Luke slipped from the cabin at the break of dawn with his Spencer rifle in hand. A glossy dew spread across the golden mountain meadow before him. Threading tufts of wet grass, he glimpsed a doe along a cluster of birch trees. Taking a knee, he put the rifle to his shoulder. He thumbed the hammer and fingered his trigger when a fawn sprang from her bedding and flanked the mother.

Luke dropped his aim, breathed a sigh, and looked for an invisible God somewhere beyond the blue heaven. "Not today, Lord."

His eyes spun back to the mother and fawn. Alerted from his sudden movement, the pair disappeared into the depth of forest. He fell on both knees, soaking in the marshy tuft of ground and quietly asked himself, "Are you trying to tell me something Lord?" His thoughts became snared over Ruth and her daughter.

Returning down the worn path where his cabin could be seen, he noted how the garden flourished under Ayanna's green thumb. Even the corn came back to life and stood shoulder high as he passed by. She was everything a homestead man could ask for. Besides being a good homemaker, she proved herself as a skilled hunter and trapper. He admired the beauty of her true grit, her Azure eyes, and the glistening bronzed skin of her father, a chief of the mountain Crow.

She exited the root cellar in her Indian dress made from deerskin. His heart knotted as she passed along beyond the cornrows on the Creekside. He figured she'd find the falls for a private shower.

Luke focused ahead on the cabin where smoke billowed from the clay pipe on such a cold, crisp morning. He longed to warm himself with the stone fireplace inside. He glanced backward one last time and caught the image of a rider creating waves on the glistening grass.

Luke ripped the scope from his satchel and trained his eye on the stranger. The man's hat covered a nest of hair, and his coat flopped to his knees. It appeared; he too saw the smoke rising from the cabin. His words tasted bitter on the tongue when he spoke to himself. "Bounty hunter."

Luke scrambled toward the door where his horse was tethered to the porch post. He crashed inside, as if the place were ablaze.

Ruth stood at the table under a cloud of flour. Some found her pinned hair, while her daughter had a pinch of it on her nose. It appeared they'd been horsing around while Ruth was teaching Anna how to knead dough and make pies.

Luke bounded toward them. "Sorry to interrupt ladies. I need you and Anna to get on my horse like we practiced. Quick as a lick."

Ruth's smile disappeared. She grabbed Anna's hand, as they raced toward the unlatched door. Outside, Luke passed Anna to her mother. "Remember stay in the cave among the crop of rocks until one of us comes calling."

Ruth said nothing, but the fear etched her face. Luke smacked the horse, sending the pair around the cabin and crossing over the headwaters of the creek to cover the tracks and hide beyond boulders.

With the rifle slung over his shoulder, he waited and watched as the rider appeared on the path.

As Luke lowered his gun, the rider halted and turned his horse. "No need to raise your rifle, I'm not here to quarrel."

"Are you lost?"

"No sir. Don't think so. Name's Mackey. You might say I'm an arm of the law."

"What brings you to my place?" Luke was annoyed with how the morning sun blurred his vision. He stepped off the porch.

Mackey pulled a crumpled poster from his shirt pocket and leaned toward Luke with it. "I don't reckon you've seen this lady. She travels with a kid."

Cradling his rifle, Luke stepped over and took the wanted poster from his gloved hand. He shook his head. "Haven't seen this woman."

The man smiled revealing crooked teeth. "That town is sure one rumor fest. Whole place is a buzz over a mail order bride they hope to get a look at."

"That so. I have no need for one. That agreement was null and void. Not that it's any of your business."

"Just wonderin' if they might be one and the same."

Ayanna appeared from the creek. Sugar surfaced with her and growled at the intruder.

Mackey looked over at Ayanna and the dog barring his teeth. "Looks like you have all the woman you need. Good day, Ma'am."

He tipped his hat and turned his reins toward the meadow. Luke wasn't sure he'd give up that easy, but he hoped seeing Ayanna threw him off his game."

For good measure, Ayanna drew close to Luke and leaned her head on his shoulder. It sent familiar tremors through him. She breathed on his neck and smelled of lilacs from the field.

Luke looked into her azure eyes. "A tracker like him doesn't fall back so easy. He'll be watching and act like a hungry bear circling back."

Her eyes reflected the dew. "And you don't think, I convinced him that we are one."

Luke's jaw went slack. His heart hammered inside. He wanted to kiss her until the noise of a rifle shot echoed in the canyon.