The Bride Series (Omnibus Edition)

by Bittner, Rosanne

  John obeyed, staying near the door. “I am strong. I can help you hunt, cut wood, whatever. I have an arm that was broken but is healing now, so for a while I cannot do hard work. But I will do my share, and I have whiskey…and a little money to pay you.”

  “What’s that funny accent?”

  “I am Irish.”

  “Mmm-hmm. You kill a man or somethin’?”

  “No. I just…got in a fight.”

  “Over a woman, I’ll bet.”

  John grinned. “Is that not the reason most men fight?”

  The man chuckled. “Women or gold, and you don’t look like a rich man.” He nodded toward a chair. “Sit down. I’ll get you some coffee.” He rose as John took a chair. The man picked up his rifle and looked it over. “One of them new repeating rifles, I see.”

  “Yes. You can have it if I can stay the winter here.”

  The man eyed him closely. “You mean it?”

  John nodded.

  The man looked the gun over again. “Well, I just might take you up on that. But for the first few days, you don’t touch a gun, and at night you sleep on some bearskins there on the floor near that big support post.” The man indicated a thick pine trunk that seemed to be the primary support in the center of the cabin. “I’ve got me a chain with a lock I used to use to chain up a wild wolf I captured once. I’ll fasten one ankle to the post every night till I’m sure I can trust you. I ain’t gonna give quarters and share my food with no man who’s aimin’ to shoot me in my sleep and keep himself warm all winter on wood I cut, keep his belly full on food I hunted.”

  “I mean you no harm. You can teach me things I need to know. This land is new to me.”

  The man looked over the rifle again, then at John. “I’ll teach you. You treat me right, I’ll treat you right. And I’ll be keepin’ this gun as payment. You got more bullets for it?”

  John nodded. “I will not be chained to a post like a dog, though. If you do not trust me, I will sleep outside the next few nights in your horse shed. You can bolt your door.”

  The man nodded. “All right.” He moved to the fireplace and hung the new rifle over it. “Name’s Nick Eastman. Came out here from Michigan in ’49. Didn’t have no luck findin’ gold in California, but I like this country—like bein’ alone. But sometimes even I like some company. I’m up here pannin’ for gold. Nobody else around here is doin’ it, so I figured maybe I’ll be lucky and hit it big. Gold could be anyplace out in this country. A man just has to keep tryin’.”

  “I would like to learn how to do that—pan for gold. I will help you however you need it.”

  The man nodded and grinned. “All right. But if things don’t work out the next few days, you gotta leave. You’ll get your rifle back and I’ll lead you to the nearest shelter. Agreed?”

  John nodded. “Agreed.”

  Marybeth decided that during the whole journey, Fort Hall was the most welcome sight so far. Finally Josh could lie in a real bed that would not jostle him around and make his misery worse. His infection seemed to be worse, and his fever was raging; and he had not been able to carry on an intelligent conversation with her yet, although there had been a few lucid moments.

  They all made camp, most grumbling about the fact that the army had abandoned this fort and left it to a few mountain men. “It’s no wonder we had that Indian trouble,” one man grumped to another. “I thought the government was doing a better job of protecting the emigrants.”

  The fort was hardly more than a passable trading post now, once belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company, taken over by mountain men first, and then the military, now turned back to the mountain men, who made an effort to keep a few supplies around for the wagon trains.

  Cap, Devon, Aaron and Sam came to get Josh from the wagon, while Raymond Cornwall and Al Peters stood at the back of the wagon with a makeshift stretcher. Cap lowered the tailgate of the wagon.

  “I’ve talked to the man who runs this place,” he told Marybeth. “Name’s Frank Powers. I know him. He can be trusted. We fixed up a bed in that big log building over there. Used to be officers’ quarters when the army was here. We’re gonna’ try slidin’ Josh onto that stretcher and carry him there.”

  “Be careful, Cap.”

  The moment the men began sliding Josh toward the back of the wagon, his screams could be heard by the whole camp. People shuddered and prayed, everyone pitying Josh and Marybeth both.

