Does this place meet with yer approval?” Brie struggled to keep the irritation out of her voice but failed to reach that goal. “Defensible enough,” Halldor murmured, lifting his head to scan the small glen. “Water for the animals. Shelter back under those rocks. Aye, it will do.” It had damned well better do. He’d rejected the last two spots she’d chosen, and now she’d be lucky to finish setting up their camp before they had no light left at all. Their second full day on the trail had gone by without incident and Brie wanted to keep it that way. No arguments tonight, she reminded herself. No making a fool of herself like last night, when she’d allowed her imagination to get the best of her. She managed to hold her tongue as she dismounted and offered a shoulder to assist Halldor off his horse. When his feet hit the ground, he leaned on her more heavily than she’d expected. More heavily than he had the last time they’d stopped. “How do you fare?” she asked as she helped him to sit under the overhang of rock, protected at last from the unrelenting drizzle of rain.
