Brides of Montana 3 Book Box Set (Mail Order Brides) by Kate Whitsby

Author:Kate Whitsby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gold Crown

Chapter 18

As soon as the sun peeked over the tops of the mountain peaks, Audrey opened her eyes and stood up. She hadn't slept a wink all night. She was too tense and cold, and the wind moaning in the tops of the trees reminded her of all the nightmares she ever had.

She tied all her gear back onto the saddle, but she wouldn't ride that way today. No way. She would walk the rest of the way back to camp. Hopefully the family was still there and hadn't given up on her and left.

She hitched up Pancho and they started out. The wind cut straight through her clothes under the shelter of the trees, but it tore the flesh off her bones out there on the bare gravel fields.

Her feet went numb from tripping over those cruel stones. She couldn't walk along the center of the path. She had to walk to the side, next to Pancho's head. More than once, she stumbled and almost fell on her face. Her knees and hips ached, but she kept going.

When they reached the peak of the mountain, she didn't stop to look behind her or in front of her. The sun crept higher, warming the world. The wind didn't cut into her so badly, but the bare sun overhead took its place. It scorched her skin and stabbed into her eyes until tears ran down her face.

Audrey and Pancho lowered their heads against every discomfort and pushed on, over the peak and down the other side. The chassis creaked and screeched and groaned, but at least it stayed together. It was a lot stronger than it looked. If it could take the punishment of crossing that mountain, it could stand the rest of the cattle drive.

By the middle of the morning, they reached the shelter of the trees. Then began the same painful process of nursing the chassis over every bump and molehill, all the way down the other side.

Only toward the middle of the afternoon did they finally come to the flat meadow. Audrey indulged in the luxury of riding instead of walking, but only because she knew the camp wasn't far away. Sitting in that saddle, rocking back and forth, pounded her bones to smithereens.

The sun sloped off toward its bed again by the time Audrey spotted the smoke from the fire. Even then, ages passed before she got close enough to make out individual human forms. Her heart soared. Owen! she cried. I'm home!

Terrible pain stabbed at her sun-burnt face when she tried to smile, but in her heart, she almost sobbed from sheer relief to be back. Maybe the pain in her face was tears running down her blistered cheeks. She couldn't be sure.

Her mind wouldn't quite comprehend the reality when she finally pulled on Pancho's reins and said, “Whoa.” The journey really was over. She got off her saddle and put down the reins.

The others clustered around her, staring at her and trying to recognize her. Why did they look so shocked?

“Audrey,” Irene murmured.

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