by Paty Jager
She shook her head. “A sandwich is fine.” With nowhere else to sit, she sat on the bed with her valise. The upper bunk was so low she had to lean out over her knees.
Isaac opened the lid on the box and produced a sandwich of roast beef. She accepted the offering and nibbled at the crust.
He pulled out another sandwich and placed two tin cups on the box after replacing the lid. “Want some water?” he asked.
She nodded having bit into the dry bread.
Isaac filled the cups from a canteen and unwrapped his sandwich. He sat on the bed across from her and leaned out like she was. There was less than a foot between their knees and only six inches between their faces.
Alamayda continued to nibble at the sandwich. His nearness made it hard to swallow food.
“You always eat like this?” he asked.
“No, I’m usually sitting straight and don’t have a man inches from my face,” she said.
He shook his head and grinned. “I mean, do you always eat so little.”
She hadn’t thought about how much she ate. If it appeased her hungry stomach that was enough. “I guess it became a habit to take small bites and eat slow. That way my sisters and brother wouldn’t know I was eating less, so they could have more.”
Isaac nodded. “I thought as much. You’re too thin. The winters around here are goin’ to chill you fast.” He opened the box and pulled out another sandwich, handing it to her.
“No, I can’t eat more than one.” She leaned back and struck her head on the upper bunk. “Ow.”
Chapter Six
Isaac dropped the wrapped sandwich and the one he was eating on the top of the box and stood, placing a hand behind Allie’s head. “Let me see.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, moving her head away from his hand.
“I’m sorry you banged your head.” Isaac sat back down to keep Allie from doing something else that would hurt her. He wasn’t sure why he cared what this woman thought of him. She’d been rude when they met, but during the day, hearing about her past and having to be the parent for her younger siblings, he understood more about her attitude. This afternoon watching her sketch, she’d looked younger, innocent. The loose strands of her hair had danced on the wind as she’d concentrated on something in the creek.
“What were you drawin’ in the crick?” he asked.
Her cheeks reddened. “There was a school of trout, the most beautiful shade of green, with rosy gills. They had black dots.” She stuck her hand in her skirt and pulled out the small sketch pad. Flipping through the pages, she stopped and turned the pad to him.
The sketch captured the cutthroat trout down to the dots on the tails and fins. “That’s really good,” he said, studying the colors and details. “You go to a school to learn that?”
“How to draw? No. It was my way to get time to myself. May, Alice, and Alan would leave me alone when I’d sit and sketch.” She sighed. “It also allowed me to calm down if I was angry with one of them or worried about how we were going to survive another winter or bad crop.”
“You should see if a newspaper or periodical would buy your pictures.” While staying at a fancy hotel after one of the cattle drives, he’d picked up a periodical in the lobby of the hotel. There had been drawings on some of the pages.
“I just draw for the pleasure of it. No one would want my drawings.” She stared at the pad on her lap.
He shrugged. “I think someone would.” Isaac finished his sandwich. “I’m going to check on the horses. You want to take a walk to the privy and get ready for bed? I’ll give you some time.” He nodded to his bedroll he’d spread across the ropes on the bunk where she sat.
“Were these already here?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Those are mine. You can use them tonight. I’ll be fine.” He stood, shoving the supply box against the wall at the end of his bunk.
“I don’t want to take your things,” Allie protested.
“Don’t worry, I’ve slept in worse places.” He headed out the door. Best to make sure the horses were tethered close to the cabin. He’d bet his best Winchester he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight and would hear if the horses became restless due to the mountain lion in the area.
He led the dark-colored gelding to the hitching post by the house. The cabin door opened, and Allie stepped out looking hesitant.
“The privy is behind the cabin. About four-foot-high walls made out of rock.”
Her cheeks reddened, and she scurried around the corner of the cabin.
Isaac chuckled. She must have had little contact with men other than for business from the way his comments set her cheeks blazing with color. He walked over to where the other horse stood. His head swiveled on his neck of its own accord. Isaac caught a glimpse of Allie squatting behind the rocks. He clucked to the horse and hurried back to the front of the cabin, tying the rope to the post.
He wanted to wash up, but that meant walking in the direction of the privy. Nothing to do but wait. Leaning against the front of the cabin, he scanned the open area on the other side of the road. Ten minutes went by and he’d started to get antsy when he heard the swishing of skirts.
Water dripped from her finger tips.
“I see you’ve been down to the crick already,” he said, thinking it was the safest thing to say to not embarrass Allie.
“Yes.” Her eyes widened. “It was okay to go there by myself wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “I figure my shot should have scared that mountain lion off.” Isaac studied her face. “But if you need to go out during the night, let me know.”
She nodded and opened the cabin.
“I’ll be back in about ten minutes.”
Alamayda watched Isaac walk to the corner of the cabin and disappear. He had things to do before going to bed too. Her cheeks heated. She’d never spent so much time with a male, other than her brother. He’d been annoying as a boy and head-strong as he grew into a man. He and her sisters no longer needed her. When the letter from Isaac came about their father, she’d already given over the farm to Alan. She had her room in the farmhouse and helped out cleaning rooms at the hotel in town for money. The letter had been her wings to freedom.
