Mama's Bible

by Mildred Colvin

  Katie forced a smile and walked the short distance to join them.

  Jason looked up at her approach. “Well, hi. I thought you’d be at the dance.”

  So he really was here to see Rachel. Again that sharp twinge annoyed her. She shrugged. “Oh, I didn’t want to go.”

  Concern darkened the blue in his eyes as he searched her face. “I’m glad.”

  Clay’s rejection seemed unimportant as Katie tried to read the meaning behind Jason’s softly spoken words. Why would he care if she stayed or went to the dance? After all, he’d come to visit with Rachel, hadn’t he?

  Chapter 7

  “Can you believe we’re picking these up?” Katie wrinkled her nose and held up a dried buffalo chip.

  Rachel laughed. “No, but we should be thankful God has given us fuel to pick up. Who’d have thought there’d be no wood here? The trees were plentiful not that many miles back.”

  “I know.” Katie stuffed the chip with the others in the bag and looked around. Not a tree stood within sight in any direction.

  The country they’d entered was a dry, sandy land. Sagebrush squatted where trees should be standing and signs of buffalo were seen all around. Katie didn’t mind picking up the dried chips, but the thought of what she carried was less than appealing. She would appreciate them that evening when the time came to build a campfire, though. After all, they did make a good fire.

  Jason rode up on Star beside the girls and stopped. He leaned slightly toward them and lifted his hat. “Hello, ladies. I see you’ve developed an attraction to what even the buffalo didn’t want.”

  He shook his head in mock amazement, a grin on his face.

  Katie glared at him, but Rachel laughed. “This is one attraction I hope I don’t have to continue for long.”

  Jason chuckled and turned his attention to Katie. “Your brother asked me to deliver a message to you. Some of the men are getting up a hunting party and he wants to go. Would you be willing to drive the cows while he’s gone?”

  “Of course, I’ll do what I can to help.” Katie’s gaze shifted to the horse Jason rode. “Are you going on the hunt, also?”

  “I planned to.” Jason hesitated. “Tommy said I could borrow Star. But you’ll need her for the cattle, won’t you?”

  “Oh, no. I can walk behind a bunch of cows as easily as I can walk through a bunch of buffalo chips.”

  Jason frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Katie waved away his concern.

  Rachel spoke up. “Let’s deposit our fuel in the wagons, and I’ll walk with you.”

  “Okay.” Katie looked up at Jason. “Tell Tommy we’ll be along shortly.”

  Jason nodded and rode on.

  “I think Jason cares for you.”

  Katie looked at Rachel. “And I’m sure you are wrong. Jason is much more suitable for you. Didn’t you notice the way he kept looking at you?”

  “Me?” Rachel’s dark eyes grew large. “He was looking at you.”

  Katie laughed. “Poor Jason. Neither of us want him so we’re passing him back and forth like a hot potato. What a shame! He really is such a nice man.”

  The girls separated at the wagons to deposit their fuel then met a few minutes later to walk the short distance where Tommy and Jason waited for them with the cattle.

  Tommy grinned at Katie from the back of his horse. “Thanks, sis, I owe you one.”

  “Make sure you bring back something good to eat then.”

  Tommy nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  He looked at Rachel and his grin widened. “Hello, Miss Morgan. I didn’t recognize you at first with no water.”

  Rachel’s cheeks grew rosy, but she met his gaze with a smile. “Oh, I only carry water for protection at night. I didn’t think there’d be a need for it today.”

  Tommy’s laugh rang out. “In that case, I’ll be careful to not sneak up on you again, especially at night.” He turned his large black horse to the side. “I’d better be going or I’ll miss the party. You girls enjoy yourselves.”

  Jason smiled at both Rachel and Katie before lifting his hand in a salute. He nudged Star forward at the same time Tommy urged Midnight into a gallop and both rode off to join the other men gathering on a nearby knoll.

