The going was slow on the sandy trail. The heavy wagons pushed on. The wheels of the Conestoga wagons had been modified with wide rims to even the load on the sand. As the big wheels turned, they tossed sand up and over the rim. All that churning of sand and dust disguised their trail to some degree, but nothing could hide the trail of so many heavy wagons.
It didn't take more than a few hours of sun for the desert to become an inferno. The white sand was almost as blinding as snow. Cassie folded the lip of her sombrero down to protect her face from the scorching sun.
Her thoughts turned to Bordeaux. What was he doing out here alone in the middle of the desert? Their freight wagons used this route to deliver supplies to the tiny town of Ashley, but few people traveled the desert. That was why Pete chose the route - less risk of being robbed.
She mopped her forehead again. Only a few more trips and the loan on the ranch would be paid. Actually, she had enough money to finish paying the loan if she depleted her bank account at Bradley. That was something she didn't want to do. The money she earned from each of the trips across the desert was devoted entirely to paying off the loan, but the money she earned working at the bank was set aside to purchase supplies until the ranch started paying for itself.
Two times she had been back to visit her siblings, both times at Christmas. It had been two years since their mother had died - three since their father had run off with that harlot. Unable to locate him, Cassie had finally agreed to leave the twins with Mr. & Mrs. Hertz, their neighbors. The Hertz's had not been blessed with children and were adamant that they would love taking care of the twins. Tammy and Timmy would be thirteen this fall. Before long they would be grown.
As it always did, memories of the twins sparked a fire of anger at her father. She had been so certain he would return - at first. At first she had hoped, even prayed he would return. But after Mother died, everything changed. No one could be that hard to find unless they didn't want to be found. As far as she was concerned, he had relinquished his right to the ranch. But that wasn't how the law would see things. He might show up any time to claim the ranch. Once she wouldn't have thought him capable of something so unfair. But that was when she was naive and he was her idol.