by Alden, Dana
“And he lived and worked there until he was twenty-three,” she finished off.
“You were close?”
“No, not terribly. He came home for holidays, and some days off, but I didn’t see him too much. But it was almost always great fun when he did come, bringing penny candy or ribbons to give out. He told the funniest stories about the customers he served.”
Even though Amanda was behind him, Cal could imagine the smile on her face as she reminisced. She seemed to have a fondness for her stepbrother.
“Almost always fun?”
“Well, yes. A few times, when he came home, he was upset with the storekeeper. He would expect our parents to take his side, and his mother did. But my father would remind Samuel he was an apprentice and ought to be quiet and learn. Samuel didn’t like that.”
When she trailed off into her memories, Cal pushed for more. “How did he come to Montana Territory?”
Amanda’s voice turned wistful. “He read about it like we all did. The West. Being a young man, he could act on it. It was an easy choice after he and the storekeeper had a falling out. Samuel was courting the storekeeper’s daughter secretly, you see.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” said Cal.
“Samuel said he loved her, but her father thought she was too young and Samuel could wait. He got so mad he up and quit, Samuel told me.
“So, he came and asked my father for a loan, then packed up and headed west. He mined briefly and got a small hit. Enough to set himself up as a storekeeper in Virginia City. He mentioned in a letter how he was thinking of bringing in an assistant. You know the rest.”
Cal was still in the dark. Amanda clearly thought her stepbrother was a decent man, but Cal was beginning to question that assumption. “What else can you tell me about your stepbrother?”
He heard Miss Amanda make a deep sigh and wasn’t sure if she was just struggling to come up with more or exasperated at his questioning. No matter; it was important to find out as much as possible.
“Samuel Emerson. Brown hair. Brown eyes. He’s always been called Big Em, on account of his tall stature.”
Whoa! That changed things. Cal had heard Amanda mention her brother Samuel. A common enough name. But Big Em, yes, he knew of him. A tall, skinny man from back East who’d struck it rich, opened a bar, gambled away his proceeds, stiffed some tradesmen, and gotten into a lot of drunken brawls. All in a very short time.
“Amanda, I don’t think your brother’s letters were entirely truthful. He did open a business, a bar if I recall, but it closed down… maybe eight months ago.”
Cal didn’t think Amanda realized she was wringing her hands together.
“You must be mistaken. His last letter was sent two months ago. Maybe you are mistaking Samuel for another.”
“Well, I don’t go into towns much lately. Things may have changed. But I don’t think there are two tall, gangly men from back East called Big Em.”
He was twisted in the saddle, trying to look at Amanda directly. He could see the struggle in her eyes. She wanted him to be wrong about her brother, but she could see the truth in his words. Or at least, she saw that he had no reason to lie to her about this.
“Could he be mining again? Maybe that’s where the money came from.”
“Sure could.” Cal doubted it, but he so wanted to assuage Amanda’s concern. He couldn’t see a reason for Samuel Emerson to lie to the family about the source of his income in such a case, but lots of men wanted to prove their success on their own terms, even if it was invented. And lots of men wrote letters home that weren’t entirely truthful.
“But why is he in trouble with this Ned Bart?”
“That I can’t say,” said Cal. “But maybe, when we get to town, we can figure this out.”
Amanda put her hand onto Cal’s wrist. She looked forlorn. “What is he doing? What am I doing?”
Cal didn’t know what to say, except he knew he wanted to keep Amanda safe. He didn’t like seeing her scared, either for her person or for her future. He put his hand over hers.
“It’ll be alright, Amanda. We’ll figure it out.”
He turned to face forward again. Even though he wasn’t twisted in the saddle to see Amanda’s face, he could feel the tension in the muscles of her arms wrapped around him. He held his hand over hers tighter and started the horse trotting. The bumpy ride would get them to their next destination a little faster and, perhaps, distract her from her anxious thoughts.