  ~*~

  That night after the supper dishes had been put away, Katie leaned back against the wagon wheel and looked at the velvety-black sky studded with a thousand twinkling stars. A slight breeze ruffled her hair. The nights were warmer now. She lifted her face and closed her eyes while the wind caressed her cheeks. Her leg muscles ached after herding the cattle all afternoon. She tried to rest, but her mind returned to the conversation she’d had with Rachel. Was Jason really attracted to her? If so, he didn’t act like it. Before she could decide, she heard footsteps coming toward her. She watched in that direction, thinking it was her parents coming back from their visit with the Bartletts.

  Tommy and Jason stepped out of the shadows and sank to the ground beside her.

  “Have any trouble with the cows?” Tommy asked.

  Katie shook her head. “No, Rachel helped me.”

  “Good.” Tommy picked up a rock and tossed it up a couple of inches and caught it. “Say, sis, do you think you could take over the job with the cattle? I’d like to get back to scouting. Jeb asked me today if I was coming back.”

  Jason spoke then. “It will be easier with Star. I shouldn’t have kept her today.”

  Katie turned and met his gaze. “That’s fine. It is easier on horseback, but it’s more lonesome. That’s one reason I’m not looking forward to it. I don’t mind the work, but I’ll miss Rachel. She’s a wonderful friend.”

  “Yes, she seems like a nice girl.” Jason started to say more when someone stepped into the circle of their campfire.

  Clay stood before them with his head bowed. He looked at Katie. “Would you go for a walk with me?” His voice sounded unsure.

  Katie didn’t want to forgive so quickly. “I thought you were mad at me.”

  Clay hesitated as he glanced toward Tommy and Jason. “I was wrong, Katie, but I don’t want to talk about it here.”

  One look at her brother’s frown and Jason’s matching glare, and she understood his reasoning.

  “Please, come walk with me.”

  Katie stood, but Tommy caught her hand. “I think you should stay here. We were talking.”

  She looked at Jason. He seemed especially interested in a rock he held in his hand. As Tommy had done earlier, he tossed it in the air and caught it. He obviously didn’t care whether she went or stayed.

  She shook Tommy’s hand off. “I won’t be gone long. You can visit with Jason.”

  She took Clay’s arm and as soon as they walked out of the light she looked back. Both Tommy and Jason watched her with matching frowns. She ignored them. It was none of their business what she did.

  ~*~

  Jason looked at the rock in his hand. The urge to see how far he could throw it surprised him. What did Katie see in Monroe? Good looks? He seemed to be a decent sort, but still something about the way he took possession of Katie bothered Jason. He glanced over his shoulder, but already the darkness had swallowed Katie from his sight. Maybe he should take a walk, just to make sure she was all right. He shifted, but stopped at Tommy’s voice.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t be asking Katie to help with the cattle.”

  Jason focused on Tommy. Pulling his mind back from Katie wasn’t easy. “Will she be all right?”

  Tommy grinned. “When? Tonight or tomorrow on Star?”

  Warmth crept up Jason’s neck, and he hoped it didn’t show. His lips curved. “I’ll admit I don’t trust Monroe as much as I’d like to, but I don’t think he’d do anything to hurt a girl. He seems a good enough fellow. No, I meant riding herd on the cattle.”

  Tommy shrugged. “She did her share back home. Katie’s used to hard work. Tending cattle can be dangerous, but I’m not worried about that. It’s just—”

&nbs
p; When Tommy looked away and clenched his jaw, Jason waited and breathed a prayer for his friend. If he had something to say, he’d say it in his own time.

  After a moment, Tommy shrugged and turned back. He spoke in a low voice. “I still can’t believe Karl’s gone. He loved those animals. Star was his horse, although Katie rode him sometimes, too. I get so angry when I think about what happened. Mama taught us to believe in God. She says Karl’s with Him now. I’m not sure what to believe.”

  Jason held his breath. No words of condolence came to mind.

  “At first I thought about turning against everything I’ve ever been taught. I got drunk the night after it happened.” Tommy looked at Jason as if he expected a response. Maybe a rebuke.

  Jason nodded.

  Tommy picked up the rock he’d been playing with earlier and held it, looking at it. “Figured I might as well become like my dad, so I found a bottle. The funny thing is Dad hasn’t taken a drink since the night he almost killed a man.”

