Cassie sent a sideways glance at Annette and saw the anger in her cousin’s eyes. Cassie was going to be in trouble.
Travis patted her hand. “Wrap your arms around me and hang on.”
With a last look at Annette, Cassie grinned. Then regretted it after seeing the angry look on her cousin’s face.
“Don’t you worry. I saw her look at you. I’ll make sure you get to go to the dance.”
Cassie nodded, and then they were next to her wagon. She held Travis’s hand and jumped from the horse. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He looked down at her and grinned. “You can count on it. I better go. I told Watkins I’d help him arrange the wagons at the springs.” He wheeled his horse around and charged to the front of the line.
Cassie sighed and fingered the locket. Father had given it to her. He’d bought it in St. Joseph, Missouri, from a Bavarian watchmaker. He’d bought it for Mother, but after she died, he’d given it to Cassie. Inside was a picture of her parents. The other was blank. A place for her to put a picture of her beau. She looked at it and imagined having a picture of Travis.
“Cassie, where have you been?” The gravelly angry voice told her who it was.
Startled, Cassie answered her aunt. “At Mrs. Hunt’s wagon helping her with the children.”
Aunt Ethel looked at her with disappointment. The look Cassie had seen ever since she’d come to live with them. “I need the wagon rearranged. Get the dresses out for Annette and Babette. I’m making peach cobbler for dinner. You can help me.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Cassie climbed in the wagon and moved items to get to the trunk that held the dresses.
Babette came inside to help. “Annette wants the blue dress. I get the yellow one.” She picked up a box of glasses and moved them to the other side of the wagon.
Cassie opened the trunk and handed the dresses to Babette. “I thought I had one in here.”
“Mama said you won’t need yours.” Babette stared at her. Her cousin’s blond ringlets framed her thin, unsmiling face. Babette could be pretty if she didn’t have such a moody attitude.
“Why? The dress was mine that I bought with my own money.”
“Mother’s got things for you to do. I wouldn’t argue with her. She was mad when she saw you with Travis. Said you were shameless.”
Cassie turned away. To argue was pointless. While not as mean as Annette, Babette had a wicked sense of revenge, and Cassie had learned to stay away from the three women as much as she possibly could.
Stepping out of the wagon, Cassie was going to find Abbie, but Aunt Ethel stepped from the side of the wagon. “You can press our dresses. They became wrinkled while in the trunk.” She handed Cassie the iron.
“And where is my dress? I didn’t see it in the trunk.” Cassie wasn’t going to let Aunt Ethel get away with whatever she’d done to the dress.
Aunt Ethel tilted her head. “I don’t know. I hope you didn’t leave it at the old homestead. You’re not going to the dance anyway. Not the way you’ve been with that man as if you were a shameless hussy. You can stay here and watch the wagon for us.” Not waiting for Cassie to answer, Aunt Ethel left, hollering at her husband.
Not going? Well, it was probably for the best. Cassie didn’t have a beautiful dress to wear, and if she showed up at the dance, Annette and Babette would make her life miserable, not to mention what they’d do to Travis. She’d heard them talk last night.
Low whispers, but the words would drift down to Cassie sleeping underneath them. Annette and Babette schemed on how they would get a man to marry them. And they had their eyes on Travis and Matt.
Cassie was going to have to warn the men before the dance. Her cousins were chips off Aunt Ethel's shoulders. Cassie laughed. Buffalo chips even.
Chapter 5
Travis lined up the last wagon and then went to look for Cassie.
Matt rode over to him. “That the last one?”
Travis nodded. “Those women amaze me. Most of them were cooking while the wagons were rolling. Pots under the wagons. Smaller pots in a bigger pot that had coals or even fires to cook stews, cobblers, biscuits. And the delicious smells were enough to make my mouth water.”
Travis was getting tired of beans. Even though they’d managed to bring Mrs. Hunt meat from the game they hunted, it was only enough for her family and no more. So, Travis would excuse himself, and he and Matt lived on jerky and beans.
