[Desert Roses 03] - Beneath A Harvest Sky (36 page)
Duncan wanted nothing more than to run to the car and knock the man to the ground. The rage inside him threatened to interfere with rational thought. Only having Rainy at his side kept him from risking everything.
“Sonny will accompany me back to my home,” he said from the car window. “He will go with me as long as I feel there’s a threat from either of you. Knowing what’s in store for me if I’m caught, I won’t care one whit about adding his murder to my list.”
Rainy ripped away from Duncan. She tried to rush for Gunther but fell to her knees when her left leg collapsed beneath her. “But, Gunther, the theft of a few articles—articles that you may still have in your possession—well . . . that’s hardly as bad as murder.”
“My dear,” he said as Sonny put the car into gear, “you don’t know the half of it. It wouldn’t be my first murder.”
Duncan saw Rainy pale as she tried to get to her feet. “Gunther, please.”
The old man ignored her and motioned Sonny into action.
Sonny turned the car around and headed back to Winslow while Rainy and Duncan watched in despair. Duncan went to her as soon as the car headed south. He slowly helped her to her feet and opened his arms to her. Rainy fell against him in tears. “Oh, Duncan, what are we to do?” Her sobs pierced his heart and broke the anger he felt.
Duncan pushed back her straw hat and dabbed at her sweat-soaked brow with his handkerchief. “We will pray first, and then we’ll assess the situation and see what action might best suit our purpose.”
“I can’t even think clearly. I doubt I can pray with any real eloquence.”
Duncan smiled. “God doesn’t much care how we sound.” He let his Scottish brogue thicken. “He loves us with an everlastin’ love—no matter how eloquently we pray. Good thing too. I’ve always been better with ancient artifacts than with words.”
Rainy nodded. “I’ve been praying and I’ll keep praying, but I’m so afraid.” She paused and her expression grew thoughtful. “You could walk out in a few hours, when it’s not so hot,” Rainy continued, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. “That was my original plan, but now my ankle is twisted and I know I can’t walk far.”
“Are you all right otherwise? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Rainy shook her head. “Chester worried me, but he didn’t touch me. I didn’t even twist my ankle until you showed up with Sonny. Though it hurts a great deal, I have to admit my pride smarts, too, from being so foolish and not recognizing Gunther’s involvement.”
“Ah, anyone could have missed that. He was just an old man.”
“And he seemed to actually love my mother and father,” Rainy said, looking dumbfounded. “I just can’t believe this. How could he have deceived people so completely?”
“It’s easy to deceive the ones who trust you and love you,” Duncan said. “They aren’t looking for any reason to be suspicious. I’m sure if Gunther only offered kindness and a congenial manner that your parents probably believed him to be a good friend.”
“They did,” Rainy agreed. “That’s what hurts so much.”
“Well, don’t give it another thought. Gunther will get what’s coming to him. Mr. Richland isn’t about to let this situation go unpunished. Sonny and I learned from Bethel Driscoll that Chester was headed out here to work with his uncle. We put the pieces together then and there, and I wired Mr. Richland with the information. My guess is that even now, Richland has alerted the law enforcement officials and will have a plan in place to deal with Gunther and Chester.”
“But what about Sonny? If they go charging in there with the police, Sonny may get killed.”
“Sonny’s a smart man. Give him credit, Rainy. He can deal with this. He did exactly what he wanted to do—he got Gunther and Chester away from us and headed back to Winslow, where he knows there’s bound to be help.”
“I suppose so,” she said reluctantly.
“I know so,” Duncan said encouragingly. “Right now we need to figure out how we can help Sonny— and ourselves. It’s too bad Gunther poured out the last of the water.”
“Oh, he didn’t!” Rainy declared. She pushed away from Duncan’s side and hobbled to the car. Opening the door, she pulled out her canteen. “I had a feeling Chester would try to pilfer our meager supplies. Little did I know it’d turn out this way.”
