Page 21 of Tusks & Saddles
“I could, you know,” she huffed. Will raked her fingers through his hair for any initial knots before lathering it up with the soap. It wasn’t very hydrating, and it didn’t leave one’s hair silky smooth. But clean hair is better than gritty hair. She made sure to tug his head back by the nape of the neck, smirking as he groaned. “Poor baby, so tender-headed.”
“Touch starved,” he confessed, opening his eyes to stare up at her. It was so innocent, so totally normally, but it stole what little air she’d returned to her lungs and left her breathless. His gaze was soft, roaming her face like he was memorizing it. She swallowed hard, tugging his head again. He snorted in response. Will smiled to herself as she brushed through his hair softly.
I’ll feed you, Boone. I’ll make sure you’re never starved for nothing ever again. I’ll take care of you, cause ain’t no one gonna take care of you like I can.
She dunked his head again—softer this time—before letting him get up. Her fingers were beginning to prune as she fished herself out of the river. The towel she’d brought was scratchy but dried her off swift. As she wrapped up her hair in it, tugging on clothes while there was still a sliver of light, she looked at the cattle. They were settling in for the night, near the river and lazily chewing on their cud. Roger was already leaning against Killer’s belly, both him and the horse down in the soft grass. He had his cowboy hat over his face and a typical piece of straw sticking out of his mouth. Will would have given him shit for it, but he looked comfy and she was ready to hunker down.
Boone already had the bedroll out and she fell into it like it was a cloud and not an inch of fluff between her and the hard ground. It was the sweetest thing that she desperately needed. Curled up in Boone’s arm, drifting off to the sound of slowly moving water and her Paladin breathing. The steady thump, thump, thump of his heart led her deep into the dark and kept her safe from dreams.
For the third night in a row, she awoke rudely to the sharp tug of Boone’s body. For the third night in a row, she shot forward in her bedroll, looking around. However, thankfully, she awoke and found the camp fine. No Sand Slithers, no robbers, no undead horde, just her and the early morning light. When she looked at Boone, she found him rubbing his face.
“Sorry, Baby, wasn’t thinkin’,” he grumbled, patting the earth behind her. “My arm was asleep so I moved it, forgetting you were using it as a pillow.”
It was the best news she’d had through the whole push. She sighed heavily, settling back down into the bedroll. Turning over, drapingan arm over his chest and snuggling her face against his soft, cotton shirt, she inhaled a refreshing scent of river water and soap. Boone curled his arm around her, already shuffling back off to sleep. While she wasn’t able to get back to sleep, she let herself have another selfish hour in his arms, where the world didn’t exist and she could pretend that everything was fine.
The sun was rising up over the horizon when she heard the familiar whinny of a horse. Will snapped up from her position to look around. Twisting around, she caught the sight of a horse racing out of view. A familiar chestnut tail fluttered behind them.
“That’s why!” she snarled, rushing to get out of the bedroll only to get caught up in it. By the time she was on her feet the horse was gone. Boone stood up beside her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes again. She growled, “Someone snatched her.”
“How?” He glanced around.
“I don’t know, but someone’s been watching us.” Will frowned as she inspected their cattle. All the cows were slowly getting to their hooves, Roger waking up as she approached. She could tell they weren’t missing cattle.So what do they want?“Something or someone is fucking with us.”
“I suspect our friends from the first night,” Boone grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“But we killed two of them?” She sucked on her teeth for a second before rattling her finger in the air. A small light bulb went off in her skull. “One got away, and the next day a horde of undead happen to lead a sand slither to our camp? Who riled them up?”
“And happened to be in the area to ensure we were eaten or worse? And was available to hitch a ride on Kaffa? That’s why she didn’t head back to camp or home where she knew it was safe. Someone’s riding her toward the stronghold.” Boone grabbed uptheir supplies, stuffing them haphazardly into the bags to clean up their camp.
Willamina turned to Betty who stomped sleepily up to her side. Her horse nuzzled her face to the side of her arm. Forehead to forehead, she hoped Betty might spare some thoughts but there were none.Who the fuck is trying to ruin my push?
“Who did we piss off?” Roger snorted.
“Got no clue, but we can’t afford to go back now. We’re already here, might as well keep pushing. Those assholes will show themselves eventually. They gotta.” Will kissed the center of her horse’s head before heading for her saddle. Betty followed happily, letting Will set her up for another ride.And when I get my hands on them, I’ll kill them.
Chapter Twelve
Boone
“Boone! You got some stragglers!” Will called out as they pushed the cattle across the river, ten heads at a time, it was a slow but steady process. While Roger sprinkled them with haste dust, and Will kept up a count, they were nearing the end, nearly ready to take off. In an hour, the haste powder would kick in fully and they’d be flying like a bullet through the valley. If they were trying to catch up to the last thief, they needed to pick up the pace.
Boone twisted, finding two cows wandering off in the wrong direction. With a flick of his rope, he got one by the horn and tugged, causing them to pivot. The other followed, the pair munching along the grass as he encouraged them back into the herd. They were the last two through the river, Boone urging them forward. Roger was already at the front, guiding the herd forward. Will waited on the back of Betty as the Paladin flipped the lock on the boards and the river rushed back to fill up the space once more.
He grabbed onto the horn of Will’s saddle and swung himself onto it. “Let’s get this rodeo on the road, huh?”
Will snorted, shaking her head. With a click of her tongue, they were off.
To her credit, Will never dwelled on the bad things long. She found a solution and ran with it. It might have helped to know Kaffa was okay, so long as the thieves needed or wanted the horse. Boone would use everything in his power to get the horse back.
His dreams, unfortunately, had been full of many moving images. While The Sun Bringer didn’t have much to say, she did show him a lot. Flashes of things that didn’t connect or make sense. He saw the robbers, the sands, the slither, Kaffa running, a masked man, then Jacobus. He wasn’t sure where Jacobus fit into it, but he kept going back to his friend stumbling on a dock muttering “I don’t feel so good”.
Boone wrapped his arms around Willamina tighter, watching from over her shoulder as they rode into the grassy valley.
“Feels like going home, huh?” Will teased.
“No, why?” He blinked rapidly in confusion.
“That was a big sigh there, was just wondering if you were missing home?” She glanced over her shoulder at him.