On the crest of the trail, they paused. Cal turned his horse so Amanda could look to the side to see the view, and not have to peer over his shoulder.
Before them, the mountains opened up into a beautiful valley, green and tan and brown. Across the open land she saw another range of mountains, purple-grey in the distance. Above it all stretched a bluebird sky.
“Oh,” breathed Amanda.
Cal smiled. He could tell from her awed tone and tighter grip around his waist that she saw the same majesty he saw. She brushed against him as she turned to take in all aspects of the valley.
“I can see why everyone is moving here.”
“Actually, most folks are crossing the Madison,” he pointed toward a mountain range, “over there, to where the gold is. But some of us, we see the chance for farming here.”
“You, too?”
Once again, talking with Amanda while they were on horseback was allowing one of them to open up. This time, it was him.
“I’ve claimed some land a little northwest of Bozeman. A brand-new town, small, but growing. That’s where we’re headed now after you’ve had your fill of the view.”
“I thought we were going to Virginia City.”
“We need supplies. And, we need to find out what’s going on. About your brother… and you.”
Cal pulled on the reins to halt Miss Molly. “Here, let me show you.”
He dismounted and turned immediately to help Amanda down. He led her around the horse’s head to a flat spot of dirt on the trail. He reached to the side of the trail and came back with a stick. He began to draw…
First, some triangles for the mountains where they currently stood. Then a small circle to the left of them. “That’s Bozeman.” A dot a little northwest of it. “That’s my homestead,” he said. Farther to the left, he drew a middle-sized circle. “That’s Gallatin City.” Below that, he created a big circle. “That’s Virginia City.” Then he pointed across the valley. “Across those mountains.”
Amanda nodded her understanding.
“I think we should go into Bozeman and see what we can learn,” Cal said. “From there, we’ll know whether to head to Virginia City directly or not.”
“And what if it’s not?” She looked out across the valley.
“We’ll have to see. One option is to catch the ferry across the Missouri near Gallatin City. You can head up to Fort Benton, catch a steamboat back East.” She looked startled to hear that. He knew she didn’t know how bad it could get if Bart had it out for her. He didn’t want to think about it himself. He liked to think he could keep her safe, but considering what they were to each other—which was not much at this point—how could he claim such a thing?
There was another pause and then Amanda’s quiet voice came. “I’m feeling awfully scared right now.” Her head was bowed and her eyes were closed, perhaps to hold in tears.
Cal patted her hand. Maybe it was more of a caress, he suspected. But she didn’t pull away, so he continued.
“Then why don’t you stay my fiancée?” It felt strangely good to say those words. “You know, just a little longer. Until we find out what’s going on. That’ll help keep your true identity from Ned Bart and his men.”
It all made sense to him, until Amanda said, “What about your real fiancée?” and gently pulled her hand from under his.
What about her? What could he say? That he had made a plan and now he wasn’t sure it was a good one? That he might not honor his word to another lady? He tried to explain.
“My father wrote to me earlier this year. A childhood friend of mine had been widowed and was looking to start over. She was having trouble moving on because of her husband’s family. They’re wealthy and important in town and don’t want to believe their son was killed in the war.
“So, with the help of my father, we agreed to a tentative engagement—so that she could travel with less hassle.”
Amanda looked at him skeptically.
“I haven’t seen her, or exchanged letters, or anything since I left Missouri. I have fond memories of the girl. But I don’t know the woman,” Cal tried to justify the situation. “And she doesn’t know me.”
“Plus, she’s supervising the transport of some mining equipment for my partner and myself,” he added. After all, who could Amanda tell?
Her eyebrows rose even further.
“If folks think she’s bringing homesteading supplies instead of mining equipment, well, it’s better for us that they don’t know what’s going on. There are problems with claim jumpers and outright robbers.”
Amanda’s brows returned to normal and she gave a short nod.
“So you’re a miner, too?”
“Yes.”
