Their Frontier Family

by Lyn Cote

  Then they heard an unexpected sound—horse hooves, not a wagon creaking. Up the track rode Isaiah.

  Elated, Noah rose, lifting Dawn to his shoulder. “Isaiah!”

  Sunny bounced up, too. “Oh, you’re home. I’m so glad!”

  The lanky teen slipped off his horse. “Got home in time for Sunday dinner. But wanted to bring you news and gifts from Bid’a ban right away.”

  Sunny pressed her hands together as if trying to contain her obvious happiness. “They’re well then?”

  “The trip north took a bit longer than I’d guessed. But we got there and her family celebrated her homecoming for three days.” Isaiah beamed at them. “Relatives from her clan came from miles around. They thought they had lost her for sure.”

  Neechee barked again. Noah looked past Isaiah, expecting to see Martin. But instead Old Saul and his family were arriving.

  “I’m glad I baked a double layer cake yesterday,” Sunny whispered to Noah. They went forward to welcome their guests. Then Noah and Isaiah carried out the table and the other bench for their company.

  “What a beautiful day,” Lavina said, looking happier than she had in many weeks.

  Noah brought out the rocker for Old Saul and the older man lowered himself into it. Before he got settled, Martin’s wagon drove into the yard with Ophelia and her family on the bench and the Osbourne family riding in the back.

  For a moment Noah was taken aback by the prospect of entertaining so many—and all at once.

  “This should prove interesting,” Sunny murmured and then went forward in welcome.

  For a few minutes Sunny bustled around, making coffee and bringing out the cake. Mrs. Buford Cantrell sat in stony silence at the table. On the other hand Miss Ellen Thurston spoke cordially to everyone as if she were accustomed to sitting outside a cabin in the woods.

  As soon as everyone was settled and began eating cake and sipping strong coffee, Old Saul nodded to Isaiah. “Our guests don’t know that my grandson just returned from a trip north to Chippewa land. Why don’t you tell us all about it, son?”

  “Why would he go to Indian land?” Mrs. Cantrell snapped.

  Complete silence.

  “Mother, you don’t have much time before your boat leaves in the morning,” Ophelia said. “Maybe we should just finish our cake and take you back to town.”

  Mrs. Cantrell sniffed.

  “We’re very happy to have your daughter and her husband in our town,” Old Saul said.

  “This is not the life I wanted for my daughter.” The older woman seemed to have reached her limit. She sounded like an over-tired child who wasn’t getting her way. “And now my first grandchild will be born in a cabin,” she complained.

  Again, silence.

  Sunny almost felt sorry for the woman. She must be very used to getting her way.

  Lavina cleared her throat. “I understand how you feel, ma’am, but our children only belong to us till they grow up and leave home. Still, it’s hard not to want to continue protecting them, guiding them. I’m afraid in spite of my praying for Isaiah, I worried every day till he returned home. I know I should have more trust in God to take care of him, but he’s my baby.”

  “Mother,” Isaiah objected.

  “But of course he’s a young man now,” Lavina said with an apologetic smile. “And this trip has helped him see his path forward.”

  “Yes, I learned so much and saw so much,” Isaiah put in eagerly. “There is such need there, especially for teaching.”

  His enthusiasm impressed Sunny.

  “I don’t know what any of this is about,” Mrs. Cantrell said. “Or why my daughter would want to live here in the wilderness.” She stood abruptly. “Martin, it doesn’t seem as if I can make my daughter see sense. Take us back to the riverboat.”

  Ophelia looked mortified but Martin looked relieved. “If that’s what you wish, Mother Cantrell.”

  The woman marched to the wagon and Martin hurried after her. Miss Thurston wiped her lips and rose. “Mrs. Whitmore, the cake was delicious. Thank you so much for the refreshments. The setting of your home is lovely and I know from my cousin Ophelia how supportive her neighbors have been. I must, however, bid you farewell. For now.”

  Everyone bid the nice young woman a warm goodbye and Martin drove off. Ophelia rode in the back, looking forlorn.

  A moment of strained silence followed their departure.

