Laura's Secrets

by Augusta Wright

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sadie brought up Laura’s breakfast early the next morning. She would eat breakfast, and then the twins would bring hot water for a bath. Laura was anxious to go home, but saddened to leave her newfound friends.

  When Laura lifted the cover off the food, she bolted for the chamber pot. Sadie rushed around, getting her a wet cloth for her head and helping her back to a chair to rest. When she had recovered, she thanked Sadie and added, “I don’t know what is wrong with me. I throw up every time I see or smell food.”

  “How long have you been having this ailment?”

  “Oh, it started about the time I headed here,” she said, a little stronger now she had begun to recover. “I have been drinking some of my healing teas but nothing seems to help and it comes on suddenly—like now when I’m not expecting it to happen.”

  Sadie threw a knowing look at Laura, but did not say anymore on the subject. “Hope you’ll feel like eating soon. The twins will be up soon with hot water for your bath. They love helping you, so you shoo them back down when you’re done. I have work for them to do today,” she added as she headed for the door.

  Sadie closed the door, allowing Laura her privacy before the twins arrived. Laura had coins ready for them and as they finished the tiring chore of hauling buckets of hot water three flights up, she placed two quarters in each of their palms. They were delighted by the extra money and hurried out to show their mother.

  Shortly after the twins left, a knock sounded on Laura’s door. George Miller, the attorney, asked for a few minutes of her time. Surprised by his visit, she invited him into the parlor.

  “I have just returned from recording the deed papers in your name at the courthouse. Judge Hastings agreed with me that Abner’s final letter granted title to you. Because you were successful in paying it off, you have preserved it for yourself and your future heirs. You will be able to return home secure knowing it’s yours.”

  Laura began to weep then regained her composure. “Since I’ll not be returning to Denver for a while, will you continue to work as my lawyer? I will send letters of requests for any needs I might have in the future. I’m purchasing the adjoining ranch. Will you see it gets properly recorded when I send you the papers?”

  “I’ll be happy to do whatever is needed to help you in the future,” he answered as he took his leave.

  Marshal Roberts invited Laura on a picnic. She was excited about having such a handsome escort to show her the area around Denver.

  Around noon, Joseph knocked on her door. Laura greeted him warmly as he pulled her into his arms kissing her. She enjoyed the kiss and kissed him back. Before it got out of hand, Laura stepped back. “We must be going now.”

  With a sigh, Joseph released her, “I wanted a morning kiss to see if the fire is still there, and it is.” He opened the door for her to precede him.

  When they met Sadie in the lobby to retrieve the picnic basket she had prepared for them, Laura blushed when she saw Sadie looking closely at her, and Joseph was grinning happily.

  Joseph helped Laura into the buggy and then settled by her side. He grabbed the reins and clucked to the horse to giddy up. He had the perfect place picked out for their picnic. The day was warm although a light cool breeze was blowing down from the mountains.

  Laura had chosen to wear one of her new dresses today with its low-cut neckline exposing the tops of her breasts. The heavy wool shawl around her shoulders slipped off from the constant motion of the buggy exposing her to his sensual perusal.

  They traveled for a while, enjoying the beautiful day, before he turned off the main road heading in the direction of a stream near a grove of trees in the distance.

  Jumping down to tie the horse, Joseph came around to help Laura down. She wandered over to the edge of the stream to watch the trout lazily swimming by. “I wish I had brought my fishing pole,” he said.

  “I like to fish,” she said. “When I get tired of deer meat, I go and catch a bunch of trout. Some I fry, and the rest I smoke to save for winter.”

  “You have learned to live off the land, haven’t you?”

  “I will never forget the first winter we were there. We almost ran out of food because we didn’t prepare for such a harsh winter. I have learned to preserve food from a garden as well as smoke meat or can it for the long winters. There were times we couldn’t leave our cabin because the snow reached to the roofline. It’s terrifying knowing you can’t get out.”

  “I know it was terrifying for you. But I can tell from what you have said you have grown stronger from your experiences. You have grown from a girl to a beautiful and strong woman.” He took her in his arms to comfort her.

  Laura enjoyed his encouraging words and his protective arms. He leaned down, capturing her lips with his. The contact with his body excited and thrilled her, but Laura had begun to recognize the danger signs. She soon tried to step back from him.

  “You don’t need to fear me,” he told her with a ragged breath. “I would never hurt you, but you do know I desire you.”

  “I think this picnic was a mistake. I shouldn’t have agreed to come alone with you since I’m a married woman.” She moved farther away from him.

  “Let’s enjoy the food Sadie prepared for us, and then we will go back to town.” He retrieved the basket and blanket from the buggy and began to spread it out.

  Laura hesitated for a moment before allowing Joseph to help her sit down on the blanket. As they were eating, she asked about his life, hoping to move the subject away from their relationship—or lack thereof.

  They spent several hours eating and talking about their families. While they ate and talked, Laura felt as if they were being watched. Glancing around, she saw nothing to be alarmed with, so continued her picnic with Joseph. Before long, it was time to drive back to town. Joseph helped her pick up the plates, food, and blanket and stowed them in the buggy. Taking her arm, he assisted her into the buggy.

