White Wolf Read Online Free Page B

to meet her accusing glare. She turned to Jordan, who brushed mud off his boots, and Jeremy suddenly seemed fascinated by a small brown spider dangling from the roof. “You’re going without me?” she cried incredulously. Her temper erupted as she stormed across the wooden floor. “What’s wrong, James? Afraid I won’t make it? You know I’m tough. I’m not one of them soft, lily-livered town girls. I work hard, as hard as any of you, and you know it!”
    A hand at her elbow stopped her tirade. She stared into Jeremy’s worried gaze. “Shut up and listen for a minute, Jess,” he beseeched, holding his hands out, palms up. “It’s not our fault. We have no choice!”
    Jordan joined them. “Do you remember why we agreed to help Able Bennett drive his cattle west?”
    Jessie yanked away from Jeremy, her eyes stormy as she glared at all of them. “Of course I remember. With the money the three of you earn and what we save because your food is provided, we’ll have us a nice bit of cash to start new in Oregon. Stop treating me as if I were a dim-witted clod. We’re only waiting for the prairie grass to reach four inches and the mud to harden before we leave.”
    She paced as she ticked off all the preparations she’d done over the long winter. “I’ve spent my days gentling and training the oxen, painting the wagon, sewing the double-thickness canvas cover and both tents as well as waterproofing all that canvas. All that’s left to do is pack the wagon and buy my share of the provisions.” Out of breath, she stopped, her hands digging into her hips.
    “Well, what you don’t know, little sister, is Wolf…” Jeremy stopped and turned away. “Hell,” he muttered under his breath. “I can’t tell her.”
    “Tell me what? Who’s Wolf?” she asked. The first feelings of fear snaked up her spine when James gave her his laying-down-the-law look mingled with a mixture of regret and sorrow.
    “Able broke his leg and can’t go,” he announced grimly.
    Jessie gasped. “How terrible,” she said. “But what does that have to do with me?”
    “Able found another wagon master, a half-breed by the name of White Wolf.” James brushed his hat against one thigh.
    “So?”
    James stared out into the darkness, his shoulders hunched, as if the weight of the world sat on them. “Wolf set his own rules. He’s agreed to take Able’s cattle and a handful of wagons to Oregon. The bad news is he won’t allow any unmarried women in his party, says he doesn’t want trouble with unattached females on the trail.”
    “But we’re family! Surely the rule doesn’t apply to families?”
    “Jess, Wolf made himself very clear. No marriageable girls, period, and as much as I hate to admit it, you’re a young woman of marriageable age.”
    Jessie hugged her arms to her chest, desperately trying to absorb the news.
    “Please try to understand, Jess. On such short notice, he’s the only experienced guide Able trusts to deliver his cattle, and he’s got to get the herd on the trail or risk them not reaching Oregon before winter sets in.”
    Jessie walked to the far end of the porch, stunned that her brothers planned to go without her. James followed and tried to put his arm around her, but she shrugged him off and movedaway. “Fine, let this White Wolf find someone else to drive the cattle. We’ll go later.” Desperation laced her voice. “We can’t split up. There’ll be other parties forming.”
    James shook his head, his eyes clouding with regret and sadness. “We can’t, Jess, and you know it. The house is sold, and the Ballouses only agreed to let us stay on until Able is ready to roll.”
    Jessie closed her eyes and thought hard. “Then we’ll stay in town. It won’t be for long.”
    Again, James shook his head. “We have jobs to pay our way west. We can’t pass up this opportunity. We have no choice but to accept Wolf’s conditions.”
    Jessie stared at Jeremy and Jordan. “Tell James he can’t