Winter's Worth

by Danni Roan

  She’d seen so many changes in Ruth Farrow since they’d moved to Biders Clump and in the end she was happy that her mother and Mr. Williams had found each other. With their own children moving on with their lives they must be lonely.

  “You do look beautiful Mother,” Lucinda conceded. “I’m so happy for you.”

  Ruth turned and pulled Lucinda to her recklessly disregarding the possibility of wrinkles in her elegant and expensive gown.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever be happy again when we moved here,” she said a tear springing to her eye, “but my heart is fuller than it has ever been before.”

  “What’s it full of?” Sasha asked stepping into the room in her soft white dress and polished shoes.

  “It’s full of love,” Ruth said bending and kissing the child’s shining locks beneath a crown of mistletoe.

  “Toby’s fussin’,” Sasha said with a laugh. “He don’t like gettin’ dressed up ‘cept on Sunday.”

  “I think he’ll survive,” Lucinda assured. “Is it almost time?”

  “Yep, that’s what Uncle Willem said to tell you. It’s time to get married Gramma.”

  “Are you ready Mother?” Lucinda asked, her dark eyes soft and full of love.

  “I am.” Ruth said, “and I hope you will visit me often.”

  Lucinda smiled brightly. “I’m sure we will since we only live outside of town.”

  A soft knock fell on the door and Lucinda hurried to open it. “Mrs. Farrow you ready?” Bruno asked. He’d offered to walk the woman down the aisle for Jasper.

  “You look beautiful,” Janine said from beside the young man.

  “Thank you dear,” Ruth said. “I feel like I’m gaining a whole new family today; again.”

  “You are,” Janine offered kissing her cheek. “Now Lucinda and Willem will have to bring the children and join us for Sunday dinner each week.”

  Music began to play and Lucinda hurried out the door leading Sasha by the hand.

  “Now?” the little girl asked as they stepped to the main door of the chapel.

  “Yes now,” Lucinda assured handing the little girl a basket full of dried flower petals and fragrant herbs that she began scattering down the wooden trail.

  It seemed like no time at all until Ruth stood next to Jasper and Pastor Dalton pronounced them man and wife.

  The whole chapel was full of town folks all bundled up against the cold and the little pot bellied stove puffing away.

  As the preacher introduced the new couple Ruth turned and smiled at Agnes who she had insisted sit with her family.

  No matter how much Agnes had protested Ruth was convinced the woman had saved her life and seemed to feel she owed her everything.

  A supper had been planned at the Grist Mill and Tate was busy preparing the main meal while the rest of the town brought sides and desserts.

  One by one the town’s people greeted the new couple at the door of the church slipping out into the cold and blowing snow as they wished them well.

  As the crowd thinned, Francis made his way to the preacher’s side and tugged on his sleeve.

  “Can we speak to you?” the young man asked looking toward Matrice who stood to one side of the chapel.

  Pastor Dalton folded his hands over his prominent middle and nodded. “Why don’t we step into my office?” he suggested leading the way toward a small door.

  Matrice turned falling into step as she kept an eye on her mother who was hurrying the children out the door.

  “Now what can I do for you two young people?” Pastor Dalton asked taking a seat behind a tiny desk and offering them a chair.

  Francis looked at Matrice who nodded slightly.

  “We want to know about courting?” Francis blurted.

  “I see,” Pastor Dalton said seriously.

  “We want to do this courting thing and find out if we are suited,” Francis prompted again.

  “Have you talked to your family?” the preacher looked at Matrice who shook her head.

  “We don’t know who to talk to or even if,” she bit her lip nervously. “Even if we would be allowed to follow our hearts.” She finished in a rush.

  “Well I’m afraid there are some laws about two people from different backgrounds like yours marrying in some states. Other states not so much.”

  “Which states?” Francis asked moving to the edge of his seat. “I believe I care for Matrice already,” he added reaching out and taking her hand.

  Matrice lowered her eyes and pulled her hand away. Perhaps they wouldn’t be allowed to marry and if so she wanted to guard her heart.

  “I’m not sure about all of them,” Pastor Dalton said, “but I’ll tell you what. I’ll write to a few friends and see what I can find out. In the meantime I think you should talk to your mother,” he finished.

  “Thank you padre,” Francis said standing to his feet. “We will do what you say,”

  Pastor Dalton stood as well making his way around the desk. “I’ll trust you two to find a proper chaperone as well,” he said escorting them out the door and heading for the Grist Mill.

  Francis and Matrice both nodded then walked away uncertain of their future together.

  Pastor Dalton made his way to the Grist Mill a soft smile on his face. If this was all meant to be it would be.

  Chapter 21

  “Now Agnes, I expect you to come to dinner with us on Sunday and then church for the Valentine’s Day service,” Ruth Williams insisted as she pulled her heavy gloves on.

  She and Jasper had been out to visit Janine and visit with their new friends.

  “There’s nothing like a Valentine’s Day meet up in Biders Clump,” Jasper insisted. “You’re kids will love it, it breaks up the dull grind of winter nicely.”

  Agnes reluctantly agreed but her heart wasn’t in it.

