Mister Quaid: 1800s: I Will Always Find You... (WLW)

Part One, 1873: Chapter Two

August 25th, 1873, Madison County, Montana

Alice tightened the leather of her saddle in the cinch ring, then threaded the strap back up to the back saddle ring. It had been quite some time since she'd last ridden Opie and he seemed rearing to get going on their journey. She was just as eager to go as Opie appeared, but Alice also knew the venture ahead would be hard. Harder than anything she had ever... That's not true. I have dealt with much more difficult things. I can do this! I--

"Would you like some help, ma'am?" A husky voice called from behind her and she spun around with a yelp.

Alice had been so wrapped up in her thoughts she hadn't even heard Mister Quaid walking up. He stiffened and stared down at her uneasily. His face held the most peculiar grimace Alice had ever seen. Being this close to him again was a bit...odd. He didn't smell like the other men, even smelled a bit like cinnamon, and Quaid's face, obviously cleanly shaved every morning, was so unscathed. Aside from a few scars, he just wasn't the ruffian she had expected to meet when her brother regaled stories of Pete's legendary travels.

He wasn't much taller than Alice herself, but held himself in a way that was graceful and poised. It told her he had probably come from money, so why on earth would Mister Quaid decide to be a bounty hunter? She would have expected a man such as himself to go into business or perhaps even work as a clerk or accountant somewhere. Bounty hunting wasn't exactly an easy life, not that life was ever easy, yet he was a good looking white man. Quaid could have done anything with his life, but had become... Well, it's not my place to judge...

Still, Alice's suspicions and frustrations got the better of her and she turned away from him with a huff. She had never needed a man to help her ready her saddle and she wouldn't be needing one now.

Her father and mother raised her to be a self-sufficient woman. Alice knew how to shoot and ride better than more than half of the men she met in her life and Mister Quaid would be no exception to that rule. Men weren't something she felt a necessity unless they were a part of her family and it wasn't like she had ever been attracted to one as unappealing a nature many held. As much as she craved intimacy and yearned to find a reputable man even a fraction of a bit comparable to the men of her family, she did not expect to ever find such a man, nor did she believe said man existed. Especially not now that... Alice shook her head from the clouds and sighed.

"No, thank you, sir. I can manage just fine on my own."

"Yes'm."

Alice turned and looked over her shoulder to find him still standing there watching her. Well, watching her was an exaggeration. Or rather, the wrong way to explain the look on his face. Quaid shifted in place and crossed his arms over his chest as he examined Alice's skirt with a grimace.

"Is there something else you needed, Mister--"

"Pete." He interrupted, but kept his eyes glued to her petticoat. "Just Pete is fine, ma'am, but...are you plannin' on riding in that?"

Now that the pleasantries of yesterday were over, Alice had found herself growing more and more irritated with not only Pete, but herself. He would comment on what they should expect from their travels as if he was trying to scare Alice into not joining them after all, even though he had been the first to agree to the clause. Now Pete was picking at her clothing, staring at her as if he had just eaten the most tart jam in the world.

All of these men are alike. Why did I get my hopes up that he would be any different?

Alice tried to shed her annoyance, determined not to let it get the better of herself, and turned back to settling her saddle. Opie shifted a bit, picking up on her change in attitude and she ran a soothing caress down his neck. Alice looked back over her shoulder at Pete once more and found him staring at her hands.