After a sleepless night and under the cover of darkness, Luke guided Ruth and her daughter Anna out of town. Luke's horse found a way through a shroud of fog and the lingering scent of rain to the trailhead. Clouds broke, stars filled the sky, lending enough light to a harrowing climb.

When the sun broke like yoke over the prairie, it uncovered more of the trail and loose gravel in their wake. Tugging on the reins, he scolded the horse to keep going. Luke's female riders looked knotted with fear without a word between them.

The horse staggered and stumbled to a precipice. The pair craned their necks to see the valley where Silver Creek finally seemed harmless in the distance. Luke guided them and his horse through a spread of ponderosa pine on soft fallen needles until they reached a swollen creek where they breathed a collective sigh

The piney scent was welcomed, as Luke tied the horse to a branch and spied for a safe place to cross. He knew slick rocks and a fast current made for a treacherous stretch to cross the creek. Luke approached Ruth and Anna on the horse. "Once we're across, my cabin's just over the next ridge."

Ruth asked about the prospect someone would come and try to claim the reward for her capture. "Will someone come after us from town?" After she asked, she looked at her daughter Anna, as if she should have bitten her tongue.

Luke tried to assuage their fears. "I never showed anyone your picture. I figure no one knows what you look like in town. The preacher expected us to show ourselves and be married in town. They will wonder why I'm not showing you off sooner than later."

Ruth tucked her dress in, as Luke lifted her off the horse. Then he grabbed Anna. "She's light as a feather. Nothing venison stew won't cure." They made a bed of grass, as Luke walked up and down the creek. Anna appeared sleepy with the help of hypnotic flowing water.

It was a strange new world for Luke, who had been alone like a hermit than a homesteader. He'd never felt someone in his arms so small, delicate, and in need of his protection from the wolves of the world. Even if Luke had called off a mail order marriage, his heart for the innocent daughter melted like butter on a hot skillet.

Ruth Thompson took a deep breath. "It feels like we're in another world, far from trouble for now. If only it were true."

Ruth spread her dress out as she kneeled and took Anna in her arms. Luke laid down on his side on an elbow chewing on a blade of grass. "Most people venture this way, can't ever take it all in. There's something you should know."

Anna appeared to doze off. "I never took you for a man of secrets."

"I wouldn't call it that. I...I I'm not alone here. There's..."

The shrieking call of a bird broke the hypnotic sound of the rushing water.

Luke stood and squinted in the direction of the bird sound. He spied Aiyana under some thick branches near a boulder. With a rifle in one hand, she raised the other to signal. it was her call from across the water.

Ruth stood next to Luke. "This is what you tried to tell me. An Indian girl lives with you?"

Luke appeared sheepish. "It's not like you think. She's half Indian. Her mother was taken captive by Cheyenne. Like you, she had good reason to leave."

"I see. Was she attacked by someone?"

"She flees a brave who won't take no for a marriage. He's crazy in love." He stood and waved at Aiyana across the creek.

Ruth studied Luke's hazel eyes. "And you. Mr. Cole. You ever been love?"

Luke couldn't look Ruth in the eyes, seeing how he accepted the offer of marriage like it was a cold contract.

Ruth pressed. "I see how you look at her. I know the look of a man in love."

Luke turned away and shook his head, surprised at her boldness. Then he saw Aiyana holding a rope, signaling she would unfurl it across the river, so Luke could tie it to a tree.

"Several days ago, she wandered into my place, starved and beaten. I couldn't turn her away."

Ruth smiled. "Really? Can she survive in a white man's world?"

"I'd say not sell her short either way."

Aiyanna tossed the rope. Luke tied it to an elm. He motioned for Ruth to cross first. She gave him the child. Luke placed the child on the horse. As Ruth crossed over, she slipped on the hidden rocks while gripping the rope. It soaked her only dress. But Aiyanna grabbed her hand and helped her fall to the bank.

Luke led Anna on with one hand on the reins and one hand on the taut rope, crossing to the other side. They all pressed on until smoke rose from the cabin in a clearing where the sun beamed on a garden patch in a clearing. Luke's dog, Sugar greeted them with excitement, jumping and then circling around the horse barking all the way to the cabin door.

"Mama, is this our new home?" Anna said so excitedly, as the dog danced around the horse and a couple free range chickens crossed the path to the door. Ruth, who held her daughter on Luke's horse, looked at him for approval.

"This will be your home if you want it to be little Miss Anna." But what gnawed at him was what to do if a bounty hunter came calling.

Ayanna held the reins and led the guest to the cabin door. Luke locked eyes on Aiyana as Ruth dismounted and then grabbed her daughter from the horse and went inside.

He looked over at his Indian maiden with the blazing blue eyes that set his heart on fire, wishing he could talk to her in secret and tell her there would be no wedding to Ruth, since she came on false pretenses. But words between them would have to wait, even when His heart beat inside like a base drum.