  The men managed to get Josh onto the stretcher, and Marybeth quickly followed them across an open area to a two-story log building. They carried Josh inside and laid him on a homemade, rope-spring bed covered with a feather mattress and clean blankets. Marybeth looked around the small, crude room; the inner walls were also made of logs, and there was one window. It did not let in enough light, however, and Aaron lit a lantern that hung near the bed. Josh’s face betrayed his hideous pain, and Marybeth felt sick herself at how ill he looked.

  “Marybeth, this is Frank Powers,” Cap was telling her, indicating a huge, bearded, buckskin-clad man standing on the other side of the bed. The man removed his hat and nodded to her.

  “Mrs. Rivers,” he acknowledged. “Cap here, he told me what all happened. I take great store in Cap’s opinions, and he tells me your husband here is a good man and will need a lot of carin’. Me and some of the others, we’ll be here all winter. We’ll do all we can for him.”

  “I appreciate your offer, but you won’t need to go out of your way, Mr. Powers,” Marybeth told him. “I’ll be staying here with him.”

  Josh could hear the conversation, but was in too much pain to speak out.

  Powers looked at Cap in surprise. He looked back at Marybeth. “Ma’am, it just wouldn’t be a smart thing for you to do. Winters around here are awful rough, and there’s always the danger of Indians. Cap says you’ve got a young boy, and…” He looked her over. “And another one on the way. It’s most likely your baby would be born before the weather was good enough for you to leave this place, and believe me, this ain’t no place for a woman to be havin’ a baby.”

  “I won’t leave him,” Marybeth said firmly.

  Powers shook his head. “You got to think about your boy, ma’am, and your baby and what your husband would be wantin’ you to do. Fact is, you ain’t got a whole lot of choice. I just plain out won’t let you stay. This ain’t no place for no woman except the kind that’s made for this land—Indian women. You got my word, your husband will be took good care of.”

  Marybeth’s heart began to pound with panic. They were all against her! They were going to make her leave Josh! “You have to let me stay,” she said, angry with herself for the quiver in her voice. “He’ll need me—need to know I’m near.”

  “He’ll need to know you’re safe,” Cap put in. “Use your head, Marybeth. Josh ain’t gonna rest easy knowin’ you’re buried in these mountains with him, knowin’ at any time Indians could come along and murder Danny and run off with you. Damn it, Marybeth, do you know how they’d treat you? You’d be wishin’ you was dead, and once they was through with you they’d grant your wish.” Marybeth reddened. “I’m sorry to be so blunt, Marybeth, but you’ve got to think about what is really best for Josh, and worryin’ about you bein’ here alone ain’t gonna help him heal.”

  Their eyes held, and he saw the desperation in her own. “Cap, I belong with him,” she pleaded.

  “You belong with people who can see to your safety, and the safety of Danny and Josh Rivers’ unborn child. You know I’m right, Marybeth.”

  She turned away, torn with indecision, with love for Danny and her unborn baby, and her love for Josh. Cap gave orders to bring hot water and to cut off Josh’s bandages. “Get some laudanum down him if you can. I’ve got to try to drain that infection and get the fever down. He ain’t gonna last long the way he is.” The old man touched her arm. “You stayin’ for this? It ain’t gonna’ be pretty, Marybeth.”

  She breathed deeply. “I’ll stay.” She turned and faced him, and his hear
t went out to her at the look in her eyes. “Cap, please at least don’t leave until he’s conscious enough for me to explain to him what’s happening, why I…can’t stay.”

  “We can’t be waitin’ too long, Marybeth. It’s gettin’ to be the time when anything could happen up in them mountains, and we’ve got more to get through before we’re home free.”

  “I know. Maybe—maybe once we get rid of some of the infection and the fever goes away, he’ll be more aware of his surroundings.”

  “Maybe.”

  Men came back with hot water and towels, and they tied Josh’s arms and legs.

  “Cap,” Marybeth spoke up before he got started.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s not just the thought of him being in pain and alone. I’m worried how he’ll react if he discovers he’s paralyzed. Out here…all alone. How long can we depend on these men helping him once he’s healed but can’t walk? How will he get out to me? I’m the only one who loves him enough to take care of him the rest of his life.”

  “Marybeth, I’ll give you my personal promise. If he don’t show up next spring in Oregon, I’ll come back here myself to see what happened. If he can’t walk, I’ll get a wagon and I’ll bring him back over them mountains to you myself.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek. “Thank you, Cap.”

