Cora wiped Essie off as best as she could and then fed her. While she did that, Harrison turned the basket upside down and got as much dust as he could out of it before Cora set Essie back in it.
The wagon swayed back and forth and Cora put her arm on her husband’s arm.
“Scared?”
She nodded. “What’s going on?”
“It’s a dust storm, but I saw lightning a long ways away. We might be in for a rain storm too.”
“We have food made all ready and the extra water jug is full.”
The wind hit hard again, and the wagon shuddered. Puffs of dust got in around the cinched up canvas.
“Grab one end,” Harrison said as he handed her a corner of the tent. “We’ll cover all our belongings on my left side. We’ll cover the rest with the extra canvas. I can definitely smell rain in the air.”
They worked quickly and covered much of the wagon, leaving a space for them to climb under. Then Harrison checked outside and made sure the wagon was secured.
Then suddenly the air cooled and she shivered. Lightning lit up the whole wagon followed by a huge boom. She jumped. Then the sound of rain as it hit the canvas was harder than any rain she’d ever heard before. After grabbing all the blankets she put them in the middle of the wagon for them. The extra canvas could easily be pulled to cover them if needed.
The wagon swayed and tilted as if one wheel had been lifted off the ground. Before she knew it, she was on Harrison’s lap with her face against his chest. His strong arms went around her.
She turned her head, seeking her baby and was amazed. Essie was sleeping away.
More lightning and then thunder that made the ground shake. It felt nice being so close to Harrison, but she was still frightened. The wind picked up again, and the rain seemed to be coming down sideways through the small opening left in the back.
Harrison eased her off his lap and told her to lie down. He pulled the extra canvas over them and wedged himself down between her and a trunk. Essie’s basket was toward the front above Cora’s head.
“This is cozy,” he teased.
“I’d like to try cozy when—”
Lightning cracked as though it had struck close by. Rain poured and poured, and she couldn’t help jumping at each sound. “What about the livestock?”
“Heath and Declan will take care of the animals. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were out in this trying to calm the livestock. Too bad we didn’t circle for the nooning, we could have put some livestock in the center of the circle.”
It sounded like rocks were dropping out of the sky. She snuggled closer until there wasn’t an inch between them. “Hail?”
“Sounds like it. I hope the canvas holds up. If it doesn’t, you can fix it from the inside or I could take it down to be repaired. I still can’t believe Eddie thought you should climb up and sew the hole in his canvas shut.”
A weak laugh slipped out. “I was stupid enough to go along with him.”
“Ah, sweet, you were doing what you could so you and Essie stayed safe. It must have been hard knowing he could make you leave anytime he wanted.”
“It was, but by the grace of God I’m here with you.” After another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder made her heart race, she said, “Tell me again what we will do in Oregon.”
“We’ll file a land claim. I can have more land now that I’m married. Then we’ll build a small house to keep us warm in the winter and a barn. We’ll buy a milch cow and enough food to get us through to spring.” The deep calming tones of his voice settled her fears. She could listen to him talk like this forever and never feel pressed upon. “I’ll buy more cattle and horses. I’ll have to see how bad the winter is and if the livestock will need extra feed. Might as well grow what they eat. I’ll till the earth for you to have a big garden. Then we’ll sit outside and watch the sunset. Then of course a bigger house will be built as our family gets bigger.”
“How much bigger?”
“As big as God blesses us.”
She kissed his neck. “I like your plan. How much farther do we have to go?”
“Just another four months.”
She laughed. “So a very long time.”
“When I’m with you, time goes by quickly.”
She giggled softly. “Harrison, you are such a charmer.”
She felt him shift a bit and then his soft masculine lips were on hers. The love in his heart could be felt in his kiss. It was so beautiful, and she wanted the moment to last forever. They were so busy kissing they didn’t notice that the storm had passed until they heard loud voices crying out. People must need help.
He kissed her one more time and eased the canvas back. “I need to get out there and see what I can do.”
She smiled and nodded, unable to think of any words. He must have truly kissed her senseless.
Chapter Eight
One wagon had blown over, but everyone seemed to have made it through with only minor injuries. Most of the wagons were soaked. They probably didn’t think to put the other canvas over their things.
“Zander, are you all right in there?” Harrison opened the cinched back of his second wagon.
“I’m fine. Heath and Declan were out in it though. Mrs. Chapman said I can get up and around in a few days. I’ll be glad to be out of this wagon.”
“I bet. Were you able to stay dry?” Harrison didn’t see many puddles inside the wagon.
“I put our oil cloths over the important stuff and had the blankets over me. It must have been worse than I thought.”
There was a lot of crying and wailing going on.
“Tell the other two to check in with me when they get back. I’ll see what the wailing is about.”
Harrison stopped by the Waverly’s wagon. Their dry food was wet. Their flour and cornmeal were beyond saving. He checked in on the Chapmans. Mr. Chapman told him that the missus. was out playing doctor again. Next, he noted that the overturned wagon belonged to Eddie. Harrison wanted to believe he got what he deserved, but the man did rescue Cora from the saloon.
