A Journey of the Heart Collection

by Colleen Coble

  A strange look Emmie couldn’t identify darkened Morning Song’s features, then was gone. Was it anger? Dismay?

  Morning Song gave a slow nod. “Your friend cared for you even when she was afraid. I see her thoughts.” She took a sip of tea, then set it down carefully. “A vow is most important when it’s most hard.”

  “I wouldn’t really call it a vow.” Emmie sighed. “What about Isaac? I made a promise to him too. I love him. I’ve been so happy these past few days . . . happier than I’ve ever been.”

  “I have seen this happiness. I cannot tell you what to do. You must seek the answer in your own spirit.”

  The baby whimpered in the bedroom and both women looked up. Morning Song rose to her feet. “You are strong, Emmie. You will do the right thing.” She turned and went into the bedroom.

  Everyone expected Emmie to be strong, but she wasn’t. How could she turn her back on her love for Isaac? She rose and took her cloak from the hook by the stove. She would talk to Sarah and Rand. They would know what to do.

  The wind took her breath away, and Emmie had to battle to stay on her feet across the parade ground. Her bonnet lifted from her head for a moment before she yanked it down and tied it firmly in place. Drifts of snow were beginning to pile up against the steps as she hurried onto the porch.

  Sarah was curled up with a quilt and a magazine on the cot by the fire. She looked up as Emmie came into the parlor. “Your face is so red! You shouldn’t be out in this wind. Come join me under this quilt.”

  Emmie threw off her cloak and hung it by the fireplace, then dove under the quilt. Even with the fire going full blast, the heat couldn’t keep up with the wind, and the room was chilly. Her teeth chattered as she nestled close to Sarah.

  “You are frozen.” Sarah wrapped the quilt tightly around Emmie. “Where have you been? I expected you back long ago.”

  “Jacob wanted to talk to me.”

  “All this time? What did he want?”

  Emmie drew her legs up under the quilt and leaned against the wall behind her as she shared her predicament with her friend.

  “Amelia never told me that! When was this?” Sarah asked.

  “Several weeks ago when she wasn’t feeling well.”

  Sarah sat up straight. “Jacob would never agree to that! He wouldn’t let someone else make such an important decision for him. Not even Amelia.”

  “He agreed before she ever asked me. And now he wants me to do what Amelia asked and marry him.”

  Sarah was silent for a moment. “I have to admit I’m shocked. But that was before you and Isaac were engaged. Amelia would never expect you to keep a promise like that now.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it, and I think she would. When she heard about my engagement after Gabrielle was born, she said it was a good thing she made it through the birth all right so I wouldn’t have to keep my promise to her.” She smiled a crooked smile, though her eyes burned. “He says I wouldn’t have to worry about any physical demands from him. Just take care of Gabrielle, cook, and clean. When Gabrielle is a little older, he will release me. But starting a marriage with divorce in mind doesn’t seem right either.”

  “Does he just expect you to give up a full life with Isaac to become some kind of glorified nanny?” Sarah’s voice rose in her agitation.

  “I’ve been telling myself the same things for the past two hours. But I keep coming back to the fact that I promised Amelia. Doesn’t God expect us to keep our word?”

  Sarah wilted. “Yes,” she murmured. Then she brightened. “But you are free from the promise if Jacob will release you.”

  “He won’t.” Emmie sighed again. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Isaac.”

  FOUR

  The wind chased Isaac and Rand across the parade ground to the Campbell house. Rand opened the door, the two men hurried into the room, and Rand slammed the door behind them.

  He glanced from Sarah to Emmie, then bent to kiss his wife. “I’m cold clear down to my socks. Any stew left?”

  “It’s on the stove. I’ll get it.” Sarah scrambled from beneath the quilt and started toward the kitchen. “Uh, why don’t you help me get it ready, Rand?” she said with a sidelong look at Emmie.

  Rand looked surprised, but he followed her into the kitchen.

