Free A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley Page B

defended myself jus' fine ag'inst the Mitchell brothers."
    "You might not be so lucky next time."
    She boldly met his eyes. "Ain't you ' fraid I'll get away?"
    The question seemed to put him in an even more solemn mood than before, and he continued to watch her with dark, probing eyes that were maddening in their ability to hide his thoughts.
    "You and I both know that if you've got a mind to escape, I can't stop you."
    "You're gonna let me go, just like that? After you promÂised Owen?"
    The muscle at his jaw tightened. "I had no right making promises I can't keep."
    Hands on her waist, she glared at him. "What happened to your big plans to save me?"
    "I'm no longer certain that's possible."
    "' Cuz I'm a Prescott?" she asked.
    "I doubt that even the best lawyers in Boston could save a Prescott. All I ask is that you go during the daylight hours. I don't want to have to haul you out of trouble again."
    Annoyed that he could so easily discount her, she clenched her hands tight against her side. "Out there ain't nothin' but prairie. Not much protection ag'inst Indians or outlaws."
    "I thought that most of the Indian problems had been resolved, now that they're living on reservations."
    "The only ones livin ' on reservations are the harmless ones," she said. "The ones willin ' to give up their freedom. It's the renegades you best worry about."
    "Sarah Prescott ." He grimaced as if it pained him to acknowledge her full identity. "Are you saying you're afraid?"
    She drew back in surprise. "Me?" she sputtered. Fear was for chickens, not the likes of her. "You're the one who sends up smoke signals wherever we go."
    "At least I'm not impulsive like you."
    "I don't think—"
    "That's the problem, Sarah. You don't think. You do the first thing that crosses your mind and never give a thought to the consequences."
    She glared at him. "I suppose you want me to be like you and chew o'er every idea until it ain't worth fodder."
    He frowned. "Maybe if you'd do a bit more 'chewing' as you call it, you wouldn't be in so much trouble."
    "And maybe if you'd do less chewin ', you wouldn't be wound tighter than a banjo string!"
    He pulled back in surprise. "Banjo string?" He stared at her. "Banjo string?"
    He threw up his hands and stalked away, then stopped. He glanced back over his shoulder. "Banjo string?" he mouthed. Shaking his head, he kept walking.
    Sarah seethed for the rest of the day. She was annoyed at herself for letting those scalawags sneak up on them. Sleeping by a stream with little protection was plumb asking for trouble, and she blamed the preacher for her carelessness. Crazy as it sounded, he made her feel safe. So safe, in fact, she had almost believed he could save her from the gallows.
    It was more than crazy. It was insane. The man didn't even own a gun, and he probably ain't never made a fist in his life. If he ever got in a fight, he'd no doubt turn it into a prayer meetin '. Why, she'd be safer in a den full of grizzlies than in the company of Reverend Justin Wells. Trusting him had been a mistake, that's for sure, and it wouldn't happen again.
     
    It started to rain around midnight, and the downpour conÂtinued for the rest of the night and most of the next mornÂing. The gully-washer turned the trail into a muddy mess that slowed down travel and erased any tracks that could sigÂnal danger ahead.
    Though inconvenient, Sarah considered the rain a blessÂing. The Midwest had suffered a three-year drought causing even more hardship than usual on travelers and cattlemen. But this year's spring rains had provided plenty of water, and that was one less thing to worry about.
    Justin saw the rain as a nuisance and clearly thought that Sarah had lost her mind when she greeted the rain with outÂstretched arms and a loud whoop.
    As they rode along the muddy trail, she explained, "Last year it was so dry, bushes followed dogs around."
    The statement drew an unexpected laugh from him, and she grinned in response.
    Rain