Mail Order Bride: The Gunslinging Bride (#1, Western Reach Western Romance)

Chapter 05

"Which way is it?" asked Tabitha.

"Which way is what?" asked Heidi.

Tabitha shrugged. "Anything."

Estelle's feet hurt. They had blistered long ago and were starting to bleed. She felt the warm liquid seep over the backs of her heels as she took another painful step. Cadence wasn't doing much better. She was limping badly on her right leg.

"Maybe we should stop and rest," Estelle said.

Cadence caught her eyes on her. "I'm fine," she replied through tight lips.

"You're limping," Estelle said, and the others looked at her.

"Let me have a look," said Velma. "Maybe you were injured worse than you realized in the attack."

"I said I'm fine."

"Just let me see," said Velma and knelt, reaching for Cadence's leg.

Cadence yanked it swiftly away from her. "I always limp." Her cheeks colored. "It's just worse when I'm tired is all. If I'm rested, I can hide it better."

The women looked at her. Cadence sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. She removed her boot and lifted the hem of her dress, revealing a slightly misshapen foot that looked out of place on an otherwise perfect body. Her hair hung straight and dark as midnight, making the apple red of her cheeks look that much more poisonous.

"I was born that way," Cadence said, only slightly above a whisper. She quickly dropped her dress back down and replaced her boot. With boots on, Estelle would never have spotted the problem, even though it seemed obvious to her now. She joined Cadence on a rock.

The women were silent a moment, no one wishing to embarrass her further.

"We just have to keep heading west," Estelle told them.

"Why west?" asked Velma.

"That's the way we were headed before the attack," said Cadence, and Estelle nodded approvingly

"Yes, but we lost the trail three days ago." Velma stuck out her bottom lip, looking like a frightened child who just wanted to go home. It seemed more akin to something Tabitha would do, and Estelle thought it only showed the toll the last few days had taken on them all. Or maybe they were just rubbing off on each other.

Velma was in her mid-twenties with curly red hair that got frizzier with each passing day. Her pale skin was hidden by large amounts of mud that she had caked over it. It was plastered to her face, her arms, her hands, anything that was exposed to the sun.

"If I don't do it, I'll look like a dried-up cherry by the time we find anyone who can help us," she'd told them when they'd come across a small stream rich in mud.

Now, as they continued the long trek toward some unknown destination, Estelle began to wish she'd also layered on the mud. If they found any in the next couple miles, she would do just that. At least it was not too hot. The mountains kept things cool.

"It's like a storm came by and washed out the entire California Trail while we slept that first night," said Heidi.

"What do you think happened to the Sparrow Sisters and everyone?" asked Tabitha. "Do you think they got away?"

"We did," said Cadence.

"We almost didn't," said Heidi. "If it hadn't been for Estelle..."

"We'd all be dead," finished Velma for her.

Estelle blushed and kept her eyes cast straight ahead of her. "You're all strong women. You'd have survived."