“Yes, sir but not as a farmer. I wish to set up a school where both myself and my wife will work.”
At that Johanna threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Johanna Thompson, can you leave your intended alone for five minutes. We have business to discuss. Mr. Hughes, Rick? You do know she is only turned seventeen?”
“Yes, sir. I am prepared to wait.”
“No, Pa, please,” Johanna begged her father.
Her enthusiasm to marry him made Rick’s heart swell with love for her.
“Ma was younger when you two got married.”
“We knew each other a long time, Johanna. It was different. I think it best you two have a long engagement. If you should still want to get married, I won’t pose an objection.”
“But, Pa...”
Disappointed, Rick had no option but to accept her father’s decision. It wasn’t as if they could elope. “No, Jo, your Pa is right. You are young and it has all been rather sudden. We will wait until Oregon.” Rick offered his hand to Johanna’s father. “Thank you, sir. I hope to get to know you and your wife better over the next few weeks.”
“Well said. Now where is that whiskey? Della, do you have some left over?”
“Paddy Thompson, my supply is purely for medicinal purposes.”
“It is medicinal. I have just had a marriage proposal. Another one. None of the guidebooks mentioned this hazard on the overland trip.”
Everyone smiled at the joke. Rick wrapped his arm around Jo’s waist as she laid her head against his shoulder.
“Mr. Thompson, will you allow us to go for a walk? I would like to tell my nieces and a certain young man our news.”
“What young man?”
“I am hoping Almanzo will agree to become part of our family.” At a slight nudge from Jo, Rick quickly added. “That is if he fails to find his own parents.”
Rather than look pleased, Rick was a bit taken aback by the look on Mr. Thompson’s face. He hadn’t imagined it either as Jo said, “Pa, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t like surprises. Are you trying to tell me that not only are you starting married life with two little girls but you are adding a boy as well? Just how many children will you be supporting on a teacher’s salary?”
Rick looked at Jo who was blushing prettily. Squeezing her hand tightly, he replied, “Well, I guess as many as my beautiful wife to be will give me.”
The consternation on Mr. Thompson’s face made everyone laugh once more.
Rick knew he better let Mr. Thompson save face. “Mr. Thompson, if your daughter and I are as happy as your wife and you, I will consider myself very fortunate.”
“Spoken like a true diplomat. Maybe it’s politics you are destined for not teaching, lad.” Mr. Thompson turned to his wife and said, “Have you found that whiskey yet?”
Rick took the opportunity to steal Johanna away. He walked them toward his wagon but dipped in behind another one to steal a kiss. Then he went down on one knee.
“Miss Thompson, will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Say yes, Jo, please say yes.”
Johanna giggled as Rick groaned. Sarah, Carrie and Almanzo stood by, watching them closely.
“We are never going to get any privacy tonight,” he whispered.
“You didn’t say yes, Jo. You got to do that before you kiss him again,” Sarah prompted.
Johanna looked up into Rick’s eyes. “Yes, I do.” Then she reached up on tippy toes and touched her lips to his.
“Yuck. I’m not ever letting anyone do that to me. Prince or no prince.”
Carrie’s remark echoed loudly across the camp.
“Come on you two, you should have been in bed hours ago,” Johanna chided the girls gently.
“Are you going to turn into a mean stepmother like the one in my story?”
“You never know, Sarah, I just might.” Johanna made a face that had the girls shrieking with laughter as they ran ahead to the wagon.
“I wonder if I will ever get some time alone with you.”
“Well, you’re the one who said we would take on this ready-made family,” she reminded him, smiling up into his eyes.
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all, I already love those girls like my own. I love you too.”
“I am glad to hear that. If it weren’t for you, I would have lost those girls through my own stupidity. I can’t believe I ever thought I could give them up to some orphanage.”
“I never believed you actually meant to do that. Nobody who loved Oliver Twist could do that to a child.”
She linked his arm as they headed back to the wagon to their new family. He hoped it wouldn’t be too long before they reached Oregon and he could truly claim her as his wife.