  Isaac looked at Emmie’s sad face. The entire fort felt the same way. “Looks like Sarah wanted to leave us alone.” He sat beside her on the cot. He slipped an arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m so sorry, honey. I know you loved her.”

  Emmie sighed and nestled in the crook of his arm. She turned her face up to him and he bent his head. As his lips found hers, he drew her closer and sensed a desperation in her he’d never seen. He wanted to keep kissing her all night.

  He grinned as he drew back moments later. “Are you sure we can’t get married sooner?”

  Emmie began to tremble in his arms. Tears pooled in her eyes. Isaac thumbed away a drop that escaped down her cheek. “I know you’re hurting. I wish I could fix everything.”

  Emmie pulled away from him and clenched her hands together in her lap. “I must tell you something and I don’t know how.”

  Isaac frowned. “If it’s that secret you and Jessica have been talking about, it doesn’t matter.”

  “So she did say something.”

  “She didn’t tell me your secret.”

  Emmie gulped and swiped at the tears on her face. “That’s not what I have to tell you. It’s even worse.”

  “Just say it. I love you and nothing will change that.”

  “I love you too. That’s what makes this so hard.” She looked up and stared into his eyes. “I made a promise to Amelia, one I never expected to have to keep.”

  Isaac smiled in relief. “I would be glad to take her baby and love her. But I doubt that Jacob would allow it.”

  “Just let me finish. Amelia thought she wouldn’t survive childbirth several weeks ago. This was before you and I were engaged, before I would admit even to myself how much I loved you. She asked me to give her my word that if something happened to her, I would take care of the baby and marry Jacob.”

  The only sound for a moment was the crackling of the fire and the banging of pots in the kitchen. Isaac felt light-headed as the words soaked in. “You promised to marry Jake?”

  Emmie nodded. “And he intends to hold me to my promise.” She took Isaac’s hand in a desperate grip. “He says he’ll release me when Gabrielle is a little older. But that means divorcing, and I’m not sure I can enter such a contract in good conscience.”

  Isaac was silent and pain squeezed his chest. Honor was never easy, but he’d never expected to be faced with something this hard. He pulled his hand away and stood. “I’m going to talk to Jacob.” He pulled on his greatcoat and went to the door. Turning, he stared down at her. “But even if I have to wait a few years to have a home with you, I’ll do it, Emmie. I’ll never abandon you. Not ever.”

  But even as he pulled the door closed behind him, he had a sinking feeling that nothing would ever be put right in this mess.

  Isaac woke the next morning with a heavy heart as he remembered the events of the night before. He’d intended to talk to Jacob last night, but the small house was dark when he reached it. He’d talk to him today.

  Reveille was already sounding as he strode toward the stables after bolting down some hardtack in the mess hall. He saddled Buck, his buckskin gelding, and made it to the parade ground just in time for boots and saddles. He was on guard duty for the wood detail. He caught a glimpse of Rand ahead, with Jacob trailing behind several other soldiers.

  There ha
d been so many skirmishes with the Sioux lately that the guard detail numbered near ninety men to protect the wood detail. The detail followed the river, then veered off on the trail to the pinery cutting area. They had gone only a hundred yards or so when a man in front of him yelled as an arrow whistled by his ear.

  Rand shouted for the men to set up the corral formation, and Isaac raced to create a protective circle with the other soldiers. Indians massed on the hills all around, and he sighed in relief as he heard the picket on Pilot Hill blow the signal that told the fort there were many Indians. Reinforcements would come from the fort soon. They just had to hold on.

  Emmie heard the signal from Pilot Hill and then the sound of the bugle calling men together, but she tried not to worry. It was an almost everyday occurrence lately. A few minutes later she heard the boom of the mountain howitzer. Joel looked up at the sound, but it, too, was almost commonplace these days. The Sioux feared the “gun that shoots twice” and almost always scattered after its use.

  Emmie washed and dried the dishes while Sarah dusted and made the beds. Joel carried in wood for the fire, then ran off to play with Jimmy Carrington.

