Matt Miller in the Colonies: Book One: Journeyman by Mark J. Rose

Author:Mark J. Rose [Rose, Mark J.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9780997555400
Publisher: The Skydenn Looking Glass
Published: 2016-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

22

Levi

Matt stood out on the street outside the apothecary, trying to see the sun between the rain clouds. There was a light drizzle in the air. He decided he probably had some time before David would arrive, so scanned the block and located a dry bench across the street covered by a tree. It looked like the perfect place to sit, rest his feet, and make plans.

The street was crowded, and Matt had to step between two men as he walked out to cross to the bench. He was forced backward as a speeding wagon, seemingly on the wrong side of the street, veered away from him to avoid a collision. In the driver’s attempt to turn away, the horses ran directly into a stack of empty wooden barrels set on the curb by one of the merchants. The larger of the two drivers pulled up on the reins and stopped the wagon abruptly, but not until one of the barrels was lodged between the two horses under their harness. The barrel needed to be removed before the wagon could move forward.

Aware of his part in causing the accident, Matt trotted to the wagon. He called out, “Is everyone okay?”

“Why the hell don’t you watch where you’re going!” the driver said. “You!” The man’s face was a dark shadow silhouetted against the midday sky.

Matt squinted up and said, “Hey, I’m sorry.” He met the man’s gaze and finally recognized the face; it was Levi Payne. Matt couldn’t believe his bad fortune.

“Look what you’ve done to my horses,” Levi shouted. Matt glanced over at the animals, which had stopped in their tracks after knocking two barrels into trees past the curb. Despite the barrel stuck between them, neither horse looked injured. Both seemed to have already recovered from the accident and contentedly nibbled on the leaves of the tree hanging over the scattered barrels.

“The horses look okay,” Matt said. “I apologize again.” The wagon had seemed to come out of nowhere and he had been so surprised that he didn’t really know how much had been his fault.

“Idiots like you shouldn’t be walking our streets,” Levi said. “I thought you were going back North.”

“Levi,” Matt said slowly and assertively. “I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t intend to walk in front of your speeding wagon.”

“You think sorry’s good enough?” Levi replied.

Matt had no desire to fight in the street. “Sorry is the best I’ll be able to do. There’s no damage. I’ll help clean this up and we can both be on our way.” He glanced around at the townspeople who had come to see the commotion. Most had paused to watch from a safe distance. One man walked to the other side of the street, seemingly after recognizing who was driving the wagon. Matt looked back up to try again to reach an agreement with Levi, but was surprised to discover that only one rider, a black man, remained in the driver’s seat.

Matt saw the punch coming in time to back away, but it still caught him across the front of his face.

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