Elizabeth paused to pick up some branches near a dead tree, bundling them together and tucking them under her arm for kindling to use later. Ruth did likewise, making a smaller bundle.
“So what happened?” Ruth asked again as they continued strolling.
“Grandpa decided to let my Uncle Jake ride Storm that Fourth of July.”
“Old Uncle Jake?” Ruth looked confused.
“Well, he wasn’t old back then. And Uncle Jake had been begging and begging to ride Storm in the big race. And since he was Grandma’s favorite brother, Grandpa finally gave in.”
“What happened?” Ruth asked curiously. “Did Storm win the race?”
“He would have won. He had a solid lead, and the race was nearly over with. But then Uncle Jake decided to show off, and he veered Storm slightly off course. Everyone knew Storm was a good jumper, but Uncle Jake took Storm over a fence that wasn’t even part of the race.” She shook her head to remember what happened next. “Storm took the jump, but he must have been tired, and he caught his hind leg halfway over. He stumbled and broke a front leg. Uncle Jake suffered some too because the fall injured his back.”
“And Storm?” Ruth looked worried.
“Poor beautiful Storm had to be put down. And sadly, your Grandpa had to be the one to do it…” She sighed sadly. “I was with him, and I had to watch.” Elizabeth felt the old lump in her throat just to remember how crushed she’d been to see the big handsome stallion reduced to a quivering heap. “It was the hardest thing I’d ever seen. I loved that beautiful horse too. Seeing him like that…well, it was just devastating.”
“Oh, Mama!” Ruth gasped. “That’s horrible. Did Grandpa want to shoot Uncle Jake too?”
“Yes, it was horrible, and you can bet your grandpa was upset. Your grandma used to say it was a clear-cut case of pride coming before the fall. Uncle Jake’s pride…Storm’s fall. But on the way home that day, Grandpa talked to me, and I learned another important lesson. A lesson I’m still learning. And a lesson you’ll continue to learn as well.”
“What’s that?”
Elizabeth paused from walking and looked down into her daughter’s concerned brown eyes. “I learned that death is a part of life, Ruth. It’s something that happens to everyone and everything…eventually. There is no escaping it. Death is part of God’s plan for this world. We live our life here on earth as best we can, but we know that someday God will say it’s time to go.”
“Like when Pa and Uncle Peter died from the cholera?”
Elizabeth nodded sadly. “Yes. Like that.”
“I don’t want you to ever die, Mama.” Ruth looked like she was about to cry.
Now Elizabeth wrapped her free arm around Ruth, pulling her close. “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. And I feel like you do—I don’t want anyone in our family to die either. And I honestly don’t think that’s going to happen for a long, long time. But it’s entirely possible that some people on this wagon train might die before we’re done. And I can’t pretend that it won’t happen. Just like we saw that mule today ending his life, it’s possible that could happen to some of our fellow travelers too. And if it does happen, we just have to trust God, Ruth. We have to believe that God is our heavenly Father and that he knows exactly what he’s doing. We also need to remember that God is preparing a place for us…for after we die.”
“You mean in heaven?”
“Yes. If we believe what the Bible says, we will live with God forever after we die…in heaven.”
“With Pa and Uncle Peter…and that poor old mule too?”
Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to say about the mule, but she simply nodded. “So death on earth isn’t really the end, Ruth. It’s just God’s way of moving us to the next place. And that’s why we don’t have to feel afraid when someone dies.”
“I thought Jess was going to die when she fell in the river that day,” Ruth said solemnly. “But she didn’t.”
“No, she didn’t.” Elizabeth smiled. “It wasn’t Jess’ time to go, and God knew that.”
“Because God must have known that Uncle Matthew needed her to be his wife.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Yes, I’m sure that must have been why.” Now she looked back in the direction of the wagon train, realizing that they’d wandered a little farther than she intended. “We better get back to the group,” she said, taking Ruth’s hand.
