“Oh, Luther, I’m sorry.” Impulsively, she reached across the table and pressed his hand. When he stiffened, she withdrew her fingers and blushed at her boldness. “Please forgive me for prying into personal matters. I don’t know what came over me.” She forced a smile. “In so many ways, I don’t feel like the same person who began this cattle drive.”
From that point they took care to focus their conversation on general topics. By the time they climbed into the wagon, a million stars glittered across the heavens. The air was warm and sweet, and Les took an odd comfort in the sight of the herds gathered onto their bedding grounds, and the low music of cowboy songs floating through the darkness.
“Luther?” she said as their campfire came into view. “Thank you for the most wonderful evening I’ve had in…” She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed an evening more. Once Ward had taken her to dinner at the Klees Hotel dining room, but the conversation had not flowed easily as it had tonight. Her stomach tightened at the realization that she would see him in a few minutes. He would be sulky, of course, and angry that she had defied him.
The vitality drained out of her body, and her shoulders dropped. Something had changed the night that everyone saw Ward strike her. She had begun to feel trapped.
But Ward surprised her. He seemed to have forgotten her defiance. After helping her out of the wagon, he nodded to Luther, then gripped her shoulders, vibrating with excitement. “I need to talk to you right now, it’s important. Our whole future is at stake.”
She watched Luther walk toward the observers’ camp, then stepped out from under Ward’s grasp. “Could this wait until tomorrow?” She had hoped he might mention that he had missed her, or at least inquire if she’d rested well.
“I said right now, Les.” Clasping her wrist, he picked up a lantern he’d set on the ground, then half dragged her out onto the dark prairie and down into a shadowed gully where they couldn’t be seen by either camp.
Uneasily, Les sat on the dirt slope of the gully and drew up her knees, facing him. The lantern he set to one side illuminated his excitement, and she tried to recall if she had ever seen such jubilation in his gaze.
“What is it?” she inquired cautiously.
“Remember that Freddy told you about Caldwell making her an offer to lose some cattle? Well, I spoke to Caldwell and demanded the same deal for us. Les, you won’t believe what he’s offered us!”
Her heart stopped. “Oh, Ward. How could you!” Horrified, she started to rise, but he grabbed her wrist and jerked her back so roughly that she stumbled and fell against the dirt side of the gully. Not taking her eyes from him, she sat up and slowly brushed off of her shirt. This time she didn’t search for excuses. “Don’t do that again.”
“Listen! Caldwell promises that Lola will pay us eighty thousand dollars if we help her win.” His pale eyes glittered with exuberance. “Eighty thousand dollars, Les! That’s a fortune! Think of it! If you only knew how worried I’ve been. Our margin is shrinking by the week. With the Red River ahead of us and then the Indian Territory, there’s no way Frisco is going to bring in two thousand steers. No way at all!” He looked up and his gaze hardened in the lanternlight. “And we don’t want him to. I want the son of a bitch to lose. I want him destroyed. This way, Frisco loses sixty thousand dollars and the last of his reputation. This is so sweet!”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Ward, we can’t do this!”
“I know what you’re thinking. We’re giving up a sum several times that amount.” Leaning forward, he gripped her arms, his eyes gleaming feverishly. “Les, we’d both rather have your father’s fortune, but don’t you understand? It isn’t going to happen. Caldwell is smart. He won’t let Frisco win. But you and I don’t have to lose! All you have to do is look the other way and let a few steers go here and lose a few there. That’s all. Don’t be overly conscientious at river crossings. Let a straggler wander off. Do it, and our future is assured!”
Jerking out of his grip, she pushed to her feet. “What about my sisters? Do they also get eighty thousand if we lose?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Les, don’t be stupid. We don’t care about them. Did I ever tell you the insulting things Alex said to me?” His eyes narrowed. “Believe me, she doesn’t deserve a penny. And Freddy? That slut doesn’t deserve anything either! Forget about them and think about us! Remember where your duty lies. By accepting Caldwell’s offer, we ruin Frisco, and we set ourselves up for life! It’s perfect.”
“You’re asking me to betray my sisters,” she said, staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. “You’re asking me to forget how hard I worked to learn what I had to learn, asking me to toss aside all the hardship and suffering. Getting gored was for nothing.”