Thief of My Heart (Watty Awards Finalist 2012)

Chapter 11

An hour later they came upon the foothills of the Davis Mountains. They dismounted and searched on foot until they found a perfect place to take shelter. Projecting out of the side of a steep cliff was an overhang. Evangeline said it looked like God had taken a spoon and dipped it into the side of the mountain, leaving behind this dry shelter with a soft sandy ground inside. The overhang extended about ten feet from the side of the mountain and was about twelve feet wide and eight feet from the ground. There was plenty of room for Joshua, Evangeline and their animals and equipment. Large raindrops began to fall and thunder began to roll in the distance as Joshua removed the last of the gear from the mule and placed it under the overhang. Evangeline was busy placing their blankets on top of the pine needles and leaves she'd gathered and arranged in a neat pile on the right side of the shelter. Soon a fire was blazing in the center nearer the front edge with the animals on the left. As Joshua unsaddled the horse the winds picked up, lightning steaked across the sky and rain began to fall in sheets to beat the ground outside.

"Whew. We barely made it. Couldn't have done it without you," he said.

"Hey, we're in this together remember. Until we get to Red Rock, I'm your partner."

"Well, partner, looks like we're stuck here for the rest of the night."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"As long as it keeps raining like this I think it's a good thing. Our tracks will get washed away if anybody's trailing us. And nobody can do much traveling in this kind of weather. So I think we're alright for tonight."

He didn't know if he was trying to convince her or himself. He just had that nagging feeling that trouble was looming. He stood for a long time at the edge of their shelter scanning the surrounding area and the trees. If somebody did find them here in this cave, there was no where to run. It made him feel trapped and he didn't like that. And his gun had to be cleaned and oiled now that he'd gotten it wet earlier when he'd went in the water to pull Evangeline out. At least he had the dead man's rifle. But he didn't have any extra ammo for it. He only had the few bullets he'd found in the dead man's pockets. It made him nervous and so he paced. Like he always did when he was nervous. He turned to watch her as she busied herself with unpacking their wet clothes and laying them out by the fire to dry. Then there was the other kind of trouble he felt was looming. All the alone togetherness he was hoping to avoid was now unavoidable. He resumed his pacing, as he watched the rain fall in sheets outside. Being confined with her for the night was going to be a real test of willpower. His mind went back to the day he'd cracked the safe at the Armendarez Ranch and found priceless jewels and thousands of dollars in cash inside. He had resisted the temptation that day and it had paid off in the long run. And he would resist this temptation too.

"Will you sit down somewhere please? You're making me nervous with all that pacing."

Her words roused him from his thoughts and he turned to see her sitting cross legged on their make shift bed. Her words sounded like something the Kid would say to him. "Didn't you say you had some more of my clothes?" she asked, looking for anything to distract him so that his nervous pacing would stop. She didn't like it when he was nervous.

"Yes, they're in my extra set of saddle bags. I tried to fold them up as neat as I could."

"I'd like to have a look at them please. I'd like to know if they're mine or my mama's. This one is Mama's," she fondled the material of the dress she wore a she spoke. "It's a little too small."

"Yeah, I noticed. Sorry."

She didn't know if he meant he was sorry he had grabbed the wrong dress or if he was sorry he had noticed the indecently tight fit of it.