“Ick! Can you imagine? It’s a wonder she didn’t get bit!”
“Yea, it’s a wonder.” Tilting his head, he gazed at her shrewdly. “You do realize, Miss Stanton, that should you return with me to my time, you’ll have to face a few hardships. I’ll do everything in my power to make your life easy, but you won’t have all of these luxuries you take for granted in this life.”
Journey lifted her chin and pursed her lips. “We’ve talked about this – I don’t need luxury. I certainly don’t love ticks or fleas, but I could endure them. Now, snakes are a different story. Be we in this time or yours - you, as my protector, must make a solemn promise to go above and beyond the call of duty to keep any and all snakes as far away from my person as possible.”
“That’s quite a demand. Would you like to make it a part of our wedding vows? To love, honor, and keep snakes away?”
Any mention of their future marriage thrilled her to the core. “Yes, I would like that to be included. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome and I’m starving. Can we stop to get something to eat?”
Reno’s request echoed her own sentiment. “I’m hungry too, but we’ve made great time. What would you like to eat?” She began naming off fast food served by the restaurants listed on the roadside signs. “Fried chicken, burgers, catfish.”
“Catfish sounds good to me. How about you?”
“Perfect.” She took the next exit and pulled into a rustic establishment. Soon they were chowing down on fried fillets, French fries, and hushpuppies. Journey couldn’t eat all that was on her plate, but Reno managed to eat his and what was left of hers.
Once they were on the road again, he delved back into the history book. Of course, to him – it wasn’t history. Some of what he read hadn’t even happened yet. As she set a course for Little Rock, he read more about the history of Central Texas. Journey found she didn’t mind the quiet. As long as she was with Reno, she was content.
It wasn’t too far down the road, before the silence was broken.
“What a bastard. Listen to this. The old ass published his own newspaper in Weatherford, TX called The White Man. Its sole purpose was to whip up venom against the Indians.”
“Wow. He didn’t even try hide his hatred, did he?”
“There’s more. He was appointed lieutenant colonel over the Second Texas Mounted Rifles and assigned to guard a chain of forts stretching out west. He occupied the Mesilla Valley in the territory of Arizona and proclaimed himself military governor.”
“Talk about ballsy.”
“I agree.” Her observation made Reno laugh, then he went right back to reading. “The editor of the only newspaper in the Arizona territory dared to question Taylor’s methods and was challenged to a fight. Taylor injured him to such a degree that he died a few days later. Still obsessed with the Indians, he sent a letter to one of his subordinates to exterminate the Apaches. When the confederate president, Jefferson Davis, got wind of this order, he stripped Taylor of his command and rank. In 1863, he fought at the battle of Galveston as a private. At the same time, however, he won an election to the Second Confederate Congress.”
“Taylor was a busy man.”
“Yea, but he was in Arizona. Not Texas. I need to find more information on this ass.” He put that book down to pick up the next one.
The deeper they drove into Arkansas, the higher the hills became. Soon, they could see the foothills of the Ozark mountain range. “Do you want to find a motel in Little Rock or try to make it on to Memphis?”
“Are you tired? I wish I could drive for you.”
“I need to stop and stretch, but I’m fine,” Journey told him.
“Okay. If you feel up to it, I’d rather continue on to Memphis.”
“No problem.” She knew he was anxious. In a few miles, Journey found a place to fill up the gas tank. She showed Reno how it was done. While he pumped the gas, she went inside to use the restroom. When she came out, he headed in to do the same. “I’ll just walk around a bit,” she told him.
“Don’t go far. And be careful.” He glanced around at the almost empty parking lot. “Stay in the well-lit areas.”
“Yes, dear.” She gave him a wink while he dashed inside. Strolling around, she saw something odd at the very edge of the concrete. Too curious to let it go, she ventured over. “What the…” Coming near, she saw a plastic bag moving ever so slightly. “Oh, no.” Bending down, she untied the handle to find two small kittens. “Idiots,” she hissed the word. “Whoever put you in this bag should rot in hell.” Picking up the sack and its small inhabitants, Journey looked around, considering what she should do.
When Reno came out, he looked to the car. No Journey. He glanced all around. No. Journey.
“Journey! Journey!”
Panic rising in him like a wave, he began to jog around the parking lot, searching behind every car. “Journey!” He started imagining what might be wrong. He had watched enough news on television to know women on their own were no safer in this age than the one he’d left behind. There were mean people no matter the place or the year. “Journey!”
“Here I am.”
Relief made him weak. “I told you to stay put. Where did you go?”
“Stay put?” Even though she loved him to distraction, no man was going to draw an X on the ground and tell her to ‘stay
