“For now they did but he won’t last long.  Just so they leave me alone to be the pilot I’m not complaining.”

“Good luck with all of it then.  I know you’ll be stretched for hours in the day, but if you can, look out for Fiona, will you?”

“She’s the one with the baby?”

“Yes.”

Miller nodded.

“I wish you well,” Charlotte said.  “And now for just one moment I’m going to pretend I don’t have principles and kiss you.”  She reached up, took his astonished face in her hands, and did just that.  “Now hurry up out of here before I cry.  And thank you for everything, Miller Dawson.”

Miller got on his horse and rode away in a daze, belatedly wishing he’d known how to kiss her back.  He realized Ellis hadn’t told him near enough about these kinds of things.

Charlotte was sitting with a board across her knees and the ink beside her writing a letter when Ellis Gray walked slowly out from the curved line of wagons, his loaded horse trailing behind him.

“Did you sleep?” she said.  He didn’t look like it.

“Only some.”

“I didn’t sleep at all but I didn’t want to.  Sit down.  Give me a minute and I’ll make you breakfast.”

“I don’t need breakfast.”

“Ellis, I was taught to respect my elders but if you don’t sit down right now because I asked you to, I’ll start screaming and I swear that’s the truth.”

“Feels like this is where we left off last night.”

“The fire’s down.  If you could get it going, that’d be a help.  I’ve just got some things left to take care of.”

“I’m making the breakfast,” he said.  “I’ve got dried buffalo meat.”

“Hopefully you’ll still have that same dried buffalo meat tomorrow.  I’ll find you some ham and eggs to fry.”

“And an onion if you’ve got it.”

Charlotte closed her eyes and sighed.  She dug the breakfast makings out of the wagon and quickly handed them off to him.  “I’ll be back,” she said.  He didn’t bother asking where she was going.  There was no use in that.

She hadn’t been able to think of some way to go about this until the doltish boys ahead of her came to mind.  She found them still asleep rolled in blankets under their wagon.  She kicked at the nearest form until it unfolded.

“Ouch,” it said.

“Get up.  I need your help but there’s something in it for you.”

“Just don’t kick me again.”

“If you get up, I won’t.”