  When they returned to town, they stopped at the hotel to get John and Laura’s new wagon. John followed them to the back of the general store. The men could not believe the amount of supplies Laura purchased and commented about it.

  “I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back and visit,” she explained. When it was loaded, they tied a tarp over the wagon bed so none of her precious cargo would get wet if it rained. And it always rained in the mountains.

  When Laura got back to the hotel, the twins were waiting to show her their mother’s herb garden in planters on their back porch. Laura glanced at Sadie when she recognized some of the same plants she had been taught to use. “Are you a healer, Sadie?” Laura asked.

  Smiling happily at the question Sadie said, “It’s a family thing. I am not as good as my sister, Martha, but I do have knowledge about healing and other things. Are you a healer as well?”

  “Well, I guess you could say I have some knowledge about herbs and special healing teas, but I haven’t healed anyone. However, I’ve wanted to learn more because when you live in the mountains doctors are too far away. I met a wonderful person on the wagon train who taught me about the healing effects of herbs and barks from certain trees. I learned more from an Indian girl whose mother is a medicine woman when we settled on our ranch. She taught me about the kinds of herbs growing here and their healing effects.”

  “I met the Indian maiden quite by chance one day when I shot a bear to keep it from attacking her,” she related the story to them as awe lit up their faces. They insisted on knowing more.

  “The bear was attacking her, when I shot it with my rifle. Well, uh…actually, I shot off half his left ear. Then he ran away. We became fast friends after that happened.”

  The twins shouted with glee at her story of the bear and the Indian girl.

  Sadie watched Laura with a growing interest as she talked to the twins. “Laura, are you aware you have a strong aura around you? I sense there is much more to you and your story.

  “I seem to be able to draw anima
ls to me. I am able to sense their needs and help them.”

  “I sensed that about you. I saw visions of you before you came. Does that frighten you? I know you’re on a journey and as you learn you’re becoming stronger. You said you met a woman who taught you about healing. I am praying it might have been my sister, Martha,” she whispered as she held her breath.

  “The woman I met was named Amanda. She and her husband were going on to California,” answered Laura.

  “Oh. Martha was big and tall like our father. She was a healer and a wonderful cook as well. We were separated when we were younger because she was sold to a man in New Orleans who kept her for a while before the war started. Somehow, she secured her freedom. I found out later she came West either by wagon train or on her own. She had strength in body and spirit to survive. She also had special abilities. I need to find her. There have been many times I knew she was alone and afraid,” Sadie wept quietly.

  “I’m sorry it wasn’t your sister.” Laura held Sadie in her arms and allowed her to cry. “Perhaps someday you’ll find her. I’ve wanted to ask if you and John would consider working for me at my ranch in the mountains. It is rough and rugged, but it’s beautiful. Next spring, I’ll build several cabins and I would like for you, John, and the twins to come work for me. John can work the ranch and horses and you can help me cook and garden. Talk to John and see if he is agreeable to working for a woman. Can either of you read?”

  Sadie wiped her tears. “When we were slaves, we were forbidden to learn to read and write by the masters, but there were those who knew the war was coming and secretly taught any who wanted to learn. I wanted to learn to read and write badly. And I did.”

  “I’ll need people who can read and write. I am planning to build my ranch by raising horses. Will you and John come work for me?”

  “Miss Laura, I would love it. I’ll talk to John tonight, and he’ll give you our answer in the morning. You are a blessed person with a mission in this life. Your journey won’t be easy, but it will be one made just for you and all the people around you.”

  “Thank you, Sadie. I sense you have powers, although I am unsure what they are. I know I need you to be with me at the ranch.”

  Sadie prepared a celebration meal to say farewell to Laura. Everyone tried to be happy, but there was sadness in seeing Laura go. The twins liked their new friend and cried when they had to say goodbye. John and Sadie took their two tired little girls to their sleeping quarters. Laura’s wagon was parked in the alley between the hotel and their quarters so John could keep watch over it during the night. Joseph would check on him to make sure all was well.

  Laura planned to leave before daybreak the next morning with John and Joseph escorting her across the plains until she reached the base of the mountains. The two men were not happy about her plans. Too many things could happen to a woman alone on the trail, but she insisted she had gotten to Denver alone, and she would find her way home alone. She was an amazingly courageous and determined woman.

  Joseph followed Laura up the stairs to her hotel room door. When she opened it, she turned to thank him for a wonderful day. As she did so, he pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. “Please let me come in and spend the night with you, sweetheart.” He kissed his way down her neck to the exposed flesh above her breasts. She sucked in her breath as she arched her back, enjoying the pleasant sensations she had been missing—sweet temptations to let him come in. Who would know? Who would care? Then in the next breath, I would. She could not lead Joseph into thinking of them as a couple. She had to tell him they could not be together. She knew she was attractive to him and felt herself weakening. Thoughts of what the night would hold if she let him come in circled in her head. A sudden loud noise at the bottom of the stairs brought them both back to earth.

  Wanting to hurry Joseph along, Sadie shouted back down the stairs as if John was waiting for her, “I’ll be down after I’ve helped Laura with her packing. Now you go on and see to the twins.” She stomped up the stairs.

