Chapter 11
Morgan
As some of the fires began to turn from flame to glow, so went the travelers’ strength. One by one each rose and went off to their secured places to sleep out in the middle of a prairie.
Ray was restless throughout the night with his thoughts drifting back to his family. With his father buried in Wisconsin and his mother on her way to California, he was impatient to catch up to the remains of his family and let his mother know he was still alive. His thoughts were disrupted by the snap of a twig in the brush, just outside the wagon’s circle. He didn’t know why, but he was sure it was that gunfighter sneaking up on them. He reached down the side of his blanket and felt the grip of his Colt in his hand. Rising onto his elbows, he rolled from under the wagon and out into the brush. Ray squatted down on his feet and looked around for any kind of movement. Luckily, the moon was full so visibility was good. Next to the stream he saw a large shrub move. Remaining low to the ground he began to work his way forward. His hand gripped hard onto the handle of his Colt. Near the large brush he could just make out a person’s movement. Ray moved closer. At the edge of the large bush he heard a muffled sound of pain. It wasn’t the voice of a gunslinger. It was a girl’s voice.
Ray broke around the bush with his gun at waist level ready to fire and was dumbfounded to be staring at a beautiful young woman knelt next to a small stream. She was sitting on a small rock with a cloth in one hand and little or no clothing on. She was staring back at him with eyes filled with shock, horror, embarrassment, and heated anger. Their eyes locked for several seconds. On Ray’s side of the exchange the emotions ranged between wonder, amazement, joy, excitement, love and lust. Based on his limited experience with these emotions he could come to only one conclusion: they had known each other for all eternity. He immediately believed that they were in the deepest, most passionate love. It was only after this beautiful young woman spoke that the lock between them broke, making Ray reconsider the mutual affection he thought they had shared. The beautiful young woman quickly turned away and began to grab the clothing that was draped over a bush in an effort to cover up. Trying to assist her, Ray grabbed an item with every intention of handing it directly to her only to discover that it was her under garments. Suddenly his hand felt like he was holding onto a hot branding iron and he dropped them as fast as he could. The unmentionables drifted softly down to the muddy ground.
“I am so sorry, Miss. I heard you cry out and I thought….” Ray's voice crackled off, and for the life of him his tongue felt three sizes too big.
“You thought? You thought! I know what you thought,” she yelled as she began to realize the embarrassing situation she was in.
“You sounded like you were in pain,” Ray tried to explain.
“I stubbed my foot on a rock. That’s all. If you are going to interrupt my bath every time I stub a toe, I’ll probably never get a bath! Now stop staring at me with your mouth hanging wide open and get out of here!” she demanded.
“Yes Ma’am, yes I’ll go, I am so sorry, I’m leaving right now, and I’m so…”
“Shut up and get out of here!” the girl shouted.
“Y...E...S… Ma’am,” Ray said tripping backwards, falling over what was most likely the same stone she had kicked. He continued backwards on his hands and feet like a spider. Rising to his feet after what seemed like a safe distance then turned on his heels and walked quickly back to camp.
Feeling like a thief sneaking out the back door of a bank, his short steps turned into long ones. It wasn’t long before he was on a dead run for the short distance back to the wagon. Finding his bedroll, Ray climbed under the blanket and pulled them up over his head, desperately wanting to go fast to sleep. Or at least give that impression while he waited for the scream of accusations to begin and the mob to come marching with torches to carry him away.
But it never happened! All was as quiet as it was when he originally heard the sound from the brush. Maybe she wasn’t going to tell? Maybe she liked him and didn’t want to see any harm come his way? In his young and inexperienced mind at understanding women he pictured their romance and how it would blossom throughout the duration of the journey.
Ray was shocked out of this dream by a strong kick to the ribs. “Listen here cowboy,” came a familiar, feminine voice, “the only reason you’re not hanging from that tree over there for attacking a woman is because I don’t wish to be embarrassed by what happened and have to put up with all the looks and laughter all the way to California. So you’re getting off easy tonight, but you ever come near me or try to talk to me again, I’ll drop you where you stand, got it?”
Right then, Ray fell in love.
“Yes Ma’am. It was an accident, and I am truly sorry,” Ray stuttered quickly.
“I’ll make sure you’re truly sorry if it ever happens again.” And with that she marched off.
After uncoiling from the kick to the ribs, Ray began to think about this new love. He could tell she was crazy about him. He was sure she had just used that opportunity to yell at him, to get close. “Yes, sir. This journey just got a whole lot more interesting,” Ray whispered.
