were Zeke and Olin Wales, whose homes seemed to be everywhere, except that Zeke’s had been Tennessee for part of his life. All of them had their stamina and tempers tested that first day, as they were frequently stuck in swollen stream beds and prairie mud. There was little the women could do at those times, and Abbie often trotted off to pick a few wild flowers while the men struggled to unloose each wagon.
The abundant flowers made the prairie a fairyland, and Abbie wished that the weather and landscape could always be that way—except for the mud. For the land was relatively smooth otherwise, and the prairie flowers were magnificent. They made her heart sing as it began to fill more and more with a secret love for the dark half-breed who led them onward.
Zeke seemed to be everywhere at once: first scouting far ahead of them; then beside them, helping someone push out a wagon; then far behind them, looking for Olin Wales. Sometimes he rode a wide circle around them, and Abbie worried that perhaps Rube Givens would follow them and shoot Zeke in the back, as Zeke had accused the man of wanting to do. Her heart froze at the thought of Cheyenne Zeke lying dead, but she knew that even though she’d known him only three days, she would fold up and die herself if anything happened to him.
Two more days passed without a sign of Olin Wales,and although Zeke made little mention of it, Abbie was sure he was getting worried himself. He seemed to ride behind them more than ahead of them on the third day. Abbie hoped Olin had not been ambushed by Rube Givens, but late that day he finally appeared in the distance. Zeke galloped by then, riding hard to meet him, and Abbie knew that there was a deep and unspoken love and friendship between the two men when she saw the joy and relief on Zeke’s face.
During those first several days, Jason Trent made Abbie ride inside the wagon frequently to relieve the cramps in her legs and the sores on her feet. He loved her deeply for showing her devotion to him by walking beside him every day to keep him from feeling lonely, and by scrubbing his clothes and fixing his meals. Abigail Trent would make a man a fine wife some day. But he often worried about LeeAnn. He had to constantly scold her to get her to help, and he could only hope she’d find a man who could provide for her well enough so that she wouldn’t have to do too much work. She just didn’t seem cut out for it. But he did not like the sleek and suave Quentin Robards who frequently visited their camp in the evenings to talk to LeeAnn. He’d only mentioned his dislike for the man once, and LeeAnn had promptly clammed up and stormed away from him. Jason wished he could be more stern with her, but she looked so much like her mother. And how he had loved her mother!
Zeke ordered the pregnant girl to ride lying down, and whenever he caught her sitting up in the bouncing wagon or doing any hard work, he promptly scolded the girl and then her husband for letting his wife overdo herself. He seemed unusually concerned, andAbbie wondered if his own wife had once miscarried. At any rate, the young Mister Brown treated the pregnancy casually, arguing with Zeke that surely the Indian women worked hard and did a lot of walking when they were pregnant.
“They’re a hardier lot,” Zeke argued back, “already accustomed to the elements and the work. But don’t kid yourself. Indian women lose plenty of babies—and a lot of the women die, too.”
“I was of the opinion that they simply lie with any man and then squat along the trail when their time comes and give birth to the little bastards,” Morris Connely spoke up, surprising them all with this ludicrous remark. Zeke’s piercing eyes darted in the man’s direction, and he studied him a moment as though he were trying to remember something from the past.
“That’s an almighty ugly statement from a man who hasn’t said two words since we left,” he replied. “There’s something
The abundant flowers made the prairie a fairyland, and Abbie wished that the weather and landscape could always be that way—except for the mud. For the land was relatively smooth otherwise, and the prairie flowers were magnificent. They made her heart sing as it began to fill more and more with a secret love for the dark half-breed who led them onward.
Zeke seemed to be everywhere at once: first scouting far ahead of them; then beside them, helping someone push out a wagon; then far behind them, looking for Olin Wales. Sometimes he rode a wide circle around them, and Abbie worried that perhaps Rube Givens would follow them and shoot Zeke in the back, as Zeke had accused the man of wanting to do. Her heart froze at the thought of Cheyenne Zeke lying dead, but she knew that even though she’d known him only three days, she would fold up and die herself if anything happened to him.
Two more days passed without a sign of Olin Wales,and although Zeke made little mention of it, Abbie was sure he was getting worried himself. He seemed to ride behind them more than ahead of them on the third day. Abbie hoped Olin had not been ambushed by Rube Givens, but late that day he finally appeared in the distance. Zeke galloped by then, riding hard to meet him, and Abbie knew that there was a deep and unspoken love and friendship between the two men when she saw the joy and relief on Zeke’s face.
During those first several days, Jason Trent made Abbie ride inside the wagon frequently to relieve the cramps in her legs and the sores on her feet. He loved her deeply for showing her devotion to him by walking beside him every day to keep him from feeling lonely, and by scrubbing his clothes and fixing his meals. Abigail Trent would make a man a fine wife some day. But he often worried about LeeAnn. He had to constantly scold her to get her to help, and he could only hope she’d find a man who could provide for her well enough so that she wouldn’t have to do too much work. She just didn’t seem cut out for it. But he did not like the sleek and suave Quentin Robards who frequently visited their camp in the evenings to talk to LeeAnn. He’d only mentioned his dislike for the man once, and LeeAnn had promptly clammed up and stormed away from him. Jason wished he could be more stern with her, but she looked so much like her mother. And how he had loved her mother!
Zeke ordered the pregnant girl to ride lying down, and whenever he caught her sitting up in the bouncing wagon or doing any hard work, he promptly scolded the girl and then her husband for letting his wife overdo herself. He seemed unusually concerned, andAbbie wondered if his own wife had once miscarried. At any rate, the young Mister Brown treated the pregnancy casually, arguing with Zeke that surely the Indian women worked hard and did a lot of walking when they were pregnant.
“They’re a hardier lot,” Zeke argued back, “already accustomed to the elements and the work. But don’t kid yourself. Indian women lose plenty of babies—and a lot of the women die, too.”
“I was of the opinion that they simply lie with any man and then squat along the trail when their time comes and give birth to the little bastards,” Morris Connely spoke up, surprising them all with this ludicrous remark. Zeke’s piercing eyes darted in the man’s direction, and he studied him a moment as though he were trying to remember something from the past.
“That’s an almighty ugly statement from a man who hasn’t said two words since we left,” he replied. “There’s something
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