Cassie's Surprise

by Patricia Pacjac Carroll

She grimaced but held her ground. “Told you, I don’t have the money.”

  Travis slapped at a fly. “Tell you what, I’ll front you a mule if you feed my partner and me a few times along the way.”

  With eyes narrowed, she questioned him. “How many times?”

  “Say ten times. Me and my partner. We’re traveling along with the train. We don’t have a wagon or supplies, just horses and mules. We might even be able to hunt some meat for you to cook.”

  The woman smiled. She could be thirty or sixty. Life was hard on the plains and took its toll on women the most. “Well, I guess that would be all right. I got six kids back there. But I could make a little bit extra for you. In fact, I’ll start tonight and give you both a meal.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’m Travis Andrews.”

  She nodded. “Martha Hunt. My man died two weeks before the wagons rolled. But I proved myself strong enough to carry on. We have a farm in Oregon waiting for us. I have six sons that need to work that farm.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hunt.”

  “Martha. You just call me Martha.”

  Travis went through the wagons and sold ten horses and six mules. He stopped by the last couple of wagons and smiled at the thin man rubbing his feet. “I’ve got horses and mules for sale if you want to ride and not walk all the way to Oregon.”

  He leaned against the wagon wheel.“That sounds tempting.”

  A young woman peeked from the back of the wagon and then came out to meet him. “I’d love to buy a horse.” She turned to the man.” I have some money, Uncle Sean. How much are they?”

  Travis smiled at her. She was thin and delicate, but her eyes told him there was a fire in her spirit. “You good with animals?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ve got a gray mare that needs some special care. She’s always trying to run off, so you’ll have to tie her up. Do you have a saddle?”

  She shook her head. “But I can ride bareback. My father used to let me.”

  Uncle Sean shook his head. “I don’t know, Cassie. We don’t have feed for the animal.”

  Travis nodded. “She can eat grass. Later, you might have to buy her some feed. She’s a fine animal.”

  “Can you take me to her.” The young woman fingered a locket that hung on her neck as she smiled at him.

  Two more women tumbled out of the wagon and came running to meet him. The older one pointed with disgust at the girl with the reddish-blond hair. “Don’t pay attention to Cassie. We’d like to buy the gray mare. Mother gave us the money. I’m Annette, and this is my sister, Babette. It’s nice to meet you.”

  With head down, Cassie turned to go until Travis grabbed her arm. “I deal fair. You were the first to ask.” He turned to the other girls. “I have plenty of horses, but I offered the gray mare to Cassie.” He smiled and looked at her. “My name is Travis Andrews.”

  Annette sidled up to him and purred his name. “Travis Andrews. I like that name. It’s strong and smart. My sister and I will go down with you to look at the horses. We need a saddle too.”

  Travis nodded at them and then looked at Cassie. “I don’t have any saddles. Wagonmaster might have one he can sell; otherwise, you’ll have to wait until we reach a town. You girls can follow me to the herd. I know a few real gentle ones that would do you just fine.”

  Cassie started to follow Annette and Babette.

  Travis rode up to her and held out his hand. “Hop on up. I see how they treat you. We’ll show them.”

  Cassie smiled and grabbed his hand.

  Light as a feather, he pulled her up behind him.

  “Thank you.” Her voice was quiet and warm.

  Travis liked her. “My partner and I are joining the wagon train. Maybe we can ride together another time.” She was behind him, but he pictured her smiling.

  “I’d like that, but I usually have chores to do.”

  “I bet your sisters don’t do any chores. They look spoiled.”

  “They’re my cousins. My parents died, and I was awarded to my father’s sister. They’ve been kind to me, but...” Her voice trailed off.

  Travis felt for her. He knew what it was like not to belong to anyone. “I have eyes. I saw the way the mother looked at you and the two cousins. I’m surprised they let you buy a horse.”

  “I have a small bit of money. It was my father’s from the sale of our farm. Aunt Ethel doesn’t like me to spend it, but I’m old enough to be on my own. The only reason I’m going to Oregon is that Father said it was a wonderful land. He would have gone if he hadn’t fallen ill.”