  Emmie was deep in her thoughts when a knock at the door startled her. “I’ll get it,” she called to Sarah.

  Morning Song had gone to care for Gabrielle first thing this morning, and she wouldn’t knock anyway, so Emmie wondered who could be out this morning as she hurried to the door.

  Frances Grummond’s tearstained face peered out of a fur bonnet. “Oh, Emmie, I’m so frightened. George volunteered to go to the rescue of the wood detail, and I have such an uncanny dread on my soul. He was almost killed two weeks ago. Would you go with me to Mrs. Wands’? The other ladies are gathered there too.”

  “Of course we will.” Emmie’s heart sank. Isaac, Rand, and Jake were all with the wood detail. “Would you like some tea first?”

  “No, no. I just need to be with someone. Could we go now?” Frances’s voice broke as she wrung her hands.

  Sarah and Emmie grabbed their cloaks and bonnets and followed Frances outside. The wind still whistled, but a weak, watery sunshine brightened the day. Frances’s baby was due in just a few weeks, and Emmie worried that the strain would bring on her friend’s labor. She sent up a quick prayer for Frances.

  The assembled ladies looked up when Emmie, Sarah, and Frances entered the Wands’ parlor. Mrs. Carrington hurried to take Frances in her arms. “My dear, don’t fret so. There is no more cause for concern than usual. We both heard my husband tell George not to cross Lodge Trail Ridge, where the Indians are likely to lie in ambush. Your husband will be all right.”

  “I have such a strange foreboding,” Frances sobbed as she let Mrs. Carrington lead her to a chair.

  Sarah and Emmie followed and sat on the sofa beside her. They all soon had steaming cups of tea and Frances began to calm down. The door pounded again and Mrs. Wands hurried to answer it.

  A sergeant stood twisting his cap in his hands. “Colonel Carrington sent me to tell you ladies that the wood detail has broken corral and reached the pinery safely. But Fetterman’s detail went beyond Lodge Trail Ridge.”

  Frances cried out at the news of the detail’s disobedience of orders, and Mrs. Carrington patted her hand. “George will be all right.”

  Frances relaxed a bit, but she still sat on the edge of her seat. Emmie could tell she was listening to the sounds outside. They had a lunch of small sandwiches and stew, but tension still filled the room. They jumped when they heard a shout and a horse go thundering past outside, and they all grabbed their cloaks and went out to the porch.

  Colonel Carrington ordered a howitzer to be readied and gave the order for a general alarm. Soldiers ran in all directions as every man in the garrison reported to the position assigned to him in an extreme emergency.

  “What does it mean?” Frances cried out.

  “Probably the Indians have been turned back,” Mrs. Carrington said soothingly.

  Rooster came scurrying up the steps to the ladies clustered on the porch. “No need to fret, ladies. Them Sioux bucks won’t get ya. I promise.”

  Then one of the men shouted to open the gate, and the colonel’s orderly came thundering through on one of the commander’s horses. “Reno Valley is full of Indians! There are several hundred on the road and to the west of it. It was a trap!”

  Emmie was standing beside Frances and caught her as she sagged to the ground. “Help me!” she cried to Sarah.

  The rest of the women clustered around and they got Frances inside and on Mrs. Wands’ bed. Mrs. Carrington put a cold cloth to Frances’s forehead and she soon came around.

  Frances sat up with a start and burst into tears. “He’s dead. I know it.”

  “Have faith,” Mrs. Carrington said. “Henry sent Captain Ten Eyck out with every man who could be spared. They’ll get there in time.”

  They all went back to the porch. The silence was so intense it was almost painful, and suddenly several shots rang out. They listened as the shots increased to a frantic pitch, followed by a few rapid volleys, then scattering shots, and finally a dead silence.

  “Captain Ten Eyck has repulsed the Indians,” Mrs. Carrington said.

  Colonel Carrington dashed down from the lookout. Emmie shuddered at the look of dread on his face. She looked at Sarah and saw the same dread reflected on her face. What was happening to their men?