  A harsh laugh escaped Tommy, and he tossed the rock and caught it. “I puked my insides out that night. Don’t reckon I’ll do any more drinking, either. At least, Mama will be happy about that. Too bad that’s all she’ll be happy about, though, because I don’t intend to waste any more time talking to God. Karl’s gone. Even God can’t change that.”

  “I’m sorry, Tommy.” A lump in Jason’s throat blocked his words. He didn’t know what he could say to help change anything, anyway. Sounded like Tommy’s mind was made up. But Jason still talked to God, and he had no intention of quitting. In fact, he’d be doing even more praying now for both Tommy and Katie. They were hurting. They needed God more than they knew.

  ~*~

  Clay kept just outside the light from campfires, but well away from the cattle corralled in the center of the ring of wagons. His hand closed over Katie’s. “I’m sorry for the way I acted before. You know I didn’t mean all the things I said.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have said them.” She didn’t feel like forgiving him just yet.

  “I couldn’t help it. I got angry because I love you, Katie, and you acted like you didn’t care.”

  Katie felt her heart melt. What was it about Clay Monroe that attracted her? She should turn from him, yet she felt captive in spite of herself. He was the best looking man she had ever seen, but he was also the most arrogant. Was he really sorry or had he just decided to renew his efforts to win her hand?

  “My mother was sick. What did you expect me to do? If you love me the way you say you do, you would have stayed with me.”

  “I do love you, Katie. I want us to be married.” Clay stopped and pulled Katie close. His head lowered and she felt powerless to resist as his lips touched hers in a brief kiss. Katie’s heart pounded in her ears.

  Clay claimed her lips again. This time the kiss deepened and Katie knew she must resist. This was not right. She did not belong to Clay. They were not betrothed. She made a feeble effort to push him away when a piercing scream split the muted night sounds.

  Clay’s head jerked up. He took Katie’s hand to pull her with him. They followed others toward the screaming that continued to come from a wagon across the ring. Then, as quickly as it started, the screaming stopped.

  “That’s our wagon.” Clay’s voice choked.

  Katie’s heart sank. Already people were gathering around the wagon. Clay elbowed his way through the crowd, pulling Katie with him. The sight that greeted them nauseated Katie.

  Clay’s little sister, Mary Beth, lay on the ground, her legs exposed where her skirts had been burned away. They were an angry red, and blisters had already started forming on both legs from the ankles up as far as Katie could see.

  Clay knelt beside his mother who cradled his sister’s head in her lap while the doctor tended to her legs. Those standing nearby talked in hushed tones as they watched.

  “She was playing tag with some other children.” One woman spoke to another. “She tripped over a rock and stumbled into the campfire.”

  Katie pieced the story together from the whispered comments. When Mary Beth’s skirt caught on fire she ran, frightened and screaming, to get away from the greedy flames licking at her dress and legs. The screaming had stopped when she passed out from shock and pain.

  Doctor Clark finished bandaging her legs and looked at her parents. “Bad as it may look, it’s not a deep burn. She’s coming around now and will be in a lot of pain. While you carry her into your wagon, I’ll go get something to ease the pain and help cure the burns.”

  When he hurried away, Clay picked up his sister. “I’ve got her, Dad.”

  His father nodded. “All right, Son. I’ll climb into the wagon and you hand her to me.”

  Katie stood alone while the Monroe family took care of Mary Beth. Realizing there was nothing they could do, those who had gathered began to leave. The doctor returned and went into the wagon. Clay still didn’t come out. Katie turned to leave and almost ran into Jason.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She stepped back.

  He smiled down at her. “Don’t be.”

  Tommy elbowed him. “Come on. Let’s go back to our wagon.”

  They fell into place on either side of her. She felt bewildered, confused by what had happened. Poor Clay. He wouldn’t even know she was gone. His mind was on his sister now.