“No, you couldn’t have known,” Duncan said, coming to stand beside her. “No one suspected Gun-ther. Chester seemed suspicious, but he appears to be nothing more than Albright’s lackey. That’s why you can’t blame yourself in any of this. Even I had it figured to be Jennetta or Phillip—never you.”
It was as if those two little words changed everything between them. Duncan caught the expression on Rainy’s face, then watched as she tucked the canteen back inside the car. “We have some food too. One of the Harvey Girls packed fruit and cheese and pie, along with sandwiches. So if you get hungry we have plenty. Oh, and my mother sent cookies.”
She moved away from him in her awkward manner, but Duncan wasn’t about to let it go at that. “Rainy, I never thought you were guilty. I have to admit there were times when the evidence seemed completely against you, but I still held on to the belief that you had nothing to do with it. Even when the Indian Affairs man told me about your mishap at the university, I never believed you were responsible.”
“You knew about the university? Even before I told you?” She searched his face for the truth.
He reached out and touched her cheek. “I knew.”
Rainy shook her head. “I can’t believe all of this is happening. What if Gunther tries to hurt Sonny? I can’t bear the thought of it.” She stepped away from Duncan and struggled to the road again. She looked to the south for several minutes, shading her eyes with her hand. “Sonny’s just about to get everything he’s ever wanted. He’s been given his dream job—a geologist position with the government.” She turned back to Duncan. “Did you know that?”
Duncan nodded, feeling terrible for the trembling in her voice. If he didn’t take her mind from Sonny, he feared she might well begin another onslaught of tears.
“I wanted to tell you the truth about what happened with the investigation,” he said softly, “but it wasn’t the only reason I came here with Sonny.”
Rainy lowered her hand and looked at Duncan.
“What other reason was there?”
“I wanted you to know how I feel about you.”
He crossed the distance between them, and before he could give Rainy a chance to protest he took her in his arms. “I don’t care what else happens—I have to tell you how I feel.”
Rainy nodded. “I’m listening.”
At least she didn’t fight him. The fact that she allowed him to embrace her gave Duncan hope. “I was a complete idiot not to make my feelings known to you that first night you asked me to share your supper table at La Fonda. I had cared about you from afar, and those feelings only grew more intense up close. I love you, Rainy. I know that without any doubt or hesitation. I love you and I want you to be my wife.”
Rainy cocked her head to one side. Her expression suggested she was waiting for something more, but Duncan had no idea what it could be. He’d already spilled out his guts—told her what was in his heart.
“Please just tell me I haven’t totally ruined my chances with you. Please tell me there’s still a chance for us. I need to have hope.”
Rainy raised her head and looked from side to side. “Hope doesn’t seem to grow in abundance out here in the desert. We’re stuck out here, my ankle is swelling as we speak, and Sonny is traveling with a madman who holds a gun. And in the middle of all of this, you proclaim your love and devotion.”
Duncan grinned. “It’ll make a great story to tell our children and grandchildren.”
“Duncan, we have to make it out of here before we can talk about getting married, much less the rest of your plans.”
“We’ll make it out of here all right. Especially if you say yes to my proposal.”
“Oh, and why’s that?” Rainy questioned. “How does my saying yes help us get out of here?”
Duncan tightened his grip on her. “Because then I’ll definitely have something to live for.”
Rainy shook her head. “Your timing is the worst.”
“I know.”
“I mean, I plan to leave for Scotland in a few days.”
Duncan shook his head this time. “I wouldn’t have let you go.”
“I’d already convinced myself I could never have you,” Rainy admitted. “You know how I was praying for a husband.”
He shrugged. “And here I am.”
She looked at him for a moment and sighed. “I don’t know what to do with you. You drive me positively mad. One minute I understand you—the next you seem like a stranger.”
“Spend the rest of your life getting to know me,” he encouraged.
“If we don’t get out of here, it may well be a short lifetime.” She grimaced and tried to shift her weight.