  “We are ready, Cap,” Devon spoke up.

  Marybeth took a deep breath for courage and leaned down to put a cool cloth to Josh’s forehead. “Mary…beth,” he mumbled.

  “God help me,” she whispered. “Please take away his pain.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Marybeth sat through the night by Josh’s side, putting Danny to sleep on her feather mattress, which Aaron brought to her from the wagon and laid out on the hardwood floor. It felt good to be in a solid building, and it made her think of how wonderful it would have been to arrive in Oregon with a healthy Josh, to build their cabin and have a real home, but the pain and suffering she had witnessed when Cap relieved Josh’s infection made her hope dwindle.

  In the morning she fed Danny and carried him outside for Florence to watch over him so that his natural squealing and childish noises would not disturb Josh. She was carrying him toward the Gentry wagon when she noticed Ella approaching, Mac walking with her. Ella called out to her, and Marybeth’s heart quickened. She could hardly stand to look at Mac any more, and had managed not to for several weeks now, in spite of their proximity. When Ella came for Danny, she had always been alone.

  She stopped and waited for them, clinging to Danny. “Marybeth, I’d like to have Danny again today if I could. While we’re resting here, I’ll have more time to spend with him.”

  Marybeth looked at Mac, feeling the old dread and hate all over again when his cold, dark eyes drilled into hers. “Well, now, we are not about to go running off with him in a wilderness like this, are we?” he said sarcastically.

  “I suppose not,” Marybeth answered cooly. She handed the baby to Ella. “He’s been changed and fed. Try giving him a little bread or something. He’s eating more solid foods every day. I’d like to get him weaned in another two or three weeks and give myself a rest before I start feeding another one.”

  “Another one? Are you with child?” Ella asked.

  “Yes,” she answered proudly. She looked at Mac and saw the anger and chagrin in his eyes. He looked her over scathingly.

  Ella turned and hurried away, but Mac stepped closer to Marybeth. “You’re going to be alone soon, Marybeth. You’ll need us again.” He grinned a little. “You do have a way of going through men, don’t you? I wonder who your next victim will be?” He laughed a hard, cruel laugh. He saw Cap approaching then and left her.

  “Marybeth, that man givin’ you trouble again?” Cap asked her.

  She watched after Mac. “He doesn’t upset me so much any more, Cap.” She swallowed back tears and turned to face him. “Josh’s fever has gone down some. Do you want to come and look at him?”

  “That’s what brought me over here.” They walked back to the log building and went inside, and Cap checked Josh’s bandages. “He looks a little better, don’t you think? His color is better.”

  Josh opened his eyes. “Don’t…tell me this…buffalo skinner…has been putting…the knife to me.”

  “Josh!” Marybeth leaned closer. It was the most lucid statement he had made since he was shot, and the digging remark sounded more like the old, teasing Josh. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Josh, are you really with us this time?” Her eyes filled and she sat down carefully on the bed and touched his hair. “Oh, Josh, how do you feel?”

  He closed his eyes. “Like…somebody took a…pitchfork…and raked it all the way…through my body. I need…some water.”

  Marybeth hurriedly got him some, and Cap leaned closer. “I take it you ain’t real happy about bein’ my patient,” he said with a grin.

  Josh smiled weakly, but Cap caught the tears in his eyes. “I can’t…move my legs, Cap.”

  Cap’s grin faded, and Marybeth felt a lump rising in her throat. She leaned over and Cap held his head while she helped him drink the water. “It’s just temporary,” Marybeth told him. “Cap thinks after you’ve rested a good, long time and healed more, you’ll get the feeling back in your legs.”

  Josh looked at Cap, fighting an urge to drift off to sleep again. He couldn’t let that happen. There were too many things he wanted to tell Marybeth. He knew she was lying about his paralysis being temporary. How could anyone know that for certain? He felt the horrible panic rising. Useless! He would be useless to Marybeth now—never stand up like a man and hold her again—never make love to her again. He felt the helpless tears wanting to brim over, but he breathed deeply and forced them away. “What—was it,” he asked Cap. “Musket? Arrow?”