He helped a weeping Emily Swatt hang her soaked blankets and clothes. She hadn’t checked her food yet. He didn’t warn her about what she might find; her husband would probably be back soon.
Sue Bandor was bandaging her husband Miller’s head. He’d been out with the livestock.
He hoped the boys checked in soon.
Cora had built a fire and was making coffee and she had a big pot of water heating. He smiled. She must have dug a pit and made the fire in it. The ground was probably too soaked.
He got to the wagon the same time as Mrs. Chapman.
“Cora, thank you for heating the water. Do you mind if I bring the patients here to treat? It’ll be much easier since the water is here.”
Cora’s face turned red. He walked to her and took her hand in his. “That would be fine, Mrs. Chapman.”
As soon as Mrs. Chapman was out of hearing distance Cora frowned at him.
“Why are we having the very people who shunned me brought to our fire to use our water?”
“The right thing to do is to help those who need help. We came through the storm just fine with the grace of God, but most have soaked wagons. The Waverly’s flour, corn meal and who know what else is wet, and it’ll end up moldy and unusable. Eddie’s wagon turned over. I wanted to say good and leave him to it, but then I remembered he rescued you from the saloon.”
“You’re right. I’ll let the Waverlys know they can make bread and whatever else with their wet supplies. I think bread will last much longer than wet flour.”
“Before you go, ask for some buffalo chips. I’ll enlarge the pit you dug, and we can let many use the fire.”
The smile he received had his heart flipping in his chest. She reminded him of a beautiful flower among weeds. Soon he’d ask her about a wedding night, but he’d have to ease into it. She didn’t seem happy with that whole aspect of life. He picked up Essie and held her. Such a small baby, and h
e loved her as if she were his. He looked up to the heavens and smiled. No… not as if… She was his.
* * *
Cora stopped by wagons of the women who had at one time gossiped about her and offered them a place at her fire. All accepted, though a few had the grace to look embarrassed. They’d hurt her, true, but this was a second chance for friendship.
It was busy at the fire. The pit had been enlarged again, and there was now room for many to bring their tripods with pots to hang over the fire. Several of the women made bread with their wet ingredients and kept track of what they used so they could give dry flour back in return.
Heath and Declan straggled in.
“We held on to all of your livestock, Harrison,” Declan said proudly.
“We sure did,” added Heath. “I thought for sure we’d die out there, but we must be fine with the good Lord seeing as he didn’t strike us with lightning.” He laughed at his own joke.
“Sit, the both of you. Any injuries?”
“We must have hard heads,” Declan said seriously.
“I brought Zander a plate,” said Cora. “Let me fix plates for you.” She went to the tailgate and put bread and corn bread and flapjacks on their plates. She handed the food to the two men. Then she stood straight up and put her hand over her heart and gasped.
She stepped away from the others and went to a lone man standing there with his horse. She must be seeing things. The closer she got she thought it unbelievable. Rudy was dead. She stopped in front of him and stared at him.
“But… you’re dead. Bosley killed you.”
“He stabbed me,” said Rudy in a grim tone. “But I pulled through. I knew I had you and our baby out there, probably alone. It took me a long hard time, but I’ve found you.” He embraced her.
Tears poured down her face. Rudy, her Rudy was alive. It was a miracle and he’d need to meet his daughter…
Her heart fluttered. She was married to Harrison now. Taking a step back, she broke the embrace. Harrison was watching her, and he looked concerned. She locked her gaze on him as he strode over.
“I haven’t seen you before,” he said with more than a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“I’m Rudy Downing. I’m a friend of Cora’s.”
“Nice to meet you, Rudy.” His eyes flickered to Cora then settled back on Rudy. “I’ve heard a lot about you… mainly that you were dead.”
“Yes, that’s what Cora just said. And you are?”
“I’m Harrison Walsh. Cora’s husband.”
Rudy’s eyes filled with confusion and then accusation as he turned to her. “People said the man didn’t marry you. He was just taking you west with him.”
She needed to sit down. “That was Eddie. He wasn’t the nicest of men, and I had nowhere to go when he turned me out. Harrison married me and has been taking care of me and Essie.”
A smile lit his face. “I have a daughter? Where is she?”
There wasn’t a place to hide. Not a tree in sight. Everyone was at her wagon. How many times had she cried for Rudy? And now he was here. He looked hurt, yet something else glittered in his eyes.
“Pack your things. We can start for home.”
She shook her head. She stared at Rudy and then at Harrison. How could she leave the man she was falling in love with? But how could she keep Rudy from his child? It was a horrible decision, one she didn’t want to make. She turned and ran. She kept running until she was too tired to run anymore and a river blocked her way. She sat and put her head against her knees and cried.
Oh Lord, what am I to do?
She heard the clip clop of the horse’s hooves but she couldn’t look up. She loved one with all her heart, yet the other had looked for her for months and he was Essie’s father.
She still had her eyes closed, but she knew who it was. His scent was so familiar to her. He sat next to her and his arms went around her. He didn’t say a word, just rocked her back and forth. She laid her head upon his shoulder and took in a deep shaky breath which she let out slowly.