Amanda was looking out at the valley and mountains. Cal wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say. He added, “The last letter from my father said she was preparing to leave this past spring. I didn’t know when she’d arrive.” He looked at the dirt-encrusted creases of his hands. “I sure didn’t know she had arrived.”
He didn’t like that Delia had arrived and he wasn’t there to greet her and make sure she was safe. He also didn’t like that Ollie Linquist knew it all before he did.
Amanda looked up from Cal’s dirt map. “We ought to move along.”
Cal turned and gathered the horses. He mounted Miss Molly and pulled Amanda up behind him again. She rested her forehead against his back.
Cal couldn’t help but reconsider his plan. It had all seemed rather clever at first. His childhood friend could justify leaving her hometown and heading west if she had a fiancé to meet her. He could ensure his expensive equipment was chaperoned in transport. Seemed easy. Seemed sensible. Then.
And, Cal admitted to himself, he had even wondered if, upon re-acquaintance, they would find themselves willing to make the engagement a real one. He had a homestead and he liked the idea of a family at this time in his life. Not having seen Delia in so long, though, he had only one face to put on the wife of that imaginary family; it was Amanda’s face.
Cal shook his head and then clucked to the horses. The two animals, packing people on one and packs on the other, picked up their pace heading out of the mountains. Ears tipped forward, they were heading toward rest and grain.
Moments later, Cal heard Amanda’s ragged intake of breath and realized she was crying.
Chapter 11
Amanda sat on a boulder overlooking the Gallatin Valley. It was beautiful. Mountains surrounded the broad expanse in every direction. She could see the evergreen trees crowding up the mountains, their dark green foliage only thinning out at the higher elevations where rocky outcrops and grassy peaks invited her. In the distance, the farther mountain ranges were grey, sharp and smudged with the haze of a hot day.
And the valley...
It was broad and flat and unburdened by factories and workhouses and slums. It was green and brown and spoke of a host of dreams.
She looked at the beautiful country and her eyes welled with tears again. She lifted her arm to wipe them away on her sleeve. She’d started crying while riding behind Cal on Miss Molly. She’d been embarrassed, but unable to stop herself. Between sobs, she’d managed to mumble, “Please, I need a moment.” Cal had halted the horse immediately. She slid off without waiting for help and ran to an outcropping of rocks, sliding down behind it to sit with her knees up, a cradle in which to hide her tears.
That moment had lasted thirty minutes, she guessed. Her eyes hurt from crying. She felt like a wet dishrag.
“Amanda?”
And there was Cal. He had an uncanny ability to read her. He seemed to read the wilderness and the animals so well, so why not her, too?
“Do you want to talk?”
That simple question. It reminded her of how different the response would have been from her dear friends back at the boarding house. “Amanda, what’s wrong?!” A hug and refusal to be put off. Friends who knew her and wanted to know, wanted to help. Someone would grab her hands and pull her to the sofa, or the side of a bed. A huddle of comfort.
“I—” she choked. She wanted to say no. She wanted to say yes. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, more tears, spilling over. She buried her face in her hands.
Cal’s hand rested softly on her shoulder, patting her occasionally. This should not have mattered, but it did. Her sobs came harder. It was not at all the way she wanted to be seen by Cal, or by any man, but it didn’t matter.
The emotions inside of her would not be dammed.
At last, she calmed. Her shoulders stopped shaking and she managed to pull her kerchief from her pocket to wipe her eyes, cheeks, and nose.
She said, “I’m sorry,” and glanced up at Cal, who was sitting on the rock above her, his hand still on her shoulder. She expected him to look stoic, as her father might have, or terribly uncomfortable, as her brothers might have. Cal, however, looked concerned. Genuinely concerned.
She gave a short laugh. “I seem to have a surplus of emotions right now.”
She expected Cal to bolt. Who could blame him? Instead, he took his hand off her shoulder and slid down the rock to sit beside her, hips and shoulders touching. He looked at her face intently, and then out at the view.
