Page 47 of Wagon Train Melody
Kitty’s lip quivered.
“Will you be happy if your aunt holds you and I sit real close?” Rudy asked.
Kitty nodded.
“Sounds good to me.” Rudy grinned at Kitty then at Alice.
“What about me?” Sissy scowled at them, obviously feeling left out.
Alice sought for a way to make Sissy feel better, but it was Rudy who answered her.
“You can sit on the other side of me if you want and if you promise to hang on tight.”
“Yup.” She scampered up and perched on the seat.
Alice didn’t know how safe it was.
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t fall off,” Rudy promised.
Bo climbed in the back, and they were on their way. Four of them on the bench. Kitty insisted on sitting close enough to Rudy that she could put her hand on his arm. Sissy crowded close on his other side.
Alice stared straight ahead. She wasn’t any better than the little girls. She wanted to stay close to him, finding his presence reassuring. How could she be so needy especially knowing that a man was after him to kill him? He was the last man she should feel safe with.
She glanced back, searched the horizon, praying she wouldn’t see any telltale dust. Or worse, an approaching horse and rider.
She gasped as she saw something leave the trees where they had recently camped.
CHAPTER 11
Rudy heard Alice’s quickly indrawn breath as she looked behind them. His heart jolted. Had Big Al caught up to him? If so, he would have to put the girls in the back and race the horses for all their might. They couldn’t be far from the fort. Maybe they’d encounter some Mounties out on patrol. The thoughts raced through his head as he jerked around. He saw what had alarmed Alice and chuckled.
“It’s only a cow moose.”
“It is?” She shot him a look of disbelief then squinted at the animal. “It is. I thought….”
“No need to say it. I’m afraid it’s a constant risk. One I wish I wasn’t responsible for. I’d ride away except….” He let the words trail off. Except they needed him. And he liked being needed. How selfish was that? But theydidneed him and that’s what counted.
She shifted forward and arranged Kitty who’d been disturbed by Alice’s movements. “We’ll soon be at the fort, and you’ll be free to ride away as far as you want. In the meantime, I’m grateful for your help although I know it slows you down to stay with us.”
“So, you’ve said before. Alice, but no one is making me stay. I’m here because I choose to be.”
She turned to meet his gaze. “I think you’re here because your conscience won’t allow you to leave us on our own.”
“I suppose that’s part of it.” How could he make her understand it was more than that? Especially when he didn’t understand himself? He’d never felt this way before. Sure, he did his share on a cattle drive. He’d helped the men he worked with on the various ranches where he’d found employment. Even living in Skunk Hollow he’d shoveled snow from the paths of two widow women. But it wasn’t the same.
And he didn’t know what was different.
He glanced at Sissy, pressed to his left side. The child was happy just to be with him.
He looked down at Kitty, curled up on Alice’s lap. She seemed to find comfort from his presence.
Bo sat in the back, watching the trail behind. He liked the boy.
Raising his gaze, he looked at Alice. He felt something he’d never felt before. A sense of…he didn’t even have a word for it.
He shook his head. Once they reached the fort, they’d have no more need of him, and he could go about his business. Whatever that was. He’d ridden from Fort Benton without a plan in his head except to avoid Big Al. But then, he didn’t need a plan. Never had. He simply followed whatever opportunity presented itself. It had always worked for him in the past. He expected it would continue to work for him. After all, he wasn’t the sort to put down roots.
With that settled in his mind, he turned his attention back to guiding the horses.