Matt slid from his horse. “I am starving for good food.”
“You and me both. We have just enough time to clean up.” Travis grabbed a clean shirt. “Follow me. I know where a special pool is where we can wash up.”
“We better hurry. I don’t want to miss any of the food.” Matt looked at him with concern. “You do think they’ll let us join in?”
Travis laughed. “Yes, they will. Besides, half the wagons have unmarried daughters and their mothers are out to marry them off. Even to us. So, they’ll be serving their best dishes to try and capture us.”
“Capture away. I’m going to eat all night.”
“And dance.” Travis led his friend to a small pond. “We can get a month’s worth of dust off us.” He threw his dirty shirt on the ground, and soon he was scrubbing in the water. It was cold as ice, but it felt good to get clean.
Soon, they were both cleaned up and on their way to the dance, but first, they were going to eat.
Mrs. Hunt saw them and grabbed them. “Eat up, boys. There’s plenty.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Hunt.” Travis swept his gaze over the tables.
Mrs. Hunt shook her head. “She’s not here.”
Travis looked at her.
“Cassie is who you’re looking for. I have to warn you that Annette and Babette are waiting for you, but Cassie wasn’t allowed to come. Follow me.”
Travis turned to look for Matt, but he was already sitting with Abbie.
Mrs. Hunt filled two heaping plates of food and handed them to him. “Go and take this to her. Maybe dance with her.”
Travis took the plates and kissed the older lady’s cheek. “You’re wonderful, Mrs. Hunt.”
“Shh, go before the wicked witch and her underlings find out where you are. She has designs that you’ll marry one of her brood.”
“I’m on my way. Thanks.” Travis tried to remember which wagon Cassie was in. They weren’t in their usual order, as Watkins had said to mix them up. He wanted the people to get to know one another.
“Cassie?” He whispered. Then he heard the filly nicker and found her. “It’s me, Travis.”
Cassie peeked from behind her wagon, and her face lit up. “You came.” She twirled and held out her skirt. “I’m sorry I don’t have a nice dress. My cousins must have thrown it out.”
“You look pretty to me. Don’t you worry about them.” He held out one of the plates. “Mrs. Hunt didn’t want you to go hungry.”
“Oh, she’s a saint. I thought I was going to have to eat stale biscuits and wait to see if there would be any leftovers.” She dug into the food on the plate. “Oh, this is so good.”
Travis nodded as he was eating his share. “I’m sorry I couldn’t bring any punch.”
“We have water. Fresh from the spring. I filled up our canteens earlier.” She brought him the canteen and sat beside him. “Thank you for coming.”
He looked into her eyes. “My pleasure.”
Music drifted from the main camp.
He set his plate down and then took hers. Standing, he took her hand in his. “Can I have this dance?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He held her in his arms and danced with her around the wagon. She was light as a feather and quick on her feet. Good thing because he almost stepped on them several times. He held her in his arms, and they danced. Alone. Just the moon, the stars, and Cassie.
Travis wasn’t sure how many dances they had. But each one, he held her closer. Until he stopped dancing and looked at her, smoothing her hair from her face. “Cassie, I’m falling in
love with you.” He wanted to kiss her. Ask her to marry him.
“Well! What is going on here!”
Cassie whirled into Travis’s chest.
Travis pulled Cassie behind him. “We’re dancing. Nothing wrong in that.”
“Hah! A young woman unchaperoned with a young man. Aunt Ethel glared at Travis. “You shouldn’t be here with her. Cassie, get in the wagon. I’ll deal with you later.”
Travis held her behind him. “You have no right to treat her this way.”
“I have every right. Her father made me her guardian.”
Cassie put her hand on his arm. “She’s right. I better go.” She smiled at him and went to the wagon.
Folding her arms, Ethel glared at him. “You go on back to the campfire and dance. Don’t worry, I’ve never hurt Cassie. I treat her as if she were my own.”
“As if she were your slave.” He muttered under his breath. But he left the woman and walked back to the dance. He should have taken Cassie away from the witch tonight, and asked her to marry him.
