He shifted uncomfortably and glanced at a building.
"You hungry? We can talk over supper."
"Starved."
He led her to the restaurant and they took a table, ordering supper and exchanging stories. Their food arrived about the same time as Pete and Bordeaux. Within a few minutes Fritz and Davis also joined them. As their stories unfolded, she learned that the men had gone back with recruits to retrieve the supplies. Pete and Davis had searched for Cassie and Bordeaux. They had given up, deciding that if they hadn't found their bodies, they must still be alive and would find their way back to Ashley.
The food was excellent, the company comforting. Even Bordeaux seemed to be in good spirits. But the effects of the trip had taken their toll. Her head nodded once and she jerked it up, blinking in the lantern light.
Bordeaux grinned and tossed her a key. "Room number 10. You look beat."
She blushed and glanced around the table. "Well guys, I hate to leave such good company, but I'm so tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open. I think I'll turn in." She rose from her chair and pushed it under the table. "I'll see you in the morning."
In her room, she dropped on the bed and fell asleep instantly. She was floating on a cloud, gazing languidly down at mounds and valleys of white sand. The desert heat couldn't reach her private cloud. A lone rider appeared on a bay. He stopped, watching a group of freight wagons. Another rider appeared on a black horse. The two men talked for a few minutes and then one rider turned his bay horse toward the wagons. The rider on the black horse turned back. He reached Texas in an instant, loping the black to a small ranch. Two young children ran out to meet him. Cassie felt the warmth of the sun as her cloud descended to the ranch. She tried to turn it away, but it remained on course.
"No!" she screamed. I don't want to see him." The cloud stopped and she woke.
She opened her eyes and blinked at the sunlight streaming through her window. The feather mattress held her like a soft cloud. She covered her eyes with one forearm and succumbed to tears. The long ordeal in the desert was over, but what waited for her now was uncertain. Did Bordeaux actually love her or was it a contrived affair to get her back to the ranch? He couldn't have planned the Indian raid, though. Nor was he the kind of person who would abandon someone in need of help. He seemed so warm and sincere - until yesterday. What about her feelings for him - perhaps gratitude?