“Because of the Indians?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I’m not that worried about Indians, Ruth. According to Eli, they’re honoring their peace treaty through these parts. But rules are rules, and the captain would probably say we were too far away.”
“What would Eli say?” Ruth asked.
Something about Ruth’s tone made Elizabeth turn to study her eight-year-old daughter. “I don’t know, Ruth. What do you think Eli would say?”
“He’d probably say…” Ruth lowered her voice as if she were a man. “He’d say, ‘Let me walk you two pretty ladies back to the train.’”
Elizabeth couldn’t help but laugh. “You think so, do you?”
Ruth nodded. “You know what else I think, Mama?”
“I have no idea what all goes through that funny head of yours.”
“I think Eli likes you.”
“Well, I think Eli likes you too.” Elizabeth didn’t care for the direction this conversation had taken. “In fact, I think Eli likes everyone on this wagon train. It’s his job to help take care of us and keep us safe. Kind of like how a shepherd takes care of the sheep.”
“I think Eli likes you more than he likes all the other people on the wagon train,” Ruth persisted.
They walked together quietly until they were finally close enough to hear the rumbling of the wagon train. It sounded like the back section was finally moving again as well. Elizabeth didn’t want to think of what had become of that injured mule, but she knew that many of the emigrants were low on provisions, and some of them weren’t opposed to eating roasted mule.
Elizabeth glanced at Ruth to see that her daughter was still peering curiously up at her, and she realized that this was another topic she shouldn’t be sweeping under the rug. She paused by a fallen log, switching her bundle of branches to the other arm. “And what makes you think that?” she asked. “Why would you say Eli likes me more than the other people on the train?”
“I saw how Eli looked at you at Uncle Matthew and Jess’ wedding…and when you two were dancing together.”
“Really? And how was that?” Elizabeth gazed back toward the trail, purposely avoiding Ruth’s intense stare.
“Eli was looking at you…looking at you…like you hung the moon.” Ruth giggled.
Elizabeth was too stunned to respond coherently. “Wh—what?”
“That’s what Tumbleweed Tillie said that Mahala said when she saw you and Eli dancing at the wedding.” Tumbleweed Tillie was Ruth’s best friend and Mahala Flanders was Tillie’s big sister. And Elizabeth could imagine them saying something like this.
“She did, did she?” Elizabeth tried not to act too shocked at Mahala’s observations and comments. But she knew that eighteen-year-old Mahala was just one of the older girls who had enjoyed flirting with the handsome trail scout. Perhaps even more so since Matthew and Jess got married. In fact, Elizabeth felt certain that the recent wedding had stirred up plenty of romantic daydreams. Or maybe it was the month of June or the moonlit nights, or perhaps it was simply the clean mountain air.
But Elizabeth had noticed how the girls had become overly aware of the various eligible bachelors on this train. And even the girls still in their teens seemed unconcerned that Eli was nearly twice their age. Even the more sensible Bostonian city girls, Belinda and Amelia Bramford and Evelyn Prescott, seemed to pause whenever Eli passed by on his horse. She’d observed how they preened and smiled, sweetly calling out greetings. Maybe it was Eli’s fringed buckskins and knee-high moccasins that attracted them. Or maybe it was his fine-looking Appaloosa. But more than likely it was Eli himself�
��his clear blue eyes and rugged good looks and easy smile and—
“Mama?” Ruth tugged on Elizabeth’s arm.
“What?” Elizabeth blinked in embarrassment.
“Didn’t you hear me talking to you just now?”
“I’m sorry.” Elizabeth felt her cheeks growing warm. “I guess I was thinking about something else.”
“I was asking you a question.”
“What was your question?”
“Do you like Eli too?”
“Oh, well…of course I like Eli. He’s been a good friend to our whole family and—”
“No, no. I don’t mean like that, Mama. I mean do you like Eli the way Uncle Matthew likes Jess?” Ruth looked up with intense interest. “Would you ever marry Eli?”