“You must think me a child running like that. I just couldn’t stand there while you both stared at me.” A tremor rolled through her. “Harrison, I never thought to see him again. Dead is final. Back there… I thought I was seeing a ghost. I looked up and there he was. He’s been looking for me for months. He thought me to be unmarried and traveling with Eddie. I feel so guilty, yet I don’t see that I would do anything differently. There was so much blood…”
“I’d never thought of you as a child,” he said gently. “You are a fine, caring, loving woman. You make my blood stir every time I look at you. I’ve never loved another the way I love you. I thought it an odd thing that my wife’s name was Ora while yours is Cora. At first I thought of it as you being like her but having an extra letter in your name. Now I see Ora as missing a letter in hers.” He shook his head. “I’m not making sense, am I? You’ve filled my heart like no other woman has ever filled it. You add the fun and goodness to my days. I love Essie, and I don’t know if I could bear to have you both ripped away from me. I saw a flower surrounded by weeds and thought of you as the flower, the survivor that stood up taller than the weeds.” He chuckled. “Plus you’re beautiful. I know this is a lot and you have much to think on. I’ll give you time to think. Spend time with him and make a choice. Because if—” His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard. “If you stay with me, I want you… all of you. For you to be my wife, for me to make a life beside you.”
She put her arms around Harrison, gave him a hug and drew away so she could see his face. There were unshed tears in his eyes. “I do want to spend time with him, but only to make sure he understands that my life is with you. You have been my rock. I can depend on you to keep me and Essie safe. No one has ever made me feel more loved. You make me feel special and pretty even.” A smile tugged her lips upward. “And don’t forget we have a whole passel of children to raise.”
“We’d have to make them first,” he said, returning her smile.
“Where is Essie?”
“Zander has her, and Heath and Declan are guarding her. Apparently Zander and Essie became the best of friends when he traveled in our wagon. She is very taken with that Irishman. I will have to build a big house with locks on the bedroom doors to protect my daughters from men with the gift of gab.”
Laughing, she was almost feeling herself again. “Did Rudy hold her?”
“No, sweet, I thought that was between you and Rudy. Besides you should be the one to hand her to him to hold. Yes, a man should hold his daughter. He can’t keep her, mind you, but he came all this way. I wonder what his parents had to say.”
“I can only imagine.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “You’re a kind, giving man.”
“Let’s go back and see our daughter,” he said before he kissed her.
He mounted up and reached for her, and when she reached back, he helped her up in front of him.
“Will the wagons make it across the river? It looks like mud with a bit of water covering it.”
“This part of the Platte River is known for that. We’ll take it slow and listen to what Captain London tells us to do.”
“Sounds like we have more hours of travel. He’ll want to circle up near the river, won’t he?”
Harrison nodded his agreement. “He’ll want to be first in line for a river crossing.”
Cora sat back until she was leaning against her husband. She’d have a long talk with Rudy. Everything would turn out fine. It had to.
* * *
A rider on a dark bay headed toward them at a fast pace. The scout, Oscar Randolph reined in, his horse’s hooves tossing up clods of dirt. “That man took your baby!”
“Hold on, what happened?” Harrison asked.
“The man who says he’s Essie’s pa took her.”
“Which way did he go?”
“The way back east. Simps took off after him, but I thought I’d best get you.”
Harrison felt Cora stiffen.
A glance at her revealed she had turned her lips inward, and she blinked as though fighting tears.
“I’ll need to have a new mount. I’ll stop long enough to grab one and go after our daughter.” He urged his horse forward. “Yaw!”
Their mount lurched ahead, and they rode quickly. Harrison barely stopped the horse before he slid off and helped Cora down. He raced to their wagon and grabbed some supplies in case he was gone more than a day.
“Harrison, I’m going with you!”
“Cora, no, you’ll slow me down.”
“Harrison, Essie will need to be fed.”
He stopped in mid-stride. “Fill a carpet bag with a few essentials and clothes for Essie. I’ll meet you at the boys’ wagon.”
Heath and Declan had one horse saddled and ready. “I will need a second horse. A fast one. I don’t think Cora knows how to ride. We’ll double up and keep switching horses.”
“We’re sorry boss, we were guarding the back of the wagon and Zander fell asleep and that sneaky bandit just stole her,” Declan explained.
Heath hurried toward them with a second horse just as Cora arrived. They tied the carpet bag and bed roll on the second horse.
Harrison practically threw her up on the horse and swung up behind her. He kicked the sides of the horse, and they were off in a thunder of hooves. He couldn’t go as quickly as he wanted, not with two riders; it would tire the horse too quickly.
Rudy had the baby with him, which should slow him down. She was probably hungry, which meant she would be fussy. Determination to get the child back swelled within him. Rudy had a right to be angry and disappointed, but he had no right to kidnap Essie.
Cora appeared to be holding up better than many mothers would have. She’d had to be tough plenty of times in her life. He peered from side to side. There wasn’t anything to hide behind in the sand pit they rode through.
A rider heading their way along the trail turned out to be Simps returning. He shook his head. “He’s gone. Not a sign of him. And I can’t leave the train. Captain London depends on me.”
Cora’s Courage: Romance on the Oregon Trail Book One Page 8
