“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Mead replied. “I can’t believe I let you talk me in to this. What if I end up in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“You won’t. Cara knows you’re coming. She’ll make sure everything goes as planned.”
While not entirely true, it was close enough in Morgan’s opinion. Cara thought he was returning, but she would help Mead. He was sure of it.
“You wait here and I’ll go get the wagon. I think you’ll be more comfortable lying in the back and we’ll be able to make better time if I don’t have to worry about jostling your leg too much. I’ll be in to help you as soon as I get it around front.”
“Okay, but be quiet or we won’t get out of here without answering a lot of questions.”
“Right.”
He was back fasterthan Mead expected, and Morgan easily carried him from the house and placed him into the bed of the wagon.
Even the generous amount of straw and the thick quilt couldn’t begin to make Mead comfortable, but he staunchly bore the pain without a complaint.
Returning to the house, Morgan picked up the wooden wheelchair and secured it to the side of the wagon. Working quickly, he packed the sides of Mead’s legs with rolled up quilts.
“How’s that?”
“It’s good, I think. I shouldn’t do too much bouncing around, but you better go get my bag. If Ma or Callie Mae finds it in the morning, our story goes straight to hell.”
They got there justas dawn was breaking. Pulling the wagon as far into the trees as he could, Morgan climbed down and got the wheelchair, placing it near the back of the wagon.
“Have you got the letter I gave you?” he asked as he tugged on his boots.
“Right here,” Mead replied, patting his pocket.
“Good. I’m really sorry about this, Mead. If I hadn’t traveled here, you’d be in much better shape.”
“Yes, and Callie Mae would be dead. One of the girls would have been injured,” Mead replied, groaning as Morgan settled him in the chair. “Don’t feel regret. I’d rather have taken the bullet than had that on my conscience. You did the right thing.”
“Maybe so, but I’ve set a whole chain of events in motion.”
“Would you rather not have met Callie Mae?” Mead asked, grinning despite his pain.
“Now that’s a good question,” Morgan replied with a laugh. “On one hand she’s the sweetest little thing I ever met, and on the other, she’s as stubborn as a mule.”
“So, why’d you go and marry such an obstinate woman?” Mead teased as Morgan pushed him deeper into the grove of trees.
“Damned if I know,” Morgan teased. “In my time we would have had hot, wild sex for a few months and then maybe moved in together to see how things would work out. Many couples have children before they get married. That would not have worked here.”
“Certainly not,” Mead agreed. “Any such child would be treated shamefully. If Ma didn’t kill you, the town would have shunned Callie Mae right out of business. No respectable man would have her; she’d be considered a fallen woman or worse, a whore.”
“You’re in for a good many surprises, Mead. Where I come from the majority of women have a number of lovers before they settle on one. Innocents like Callie Mae and the girls would be easy pickings.”
“Don’t these women have fathers, brothers to see that they are protected? Where is the male authority figure?”
“That’s just it, there are none, well not many. Everyone is hurrying from one place to another, too busy to care about anyone but themselves. You can go from one side of the country to the other in a few hours by plane.”
“What’s a plane?”
“It’s a machine that flies and holds passengers. They go all over the world.”
“Now you’re just joshing me,” Mead laughed. “Things can’t be that different.”
“There are buildings 100 stories high, handheld phones you use to talk to anyone anywhere. Machines can scan your body and show every bit of what’s inside you. Skilled doctors can take your heart out and replace it with a mechanical one. I’m telling you, you’ll be amazed.”
“If everything you say is so, why would you want to come here? We must seem pretty primitive and backward compared to what you’re used to.”
