Page 66 of A Rugged Beauty
"He's a protector," she said with a fierceness she hadn't meant to bleed into her voice. She couldn't bear for her friend to say anything more disparaging about Hollis. "He cares about each soul in this company and keeping each of us safe until the end. He's a warrior who will fight if needed. He's intelligent and articulate?—"
"All right," Felicity said, holding one hand in front of her.
Abigail was breathing hard, like she'd run circles around her wagon. She hadn't meant to get so riled up.
"I can see that your feelings toward him have grown since we started this journey."
Felicity's statement hit with a gravity Abigail hadn’t expected. She leaned one hip against the tailgate, her hand landing on its surface to steady her. Until this moment she hadn't realized how deeply her feelings about Hollis ran. What had begun as a grudging friendship had grown into something more—for her.
Yet with the same weight, she realized the futility of caring for him.
"Then you've made a good match," Felicity said. "Even though you forgot to invite your closest friend to the ceremony."
Ah. There was the hurt that had kept Felicity at a distance yesterday and brought on her chilly words moments ago.
"I'm sorry," Abigail said. "It happened so quickly?—"
"And I’ve been distracted with August and Ben. Then you were swept away, and we were frantic to find you." Felicity seemed as eager to believe the timing as Hollis and Owen had hoped everyone in the company would be.
Abigail hated keeping the truth from her friend; her stomach knotted and she opened her mouth to say the whole truth. That Hollis wasn't a good match for her because he didn't want a wife. That the marriage would be dissolved in Oregon. That Abigail's heart would be broken.
But she snapped her mouth closed and swallowed it all.
"I'm thankful for your friendship," she said before sharing a quick hug with her friend.
Felicity held up the bowl. "I'd better deliver this broth before it chills."
She disappeared, but it wasn't long before a young man ran up calling for Hollis.
"He's not here," Abigail said. "I believe he's with his captains."
It was her best guess, given that her husband hadn't graced her with his presence this morning.
"Our neighbor is awful sick this morning," he said. "I'm gonna help them get their oxen in the traces, but the husband looks like he's gonna fall over iffen he has to walk far this morning. Can you tell him?"
"Of course."
She pushed down everything that had been worrying her about her relationship with Hollis to deal with at a later time. It didn't matter whether Hollis wanted to see her. This news was something he needed to hear. It might even affect the entire company.
She left her packing to search for him but found him nowhere among the wagons. She strained her eyes to see the cowboys guarding Leo and Evangeline's herd of cattle.
Not there either.
It was a relief to see Owen riding through the chaos of families packing up. After last night, she knew that there was tension between the two men. But she also believed what she'd said about Owen. He'd earned Hollis's trust over the past weeks on the trail.
He was clearly impatient to be away when she waved him down.
"Can you get a message to Hollis?" she asked. "The Kimball family is very ill this morning. They may need help driving the wagon."
"I'll make sure they get the help they need."
She felt a moment of misgiving. "And tell Hollis," she repeated.
He nodded, wheeling his horse. Or had that been a shake of his head? He was already gone, so she couldn't press him more. Owen was busy. It was a lot of work to get the company moving from the circle. But he'd get word to Hollis.
Thirteen
"I dropped my spoon!"
