Page 48 of A Rugged Beauty
“The wildfire could’ve burned everything away," Hollis said. And with the heavy rains that had followed, it wouldn’t be a surprise that any trace of hoof prints had washed away.
Owen's expression was carefully controlled. "You sure Abigail didn't get a look at the man? His horse? Anything?"
Hollis shook his head. "It was dark, smoke everywhere. She was too far away."
August's horse shifted. Hollis jerked his head, indicated for them to start moving. He'd go to meet the caravan and guide them to this campsite.
The brothers fell in beside each other on his left, all three of their horses at a walk.
“The Good Lord knows we’ve been watchful,” Owen said.
The two men exchanged glances and then August spoke. “Owen was separated from camp and heard a rumor that someone was tracking the Fairfax women. Looking for an emerald.”
The words spurred a memory from the depths of Hollis’s mind. Yes. He remembered Owen’s fear when he’d returned to camp just over a week ago.
"We haven't seen any signs of a lone scout—or anyone,” Owen said slowly. Thoughtfully? "Maybe he was a settler. Not someone following us."
"We'll want the men on watch, regardless," Hollis told him. He couldn’t read Owen’s stare. Did they think Hollis had made up the altercation?
"A few folks are feeling poorly," Owen offered next. "Upset stomachs, fever."
Hollis's stomach knotted. "We've had a few cases of something similar already," he said.
The Schaefer family had been hit by a stomach illness weeks ago. It’d affected Alice Spencer and a handful of others. There was always the worry of an epidemic. One big enough to spread throughout the caravan. But a few isolated cases didn't merit worry. Not yet.
The two brothers exchanged another glance. Hollis held back a sigh. Obviously, they needed to tell him something else. They'd ridden out here together when Owen could've come alone to make his report.
"What is it?" Hollis barked.
"There's been a lot of grousing today," Owen said. "Folks accusing you of being a hypocrite."
Hollis felt the sting of the words, fought to douse his temper when it threatened to spark. "In what way?"
Owen didn't look particularly happy to be the one delivering this news. "Some are saying you’re a liar on account of not beingmarried to Abigail. Some are saying you took liberties, being out there alone with a single woman for several days. And all that after you’ve held others to the company’s rules."
Now his temper did ignite, but he bit back the roar that wanted to escape. What right did anyone have to talk about him like that? Or Abigail?
"Some of the women are saying its a scandal," August said quietly. "Getting their menfolk riled about having to follow your dictates when you are exempt.”
For a blink, his memory pushed forward a slice of minutes when another company—Hollis’s first trip across the prairie and mountains on the Oregon Trail—had bucked his leadership. He'd heard the whispers, one of his captains had mentioned the unrest.
He'd naively thought the trouble would blow over on its own. That his actions would speak louder than words, that they would see with their own eyes that his leadership was impeccable.
Instead, they'd formed a mob and attacked him. He'd been outnumbered, beaten. Lying on the ground, trying to protect his head even as a booted kick came flying toward his ribs. Through his arms, he could see snatches of the fear driving the travelers, fear turned into anger. Anger turned into a mob.
Abigail's brother, Joseph, had saved him. He'd stepped in with two other men and had run off the attackers.
The wagon train had split, with Hollis and a handful of wagons following his leadership. Only after they'd reached Oregon had he heard that the caravan that had split off from his company had suffered heavy losses—more than half their number had died along the journey.
"I'll make an announcement tonight," he said.
Owen frowned. "I'm not certain that's the best course."
Something tugged in Hollis's spirit at the argument. He had to remind himself that Owen was a smart man, a good leader.
"What do you think should happen?" he prompted when Owen hesitated.
"They're not going to believe you, not when you can't refute that you said you and Abigail were married. And there's no hiding the fact that you were alone together for several days. If you were truly married, there'd be no talk."
