Read Healers for Free Online Page A

they’d taken her to her farm to bury her family; she’d gone with only the Hyllis men and Lizeth. They’d all departed so quickly she hadn’t realized until they were underway that Daussie wasn’t coming. She’d done her best to hide it, but Kazy had felt like she was melting without Daussie. In fact, as they’d ridden away from Daussie, Kazy had buried her head in Lizeth’s shoulder and pretended that the girl guard was Daussie. Then the emotion of burying her family and saying goodbye to her home had overwhelmed the panic of being away from her liberator.
    The desire to get back to Daussie had helped her leave the farm and her family’s graves as well.
     
    Fewer people than usual ate at the Hyllises’ wagon that night. Kazy was serving beans while Eva sliced off pork for their customers and heard Eva ask one of them, “Where is everyone tonight?”
    “First night in a new town,” the woman shrugged, “it’s always nice to get out and eat at a tavern that has something different than you get on the road. Besides, here in Denton’s crossing there’s a tavern famous for making pizza.” When Eva looked quizzical, the woman continued, “Pizza’s a thin, flat bread covered with cheese and other ingredients of your choice. It’s really good. Tonight I’m watching mine and the Ropers’ wagons, but I’ll probably go in for pizza tomorrow night when the Ropers’re watching our wagons. You should take your family and try it!”
    “Oh! That sounds like fun. I’ll need to find someone to swap ‘wagon watching’ with myself.”
    “Go! I can watch your wagon too!”
    Eva smiled and said, “Well, thank you, maybe we will.”
    Eva seemed more enthusiastic through the rest of the serving and when Daum came through to get his food, she said, “Nope, I’m not serving you. We’re going out!”
    As Daussie had expected, Daum protested. They weren’t sure of their finances, they had a lot of leftover food they should be eating themselves, it was frivolous, etc.
    Daussie desperately wanted to go out, but secretly agreed with Daum. However, Eva rode over his objections, “You worry too much! The leftover beans will taste even better tomorrow. Besides, we need to explore this town and learn about new foods we might serve the caravan or sell in the next town. This’s how we’re going to do it…” She poked him in the chest, “Besides we need a break!”
     
    Once they’d served the caravan and broken down their serving line, the Hyllises headed for the gates into Denton’s Crossing. Though they tried not to show it, Kazy could tell they were all quite excited to be going out. As they walked towards the gate, they encountered Lizeth with Sam, one of the other guards. Lizeth smiled at them and said, “You lot look like you need some guarding as you head into the dangers of Denton’s Crossing.”
    With a laugh, Daum said that indeed they did, as long as they could be guarded on the way to the tavern that had the pizza.
    “Oh,” Lizeth said hopefully, “do you think you can figure out their recipe? It would be wonderful to have pizza occasionally on the road.”
    “We can only try,” Eva laughed.
     
    The tavern was packed, so crowded that the Hyllises had to wait for a while before they could even be seated. Daum didn’t want to wait, but Eva convinced him that the food in a place this crowded must be special.
    Kazy thought the food Eva cooked for the caravan was amazing. Her family had not been particularly innovative cooks, boiling much of what they ate into stews. However, none of the Hyllises had ever had anything like pizza. Kazy had ordered a “sausage pizza” which proved to be a small round of flatbread covered with a tomato-based sauce and thinly sliced sausage with cheese melted over all of it.
    It was wonderful, and the Hyllis family immediately began trying to figure out how they could make something like it. They decided that on the road, they’d have to bake the rounds of flatbread one