Woman of Courage (Four Full length Historical Christian Romances in One Volume): Woman of Courage Series

by Cynthia Hickey

  “She’s hurting,” Sadie whispered. “I think the baby’s turned wrong.”

  “What can we do?” Delly placed her hands on her softly growing stomach. This could be her in a few months. Earlier if she didn’t take care of herself.

  “There’s nothing to do but pray and wait it out.”

  Alice screamed and bolted to a sitting position. Sadie placed her hands on the woman’s shoulders and forced her back. “Try not to push, Miss Alice. It ain’t time for that baby yet.”

  Delly dipped a rag into some water and wiped down Alice’s neck and arms. Her fingers ached from Alice grabbing a hold with each contraction and grinding her knuckles together. Please, God. I don’t know what to do!

  The heat inside the wagon continued to rise, plastering Delly’s and Sadies’s dresses to their skin with perspiration. Alice had become too exhausted to do much more than writh and groan.

  Delly sat back and glanced down. “Sadie!” Blood pooled beneath Alice’s body. “I’m no expert but that seems like an awful lot of blood.”

  Sadie lit a lantern against the gathering dusk and held it to Alice’s face. “We’re going to lose her. Most likely the baby too.” She set the lantern down and patted Alice’s cheek. “Miss Alice? We’ve got to get this baby out now, you hear?”

  Alice thrashed.

  “I know you’re hurting and we’ve been here all day, but if you don’t push, we’re going to lose you and this child.” Sadie put her full weight on Alice’s stomach and pressed. “Come on, Lord, turn this baby! Push, Miss Alice.”

  Delly twisted a rag and thrust it between Alice’s lips, giving her something to bite down on. Mr. Johnson poked his head inside the tent. “Out, Ben. There’s nothing for you to do here.” While Sadie helped Alice push, Delly used rags to staunch the flow of blood covering the mattress under her friend. Tears obscured her vision. Her hands trembled.

  One last push and she reached forward to grab a miniature baby girl. Alice shuddered and collapsed back onto the quilts. “The baby isn’t breathing.” Delly thrust the infant into Sadie’s hands.

  Sadie stuck a finger in the baby’s mouth, felt around, then held her upside down and gave a firm smack on her bottom. A wail, no bigger than what a kitten might make, issued from the tiny girl. Sadie wrapped her in a small square of flannel and laid her on Alice’s bosom. “It’s a beautiful girl.”

  Alice gave a weak smile and tried reaching for her. Her arm fell to her side. Her eyes closed.

  Delly shook her. What would Ben do if he lost his beloved wife? There were few examples of a loving couple in Delly’s world. She didn’t want to lose half of one and a dear friend at that. “Wake up, Alice. See your new daughter. Please, wake up.” Tears mingled with the sweat on her face. Please, God.

  The stain of scarlet continued to spread beneath her. Delly fell to her knees and leaned over her friend. No breath escaped from her lips. “Oh, no. Please. Sadie, we’ve got to do something.” Delly laid her head beside the baby and let the sobs she’d been struggling to hold in, escape.

  “There ain’t nothing we can do. She’s gone.” Sadie wiped her hands down her apron. “We’ll try and keep the baby alive. Give her to me. I’ll tell Mr. Johnson.”

  Delly shook her head. “No, I’ll do it. You tend to Alice.” She couldn’t bear to see her lifeless friend. She folded the mewling infant close to her and climbed from the wagon.

  Ben approached with a hopeful look on his face. His shoulders slumped when Delly stopped in front of him. “It’s a gorgeous baby girl.”

  “And my Alice?”

  “I’m sorry, Ben. We did all we could.”

  He dropped to his knees and covered his face. An unearthly howl burst from the man, and it took all the strength Delly possessed not to fall beside him and cry out herself.

  Ben leaped to his feet and dashed for the wagon, springing inside. Sadie’s murmurs drifted to those waiting outside. Zeke drew Delly and the baby into his arms. Delly sagged against him, welcoming his moment of compassion, no matter how brief.

  “We tried so hard. The baby was turned wrong,” Delly sobbed. “I felt so helpless. Sadie was wonderful, though.” She held the baby up for him to see. “Isn’t she beautiful? Alice would have been so proud.”