“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” he said.
Amanda knew he wasn’t speaking of the view only.
He continued. “I came out here nearly ten years ago. My uncle got work on an exploratory expedition and invited me to come along. I was twenty years old. I’ve been exploring, tracking, trapping, mining ever since... Back home, I was brought up to be a farmer. My father had plans to divide up his land among his sons and to marry the daughters into getting some other land. He studied the land, and the markets, and told everyone what to plant, and when, who to marry, and when. It was a good, solid life, surrounded by family.”
“But not the life you wanted?” Amanda offered. She leaned infinitesimally into his shoulder. She looked ahead, but out the corner of her eye, she saw him glance down at her.
“That’s right. Maybe, if it could have started later in life, I’d have found it satisfactory. Maybe if I’d had my eye on a particular girl it would have seemed more appealing. But I was young for my age. Where some saw a potential bride, I saw a playmate.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes, when it’s particularly rough out here, I wonder where I’d be if I’d stayed. Married, likely. Children? Would I be content, or pulling on the bit of my father’s reins? Maybe, if I hadn’t experienced all this, maybe I could have done it. I was longing for something different, though.”
“Did you find it?” She looked at him now, wanting to know.
“Yes. No... and yes.” He looked right back at her, deep into her eyes, and she felt a rightness, a completeness. She tried to remember how long she had known him. And that there was another woman out there, planning—or at least hoping—to marry him.
A woman wouldn’t travel across the country into the wilds of Montana Territory if she thought her fiancé might take one look at her and say, “Nah, I don’t think we suit.” Amanda was glad Cal couldn’t read her mind.
Cal’s mouth crooked up in a smile. “Are you afraid you won’t find what you are looking for?”
She smiled back. “Yes and no. I can see the glory of this land, why people want to come here.” She swept her arm out as though to embrace the land before her. “It’s just so different. Wild country, not the city. I worked in a mill. Six days a week of sameness. Not even the seasonal changes of farming that I grew up with. Women,
everywhere women in the factories, except the foreman. A woman’s boarding house with a widow-woman in charge. Go to the market and the stores for supplies. A visit to my father every few months. I wanted a change, and a chance to make something of my life, but this is... so very different.
“Here, it’s men, and wild things and every day is different. No store, no market. I don’t even sleep in the same place each night.”
“That will change,” said Cal. He looked out over the land. “This valley is already changing, with more and more folks coming to stay.”
“It’s not just that. Everything has been going wrong. From leaving the mill to leaving the wagon train, to leaving Smitty’s mule train.” Amanda realized she was speaking rapidly and had turned to face Cal directly. She could not slow down. Like the tears before, the words were unstoppable. “Strange men hunting me. My stepbrother—what is going on with him? I made plans, however misguidedly, that revolved around my brother and his store. But there may not even be a store, and now it seems he is in trouble regardless. And I am in trouble by association.”
Cal put a finger up to her lips. She took a deep breath and tried to steady her emotions.
“Let’s think about this,” he said. “You left the mill because...?”
“I got labeled a rabble-rouser for trying to improve the working conditions.”
“You left the wagon train because...?”
“Geraldine’s widower thought I would step in as the replacement wife.” She gave a shudder. “One of the other men on the wagon train found Pastor Frank—we were at Fort Laramie—and asked him to say the service for Geraldine and her babies. We got to talking and I asked the pastor for help getting to Virginia City. When he heard my story, he was eager to help and brought me over to Smitty.”
“Of course he was,” muttered Cal.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on, Amanda. You’re a beautiful young woman. Even pastors want to marry. Especially pastors. He would have followed you when we left Smitty if I’d allowed it.”
Amanda had to think about how she felt. She was flattered that Cal thought she was beautiful but resentful of the impression it was somehow her fault Pastor Frank befriended her. Or that he’d perhaps wanted more.
