Cora's Pride (Wilderness Brides Book 1) by Peggy L Henderson Page B

to pick up a handful of twigs for tinder. When he straightened, he made eye contact with the horse again. “There’s nothing else I want from her.” The gelding shook his head and snorted.
    Nathaniel leaned forward, glaring at the gelding. “What? You think I’m interested in her for a different reason? I didn’t make the trip to Fort Hall to find a woman, and absolutely not one as disagreeable as Cora Miller.” He turned to move away from the horse, abruptly stopped and looked at the animal again, pointing a stick at him for emphasis. “A woman like that can surely make a man’s life miserable as hell.”
    The gelding took a step forward, stretched his neck to sniff at the stick, then lowered his head to crop at some grasses on the ground. Clearly, this conversation was over. Nathaniel’s trusted mount didn’t believe a word of what he’d said.
    What had Proud Elk told him? A woman like Cora was good for a warrior. Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair. Talk at Harley’s cabin had often turned to women, and he’d hinted that it might be time for Ethan to find himself a wife. Nathaniel’s older brother had always responded with a silent glare.
    Even Nathaniel always left the table as quickly as possible whenever Harley started rambling about women and his boys needing to find someone to settle down with. Trevor had chimed in once and told Harley that they all liked living in the remote valley they’d christened Harley’s Hole. What woman would want to live like that?
    Cora is just the kind of woman who is suited for that kind of life.
    Nathaniel gave the horse a final pat, then stoked his fire back to life and brewed some coffee. He ate a couple of pieces of hardtack while he saddled the gelding. Hobbling his pack animal so it didn’t wander off, he set out into the forest.
    Before he’d finally fallen asleep last night, he’d spent a good amount of time thinking about what he might do to get into Cora’s good graces.
    Anna had told him that it had to be on Cora’s terms. She loved her siblings. Her brother wanted something else to eat besides the usual trail fare.
    He patted his horse on the neck. “Let’s go stir up a deer.”
    Nathaniel guided his horse in the opposite direction from where the women had spent the night. Even if they broke camp early, he’d catch up to them after his hunt. It didn’t take long to reach the creek he’d crossed the day before, where he’d seen fresh deer tracks and droppings. Leaving his horse to graze, he crouched behind a tree and waited. No more than an hour later, he hoisted a gutted doe over the gelding’s back.
    “Even if she’s not pleased, her siblings will be,” he muttered with a satisfied nod. “There’s more than one way to snare a hare.” Harley’s favorite saying brought a grin to his face. In this case, the hare was a feisty woman, and if she didn’t go for his bait, perhaps her brother and sisters would.
    After butchering the deer at his camp and loading his supplies on his packhorse, he set out to follow the wagon again. Perhaps he’d try and catch up with them and offer the meat before they stopped for the night. In two days, they should reach Fort Hall and it would be better if Cora had accepted his help by then. A wagon full of women was easy pickings for the sort of riff-raff that tended to congregate at the trading outpost.
    Nathaniel nudged his horse into a trot. If he hurried, he could catch up with the wagon before they needed to cross the river up ahead. He’d had no problems a week ago, but a wagon might present a challenge. There was a safe place to get across where the water wasn’t deep and the current not quite as strong, but it looked like the wagon was heading in a direction that would put it further downstream.
    A short while later, loud, high-pitched shouts reached him, mixed with the rushing sound of flowing water. Nathaniel urged his horse forward. When the river came into view, the reason for all the yelling became