  Travis kicked the horse into a slow lope and pointed. “There’s our herd.”

  Chapter 2

  Cassie held Travis’s hand and slid off the horse. She smiled at him, admitting to herself that she had liked the feel of the warmth of his touch. She shaded her eyes and looked at the herd.

  A whip cracked, and she saw a man, probably his partner, on the far side, keeping the horses and mules bunched up. She stood on her tiptoes and shielded her eyes to look for a gray horse, but she didn’t see one.

  Travis dismounted and walked up to her. “I don’t see the mare. She must have wandered off.”

  Cassie nodded, her hopes failing her. She turned to talk to him about another horse, but he was doing business with a couple of men. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her cousins coming toward her.

  Annette and Babette walked up to her. Annette scowled. “You shouldn’t have ridden with a man you don’t even know. Mother says it’s not proper.”

  Cassie ignored her. The two sisters spent all their time telling Cassie what she shouldn’t do. Yet, those two did nothing but whine.

  Babette frowned. “I hope we can buy a horse because I don’t want to walk back to the wagon. Or maybe Travis will carry me back on his horse.”

  Tired of her cousins and their spoiled ways, Cassie moved away and walked toward the herd. Then she saw the gray mare. The horse was walking down the side of the wagon train in a dry creek bed.

  Cassie tapped Travis on the arm. “Do you have a rope that I can borrow?”

  He took one from his saddle and handed it to her. “You see her?”

  Cassie pointed. “You’re busy. I’ll try and get her.” Not waiting for an answer, she ducked around the men and ran to the creek bed. Maybe if she caught the horse, Travis wouldn’t charge her as much.

  Travis looked like he was selling a lot of his livestock. She did like him. But she wasn’t worried about finding a husband. Not yet. Aunt Ethel already had Annette and Babette afraid that they’d become old maids.

  Cassie believed when the right man came around, she’d know it. She glanced back at Travis and smiled. He was a good man. She could tell by the way he took up for her.

  She laughed. Poor Travis, she knew that her cousins would fight over him and try to get him to marry one of them. Those two young women were desperate to find a husband. Cassie figured she had the rest of her life to find a man to marry.

  Of course, she had considered how it would be a good way to escape from her stepfamily. Still, she’d heard tales of young women jumping out of one trouble into a worse problem by marrying in a hurry. Cassie had vowed to take her time.

  Cassie slowed her step as she saw the gray mare come out of the creek bed. The horse looked up, her ears twitched, but then she started grazing on a nice patch of grass. Walking slowly toward the horse, Cassie began singing in a low, quiet voice.

  She loved to sing and made up songs about birds and flowers. It was in nature that she felt closest to the Lord and could feel His pleasure.

  The mare looked up, twitched her ears, and turned to listen. Although the horse tensed, she stayed in place.

  “Easy girl. We can be friends. That’s right. Come to me. You want to. I’ll take good care of you.” Cassie stopped and stood still with her hand out. She had a way with animals. Not that she could understand them, but she would get a sense of what they wanted or what was wrong.

  Uncle Sean
had her talk to Mozart, the lead ox, nearly every morning. Cassie laughed. Mozart was a bit of a spoiled child. He didn’t like to be told to do something, but once she would say to him how it was necessary, the big red ox would eventually lumber forward.

  The gray mare took a step toward her, stopped, and then took another.

  “That’s right. Come on, girl. What do you want to be called? You look like silver. You like that? Silver Girl.”

  The horse took another step toward her, stretched out her neck, and sniffed Cassie’s hand. Silver Girl stepped toward her, and Cassie put the rope around her neck and fashioned a halter.

  “Good girl. You’re mine, now.” Cassie jumped on her back and rode her to the front of the wagon train. She saw Travis and rode next to him. “I take it this is the gray mare?”

  Travis patted the horse and looked at her with admiration. “Yes, it sure is. You must have a way with horses.”

  Cassie knew Aunt Ethel would yell at her for not helping with dinner. “How much is she?”

  Travis shrugged. “You caught her fair and square. She’s yours.”