  FIVE

  Isaac lay behind a rock outcropping. They had made it safely to the pinery, but without reinforcements, they would never make it back to the fort. Rand lay a dozen feet away behind his own rock and Jake several yards beyond his brother behind a tree. Dozens of Indians hid just beyond the rise to the west. They were too well hidden to waste his precious ammunition on. He kept a close eye on the slope as he prayed for reinforcements to be quick. He wasn’t quite sure what the Sioux were waiting on. Were they playing a game? It would be dark soon and Indians didn’t make war at night.

  A volley of shots in the distance rang out. They increased in ferocity for several frantic minutes, then tapered off to an occasional shot before silence descended. Isaac knew a horrific battle had just taken place, but which side had won? He lifted his head cautiously, then ducked as an arrow sailed by overhead. The arrow was followed by fierce war cries as a band of Sioux rushed toward them.

  Rand cried, “Hold your fire until my signal!” Several moments passed. As the band came closer, he gasped, then yelled, “Wolverine!”

  The lead Sioux faltered, then pulled his pony to a stop. He shouted something at the rest of the warriors, and they stopped behind him. He gazed at the rock where Rand lay.

  Rand slowly got to his feet. “No, Rand, don’t,” Isaac whispered.

  Rand raised a hand. “Greetings, old friend. I did not think to see you again.”

  The Sioux dismounted and warily approached Rand.

  “Hold your fire,” Rand said again to his fellow soldiers. He stepped forward with his hand outstretched as the young warrior came closer.

  Isaac noticed a livid scar running down Wolverine’s cheek as he stopped in front of Rand. He’d heard Sarah talk about Wolverine and the young woman he was pledged to marry. Rand had spared Wolverine’s life during a battle once, and the two became blood brothers after that.

  “I did not think to see my friend again.” Wolverine gazed at Rand for a long moment. “I think many times of my friend with the blue coat and my vow. I watch always in battle to make sure I honor my vow never to fight with my friend.”

  Rand nodded. “I also watch for my warrior friend. It is good to see you.”

  Wolverine grunted. “You in much danger. We will drive the bluecoats from the fort by t
he river. Already many dead beyond the hills.” He gestured toward Lodge Trail Ridge.

  Isaac looked over at Jake and saw the same alarm on his face. Many killed? Was the relief party dead? What about the fort? Was Emmie safe?

  Rand put a hand on Wolverine’s shoulder. “What of the fort? Sarah is in the fort.”

  The warrior shook his head. “We not attack fort yet. But soon. You go back to fort. Other men come soon to bring you back. Then you must leave fort. I not fight with my brother.”

  Rand was silent a moment. “I will not fight my brother. But I cannot leave the fort unless my commander tells me to.”

  “Then you must tell him that the Sioux will destroy fort. We will fight to last blade and never stop until the bluecoats leave our hunting ground.”

  Rand’s hand slid down and gripped Wolverine’s hand. “God keep you safe, my brother.”

  Wolverine gazed into Rand’s eyes. “And you, my brother.” He turned and walked back to his pony. He vaulted onto his pony, then raised a hand before turning and galloping away. The rest of the band followed.

  Isaac got to his feet, and he and Jacob reached Rand’s side at the same time.

  Rand stared at the warrior’s departing figure. “I knew Wolverine was with Red Cloud, and I always have watched for him. I didn’t want to ever break my vow of peace with him.”

  “Do you think he told you the truth about the rescue party? Could they really be dead?” Jacob asked.

  The rest of the men were slowly beginning to gather around them. “Don’t say anything,” Rand said quietly.

  A lieutenant slapped Rand on the back. “You must have done some fancy palavering with those savages. Congratulations.”

  “I knew him,” Rand said.

  “Looks like they hightailed it because of reinforcements.” The lieutenant nodded toward the hill, and they turned as Captain Ten Eyck and his men thundered up to them.