Beyond the Green

3

"Thus did Fin, through the wit and invention of Oonagh, his wife, succeed in overcoming his enemy by stratagem, which he never could have done by force: and thus also is it proved that the women, if they bring us into many an unpleasant scrape, can sometimes succeed in getting us out of others that are as bad." I finished speaking and looked up at Dell.

His eyes were on the trail before us, but misty and distant. I found him an eager audience and had told him the tale of two giants at odds with one another. One of which had a very clever wife. It was my favorite legend, and I had often begged my Papa to tell it to me. Dell suddenly noticed my silence and glanced at me sheepishly.

"You liked it?" I asked, smiling a little.

"You spin a good yarn, Miss Connolly, for sure and certain." His warm compliment was genuine, and it pleased me.

"Thank you."

Walking alongside the wagon, my hand rested the edge of the seat. His rested inches from it, but not touching.

"Your pa came all the way from Ireland to be here?"

"Yes, as a young man he often wanted to see the growing world, to explore new lands, see new things. He saved enough to travel to Virginia, but then he met my mother and fell in love."

"Somethin' about a good woman keeps a man grounded," Dell commented.

Looking curiously up at him I found his green eyes on me, twinkling brightly. It was suddenly unclear if he was speaking of me or my mother. I decided to go with the latter.

"Why, Mister Thorne, are you insinuating that my mother stopped Papa from seeing the world?" I played mock outrage. He grinned at me.

"No such thing, ma'am! I reckon your pa woulda never asked such a thing from a woman, let alone a woman he thought so well of. Travel is hard, dangerous even. Ain't a fittin' thing for most womenfolk,"

Somehow his words about Papa's love for Mamma struck a deep chord within me and I swallowed hard. Papa had loved her, loved her very much. I missed them so badly that sometimes I thought I would never be happy again. It wasn't fair-!

"Miss Connolly?" Dell's tone jerked me back to the dry grass and cold winds. "You alright?"

"I'm quite alright, really. Perhaps I am just tired."

"Give me your hand, I'll pull you up," he reached out for me.

Despite the forward motion of the wagon, his grip on my hand was strong. My feet left the ground with ease, and I soon settled next to him on the seat. I had never really noticed his physique before, and now was impressed by it. Though relatively a young man, he was tall, a good six or eight inches above me. Being that I was quite petite, it wasn't hard to do.

Broad shoulders and a thick chest tapered down to a trim waist above narrow hips, balanced on long straight legs. I suddenly began to wonder what it was he had spent his youth doing that would lead to such a build. It would be inappropriate to ask, so I held my tongue but that did not stop me from wondering.

I was also impressed with his good hygiene, as it could be had. He washed every morning, was freshly shaved, hair combed before I saw him. Fastidious with his clothing, Dell made sure he was free of creases and dirt, and hardly ever smelling of the hard trail we all traveled. More often than not, he smelled of coffee and tobacco, which I was becoming accustomed to. It made me wonder if that was his nature, or if he were trying to impress me, noting my own aversion to dirt?

The days I had spent walking beside our wagon, listening to Dell tell me about the wild land around us became my favorite part. It was vast, and open, the grass long and golden, whispered softly in the constant breeze. His voice was smooth and pleasant, and I found myself coming up with excuses to speak with him just to hear it. Now I asked him about the wild buffalo I had always heard so much about.