  That night Katie turned from one side to another on her narrow bed. The events of the day filled her mind in a jumble of thoughts. It seemed ages since she’d crawled from bed that morning. Clay said he loved her, but she was unsure of her feelings for him. Rachel said Jason cared for her, but he didn’t act like it. And poor Mary Beth. The doctor said she stood a good chance of recovery, but she must be in so much pain. Katie finally fell asleep, and her dreams were as confused as her thoughts had been earlier.

  Chapter 8

  One evening in late June, the Morgan family joined the Donovan’s for supper. Dad scraped the last morsel from his plate, then turned to Mr. Morgan. “We’ll be slowed down again before long. The South Fork of the Platte River is just ahead. Should reach it in a day or two.”

  Mr. Morgan nodded. “I’ve heard the river is wide and shallow with a swift current.”

  “It’s a mile wide, a foot deep, and useless.”

  Katie looked up at her father’s words. As they’d traveled through the dry, sandy countryside, water had become more valuable than she’d ever dreamed possible. She spoke before she thought. “How can water be useless?”

  Dad grinned. “Oh, water can be useless, Katie-girl. The Platte is alkaline. We can’t drink it or we’ll get sick. The animals, too. It’s too muddy to wash in. Can’t get much more useless than that.”

  Mr. Morgan agreed. “They say it’s too thick to drink and too thin to plow.”

  The next morning Katie saw what they meant. The Platte looked more like flooded ground than a river. However, she was glad when they were safely across the shallow river as the current was much stronger than she had expected.

  That evening Clay stopped by the wagon for the first time since his sister’s accident. Instead of going for a walk, he seemed content to sit on the ground and lean against the wagon wheel with Katie.

  “How’s Mary Beth?”

  Clay shrugged. “She’s better, I think. She still hurts a great deal, though, and she isn’t able to be up and about.”

  Clay seemed different somehow. Gone was the arrogance and sense of excitement that Katie had found irresistible. She wasn’t sure she liked the change. No doubt his mind remained with his little sister. In time he would likely return to normal. They talked for a while and he left before Katie expected him to, saying he should stay close to the wagon in case his parents needed him.

  ~*~

  A few days later, when Tommy returned early from scouting, he relieved Katie from her job with the cows. She hadn’t seen Rachel for a few days so she went in search of her. Rachel’s brother, Daniel, saw Katie coming and called over his shoulder. “Hey, Rachel, your friend’s
here.”

  Katie kept pace with the wagons. She wiped a sleeve across her face, streaking dirt on the material as she did. She frowned at the smear she’d have to wash out. Would she ever be clean again? She was hot and tired. Dust kicked up by the animals stuck to whatever it landed on, including her face. A cool swim in a clear pond would be a real treat, but an impossibility in this dry land.

  Rachel hopped from the wagon and joined her.

  Katie shook her head at her friend. “You know, jumping from a moving wagon is not the safest thing you can do.”

  Rachel smiled and nodded. “I know, but I believe I’ve seen you do it before, too.”

  Katie shrugged. “I have, but not recently. I decided it wasn’t a good example for Susanna.”

  “Where is Suzy?” Rachel looked toward the Donovan wagon and her eyes grew wide. “Oh, no.”

  “Taking a nap in the back of the—” Katie followed Rachel’s line of vision and gasped. “No!” She screamed. “No, Suzy, don’t.”

  Katie ran toward the wagon, yelling for Susanna to stay inside. But even as she ran, Susanna climbed from the back and stood hanging at the end of the wagon. Katie saw her face scrunched in fear as she wailed, too afraid to either let go and jump as she had seen Katie do or climb back inside.

  Katie yelled for her father who drove the wagon, but knew he couldn’t hear her any more than he could hear Susanna over the noise of more than a hundred oxen and almost as many wagons. Someone brushed past Katie as she ran and she saw Jason reach the wagon and Susanna. The relief of knowing he was there taking care of them brought weakness to her limbs, and she stumbled and fell several feet from the line of moving wagons.

  “She’s all right now.” Rachel knelt beside Katie. “Did you get hurt when you fell?”

  Katie shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” Her breath came in short gasps. She watched Jason carry Susanna toward her.