Part 13 (1/2)
”I'm very happy you came after me, and I'll be sorry to see you leave when we get to Gramby. You will have to escort me that far,” she added with a nod.
”Is that right?”
”You'll worry about me if you don't go with me to Gramby. Think of it as an adventure, Adam.”
”You like adventures, don't you?”
”Yes, I do.”
”Then you should be happy you aren't getting married. You'd have to settle down.”
”With the right man, marriage would be the most wonderful adventure of all, and when I find him, I'm never going to let go.”
He was sorry he'd brought up the topic of marriage. The thought of any other man having such an adventure with Genevieve irritated him. He felt possessive toward her and couldn't understand why.
”Get some sleep, Genevieve. You're tired.”
She closed her eyes. ”I haven't slept much in the past couple of days.”
”You aren't going to sleep sitting up, are you? Don't you have a bedroll with you?”
”Yes, but I don't want to use it.”
”Don't be ridiculous. I'll get it for you.”
”No,” she told him in a near shout. She put her hand on his thigh to stop him from getting up.
She'd sounded as though she was in a panic. Puzzled by her bizarre reaction, he asked, ”Why not?”
”Snakes,” she suddenly blurted out.
”What about them?”
”They slither under the cover and curl up against your feet.”
”Has that ever happened to you?”
”No, but it could, and I'm not willing to take the chance. I'm very comfortable where I am, and I would appreciate it if you didn't touch my bedroll. I spent over an hour rolling up my dresses just so inside, and they'll get wrinkled if you unroll it.”
He gave up trying to reason with her. If she wanted to sit up all night, that was fine with him.
”You're a very stubborn woman.”
”No, I'm not. I'm sensible.”
He snorted in disbelief. She decided to ignore him and tried to go to sleep.
Adam took care of his horse, then got his own bedroll and put it on the ground on the opposite side of the fire. After adding more wood to the flames, he stretched out on top of his cover, stacked his hands behind his head, and stared up at the black sky while he thought about how he would handle the Reverend Ezekiel Jones and his friends.