Josie's Valor

by Peggy L Henderson

  He walked through camp, nodding at some of the women who glanced up at him with disguised curiosity. Some smiled, others waved hesitantly. Little kids laughed and ran around their mothers’ skirts, and a baby cried from inside one of the wagons.

  The sounds were surprisingly familiar. In the last eight years, Harley’s Hole had seen its share of babies born, and the laughter of his young nieces and nephews filled the cabins. There would be no getting away from all that noise on this journey, that much was clear.

  Hammond’s camp was near the end of the line of wagons, closest to the stream that flowed through the valley. Ada Hammond knelt at the banks of the creek, dipping some article of clothing into the water.

  Travis stopped and studied her. While she was getting on in years, it appeared as if time had been kind to her. Her hair was mostly gray, but it shone in the sun. The highlights revealed the light brown it must have been in her youth. Her face was wrinkled with age, but her eyes sparkled every so often. No wonder–

  Soft laughter drifted from Hammond’s wagon, and Travis glanced from Ada Hammond to where Josie stood with Anthony. In her buckskin britches and shirt, she looked out of place among this camp of women. Travis narrowed his eyes. He remained rooted to the spot.

  Josie stood out in more ways than her clothing. Travis blinked and shook his head. A twinge of annoyance moved through him, but what, exactly, had brought it on was unclear. He headed toward Hammond.

  Josie had seen him first. The smile on her face faded instantly as he approached. Hammond stopped talking, as if what they had been discussing was some great secret between them. Travis walked faster.

  “Mr. Wilder, I was hoping to see you today.” Hammond approached and smiled as he held out his hand.

  Travis resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why did the man have to be so pleasant all the time? His eyes darted to Josie for a split second. She’d remained behind, glaring at him suspiciously.

  Damn. For years, she’d avoided any eye contact with him and other people, but lately, she had no problem looking directly at him without flinching. Travis directed his attention back to Hammond.

  “Just want to make sure everything is ready to go, Hammond. I plan to leave at first light.”

  Hammond nodded. “All the families are aware we’re leaving bright and early. They’re getting all of their last-minute chores done today. We’ll be ready.”

  Travis cracked a slight smile. “Let me know if there are any questions or concerns. I don’t want any unforeseen surprises to hold us up.”

  “I’ll make the rounds before the noon meal and check with everyone. If there is anything that might hold us up, I’ll let you know and try to remedy the situation straightaway.”

  Travis studied the man. If he was always this agreeable and accommodating, this journey would be like walking through the woods on a sunny afternoon. His gaze once again drifted to Josie. Thankfully, her attention this time was elsewhere.

  That woman was another matter. She was most definitely not going to be as easy to work with as Hammond. Travis mentally shook his head. He stared at Josie again.

  Woman? She was just a girl. He hadn’t paid this much attention to Josie in . . . ever. She’d always annoyed him because she’d won favor with Harley, which had brought out his competitive nature. Not once had he ever seen her as anything but an annoying little girl. Why had he thought of her as a woman just now?

  He raked his fingers through his hair, which could use a good combing. Cora always chastised him because he wouldn’t let her come near him with scissors to cut it.

  “Is there anything else we should know or be aware of, Mr. Wilder?”

  Travis blinked and stared at Anthony Hammond, who looked at him with expectant eyes.

  “No, I . . uh, I’ll let you get back to work.”

  Travis went to leave. He halted abruptly and turned back to Josie. Hammond was already at her side again.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Josie stared at him as if she hadn’t understood. She glanced at Hammond, who nodded in encouragement.

  “I’m sure the two of you have a lot you need to discuss to prepare for tomorrow, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and see if my mother or any of the other ladies need any assistance.”

  Hammond nodded, which looked almost like a bow, then walked away. Travis frowned. The man stood a good head taller than he, and filled out his eastern clothes, but would he know how to shoot a rifle if called for? It was highly doubtful.

  Josie hesitated, then moved past Travis, heading toward the cabins. Travis stepped up alongside her to keep up with her quick pace. When she didn’t slow down, he reached for her arm to stop her.

  Quick as lightning, Josie spun toward him, her knife already in her hand and pointed at his throat.

  “Let go of me,” she hissed.

  Travis leaned backward to avoid the sharp blade, too surprised to do much else. His hand gripped her arm tighter. He’d never stood this close to her, and when he looked into her eyes, he immediately let go of her.

  His own gaze narrowed. Raw fear was clear as day in Josie’s blue eyes. He’d never seen such dread in anyone’s eyes before, not even a deer that knew it was about to be taken down by a predator.

  Travis took another step back to put some distance between them. He raised his hands in a show of retreat. Confused, he shook his head. He was no threat to her, but she’d evidently interpreted it as threatening when he’d grabbed her by the arm to slow her down so he could talk to her.

  Josie pulled her knife back, spun on her heels, and ran up the valley toward her cabin.