  “Like an angel.”

  Delly pulled away. “She needs her daddy now.” She marched to the wagon and held up the baby for Sadie to take. Then, with the exhaustion of the world on her shoulders, Delly climbed into her own home on wheels.

  Delly wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked. Why, Lord? Alice hadn’t even wanted to come. Love for her husband brought her this far. Delly thrust a fist to her mouth. What would the Johnsons do now? Alice was the glue holding the family together.

  ###

  Ben approached their fire the next morning with the baby in one arm and leading the milk cow with the other. He thrust both at Delly. “I want you to have her. I can’t care for her without Alice, and she would’ve wanted it this way. She cared a lot for you. Said you were like her little sister.”

  Stunned, Delly rose and took the baby. “But…”

  “I named her Alice, after my wife.” He trailed a finger down the baby’s cheek. “She needs a woman to care for her. She’s so tiny. Fits right in my big old hands. I’ll be busy enough with little Abby. She misses her ma so much.”

  She nodded. “I consider this a great honor, Ben. I’ll love her as my own until you’re ready to fetch her back.”

  He nodded, turned, then shuffled away.

  “Oh, Sadie.” Delly’s legs refused to hold her any longer and she collapsed onto a nearby stool. “How can I do this with a child of my own on its way?”

  “We do what we have to.” Sadie laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help. For as long as you need me.”

  “I don’t know much about babies.” She glanced at the cow, noting the jutting hip bones. “I hope that animal holds up until we reach Oregon.” Delly smoothed the downy fuzz on the baby’s head, marveling at her perfection. “You poor dear.”

  The baby squirmed and cried. “I don’t have any bottles. How am I going to feed her?”

  Sadie smiled and tossed a glove into the pot hanging over the fire. “We improvise, until we can see whether someone has a bottle stashed in a crate somewhere.” She fished the glove out with a stick, then, using a needle, poked holes in one of the fingers. “Luke, can you milk a cow?”

  He rolled his eyes and grinned. “Of course I can.” He grabbed a bucket and stalked away. “What simpleton do you take me for?”

  “Will she live?” Delly stuck her finger in the baby’s mouth.

  “She’s only a month early. There’s a chance, God willing.” Sadie smoothed her apron over her slightly protruding stomach. “I’d have plenty of milk if my own was here, but this child won’t arrive until after we hit Oregon.”

  A laugh burst from Delly’s lips. “I thought your pooch might have something more than to do with eating a lot of beans, but didn’t want to pry. Seems like we’re being over run by babies. Zeke must be pulling his hair out.”

  With baby Alice fed and clothed in a gown another emigrant generously gave them, Delly joined the others beside the grave of her friend. Clouds gathered overhead as thunder rolled in the distance. How fitting that the funeral of Alice Johnson should be overcast.

  The Johnson family stood opposite her clustered in grief. They’d lost two family members while Delly gained one. She gazed into the baby’s face. How unfair. What made her family different from the others? Tragedy often struck without warning, yet they’d been spared the heartache of death.

  She choked back a cry, handed the baby to Sadie, then gathered her skirts and dashed for the wagon as the first thud of dirt fell on Alice’s wooden casket.

  Her lungs burned by the time she climbed into the wagon and collapsed on a pile of blankets. Tears left a fiery path down her cheeks, and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. No more crying. This land didn’t allow for weakness. She’d st
arted the journey optimistic and full of dreams. Half-way through, she sat in the back of a wagon smaller than the shack she’d lived in before, all her worldly possessions piled around her. She kicked the nearest crate and heard the tinkle of her new tea set.

  “Delly?”

  “I’m here, Zeke.”

  He climbed in beside her. “Are you all right?” He peered at her with such concern that Delly’s sobs started anew.

  “I’m just having a fit.” She sniffed. “I’m not cut out for this life. I thought I was, but look at me. Crippled and whining; that’s all I’ve done for the last few weeks.”

