clean up. Trapper stripped and dove in. The water was cold, so he didn’t waste any time. In ten minutes he was out of the water, dry, and putting on a clean set of clothes.
When he sat down by the fire for supper, each one of the girls walked past him and patted him on the shoulder. Number Four even kissed his cheek.
As they ate, he explained that tonight would be the first night he’d have a watch. After midnight he’d wake One and Two to stand guard while he slept a few hours. Emery said she’d take another two hours. Before dawn he’d take back over.
He felt they were safe tonight. They were too far from the trail for anyone to see their small fire. If a raid came, it would be after dawn.
To his surprise the girls asked questions. For them this might still seem like a game, but they wanted to know the rules.
If danger was coming their way, they needed to know what to do. Where to shoot to stop a man, but not kill him. How to hit a man twice their size and make him drop. How to read an attacker’s movements. All that he’d learned in the army about staying alive poured out. They would have to be his troops if trouble came.
“If you can’t convince them you’re meaner and bigger, all you have to do is act crazy. Anyone with sense is afraid of crazy. Remember, anything can be a weapon.”
Number Five crawled up in his lap and went to sleep, but the others listened and asked questions. They were little girls, too young to have to know all he said. But someday maybe they’d remember how to fight, and what he was teaching them might save their lives.
Chapter 7
The moon was only a sliver in the midnight sky when One and Two took over the watch. Trapper planned to stay awake, but he dozed, knowing they’d wake him if so much as a twig snapped.
Two hours later Emery took over the watch.
Trapper tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t with her so near. They’d been little more than polite strangers for two days. He couldn’t make himself wish he hadn’t seen her almost bare, but he did wish they could go back to being close. He liked looking forward to her light kiss on his cheek, and the way she leaned close to whisper something. He liked watching her and seeing her smile when she caught him doing just that.
After a while he sat up and looked at her across a dying fire. “You going to talk to me ever again?”
“I talked to you today.” She didn’t look at him.
“Pass the bread. Tell Number Five to wash her hands. Do you want the last of the coffee?”
When she didn’t comment, he added, “All that isn’t talking, Emery.”
She didn’t argue. She wasn’t even looking at him.
He tried again in a low voice. “I can’t figure out what I did wrong. I didn’t cause the rain or the storm. I didn’t take off your clothes or tell you to come out to help. I couldn’t act like I didn’t see something so beautiful.”
She was silent for a while, then she answered. “You are right. It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t think. It’s all my fault.”
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry, but you have to understand, it’s hard to talk to someone who has seen me like that. I’m embarrassed.”
“You have nothing to be mad or embarrassed about. You were just trying to help.” He stood and moved to her side of the fire. He sat a foot away from her. “So we’re friends again?”
She nodded.
“And you’ll kiss me on the cheek when we say good night.”
Emery leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I was never mad at you. I was mad at myself.”
Trapper smiled. “Next time you’re upset with yourself, would you mind telling me so I can get out of the way while you’re beating yourself up?”
She laughed.
“And now that we’re talking again, I need to remind you you’re two kisses behind.”
She leaned near and kissed his cheek, lingering a moment longer this time.
“That’s one,” he whispered.
He met her halfway when she leaned near again, and this time his lips met hers.
He knew she felt the spark between them as much as he did. Trapper raised his hand and lightly brushed the back of her hair as he held her in place. Her kiss