After a restless night he threw back his blankets, rose and walked over to the community fire. The women already had coffee on the fire and were busying themselves preparing flapjacks, bacon and camp bread. This was the part of the day Ray enjoyed the most. Just standing there among the busy cooks reminded him of home. Ma would get up early and be cooking in the kitchen when he’d wake up in the morning. Before his eyes opened, his nose would herald in the morning with the wonderful smells of bacon, bread and sometimes donuts. Ray loved his Ma's donuts the best. No one made them like her. They were sweet, warm and just melted in your mouth. His mouth began to water from the memories and the smells coming from the cook station. As he tuned and made his move in for the kill, a fast moving object immediately impacted Ray. A large bucket of water held in the hands of the attacker flew back, covering both the bearer of the bucket and Ray from head to toe in a cascade of frigid water.
“What in God’s green earth are you doing?” came that familiar voice. “Are you an idiot? Why don’t you watch where you are going! People are trying to work here!” yelled the female voice that had yet to discover it was Ray.
Turning and looking through eyes filled with water she recognized the wall she had run into. “YOU! Oh, not you! How dare you! And after I warned you to stay away from me. You planned this didn’t you? Oh you are so funny; you thought you would get even with me for yelling at you. Well we’ll just see who gets even with whom!” and with that, she gathered up the hem of her soaked dress and ran off toward her wagon.
“Wait,” Ray begged, “It was an accident. I’m so sorry. Please come back.”
He started after her to explain when she stopped dead, turned and faced him with a look filled with daggers. Her large brown eyes grew almost black with anger. She quickly and calculatedly said, “You stay away from me or I’ll have my Pa shoot you. Do you understand?”
Ray could see in her eyes that she was mad but he thought he also could see a little flicker of love. Maybe that was just his imagination, maybe not. He decided it was best not to push the issue further, so he gave ground and returned to the fire for some coffee. He figured they’d have time to talk all this out later.
“That was a real smooth move you made there, Ray,” Laughed John’s voice from behind him.
“You saw that?” Ray said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
“Everyone saw that, Ray, you almost drowned the poor girl.”
“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” Ray said as he stared off into the direction she had fled.
“Are you nuts? Are you falling for a girl that’s one step away from shootin’ you between the eyes?”
“What are you talkin’ about? She was just flirtin’ with me.”
“Ray, there are a lot of things you do well, but understandin’ women is not one of them. I’d give
that little lady a wide berth for a while. At least until we have a chance to unload her daddy’s gun.”
John walked toward the breakfast fire shaking his head, thinking about how his best friend was going to get himself shot.
A few hours later found them once again on the trail. Staring into the same backend of those damn mules, Ray asked Laurie, “Laurie, do you know who that pretty girl is…?”
Laurie interrupted, “You mean the one you threw water all over this morning?”
“Well, I guess so.”
“I think I heard someone call her Morgan, but if you’re getting any ideas, you better just forget them.”
“Why, Laurie? I think she likes me.” Ray announced.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m getting’ a little tired of that question. That’s the second time today I’ve been asked that.”
“Ray, that girl was about to shoot you. She’s mad as hell at you for some reason and besides I think she already has a beau courting her on the wagon train.”
Well this information hit Ray like a ton of bricks.
"Why would this girl lead me on like that?" He thought. "Why would she have made me fall in love with her when she already has another beau? Was she just playing games with me? Maybe she changed her mind about liking this other guy? Maybe when she saw me, she decided that I was the type of man she wanted! Yes, sir, that has to be it. Yes, she wanted me and it’s obvious she won’t take no for an answer." Ray's thoughts spiraled in this fashion until he leaned back and said, "Yup, she definitely has me in her sights,” his voice full of confidence.
“You are crazy!” said Laurie. “If she or her daddy doesn’t shoot you before it’s all done, her beau will.”
Laurie turned around so she could stick her head into the back covered portion of the wagon. “Richard, have you heard any of this?”
“Yeah. Sounds like that little girl’s got it bad for Ray,” Richard said seriously.
“Not you too!” cried Laurie, completely exasperated.
Looking at his new friends, Ray thought how Richard and Laurie sure made a handsome couple. Just from the way they looked at each other Ray knew it wouldn’t be long before they got themselves hitched.
The trail dragged on, with the constant sound of stomping mule hooves on the trail. Unsecured pots and pans were singing their irritating songs, harnesses rapping out Morse code, wagons creaking and moaning. It was hard to hear someone sitting right next to you talking, so each just slipped into their own thoughts and dreamt about what lay at the end of the trail. What kind of a life they were going to be able to build for themselves? Ray had only one thought on his mind besides finding his mother, and that was Morgan.