An Ounce of Prevention

They rode until the moonlight failed them and finally they made camp. Carmen fell instantly asleep. She woke with the sun in her face. Jose was watching her from a campfire.

He smiled. "I have coffee ready, and some bacon cooked. As soon as you are ready, we will ride to the place where I last saw him."

Carmen rose stiffly from the ground and rolled her bed. She laid it beside the saddle and joined Jose at the fire.

"Thank you. I'm afraid I overslept. Why didn't you wake me?"

He shrugged. "You were sleeping, and you looked so pretty."

She poured some coffee into a tin he offered. She could imagine how pretty she looked with her hair a mess. More than likely she was snoring and had drool running from her mouth.

She ran fingers through her hair as she sipped the coffee. How did Jose know where to start? It all looked the same to her. With a mind fresh from sleep, it occurred to her that searching for Alex in the desert alone would have resulted in her being lost as well. And yet, Señor Medena had not offered much resistance at her idea. Of course, Jose had offered to go with her.

After breakfast they put away their things, covered the fire to smother it and saddled their horses. Carmen looked at Jose.

"I thought Alex could use a break riding a horse with a saddle on it for a change."

Jose smiled. "He bought a fresh horse and saddle from me. He left the grulla in my corral. The horse was unhappy, I think."

Carmen laughed and told him about the horse following them. She sighed. "Alex is good with horses and they like him."

"He said he is a veterinarian in Arkansas - and that you have a…safari?"

"Yes. It's not much. In Arkansas you can run a lot of animals on a few acres. We have almost 200 acres combined - what I had when we got married and what he had. Mostly the animals are rescued ones that Alex has nursed back to health."

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Jose finally spoke. "His father is a wealthy man…Alex?"

Caution pled for Carmen to act as though it was a casual question. Alex was also a wealthy man. What was Joe's interest?

"Yes. He lives in Texas, though."

"I see. He and Alex are close?"

Had Alex actually sent Jose to make sure she got safely to the town? Where was Alex right now? Was he a hostage?

She stopped her horse and when Jose rode up beside her he studied her face.