10Paul smelled the wood smoke first, faint but there, and guided his horse toward the line of trees they’d been following for the last half hour. He turned in his saddle and met Dean’s gaze. The kid nodded.
He glanced at Anna. “Smell the smoke?”
She lifted her face for a moment then scowled. “I don’t smell anything.”
“It’s there.” He faced forward with a small grin. The longer he was around Anna, the more he liked and admired her. Her beauty didn’t hurt either.
He glanced up at the tall blackjack oaks standing among bur oaks and hickories. In the spring, the area would be breathtaking, and nothing like the grassland he was used to. Thick beneath the canopy, a large variety of shrubs grew, choking out the prevalent Indian grass covering the surrounding plains.
He held up his hand for D