  “I can pay.” Cassie didn’t want charity. Her father had preached against taking from others without giving back.

  “No, you caught her, and we lost her. Go ahead. She’s yours.” Travis smiled at her.

  Cassie had the feeling that he liked her. Still, she didn’t want to owe him. “I can help you gentle the horses and pay for her that way.”

  “No need.” Travis looked at her sternly. “I told you, she’s yours.”

  Stubborn man. “I don’t take charity.”

  “I don’t give it.”

  “Fine. Thank you.” Irritated at how stubborn Travis was, she turned Silver Girl around and loped her to the wagon.

  Aunt Ethel was standing with her arms folded. She always looked, so stern with her dark hair pulled tightly into a bun. “So, you bought yourself a horse. I don’t want to have to do anything for it. I hope you’ll let Annette and Babette ride her. After all, they shared their home with you.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Cassie had learned it was best to go along with whatever her aunt said. She ruled the family. Poor Uncle Sean spent his time staying out of her way. As for her cousins, Annette was just like her mother, while Babette took after her father.

  Cassie rode to the wagon behind them. “Abbie, look what I have?”

  Abbie had been sitting in the shade of her wagon. “Oh, Cassie. She’s beautiful.”

  “I think we can ride her together some. Give our feet a rest.”

  “I’d like that. Did you see the two men who brought the horses? They’re so handsome.” Abbie closed her eyes for a second and smiled. Opening them, she came to Cassie. “I wouldn’t mind marrying one of them.”

  “Abbie, you’re beginning to sound like Annette. Besides, you don’t even know those men.”

  “Well, I saw you riding with one of them. Can you say you didn’t have any ideas about marrying that man? He kind of looked like he was happy with you behind him and your arms around him.”

  Cassie gasped. “Abbie. No, I didn’t about marrying him. I’m not ready. I want to reach Oregon and go on my own. I’ll find a man when the time is right.”

  “Oh, Cassie. Face it, we need a man to work the land.”

  Cassie jumped off Silver Girl. “I prefer to think that out there somewhere is a man who needs me. I’m not going to be so desperate to find a man to marry that I give myself away to the first one.”

  Abbie nodded. “You’re right. We shouldn’t sell ourselves cheap. I want a man who can farm and be prosperous. Papa says there are some good farmers in Oregon.”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like there could be that many people in Oregon, and I don’t want a husband who just wants me because I can get three hundred and twenty acres of homestead land. I’m holding out for the right man.” Cassie sighed. “If only I knew who that was.”

  Annette and Babette rode up to them on a nice bay mare. Annette stopped next to Cassie. “Our horse is much better than yours. Travis said so.” Annette threw her leg over the horse’s neck and jumped down. “And Travis, just so you both know, is mine.”

  Babette slid off the horse. “I like the other man. Matthew. Annette and I might just be married before the trip is over.”

  The girls were so irritating. Cassie stood her ground and patted her mare. “Do either of those men know about your plans?”

  Annette folded her arms. “They will. Mother bought us dresses before we left. We’ll be the prettiest women at the dance.”

  Abbie frowned. “What dance?”

  Annette smirked with a know-it-all look. “At the end of the week, we’re stopping for a day of rest, and Captain Watkins said we’d have a dance. You two will have to find your own partners. I know Travis will fill my card.”

  Tired of her cousin’s boasting, Cassie glared at her cousin. “I’m sure there are plenty of men who will be at the dance.”

  Aunt Ethel banged a pan. “Cassie, time to help with dinner.”

  “I’ll talk to you later, Abbie.” She tied Silver Girl to the wagon. She did think of Travis and his strong arm pulling her up behind him. She could get used to him.

  Cassie stared at Annette and watched her cousin sit down on a chair she’d taken out of the back of the wagon. At that moment, Cassie decided she’d get Travis to dance with her, and do anything to upset her spoiled brat of a cousin.

  ***

  Travis checked the herd and was satisfied that they were settled down for the night. He went to the campfire and threw on another chip. “We did pretty good today.”

  Matthew stirred the beans. “Yeah, we did.” He grinned. “I see you gave that gray mare to the pretty girl.”

