New Frontier of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 2) by Dorothy Wiley Page B
Authors: Dorothy Wiley
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mouth to feed, and another female to protect. You didn’t ask for that burden and I won’t impose on your family’s hospitality. It’s just that I have no one in Kentucky and with the only inn in Boonesborough full, I see no other options for now. I should return to Boston. But, after traveling for so long, I don’t want to leave just yet.”
He turned to face her. “From what I’ve seen, you’ve been more of a help than a burden. As far as protecting you, you’re obviously quite capable of protecting yourself. All of us depend upon one another for strength against our enemies. There’s strength in numbers. You would add to that strength, not detract from it. I can speak for the others. You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you need. You can write to your family and let them know what has happened. They can contact our brother Edward in New Hampshire and he can offer proof of our family’s goodreputation.”
“What about Stephen? He may not agree that it’s the right thing to do.”
“Stephen will agree with me.” At least Sam hoped he would.
“I’m still not sure Captain. Living in Kentucky with your husband is one thing. Staying with a group of men—four of whom are unmarried—that I have known for only a few weeks is quite another. What will people in Boston think? What about preserving my reputation?”
“Reputations are made on the frontier, not preserved. Sometimes life forces a person to live by new rules. Life can be uncivilized and unpredictable. You’ve learned that already as much as anybody. We have to adapt—not live by rules that fit another place and another way of life.”
“It’s all so bloody confusing.”
“It’s simple really. It comes down to this. Do you want to live in Kentucky in this virgin wilderness? Are you suited to life in the west? Or, would you be more at home among polite society in Boston. If it’s the frontier, it’s time to make your own rules, your own life.”
“I’ve never thought about it quite like that. I’ve always followed the rules of civil society. I just did what my father and husband wanted me to do—what they expected of me. They were my guardians and made every major decision for me. I never felt any control over my own future. At least….not until…this very moment.” She said the words slowly and deliberately, as if their meaning sunk in only as she spoke them aloud.
“That’s what the wilderness is all about. Making your own destiny. And living it. Truly living it. That’s why I wanted to comehere. I needed to feel alive again. And I do here. Don’t you feel it too? It’s almost an awakening. Here you don’t just live life, you have life to live.”
“Life to live. I like the sound of that.”
So did he, especially when she said it.
CHAPTER 10
S am hiked through the woods, several miles from their campsite, searching for small game. Except for Bear, he was the best hunter among their group and could usually guarantee fresh meat for their dinners. He admired the abundant red maple, walnut, hickory, cottonwood, and oak trees that crowded between pines for their place in the dense forest, a storehouse of nature for heavy lumber. Soon these impressive trees might become homes, stores, boats, wagons, furniture, and even weapons, like the rifle he carried.
As he entered a clearing, he peered up. A bald eagle soared overhead, its immense brown wings spread wide, stroking the air with graceful glides. The eagle whistled a series of high-pitched notes. He thought the eerie call of the regal bird unlike any other in nature. He hoped the eagle would have a successful hunt today as well.
Sam returned to scanning around him, seeking signs of the slightest movement. He stopped abruptly. An overturned and abandoned kettle lay across the path. He glanced around, found a moldy and shredded woman’s shawl, and then spotted a bright spot among decaying leaves. An embroidered child’s bonnet. Hebent over to pick it up and slowly
He turned to face her. “From what I’ve seen, you’ve been more of a help than a burden. As far as protecting you, you’re obviously quite capable of protecting yourself. All of us depend upon one another for strength against our enemies. There’s strength in numbers. You would add to that strength, not detract from it. I can speak for the others. You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you need. You can write to your family and let them know what has happened. They can contact our brother Edward in New Hampshire and he can offer proof of our family’s goodreputation.”
“What about Stephen? He may not agree that it’s the right thing to do.”
“Stephen will agree with me.” At least Sam hoped he would.
“I’m still not sure Captain. Living in Kentucky with your husband is one thing. Staying with a group of men—four of whom are unmarried—that I have known for only a few weeks is quite another. What will people in Boston think? What about preserving my reputation?”
“Reputations are made on the frontier, not preserved. Sometimes life forces a person to live by new rules. Life can be uncivilized and unpredictable. You’ve learned that already as much as anybody. We have to adapt—not live by rules that fit another place and another way of life.”
“It’s all so bloody confusing.”
“It’s simple really. It comes down to this. Do you want to live in Kentucky in this virgin wilderness? Are you suited to life in the west? Or, would you be more at home among polite society in Boston. If it’s the frontier, it’s time to make your own rules, your own life.”
“I’ve never thought about it quite like that. I’ve always followed the rules of civil society. I just did what my father and husband wanted me to do—what they expected of me. They were my guardians and made every major decision for me. I never felt any control over my own future. At least….not until…this very moment.” She said the words slowly and deliberately, as if their meaning sunk in only as she spoke them aloud.
“That’s what the wilderness is all about. Making your own destiny. And living it. Truly living it. That’s why I wanted to comehere. I needed to feel alive again. And I do here. Don’t you feel it too? It’s almost an awakening. Here you don’t just live life, you have life to live.”
“Life to live. I like the sound of that.”
So did he, especially when she said it.
CHAPTER 10
S am hiked through the woods, several miles from their campsite, searching for small game. Except for Bear, he was the best hunter among their group and could usually guarantee fresh meat for their dinners. He admired the abundant red maple, walnut, hickory, cottonwood, and oak trees that crowded between pines for their place in the dense forest, a storehouse of nature for heavy lumber. Soon these impressive trees might become homes, stores, boats, wagons, furniture, and even weapons, like the rifle he carried.
As he entered a clearing, he peered up. A bald eagle soared overhead, its immense brown wings spread wide, stroking the air with graceful glides. The eagle whistled a series of high-pitched notes. He thought the eerie call of the regal bird unlike any other in nature. He hoped the eagle would have a successful hunt today as well.
Sam returned to scanning around him, seeking signs of the slightest movement. He stopped abruptly. An overturned and abandoned kettle lay across the path. He glanced around, found a moldy and shredded woman’s shawl, and then spotted a bright spot among decaying leaves. An embroidered child’s bonnet. Hebent over to pick it up and slowly
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