  Looking up as Joseph and Laura looked downward at her, she said, “Why Joseph, I thought you had already said your good night. Sorry to interrupt, but I needed to help Laura with her packing,” she continued up to Laura’s door.

  Joseph looked sadly at Laura, kissing her on the cheek, “Good night and sweet dreams. I’ll see you early in the morning.” In frustration, he stomped down the front stairs.

  Laura turned to Sadie saying, “What are you up to?”

  “I have a special gift for you, Miss Laura. I know why you’ve been ill since you came. You are going to have a baby.”

  Her words hurt. “No, Sadie, it’s not possible. I’m barren and unable to have children.”

  “I’m not sure who convinced you that you are barren, but you’re with child. You may not want to admit who the father is, but whether it is your dead husband’s or not, you are going to have a baby,” Sadie replied to her with tenderness and understanding.

  “How did you know my husband was dead?” she whispered.

  “Another of my family secrets. I am a dreamer of dreams, and seer of visions. I see things to come, and I see things about people’s pasts or their futures. Sometimes, when it happens, I don’t know what it means, but it usually comes true. I know your dead husband is not the one who has made you so happy. There were others since his death, and now they, too, are gone, but the babe will be a blessing for you in the future. I know you will be happy in your heart, but I also know Marshal Roberts will not cause it. He’s not the man for you. You must forget him. His destiny does not lie with yours. I’m not telling you these things to frighten you, but to let you know you’ll be fine and someday happy with your life.” She hugged Laura tightly.

  “The woman on the wagon train told me she could read palms. She said I would have children someday, but I didn’t believe her since Abner convinced me I was barren. Now you tell me I’m with child and I know it could not be from my dead husband. Although, I will tell everyone it is his to protect my child from ridicule, because I will never marry again. I was forced to once, but never again,” she told Sadie.

  “Sadie, if you can see the past and my future, why can’t you locate or find your sister?”

  “This gift I have cannot be controlled. I see visions, but I can only tell a person what it shows. Most times, it is bits and pieces until the time of fulfillment. I’ve been shown events in your life and know we are connected somehow in the future. When you asked me to come to the ranch, another piece fell into place. After our first meeting, I saw a beautiful place with a stream of water flowing down through a meadow. Is it your ranch?”

  “Oh my gosh, Sadie! It sounds like it is the place on my ranch near where I plan to build cabins for people who work for me.” She hugged Sadie again. “Do you have any idea how we are connected except by being good friends?”

  “No, it hasn’t been revealed to me. The only vision I’ve seen is you with more children and your gifts passing to them as well.” She happily relayed this news to a surprised Laura.

  “My children. What wonderful news to someone who believed she was barren.”

  They talked and packed Laura’s belongings.

  After they finished, Laura hugged Sadie again. “Someday I may tell you how my baby came into being. However, for now it will remain my secret. Sadie nodded knowingly.

  Sadie left and Laura lay down on the bed, dressed in her comfortable pants and shirt, ready to hit the trail when the time came. As soon as John woke her, she would pull on her boots and grab her hat. However, sleep did not come quickly. So many thoughts and memories swirled through her mind as she placed her hand on her stomach thinking again of the two angel men who had come and gone during her journey. Settling her thoughts down, she slept.

  It seemed like a short time before John knocked on the door. Time to go. He helped her load her things into the wagon, including a large dinner basket from Sadie, as they waited for Joseph to appear.

  Chapter Eighteen
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br />   The full moon had risen sometime after midnight flooding the trail with bright light leading across the valley from Denver to the base of the mountains where Laura’s escorts would turn back. They had made better time than she had on her journey toward Denver in the ramshackle wagon. And before long, the sun would be coming up. She could see the faint glow in the east.

  Laura climbed down from the seat where she had placed a thick quilt to sit on, trying to make the ride a little more comfortable. “I don’t know how to repay either of you for all your help. I value your friendship very much.” She hugged each man and wiped tears from her cheeks.

  John said, “Thank you, Missy Laura, for your kind offer of a job for me and Sadie. We’re happy to accept it.”

  “I am so pleased you’ll come to the ranch and work for me, John.”

  Joseph released her and she stepped back to gaze up at him. “You have been a true gentleman. Thank you is not enough.”

  She followed them around, watching while they checked and double-checked the wagon and team making sure all was right. Besides the four new mares pulling the heavy vehicle, her other two mares were tied to the back.

  As the sun began to peek over the mountains spreading its warm glow, they knew the time had come to say their final good-byes. John said, “God bless and keep you safe and happy, Missy Laura!” She nodded as she wiped tears of sadness and joy from her eyes.

  Joseph stepped up, encircling her with his arms again. It felt good to feel safe for a few moments. “Please come back to me, Laura. I need you,” he whispered as he kissed her lips one last time, and then he helped her to get on the wagon.

  She grabbed the reins, released the wagon brake, and whistled to the team. “Ladies, let’s go home.” She could not bring herself to glance back at the men because tears were burning her eyes. She would go forward to whatever God had in store for her whether it was good or bad. She knew He would see her though.