Elizabeth glanced over to the wagons moving nearby. She spotted her brother’s wagon and knew it wouldn’t be long until her own wagon passed. Naturally, no one could hear this conversation over here, but it was a bit unsettling just the same.
“Why would you ask that?” Elizabeth questioned.
“Because Tumbleweed Tillie heard her mama saying she thought you and Eli should get married.”
“Oh, Ruth.” Elizabeth shook her head with disappointment. “You shouldn’t repeat things like that. Don’t you know that’s just a hop, skip, and jump away from gossiping?”
Ruth’s eyes grew wide with worry and she pressed her lips tightly together.
“I’ll tell you what, darling.” Elizabeth lowered her voice as if disclosing a deep dark secret. “If I ever think there’s the slightest chance of something like you just mentioned happening, you and JT will be the very first ones to know about it.”
“Really?”
“I give you my word on it.”
Ruth smiled in relief. “Now, don’t you forget that promise, Mama. JT and me will be the first to know if you’re going to get married.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t forget!” Elizabeth threw back her head and laughed. “And don’t worry, I have no intention of getting married—at all!”
Of course, as they continued to walk, Elizabeth could think of nothing but Eli now. And the truth was, even if she did feel attracted to Eli, she could not for the life of her imagine marrying him ever. Or anyone else for that matter. James had been gone for nearly four years, but she’d only given up her widow’s weeds six months ago. And she knew she could never let go of her memories of him.
Certainly, it was one thing to enjoy the company of a man or to dance at a family celebration—and both these activities still felt a bit foreign to her—but it was something else entirely to entertain the idea of marriage. It was inconceivable. Besides—and this thought was surprisingly reassuring—she felt relatively certain that Eli had no intention of marrying her or anyone. If she’d ever met a confirmed bachelor before, Eli seemed to fit the title perfectly.
In their conversations, which had been few and brief, Eli had always made it clear that he loved his outdoor job and independent lifestyle. Nothing pleased him more than sleeping under the stars and cooking over an open fire. He loved hunting and fishing, and after dwelling with the Indians for a few years, he was perfectly comfortable living off the land in a very rustic sort of way. Indeed, Eli Kincaid was what Elizabeth would call an independent soul. And she had no intention of tying him down or saddling him with two children.
Chapter Three
Weather could change abruptly in the mountains. One moment the sky could be clear and blue, and just minutes later a herd of menacing gray clouds could roll in. Elizabeth was accustomed to summer thunderstorms, but in the past she and the children had always sought the shelter of the barn or the house during a bad one. It was altogether different when their only refuge was their canvas-covered wagon.
“Don’t be afraid,” she told JT and Ruth in the back of their wagon, waiting out a storm and peering out the round opening to watch the lightning flash across the sky. Although it wasn’t yet suppertime, the sky was the color of slate and as dark as dusk. Because of the threatening storm, the wagon train had stopped early to make camp for the night. And after seeing an uncomfortably close strike, everyone had retreated to the safety of their wagons, waiting for the danger to pass. Brady and Flax were hunkered down beneath the wagon now. And as Elizabeth witnessed another strike followed immediately by a clap of thunder that shook the wagon, she wondered if they might be safer down there too.
“That was so close I could feel my teeth rattling,” JT said.
“Oh, my!” Elizabeth tightened her arm around Ruth, who was trembling in fear.
“Can we sing?” Ruth asked in a tiny voice.
“That’s a very good idea.” Elizabeth turned to JT, noticing that even his usual bravery seemed slightly shaken. “Why don’t you get out your guitar, and I’ll light a lantern.”
The golden glow of lamplight and the soft strumming of JT’s guitar improved the atmosphere immensely, and soon the three of them were singing “Camptown Races.” And it didn’t take long for Brady to join in with his harmonica. The happy lilting tones of the silly song lifted everyone’s spirits, and it wasn’t long until big fat raindrops began to fall. After a good thorough soaking, the storm moved on and the sky began to lighten again.
