Where the Trail Ends: American Tapestries

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Authors: Melanie Dobson
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Historical, Christian, Where the Trail Ends
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wouldn’t look at her. His hat dipped over his hazel eyes, covering his wavy brown hair and handsome face. He was built for this journey, his arms and back strong, but despite his strength, his voice was resigned. “Yes, sir.”
    The captain’s gaze remained on her. “Miss Waldron, here, won’t relinquish her animal.”
    Jack looked down at her, and she silently pleaded with him, begging him with her gaze to rescue her dog and her family from harm. Jack’s eyes weren’t harsh like the captain’s, nor were they wild. They were concerned. Conflicted, even.
    Surely she had an ally in him.
    Instead of speaking out, Jack looked back at Captain Loewe. “I’d like a moment to speak with Samantha.”
    The captain shook his head. “Talking to her is not gonna do you a bit of good. She doesn’t listen to reason.”
    Her eyes were on the captain when she stepped forward. “C’mon, Boaz.”
    Her dog stayed close at her side as they moved away from the wagons, as if he was the one who needed to guard her from the guns. On the other side of the wagons, she heard the shouts of children as they returned with their mothers from the stream. Some of them were laughing, oblivious to what awaited them. There may not be as much barking tonight in the camp, but she guessed there would be crying.
    There were no trees or rocks for her and Jack to hide behind, not so close to the wagons. With Captain Loewe and Papa watching them, Samantha’s voice dipped to a whisper. “Were you one of the nine?” she asked.
    Jack’s gaze dropped to the worn toes on his boots. “I wish you’d trust me to do what is right.”
    Her back stiffened. “What is right, Jack?”
    “It’s right to protect the women and children in our care from harm.”
    She refused to back down. “It was one dog who started the stampede, not all of them.”
    His eyes met hers, but this time they didn’t make her heart flutter. “This is dangerous territory, Samantha. Dogs could cause another stampede or scare away some of our livestock or—”
    “Or they make us lose a little sleep at night.”
    He crossed his arms over his chest. “This isn’t because we lost sleep.”
    “Maybe something was out there last night. The dogs could have been warning us.”
    He crossed his arms over his chest. “All it takes is one dog to disrupt our entire company.”
    “Or one child.”
    “It’s more than the stampede, Samantha. One of the dogs had been bitten by a coyote at Fort Hall earlier this summer. They thought he had rabies.”
    “I understand shooting a rabid dog, Jack, but the captain—” She huffed. “He said none of our animals have been bitten.”
    “But think of what could happen if they were.”
    “You and the others, you’re afraid of what you don’t know.” She paused. “You’re afraid of what the captain might do even though you know he’s wrong.”
    She leaned against Boaz, who was standing as still as a statue beside her, and her lips shook as she fought back her tears. Her father had wavered in the authority of the captain, and now Jack wouldn’t stand up to him either. “You’ve got to stop him,” she said.
    “I can’t stop him,” Jack replied with a shake of his head. “We have to keep the peace until we get to the Willamette. Then we’ll go our separate ways. At least most of us will...”
    She didn’t allow herself to linger on the implication of his words. How could she marry a man who wouldn’t fight for the dog she loved? Who wouldn’t fight for her?
    “You have to stop him, Jack, or I can’t—”
    He shook his head, backing away. “I only want to protect our party, Sam. I don’t want to hurt your dog.”
    “Boaz,” she whispered. “My dog’s name is Boaz.”
    A scream rose up from one of the wagons, followed by the wails of a child. Samantha blinked back her tears, turning away from the man she thought she would marry.
    The Captain. Jack. Even Papa, whom she adored. These men didn’t know what they were doing in not

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