Mister Quaid: 1800s (WLW)

Part Two, 1879: Chapter Eighteen

This chapter contains mature themes.

December 4th, Atlanta, Georgia

Alice giggled as she watched Pete scowl at Harry. Over the last few days, they'd gotten to know their traveling companions very well. Not only that, but Pete had shown Harry a few tricks she'd learned over the years as did Harry like it was an entirely new bonding experience. As far as Pete was concerned, Alice was sure it had been quite fun bonding over something she'd never shared in that particular capacity with others. However, the current look on her face said otherwise.

Alice and Pete listened as Harry regaled them with more stories of herself and Albert and their days as soldiers in the war. She'd also spent quite a bit of time making an obvious connection with Alice and she could tell Pete was becoming very wary of just how strong that connection truly was.

Alice had never seen Pete jealous like this before and in an odd way, she found it entirely amusing. It was different from the green-eyed monster she'd shown when Jack made passes at Alice. Although, there had to be something Pete liked about Harry enough to give her pointers for her time on the road and carry on like they could. Still, Alice stole glimpses of her from the corner of her eyes and spotted that irritated glint sparkling in Pete's eyes as she grimaced toward Harry, listening to her latest tale.

"Then, Albie lifted his rifle and bam! Saved me for a third time." Harry exclaimed from her seat in the parlor of the bed and breakfast they settled in the night before. "He kept an eye out for kids like me and my sweetie. Back then, we were only fifteen and sixteen. Apparently he was old enough to hold a rifle and there was no way I was lettin' him go alone. Then we met Albie, and it was the three of us for some time. With Albie being so much older, it was like he took us under his wing." She shuffled her peas around on her plate and received a disconcerting glare from Cassandra. With a sigh, Harry picked up her plate and emptied the rest of her peas into her mouth, then shot Cassandra a teasing smirk. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic." She smiled and stood, handing Harry her napkin as she pointed to the corner of her mouth. Harry blushed and hurriedly wiped her mouth clean making Alice giggle. She saw Pete watching her out of the corner of her eye and it only made her want to laugh harder. There was that alarmed stare again, fear telling Alice about exactly what had Pete so bothered. "We should get moving if we want to catch the train in time, shouldn't we?"

"Yes." Pete chimed in and stood so rapidly, her chair skidded back along the floor and nearly toppled over. She caught it, her face flushing with embarrassment, and cleared her throat as she extended her hand toward Alice. As she lifted her from her seat, she glanced over at Harry who still sat. "Aren't you comin'?"

"Actually, I think we should stay here for a bit. Cass and myself, that is."

Cassandra peeked at her and tilted her head to the side. "You want to stay in Georgia...? Georgia? Why?"

"Well, not here really. I'd like to travel cross country and see those hot springs in Yellowstone Pete was telling us about earlier." Harry answered and sent a knowing smile toward Alice.

She shook her head and peered over at Pete who seemed a bit relieved at the idea. "No, you should travel with us." Pete turned to her, unable to hide her shock and grimaced, which only made Alice snort. She gave her chest a few pats and turned back toward Harry. "We will be headed that way soon enough anyways. Why not just travel with us to Baltimore and we can all go to Yellowstone together. Surprise the Hendrix's. I am sure they would love to meet you both."

Pete appeared to ponder the idea for a moment, then gave Alice a reaffirming nod. She turned to Harry and gave her a hardy pat on her shoulder. "Come with us, friend."