  “I saw a lot of pretty girls.” Travis glanced at Matt and finally nodded. “Yeah, I liked her.”

  “The horse?”

  Throwing a stick at his partner, Travis grinned. “Cassie is her name. Annette and Babette are her cousins.”

  “So, you know all the pretty girls. I might have known. You still considering settling down?”

  Travis shook his head but answered slowly. “Maybe, I’m not ready yet, though. Maybe once we reach Oregon and get some land.”

  Matthew laughed. “I’ve never seen a wagon train with so many anxious mothers wanting me to meet their daughters. What kind of wagon train is this anyway?”

  Travis laughed. “We’ll have to ask the wagon master, Watkins. He has a few daughters himself. He did tell me when they reached Alcove Springs, we’d stop for a few days and have a dance. We better decide if we want to meet girls or run from their mothers.”

  Matthew leaned back against a log. “Yep, I think you’re right. I think every wagon on this train has a daughter of marrying age. And they’re all hungry for husbands.”

  Travis stretched out on his bedroll. “Too bad we aren’t ready to settle down.”

  “Yeah.” Matthew turned over, leaning on his elbow. “We’re old enough. We’ve been to California and dug for gold, rounded up these mustangs. There’s not much we haven’t seen.”

  The silver moon rose over the hills. Tired from the day’s work, Travis drew in a heavy breath. “That’s true.” He turned to look at Matthew. “I don’t have enough money to care for a bride.”

  Matthew frowned. “That is a problem. If we can sell all these horses, we’ll have a good start. I’d like to go to Oregon. They have homesteads, and with a wife, we’d get more land. We could start a farm or a ranch and raise horses. Like we’ve dreamed about.”

  Travis nodded. “You ready to go to Oregon and settle down?”

  Matthew sat up. “You know what? I am. How about you?”

  “I could. I guess it would be the smart thing to do. We’ll have to get a wagon and some supplies at the next town.” Travis had to admit, he had a trace of excitement thinking about having a woman to love and belong to. As the thought went through his mind, an image of Cassie flashed in his head.

  “You know ho
w we always talked about having a horse ranch together. We could get land next to each other and raise fine horses.”

  Travis stared at his friend. “And wives? Think our wives would want to live close together?”

  With a shrug, Matthew nodded. “If we’re their husbands, they have to do what we say.”

  Travis leaned back on his bedroll. “I don’t know, Matt. Seems like I’ve seen plenty of women bossing their men. Some on this wagon train.”

  Matthew stretched his long legs. “Well, we’ll just pick wives that do what we say. Simple.”

  Travis grinned. “Yeah, simple. By the way, I told Martha that we’d eat with her tomorrow. Maybe we can go hunting and find her some fat prairie chickens. She’s got six growing boys that need a lot of food.”

  Matt nodded. “I wondered why we didn’t stop for dinner at her wagon. Want me to go hunting?”

  “Yeah, you go ahead. Get up early and scare up some game. I think Martha needs our help, whether she feeds us or not.” Travis stretched out. “I don’t know about you, but I’m glad we aren’t having a dance tonight.”

  Travis considered finding a wife. That pretty girl that caught the gray mare had caught his eye. Cassie. Maybe he’d get to know her. She’d do as a wife.

  Chapter 3

  Cassie woke up and stretched. She slept on the right side underneath the wagon while her uncle slept on the opposite side of the wagon. Of course, Aunt Ethel, Annette, and Babette slept inside. With a not-so-nice grin, Cassie thought how others had said that later on the trail, it would be too hot for them to sleep in the wagon.

  She knew it wouldn’t take long. Already, the days were heating up. Cassie crawled out from under the wagon and stood. Before Aunt Ethel could yell at her, she began stirring the fire and making the coffee.

  Cassie walked to the back of the wagon and stared at the dangling rope. “Where’s my horse? She’s gone.”

  Uncle Sean came around and looked at the empty halter. “Annette, Babette, get out here right now!”

  Aunt Ethel shushed him. “The girls need their sleep.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud, Ethel. They’re grown women, and it’s time they took up their fair share of the work.”