Captain Jones watched the excitement from a distance. He was pleased for Johanna and Rick. Despite her relative youth, Johanna had shown her maturity over and over. He thought they were a good match and would have a long and happy marriage. He turned his attention back to the girl sitting by the fire, a slight distance between her and her pa. Although she resembled Johanna, she was the clear beauty of the twins. But it wasn’t just her looks that attracted him. He had never come across a girl who got under his skin the way Miss Rebecca Thompson did. She was witty, intelligent, kind, willful, brave, impulsive and a whole load of other things he couldn’t put a name to. He found himself thinking about her all the time. He checked on her more often than any other traveler in the group. If he was honest, he also came down harder on her than anyone else. He told her off for driving too fast, too slow, for going hunting and for a hundred other things. It amused him she wore pants and a shirt. She wasn’t the conventional woman he had imagined he would settled down with. But then, conventional wasn’t a word that would ever be used to describe him. He sat chewing on the stick at the corner of his mouth. He couldn’t approach her pa and ask for her hand. Especially not after what Mitchell had said. He cursed silently. He’d thought Mitchell had been hanged for his part in the murders at White Point. A group of white men dressed as Indians had attacked a wagon train. Unknown to them a couple of the boys had survived and identified Mitchell and his friends. Last he heard, the judge ordered him to swing. But why had he been set free? And what was he doing at Fort Hall?
Author’s note :
Oregon Destiny, the third book in the Trilogy is coming soon. Read on for a preview of what’s in store for Becky and Captain Scott Jones.
Oregon Destiny
Becky Thompson watched the leader of their wagon train, Captain Scott Jones, ride out of camp. He was alone for the first time in what seemed like ages. She hurried through the rest of her chores before telling her ma, she was going to spend some time with her pregnant friend Milly. Milly was anxiously awaiting the birth of her first baby and ma encouraged all of them to spend time with the young mother to be, to help keep her spirits up.
Becky walked in the direction of Milly’s wagon until she was out of sight. Then she turned and ran to where her pa’s horses were hobbled.
“Come on Ireland, we have to find Scott.” The horse neighed softly, not loud enough to cause anyone to become alarmed. She rode slowly out of camp, not allowing the horse to canter until they were some distance away. She spotted Scott up ahead, his horse contentedly grazing while he stood staring into the distance. She rode up to him, causing him to turn quickly his gun cocked.
“Becky! What on earth? I could have shot you.”
“But you didn’t.” She dismounted.
“What are you doing out here? Do your parents know where you are?”
“I told ma I was going to see Milly. She won’t check. I had to come. I had to see you.”
“Why?”
“You seem to be on edge? Is there something wrong? Something you are not telling us?”
“It’s your imagination, Becky. My job means I must stay vigilant.”
“This is more than that. Does it have something to do with tha
t man, Mitchell, back at Fort Hall?”
She knew she had hit a nerve from the look on his face. She wished he could be honest with her. “I am not a damsel in distress nor am I going to swoon. You are worried and I want to know why.”
“Becky, leave it alone.”
“But there is history between you and this Mitchell guy. I know you knew each other. Didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“So that’s why you got into the fight. It wasn’t to protect Eva and my honor.”
He looked at her before staring into the distance. She knew he didn’t like to lie so she waited.
“That was part of it but you are right there were other reasons. I am not willing to talk about them.”
“I wish you would trust me. I am not a child.”
He put out his hand and drew her to him. Pushing her hair gently back from her face, he looked in her eyes.
“I don’t believe you are a child,” he bent his head and kissed her on the lips. As before the spark between them ignited. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as heavenly sensations overtook her body. She wanted more yet she wasn’t sure what that was. She moved closer to him, only their clothes separating them.
“Becky, I...” he groaned pushing her gently away. “Go back to your wagon. You aren't safe here.”
“Yes I am,” she whispered as she nuzzled his neck, her lips making a track down to the top of his collar bone. Hearing him groan once more turned her limbs to liquid.
“Becky. Go. Now.” He pushed her away, not too gently this time. She stumbled slightly as he moved away.
“But...you like me.”
He stopped walking. His shoulders straightened as he turned back toward her.
“That’s the problem. I like you too much. You and me aren’t suited. There is no future in this and I won’t take your innocence.”
She opened her mouth to protest but the expression in his eyes stopped her.
“Please go. There is only so much temptation I can take.”
She turned and ran, her cheeks flaming, tears running down her face. Not of hurt but of frustration. How could he think they didn’t have a future together? What gave him the right to make that decision for her. Didn’t her opinion count?
