“I hope they do, although I have no idea where they would turn off to. Do we turn off anywhere?”
“Not for quite a ways.”
“Let me know when the turn is near.”
“Why?”
“Because George hates turning off a road and requires a little coaxing.” She heard Matthew laugh and wished she could reach back and smack him. “He’ll walk this road pulling us for as long as we want, but a turn”—she shook her head—“no. He gets a bit stubborn.”
“Your horse is an odd stick, Abbie,” said Matthew.
“He has character.”
“Ah, of course. The baby is humming. Badly.”
She listened for a moment and smiled. “He’ll go to sleep soon. I think he does that to comfort himself.”
“Wish he would learn a real tune.”
Abigail laughed. “Perhaps you could sing one until he learns it.”
“I just might if he keeps this up for too long.”
Matthew looked at the baby. He lay on his back with his fingers in his mouth droning away. His eyes were more shut than open and Matthew was certain he was fighting to keep them open as little as he did. He did not know that much about babies except that they could wake the dead with their cries, but he did think this one was particularly well behaved. Then again, it had been the baby who had let the riders know where they were. He was not a man who paid much attention to babies, either, but he did think this one was a fairly handsome little man.
And all that was probably a good thing as the child was now Abigail’s. She may not have birthed him but her promise to a dying woman had created the bond. If he did finally get the courage or need up to ask her to stay with him, he would have to accept this child. And Noah, he thought and shook his head. He liked the little boy but he was going to have to be sure he was ready to be a father if he decided he wanted to be her only lover. Abigail would not give either up and he was sure of that, even though she had never spoken of it.
Since he had nothing better to do than think about things, he decided he needed to give the matter of him and Abigail some serious hard thought. He would not be just taking on a woman if he kept her; he would be taking on a small family. It was a serious business and he had to be sure he felt enough depth of emotion to do it right.
Emotions, he decided, were messy and confusing but he needed to stop dithering around. Abigail would not remain his lover for long. What he had to think about was whether that pang he got whenever he thought about that stemmed from a selfish disappointment over a loss of something pleasurable or something far deeper.
* * *
The sun was beginning its descent when James rode ahead for a while. He came back and told her they would pull off for the night just up ahead. Her shoulders ached and she was more than ready to stop driving the wagon. The moment they reached the place he had pointed out, she began to coax George into going there. She liked the fact that James had chosen a very nice grassy spot with some trees to shade it.
“I’ll have a check for snakes,” Boyd said as he got down.
“You didn’t have to tell me,” Abigail grumbled as she also got down and moved to unhitch George.
“What?”
“Well, I had not given a thought to snakes until you spoke up and stuck it in my head.”
“Ah, I see.” Boyd suddenly grinned. “I’ll just have a check for bunnies.”
Even as she thought it would be wrong to strike a wounded man, Abigail found herself appreciating his smile. He really was a handsome young man. She idly wondered if he was one Anne had walked out with.
“Did you ever walk out with Anne?” she asked suddenly and his bright red flush told her the answer was yes, but she decided she would not tease him about it because James was already doing a good job of that.
“That was mean, Abbie,” said Matthew as he raised himself up on his arms and waited for someone to help him sit up properly.
“So was mentioning snakes.”
“Only a fool doesn’t check for them in these hills.”
“Well, he could be a quiet, conscientious fellow.”
Looking at George as she looped his reins around a tree branch, Matthew shook his head. “That is a damn big horse.”
