Jodi's Journey (16 page)

“Now that's a dandy idea.” He smiled. “But
don't tell the boys that. I hate to see a man blush.”

She smiled back for the first time and Hunt
was taken aback at how beautiful she was when she smiled. He didn't
want to think of her as beautiful, or alluring, or feminine in any
way. Trouble was, he didn't want to think of her as a woman, if he
could help it. He wanted to treat her just like another drover, but
it was becoming increasingly impossible to do so.

“All right, we'll stop,” he agreed. “Maybe I
can round up a couple more men while we're there.”

“Older men, I hope.”

“Yeah, older men.” He chuckled. “Willy's no
kid…”

“No, and it was good thinking putting him on
the remuda. But Willy seems like a very sad man, doesn't he? I
mean, what was all that talk about hooded men…?”

Hunt grimaced. “I've heard of them. They call
themselves knights of some kind. They hate men and women of color.
I don't understand their reasoning. A man is a man. When people are
going to learn that, I don't know. But they are a very dangerous
bunch. I heard tell there are a lot of them in south Texas. I came
upon some in Waco. That's why we got out as fast as we could. I
don't want to tangle with them. They hate like no other. At least
the Indians have a reason not to trust the white man…but
them….”

“Why doesn't the law take care of it?” Jodi
asked.

“For all I know, they may be the law. I don't
know, Jodi. It's not something I want to find out about either.”
Hunt sighed. “They killed Willy's wife.”

“Oh my God. Poor Willy.” Jodi hung her head.
“Did he tell you this?”

“Yeah, and I promised him it wouldn't happen
with us,” he said quietly.

“Good…” She choked on her words. “You know…I
don't guess a lot of us understood what we were doing, making
slaves out of people, people that did no harm to anyone, and
treating them like they weren't people at all. I never had a slave,
nor did any of my kin. We didn't cotton to the idea. Rather do our
own work. But I knew plenty who had them. Some were very good to
theirs. Others…others weren't. But I guess fear kept me from saying
things I should have said.”

“Fear?”

“Well, a southerner couldn't tell another
southerner not to have slaves; they'd think you were siding with
the north. Even if you weren't. So we kept our mouths shut. We were
wrong for not saying something, though. Mighty wrong.”

“There was a lot of wrong, Jodi, on both
sides. Let's ride.”

“Yeah…let's ride,” she challenged as she put
her horse to full gallop and sprinted ahead of him.

The woman could ride like no woman he'd ever
seen. But if she got bucked, hit a prairie dog hole or a
rattlesnake, that horse and her would go flying. She just didn't
seem to see the dangers like he did.

He couldn't help but admire her for the
things she said, for her heart, which at times was as big as Texas
itself.

The wind in his face cooled his confusion and
he kept up with her, barely. He'd never run into a woman who could
best him on a horse before. He laughed. They rode at full gallop
for what seemed like hours. They were making good time. Even with
the cows. But he couldn't figure out why she was so anxious to stop
in Fort Worth. Maybe she had an old friend there she wanted to look
up? Maybe she really needed supplies. Or maybe, there was some
other reason he didn't know, but he aimed to find out.

≈≈≈

Jodi enjoyed the ride, and she was amazed
that Hunt could keep up with her. Not many men could. She could
tell by his expression he was surprised at her talents. She also
realized that her husband was more of a man than she counted on.
The fact that he’d come after her so quickly startled her and made
her rethink her opinion of him. He'd hadn't been afraid of those
jayhawkers, nor of Josh's challenge. He obviously took
responsibility for himself and others, so what had happened to the
coward she thought she knew? Could Clem have been right about all
the talk in town? Was it possible there was a reason for his
desertion in the war? If so, what could it be? And how could she
find the answer?

That kiss had thrown her, too. She couldn't
stop herself from responding to him. He took her breath away, and
startled her; she could do nothing but respond. She'd never reacted
that way with any other man. She had let all her defenses down. It
scared her witless. She couldn't fall for this man. For any man
now.