  The longer she waited for word from Noah the more she worried that he wasn’t going to find them.

  She’d hoped he would have caught up before they’d ever even entered Wyoming, and now here they were almost on the other side of the state.

  She tried to hide her worry from her children and now with Matrice being courted by the young Indian brave she worried she was losing control over her family altogether.

  “I’ll come Mrs. Williams,” Agnes assured. “You be careful going home now.”

  “I’m sure we will be,” Jasper said. “The sleigh is just perfect for this kind of weather.

  The night before they’d had freezing temperatures after a warmer afternoon and a thin skiff of ice glistened over the heavy blanket of snow.

  The lowering sky promised more snow and the cold seemed to sink straight to your bones.

  “Mama, what will the service be like?” Beatrix asked. “I wanna go.”

  “We’ll all go,” Agnes said as she bundled her children up and said her good-byes to the family headed back to the little house they shared.

  “Toby said at the weddin’ that some of the kids play up the story about some fella called Saint Valentine and how he lost his heart,” Atrum spoke up.

  “I bet Matrice will want Francis to sit with us,” Beatrix added with a giggle making her sister sigh.

  “Mama, do you think Papa will like Francis?” Atrum asked.

  “I don’t see why not,” Agnes said. “Francis is a fine young man.”

  The sound of an ax on wood could be heard growing louder and louder as the family made their way toward the house and Agnes’ heart swelled in her breast.

  Could Noah have found them by some miracle, even in this harsh winter landscape?

  Hurrying the children in to the house she moved on around the house only to see Rock stooping over to heft a half split log.

  “Mrs. Ratner,” the big man nodded. “I hope you don’t mind, but with the weather being so bad, I thought I’d check in on ya. I saw that the wood pile was a little low, so I thought…” he let his words run out as the woman looked at him.

  “It’s much appreciated,” Agnes said. “E
veryone here in Biders Clump is mighty nice.”

  “We was all strangers here once,” Rock said setting the block of wood and lifting the ax once more.

  “Will you come in for coffee?” Agnes asked.

  Rock looked at the woman noting the worry lines around her eyes and the slight slump of her shoulders. He knew that the months of travel without her husband, and the heavy weight of life’s responsibility on her was a burden she was probably used to sharing with her Noah.

  “No, I don’t think I’d better,” he said. Remembering once more that Agnes was waiting for another man.

  “I’ll leave you to it,” the stout woman proclaimed. “And thank you,” she added as she turned and walked away.

  Agnes made her way into the house as the sound of the ax set cadence to her steps.

  It was nice to know there were still good men out there.

  As the ax grew quiet she made her way to the window and watched the big man ride away.

  ***

  Rock pulled his collar up around his ears as he turned his horse into the wind. Through the week they’d been checking that the cattle could find food under the ever increasing snow but as more dark clouds gathered over the mountains, he suspected that soon they’d be snowed in and would have to trust the stock to their instincts and God’s grace.

  He wondered if he could do the same for Agnes Ratner and her children.

  His big heart went out to the woman, and he admitted that if he were the kind of man who ever married a woman with a spirit like hers was what he’d look for.

  Lifting a prayer to heaven he hoped that Noah Ratner would arrive soon, and that the man knew what he had in that little house along the way.

  Shrugging his shoulders in his heavy coat, he wondered if the snow would hold off until after Valentine’s Day or if it would be a quiet affair for the town who would need to hunker down and wait out any storms Mother Nature might throw their way.

  Taking his time Rock let his horse pick its own path home. He was cold but at least he would get back to the warmth of the bunk house and the companionship of his friends in one piece.

  Carelessness was most often paid for, in this beautiful land, with injury or death.

  As he made the final turn toward the ranch he smiled. Smoke puffed from the log house where Quil would be cooking supper for all of them.

  His horse picked up its pace a bit taking longer strides as the barn came into view and the knowledge that a warm stall and fresh feed awaited made the beast hurry.

  Swinging down Rock looked toward the bunk house noting the smoke puffing out a warm welcome for the lone rider on a cold winter’s night.

  It was a hard time of year, but in the spring the snow would provide water for fields and stock alike insuring that a new generation would be able to live off of the land.

  Each season had a purpose. Though different each unique manifestation took its turn to prove its worth, and winter’s rest not only gave the land its ease it also scrubbed away much of the old making way for the new.

  Chapter 22

  “What a season we’ve had,” Polly Esther said as she poured tea for her friend Maud.

  “My yes,” Maud Dixon agreed. “I can’t believe it’s almost Valentine’s Day. I declare the days seem to go by faster and faster. We’ve had such a busy year.”

  “Will you all make it out to the Valentine’s Day service?” Polly asked. “With them electric lights in the church, it should be the best service ever, and I hear that the kids are putting on a play to tell the story of St. Valentine.”

  Maud smiled. “Times are surely changing,” she said taking the cup Polly offered. “Do you think the weather will hold?”

  “I don’t know,” Polly said passing a plate of savory biscuits. “All the signs are stacking up for a hard winter, and we already have gobs of snow.”