  “Your leg is getting stronger every day. You’ll barely have a limp. We’re past the half-way mark and luckier than most.” He wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

  “This trail is tough, I won’t deny that, but God will see us through and give us the strength to endure. You whine all you want. When we get home, your smile will be so big, it’ll block out the sun.”

  26

  The emigrants reached the fork where the trail split for travelers to choose California or Oregon. Ten wagons took the turn toward California. Zeke’s heart ached as they left. He’d tried dissuading them, letting them know they had no one qualified enough to lead them across the desert. But they’d heard the way was easier, and preferable, to climbing the mountains. Their determination won over his knowledge and reason. He shrugged. The way would be marked by the wagons that had gone before. Hopefully, they’d find the sparse water holes.

  He turned to Luke. “That’s it then. I tried giving them half of their money back. Some took it, a couple didn’t. God be with them. They’ll need Him.” He glanced at the range of mountains ahead of them. His own train would have it hard, but there’d be grass and water for the stock. Something the desert couldn’t provide.

  Delly stood off to the side, her gaze fixed on the group that left. Zeke suspected she felt the same as he did. He’d get her to Oregon in one piece or die trying. Her lapses into crying fits of weakness bothered him. She seemed to have lost the spunk he’d admired from the first moment he saw her. He tugged on his hat brim and spurred his horse onward. She’d get that spark back. All she needed was rest. At least that’s what he kept telling himself.

  Now, she had a newborn and one on the way, not to mention Luke proudly told him Sadie was expecting. Whether Zeke wanted to be or not, he had a ready made family to look out for and support. Only a scoundrel would walk away.

  He’d tell Delly to hand over the deed. She could throw a fit if she wanted, but if Zeke was going to resume responsibility for the children, he’d need them under the same roof. Like it or not, Delly was going to have to marry him once they reached Oregon.

  Ben Johnson shuffled by, his big hand latched onto his daughter’s small one. What would he do now? Marry again or try raising Abby on his own? Zeke wouldn’t want to try caring for a child without a woman’s help. He’d be as lost as a kitten among wolves.

  ###

  They camped on the banks of a small creek. Delly tried catching up on laundry, never-ending now with baby Alice, but the alkali deposits in the water didn’t do much to get rid of the dinginess. Just like her spirits. Weighed down and stained.

  The baby slept on a blanket beneath a tree. Delly stood on tip-toes so she could see over the rise where Sadie made supper. Scents of roasting meat drifted to her, and her stomach rumbled. She ought to help, but the ever present exhaustion weighed on her. She tossed the last shirt into the laundry basket then lay next to Alice and closed her eyes. Just for a moment.

  A shadow fell across her face. She bolted up and smoothed the hair from her face. Ira Bodine scowled over her. She should never have fallen asleep or let down her guard. Not knowing Bodine had to still be out there somewhere.

  “Another surprise?” His gaze roamed over her. “I’d hoped to catch you with your pretty little daughter, but babies fetch a good price too.” He pulled a derringer from the pocket of his vest. “Let’s go.”

  “Mr. Bodine…”

  His expression hardened. “They’ll be calling you to eat soon, and I’d rather not be found. I’m afraid your wagon master may feel the need to play gunfighter and call me out. Things could get ugly.” He waved the gun toward the bushes. “Grab the child and let’s go.”

  Heart pounding harder than a herd of stampeding cattle, Delly stooped to lift the baby. Should she cry for help? No, Bodine would have no qualms about pulling the trigger, and she didn’t want to risk the baby’s—her new daughter’s—life. In the space of a few weeks, Alice had become very precious to her, gaining weight and strength, despite her early start in life. Delly sighed and stalked ahead of Bodine. She’d do what he ordered; until the opportunity to escape presented itself.

  “I’m glad to see your limp has improved. Barely noticeable now. And your hair has grown.” He jabbed her in the back with his weapon. “You’re still quite fetching, despite the rigors of living out here. Get on the smaller horse.”

  Using her apron, Delly made a sling to carry the baby across the front of her. Alice woke and cried as Delly swung herself onto the saddle.

  “Shut the kid up, or leave it here. The wolves won’t mind.”

