Love's Long Journey (Love Comes Softly Series #3)

by Janette Oke

  "Now push thet basin over here, an' toss thet blanket over the

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  both of us. We gotta have us a good steam bath."

  They covered the two of them and then waited silently. Willie poked at the fire and Missie paced the floor in the small space left to her, listening painfully to Nathan's choking, rasping efforts to breathe. The minutes ticked by. From beneath the heavy blanket came Cookie's voice, startling both Willie and Missie.

  "Thet other water boilin' yet?"

  It was.

  "Pull out this here basin an' change the water. Put in another scoop of the medicine, too."

  It was done, and Willie pushed the steaming pan back under the blanket tent, being careful not to release the build-up of steam already trapped within.

  Again Missie paced and prayed, while Willie poked at the fire and prayed. He stuffed in another chip every time that he could make one fit. The room was becoming unbearably hot.

  Nathan began to fuss. Was he worse? Panic seized Missie.

  "Good sign," Cookie called out. "Before, he was too busy fightin' fer breath to bother to fight the steam. His breathin' seems to be easin' some."

  It has, Missie thought with wild joy. He's not chokin' near as much. Her tears began to fall as she repeated softly to herself, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee--" Missie could go no further. Sobs of thankfulness were crowding out all other thought. "Oh, dear God, thank You, thank You."

  Willie made another change of water, passing it to Cookie beneath the blanket. Nathan stopped fussing and his breathing steadily improved.

  "He's asleep now," Cookie announced in a loud whisper. "He seems able to breathe without too much strugglin'."

  Missie's arms ached to hold her baby but Cookie kept him under the blanket.

  The first streaks of dawn were reaching their golden fingers toward the eastern hills before Cookie ventured to lift the blanket from his head.

  "Put on the coffeepot, would ya, Missus?" was his only comment.

  Willie reached to take away the blanket and move the basin.

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  Missie moved mechanically to fill the coffeepot and put it on the stove. She then turned to Cookie who was handing the sleeping baby to this father.

  "Put him back to bed now," he said, then added slowly, "This might come again fer a night or two, but iffen yer watchin' fer it, ya should be able to ward it off. In a few nights' time he should be over it. Croup always hits like thet--in the dead of night, scarin' one half to death. The steamin' helps."

  Missie looked at the little man. He spoke quietly, matter-of- factly, as though he were used to working miracles. His body appeared limp; his clothes were soaked with steam and perspiration, his wispy hair clung wet against his scalp. His face was drained and white, and glistened with moisture in the early morning light. Yet, Missie's heart cried out that he was truly the most beautiful person that she had ever seen.

  She crossed the room and reached out to touch gently his soft, stubbled face.

  "Cookie Adams," she said, with tears and laughter in her voice, "you can't fool me--not for a minute. You're no grouchy, hard-ridin' ole cowpoke a'tall. You're a visitin' angel."

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  Chapter 38

  Love Finds a Home

  Missie finally planted her garden and set her hens. Green things soon appeared and so did soft, fluffy, yellow chicks--eighteen of them; and Missie rejoiced, thinking ahead to leafy vegetables and fried chicken. Even Willie admitted that her idea of raising chickens was not such a bad one after all. The cow calved, a fine young heifer. Missie's milk supply was assured for many months ahead.

  Willie, under the instruction of Juan and his men, began the work on the house, just a few yards east of the sod shanty. Day after day Missie watched excitedly as it took shape.

  Henry had left for his own ranch. Missie missed him and the redheaded Rusty. She was always glad to welcome them back for a visit or a meal. Henry and Rusty still joined them each Sunday, and Missie and Willie were glad to have them. She wasn't sure yet how Willie's two new hands felt about working on a spread where the boss had Sunday sing-songs and Bible reading. So far, they had chosen to follow Smith's leading and stay away from such going's on.

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  Willie took time from his house-building to ride over to Juan's for a meeting of cattlemen. Missie ached to go along, but knew that the visiting of women and a business meeting of the men might not mix too well. She contented herself with plans for a visit on some future day, when she and Maria could enjoy each other's company without interruption. Maria's English was improving even faster than Missie's Spanish, and the two young women spent much of their infrequent visits laughing at each other's mistakes.

  When Willie returned he was fairly bursting with news. A group of men had been in to stake out a site for the train station, he told Missie. Land already was sold for a general store. He was certain that other buildings would follow. And the best news was that the station would be only fifteen miles away! An easy trip in one day! No more two-week supply trips to Tettsford Junction. The first train was due to come chugging in during early spring of the following year.

  The thought took Missie's breath away. To have supplies come in so close, to be able to make a trip to town, to greet people and walk on sidewalks--it was all too overwhelming to comprehend.

  "Sure, it'll take time--but it'll all come," Willie declared. "An' guess what else. Thet there train station is gonna be more'n jest a cattle-shippin' place. It's gonna have a post office, too. We'll be able to mail letters right here an' git answers back from our folks."

