Lauraine Snelling - [Wild West Wind 01] Read Online Free Page B

legal? According to the will, she did own half of everything, which at this moment really was half of nothing. But she couldn’t sacrifice Wind Dancer, and who would hire Micah?
    With a heavy heart she paused on the steps, setting a plan to follow Jason’s instructions. “Othello, find Chief.” Othello sniffed the air and then trotted toward the Indian encampment, Cassie following. He stopped in front of a tepee and yipped. Chief bent over to come out and stood in front of her. “Jason wants to see you in the Gypsy Wagon.”
    Chief thought only a moment before nodding and striding off, with her at his side.
    “He wants me to take the wagon and head down to the Black Hills to my father’s valley. He said you’d talked about returning to your reservation.” She left off the to die part.
    He paused in front of her tent. “I would go with you.”
    “You think Micah will go too?”
    “Micah will always go where you go.”
    “I hoped so.”
    “I will return here after I talk with Jason.”
    Cassie headed to her tent. What did she really need to take with her? What would fit in the wagon? Was she crazy to be doing this? But what were her choices? She didn’t have enough money to go to a hotel and wait to contact some other shows to see if they would hire her. This show had been her home, her family, her life. She sank down into the folding chair and covered her face with her hands. How could she ever make it on her own? Othello nudged her hands and licked her cheek. When she didn’t respond, he put a paw up on her knee and whimpered.
    “It’s okay, fella, just a moment of stark, terrified weakness here. Like Mor always said, ‘All will be well.’ ” She heaved a sigh at the same moment as someone cleared his throat at the tent door.
    “Come in.”
    “Okay, we are set.” Chief nodded to Micah, who had joined him. “We need to be on the road before daybreak, so we need to get moving.”
    Within minutes the two men were going about their chores. There was a party going on in the dining tent. Several of the other tents were all dark. Had some of the others left already?
    She packed up her personal things, filling the trunk, making sure that all her costumes and clothing were packed in the wardrobe. There was no room in the wagon for it, but they could load it up on top. Some things she rolled into her bedroll before heading for the wagon. Jason had left a light on for her, leaving the wagon looking like he’d just stepped out and would return momentarily. She took off his bedding and spread out her own, tucking the sheets under the plush mattress and thick feather bed. Jason Talbot had liked the better things in life. How much had that desire caused the demise of the show? She ordered herself not to think along those lines and headed back to her tent, Othello at her side. She grabbed the handle on the side of the trunk and leaned into the weight to drag it back.
    “Can’t you ever ask for help?” Joe asked, grabbing the other handle between mutterings.
    “I didn’t know there was anyone around to help me.”
    “Well, we haven’t all left. What are you going to do?”
    “Head south to the Black Hills and see if I can find the valley my father always dreamed of.”
    “Do you have a map?”
    “Sort of. He drew it years ago.”
    Joe stopped in his tracks. “Does it have a name?”
    The sudden weight jerked her backward. “I don’t know.”
    “Let me get this straight. You are going off all by yourself to find a valley that your father discovered maybe twenty years ago and you don’t even know exactly where it is?”
    “That’s right, except for the fact that Micah and Chief are coming with me.”
    “I see. That makes it even better. You and two men—”
    “Joseph A. Bingham, get your mind out of the mud. You know as well as I do that those two would take on the entire Sioux nation to protect me.” She started to drag the trunk again. He grabbed the other side, and when they got to the wagon, he