.