“That was fun,” Elizabeth said as she climbed down from the wagon, helping Ruth to get down. “But now we have supper to fix.”
“Can we have music again after supper?” Ruth asked hopefully.
“I don’t see why not.” Elizabeth reached for a pair of water pails and the carrying yoke. “JT, you let Brady tend to the team while you gather firewood or buffalo chips. Grandma said we were running frightfully low on fuel.” She turned to Ruth. “And you go help Grandma get supper started while I run over to the creek to fetch us some water.”
Ruth leaped over a rain puddle. “Looks like there’s plenty of water right here.”
“If we’d had time to put up the awning, we might have collected some too.” She called out to JT. “Why don’t you and Brady get our awning up after your other chores are done, son.”
“Sure, Ma.”
As they all set out their various ways, Elizabeth felt surprisingly light and happy. Perhaps it was a result of their unexpected sing-along, or the passing of the bad weather, or simply knowing the arduous day of travel was done and that everyone, to her knowledge, was still alive and well. But she felt a bounce in her step as she headed down toward the creek.
“Good evening.”
She turned to see Will Bramford approaching with his own pair of water buckets in hand. “Oh, hello,” she called to him. “It looks like we’re after the same thing.”
“Yes.” He sheepishly held up a pail. “If anyone had told me a year ago that I’d be out in the wilderness foraging for water like this, I never would have believed him. But alas, here I am.”
“Don’t your girls usually fetch your water?”
“Usually. But they’re trying out a special new recipe for supper…I believe it’s one your mother shared with them. And since Jeremiah is tending the animals…” He swung the buckets playfully. “The important task of carrying water was left to me.”
She smiled. “It is an important task.”
He nodded. “Yes, and from what I’ve heard it becomes more and more important as we journey westward. I’ve read some grim tales about places like Devil’s Backbone…” He made a slight shudder. “I don’t even like to think about it.”
Elizabeth didn’t care to think about it either. “Wasn’t that a glorious storm we just had?” she said as they walked together toward the sound of the nearby creek.
“Some of those last lightning strikes were awfully close to camp,” he said.
“JT said he could feel his teeth rattling in his head.”
Will laughed. “I think I felt the very same thing.”
She knelt down by the creek, getting ready to dip a bucket when to her surprise, Will took it from her and filled it. “Here you go.” Then he stooped to fill the other.
He chuckled. “I wonder when filling a bucket with water became chivalry.”
“Still…it wasn’t necessary.” Now she watched as he filled his own buckets. After his unexpected help, it seemed only polite to wait. Then once he was ready, she arranged her full buckets on the ends of her yoke. “Carrying water always makes me feel like a true pioneer,” she admitted as they made their way more slowly back toward camp. Now several others were walking their way, and as polite greetings and exchanges were made, she could tell that some of them were watching her closely, curious as to why she and Will Bramford were transporting water together.
To her dismay, partly because it was unnecessary and partly because it was drawing even more attention, Will walked her all the way back to her wagon and even helped her to unload the heavy buckets. “Thank you,” she murmured meekly.
“Not at all. My pleasure.” He grinned at her as if her discomfort amused him.
“I should get to—”
“I wondered if I might have a word with you.” He glanced around her camp now as if to see if anyone was near enough to overhear them.
“A word?”
“Actually I’d like to offer you some legal counsel.”
“Legal counsel?” She blinked and then adjusted her bonnet, folding back the wide brim.
“It’s regarding Brady.” He lowered his voice. “I’ve been meaning to say something for some time, but I couldn’t quite think of how to put it.”
Now she glanced around. She was certain that Brady would still be caring for the animals, but just the same, something in Will’s demeanor made her uneasy.
“I overheard Brady talking to your brother about his plans for a small farm in Oregon Country.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Brady is saving his wages in the hopes of developing his parcel of land.”
Will cleared his throat. “That’s what worries me. I can only assume that you and your family are unaware of the legalities in the Oregon Territory.”
A Dream for Tomorrow Page 2
