Accepting His Love

Accepting His Love: Chapter Four

Arkansas City, Kansas

September 16, 1893

Derek called himself a hundred different types of a fool as he went back to his spot that night, and he continued to do so for the next three days that followed.

He was no better than the creeps that he'd warned Abigail about. Sure, she'd melted in his arms, but she hadn't fully responded to his kiss. It was unfair to her. What was he thinking going around kissing random women?? Heck, if he wanted to calm her down, he could've just let her go. He knew he should have gone on his knees to grovel for her forgiveness for taking so many liberties with her, but deep down he knew he'd just be placing his tongue in his cheek. He really wasn't that sorry.

Kissing her, even for that short amount of time, had been... phenomenal. No, not even. He couldn't think of a word worthy enough of how it had felt to kiss her. He tried to clear his mind of the memories, but they were pretty much stuck there and he groaned at the fact that he would probably never get to experience it again. Never get to hold her either. He'd probably never get to even see her again.

One kiss he had taken. One silencing kiss. And now he was hooked. Hook, line and sinker. She'd looked up at him with those expressive deep brown eyes and he couldn't resist.

He had courted quite a few woman before. As seldom as it was with raising Bristol after their parents died. He'd visited the saloon house once or twice, but the women there never expected anything else from him but a few coins or dollars.

But Abigail... Now she was something entirely different. He'd never really taken the time to properly kiss a woman in a very long time and although he initially did it to shut her up, he had found himself taking pleasure in the act.

What a fool he had been. Even if he did see her again, she'd probably run as far as the east was from the west away from him. He would...if he was her.

But, as it was, today was the fourth day and while he still couldn't figure out why he had done what he did, he had to focus now. It was the day that the land run began. Thousands of wagons, horses and their owners were lined up for miles and in little under an hour, the cannon would sound for the race for land to begin. He looked around for Abigail, but he didn't see her in all of the crowd. It would've been impossible to spot her. There were so many people waiting for the cannon to go off that the ground itself was shaking with tremors.

Minutes passed and horses all around him were beginning to become antsy in anticipation of what was to come. The soldier atop of the cannon, raised his hand and shouted something. He couldn't hear what he had said over the roar of the crowd, but not too long after the soldier had shouted, the cannon went off.

BOOM!

Everyone was off.

Without a look back, Derek shot forward with his horse and wagon as fast as he could go. The wind blowing against him as he drove the wagon bit at his face, threatening to overthrow his Stetson, and dust nipped at his cheeks. He only prayed that his wagon would hold on. The thunderous sound of thousands of hooves stamping the ground and the sound of the trains on either side deafened him. But he continued. All around him, men were falling off horses and wagons were being upturned in the frantic rush for land. He even saw a man get trampled by the rushing stampede of 'Boomers'. the man let out a yell, but was silenced when a wagon ran him over. Yet Derek couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. If he stopped short or even slowed down for the tiniest of moments, he would miss his chance at getting his own land.

He'd had been riding hard for about half an hour now, and the riders had all separated and only a few were left beside him. He'd gone off in a totally opposite direction than all the others hoping to find a decent enough place to settle. His wagon was holding up, but his horse seemed to be tiring. Carting the wagon at a gallop and all the weight on it was proving to be too cumbersome for his gelding, so he began to look for the perfect spot to begin his new life on.