Heart of Gold by Kate Marie Clark

Author:Kate Marie Clark [Clark, Kate Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-09T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 15

A screaming stomach made for a poor wakeup call indeed. Charlotte scratched her head and rolled over. Rocks rubbed against all sides. It was a miracle she had slept at all.

“Not too bad,” Everett said above the morning fire. “I worried you wouldn’t be able to sleep on the ground.”

Smoke wafted in her eyes and she tried to rub the sting away. At first she noticed just her fingers and then her arms, and finally her clothing. Ash covered her. She could only imagine what her face looked like.

“We’ll have to take all the water we can before we leave the Arapaho territory. There’s a stretch of flatland before we reach the other mountains—might not be water for the next day or so.”

“Is there any food for this morning?” She grasped her stomach. It ached with emptiness.

Everett held out a freshly roasted trout. “I figured you’d be starving.”

Charlotte smiled and took it. “Thank you.” Under normal circumstances, Charlotte would never have been able to stomach the trout, but her raging stomach devoured the food and demanded more.

Everett tied the blankets to the saddle, then added the saddlebags. “I’ve filled the canteen, but you best drink all you can before we leave.”

The water rushed along the river, and Charlotte rinsed her hands before taking a drink. She splashed her face. It would do nothing for the smell of ash and fire, but she hoped it cleared her skin from the charcoal. She leaned against a rock and sighed. How she longed for a bath.

A checkered movement on the rock below caught her eye. She screamed, nearly tipping into the river.

“What is it?” Everett asked, running to her side.

Her throat sealed shut, and she pointed frantically below.

“Oh,” he said, leaning against a hip to catch his breath. “It’s just a gopher snake; it’s harmless.”

Harmless? She shook her head and inhaled sharply.

“See how it mimics a rattler? The hissing and shaking?”

Charlotte squealed. “How can you be so sure it’s not a rattler? It looks quite convincing to me.” She backed up the rock further.

Everett extended his arms. “Come on down. It won’t hurt you.”

She trembled. “I can’t.”

“Come on,” he said, repressing a smile. “We best get going.”

Charlotte bounded into his arms, nearly knocking him to the ground. His shock quickly melted into laughter, as he stumbled to the side. Her sudden movement startled the gopher, and the snake inflated, rising in the air.

“Go, Everett! It is about to strike,” Charlotte said. She tightened her grip around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

He gasped for breath between exults. “You’re choking me.”

She dropped her arms from his neck and opened her eyes. The snake had already disappeared between the rocks. She had nearly climbed up Everett’s shoulders. “I apologize. I had not realized I clung to you so tightly.”

“Don’t take to snakes, I see.” He grinned. Amusement lit his eyes. “I suspect you’ve never encountered one in the wild before.”

She shook her head. Perspiration dotted her temples, and her heart still raced against the fright.

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