Fritz was slumped on the back of his mule, half-asleep. Davis rolled sluggishly with the sway of his mule, staring disinterestedly at the mule in front of him. Royce brought up the rear, peering sullenly from under the brim of his hat. The sun was directly overhead. Heat waves blurred the dunes around them.
Bordeaux led them into a dish shaped depression at the top of a dune and then dismounted.
"Let's give the mules a rest while I look over our back trail."
He pulled his field glasses from the saddlebag and motioned to Cassie. "Come on. Let's take a look."
She stumbled up the dune behind him and stopped when he held out a hand. He dropped to the sand and crawled the rest of the way to the top, peering over the edge before he motioned for her to continue. She crawled up the dune and knelt beside him. He handed her the glasses.
"Shield the glasses from the sun with my hat like this." He positioned his hat so the glasses were shaded.
"Why?"
"So they don't reflect the sunlight and give away our position."
She leaned across him, holding his hat over the glasses as he had shown her. The desert lay still and parched all around them.
"I don't see anything," she said.
"Hopefully, they don't see us either. But we're here, all the same."
Her throat constricted. Were they out there? What would they do if they caught up? She snuggled closer to Bordeaux.
He lowered the glasses and rolled over on his back, gazing up into her face. His expression was unreadable.
"Pete tells me there's a preacher in Ashley."
She stared at him, her face growing warm. "So?"
"So why don't we get married while we're there?"
She gnawed at her lower lip. Was he making fun of her? She brushed sand from her pants.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me."
His expression was incredulous. "Sorry for you? Why on earth would anyone feel sorry for you?"
Her face flamed. "No reason."
Indeed, why should anyone feel sorry for her? She was doing enough of it for herself. Her situation was hardly hopeless - tough, but everybody had tough times.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Will you marry me?"
He couldn't be serious. They barely knew each other. Anyway, he had never indicated any special feeling for her. She shrugged nonchalantly.
"I don't know. What do you have to offer?" She smiled mischievously. "Yours is the second offer I've had this trip and I want to make sure I get the best deal."
The bright gaze sharpened. "Who else offered? Royce?"