Free Frontier Courtship by Valerie Hansen Page A

innocence by both word and deed. Such courage was its own reward.
    Connell closed his eyes to better enjoy the pleasant sensations of the comb passing through his hair, the slight tug of the shears, the whisper of Faith’s apron against his lower back. When she stopped, took up a corner of the apron and began to brush his shoulders off with it, he stood and stepped away, rather than let her see how much her tender ministrations had affected him.
    “Thanks, I can do the rest,” he said, finishing the job with quick swipes of his hands.
    “All right.”
    She held out shears and comb to him, then watched while he propped the mirror on the side of the wagon and went to work on his beard. It was just as well he’d taken over, she mused. The way her hands had begun to shake, no telling how the rest of his haircut would have turned out if she’d continued.
    Suddenly exhausted, she sank onto the packing box Hawk had vacated and tried to regain control of her heightened senses. What was wrong with her? Was it her own unseemly thoughts and actions that were at fault, or was an outside force trying to undermine the purity of her motives and thereby destroy all the good she was attempting to do?
    And another thing, her conscience was quick to interject, look how you’re dressed. Custom dictated that she and her sister should still be in mourning for Mama. Yet, truth to tell, she’d felt a surge of relief when Charity had returned from a trip to the river to do the wash and had reported that their black dresses had been swept away by the current. With so little extra money at their disposal, replacing the somber clothing was out of the question, especially while traveling.
    Should she have dyed another of her frocks dingy black no matter what? Faith wondered. She didn’t think so. Surely, the Good Lord understood her present predicament. After all, hadn’t He sent her a guardian to watch over her?
    A brief glance toward the wagon showed just how rough around the edges that so-called guardian was, in spite of his recent tonsorial efforts.
    Faith smiled and turned away. Even with an imagination as creative as hers, there was no way she could convince herself the plainsman was actually an emissary from God.
    Her smile faded. On the other hand, it wasn’t at all hard to envision Ramsey Tucker being a faithful minion of Lucifer, himself, was it?

     
    The afternoon sun was high, the prairie affording no shade except what little could be found under the wagons. Prairie vastness that had once been lush and green was spoiled now. Swaths of bare land miles wide on each side of the emigrant track meant the travelers had to drive their livestock off to find fresh pasture, let them graze, then bring them back so the journey could continue.
    Faith knew that. Her heart, however, coveted the presence of her only remaining ally. When Hawk made ready to take his turn as a drover so other men could come into camp and eat, she found herself wishing mightily she could go with him. It wouldn’t do to ask, of course, for what good was a protestation of gentility if a body then followed up with such an unacceptable suggestion? Therefore, she’d wait as the other women did and ready the wagon for travel while Charity stayed with the Ledbetters and Hawk rode off to do men’s work.
    “Take care,” she called as he mounted.
    Whirling Rojo in a tight circle, he paused and leaned closer. “Watch your back, Faith. Get out the Colt and strap it on like I told you.”
    “I will.”
    Connell straightened. “Do it now.”
    She snapped off a mock salute. “Yes, General.”
    It was clear from his lack of levity that her jest hadn’t pleased him. Well, too bad. As long as she followed orders, why should he care how it was accomplished? Being around him made her feel silly and giddy and altogether unhinged, with an excitement coursing through her that she hadn’t even dreamed of before. Daily life was supposed to be mundane. The feelings the plainsman was