Bradley helped them tie their load onto the horse and Tessie, both of which enjoyed a treat of sweet mealy apples for their service. They left Austin well-supplied with food stuffs and information.
When they came to a rain-swollen creek, they stopped and set up camp. While the animals drank their fill, the women took much-needed baths and washed their sweaty clothes. They splashed and played like youngsters in the cool water and didn’t take notice of the men creeping up to the creek.
“Well, what do we have here?” a handsome man with a head of coal-black curls and a pencil-thin mustache on his grinning lip called out to them.
The women went silent and stopped their play.
“Gerrard,” George hissed under her breath. “Remember what I told you about him,” she warned her companions. “Don’t lo
