The Western Dare (Harlequin Heartwarming) (16 page)

Emily nodded. “Sherry and Gina are both staying in town. Mark’s in charge of Gina’s wagon. Brittany should take care of Sherry’s—if it enters her mind. Since Megan’s sleeping there tonight, I’ll make sure everything’s tied down.”

“You’ll be alone in your wagon?”

“I didn’t say that to give you ideas,” she hissed. “A kiss is not an invitation to share my bed.”

“I never thought it was,” he said gruffly. “The prospect of a storm is making everyone edgy. I was merely going to say that if you’re as wide-awake as I am, maybe we could fix a pot of coffee and sit outside for a while.”

“Herb tea would be nice. I need to unwind.” She glanced at the sky. “We may get rained out. I wonder if the wagons leak.”

“The original ones were waterproofed. I assume these are. Maizie has run the Oregon Trail with the same wagons. I’m sure it rained on those trips.”

“She doesn’t strike me as a woman who’d be deterred by little things like flood and famine.”

“Flood? Did you have to say that? I figured our biggest worry would be lightning.”

They laughed together, and both girls turned around to glare.

“All that over a kiss?” muttered Camp. “I thought kids who had three holes in each ear were unshockable.”

“Megan’s never seen me kiss any man before. I imagine it did come as a shock.”

“Never? Really?” Camp caught her elbow and turned her toward him.

Emily hoped it was dark enough to hide the heat she felt spreading from her neck into her cheeks. “I explained that Dave and I were little more than strangers living under the same roof. Since his death, what with juggling a job, kids and the squabbles with my in-laws, I haven’t had the energy to date.”

Camp picked up her hand and kissed the palm. “I figured I’d have to fight my way through a crowd of men at your door.”

They felt the first splat of rain on their connected hands before Emily broke free. “I know how many miles there are between your house and mine, Camp. Don’t tease.”

He shook off raindrops that seemed to fall faster, cursing his leg that had cramped up again. “I’m not teasing, Emily,” he whispered, huffing to keep in step. “From the first minute I laid eyes on you, I felt...interest. I know you didn’t then, but you have to agree it’s there between us now. The last thing I want to do is rush you or scare you. So say the word and I’ll back off.”

They were nearing the copse of trees where the wagons waited. Emily hunched against the increasingly fierce rain. “Everything would be simpler if you
were
the chauvinist Sherry described,” she said with a sigh. “To use kind of a dated term....”

She sounded so earnest Camp hated to laugh. It was just that he’d never thought of himself that way. He gave women colleagues as much credence as the men in his department. It wounded him to think Sherry would say such things to someone she’d only met at the start of this trip. So they didn’t see eye to eye on everything. Camp had thought most of their bickering had been in jest. Sherry had to know he’d do anything to keep her safe—to keep every woman on this trip safe.

“I see I caught you off guard, Camp. I’m sorry. Sherry said something about sibling rivalry. Or maybe it was gender rivalry.”

“Listen, Emily. If there’s any rivalry, it’s all on her part. I’m proud of Sherry’s accomplishments. And I thought she was proud of mine. Obviously we’re coming at this reenactment from different angles.”

“Don’t tell her I said anything. I’d hate to be the cause of some new feud.”

“There isn’t an old feud. Believe it or not, this trek was Sherry’s brainstorm. She and I definitely need to talk. Enough said. Do you still feel like sharing a cup of coffee with me? Er...I mean, my coffee, your tea. While I’m checking the horses, you’ll have time to change into jeans and grab your slicker.”

“All right.” Emily saw that Megan and Brittany had already climbed into Sherry’s wagon and had lit a lantern. “After I have a word with the girls, I’ll build a fire and put on a pot of water. I know Sherry has instant coffee. I’ll borrow some while I’m there.”

“Emily, I will build the fire and put the water on,” he declared. “I don’t want you to assume I brought it up so you’d fix my coffee.”

“Have it your way. You won’t catch me stepping on a man’s toes when he’s trying to prove a point.”

Camp heaved a sigh as she scurried off. Obviously he
hadn’t
gotten his point across. She still believed Sherry, or she’d never have made that parting comment. As he watched her walk away, Camp realized he wanted Emily to think well of him. Better than well, he admitted unabashedly.