The sooner she got to Fort Worth, the better.
She had to rid herself of her burden. And how was she going to keep
it a secret if she didn't? Hunt would know soon. She was sure of
that, and then he'd hate her like she had hated him at first.

Dear God, she had hated him, hadn't she? What
had changed that?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

They were only a few miles out of Ft. Worth
when Hunt started asking questions. “You ever been to Ft.
Worth?”

Jodi considered the question, then shrugged
and lifted a brow, “No, been around it a couple of times. Never in
it. Why?”

“It's a seedy kind of town. Not much to it
yet, especially this side of it. Women there aren't the kind you
swap cooking samples from, if you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” she frowned. “My
father occasioned the Acre a few times. But I wasn't planning on
going to that part of town. I guess I'll have to go through it but,
I don't plan on stopping there, do you?” she asked curious as to
his answer.

“That's where you'll find most of the cowboys
that aren't green about droving. I'll have to stop there to pick up
a few.” Troubles and pleasures were plentiful in a place like the
Acre. But it wasn't his kind of pleasure, never had been. He didn't
care for drinking, and the women there held no interest. Now,
looking at Jodi, it gave him strangely another kind of pleasure,
one he couldn't measure but was there.

Jodi listened, considering his words and
nodded, “Okay, but I'll go on.”

“Yes ma'am, you will. I'll take you into the
general store and you can get what needs getting. I just wanted you
to know I can't stay with you. And I won't be dragging you through
it. We'll meet up on the edge of town, where we go in, in say an
hour.” His words were soft, but a definite command.

Jodi wasn't sure an hour would be long enough
but she didn't want to have to wait for him either. “Okay, an
hour.”

“Good,” he nodded and smiled with a confident
air.

“I can count on you not getting drunk, can't
I?” she asked as she suddenly found this question important.

He met her accusing eyes without a flinch. “I
guess I should at least tell you, Jodi, I’m not a drinking man. I'm
a little disappointed that you hadn't figured that much out about
me.”

She stared at him a long time. “I wasn't
sure; I thought maybe you just weren't drinking around me or
something. You are a lot of things I don't know about. Like living
in that shed where I found you. I don't understand you, and
sometimes…”

“Sometimes what?” He probed.

“Oh…nothing, it'll keep.” She sighed.

“I lived in the shed because I came back a
coward from the war Jodi, I couldn't find a job. No one would hire
me on. I was branded. I got to where I didn't care anymore. What
good did it do? No one would believe the truth anyway. So I lived
in the shed because that's all I could afford. I did manage a few
odd jobs, enough to keep me eating but that was about all. I'd
become so accustomed to living like that, it became a habit. I
didn't try to change things, until you walked in that day. And it's
funny, because you had the same opinion as everyone else…except you
offered me a decent job. Does that answer some of your
questions?”

“I-I guess so,” she began but a lot of
questions seemed to linger between them.

“Look, relax will you, I don't want no
fooling around while Concho and the others are trying to get the
herd through. They are going to need us at the Red. I'm not even
sure they've crossed the Trinity. We'll probably have to swim the
cattle over again, and that's going to take some time and more men.
That's my reasoning in stopping at Ft. Worth.” his eyes scanned the
horizon. “It's the only reason I'm stopping off at the Acre.”

“Anything you need me to get for the men?”
she changed the subject.

“Some hats, get Willy a slicker too. Pick up
a couple pair of chaps, we keep on like we are, we'll all be naked.
If you haven't got a hand gun, get one, we'll be in Indian
Territory. Once we leave Texas, we leave civilization behind.
And…I'm a little partial to cornbread, myself.”

Jodi's head jerked up to stare,
“Cornbread?”

“Can't you make it?” he asked with a
smile.

Jodi shrugged.

“Just get the corn meal, I'll show you how to
make it,” he smiled as he studied her.

“I got to get a few medical supplies, too.”
She insisted her mind holding on to her secret.

“Expecting trouble?” He asked with a
surprise.

“Maybe, with Indians you never know,” she
answered, keeping her voice level.

“They aren't as dangerous as you might think.
But go ahead, get some supplies, whatever you think you need.” He
explained.