She entered the cabin, closed the door, and studied the two bottom bunks. How did Isaac think he could sleep on ropes? She plucked the top blanket from her bunk and laid it across the ropes on his bed. It wasn’t much but it would keep parts of his body from falling through the ropes.
Without a top blanket for herself, she wasn’t going to undress. But her boots and stockings could come off. She’d never been able to sleep with shoes on. Sitting on the edge of the bunk and being careful not to raise up and strike her head again, Alamayda unlaced her boots, set them at the end of the bed, and rolled her stockings down, placing each one in a boot.
Her hat sat on her valise at the end of the bed. She leaned back, lying prone on the bed and discovered Isaac’s oil cloth bedroll made an excellent barrier between her and the ropes. Tilting her head, she stared at the meager blanket covering the ropes on his bed. I should give him his bedroll and take the blanket.
She sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
Isaac walked in. His gaze locked onto her bare feet and slowly rose to her face. “I thought you’d be ready for bed by now.”
“I am.”
“But you’re still in your clothes. Only have your shoes off.”
“That’s all that’s coming off.” She stood and started to tug on the bedroll.
“What are you doin’?” He was beside her in two strides.
“You weigh more than me and should have more of a barrier between you and the ropes.”
Isaac grasped her hands, stalling her motions. “I put that on there for you.”
Alamayda looked up and over her shoulder to peer into Isaac’s face. The lantern he’d lit before they’d started eating, shone like a halo around his head, throwing his facial features into shadow.
“I ca
n sleep on the blanket,” she insisted, barely breathing from his nearness.
He shook his head. “Nope. Go on, lie down there. If you keep bein’ so stubborn, I’ll sleep out in the wagon.”
“Heavens! I don’t want you to do that.” She leaned over the bed, tucking the bedroll back over the ropes.
Isaac moved to the end of his bunk. “I’m goin’ to turn the lantern off.”
She sat on the bed. His face appeared redder than normal and his eyes stared at his bunk. Whatever had she done for him to become so distant?
“I’m ready.” She lowered her body and laid down.
The flame in the lantern lowered, sputtered, and went out. There were no windows in the cabin. The darkness surprised Alamayda. At the farm, the windows allowed moonlight and stars to shine a bit into her bedroom. If they had lit the fireplace the embers would have given a bit of light.
Feet shuffled. And the ropes in the bed across from her creaked.
Thump!
“Tarnation,” muttered Isaac.
She stifled a giggle. He must have hit his head.
A soft thump disclosed he had one boot off. Seconds later another soft thump said he had both boots off.
The bed creaked again. He coughed and cleared his throat.
Alamayda remained still, listening to the sounds of Isaac settling in to sleep. Her ears were alert, her mind pantomimed what she heard into a play in her head. She’d never slept in the same room with another, except when one of the children were sick and she’d slept in a chair in her room with the sick person in her bed.
Hearing him move and catching his mutterings, she was experiencing what married life would be like. She’d never contemplated it. A man married to carry on his name. He wanted children and a wife who would take care of those children while he did whatever he pleased. She had no plans to be a mother and therefore saw no need to marry.
But listening to Isaac’s steady breathing and knowing he was there to keep her safe, she drifted to sleep, thinking having someone within arm’s reach was a comforting thing.
***
Isaac lay in the bunk, the ropes pressing into his back. He’d get a better night’s sleep on the ground under the wagon. Easing off the bed, trying to keep the ropes from creaking, he stood. He couldn’t see Allie, but she had to be cold. His toes curled as he stepped onto the dirt floor. He pulled the blanket off his bed, reached out to the bunk beside him and dropped the blanket over her lower body.
He picked up his boots, plucked his duster from the end of the bunk, and made his way to the door. Slow and careful, he raised the latch and slipped out into the moonlit night. It was cooler out here than in the cabin. He pulled on the coat and slid his feet into his boots.
The horses shifted and watched him. He patted the closest one on the neck. “Keep restin’, I’m just lookin’ for a more comfortable bed.” Isaac stared at the wagon. Under or in? There was grass to cushion his body under the wagon but would it be warmer or colder than the open box?
He decided on the ground and crawled under. Lying flat on his back, he sighed, crossed his ankles, and pulled up the collar on his coat.
***
Banging and a flash of light shot Alamayda’s eyelids up. Isaac had lit the lantern hanging in the middle of the cabin. The fluttering flame in the lantern chimney had been the bright light that caused her to open her eyes.
The clang of metal on metal made her sit up, cautious to not ram her head into the ropes of the top bunk.
Isaac shoved the sticks they’d collected the day before into the little fireplace. The coffee pot hung on a rod over the growing flames.
“Mornin’,” he said, glancing her way.
“Morning.” She stared down at the blanket covering her. A quick glimpse of the bunk next to her explained where the blanket came from. “When did you get up?” she asked, pushing the blanket aside and settling her skirt around her legs as she hung them over the edge of the bunk.