She mounted Ireland as quickly as she could and rode back to their camp. Dismounting she hobbled the horse before walking slowly back toward their wagon. She saw Johanna and Eva laughing with their ma over by the fire. Desperate to avoid them, she moved silently toward her tent. She didn’t want anyone witnessing her tears. She rarely cried so they would be concerned. Her parents already had reservations about Captain Jones. She wasn’t going to add any fuel to that fire.
She reached the tent without being seen. Lying down and pulling the covers over her fully dressed body, she pretended to be asleep when Johanna came in some time later. She waited until she heard her sister's soft snores before she opened her eyes. What did she have to do to convince Scott they were meant to be together? And what part did Mitchell play? For despite what Scott had said, he was worried and she was convinced the horrible man from Fort Hall was the reason why.
Chapter Two
He watched her run, his heart torn in two. He regretted his callous treatment of her but he only had so much self-control and she felt so good in his arms. Her body melded to his, responding to his caresses instinctively although he knew her to be innocent. If only he was in a position to ask to court her. If he could offer her a stable home and a decent future, he would but that wasn’t in his power to provide. He wondered if it ever had been but any chance was long forgotten now that Mitchell had turned up. His face hardened at the thought of the man who had ruined his life once before. He wasn’t about to let him get away again. But first he had a duty to take these travelers safely to Willamette valley. Only once that was achieved would he deal with Mitchell.
He turned his focus to the journey ahead. They would hopefully be able to replenish their supplies at Fort Boise although it was a bit late in year. They may even be able to replace the two horses who had gone lame after the three Island river crossing and had to be shot. Maybe Alberto, would be at the fort. It was a bit late in the year for the trappers to be hanging around the fort but hopefully his old friend would be there. He would be able to tell him more about Mitchell in particular how he escaped the hanging.
He mounted his horse and turned in the direction of the camp. He had to keep a distance from Becky. The chemistry between them was powerful and although he wanted to believe he had the will power to resist her, he wasn’t so certain of his body. No woman had ever fascinated him for so long. Not even Kateri. Although he had loved her, their match had been arranged by the tribe. They had grown up together so it seemed natural to get married. He would have stayed happily married if he had been given the choice. But the passion he shared with Becky had never been there between him and his wife. There was nothing for it but to always insist someone accompany them. A chaperone.
Historical Note
Hi, I’m Rachel Wesson. Thank you so much for reading the second book in my new Oregon Trail series.
In researching this book, I came across diaries of Emigrants having issues with their tires. I thought tires were part of the automobile industry and so didn’t expect them to be around in 1852.
I was extremely lucky to have a friend who knew someone whose family business was once involved in making wagons. She checked with him and his response was as follows:
“The way wheels were constructed started with the central hub with the stokes and outside wheel parts all mortise and tenoned together from the outside in. The only way to hold it all together was a band to tie it all. So the band became known as a tire.”
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the help of so many people. Thanks to Erin Dameron-Hill for my fantastic covers. Erin is a gifted artist who makes my characters come to life.
I always mention the Pioneer Hearts facebook group in my acknowledgements. I will continue to do so as I can honestly say being a member of that group has changed my life. I have made some very special friends who help me more than I can ever acknowledge. Marlene, Marilyn and Nancy are like my three guardian angels. I wouldn’t be without them and hope and pray we will meet in person one day.
I also want to meet my amazing beta readers. Special thanks go to Cindy Nipper, Penny Albee, Robin Malek, Robin Gentry, Maxine Brittan, Meisje Arcuri, and Denise Cervantes who all spotted errors (mine) that had slipped through.
Kirsten Osborne, Cassie Hayes and the incredible group of people who make up Pioneer Hearts, a Facebook group for authors and readers of Historical Western Romance. Come join us for games, prizes, exclusive content, and first looks at the latest releases of your favorite historical western authors. https://www.facebook.com/groups/pioneerhearts/
Also by Rachel Wesson
Trail of Hearts - Oregon Trail Series
Oregon Bound (book 1)
Oregon Dreams (book 2)
Oregon Destiny (book 3 coming soon)
Clover Springs Mail Order Brides
Katie (Book 1)
Mary (Book 2)
Sorcha (Book 3)
Emer (Book 4)
Laura (Book 5)
Ellen (Book 6)
Thanksgiving in Clover Springs (book 7)
Christmas in Clover Springs (book 8)
Erin (Book 9)
Writing as Ellie Keaton
Women & War (World War II fiction)
Gracie
Penny
Molly
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