Frontier Courtship by Valerie Hansen

upon it.

Chapter Six

    W hen the men returned with the sated animals, Faith helped her hired hand harness the mules. They were fastening the trace chains to the hames when she quietly told him, “As of tomorrow, you’re fired.”
    He scowled over at her. “I’m what? ”
    “Fired. It’s for your own good.”
    “What about Irene?”
    “Nobody will talk to you anyway, thanks to Tucker. After you’ve gone and things have settled down, I’ll ask around and keep my ears open. If we rendezvous later on at some place like Independence Rock or Fort Bridger, I’ll tell you whatever I’ve learned. I simply can’t have you traveling with Charity and me anymore.”
    Connell ducked under the heads of the lead mules and came closer, his countenance dark. “What’s happened?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Faith turned her face away, afraid the imperative lie would be too plain to miss.
    Two strong fingers lifted her chin. “Yes, you do. Something made you change your mind about me while I was gone. What was it?”
    She jerked away. “I just decided it would be better for my reputation—and for my sister’s—if I didn’t encourage any more spurious rumors. That’s all.”
    “And you really want me to go?” His hand had come to rest lightly on her forearm, the contact as necessary for him as was breathing. If she truly did mean to part company, he wanted this brief moment to become seared into his memory the way his idyllic days with Little Rabbit Woman had been.
    Connell’s heart leaped to his throat at the comparison. No, his mind shouted. No! Not like that. Never again like that.
    To care too much was to invite loss. He should know. He hadn’t been able to prevent his mother’s death or his father’s drunken tirades. And he’d been away hunting when the Pawnees had raided the Arapaho camp and killed his bride. Now, not only was Irene missing, he was beginning to have strong feelings for Faith Beal, as well.
    Connell muttered and turned away. Faith was right. The best thing he could do was comply with her wishes. He’d been fooling himself into believing she needed him a lot more than she really did. Without him around to sully her reputation, she’d be free to implore some of the other men for help—men who were more civilized and more to her liking. Besides, nothing said he couldn’t keep out of sight and dog the train from a discreet distance without her knowledge.
    “All right,” he said, rechecking the mule’s harnesses while he spoke. “The Sweetwater River passes by Independence Rock. You won’t get there by Independence Day, like Fremont did when he named it, but you should arrive sometime in mid-July. I carved my name at the base of the western face in ’43. Since you’re the only one around here who knows it’s McClain, you can watch for me near that mark without causing suspicion.”
    Faith nodded. “What’s your Christian name?”
    “Connell,” he said quietly, feeling a prickle at the back of his neck as she echoed it ever so softly.
    “I like it. It suits you,” Faith told him, thinking sadly of their proposed parting. She’d prepare a special meal tonight, something he could also take along on his journey to remember her by.
    “How’s the pain?” he asked.
    “Nearly gone.” She hated to lie to him again, but she knew if she told the absolute truth, he’d never leave. And if he stayed, Tucker’s men would kill him for sure.
    “Good.” Scooping her up, he lifted her easily yet gently, set her in the wagon and handed her the lines. “Think you can handle the team from here on out?”
    “Yes, but…” She watched him mount Rojo. “Where are you going?”
    “No sense waiting till tomorrow to part company,” he said flatly. “The longer I stay, the more gossip it’ll cause.” He gallantly touched the brim of his hat, nodded and said, “Vaya con Dios.”
    Faith had heard that phrase before among the Mexican wranglers. It was a parting