“Look, we need to get you off your ankle.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her back to the car. “I know it’s hot, but you need to rest. I’ll put you in the backseat and then help you elevate your foot.”
The look on her face was one of pain and worry. Pausing as he placed her inside the car, Duncan bent down to meet her gaze. “We’re going to make it out of this, you’ll see. I know God didn’t bring us this far to let us die here.”
“And just where did God bring us?” Rainy questioned.
“He brought us to the truth.” Duncan kissed her lightly on the forehead. “The truth about the missing artifacts, the university thefts—and the truth about how we feel about each other. That is, unless you’ve changed your mind.”
Rainy shook her head. “I didn’t change it—I tried to change it and Phillip Vance tried to help me change it, but there was always something about you. Something in the middle of all my thoughts and feelings. There were times I wanted to run up to you and tell you everything and beg you to marry me.”
“You wouldn’t have had to beg, sweetheart. I would have willingly complied.”
He touched his lips to hers ever so gently. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her for a long, long time, but there was work to do and he knew their survival depended on it. Pulling away, he whispered in her ear.
“Marry me, please.”
She opened her eyes and looked up. “If we get out of here alive, I’ll gladly marry you.”
He grinned and backed away from the car. “You’ve given me a challenge to be sure, but now I have a reason to fight. You’ll see how stubborn we Scots can be.”
“I’m Scottish myself, or have you forgotten?”
He laughed. “Nay, I’ve not forgotten it, lassie. I’m countin’ on it.”
Rainy thought about his words as she watched him walk away from the car. He was counting on her stubbornness. For what? To survive? To make it through the pain? She knew her tenacious behavior had gotten her into trouble on many an occasion.
She watched Duncan scrounge for materials to build a fire. He hoped someone would see the smoke and come in search of the problem. She could only pray his plan worked.
Oh, Father, everything seems wrong
. She grinned at the sight of Duncan.
Well, not everything,
she admitted.
I’m
quite happy with your choice of a husband for me, but everything
else seems quite hopeless. Please, Father, help us to right
these wrongs. Save us, Lord. Save us from the desert isolation
and heat. Send the cooling breeze of the evening. Help us get
to safety
.
She prayed over and over while Duncan worked. He paused only long enough to take the tiniest of drinks and then he was back to work.
“He’s a good man, Lord.” She whispered the words as Duncan tried to set fire to the odd pile of fuel he’d collected. Her suitcase and clothes were among the sacrificed articles, as well as the trunk that had been on the back of the car.
At first the fire seemed unwilling to take, but then, much to Rainy’s relief, the flame caught and began to consume some of the smaller, drier pieces of brush.
Thick billowing smoke from the clothes and trunk filled the air.
“Well, at least that much has worked,” she said with a sigh. “Now, if someone will just see it and come to help.”
R
ainy shifted uncomfortably in the backseat of the car. She’d tried to sleep through the chill of the desert night, but it seemed impossible. Her dreams were laced with wild images of Gunther and the desert. At one point she found herself in a dry field of overripe corn. The full moon overhead shone down nearly as bright as the sun and the corn withered on the stalk. Rainy tried to save the corn by watering it but found her water ran out after only a few stalks. Then, in frustration, she tried to pick the corn but instead the pieces turned to Indian treasures and Rainy stood holding first a piece of jewelry and then an intricate pot. People pointed at her, some accused her, and with a start, Rainy awoke to feel her hips sore and her ankle swollen and stiff. Realizing her situation, she wanted only to have a good cry.
Sitting up, she tried not to disturb her aching leg any more than she had to. What a rotten twist to her situation.
If I could have kept myself from injury, we might
have walked to safety
.
Opening the car door, Rainy eased to the edge of the seat and looked out at the night sky. The stars were soothing to her. In the midst of such madness, they seemed to offer her something stable and consistent. She recognized several constellations, remembering how she and Sonny would sit until late into the night as children, watching the skies, talking about God and what they would do when they grew up.