  “Ophelia’s mother told me that Miss Thurston’s uncle is a state senator in the Illinois legislature,” Nan informed them, “and she comes from a wealthy family, too.” Nan’s tone informed them that Mrs. Cantrell had sought and failed to impress Nan.

  “Well, she’s a much happier woman than Ophelia’s mother,” Old Saul said mildly. “Meddling is a sin, too.”

  “And I think all she has accomplished is that she’s alienated her daughter,” Lavina said.

  Sunny agreed silently. And determined never to behave so foolishly with Dawn.

  “So, Isaiah, how’s Miigwans?” Noah asked.

  Isaiah grinned. “He is fine. Missing you, but fine. He is hoping for a pup real bad.”

  Noah shook his head, smiling. “Scamp.”

  “Isaiah, what was it like up that way?” Sunny asked.

  “Beautiful. Lakes everywhere. I mean, everywhere. So blue and crystal clear water.” His face darkened. “But such poverty. It nearly broke my heart. There’s a lay preacher there and an old priest. They do their best to help bridge the gap between the Ojibwa and the whites. But it’s hard to see some of their men who ought to provide for their families drunk on our liquor.”

  “Well, that could be said of any town in our country,” Old Saul commented.

  “The lay preacher is named Sam White. I plan on going back this fall to work with him through the winter.”

  Lavina and her husband looked shocked. Old Saul nodded, unperturbed.

  Isaiah plunged ahead. “Sam says he needs someone to help him. He’s over seventy and is suffering with arthritis bad. He holds classes for people who want to learn how to read and write English and he teaches a Bible Study weekly. He supports himself as a trapper and will teach me that, too.”

  Sunny watched Lavina absorb this. She glanced at Dawn, lying drowsily on Noah’s shoulder, and wondered what it would be like when her daughter brought a young man in and said she was marrying and leaving home. An icy needle pierced Sunny’s heart. Slight understanding of Ophelia’s mother flickered.

  “Oh!” Isaiah stood and lifted down one of his saddlebags. “Bid’a ban sent gifts from her family to you and Mrs. Osbourne.” He pulled out four small pairs of moccasins, each beaded with skill and lined with rabbit fur. “For the children.” He handed two pairs to Nan—and two to Sunny. “To keep their feet warm this winter.”

  Noah took one of the small moccasins, smiling at Dawn. Sunny put her hand on his arm, sharing the moment, their little girl’s first pair of shoes. Bid’a ban had made them.

  “Oh, how sweet,” Nan cooed.

  At first, Sunny was confused. Then she blushed, thinking of Bid’a ban telling Sunny that she was better, and Sunny should return to the loft to be with Noah. She stroked the soft deerskin leather and silken fur lining. “How thoughtful. Thank you for bringing them.” She looked at Noah, who had a strange smile on his face as he took in the two pairs of tiny shoes. That smile made her heart skip a beat.

  As their guests prepared to leave a bit later, Noah helped Old Saul back onto the wagon.

  “Well, we’ll be seeing you for the first barn raising then. Two weeks from last Friday,” the older man said.

  “Are you sure you want to build mine first?” Noah asked.

  “Yes, because you’ll show everyone how a stone foundation should be done. Most don’t know how and a good foundation is important. For
barns as well as people.”

  The preacher’s family rode away as Nan helped carry dishes to the outside basin. “This has been quite a day,” Nan said with a sigh as she dried the final dish. “I’m ready to go home.” Gordy took her hand and the couple and their children waved goodbye.

  Sunny watched them leave. “Well, company is fine, but that’s enough for a while,” Sunny said.

  Noah put an arm around her shoulder. “You did us proud with that cake.”

  At his unexpected praise and touch, Sunny had to swallow sudden tears. “My pleasure.”

  “But I like it when it’s quiet here. Just the three of us.” Neechee barked as if agreeing or arguing with Noah. “I mean the four of us.”

  Sunny bent to pet the faithful dog. As she stood back up, Noah shocked her.