His anger cooled. He had no money to care for Cassie. Not yet. Travis kicked at a stick when Matt came to him and handed him a plate with a piece of pie.
“Take mine. It’s my third. Where have you been?”
Travis told him of the dance with Cassie and how her aunt ruined it.
Frowning, Matt sat down beside him. “I’ve had to run from her two daughters.” He grinned. “But I found Abbie, and we had four dances together. I really like her. Too bad we have to take our herd to town and sell them off.”
Travis savored the piece of peach pie. Then he looked at Matt. “But we’ll get a wagon and find this train again. I’m going to ask Cassie to marry me.”
“Already? You barely know her.”
Travis shook his head. “Yeah, but tonight we danced under the stars. Just us and I can’t imagine dancing with another woman. Ever.”
Matt nodded. “I have feelings for Abbie, but I’m not ready to marry her. Then again, she doesn’t need to be rescued from that old, well, Ethel.”
Travis nodded and looked into the darkness toward Cassie’s wagon. He wanted to go and ask her right now. But until they sold the herd, he didn’t know how much they could get. Could be they’d only have enough to get to Oregon.
He couldn’t ask Cassie to come along as his wife if he couldn’t take care of her.
Tomorrow, he’d ask her to wait for him. He fished in his pocket and took out a piece of lace. It had been his grandmother’s, and she’d passed it down to his mother. On his mother’s sickbed, she’d given it to him and told him to find a woman he loved and give it to her.
The fiddlers must have finished their pies because the music started up again. The first thing Travis saw was Ethel walking back to the party, and in minutes, Annette was standing in front of him.
“Will you dance with me?” Her green eyes glinted from the campfire. She was smiling, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. More like a victor might give to one who was about to be conquered.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“If you want Cassie to have a good night, you better. Mama said she’d make Cassie pay if you don’t dance with me.”
Travis stared at her. What he wanted to do was walk away, but he didn’t want Cassie to suffer. There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do to save her trouble. He glared at Annette. “All right. But don’t think it means anything.”
Annette took his hand and put it on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Soon they were caught up in a lively dance around the campfire with the others. Travis caught a wicked smile on Annette. He looked by the food tables and saw Cassie. His heart dropped. He didn’t want her to see him dancing with Annette of all people. He was about to drop Annette’s hand when the girl grabbed it and squeezed.
She whispered. “Don’t stop. I told you, Cassie will pay for it.” Annette pulled him along. “Look at me. She’s nothing. I can give you a good time and be a good wife to you. Mama said you have promise.”
Travis growled at her. “The only thing I promise you is that I’ll never marry you. In fact, tomorrow morning, I’m going to ask Cassie to wait for me. After I sell my herd, I’ll be back for her and take her out of your mother’s claws.”
Annette laughed. “You don’t know what’s good for you. We have money. I can provide a good farm for you when we get to Oregon. I’m the one for you.”
“You’re nothing but trouble to me.”
The music stopped, and he so did he. After disentangling her hands from his, he turned and left her standing in the middle of the dance area. Travis looked, but Cassie was nowhere in sight.
She’d seen him dancing with Annette. He could only hope she would understand and not hold it against him.
Matt was holding Abbie’s hand and walking along the perimeter of the campground. Travis wanted to tell Abbie about what had happened, but then he didn’t want to intrude on Matt’s fun.
He found the log they’d been sitting on and sat down, hoping Annette would find some other man to bother. Unfortunately, there were so many young women to go around that he saw three more girls looking at him.
Not wanting to get stuck with any others, he left and went to watch over the herd. That Annette and her mother, what a pair. He pitied the poor man who got stuck with them. No wonder Cassie’s uncle was so beat down.
He finally went and sat at the camp he and Matt had made and stretched out on his bedroll. Travis stared at the moon and the stars and thought back to Cassie and how they’d danced, and he’d held her in his arms.
She was so soft and smelled so good. Her sweet voice and kindness captivated him. He’d never met a girl like her. And his heart had never responded. Yes, he knew it hadn’t even been a week, but he loved her.
