Wed on the Wagon Train

by Tracy Blalock

  She froze a second time. “Why? Is there a snake?” Her eyes darted around the ground again.

  “No. A jackrabbit. Over there.”

  Her breath gusted out as her gaze followed the direction he was pointing.

  “Why don’t you take the shot, Matt?” Elias invited.

  Her eyes flew to him in horror. She couldn’t shoot a poor, defenseless bunny!

  But “Matt” wouldn’t be plagued by any feminine hesitation. She schooled her expression before either of the men could read her true feelings.

  She had to play her part.

  Assuming her unmanly snake panic hadn’t already given her away.

  She raised her rifle, but didn’t bother to aim at the rabbit, only pointed the gun in its general direction. She doubted she could hit it even if she was trying. That would take practice, surely. So the sweet little bunny rabbit would be safe.

  She’d watched her father handle the rifle a time or two and knew he kept it loaded. Firing it should be a simple enough matter, since hitting a target wasn’t her goal. Reloading would present a problem, however, as she hadn’t even thought to bring the shot and powder necessary. But she’d worry about that later.

  When she pulled the trigger, the wooden end of the gun slammed into her shoulder with unexpected force, knocking her to the ground.

  The loud blast left her ears ringing and the rabbit fleeing.

  Raising his own rifle, Elias took aim. But his shot also missed, and the rabbit disappeared from sight.

  Though hunting was a necessity, she couldn’t help feeling relieved it had escaped unscathed.

  But she wasn’t as fortunate. Her shoulder throbbed.

  Josiah reached down, hand extended. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” She grasped his hand, and as he pulled her to her feet, she had to stifle a groan behind gritted teeth. The movement had sent pain shooting through her injured shoulder. But she couldn’t let the men know she was hurting.

  If Elias insisted on examining her, he might discover her secret.

  She couldn’t risk that.

  As she’d feared, Josiah’s brother moved toward her. “Let me take a look.”

  “No!” Shying away from his touch, she sidestepped out of reach. “I told you, I’m fine.”

  She hoped it was true. But what if she’d broken a bone? Her shoulder certainly hurt enough for that to be a possibility.

  If the injury didn’t heal on its own, she’d have no choice but to reveal the truth to the doctor.

  * * *

  Josiah wondered over Matt’s behavior. Why didn’t he want Elias to check him over? It was clear the kid wasn’t “fine,” as he’d claimed.

  Was he embarrassed that his inexperience with the firearm had been revealed?

  Josiah could see how the boy’s pride might prevent him from admitting to a weakness, but he should have owned up to it. If he had, he would’ve avoided injuring himself.

  Not to mention, his shot had gone a yard wide, and they’d lost the rabbit.

  Josiah acknowledged that he wasn’t just upset about losing the chance for some fresh meat—he was hurt that the boy still didn’t trust him enough to ask for help. After realizing Josiah had seen through his ruse that first day on the trail, by now the kid should’ve known that Josiah wouldn’t betray his confidence.

  Over the past several weeks, they’d become better acquainted. The boy didn’t say much about his past, but his actions spoke well of him. He wasn’t afraid of hard work, and though his size was a handicap on occasion, his determination saw him through. That said a lot about his character.

  Despite his privileged upbringing, he had grit. Instead of whining about his change in circumstance, he pressed forward and did what needed to be done. And no one could ask for anything more from him than that.

  How could the kid not realize that he’d already earned Josiah’s respect? That Josiah wouldn’t think any less of him if he admitted his inexperience?

  “We should head back.” Elias’s words broke into his brother’s thoughts.

  Checking the position of the sun, Josiah noted it was edging toward the horizon.

  He nodded in agreement and retraced his steps, keeping an eye on Matt as they made their way toward the wagon train.

  The boy carried his rifle in his uninjured arm and appeared to be taking special care with his other shoulder, holding it as still as possible. But he kept pace with them, never asking for allowances, even when a grimace briefly twisted his features.

  How bad was his injury? Everyday tasks on the trail were physically demanding, and the kid could hurt himself worse if he tried to do too much.

  As they reached the circle of covered wagons, Miles waylaid Josiah, and Matt took the opportunity to speed ahead to his own wagon.

  Waving his brother to continue on without him, Josiah turned his attention to the wagon master. “What can I do for you, Miles?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about Matt Prescott. I had my doubts about his capabilities at the start, but I just didn’t have the heart to leave those two young’uns behind. The boy’s done better than I was expecting. Still, I’d like to thank you for stepping in to help on occasion.” His words brought a verse to mind.

  Let each man look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

  “I was glad to do it.”

  The older man clapped Josiah on the back. “Well, I’m sure you have things to do, so I’ll let you get to them.” He headed off to see to his own duties as wagon master.

  As long as Matt didn’t pose a threat to the group or slow them down, Miles seemed satisfied. Hopefully, that wouldn’t change due to the kid’s recent self-inflicted impairment.

  Josiah recalled one particular letter from Rebecca’s sister, in which Abigail wrote of a wagon left behind when the family took sick and couldn’t keep up with the rest of the group.