  Her mouth fell open at his crudeness. She thought of her crutch left beside the creek and wanted to bash him in the head with it. She rarely used it anymore, but Sadie insisted she keep it close in case her leg tired. Alice’s cries increased in volume. Delly rocked and tried to shush her before Bodine made good on his threat.

  He mounted his horse, grabbed the reins to the one Delly rode, and set off at a gallop. For an hour, the baby’s wails reverberated against Delly’s eardrums. What had started out as hunger cries turned into a full-out rage fest. “Shhh, Alice. Hush now.”

  Bodine halted and held out his hand. In the other he held a pistol. “I warned you. Now give the brat to me.”

  “No. You’ll have to shoot me.” Delly tightened her hold. “What did you expect? You took us with no way for me to feed her. She’s less than a month old. She isn’t mine so I have no milk for her. Let us down, and I’ll try to pacify her with water.”

  “I don’t think so. Hand her to me.”

  “No!” This could not be happening. Would there be a day out here where evil didn’t intrude, intent on stealing every morsel of happiness from Delly’s life?

  “I’m warning…” He glanced over her head, cursed, then urged the horses on.

  Delly glanced over her shoulder and smiled. A cloud of dust hovered on the horizon. Untying her face rag, she let it fall to the ground, a splash of sunshine among the darkness of the approaching night. Zeke might be unhappy with her, but there’s no way he’d leave her in the hands of a man like Ira Bodine.

  “Mr. Bodine.” Delly hefted the baby more securely across her chest. “I can’t continue at this pace.”

  “You have no choice.”

  “Unless you want to arrive with damaged merchandise, I need to rest. If we don’t stop, I’m going to fall off this horse.”

  He swore and stopped. A valley lay to the right, the creek they’d left wound through it. Stiff rock faces rose on their left. “Give me the child’s blanket.”

  “She’ll be cold.”

  “Give me something of hers. I don’t care what.” He held out his hand. Delly untied her bonnet and gave it to him. He frowned. “Now give me the child.”

  “No.” Her arms tightened around the sleeping infant.

  “I will give her back. I’m just using her to insure that you don’t leave.” He wiggled his fingers. “If you weren’t worth so much gold, I’d rethink my plan. I never figured you for a shrew.”

  “You don’t know anything about me.” She handed Alice to him, every nerve on end. She wanted nothing more than to keep the baby close and run away.

  Bodine rode to where the path they followed divided, dropped the bonnet, then turned back to Delly. “Here.” He handed her Alice, then headed down the hill and to the creek below them. Relief flooded through her,
and she dropped a kiss on the baby’s face.

  When they stopped, Bodine slid from his horse and pulled a paper-wrapped parcel from his saddlebag. “You’re disgustingly dirty, and the men’s pants do nothing for you. Clean up in the creek and put this on.” He tossed the package to her.

  “What is it?”

  “Strip down, wash up, and get dressed.” He pulled her from the horse. “I advise you to do what I tell you at all times. Otherwise, this darling infant girl will be left behind.” He crossed his arms.

  “You’re crazy.” Delly refused to flinch beneath his stare. “Does it make you feel big to threaten a child? Strong to intimidate a woman?” She laid the baby on a patch of grass, stripped to her under garments, then waded into the frigid waters.

  A muscle jumped in his jaw. His fists clenched. “Watch your tongue, woman, or you’ll arrive at our destination sporting a few bruises.”

  Using the sand from the creek bottom, she scrubbed her body and scalp. How dare he threaten her and Alice? When Zeke showed up, he’d give the gambling man the what for. “Hand me the dress, Mr. Bodine.”

  He laughed. “It’s silk. Not something that will hold up in water. Your undergarments are sufficient for now.” He leaned against a tree and lit a cigar. “I can’t believe you allowed yourself to get in a family way.” His gaze flicked to her stomach. “Seems you’re not the virtuous woman you claim to be.”

  Taking a deep breath, Delly marched from the creek, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cower beneath her clinging bloomers and bodice. A quarter moon and some cloud cover blocking the stars made full sight impossible, and for that she gave thanks. She lifted the garment he’d ordered her to wear, and grimaced.

  Blood red silk, almost black beneath the moon light. She slipped it over her head.

  “Now off with the wet undergarments.”