Free Tracie Peterson - [Desert Roses 01] by Shadows of the Canyon

nonsense. He’d been hired to take them by mule to the bottom of the canyon for an overnight stay at Phantom Ranch. Like other groups of visitors to the canyon, the Winthrop party heard of the tourist attraction and wanted to experience it. At least Joel Harper and Valerie Winthrop wanted to experience it. The stocky senator and Rufus Keegan declined, declaring no desire to spend their day aback a mule.
    As best as Luke could tell, a constant gathering of supporters for the senator’s presidential campaign had been pouring in throughout the week, and it was a collection of those men and women who took his time and attention now.
    Luke gave his routine speech cautioning the riders of the arduous task ahead of them. “There are places,” he warned, “where the narrowness of the path allows no room for error. The mules know their jobs and heed my commands. I’ll expect no less from you.”
    A few of the party nodded solemnly, but Joel Harper chuckled and Valerie Winthrop merely batted her eyes in a flirting manner.
    “The mules are generally good-natured with our guests,” Luke stated, bringing his speech to a close, “but if you’ll take a look at Clancy Franklin here, you’ll understand that they can be dangerous.” Clancy smiled broadly for the group while Luke continued. “About a month ago, Clancy’s favorite mule gave him a swift kick in the face. The blow could have killed a lesser man—but Clancy here is hardheaded.” Some of the group laughed. Luke shook his head and slapped Clancy on the back. “Clancy just lost a tooth and had his nose broke. Unless you want to follow his example, I’d suggest you do exactly as you’re instructed.”
    With that, Luke ordered his crew to assist the travelers totheir mounts. He gave a cautious glance to the entire group, for Alex had implied there had been difficulties with the Winthrop party, and Luke took that very seriously. She told him that Joel Harper pinched her backside, and then last night she’d mentioned ever so casually that Joel had been demanding her attention and seeking her for private walks. Clancy had been among the group when Alex shared her woes. He’d laughed and said that someone as pretty as Alex should expect that kind of thing. The group had teased Clancy about being sweet on Alex, and the blond-haired man had blushed a fiery red.
    Luke tried not to give it a second thought, for Clancy didn’t seem like competition for Alex’s affections. And Alex had never implied or mentioned an interest in Clancy. Luke figured that if she had thoughts in that direction, she would have enlisted Luke’s help. No, Luke was more worried about Joel Harper. He worried that there was more to this than Alex was saying. He could tell she’d been greatly disturbed by the entire matter. It wasn’t like her to get her nose out of joint over a little attention, but since her father was tied to the group, Luke put it off to her distaste of Rufus Keegan. After all, she’d shared with him often enough for Luke to know that Keegan was the low-life type of scum who would sell his daughter out to the highest bidder.
    He gripped the reins hard and realized his attention wasn’t focused where it needed to be. His mule was surefooted and knew the trail well, but Luke knew the folly in brooding or daydreaming over Alex. He needed to keep his attention fixed to the path ahead.
    “Let’s head out,” he called and signaled the trip to begin.
    At their first rest stop, Luke waited until the entire group had stretched and gotten a drink from their canteens before giving them a bit of canyon history.
    “We left temperatures of around eighty-two degrees up on the rim,” Luke began. “We’ll find the canyon floor to be ashot as one hundred ten degrees, and that’s why it’s important to keep drinking.”
    “Drinking is always important, eh, Val?” Harper teased.
    “I meant water,” Luke threw out sarcastically. The group laughed, with exception to Joel. Valerie