The Path One Follows

Lost In A Moment

There was the medical wagon. It seemed a hundred leagues away. Sitting in the back of her own wagon, Jolie could only stare. Her dreams the previous night had mutinied against all common sense. She'd been so thankful to Grant for saving her, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. It wasn't right. She'd been married to Frank for almost fifteen years. Frank was steadfast and honest. He was too good a man for her to be having any thoughts about another. He wasn't too controlling compared to a lot of other men. It was the expectations that left her wanting. Frank believed that a woman had certain roles and never budged from that idea. She had accepted that this was her life. Until....

No. She needed to stop. She'd asked Grant for that shotgun on a whim. She'd never thought he'd trust her with it. Men didn't think women could handle guns. There was barely any hesitation. Five minutes before that, she was nearly a victim. Grant had relied on her as an equal. There was no air of belittling. They did what they had to. It was a taste of freedom from social constraints. That was the real issue. Grant was handsome and all, but that moment of equality had been more attractive than any honeyed words. She felt fierce. It was thrilling. Frank would never see it that way. This was her life now. She wasn't some daydreaming flip skirt looking for a knee to sit on. They were on their way to a place they could rebuild. It was set in some.

"Mom...."

They'd be there soon enough and she would forget about handsome men and equality!

"MOOOOOOMMM!!!"

The bubble popped.

"Junior! What in the name of all that is holy are you yelling at?!?"

Junior looked stress.

"I said your name like twelve times! Are you ok, Ma?

There was a moment where embarrassment almost painted itself on her face. She really was struggling.

"Sorry son. I was lost in a passing moment's fancy. Lots on my mind after all that happened. "

"I know Ma. It's the same with me, but Pa wants to know what's for supper. He's in a mood today as well. "

"Well, I need to use up the last of the potatoes. I have a small pack of cured venison. We might be able to pull off a decent beef stew. I reckon he'd be ok with that. "

Junior made his way to the front of the wagon and sat back down beside Frank.

"Pa, she says we're gonna have beef stew. I can't wait to eat. I'm so hungry that there may not me any for you and Ma!"

Junior laughed but it was cut short by Frank's lack of mirth.

"What's wrong, Pa? You've been strange today. "

"Nothing to worry about soon. Mom is going to make me dessert after you go to bed. After her chores of course "

Frank lied with ease. He knew that Junior wouldn't catch on to the mood. He hadn't been thrilled about being shot himself. His was only a graze, but it had hurt. People were praising Grant for his gallant saving of both Jolie and Junior. They were HIS family dammit. The only issue was that they had noticed how minimal his wound was. He'd laid there and listened as a stranger took his wife, playing dead to protect himself. They hadn't been there to see the truth. They didn't know what he was facing. He planned to show them who was the head of his family. It would be very soon.

A few moments went by and Junior returned with a confused look.

"Pa said it was fine, but that he expected a little dessert after I headed on to bed. He said after you'd cleaned up of course. I don't know what's wrong with him. "

Jealousy. That had to be it. He was upset that she was so hung up on Grant. She thought she'd hidden it pretty well, but the gossip chain disagreed. That was still not a good reason to treat her like property. She'd be giving him a piece of her mind later on.

Junior slipped off that evening after they'd stopped for a few hours. The horses wouldn't make it if they didn't get any rest, even with the five extra ones they'd liberated from the Hunters. He'd brought a bowl of beef stew for Grant.

"Ma said that I should bring you some food with some meat in it. Pa is being extra snippy so I told her I'd bring it to you. My Ma really is worried about you. She said she wishes she could be here herself. "

"Be sure to give her my thanks. I'm sure this is just what I need. I appreciate you bringing it to me, Junior."

"Ain't no sweat for me. I enjoy an excuse to get around a bit. I reckon I'm gonna scoot on back. I can get the bowl later."

"Tell your mom I'm gonna definitely get this bowl back to her ASAP. I'm sure real dishes are hard to come by."

"I'll tell her. G'nite Grant!"

"G'nite Junior."

The boy took off as quickly as he'd appeared. He was a good kid. Grant looked down at Fiori. The girl was lost in the haze again. The frightened look she responded with was telling enough, but he wanted to share the beef stew.

"Fiori, grab a bowl. I'm gonna share this stew with you. No need for your words. We have to keep your strength up as well. It took some convincing but she finally did as he asked. Splitting the stew, he handed the bowl she'd gotten back to her with stew. Fiori eyeballed it for a moment before giving it a sniff. At that sniff, her look went from cautious to salivating. The girl just turned the bowl up and downed the soup before taking care of the other ingredients.

"I'm glad you approve. Jolie really is something else."

After finishing her bowl, Fiori climbed back under her covers on the floor. Grant could see how content she looked. Poor thing might not ever be right in the head again. He wished he'd found this abused girl anywhere but on the route. She'd have been adopted as his daughter and the magistrate would take the payment to make it legally binding. Depending on the end game of this attack, he could easily see himself taking care of the child. Problems for later he supposed.