  The hard truth was that while the pioneers pulled together to support one another when a job required additional hands, someone in need of ongoing assistance—and lacking a handy pair of servants to take up his slack—most likely wouldn’t be tolerated.

  Say, a young man hobbled by injury, for instance.

  The only way to find out whether it was a baseless fear or serious cause for concern was to convince Matt to let Elias take a look at his shoulder.

  With that in mind, Josiah went in search of the kid.

  Arriving at the Prescotts’ wagon, he found Adela by the campfire, but her brother was nowhere in sight. “Where’s Matt?”

  The girl pointed behind her. “She’s in the wagon.”

  “Thanks.” He moved toward the tailgate, then paused as her words replayed in his mind. He turned back to face her. “She?” Surely, he couldn’t have heard right.

  But one look at Adela’s expression—her eyes widening in horror as she clapped a hand over her mouth—convinced him there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

  He spun on his heel and ripped open the wagon’s canvas flaps.

  An attractive female stared back at him, her guilt-filled amber eyes fringed by thick lashes.

  “I don’t believe it.” But he was looking at the proof with his own eyes.

  Her face was clearly visible without the wide-brimmed hat she always wore. Hid behind, he now realized. But he’d seen her without it a time or two and hadn’t recognized the truth. How had he missed it?

  Now that he knew, it was obvious she was a woman, despite her short hair and masculine attire. She was too pretty to be a boy.

  He had harbored some suspicions. But he’d been on the wrong track. Though certain the kid was hiding something, Josiah had believed it was inexperience on the trail. Not a much bigger secret.

  Viewed through his changed perception, he sud
denly had a whole new picture of the past several weeks. The reason the boy rarely looked people in the eye might not be due to shyness, but the fear of discovery. That would also account for why “Matt” had been sparing with details about his past.

  So many clues that Josiah had noticed, only to come up with other ways to explain them away, never guessing the truth. It was small comfort that no one else had seen it, either.

  She’d fooled everyone.

  But why? What would lead a young woman to masquerade as a boy?

  He climbed inside the wagon to confront her, but before he could open his mouth, a noise behind him drew his attention. He turned to find Adela poking her head between the canvas flaps.

  “I want to speak to your sister alone.”

  Adela didn’t take the hint, her gaze focused intently on her sister. “Mattie?”

  “It’s okay, Adela,” she assured. “Everything will be fine.”

  The younger girl hesitated for a moment more before retreating, her head disappearing from sight.

  He pivoted back toward Matt—no, Mattie.

  She shrank away from him. “What are you going to do?”

  Her question hung suspended between them.

  * * *

  Mattie felt sick with tension at suddenly finding herself alone with a man—a very angry one, if his thunderous expression was any indication. He knew she was a female, and he was clearly riled up by her deception. Riled enough to hurt her?

  Was Josiah about to prove her impression of him up until now was wrong? Regardless, she wouldn’t cower, no matter the fear that filled her heart.

  But he didn’t move any closer, and his face relaxed into softer, less intimidating lines. “I just want to talk.”

  Her muscles remained knotted as she waited in uneasy dread.

  Taking off his hat, he placed it on his knee and ran his fingers through the damp strands of his red-gold hair. “Why the deception?”

  “It was the only way Adela and I could get to our relatives in Oregon City. One group had already left us behind when we no longer had a man traveling with us after our father’s death. I couldn’t give anyone else the chance to make the same decision.”

  “The rules are there for a reason,” Josiah pointed out, no doubt remembering every time he’d been forced to step in and help her over the past few weeks.

  He couldn’t understand what it was like to be in her position.

  Here or back in Independence, she and her sister were still women alone without the protection of family. They needed to reach their aunt and uncle in Oregon Country—but they never would if no one allowed them to join a wagon train.

  That hadn’t seemed to trouble the wagon master who’d abandoned two women in a strange town. Other than ensuring she and Adela weren’t his problem, he hadn’t cared what happened to them.

  “My gender doesn’t make any difference in whether I can do the job, and I think I’ve done pretty well.”

  “You have,” he agreed, surprising her. “But I still have to tell Miles about this.” He made a move to exit the wagon.

  “You can’t!” Grabbing his arm, she stopped him from leaving. “Who knows what he’ll do? Please. Don’t give me away.”

  Chapter Six

  Josiah grasped her hand to move it from his arm, but he paused when his finger brushed across a ridged scab. Turning her hand over, he found her palm marred by several healing cuts and painful-looking ruptured blisters.

  She was a petite woman, and from what he knew of her background it was clear she’d been raised as a lady—but she’d done the work of a man. He wouldn’t have credited it if he hadn’t seen it for himself.

  No wonder she had run into difficulties a time or two. He was amazed it hadn’t happened more often. The only help she’d received had come from him, and it had consisted mostly of offered advice and verbal instructions. There had been no reason to mollycoddle a boy by performing tasks for him.

