Read Online Thunder on the Plains by Rosanne Bittner - Free Book Online

struggled not to show her terrible disappointment. Why did it hurt so to think of Colt’s leaving them?
    â€œWell, honey, maybe our little wagon train and our fancy ways have them a little bored. Men like Slim and Colt are always looking for new action and excitement. I suppose if we were part of a much bigger wagon train that was more of a challenge, they might stick it out. That’s the way it is with such men. They’re like the wind, blowing and drifting in different directions, not very dependable.”
    Sunny weighed her father’s explanation, still finding it difficult to believe the reasons for Colt’s actions. But then, what did she know about men like that? This was her first experience with this life and the kind of people who lived out in this wilderness, and it was true it would have to take a very different sort of man to want always to live this way. In some ways she could understand it, for she had grown to love this country and the peace she found here. But she knew deep down that she could not live this way the rest of her life. She sometimes missed the bustling streets of Chicago, the parties, the comforts of home, even the board meetings she attended with her father. She had grown to like the challenge of the business world, enjoyed watching her father bribe and cajole his cohorts and even congressmen to get what he wanted. He was a master at persuading others, and she had learned that bribing was just another tool a man had to use to accomplish his goals and dreams.
    Her thoughts were interrupted then by Colt himself, who appeared at the top of the rise and rode toward them. In spite of what both Miss Putnam and her father had told her about how undependable and wild and worthless he surely was, she still could not help the rush of her heart whenever she saw him. How wonderful he looked, the way he sat a horse, his dark shoulder-length hair spilling from under his leather hat, the fringes of his buckskins dancing with his horse’s gait. How intimidating he looked, sporting that big knife and that wide ammunition belt, a pistol at his side. This was his realm, as much a part of his life as mansions and boardrooms were to her and her father.
    â€œYou two have been wanting to see a herd of buffalo,” he called to them, riding closer. “Now’s your chance. Once you reach the top of the rise, hold up and just look. Don’t move around too much and don’t do any shouting. There’s one of the biggest herds over that rise that I’ve seen in a while.”
    Bo nodded. “Ride back and tell the others.”
    Colt could not help glancing at Sunny, secretly relieved she was all right after taking the chills a few days earlier. He knew she must be wondering why he had suddenly begun ignoring her, and he wished sometimes that he could explain; but in spite of his fury with her father, he knew the man was right in insisting their friendship not be allowed to go any deeper.
    He tipped his hat to her and left. He was glad, even relieved, that he had made the decision to leave their little excursion once they reached Fort Laramie. He wished Sunny had turned out to be more like he had first expected—spoiled, sassy, rude, and complaining—but she had been nothing but sweet and cooperative, even strong and brave. The violent storm they had suffered through and her own illness afterward had not brought a complaint. He realized he had to stop thinking about her, and that was not going to happen unless he left her and her father behind once he got them to safety.
    â€œBuffalo ahead,” he told the rest of the men. “Leave the wagons here and go up on foot or horseback. When you reach the top of the ridge, don’t do any shouting, and keep the horses still.” He turned and rode back toward Sunny and Bo. Stuart and several others quickly mounted up and followed him, and the rest, including the cooks, ran up on foot.
    Miss Putnam sat up and looked out