“A few minutes ago.” He tapped the coffee pot with a stick. “Water’s heatin’ for coffee.”
She nodded and bent to put on her stockings and boots. Glancing sideways, she caught Isaac watching as she rolled a stocking up her leg.
He cleared his throat and redirected his attention to the fire.
I shouldn’t be dressing in front of this man. Another thought struck as solid and staggering as if she’d been hit by an anvil. “How many people will know we spent the night together in this cabin?”
His gaze didn’t stray from the coffee pot this time. “All of Morgan’s Crossing.”
All of Morgan’s Crossing! The respectable women as well as the miners. She slapped her forehead. “They’re going to think…” She couldn’t say it. Why didn’t I think of this last night? Because you were too caught up in the security of having someone near.
“I’ll tell them I slept under the wagon.” Isaac faced her. “I did most of the night. You were right, those ropes dug into my back after a while.”
“No wonder you want a fire this morning. You must be cold.” She finished tying her boot and stood. Alamayda walked over to the fire and held her hands to the heat. “Do you think they’ll believe you, and me, that you spent the night outside?”
“I think once the men see you aren’t interested in them or me, they’ll figure it out. And the women folk, once they get to know you, they’ll believe you.” He walked over to the box at the end of his bunk and pulled out a can of coffee.
“But you’ll have lots of men being nice to you and askin’ you to marry them.”
She shook her head. “I’m not marrying anyone.”
“That’s kind of definite. You might fall in love and then what are you goin’ to do?” His gray eyes peered into hers.
“I don’t believe in love,” Alamayda said.
Chapter Seven
Isaac stared at the woman. Her whole body and expression said she believed her statement. He didn’t plan to marry, but he believed in love.
“Why don’t you believe in love?”
“I watched my father ignore my ma when she was sick. If he’d loved her, he would have been by her side, giving her comfort. Then as soon as ma was gone, he left his four children alone to survive on our own. I don’t feel love toward my siblings, I feel obligation. I kept them fed and clothed. I took care of them when they were sick. My sisters didn’t say they loved the men they married. They said their husbands were respected men in the community and they would have good lives. Many people marry to have the relations only a married couple can have. Children are born to carry on the man’s name.”
Allie’s eyes held a bleakness he’d never seen in a woman’s eyes before.
“All children are loved. Didn’t you feel that your ma loved you?” he asked, unable to understand her disbelief in love.
“I don’t remember. She became sick after she gave birth to Alan. I started nursing her and taking care of my sisters and baby brother when I was nine. I felt it was my duty because father told me to and he avoided her.” Her brow wrinkled as her eyes gazed at the coffee pot.
This conversation helped him understand even more about the woman. To have lived feeling unloved… Even though he’d lost both his parents, he knew his grandparents had loved him. He’d also known the love of a woman, though it had been short-lived when he’d discovered she was married.
From the set of Allie’s features, she’d decided love didn’t exist. He hoped he was around when she did fall. He was sure she’d be a changed person.
Isaac handed her a cup of coffee and dug the last sandwich out of the box. “This is the best I can do for breakfast. Soon as you’re done with that we’ll get movin’.” The steam warming his nose made him sip the coffee cautiously.
“What about you?” she asked, holding up the sandwich.
“I’ll eat this can of beans.” He bent, pulling out one of his cans of beans he’d brought along for his meals.
“Just beans?” she asked and made a face.
“It�
�s all I planned to eat thinkin’ I’d be travelin’ alone. I only bought the sandwiches because you insisted on comin’ back with me.”
She set the coffee and sandwich on the box and moved toward her bag. “Then I insist on paying you for the food I’ve eaten.” She picked up her pocketbook.
“I wasn’t pushin’ to get paid back.” The insult that he should be paid back for supplying a woman with food, rankled.
“But I insist. I’ve made you lose pay and then adding to that you bought food. Let me help with the expense.” She held out a silver dollar.
“Keep your money. If you plan on puttin’ together a miner’s outfit, you’re gonna need all your money. These company stores don’t have the same prices you’ll find in other towns.” He used the can opener in his box to get to his breakfast.
She scowled. “I knew I should have bought what I needed earlier, but I wanted to travel to here without the burden of extra baggage.” She stepped by him to retrieve her food and coffee.
Allie sat on the bed and chewed on the sandwich.
Isaac shoved a spoon into the beans and ate, thinking on the fact the woman planned to head out in search of a mine alone. From all accounts he’d had of the woman, she was going to be easy pickin’s for some low-life looking for a good time or money.
The beans didn’t set well as he continued to think of all the things that could happen to her.
“You know—”
“Would you—”
They both said at the same time.
Isaac waved his hand. “Go ahead. What were you sayin’?”
“I was wondering if you could look over my list and see if there are items I could do without. You know, to help me lower the cost.” She dug into her pocketbook and held out a piece of paper.
“I could look. I only tried minin’ once. Didn’t like the small reward for all the work it takes.” He studied her list. It was thorough. “You know, it’s not a good idea for you to go off into the mountains lookin’ for gold by yourself.”
