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rest when they could as the coach traveled swiftly overnight.

Two
     
    The next few days grew into a simple pattern. They would drive as far and as fast as they could with few stops. Each stop demanded their bodies stretch, walk and move about the entire time or else they were cramped horrifically. The relief as they walked around was palpable as they almost raced to be out of the coach at each interval.
    Elizabeth was anxious to reach their destination. The sights along the way were so foreign to her. She had never seen fields as far as the eye could see, nor had she ever seen the strange animals that Cole informed them all were buffalo. They were massive, lumbering beasts she could see off in the distance.
    The women had warmed up quickly to Cole after Elizabeth’s fainting spell. All enjoyed chatting with Cole whenever they stopped for a break. Elizabeth noticed that Cole seemed to be attentive to the trio, paying special attention to her. He seemed to be so gentlemanly and friendly with her. He was also very protective of her, apparently, because he instructed her to stay near May and Abigail. He did not want her to get hurt nor offended by what the coachmen said at times. They could be very uncouth towards a young lady traveling alone.
    At one stop, Elizabeth pulled out her sketchbook to quickly draw the landscape before they got back onto the trail. She was sincerely impressed by the smaller mesquite trees and how different they were from the pines back home. She was somewhat amazed and terrified of the bois d’arc trees that were also present, but took May’s suggestion and picked up several of the two-inch thorns to use as makeshift needles. Cole told them to be extremely careful because they could pierce a boot and many had lost their foot due to infection setting in. Both women backed away from the ominous looking trees that littered the landscape.
    The land seemed so very strange and exciting. Elizabeth had so much to see and learn. So far, she had learned to make coffee, toast, and a few other basic staples. She also found that most people relied on hardtack and jerky for sustenance while traveling. The men hired by the coach line seemed to be quite put out stopping to make a fire for dinner each evening. It was rough traveling to get cross country and all were eager to get to their destination. They were towards the end of their trip and it was a relief to see the end in sight.
    Tonight, over another dinner of beans and hardtack, they all shared how thankful they were not to have any disturbances during their trip. May confessed she was ready to see her husband, to which Abigail agreed, since it had been several months. The coach drivers were just doing a job and would be heading towards Houston once they did their drop off in Fort Worth.  
    Elizabeth noticed that Cole was silent and wondered why. “Cole, I would like to stretch my legs for a few minutes before we load back up. Would you care to join me?” she invited, much to the driver’s dismay. Both he and the shotgun groaned at the delay and threatened to leave in fifteen minutes.
      Cole looked up, a bit surprised at the hand extended to him this time around, as he sat near the fire. “Are you sure? We’ll be leaving soon,” he said cautiously, looking at the drivers. He had no doubt they would leave without them. They had already received payment and it did not matter to them if they made their destination or not. May nodded encouragingly and announced she would do the cleanup for everyone with Abigail.
      Cole moved to join Elizabeth. They walked carefully a small distance from the coach. Keeping them in his sights, he was guarded at accepting the invitation and could not help himself. It was strange to have someone invite him for a walk, usually it was the other way around and he was doing his best to try to keep his distance from the attractive young lady.  
    Elizabeth was a bit dismayed that he did not take her hand as she had so often