  He pulled her around and into his arms.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Drawing Sunny into his arms had felt as natural as a sunrise to Noah. The top of her head brushed the underside of his chin. Her hair smelled of the lavender water that she combed through it each morning. He liked her feminine ways, how she always looked trim and neat.

  He savored the softness of her within his arms. Sunny, I’m glad you’re my wife. He wished he could say the words to her—she deserved to hear them. But he couldn’t make his throat and mouth work. Sunny had captured him and made him mute.

  Then with an irresistible sigh she rested against him, trusting him to hold her.

  He buried his face into her pale golden hair and tightened his arms around her. For once he didn’t think of his life before Sunny. Like honey poured on a cut, her presence soothed and healed. He hoped she was as content as she always seemed. But he vowed to make her happy—truly happy—or die trying.

  He would figure out how to be her husband—he owed her that.

  He felt the familiar sensation of Dawn grabbing his pant leg and pulling herself up to stand. He chuckled deep in his chest. His little Dawn.

  “No-No,” the baby said, patting his knee. “No-No.”

  Sunny stepped back. “Dawn wants her pa-pa,” Sunny said, emphasizing the two syllables. “Pa-pa,” she repeated.

  Dawn crowed, arching her back and squealing.

  Noah swung her up into his arms. He kissed her cheek, and then bent and kissed Sunny’s cheek for good measure.

  “Maybe I’ll invite Mrs. Buford Cantrell to stop by again sometime.” Sunny’s smile sparkled as she teased. “She seems to have had quite an effect on you.”

  The three of them sat again in a row on the bench outside their cabin. Dawn clamored to get down and roll in the grass with Neechee. Squirrels scampered from tree to tree, shaking branches and chasing each other, chirruping. Noah relaxed as the golden sun lowered behind the trees. He let his arm go around her waist and rest on the bench behind her. For the first time in recent memory contentment flowed through him, something he would never have again thought possible. And for now, he let himself enjoy it.

  * * *

  Sunny had rarely been this keyed up in her whole life. Eight families, including the old preacher’s, were coming for the first barn raising at their place. She had put a haunch of pork wrapped with wild onions to slow roast in the large oven Noah had expertly crafted in their stone hearth. The scent tantalized her as she finished her grooming.

  She ran her hands down over her crisp white apron. Oh, Lord, please keep everyone safe today. She remembered the day the tree had bounced into Noah and could have killed him. So many men working together could invite disaster.

  Noah stepped into the doorway, their little girl hugging his neck. “Mmm. That pork sure makes my mouth water.”

  She managed a tight smile.

  “Wonder what the other women will bring?” He offered her Dawn. “You’ll have to keep her. They’ll be arriving soon—”

  Neechee’s barking interrupted him. Sunny accepted the baby who complained loudly at being separated from Noah.

  “Make sure the women keep watch over the children,” Noah warned. “I don’t want any children near us as we work with the stone.”

  Sunny nodded. “I’ll make sure.”

  Then the families began arriving. Most left their wagons on the trail and walked up the track to the Whitmore clearing. Every face was smiling. The men shouldered spades, axes and shovels. The women, all in fresh white aprons, carried covered dishes and sewing or knitting baskets. The Osbournes arrived, bringing more benches for the women to sit on while they sewed in front of the cabin. And the Stewards brought chairs. The weather couldn’t have been better for a day of working outside. The sun shone bright and the breeze was warm without heat.

  Soon the men were at the far side of the clearing. Noah had piled a hill of stone from plowing the garden and stacks of logs he, Gordy and Martin had felled in the past two weeks. With shovels in hand, the men began digging the foundation trench.

  Sunny supervised the donated food. Some had been stowed in the spring house to keep cool and some set on the hearth to keep warm. When the breeze was just right, delectable fragrances wafted over the women.

  After the initial greetings the ladies began telling about their families back home and how they’d come to settle in Pepin. Frantically, Sunny tried to remember what she’d told Caroline when they’d first met.

  “Well, that’s how Gordy and I picked Pepin—it was as far as our fare on the riverboat took us.” Nan laughed at this. “We took it as God’s providence and so it has been.” Nan sent Sunny and Ophelia a special smile.

