by C. J. Petit
Then he snickered when he recalled last night when she said how she wished Kate could come back and see her baby, and he had said that the odds of that happening were the same as Slow John’s corpse riding up the road wearing his blue uniform with Kate by his side. She’d bawled her eyes out over that one, but it was worth it seeing the pain in her eyes when he said it.
He still had to figure out a way to get Maggie alone.
_____
“John, what do you think I should wear when we arrive? I’m comfortable wearing the boy’s pants and shirt, but I think I’d be more presentable in a riding skirt and a blouse.”
John glanced her way and said, “I’ve never seen you in nice women’s clothes. Would you mind wearing a riding skirt and blouse?”
Kate smiled and replied, “I can do that, but do you know what I’d like to see you wear?”
John smiled back at Kate and replied, “And what would that be, Miss Walsh, and don’t you dare say my birthday suit.”
Kate laughed and said, “No, sir, what I’d really like to see you wear is your uniform. I know it’s all in one of the panniers. I’ve never seen you in your uniform. Would you do that for me?”
John thought about it for a minute. He knew his uniform was in excellent condition, so it wasn’t a question of it looking threadbare, it was just a question of whether he wanted to do it. But Kate had asked, so that threw the scales toward the wear the uniform side.
“Just because you asked, Kate, I’ll do that.”
Kate sealed the decision when she replied, “I think you’d look magnificent on that big black horse in your uniform.”
“Magnificent, Kate, really?” he asked rhetorically with a laugh.
But she answered his rhetorical question by looking right into his eyes and saying, “Magnificent.”
There was no answer or comment he could make, so he just accepted her opinion and turned his eyes to the front.
They continued their ride, and neither spoke for a few minutes, each deep in thought about the next day, and not really unexpectedly, thinking along the same topic line – their own future together, if there was to be one.
John was wrestling with a much bigger decision than one involving uniforms or horses. It was Kate, herself. If they had been in a normal situation, he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second to ask to call on her. He found Kate to be a fascinating, very deep person that he enjoyed being with, once that first day was eliminated. But even that first day had revealed the depth of her character.
But, two things stopped him from even hinting at having a social life with her. As much as he thought of Kate, it had only been a few days and Kate was still so fragile. He was very worried that any such question would scare her away permanently, and that wasn’t tolerable. If he expressed the profound interest he had in her as a woman, she might believe that all he had told her was a lie and his designs had always been to just get her into his bed.
With Melissa, as much as he enjoyed being with her, it was never even close to the depth of feelings that he had already shared with Kate. With Kate, once he was sure that she wasn’t in danger of going back into her shell, he knew he would have no problem telling her that he loved her. He had first thought his feelings for Kate were all just compassion, but that idea died quickly when he found that he never wanted her to leave. He was just surprised that it happened so quickly. With Melissa, he had always wondered if what he felt for her was love, but with Kate, there was no doubt.
And then there was the whole question of Jack. Would his relationship as Jack’s brother always exist in the back of her mind, lurking and ready to explode?
A lot of those questions would be answered in the next two or three days. Kate may rejoin her family, find the love that she needed, and John would simply become a good friend. If that happened, then he’d move on. Kate was already beyond being just a friend to him. The thought of Kate finding someone else would crush him.
Kate had no such questions. If John had asked her if he could court her this moment, she’d have said ‘yes’ before he’d finished the question. There was no longer any doubt in her tumultuous mind that she loved John. At first, she thought her feelings were of gratitude or admiration, but that idea didn’t last long. But because she had never really experienced love for a man before, she had been initially confused.
She had told Phil that she loved him because she was seventeen and thought that’s what she was supposed to do. But after just a few weeks she had been so thoroughly disappointed in marriage and love itself that she believed she’d never know the sensation.
John Flynn had changed all that. After the first day’s worries, she thought she was developing a schoolgirl’s crush on Slow John. It seemed that everything he did was to please her. But their frank, soul-revealing talks had exposed him to her, and she found nothing wanting. She had thought that she’d never want a man to look at her as a woman again, but just days after feeling that way, she not only wanted John to see her as a woman, she wanted him to hold her, and touch her as a woman. She wanted John to make love to her as she knew he would and purge all those memories that made the act so horrible.
Catherine Mary Walsh was never going to think of John Michael Flynn as just a good friend. He would be her best friend, and so much more.
_____
Handy Lewis was in a good mood for a change. It turned out that they had two Henry rifles, in addition to the Winchester and Spencer. They all had pistols, but this would be a long-range job to start.
He had all five of the others with him today. To a man, they hated the Irish for coming out here and taking jobs that they should have had. Now, with the tracklayers moving on, most of the Irish had gone west. But not all of them. Those two families of papists had to be driven out.
“So, what’s the holdup, Corn?” Handy asked.
“Ammunition. Fred Washington said he ain’t got any more .44 cartridges for the Henry or the Winchester. Altogether, we only have eleven of ‘em left. He said he’s got a shipment coming in on the next train. It’ll be here in two days.”
“How did you fellas ever get so low on ammo?”
