Chapter 4: Into the Wild

~Politeness is a sign of dignity, not subservience.~ —Theodore Roosevelt

After the whole embarrassing performance, Jake had run away to see the buyer of the three yearlings he had brought with him from the Cora Belle Ranch.

Abner had gone to get the supplies and taken Miss Preston with him. Jake didn’t understand the man. After spending three days in the heat and dust, Abner still managed to find the strength to rescue and entertain damsels in distress.

During their tour of the town, Jake guessed that she would ask Abner all about her new traveling companion. He also knew that, apart from telling her that Jake was the best horse breeder and trainer in all of Arizona Territory, there was very little Abner could say.

Jake intended to keep it that way.

He had asked the Callaways to keep what they had seen in the hotel to themselves, and they had agreed. Clearbrook had seen so much violence in the past week, it was easy to convince them to mind their own business.

The only thing left was to hope that Miss Preston would sleep in, and he could leave without her.

Once again, Jake’s hopes did not materialize.

Early the next morning, just as the sun was starting to rise, Miss Preston came up to where Jake was hitching up the horses. He groaned inwardly and turned to face her.

“Well, ain’t ya an early riser.”

“I don’t think that was meant as a compliment,” Dannie wryly said.

Behind her, Abner came huffing and puffing, carrying a large trunk. He was followed by Mrs. Callaway, who held a large basket in her hands.

“What’s this?” Jake demanded.

“My luggage. There’s another one upstairs.”

Jake took the trunk from Abner and nearly toppled over from the weight.

“Good Lord—”

Dannie narrowed her eyes, and he corrected himself.

“Good grief, what have ya got in here? Bricks?”

“Books.”

“And yer second trunk, has it also got books?”

“Yes.”

“Did ya drag yer entire library across the ocean or somethin’?”

“No, I did not. I only took the books that meant a lot to me.”

Jake set the trunk on the ground. “There’s no way we can take all this weight with us. The wagon is loaded as it is with supplies. Yer gonna have to leave one of the trunks here.”

“I can’t! I need those books. How will I teach the children without them?”

“I’ve known teachers who taught with no books.”

“But they’re worth their weight in gold!”

“The horses can’t carry all that ‘weight in gold.’ It ain’t fair to overload them.”

“Tell you what, Miss Preston,” Abner offered. “Just take one trunk. My aunt and uncle can keep the other one till the mail coach heads out in that direction.”

“Yes, leave it with us,” Mrs. Callaway said with a nod. “It won’t hurt us to keep it for a few days.”

“I can pay the coach fare,” Abner added.

“You are very kind.” Miss Preston was obviously trying to keep her emotions in check. “I’m sure I can reimburse you once I have my wages. Thank you ever so much, Mr. Shaw. To lose those books would have been unbearable. They are all I have left of my late father.”

“Right, so let’s get going.” Jake was tired of wasting precious time.

Mrs. Callaway turned to Dannie, “I’ve made you some food for the journey. It’s in this here basket. Now, you take care, Miss Preston, dear. Don’t let him do anything to ya,” she admonished in a motherly voice.

Her words, however, were an insult as far as Jake was concerned. “Really, missus!”

“Don’t worry, Aunt Maggie, she’s safe with Jake,” Abner said quickly. “Remember, I’ve worked with him for the past two years—and he’s an honorable man.”

“This is the West after all,” Mrs. Callaway said, ignoring them, “and it’s a dangerous place. You be on your guard all the time. Have you got a gun?”

“Certainly not!” Miss Preston exclaimed. “I could never touch such a horrible thing. I do not believe in firearms. God is my strength and my strong tower. He is all the weapon I shall need.”

Jake smirked. “I’ll be sure to write that on your tombstone.”

She coldly turned to him. “How very presumptuous. Who said you would be invited to my funeral?”

“At this rate, I’ll probably be the one conducting it.”

“An activity you no doubt can’t wait to perform,” was her retort.

Jake gritted his teeth and said nothing.

“Goodbye, Mr. Shaw, thank you again for your help. I would have been quite lost without you. I wish you the best of luck with your mission in Santa Fe.” She shook hands with Abner and turned to the wagon.

Now, Jake did not want to help sassy Miss Preston up into the wagon, but he knew it was expected of him, so he supported her arm until she was safely seated.

“Thank you.”

Jake only grunted again and hopped up beside her.

“I really am very much obliged that you are willing to go to all the trouble,” she said.

It was the first time she’d thanked him for his kindness to her.

“Yeah, whatever.”

The reply caused a deep frown to settle on her face. “He could at least try to be nice,” she muttered.

Jake heard her but didn’t reply. He settled in the driver’s seat, twitched the reins, and the wagon rolled off.

The first hour of the journey passed in complete silence.

Jake kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead while Dannie looked around at the dry, barren landscape. The sun rose higher and higher in the sky, and the heat began to beat down on them. The wind blew about, but it was a hot, sticky wind and did nothing to cool the baking atmosphere.

Dannie sighed.

How foreign everything was, how different from her native England. She couldn’t help but remember the thick, green foliage and the cool, damp air. The sun was rare in England, but when it did peek out, it had always been a kind sun, not cruel like the one here, making everything dry and dead.

And the dust, oh, the terrible dust. It was all Dannie could do to keep it out of her eyes and face. She kept her handkerchief in her hand at all times to wipe away the layers as they settled on her face.

“Is it always this hot?” she dared to ask at one point.

“Nope,” Jake replied, “you just happened to arrive at the peak of summer. It gets a little cooler in the winter. Reckon London weather is quite different.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been to London.”

Her reply seemed to shock him. “I was positively sure you were from England.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, there is more to England than just London.” Dannie turned to face Jake. “I happen to be from Yorkshire. That’s a county located in Northern England. If you knew anything at all, you might have been able to determine I’m from the North by my accent. Just like I can tell by your accent that you were born and raised in the South.”

This statement seemed to unnerve Jake. Almost as if he didn’t like it when people told him truths about his past that he had not disclosed to them.

“Oh, is that what you think?”

“Can you honestly tell me that you were not?” Dannie lifted an eyebrow.

Jake said angrily, “Well, yeah, so I was born and raised in the South. How would you tell that?”

“Because I have lived for a month in New York. No one there speaks the way you people do. I mean, what you don’t slur, you completely mispronounce.”

“Now, wait a minute, missy, just because I’m pronouncin’ it differently don’t mean I’m pronouncin’ it wrong.”

“Doesn’t,” Dannie corrected.

Jake rolled his eyes. “I hate to disappoint you, but most of the folks here speak like this, and in time, you will too.”

“Oh no, I won’t,” Dannie resolutely stated. “I’ll keep my English if it is the last thing I do!”

“Betcha five dollars you won’t. Give it a year, and you’ll talk like the rest of us.”

Dannie looked Jake square in the face. “Very well, five dollars it is!”

“We’re agreed, then.” He smiled at the bet they had just made.

Dannie noted to herself that this was his first smile since they’d been introduced. It made his pale green eyes gleam. Underneath that grime and the haystack of hair, he wasn’t bad looking at all, as it turned out. As a matter of fact, he was distinctly handsome.

Well, she didn’t care what he looked like. It was how he acted that mattered. And, so far, he had acted like a complete and utter oaf.