  Sunny tried to hold on to that, but she had to concentrate on her words. Because it was her turn now. “I lived out West. After my mother died, a friend sent me back East to her family.” That was true.

  “Where was your pa?” one woman whom Sunny barely knew asked.

  Sunny’s mind spun. “We’d lost him years before.”

  “Losing both parents young is hard,” Ophelia said solemnly. Murmurs of sympathy caused Sunny to writhe inwardly.

  “How did you meet Noah?” Nan asked.

  Sunny drew a deep breath. “He attended the same church as the family I lived with.”

  The women made cheery, knowing sounds, and Nan nudged her. “Flirting at church, hmm?”

  Sunny knew she must smile and she curved her mouth, hiding how her lips threatened to tremble.

  “How did you and Noah choose Pepin?” Lavina asked, looking up from the shirt she was mending. She cast a concerned glance toward the men. Her father-in-law, Old Saul, was insisting on helping with the stone foundation, obviously worrying her.

  “Noah decided he wanted to homestead and early this year, he traveled to Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and then Wisconsin. He liked Pepin best. He came home in April.”

  She caught herself just before she said “and we married.” Horror over almost saying these indiscreet words nearly made her gasp. Instead she finished with, “We came here.” Please don’t ask me any more. Please.

  “Now, Ophelia, you’re the new bride,” Nan said with a teasing voice. “How did you fall in love with your Martin?”

  Ophelia began speaking about meeting Martin at a political rally for President Grant when he visited his home in Galena. The bride blushed sweetly.

  Sunny sighed silently. She had made it through. She began to relax. The caution was all on her part; these women saw her as one of them, something she had doubted possible once.

  * * *

  The men had worked till early afternoon before stopping to eat lunch. After eating and then resting for a while, the men rose to troop back to the barn site.

  Lavina walked beside Old Saul, trying to persuade him to lie down inside for a while. “You’ve been on your feet or sitting on a log for most of the day. You need to rest now.”

  Old Saul waved away her caution. “The sun is doing me good
. I’ll just sit and watch, Lavina. No harm in that.”

  Sunny watched the woman shake her head, obviously concerned.

  Noah must have heard because he requested that the lady in the rocking chair give up her seat, and he carried it to a shady spot where Old Saul could watch the work in comfort.

  “Your husband is such a thoughtful man,” Lavina said softly to Sunny as Old Saul lowered himself into the chair.

  Sunny nodded. “He is.” She gazed at the barn, which was amazingly taking shape in one day. The stone foundation was almost done and men were notching the logs to fit together at the corners.

  Then she heard Noah’s shout. She swung her gaze to him. He was kneeling beside Old Saul who had slumped onto his shoulder.

  Lavina ran toward their wagon. She retrieved a small bag and raced toward her father-in-law.

  All work stopped. Everyone rushed forward to help.

  Noah called out, “Everyone, please keep back! He needs air!”

  Lavina knelt beside Noah and drew out a packet of pills. “Here’s your digitalis.” She slipped one into her father-in-law’s mouth and called for water.

  Sunny ran to get the pitcher of spring water and dipper. Noah accepted it from her and poured the dipper full. She stepped back, leaving Lavina and her husband to care for the older man.

  His face etched with pain, Old Saul gasped for breath and pressed a hand over his heart.

  Noah carefully held the dipper to his mouth and trickled water in.

  Nan and Ophelia came and put their arms around Sunny. “Oh, I hope he’ll be all right,” Ophelia whispered.

  Sunny echoed this silently. She was wringing her hands and realized then that this older man had become dear to her. He had shown love to Bid’a ban and Miigwans. Even Neechee voiced a long worried moan in the troubled silence in the clearing.

  Oh, God, please help Old Saul.

  * * *

  The next day Noah sat on the bench at his table with his coffee cup, staring into space. In his mind’s eye he saw the old preacher clutching his chest. Old Saul’s face had gone sheet-white. Fear thrummed through Noah. He didn’t want to lose the old preacher. He realized how much he’d come to like the older man’s unexpected visits, and how helpful he’d been in so very many ways.