He wandered among the restless horses, absently checking hobbles. A jagged bolt of lightning forked across the sky, illuminating the grassy slope where the animals grazed. Sweat broke out on Camp’s upper lip. The storm was breaking fast. He wondered if the horses would be all right out here in the open. He stuck around for a few minutes, but when there were no new bursts of lightning he circled the herd one last time before heading back to the wagons. The smell of coffee wafted out on the wind, teasing his nostrils.

Feeling guilty for loitering after making such a big deal of building the fire and fixing the coffee himself, Camp veered off to wash his hands in the stream. It surprised him to see water lapping to the top of the bank. Earlier, when he’d collected water to shave, the current had flowed gently with barely a ripple. Now, unless he was way off base, the creek had risen considerably. In Maizie’s absence, he needed to alert Robert.

Emily smiled as Camp charged out of the trees. “I was about to go looking for you. I wondered if a wild animal had carried you off.” Fat raindrops hissed and spit as they hit her fire.

“The stream’s climbed the bank by about six inches. I’m going to tell Robert.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t pass him on the trail. He and Maizie went to check. Maizie heard about the storm while she was visiting friends. She said if the rain doesn’t let up by morning we’ll have to cut short our stay in Council Grove. According to Robert she took plenty of flack about that.”

“Tough. I’m sure we know who complained. Philly. Did Maizie say what problems we might face?”

“Not specifically. I gather she was concerned about the lowlands near Diamond Springs. Robert said it’s pretty hard crossing the Arkansas River in a storm.”

Camp squatted on his heels and accepted the cup Emily handed him. “I thought that’s the reason they equipped our wagons with balloon tires instead of the standard wagon wheels. So we wouldn’t bog down in wet weather.”

“I don’t know. They’ll be back this way,” she said, pouring water over her tea bag. “You can ask them then.”

“Um.” Camp blew on the liquid to cool it. He hoped they wouldn’t come back too soon. If Maizie said to leave, they’d leave. But the rain wasn’t too bad yet, and Camp wanted this time alone with Emily.

“You look uncomfortable. Here, I got out four lawn chairs, Camp. I couldn’t find Sherry’s instant coffee, so I brewed a pot. And I invited Maizie and Robert to stop by for a cup of tea or coffee.”

“Um,” Camp mumbled again.

He’d no sooner accepted a chair and sat than he saw Brittany jump from Sherry’s wagon and head their way. “Our idea seems to be turning into a full-scale party,” Camp muttered. “What do you suppose
she
wants?”

Emily crossed her legs. Mild curiosity appeared on her face as Brittany waltzed up and helped herself to a chair, wedging it between Emily and Camp.

“I smelled coffee over Megan’s nail-polish remover. I always have a cup before I go to bed. It seemed stupid to build a fire just for me. I didn’t figure you’d mind my horning in.” She produced a cup from her jacket pocket and filled it to the brim.

Camp looked irritated, Emily merely amused.

“The rodeo was awesome,” Brittany exclaimed, facing Camp. She deliberately presented her back to Emily as she regaled Camp with details of each event, barely pausing to take a breath and an occasional sip of her coffee.

Feeling ignored, Emily got up once and paced to the trail head and back, checking for Robert and Maizie.

Camp leaped up at the same time to stoke the fire. “Can’t you send her to bed?” he implored Emily out of one side of his mouth.

“Me?” Emily darted a glance over her shoulder at Brittany’s carefully composed face. The girl was the picture of innocence.

“Yes, you. After all, she’s here at Megan’s request. No doubt to act as chaperone.”

“Yeah.” Emily looked over at the wagon where Megan was reportedly doing her nails. She saw a dark head jerk out of sight. “I suspect that’s exactly what’s going on.”

“Shall we try and outwait them?” he whispered.

“Hey, you two,” Brittany grumbled. “No fair keeping secrets. Here, Camp, I brought you my data sheet.” She pulled some crumpled papers out of her pocket. “And Sherry’s. Oh, and she said to give you Gina’s.”

Emily bit her lip. “I didn’t fill mine out. I’ll go do that now.”

Camp reached for her arm to tug her back, but it was too late. She’d set her cup on a log and sprinted for her wagon, dashing between raindrops. Reluctantly, he gave the fire a last jab before returning to sit beside Brittany.

She refilled her cup, casually scooting her chair closer. “What kind of papers will I have to write for your fall class? I figured I’d get a head start. With your help,” she added.

Camp choked, spewing his mouthful of coffee all over his jeans. In the classes Brittany had taken from him, she’d never once handed a paper in on time.

