Dixie smiled at the pretty blue eye’d women and leaned back against Wayne’s body, resting her muscles. She was tired. They’d been moving for a long time without a break, and Queen was still green under the saddle. Her small body was not built for fighting a stubborn horse for hours on end. Still, she made no complaints and simply smiled, happy that the mare was now calm enough to just stand there with them without any fight at all.
The girl’s head popped up when Sky began answering her question, eyes widening a bit before a slow grin pulled her mouth open. Snakes, huh? Best snakes to find are down south, sadly. Little hellions ya got here are jus’ sad. Skinny, scraggly little thangs, I tell ya. And no poison! Ya’ll oughta get ya some rattlers an’ coppaheads. Them there snakes’ll kill anythin’ you throw at ‘em. She nodded and kept smiling, a bit curious as to what the other woman needed snakes for, but not rude enough to pry for information like some would be.
Wayne stayed silent, simply nodding along every now and then with what she was saying. He caught the longing look that Sky sent Queen, watching her eyes dilate slightly with want and obvious awe. Smiling, he reached out and stroked the mare’s shoulder and nudged Dixie at the same time. The little girl looked at the dark woman closer and saw it as well, the smile never leaving her face. She is a pretty gal, ain’t she? She turned around and unbuckled the saddle, tugging it from the mare’s back and hefting it over to the wagon. Wayne held onto Queen until Dixie returned with the soft rope halter and exchanged it for the newer rope bridle.
We caught her while helpin’ a friend catch and train his own horse about three weeks ago. Dixie started to wipe the mare down with her bare hands, simply rubbing the dust and grime away from her beautiful spotted, multi-colored coat. In the process, the little white girl got herself nice and dirty, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. After Wayne here sent his mare off to one of the packs for breedin’ we had to train Queen pretty quick, cause Duke has to pull the wagon…
Sky seemed to be a bit uncomfortable when she mentioned her fishing skills and the food supply. Shaking her head, Dixie just laughed and went back to the wagon, grabbing her saddle packs and carrying them over to the fire. Opening the top flap, she reached in and pulled out a handful of caribou and salmon jerky strips. Moving closer to Sky, she reached out and waited for the girl to take it. We always try to have some food stored for times like this. Also, we grew up on the coast down south…I can teach you to fish in the mornin’ when we can see what we’re doin’.
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