  Missie caught her breath. Just to be able to write home to her mama and pa! To be able to tell them of Nathan's progress, of her new house, of Cookie--their faithful old ranch hand sent to them by God himself (though Cookie didn't realize that yet), of her chickens, her garden. Oh, how she wanted to tell them everything, to pour it all out on paper, letting them know and feel that she was doing just fine. And to get back an answer from them assuring her that they were all well. She tried to imagine their first letter: that Luke was almost a man now, that Ellie had herself a beau, that Clare was getting set up to go farming on his own, and that Arnie was busy working the plow for Pa. She wanted to hear that the apple trees were in blossom, and the ever-bubbling

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  spring had just been cleaned for the summer cooling, that soft green lay on the land, and the school bell was ringing clearly in the crisp morning air.

  Missie's eyes softened with her musings.

  "Oh, Willie," she said, "I'd never even thought of such a wonder."

  "An' I been thinkin'," Willie hardly dared to say more, in case it were a dream that would never be realized. "Been thinkin'--not a reason in the world thet I can see, why yer folks couldn't jest hop thet train some day an' make a trip out here."

  "Oh, Willie," Missie cried, "could they really? Could people--it's not just for cows?"

  Willie laughed. " 'Course not. At the meetin' they said thet they 'spect lots of folks will be comin' out by train. Special car jest for folks to ride in--maybe even two cars iffen they be need- in' 'em. Yer folks could come right on out an' we could meet 'em at the station."

  Missie caught hold of his sleeve. "It's too much--too much all at once. I feel I could burst if it doesn't stop."

  "Don't ya go bustin'," Willie said, pulling her to him. "We still got no doctor--an' I need ya. Who else is gonna look after Nathan an' me, an' git thet there house a lookin' like a home, 'stead of an empty, bare shell?" He chuckled as he held her close.

  Missie was content to rest quietly in his arms.

  "Speakin' of houses," Willie said against her hair, "iffen it's gonna be ready fer yer folks, I'd best git back to buildin' it. I decided today to send twenty or thirty steers along on thet cattle drive. No use doin' a thing by half-measures. Soon as Scottie gits back with the money, I'll take one of the boys an' head fer Tetts
ford. An' this time, I'm takin' you too, Missie. Iffen I don't git you away from this all-male company, you'll be losing all yer feminine charms!" But his eyes told her he didn't think that was likely.

  Missie laughed, then retorted primly, "Why, yes, I believe I will be able to join you on your trip to Tettsford." But her dancing eyes gave her away, and she laughed again for sheer joy.

  "We can git our winter supplies at the same time," Willie added.

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  "I need more preservin' jars," Missie said. "Mercy! I planted more garden then either Cookie or I know what to do with." Willie chuckled and released her.

  "You be thinkin' on yer list," he said. "We'll be doin' our best to be fillin' it." He picked up his tools and started off for the new house. As he went he whistled, and the sound of it was pleasant to Missie's ears.

  Around the corner of the cookshack limped Cookie, and close behind him trailed the young Nathan, followed by his ever- present guardian, big Max.

  Nathan chattered and Cookie grunted. The dog was content to be the silent partner, giving an occasional wag of his tail.

  Missie turned back to the little sod house. It was time to build a fire and begin preparing the evening meal. As she walked, she mentally composed her first letter home.

  "Dear Mama and Pa," she'd write.

  "God truly has kept His promise of Isaiah 41:10, just as you said He would. You should see our Nathan. He's about the greatest boy that ever was. He's quick too, in learning and doing. You'd be real proud of your grandson. I think that his nose and chin are like Willie's, but he has your eyes, Pa.

  "Truth is, we're expecting another baby. Not for several months yet, but we're excited about it. We haven't talked yet about what we'll do for the birthing and all, but maybe by then we'll have folks around and I won't have to go way back to Tettsford Junction. I pray that that might be so.

  "Willie is building a stone house--our real house. The one that we've been living in, temporarily, is kind of small. It's been just fine though, but now we're getting all set to move into the new one. We want to be in before winter comes again.

  "I have a nice big garden. It grows real well down by the spring. The soil is rich and easy to water there. I scarcely have to coax it along at all. Cookie, the cook, uses it for the ranch hands as well.

  "I have chickens, too. This spring they gave us eighteen chicks and we only lost two; I get seven or eight eggs a day. We're going to have chicken for Christmas dinner this year!

  "And we have neighbors! Maria is the closest one to the

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  south. She is a very good friend and we have enjoyed prayer times together. Soon Melinda, a friend from the wagon train, will live to the north of us. You remember our Henry, the driver that you found for us, Pa? Well, he met Melinda on the trip out here, and as soon as he finishes his house, they will be married. I can hardly wait.