“I am not giving my cattle to no Indian,” she
insisted.

“When needed, we'll give them a cow or two,
to keep them peaceful, better a couple of cows than a whole herd.”
He injected.

“Never heard of such, giving in to the
Indians without so much as a fight,” she added scornfully. “Maybe
you are a coward.”

Suddenly his eyes turned black with fury, his
body tensed as if he might actually draw on her, then he relaxed
and nodded, “Yeah…maybe I am.”

With that he took off ahead of her and said
no more on the trail.

She called to him, but he didn't answer,
didn't even act as though he'd heard. He just kept moving in a
steady pace. She hated the silence, regretted her words, but she
bit her lip till it bled to keep from apologizing.

When they reached the outskirts of Ft. Worth
he joined her again. “I'll take you to the general store, and then
I'm headed back to find some men. We can't cross the Red without
more men, that's a given. As it is, Concho and the rest are
probably bone tired, they're going to need relieving.”

“Alright, and we'll meet up in an hour?” she
questioned, glad that he was being decent again. The way he was
acting, you think she'd hurt him. She only voiced what she'd
thought all along of him. Nothing had changed, had it? A deep
sensation of guilt hit her. Maybe a few things had, and maybe, that
was what was eating her.

As they neared the Acre, Hunt found an old
corral near the town's edge that would hold the few cows they had.
He secured them and left a note that they belonged to the Johnson
herd, and that he'd be back to collect them.

“An hour,” he nodded, his voice held little
emotion.

As they approached the Acre, there was all
manner of violence that Jodi didn't approve of. Men were firing
their guns at tin cans in the alleys. A cockfight was going on
behind a building, men were betting on the bloody siege. And the
dance hall girls didn't confine themselves to inside either.
Dressed or undressed, they were all over the drunken cowboys.

Jodi turned her nose to the air and only
hoped Hunt would get her out of there quickly.

She felt weary as they finally got to the
general store. Her back ached, but the hard ride hadn't affected
her in any other way. She almost wished it had, and then perhaps
what lay ahead of her would be over sooner.

“Well, here's where I leave you. Be quick, as
I will be.” He instructed.

“Okay,” she nodded and went inside, but she
watched him leave with regret. She certainly didn't look forward to
what she had to do. And, she really hadn't meant to hurt him,
hadn't known she was capable of hurting him.

After she ordered all the supplies she
inquired of the doctor's office. The merchant pointed down the
street and she practically ran to get there.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

She wasn't sure how she was going to approach
the doctor. But she knew she had to. She knocked and a man came to
the door. He eyed her up and down suspiciously.

“Yes?” he finally asked when she didn't say
anything.

“I got business to attend to here,” she said,
and pushed her way through the door. She didn't have the time to
dally. She had to get this done and get out of here and back in the
saddle, and she wasn't a bit sure she could convince this
shrewd-eyed doctor of her mission.

Even if she could convince him of her great
need, would he help her?

Would she be able to ride if he did? It was
just about her last hope. But it all rested on this one man.

“What kind of business. You don't look sick.”
He smiled wryly.

“I'm not. I'm with child,” she cried out,
then straightened herself and looked the doctor in the eye. “You've
got to help me.” Even she recognized the desperation in her own
voice.

“Help you? Where's your husband?” he
inquired, slipping his spectacles on his nose as though it were
first things first.

“That isn't important.” When the doctor
stared, she went on, “Look, doc, I don't know how to say this
without sounding crazy, but I was raped.”

“Raped?” The old man took his glasses off and
studied her for a long moment. She wasn't at all sure he believed
her. If she were in his shoes, she probably wouldn't either.

“You heard me, raped, by the most miserable
piece of trash in the county. He came upon my ranch one night. He'd
been drinking. I tried to get him to leave, but he threatened me
with a gun and hit me, knocking me out. So I wasn't actually awake
when it happened. He beat me and left me for dead. Only I didn't
die…wish that I had.” Her voice held tears she kept in check.
Hysteria was right around the corner.