“You know, we were all shootin’ up the town when the last of them Irish finally went off and we didn’t pay attention to how many we had left. We figured we could always go over to Washington’s and buy some more. How come he ain’t got any?”
Swede Jorgensen replied, “He said that the railroad almost bought him out before they left because of the Injuns. Them Cheyenne are gettin’ pretty riled up because of the tracks goin’ through their lands.”
Handy shook his head. “Alright. A couple of days ain’t gonna make a big difference. Those Irish aren’t goin’ anywhere. Let’s meet back here after the train shows up and we can get enough cartridges to pull this off. Say, Pete, is Washington gonna get any more cartridges for that Spencer of yours?”
“I ain’t sure. He didn’t say nothin’. I’ll just check when the train shows up.”
Handy growled, “You shoulda asked. Let’s all come back here three hours after the train gets here. Pete, you go with Corn and see if you can get any more bullets for that Spencer of yours. Corn buy four boxes of cartridges. It’s gonna be a busy time.”
They all laughed and adjourned until the train arrived in two days with their much-need ammunition.
_____
“He said that?” asked Maggie.
Eliza sniffed, wiped her nose with a handkerchief and nodded.
“All I said was how nice it would be for Kate to see my baby and he sneered at me and made it sound like Kate was dead like Slow John. He even said that Kate would only show up if Slow John Flynn rode in wearing his army uniform.”
Maggie was incensed. Jack had been treating Eliza badly ever since she had announced her pregnancy. And there was something else, too. Whenever anyone mentioned Kate, Jack would glower at them, like he hated her. How could anyone not like Kate?
“Eliza, does Jack beat you?” she asked quietly.
“No. He just yells and says mean things about me and Kate. He tells me I’m fat and ugly and he doesn’t even touch me anymore.”
“You’re not fat, Eliza. You’re pregnant. After you have your baby you’ll be just like you were before, only more shapely.”
Eliza laughed through her sniffles. “When I first started changing, he liked that part, but when my tummy started growing, he got all mad.”
Maggie was letting her Irish temper grow. She’d talk to Patrick about this again. Then she thought of what Eliza had just said.
“Eliza, you said he says bad things about you and Kate. Doesn’t he say any bad things about me?”
“No,” she replied as she shook her head, “he seems to like you. He’ll tell me that I should be more like you.”
Now, Maggie really wanted to talk to Patrick.
_____
In the Flynn home, Patrick was already being talked to, but by his mother, Mary.
“Patrick, I’m hearing that Jack isn’t treating his Eliza well. Has Maggie talked to you about it?”
“She has, Mom. I’ve mentioned it to Jack several times, and now he won’t hear it anymore. Dennis has talked to him as well, but he’s really building walls when the subject of Eliza comes up.”
“It’s days like this that I wish Slow John were here. He’d put the fear into Jack to do what’s expected of a husband.”
“I know, Mom. I wish we could do it as well.”
Mary Flynn sighed. “There’s not a day goes by that I don’t regret letting my horrible temper get the better of me. All I can hope is that he’s friends with Jesus now. Your brother was one of the finest men I’ve ever known. You know, when we were on the wagon train, I kept thinking how nice Kate Walsh would be for our Slow John. Now they’re both gone. Maybe they found each other in heaven.”
Patrick smiled at his mother’s dreams.
_____
It wasn’t exactly heaven where Slow John Michael Flynn and Catherine Mary Flynn had found each other, but they had found each other and were now just sixteen miles out of North Platte as they pulled off the road and found a nice campsite; their last campsite.
It had only been a few days on the road, and tomorrow it would end in a hopefully cheerful reunion. Kate should be happy, because it was what she had dreamed of since she had wandered into the Willoughby farm almost two years ago, and soon it would be reality. She looked over at John as he was stripping their large herd of horses and mules. The biggest question in her mind was: What would he do when they found the families? He already had told her that he couldn’t go back to farming, so what would he do? Then there was the specter of Melissa Blake. He had said that he would have married her if he hadn’t had to find his family. Would he just board a train and go to see her? But Kate had already made up her mind about Melissa. If he said he was going to leave to see her, she’d do what Melissa had done and pull him into her bedroom, or out into the prairie, or wherever else she could find. She wasn’t going to give up, but she’d much prefer that John do the asking. She needed to know that he felt the same way about her.
After taking care of all their animals and setting up for dinner, John began preparing his uniform, including his saber. He pulled the blade out and examined the edge. There weren’t any chips in the blade because he had only worn the saber when he was in the Territories. When he had fought in Tennessee, he had been an infantryman. The saber was still bright, shiny and sharp. He slid it back into its scabbard and set it aside. He still had his cavalry, calf-length boots, but they could use a good polish. As it so happened, he had his polishing kit, so he could give them and the other accessories a good shining for tomorrow’s arrival into North Platte.
After he had sorted his uniform, he walked over to the fire, where Kate was preparing dinner.
“That smells good, Kate. Going for something exotic tonight?”
Kate laughed softly and replied, “I thought we’d use the last of the eggs, so I’m making an omelet.”
“That’s got to be exotic. Omelet is French, isn’t it?”