“I’m turning over a new leaf,” she said sweetly, as if reading his mind.

“That’s good.” He plastered on his best professor’s smile. “We’ll be doing a unit on forts. There are several on this trip. I can’t give you special tutoring, though, Brittany. It wouldn’t be fair to other students in the class. The stuff you just told me about the rodeo might make a good English composition. You should go back to the wagon and jot everything down. Otherwise, you run the risk of forgetting.”

“Yeah, right,” she drawled. “You want me out of the way so you and Mrs. Benton can make out.”

Camp was about to tell her in no uncertain terms that what he did and with whom was
his
business and nobody else’s, but he’d no more than opened his mouth when Maizie and Robert clomped into the firelight bringing the smell of wet forest.

“Welcome to Grand Central Station,” Camp muttered, his eyes tracing Emily’s return from her wagon.

Oblivious, Emily passed him her data sheet. Her attention shifted to the mother and son who scraped layers of mud from the soles of their boots. “I scribbled my first impression of things we saw on the tour,” she said absently. “I’ll add more tomorrow if you need it.”

“We’ll be pulling out at first light,” Maizie rasped. “The Neosho is rising and spilling into our creek. I’m gonna wake everybody now and give them the news. Robert’s riding into town to tell those at the hotel. Take your coffee with you, son.”

“What about Gina?” Emily asked. “Shouldn’t she rest another day?”

“I wish she’d stay put, but as Robert said, we still have to drive her wagon to Santa Fe. All eight wagons are booked for the return trip. Mark can pick her up on our way through town in the morning. We won’t drag her back here tonight.”

“Mark isn’t an experienced driver. Do you expect a lot of problems due to the weather?” Emily automatically moved closer to Camp.

He slid an arm around her waist. With his free hand, he filled cups for Maizie and Robert. Robert thanked him, waved backward as he slogged off through the puddles.

Maizie took a bracing sip before answering Emily. “I always expect problems with the weather. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised. Sometimes not. We’re a whole lot better equipped than the pioneers. If we can’t ford the Arkansas, well, at least we won’t be fighting cutthroats and thieves. Thanks for the coffee, Campbell. Fill a Thermos or two. It’s gonna be a long night.”

Camp jerked the pot and slopped the coffee. “What do you mean, long night?”

“Hear that thunder gettin’ louder?”

He acknowledged by dipping his chin.

“Well, till Robert makes it back, I’ll need your help keeping those horses in line. Can you sing, boy? Cowboys sang ballads to quiet their stock during thunderstorms. I sound like a cat that’s got his tail caught in a door.”

“You’re kidding, I hope,” Camp flared. But even as the words fell from his lips, he saw that she wasn’t.

“Wish I was. We’ll be in a real fix if those horses stampede. How was I to know Philly would be worthless or that I’d have our group all split up when it decided to storm?”

Emily hovered on the balls of her feet. “I’ll help ride herd, Maizie.”

“You will? I appreciate that. With two of us riding in opposite directions around the horses, that’ll leave one to keep the coffee hot and the fire stoked. We’ll trade off, one every half hour, until Robert returns.”

Camp grasped Emily’s wrist and swung her around. “You’ll do no such thing. The middle of a potential stampede is no place for a woman.”

The light of battle sparked in Emily’s eyes. “What does that make Maizie?”

He gulped. “I...I’m sorry, Maizie. But you’re an old hand at this.”

“And you’re Clint Eastwood?” Emily smirked, dander clearly rising.

“Emily, be reasonable.”

“I am being reasonable. You’re the one spewing testosterone. And for your information, I can even sing on key.”

Maizie tipped her face to the rain and laughed. “Entertaining as this is, I gotta break it up. That last bolt of lightning hit yonder in those trees. Emily, you and I will take the first shift.” Maizie grinned at Camp. “Give you time to cool down, sonny.”

Taking Maizie at her word, Emily folded the extra chairs and tipped them up next to the wagon so the seats would stay dry.

Brittany dragged her chair closer to the fire. “Who cares if Emily wants to pretend she’s Annie Oakley? I’ll keep you company, Camp.”

Maizie lifted Brittany out of her chair, one hand tucked firmly in the girl’s armpit. “If you’re gonna stay up, you can help ride herd. Four makes trading off easier.”

At first Brittany acted as if she thought Maizie was joking. As soon as it became clear that she wasn’t, Brittany pulled loose and flounced off.