“Then let’s get going.”  He tied his horse next to the mare and swung up onto the seat from one side while she climbed up the wheel on the other side.  He slapped the reins, guiding the team along the outside of the circle and Charlotte immediately wished for the sunbonnet.  It felt as if all the eyes in the company were on her.

“You could’ve let me sit over there,” she said.

“I told you before, don’t worry what they think.  And I hope you made up some explanation.”

“I told Ada I got trampled by a herd of wild horses and there was so much blood in my hair they had to cut it off.  She didn’t believe me.”

“I wonder why.”  The wagons had filed in behind them and another day of achingly slow travel lay ahead.

“She’s a different kind of child,” Charlotte said.

“They get like that out on the trail.  It’s a whole other way of life.  Some find when there’s a chance to live normal again, they can’t.  Turns out they don’t like walls anymore, or rules.”  Then Ellis changed the subject entirely.  “How is it that this wagon doesn’t creak?”

“We have good craftsmen.  Everyone’s required to have a skill since we live so much on our own.”

“No offense, but I considered them an unusual bunch.”

“They’d have to be with what they believe in.”

“And you don’t?”

“I was raised in it but if you can believe and not believe at the same time, that’s where I am.”

Charlotte waited, taking in the fresh air and the scenery, the gray green prairie grass, the dusty track.  She was uncomfortable talking about the Family.

“I heard you were a soldier,” she said, changing the subject herself.  “But I can’t see you as one.  Is that rude?”

“No it’s not rude.  I can’t see myself as one either.”

“But you were.”

“Seven years, three forts.  And for most of that time, I believed.”

No, she couldn’t go any further.  A man’s sorrows were his own.

“Rain’s coming,” he said.  “Not much but I hope you don’t mind getting wet.”

“I’ve been wet before.”

The rain started as a fine mist and turned into a spray kicked up by the wind.  Charlotte wrapped her shawl around her.  She could taste the water on her face.  When the spray became a sudden driving downpour, Charlotte climbed unceremoniously over Ellis Gray and pulled down the flaps covering the wagon’s openings.  She couldn’t see the expression on his face.  She climbed back into her seat again in the same manner.  It was clear the downpour was just a squall that would quickly blow itself out.  There wouldn’t even be time for the track to muddy up.

“I know they talk,” Ellis said.  “The women.  That’s where you were headed.”