  "We have a real good ranch foreman, Scottie, and a number of men who work the spread. There is Cookie--I mentioned him before--who is Nathan's favorite--mine too; and Lane, Smith, Clem, Sandy and two new ones whom I still don't know very well. The new ones haven't yet been to our Sunday Bible reading but we're still praying. Their names are Jake and Walt. Of course they all have last names too, except Smith, but we hardly ever use them here. Pray for all of them. Lane has become a real believer but takes a lot of ribbing from Smith. It would really help him if Jake and Walt broke from Smith and started coming on Sunday too. Especially pray for Smith. He really needs God to thaw out his heart."

  Missie pushed the kettle onto the heat and went outside for a new supply of chips. Her eyes traveled over the miles of hills. They were not just distant, barren knolls now, but separate, individual. She remembered the coyote that appeared on that closest one. She had gazed at the one to the northeast when she looked for Willie's returning team. On the far ones she often saw the cattle feeding. The ones close by were covered with beautiful spring flowers. She'd transplanted some of them around the sod shanty door and watered them faithfully with her dishwater, almost always remembering Mrs. Taylorson's Rule Number Four, "All water must be used at least twice. . . ."

  She turned her eyes toward the west. Even though she could not see them from her valley, her memory brought to mind the mountains--shadowy, misty and golden, by turn. "Like a woman," Willie teased, "always changin' in mood and appearance." She turned back to the hills. How pretty they looked. In the distance were dots, that she knew to be Willie's grazing cattle. A faster-moving black figure appeared for a moment and then disappeared over a rise--one of the hands checking on the herd. Another cowboy rode into the yard down by the corrals. Missie

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  heard the thud of the hoofbeats and saw little smoky swirls of dust. She had missed her ride that morning. She would be sure to take Nathan on out on the morrow. The sting of the wind on her face and the smell of sage in the air always awakened her and sent her home, eager to begin her day of scrubbing clothes or canning vegetables.

  "You know," her letter would go on, "how Willie boasted of his land when he came back? Well, it's even prettier than that. I didn't see it that way at first, but I love it now. The air is so crisp and clean, you can almost serve it on a platter. And the distant mountains change their dress as regularly as a high-fashion city lady."

  Missie filled her pail, hoisted it up and started for the sod dwelling.

  "Willie brought wonderful news today," her mental letter continued. "He says that the railroad which is coming soon will not only haul out cattle but will bring people as well. He says that you'll be able to come right on out here for a visit. Can you imagine that? I could hardly believe it at first, and now I can hardly wait. I never dreamed when I left back east that I'd ever be able to show you my home."

  Missie's eyes filled with unbidden tears. "My home," she said softly, realizing that she had never said the words about this place before. "My home! It truly is! I don't feel the awful tug back east anymore--this is truly my home--mine an Willie's." Joy and pride filled her heart.

  I can hardly wait to show 'em, her thoughts tumbled over each other. They'll love it. It's so beautiful--the mountains, the hills, the spring--I wonder if an apple tree would grow down by the spring? I could have Pa bring out some cuttings--it wouldn't hurt none to try.

  Missie turned back to the temporary sod shanty that had been her home for two whole years.

  "You know," she said to the building, "I'll almost miss you. I think I'll ask Willie to leave you sittin' here. You can be my quiet place an' I can come here sometimes an' think an' remember-- the Christmas dinners when we crammed in here all together; Cookie a-sittin' there on that stool nursin' Nathan back to us; the

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  plannin' that Willie did at that little table; the dreams, the tears, the fears that we've shared here. I've done a heap of growin' since I entered this door--an' there's still more to do--I reckon."

  Missie looked about her. What else would she tell her Mama and Pa? Maybe very little more. Maybe it was best for them to come and see for themselves. It was hard to put hopes and dreams on sheets of paper. Dreams of a future holding a church and a school for Nathan and his brothers and sisters. Dreams of white curtains and a sunlit sewing room. Dreams of Willie with a herd the size he had always planned for. Dreams of neighbors and friends, laughter and shared recipes.

  It would be hard to put her dreams down in neat rows of writing. It would be so much better when she could open her door and her arms to her mama and pa and say, "Welcome! Welcome to my home. There's love here. Love that started growing 'way back on the farm, an' traveled all the way here with us, growin' an' strengthenin' every mile of the way. God's love--just as He promised. Your love, for us as your children. And our love for one another and for our son. Love! That's what makes a home. So, welcome, Mama and Pa. Welcome to our love-filled home."

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  Missie's shocking discovery is not the end of the story in...

  Love's
Long Journey

  After all the planning and dreaming, Missie and Willie LaHaye were actually on the trail west in a covered wagon. Leaving behind the prairie home of Clark and Marty Davis, Missie finds herself caught between the elation of the new adventure and wondering if she'll ever see her family again.

  But the hardships of the trail--the rain, the mud, the impassable rivers, and even death--soon force Missie and Willie to become rugged pioneers. Missie must learn how to live her faith as she faces homesickness, boredom, and deprivation. And, then, when they finally arrive at their new home, she is pushed to the limits of her endurance.