Chapter 141 - Lost In The Woods (1/2)

Abby hadn't expected the lynx kitten to stick around once it realized there wasn't any jerky left. But it refused to leave even when she went to sleep that night. It curled up next to her on her bedroll like any house cat would.

It was gone when she woke up as expected but it returned to her side with some sort of rodent in its mouth before they packed up the wagons and left for the day. It slept in her lap as they traveled and repeated this pattern for three days.

At that point she realized the lynx was here to stay so she gave it a name. Not knowing whether it was male or female, Abby decided to simply call it Simba. No one here would know it was named after a male cartoon lion if it ended up being a girl except Katie.

Blaise had already apologized for laughing at her when he finally calmed himself down for real but she was still a bit put out with him. What kind of whacked out sense of humor did he have?

She should have known. It was her fault for trying to get him to laugh in the first place; her expectations had been too high.

By the time they reached the base of the mountains and parted ways with the merchants, Abby was so over traveling. Camping out like that with a bunch of strangers had been the most memorable road trip she'd had since Spring Break her freshman year of college.

She, her roommates, and one of their boyfriends had packed themselves into a tiny four-door sedan and driven all the way from Atlanta to Las Vegas. It took three days to get there and another three days to get back so they only had one day to do anything.

What they ended up doing was going on one of those buffet tours and hitting up all of the major buffets on the Strip for $69.99 each at the boyfriend's suggestion. That had been a day Abby would never forget. She had never felt so sick in her entire life.

The day after when they started their drive back to Atlanta everyone spent most of the drive taking turns puking into plastic bags. That was a day she would never forget either.

Abby cheerfully waved everyone off and thanked them for everything before she and Blaise headed to a nearby stable to purchase a horse. She didn't know how to ride and they had already been warned that the winding mountain paths were too treacherous for a beginner.

Blaise would have to walk in front and lead the horse so Abby and the bedrolls could fit on its back. After strapping everything on and getting a leg up from her companion, she sat in the saddle with her long skirt spread out as best as she could manage.

What else was she supposed to do? She didn't know how to ride sidesaddle like in a period drama so she had asked for a regular one figuring it would be easier. All she had to do was sit and let Blaise take the lead.

His face pinked even though he tried to keep his eyes averted when helping her up. She was fairly certain part of her calf had been visible while trying to rearrange the skirt.

It wasn't any worse than wearing shorts back home but she supposed he had never seen anything so scandalous in his life. People here truly did live differently. Abby wasn't sure how Katie was able to stand it.

Simba lazily opened one eye at the commotion before resuming his nap on top of her bedroll.