Sweet Prairie Passion (Savage Destiny) Read Online Free Page A

for in his unattractive face and narrow eyes she could see that the man had no real love for others. He was middle-aged, tall and spindly, with a large, sharp-hooked nose and an extremely white complexion that was already reddening from the day’s sun. There was a coldness about him that made her stomach quiver when he shook her hand with his own cool, bony one, and she decided this was not the kind of preacher she would ever turn to for help. He also had no wagon, and rode only a horse with his supplies in his saddle bags, informing the others that all he needed was the Good Book and prayer to get by on. But Abbie suspected he would need more than that.
    Her apprehension was relieved by the arrival of another woman, a Mrs. Harriet Hanes, who appeared to be in her late twenties, and who was traveling with her farmer husband, Bradley Hanes, a stocky, blond, and bearded man, who was short, broad-chested, and rather plain looking. They were a friendly couple with three children, which made Abbie’s little brother happy, since two of the children were boys: Jeff, who was ten, and Mike, eight. The third child was their six-year-old daughter, Mary. They drove one wagon, pulled by four oxen, with three horses tied to the back.
    The last to join the group was a schoolteacher, a man named Winston Harrell and a widower like Abbie’s father. He had a ten-year-old son with him, a quiet boy named Philip. Harrell carried a number of books in his wagon, and Abbie wondered if he would get over those high mountains she’d heard about with such a heavy load. They had already been talkingabout not being able to take along too much weight. Now she grew worried, for her father had brought along her mother’s grandfather clock, and Abbie would rather die than to lose the precious heirloom.
    And so their group had grown, some of them going to the West for known reasons, and some for unknown reasons. Preacher Graydon spouted off about saving the “heathen” Indians, and Mr. Harrell spoke with sincerity about setting up a school for settlers’ children. The Haneses intended to settle in and to farm one of the rich valleys of Oregon they’d heard so much about. Robards was evasive about his intentions, and Abbie suspected that he planned to get rich off gambling. Connely still gave no indication whatsoever of his reasons for heading beyond the Missouri, while Kelsoe was going to set up a trade line to the West. Now their group was big enough to travel, with eight wagons, twelve men, three women—if Abbie and LeeAnn could be considered women—and five children. There were twelve oxen, fifteen horses, and thirty-three mules.
    Abbie felt safer now, knowing that two of the twelve men would be Cheyenne Zeke and Olin Wales. Her father had already told the others they would be their scouts and had explained that Zeke was a half-breed Cheyenne. Some expressed doubts, but the more Jason Trent explained, the more at ease they seemed to be, except for the preacher, who openly protested. He promptly declared that all must remember that Indians were not among “God’s children” and could not be trusted; he added that Indians were not a part of the “Manifest Destiny” of America. Abbie recognized that term as one used to claim that the white man wasdestined to conquer and rule all of America. She detested the preacher for his words, and knew she’d been right in fearing that there would be trouble between Preacher Graydon and Cheyenne Zeke. For Abbie was certain that everyone was equal in God’s eyes, including the Indians; and she felt there were probably some Indians who were more “Christian” than the preacher. His comment even seemed to rub some of the others the wrong way, and her heart swelled with love when her father spouted back that a man’s worth should be based on his honesty and his actions, not on his race, be that white or Indian. If Cheyenne Zeke could get them where they were going, that was all that was important.
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