  “I’m glad Harlan got the sleigh out early,” Maud admitted. “We certainly have needed it. Rafe said that the men have moved the cattle down into the plains to try to keep them from the worst of it, but he’s worried we’ll have a lean year.”

  “That’s the nature of it isn’t it?” Polly said with a shake of her head. “Things change day by day. I guess we’ll all just have to thank the Good Lord we’re safe and warm here in Biders Clump.”

  “I can’t imagine being out in bad weather,” Maud said. “I’ve seen my share of winters and had some hard times, but I’m thankful to be indoors when it’s bad.”

  “I was pleased when the Ratners took Bruno’s old place,” Polly said sipping her tea. “Staying out in that wagon they would have frozen stiff.”

  “They’re a nice family,” Maud said. “A bit stand-offish, but very nice.”

  Polly smiled. “I saw Lame Antelope sitting with that young Matrice at the wedding,” she said her blue eyes twinkling.

  “Oh my! How did I miss that,” Maud fluttered. “Do you think a winter romance is a foot?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me,” Polly said. “I just hope they will tell their families and not wait too long.” She grinned seeing Maud’s smile.

  “Can you believe I had no idea about Rafe and Sara for so long?” she shook her head and her graying hair bobbled. “I must have been the world’s biggest ninny.”

  Polly patted her friend’s hand. “No, I think you raised such good girls you never would have guessed one could keep a secret from you.”

  “One?” Maud chafed. “What about Quil? All that plotting with Cameron. What it if hadn’t worked out?”

  “Well fortunately for everyone it did,” Polly said. “As a wise man once wrote:

  ‘No sooner met but they looked, no sooner looked but they loved, no sooner loved but they sighed, no sooner sighed, but they asked one another the reason, no sooner knew the reason, but they sought the remedy; and in these degrees have they made a pair of stairs to marriage.’

  “And he knew a thing or two,” she finished with a laugh.

  Maud smiled. “Polly you do beat all.” A knock at the front door had her turning with as a soft light entered her eyes. “That’ll be Harlan,” she said. “I’d best get going. He said he wanted to get right home.”

  “I’ll see you at church then,” Polly said rising and escorting her friend to the door. “You two be safe now.”

  As Maud and Harlan clambered into the sleigh, Polly pulled her heavy coat from its hook and stepped outside.

  The streets were covered in dirty snow but the rooftops of the surrounding buildings were frosted with white.

  The railings of the boardwalk and store fronts were graced by bright red and white ribbons while red, or pink buntings sheltered some quarters from all but the fiercest winds.

  In the far distance the snow covered mountains disappeared into gray clouds.

  A breeze skidded a weed across the street and Polly shivered. The wind was changing and bad weather was on its way.

  ***

  Valentine’s Day broke under a lowering sky and the busy chatter of birds seeking food.

  A fretful wind gusted and blew through the streets of Biders Clump as lamps burned in kitchens trying to ward off the dark.

  “It’s a miserable day,” George confessed filling the wood box to overflowing. “Snow’s coming for sure.”

  Polly pulled her last three pies from the oven and waited for George to finish. “I hope the service is well attended tonight,” she mused. “Pastor Dalton thought that a service with the children performing this year might be safer than our recent parties,” she added with a grin.

  “We’ll have to see,” George said breathing in the heady smell of chocolate and cream that filled the house. “Grady took charge of the kiddie’s this year so we might be safe.”

  “We’ve all worked so hard to bring everything together,” Polly said. “It would be a shame if something happened.”

  “Just say a little prayer and get on with it then,” George offered squeezing her arm. “What will be, will be.”

  ***

  Noah
pulled the heavy woolen blanket tighter around his ears and adjusted the cinch that held it in place over his pack.

  He’d been forced to add the blanket as protection against the blowing snow and icy wind as he trudged toward the hills.

  The chill in his bones made him want to simply climb into his bedroll and let the snow cover him, even if he would never be found until the spring thaw, but his heart waited for him somewhere in those hills and he pressed on.

  As the sky darkened and the wind howled, he turned his back to the blowing snow and headed toward the east a bit hoping to find some form of shelter as night engulfed the earth.

  Not for the first time Noah had wondered if he’d done the right thing sending Agnes and the children on without him. He was probably a fool for trying to find a new home, a new life for his family.

  Shaking his head he tucked his hands under his armpits and concentrated on moving forward.

  Agnes was out there somewhere and he had to find her.

  ***

  Agnes moved nervously to a seat at the back of the church as friends and neighbors greeted each other jovially. Beside her the children wiggled with excitement for all that they would see, but something seemed to be nagging at her.

  Every time the door opened a chilly blast of cold air blew snow into the building and everyone still held their coats tight about them.

  Pastor Dalton moved toward the podium, greeting friends and neighbors along the way but once he took his place the town’s folks took seats and settled for the service and the show.

  “Dear friends,” Pastor Dalton smiled at those assembled. “I appreciate you being here on this cold and blustery night. I know that many of our congregation could not brave the storm tonight to be here and for that reason we’ll be keeping our service short. No need for anyone to brave the elements foolishly. To begin we will have the children present the story of Saint Valentine and his stand for love,” he finished gesturing widely as Sara ushered the children on to the stage.