He ran to her wagon to look for her, but he couldn’t find her. “Cassie?” There was no answer. Travis looked around but couldn’t find her. Disheartened, he left.
Seeing the way Cassie was treated by Ethel and her cousins made him want to rescue her. But he needed the money from the herd for a wagon. Then he could marry her and take her away from that wicked woman.
Tomorrow, he’d ask Cassie to wait for him, and they’d marry him once he sold the herd.
Chapter 6
Early the next morning, Cassie finished cleaning the dishes from last night and brought them back to the wagon. She’d looked for Travis, but Captain Watkins said he and his partner had left early to drive the herd to a town fifty miles away.
She missed him. Yes, she’d seen him dancing with Annette, but she knew that her cousin had somehow forced him. By her cousin’s excessive bragging, and the way she said how much Travis had enjoyed her company, Cassie knew Annette was lying.
Something had happened to Cassie last night with Travis. Her heart had opened and welcomed him in. Even now, she would smile when she remembered the moon and stars and how he held her close, and she felt his warmth and tenderness toward her. He’d completely won her over. He was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
She hoped Travis felt the same, and by the way, he protected her, Cassie thought he did. She was sad that he’d not come to see her before leaving. A chill swept over her. What if she never saw him again? If they were going fifty miles in the other direction, how would they ever catch up to her?
“Cassie! We need more buffalo chips.” Aunt Ethel scowled.
“Going.” Cassie ran to the wagon behind her and found Abbie. “I need to collect chips. Want to go with me?”
“Sure. Let me get my bucket.” Abbie ran to the back of her wagon and then met her. “I’m glad we’re staying another day at the springs. It’s so beautiful. Where were you this morning?”
Cassie groaned. “Aunt Ethel woke me up before the sun and told me to go wash the dishes and then clothes. It took me all morning.”
“Poor thing. Why doesn’t she make your cousins do anything?”
“They’re too spoiled. I’m not sure how much longer I can put
up with her. I was hoping to see Travis this morning. We had such a lovely time last night. That is before Aunt Ethel came and ruined it.”
Abbie frowned. “I saw him dancing with Annette.”
“Yes, I did, too. Although, I think Aunt Ethel arranged the whole thing.” She picked up a meadow muffin and then faced Abbie. “I can’t tell you how special Travis made me feel last night. We danced, just us, under the moon and stars. He said he loves me.” She felt her cheeks grow warm. “I love him, Abbie.”
Abbie grinned. “I can see it in your face and eyes, and I think Travis feels the same. It’s odd they’d leave without saying goodbye to you. Matt came by and told me he’d try to catch up to the train. I really like him.”
Cassie laughed. “Wouldn’t that be something if we married them? I wouldn’t be a bit upset about that arrangement.”
“Me, either.”
Cassie stopped and picked up a few more chips. “I hate to say it, but I think Aunt Ethel is up to something. I’ve seen her look at me with that conniving look of hers. And Uncle Sean looks at me like he’s sorry. Something is up.”
“What can she do to you?”
“I don’t know. That’s just it. I’m not sure what she’s going to do. She’s never hurt me or anything like that. Sometimes, she’s almost nice to me. But ever since Travis chose me over Annette, Aunt Ethel has been unbearable.”
Abbie sighed. “Once Travis comes back, maybe he’ll marry you, and you can be rid of her.”
“I wish. I am getting tired of being treated as if I was more of a problem than a person. I truly don’t know how I can please her.”
Abbie put a meadow muffin in Cassie’s bucket. “I think we have enough. I wouldn’t worry about it. I think your aunt is jealous of you. You’re kind and sweet. Everything she and her daughters are not. Although, sometimes Babette isn’t too bad. In fact, I think your aunt favors Annette over Babette.”
Cassie nodded. “Yes, you’re right there. Poor Babette takes after her father. Annette is her mother all over again.”
“Cassie!” Aunt Ethel had her hands on her hips and looked to be in battle mode.
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