  His thumb stroked the center of her palm, over the white line of a freshly healed cut. Though it was irrational, he felt personally responsible for every nick and scrape, as if he had inflicted the wounds himself.

  She snatched her hand away and curled it into a fist, hiding the damage from sight. “Mr. Carpenter can’t find out the truth. There’s no telling what he’d do.”

  Josiah shifted position in the cramped space and braced a hand on his knee. “He might surprise you. You didn’t give him a chance before.”

  Skepticism shone in her eyes. “Do you honestly believe that would have made any difference?”

  He started to nod, then paused. Did he believe it? He wanted to. But Mattie and her sister had been left behind by a wagon train before, which meant she had valid cause for her concern. He couldn’t simply dismiss it out of hand, without giving due consideration to the possible consequences.

  If presented with the truth, would Miles make accommodations to aid the sisters? Or would he put the needs of the group as a whole over his sympathy for a few individuals? Josiah didn’t know, but either way the Prescotts wouldn’t be allowed to continue on the same as they had been previously. Things would change.

  Some of what he was thinking must have shown on his face.

  Mattie’s expression set in stubborn lines as she shook her head. “I can’t risk it. If Miles Carpenter refuses to allow us to continue with the wagon train, Adela and I will be abandoned here, in the middle of nowhere. It’s nearly impossible for anyone to survive on their own in this rugged land. What chance would my sister and I have?”

  Josiah was reminded of the family mentioned in Abigail’s letter. She hadn’t written a word about what had happened to them after they were left behind by the wagon train. Most likely, she’d never learned their fate.

  How would he feel, never knowing what had become of the Prescotts? Being left to wonder if they had perished somewhere along the trail? It would remain a troubling torment for the rest of his days.

  He didn’t want it to come to that.

  But even if he agreed to keep Mattie’s secret, someone else would inevitability learn the truth just as he had. “Others are going to find out long before we reach the end of the journey,” he felt compelled to point out.

  “Not if you don’t tell anyone.”

  Was she really that naive? They would be on the trail for another four months or so. How could she possibly think to maintain her disguise for that length of time?

  “Don’t you think people will catch on when Adela calls you ‘Mattie’? She’s slipped up in front of me more than once and will doubtlessly do so around others, as well.”

  “No one will think twice about Adela calling her brother by a nickname. You didn’t, did you?”

  He had to concede her point. “You’re right.” But that wasn’t what had tipped him off. “What will grab their attention is if she refers to you as a ‘she’ again.”

  Mattie seemed momentarily dismayed by this revelation, but her expression quickly cleared. “I’ll talk to her. I’m sure she’ll be more careful from now on.”

  Though he had doubts, he didn’t press that particular issue. “Even if she does guard her tongue, that still leaves any number of other ways for your secret to get out. What if an unscrupulous man learns the truth and demands payment for his silence?”

  Her back stiffened. “And how would he have learned the truth? From you?”

  His words weren’t meant to be a threat, and it caught him by surprise that she’d taken them as such. “No, of course not.”

  She folded her arms across her stomach. “You haven’t made any promises yet. Maybe it’s you who expects payment.”

  “No, I don’t.” It rankled that she would suspect him of such appalling motives, but he couldn’t really fault her when he was the one who had brought up the subject. “I was
just trying to show you what kind of problems you might encounter.” For all the good it had done him.

  He should have saved his breath. The warning hadn’t given her pause.

  “Does that mean you’ll keep my secret?” The woman could give stubbornness lessons to a mule.

  He slapped his hat against his thigh in frustration. She’d met all his arguments with resistance, refusing to surrender her position. And he couldn’t think of anything else to say that might convince her to change her mind.

  Could he give her the assurance she wanted?

  Lord, help me to make the right decision.

  There was no immediate answer.

  Josiah could only guess at how Miles would react to this situation. And if he was wrong...? Mattie and her sister would be the ones to pay for his error in judgment. He couldn’t gamble with their lives like that. Someone needed to look out for them.

  Since there was no one else, he guessed he was it.

  As long as Mattie’s pretense didn’t endanger her physical safety or that of any others, he wouldn’t talk to the wagon master about it. And he prayed that no one else found out the truth, either. Though it seemed like asking for the impossible.

  “I won’t tell Miles. But your shoulder needs to be looked at. Let me get Elias—”

  She was already shaking her head before he got all the words out. “I won’t be able to keep the truth from him if he examines me. The fewer people who know, the better.”

  Josiah wanted to insist, but if Mattie felt so strongly about it, he would honor her wishes.

  He reluctantly nodded his agreement. “We’ll do it your way.” For now, at least. “But you have to be completely honest with me about something.” He caught her gaze to judge the truthfulness of her answer in her eyes.

  * * *

  Dread coiled in Mattie’s stomach. “Honest about what?”

  He was already privy to more than she felt comfortable with. Especially given the fact she wasn’t sure she could trust him. She wouldn’t hand him potential weapons that could be used against her.

  “Your shoulder.” Concern darkened his eyes. “How bad is it hurt?”