River to Cross, A by Yvonne Harris Read Free Book Online

sweet.”
    He gave a short bark of a laugh. “Lady, I’ve been called a lot of things by a lot of women, but sweet sure wasn’t one of them.”
    He tweaked her Stetson. “Come on, pretty boy, let’s ride.”
    Half an hour later, they were back on the Chihuahuan desert. She recognized it now, miles and miles of parched land, a dry desert basin lying between mountain ranges. The rhythmic thud of horses’ hooves still kicked up clouds of red dirt, but high overhead on the rimrock, something new had been added. Noisy green parrots swept from tree to tree, scolding them. Ponds appeared here and there in the landscape, and butterflies were everywhere.
    The horses clattered across a plank bridge over a creek and followed a twisty back trail through the trees. Twice they saw small settlements in the distance and detoured well out past them.
    Before they’d left the little spring, Jake had tied her to the saddle so she couldn’t fall out when they rode fast. Like now.
    He looked over. “Watch me and do what I do.” He kicked his horse into a canter.
    Elizabeth imitated him. Lightly she slapped the reins and kicked her horse, startled when the animal broke into a sedate little rolling gallop. She threw a triumphant look at Jake and grinned. He looked as surprised as she was and pleased at what she’d done.
    “Starting to get the hang of this, are you?” he said.
    “And about time, you’re thinking.”
    “Not at all. You catch on fast.”
    She wasn’t so sure.
    These three men, sitting relaxed and loose in their saddles, could ride for days. She tightened her knees into the horse and felt the tension ease across her shoulders. She had to admit, riding in trousers made far more sense than riding in a dress.
    In late afternoon he pointed out their objective—a line of mountain peaks shimmering in the heat way off in the distance but slowly, slowly coming closer. She didn’t much like the idea of going back up into mountains, but Jake insisted it was better than sleeping out in the rain. This section of Chihuahua’s Sierra Madre, he said, was honeycombed with caves.
    He knew of a cavern deep inside one of the mountains where they could keep dry, have a cook fire, and get a good night’s sleep.
    “We’re all tired,” he said.
    That sounded wonderful, especially since it had started to rain an hour before and, by now, she was soaked. She looked up at the lead-colored sky and wiped the wetness off her cheek. “I didn’t know it ever rained in a desert.”
    “Depends when and where it is. It’s the August monsoon season, and the high Texas and Mexican deserts see rain every year about this time.”
    Fred smiled over at her. “Rain is good. If anyone tries to follow us tonight, they’re out of luck. Rain like this wipes out horse tracks.”
    As the sun began to set, they cut out of the desert and onto a rocky trail that wound up the mountainside. Trees, sparse at first, grew thicker as they climbed, and then they crowded in so close that she could reach out and touch them. She raised her eyes overhead. Here and there, small patches of daylight filtered through the canopy of leaves. They climbed higher. When Jake pointed out a shiny cliffside and said it was the entrance to the cave, she shook her head.
    “I see nothing but wet rock,” she said.
    “Good. If you can’t see it, neither will the Mexicans.”
    Night in the Sierra Madre drew in swiftly. As soon as the sun slipped behind the mountain peaks, cold shadows swept down the slopes and blanketed the valleys in rainy darkness.
    Hidden by thick bushes, a large black opening appeared in the rock. Hunched low over their horses, they entered single-file. A few feet away from the entrance, darkness fell like a curtain behind them. Not a trace of light got through.
    The men dismounted and unloaded the big mule of the supplies they’d taken from the Mexicans. Each came back with a lantern, which they lit quickly. They needed plenty of light to lead the horses and