Desperado by Lisa Bingham

Author:Lisa Bingham [Bingham, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

THEY reached the summit well before sundown. P.D. supposed their excellent progress had less to do with their will to win than their wish to camp for the night. After racing to the official charged with taking their time, they were told to bed down in a clearing a few hundred yards away. At six in the morning, their next task would be delivered to them.

While P.D. gathered firewood, Elam removed the gelding’s saddle and bridle, and rubbed him down with a handful of grass. Then he led the animal to the trough of water provided for their use before tying the animal to a tree, where it could graze.

When he returned, P.D. had stacked the firewood in a circle of stones she’d moved to the center of their camp. She was attempting to light the pile with a match when he intervened.

“You need to start with some dried weeds and kindling first.” After gathering what he needed, Elam struck another precious match from their stash and touched it to a mound of foxtails. Patiently, he nursed the tiny flame into a small blaze, then began adding dried twigs and sticks until the fire had grown large enough for one of the smaller logs P.D. had found.

Now that the sun had gone down, the temperature was falling and the breeze off the mountain was cool. P.D. wrapped her arms around her waist and huddled closer to the fire. Glancing her way, Elam took one of the blankets from their bedroll and wrapped it around her shoulders. He paused there, his hands firm and strong.

P.D. glanced up the hill to where the timekeeper had pitched a pup tent and was settling in for the night. Thankfully, an outcropping of rocks and sumac offered them a small measure of privacy.

“He can’t see us,” Elam murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist, his breath warm against her ear.

“It still makes me nervous.”

Elam pressed a kiss against her neck. “Right now, the only thing he’s going to see is a pair of weary contestants rustling up something to eat.”

“Like what?”

“Rummage through our supplies. Use one of the cans of beans, and see if you can’t find something to go with it. I’ll be back.”

He kissed the top of her head, then strode away, disappearing into the trees a few yards away. Figuring that he might be “answering the call of nature,” P.D. figured that she’d better take advantage of the few minutes she’d been left alone. Heading in the opposite direction, she hurriedly took care of her own needs. Then she returned to use some of the bottled water to wash her hands and face until she felt a little less grimy.

Searching through the saddlebags, she withdrew the beans, the can opener, and then the pan. Then, frowning at the meagerness of their meal, she ran a quick eye through the rest of their supplies.

After opening up the beans, she set the can on a flat rock in the fire to heat. She reconstituted some of the jerky with water and stirred it into the beans.

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