Free Unconquerable Callie by DeAnn Smallwood Page A

there’s plenty. The one I had was so light it floated from my plate to my stomach. I don’t know when I’ve tasted any that good.”
    “Thank you,” she said quietly, and moved to the Dutch oven.
    His brow wrinkled as he watched her take out two golden biscuits and put them on a plate.
    “You make those?” Seth asked.
    “Our Callie’s a baker, Mr. McCallister,” one of the women answered. “She’s baking us apple pies Sunday when we lay over. If their crust is anything like those biscuits, we’re in for a real treat. That fiancé of hers better sit up and appreciate this girl.” The woman moved off, leaving Callie standing there, her cheeks bright pink.
    “Our Callie, huh?” Seth grinned. “Winning them over with pie, Miss Collins?”
    He bit into a biscuit, licking a crumb from his lips.
    “You seem surprised, Mr. McCallister. Wasn’t it you who told me my place was in the kitchen?” Callie could have bitten off her tongue as the words flew from her mouth. The man just itched to be dressed down and she was only too willing to scratch.
    The feathery biscuit turned into a rock as Seth tried to swallow. He set the remaining biscuit aside. Damned if he’d give her the satisfaction of seeing her words had hit home.
    Callie took a plate of the stew and a seat on the other side of the campfire where she wouldn’t have to look at or speak to Seth McCallister.
    Seth cleared his throat. “We’ll have our first council meeting tomorrow after evening meal,” Seth said to the men, his voice carrying into the night. “It’ll be a time to elect your representatives. The men you choose will need to be someone who has the best interest of the wagon train at heart. We’ll probably meet every few days, more often if the need arises. I need to know all your concerns or worries, and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t listen. You folks have put your faith in me, and before that faith is tested, as it will be,” he added ominously, “you need to have confidence that my decisions are sound and based in the best interest of the train. We had a slow day today, but a hard day. We’ll get faster. We need to cover fifteen miles a day on the best of days, and there had better be more good than bad.” With that, he stood up.
    “My thanks to the cooks. That was mighty tasty stew. Beats beans any old day.” He smiled at the women, acknowledging each one of them. “And the biscuits were more than tasty. I hope I’m invited to share the apple pie Sunday.” He looked over to where Callie sat only to find her spot empty.
    “We’ll be sure to tell Callie,” Millie Monroe said. “She did more than her share today and I expect she’s calling it a day.”
    “We all should,” Seth said, struggling to keep the disappointment out of his voice. Callie Collins was irritating as a burr under a saddle. All hair and green eyes with a face that showed every emotion. And he knew as he walked back to his camp that she would continue to challenge him just as she would continue to creep into his thoughts.
    Callie woke refreshed. Her feet were sore, but that was to be expected. As it turned out, the years of hard work in her aunt’s boarding house had prepared her well for this journey.
    Wrapped in her shawl, Callie impatiently waited for the morning coffee to boil a little longer for a stronger brew. Callie thought back on her first day and knew she’d done well. She and Caleb worked together as if they’d been driving a team of oxen all their life. It had only taken a few miles before Callie realized the importance of not overloading a wagon. Her oxen hadn’t shown any strain at the end of the day, and when they turned into the circle with the rest of the animals, they placidly set about eating the available grass. There were several other teams without that luxury, and Callie wondered how they’d fare over the course of weeks and weeks of travel.
    “Oh, well,” she said aloud to the still of the morning, “that’s