“Oui.” she replied.
John laughed and asked, “You don’t really speak French, do you?”
Kate turned to his smiling face and replied, “No. Do you speak any other languages?”
“Just Gaelic.”
“You can speak Gaelic? I never learned. How hard is it?”
“It’s a beast of a language. It’ll tie your tongue in knots if you’re not careful.”
“Could you say something in Irish Gaelic?”
John smiled at her, seeing those now sparkling blue eyes, and said, "Tá mo chroí agat.”
Kate shook her head at the impossible sounds and laughed. “Say that again.”
John repeated the phrase and Kate tried it and mangled it terribly. She had him repeat it three more times and she tried it each time, finally managing a passable version.
“That’s not too bad, Miss Catherine Mary Walsh. I’ll make a true Irishwoman out of you yet.”
“There are worse things to be, Mister Slow John Michael Flynn. So, what did I just learn to say?”
“Oh.” John began, not even thinking about what he had just told her to say, “It means “I’m glad to be home.””
“That’s nice.”
“Kate, can I modify my suggestion of what you wear tomorrow?”
“What inspired you to make a modification?”
“When I was putting out my uniform for tomorrow, I thought that an officer and a gentleman should be accompanied by a well-dressed lady. So, when you wear one of your riding skirts and blouses, I want you to outshine me, Kate, with one small adornment.”
Kate smiled and asked, “And what is the adornment?”
“Kate, would you wear this?” John asked as he held out an emerald green hair ribbon that he had bought in Plum Creek.
Kate slipped it from his fingers and admired it in the firelight.
“I’d be honored, Mister Flynn.”
“Thank you, Kate.”
‘You’re welcome.”
“Well, I’ve got to get all my leather polished for our grand entrance tomorrow.”
“You go ahead, and I’ll hunt down my riding skirt and blouse. You didn’t happen to remember to buy a camisole, did you?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” John answered over his shoulder as he returned to his uniform.
Kate smiled and went to her clothing pannier.
It was getting close to the end of their private time together, and Kate felt like she was losing an opportunity to tell John how she felt. Tomorrow they’d find their families and it would be almost like they’d have to start all over again with the horror of Jack Flynn thrown into the mix.
She’d been so happy with John these last two days, she had almost forgotten the other, enormous dagger hanging over her head, and it was getting closer.
Dinner had been eaten and the mess cleared. All of John’s leather had been polished and set aside, and now, they were in their bedrolls, which were now just a foot apart.
“John, what’s the date?” Kate asked for several reasons.
“Tomorrow will be the twenty-fifth of April. Why?”
“It’s only been five days since you found me. It seems so much longer.”
John smiled at Kate and replied, “I can take that one of two ways, so I’ll take the good one. It seems longer, I think, because we’ve spent those five days, not only constantly together, but we’ve had a lot of danger and some very personal things happen. If you’re just looking at time, we’ve spent five days, or one hundred and twenty hours together. Now, even subtracting the hours for sleep, that’s eighty hours. Now, following the rules that most young people follow when courting, that means we’d be spending about an hour and a half a week together, and that would be spent saying silly, meaningless things like ‘My dear, your eyes are like pools of dark water, enrapturing my heart.’, or ‘Sir, you make my heart flutter as a butterfly on the wing.’.”
Kate laughed as John co
ntinued.
“If we had been courting, Miss Walsh, those eighty hours we have spent together in the past five days would have meant more than a year’s courtship, and I doubt very much if any of those couples would have come close to the experiences we’ve shared.”
Kate sighed. “No, you’re right. We’ve been through a lot together, and despite all the danger and angst, I’m sorry to see our journey end, Slow John.”
John looked at Kate and came as close as he dared when he replied, “It’s not going to end tomorrow, Kate. Only the circumstances will change.”
Kate looked across the small gap, wanting to say more, but felt it would spoil the mood.
“Good night, John.”
“Good night, Kate.”
CHAPTER 6
John’s eyes slowly opened as the morning sun was just sneaking into view from the east. The big day was here. For John it was almost six long years, but for Kate, it may have only been two years, but hers were much more painful. John may have been at Shiloh and other battles, but Kate’s battle was much more difficult and left so much more sorrow. But, when he watched her eyelids flutter twice and then found her blue eyes smiling at him, he hoped he had been able to alleviate some of her sorrow and pain.
“Good morning, Kate.”
“Hello, John. So, today is the day.”
“It is, and just like all of the other important days of our lives, it begins with a quick run to what passes for a privy out here in the prairie.”
Kate laughed and said, “I’ll beat you to it.”
With that, she slipped quickly out of the bedroll and trotted off to the bushes. While she was gone, John slid out of his bedroll, walked to the other side of the camp, put his back to the bushes and handled the problem in a manly fashion.
Kate said she was going to get changed and disappeared again while John set up the fire grate and began breakfast. He had the coffee and tea going, the bacon fried, then cut up some chunks of bacon and after it had fried, added a can of beans and the last of their onions. He was wondering what was taking Kate so long to get dressed. Usually she dressed quickly.