  Cap looked at Marybeth, then back to Josh. Marybeth put back the ladle of water. “It was a bullet from a repeating rifle, Josh. We think it’s possible Indians got hold of John MacKinder and stole it from him. Devon says there ain’t no Indians got their hands on rifles like that yet.”

  “That would mean…MacKinder is dead.”

  “Most likely.”

  Josh moved his eyes to Marybeth, seeing the mixture of relief and sorrow there. “I can’t…say I’m…sorry,” he told her.

  “You don’t need to.”

  Josh looked back at Cap. “Leave me…alone…with Marybeth for…a while,” he said.

  Cap nodded. “You just make sure you don’t overdo things. You’re far from bein’ out of the woods yet, Josh. You’re a very sick man, and you’re best off not doin’ any kind of movin’ around on your own for quite a while yet.” Cap looked at Marybeth. “I’ll have one of the women fix up some broth for him and you see if you can get something into his stomach. The man’s fadin’ away to bones.”

  Marybeth nodded and Cap went out, leaving them alone. She pulled up a chair and sat down near the bed, taking Josh’s hand. “Oh, Josh, it’s so good to be able to talk to you and know you hear me and understand me.”

  He studied her for a moment, so young and beautiful and vibrant. He felt sick at heart at not being able to take proper care of her. “Where’s…Danny?”

  She decided not to mention the MacKinder name. “He’s being watched after.”

  He squeezed her hand with as much strength as he could muster. “I remember…hearing things…hearing people talking. You’re…going to have a baby, aren’t you? Our baby?”

  She smiled. “Yes. I was waiting to tell you when I was positive, but I’m more sure of it all the time.”

  He closed his eyes, and a tear slipped out of his eye. “Damn,” he whispered.

  Her own eyes teared and she quickly dabbed at his with a handkerchief. “Oh, Josh, don’t do this. You’ll be all right. I know it in my heart.”

  He took several deep breaths, gritting his teeth, disgusted with his weakness. “I’m…a sorry…mess, aren’t I?”

  “Josh, you’ve been through some horri
ble things. Your resistance is just very low right now. Good heavens, Josh, there is nothing wrong with tears.”

  He took another deep breath, biting his lower lip. “I don’t…need this right…now. We need…to talk.”

  “We can talk another time.”

  “No!” He spoke the word through gritted teeth, and with a sudden firmness that made him wince with pain from the effort. He swallowed before continuing. “Marybeth, I heard…all of you talking…yesterday. At least I think it was yesterday. Cap, the others…they’re right about you—going on with the wagon train.”

  Her heart tightened at the words. “Josh, how can I leave you alone in this condition? You’ll need me. I’m your wife. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you behind all alone and in such pain. Just the thought of it tears at my soul.”

  “You’ve got…no choice. I’m…ordering you…to go.” He met her eyes, his own bloodshot and hollow looking. “You’re going to have a baby.” He looked past her, studying the room for a moment. “This place—it’s no good for a woman. I heard Cap talking about it. Like he said…there are men here who will…take care of me. I want you to be with…friends. I might…die, Marybeth.”

  “Don’t talk that way, Josh,” she said, the tears starting to come. “You’ve lived through the worst.”

  “Can’t be sure. I’ve seen people live…a couple of weeks with…bullet wounds and still—not make it.” He squeezed her hand. “You know I’ll try—for you, Marybeth…for my baby. If you stay here and something happens to me…you’ll be left alone, to find a way to…Oregon. Please, Marybeth. I…don’t want that…on my mind. And—it’s dangerous here.” He studied her eyes. “If I never walk again…if you want to be free of me—I’ll understand.”

  Her eyes widened with anger. “How dare you suggest such a thing! I love you. Nothing will separate us, Josh. And you aren’t going to die. You’re going to live, for me, and Danny, and your unborn child. If it’s so important to you, I’ll go on to Oregon, but I’ll do it unwillingly. And come spring, you’re going to come out to me. Cap is going to come and get you, and I don’t care if you come in the back of a wagon. You’re coming to Oregon, and I’ll figure out a way for us to survive. We can do it, Josh, because we love each other, no matter what has happened.” She barely paused for breath. “I don’t intend to be twice widowed, and no matter what condition you’re in, I’m better off with you than without you.”