Wildfire by Norah Hess

Author:Norah Hess
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Western, Westerns
ISBN: 9780505523310
Publisher: Love Spell
Published: 1999-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

"You women! Get out of there!" two male voices yelled. "There is quicksand in this river bottom," Josh's deep voice warned, echoed by Foster Jovan's.

Their eyes mirroring terror, mothers grabbed children and hustled them back onto the sandy river bank. One white-faced woman voiced the question that had occurred to everyone. "How are we gonna cross it if there's quicksand in there?"

Josh let his gaze rest briefly on each anxious face, lingering a little longer on Serena's. She noted the lurking disquiet in his eyes, even as they twinkled at the women's fears. There was a reassuring calmness in his tone when he answered them.

"There's nothin' to it, ladies. We hit the water at a run and keep the critters movin' as fast as we can."

He turned his lean body in the saddle and looked down into the uneasy faces of the men who had come up silently behind him. His quiet, matter-of-fact words were like a soothing balm to them.

"Men, for the first time this drought we've been in is gonna benefit us. The river is low because of it, and you should be able to keep your teams at a full gallop until you're across." When relieved smiles replaced dread on the weathered faces, Josh raised a cautioning hand. "Bear in mind now that it's very important the teams don't slow down to a walk.

You'll be takin' a chance on losin' your wagon and team if that happens."

Everyone nodded agreement, with only one man venturing a suggestion. The owner of a small herd of purebred cattle wondered if perhaps they should lay over for the rest of the day, suggesting that animals, as well as drivers, would be more refreshed after a night's rest, and would have a safer crossing.

Josh glanced over his shoulder to the north. "Ordinarily I'd agree with you," he said. "But by the looks of them clouds buildin' back there it could rain tonight. If it does, this river will double its size and we could be stuck here for a week waitin' for it to go down."

Everyone, including the cattleman, acknowledged that Josh made sense. And squatting down in a semicircle, they began discussions as how best to carry out his plans to get them to the other side of the river.

It was decided finally that half the men on horseback would cross first then wait on the other side with ropes ready. If a wagon should get bogged down the chances were good that these men could pull it out. And the other half of the riders would swim alongside the wagons, helping in any way they could, even rescuing passengers if necessary.

A somber group of people then gazed across the wide expanse of the Snake, asking themselves if everyone would set foot on the other shore. In one accord the women knelt down to pray to the Lord for a safe passage. The bared heads of the men bowed solemnly over them, and Jessie and her girls clasped hands and silently mouthed long-forgotten prayers.

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