In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) by Debbie Viguié Read Free Book Online Page A

wobbly.
    “Takes a while to get used to for a city slicker like you,” one of the cowboys noted with thinly veiled sarcasm.
    Mark noticed that the cowboy was carrying a gun. That was good. Mark was, too, and this way if he shot the man he could claim some sort of self-defense.
    He walked over to Traci as she dismounted from her horse and he was gratified to see that her legs looked a little wobbly, too.
    “I’ve never been in the saddle that long at one stretch,” she admitted with a laugh as she reached out and grabbed onto his shoulder.
    She was laughing which meant she was having a good time. That made him feel a bit better. Then he saw Jeremiah walking toward them, no signs of wobbly legs at all. Mark hated him in that moment. He also couldn’t help but wonder if the rabbi had spent more time on horseback than he’d led the rest of them to believe.
    “You grow up on a ranch?” Mark asked him.
    “No.”
    That was it, just the one word. He was actually surprised he’d gotten that much out of him. Jeremiah didn’t talk about his past. Mark knew nothing about him from before he had become a rabbi in Pine Springs. It was only out of respect that he hadn’t gone digging. Plus, he wasn’t sure he’d like what he found.
    Together the three of them walked over to the chuck wagon where everyone seemed to be congregating. The chef was already in the back, hard at work on dinner. At least, that’s what Mark hoped was happening.
    “You okay?” Jeremiah asked Cindy, the worry in his voice clear.
    “Yes. Glad to have stopped bouncing around. It was starting to get wearing,” she admitted.
    Mark kept a snarky comment to himself. Given what had happened to her earlier he wouldn’t want to trade places with her even if riding on the wagon sounded a whole lot better than riding on a horse.
    Dinner was not nearly as festive an affair as it should have been. Given the things that had happened and the pure exhaustion he knew he personally was feeling Mark wasn’t surprised. Kyle, though, kept going around making jokes trying to get people to lighten up. Even he finally gave up after a while, though, and suggested that maybe it was a good idea if everyone turned in early and got some sleep. It was the most sense he’d made all day.
    They laid out their sleeping bags all close together. The real cowboys were going to take turns watching the herd that night, although Kyle made it clear that starting the following night everyone was going to get a chance to pull night duty.
    Mark finally stretched out in his sleeping bag next to Traci who had already burrowed into her bag. She was the only one in the group smiling and he was grateful she was enjoying herself. On her other side was Cindy and Jeremiah’s sleeping bag was next, although the rabbi was nowhere to be seen. As he heard Cindy and Traci whispering together Mark felt himself began to drift off to sleep.
    He didn’t know how long he had been out, but the camp was quiet when a strong hand on his shoulder shook him awake. It was Jeremiah, still fully dressed. He put a finger to his lips indicating silence and gestured for Mark to follow him.
    Mark got up and followed quietly until they were well out of earshot of the rest. Finally Jeremiah stopped and turned to look at him.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “I wanted a chance to talk when I knew there were no cameras around,” Jeremiah said.
    “Fair enough, but about what? What are we doing out here?” Mark asked.
    “I managed to get a look at Cindy’s saddle. The leather didn’t look rotted to me.”
    “You think someone saddled the horse wrong or missed seeing frayed edges, some sort of negligence?” Mark asked.
    Jeremiah shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
    Mark paled. “Why, why would anyone do that to Cindy? I mean, sure, it’s going to make great television, but I have a hard time believing Kyle would risk his sister getting hurt just to add some drama. He’s a jerk, but not that much of a