  Travis stared after her. He ran a hand along his jaw. Those haunted eyes of hers wouldn’t leave his thoughts. What had just happened? Again, he shook his head. Josie Hudson was afraid of him? How was that possible? She was every bit as good a shot with her rifle as he, not that he’d ever admit that to anyone.

  When his limbs worked again, he walked slowly toward the cabin he shared with Harley, still pondering Josie’s odd reaction to him. When he reached for the door handle to push it open, it finally hit him.

  Eight years ago, when Cora and her sisters had arrived at Harley’s Hole, Nathaniel had taken all of his brothers aside and relayed the story of why Cora had brought her family west. A man had violated Josie in the worst way possible, and Nathaniel had cautioned everyone to tread lightly around her.

  Travis had been nothing more than a wet-nosed kid at the time, and hadn’t paid much attention to Nathanial’s words or what he’d really been describing. He’d put the conversation out of his mind almost immediately.

  Travis glanced over his shoulder and toward the cabin Josie occupied. Harley had said that scars like Josie’s might never heal. Had he been right?

  Sure, Josie had always been quiet and standoffish, but was what had happened to her the reason? Had she thought he was attacking her moments ago when he’d reached for her arm?

  Travis stepped into the dark cabin. He plopped onto one of the chairs at the table and stared into the cold fireplace. He ran his hand over his face. She couldn’t possibly think those horrible things about him.

  Had he been blind to her fears all these years? They were clearly still rooted deeply in her, yet despite those fears, she was a remarkably strong woman.

  “You’re dumber than a jackass, Travis Wilder,” he mumbled.

  Some veil had lifted today, and for the first time, he saw Josie Hudson for someone other than a little girl to annoy and compete against for Harley’s attention and approval. Not until today had he realized how much she’d grown, and how pretty she truly was. Unfortunately, Josie Hudson was as unapproachable as an eagle that soared high above the clouds.

  Chapter 7

  “Come and have some supper, Josie. You must be exhausted, dear.”

  Ada Hammond smiled as she glanced up from her cooking fire. She stirred something in the cast-iron pot that hung over the flames.

  “You do more work than five people combined,” the o
ld woman continued.

  Josie’s stomach grumbled in response to the delicious smell in the air. She approached the camp, suppressing a yawn. Ada Hammond was right. She was exhausted, but there was a lot of work to be done. Many of the women needed help with their animals in the morning or with setting up camp at night, which kept her busy from before sunup to past sundown.

  She’d just finished tending to her own horse, unsaddling the gelding and rubbing him down before picketing him for the night. The sun was already well past the horizon, and stars were beginning to emerge in the evening sky. Crickets chirped, competing with the frogs that croaked along the shores of the little lake where Travis had chosen to stop for the night.

  The last three days on the trail had been fairly uneventful. The Butler family had a small mishap when one of their oxen had somehow managed to escape its yoke. It had taken Josie nearly an hour to catch and rope the ornery beast and help get it hitched back to the wagon.

  Thankfully, Travis had been gone from camp to scout the area at the time. He probably would have laughed at her for taking so long to catch one stupid bovine.

  Josie peeled off her leather gloves. She washed her hands in the bucket that sat on the tailgate of Ada and Anthony’s wagon, and splashed some water on her face.

  Truth was, since before leaving Harley’s Hole, Travis hadn’t been as difficult as she’d dreaded. He’d assumed the role of scout, canvassing the trail ahead of them during the day, and choosing the best places to camp at night.

  For the most part, they’d avoided each other and hadn’t talked. After what had happened the day before their departure, Travis hadn’t approached her. Whenever he’d had something to say, he’d talked to Anthony or one of the women, who relayed his message to her.

  After setting up camp, he was usually gone again until late, and ate the supper that Ada Hammond kept warm for him. He received invitations from other families to eat with them, and he often took them up on it.

  Travis had to be as exhausted at the end of the day as Josie was, maybe even more. He was up before anyone else and was probably the last to go to sleep. No doubt he watched over the camp in the middle of the night, too. At some point, they would have to speak to each other directly, but the first time would no doubt be awkward.

  What could she possibly say to him about her behavior the day he’d startled her and grabbed her by the arm? It had been so unexpected, she’d simply reacted without thinking. Travis might be annoying, but he would never attack or physically harm her. No doubt he thought of her as a coward now more than ever, since he’d kept his distance.

  “Is everything all right, dear?”

  Ada Hammond came up beside her and handed her a plate of stew. Josie looked up and blinked. She smiled quickly.

  “Of course,” she stammered. She took the plate that was offered and sat on the wagon’s open tailgate.

  Ada joined her by sitting on a crate next to the wagon. “You look troubled. I think everything’s gone quite smoothly so far, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Yes, everything’s going well.” Josie forked a piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed to prevent further conversation with the older woman. If Ada wanted to talk about the journey, that was fine, but Josie couldn’t possibly discuss what was really on her mind.

  The days were long and kept her busy, giving her little time to think about all the things that had her worried and had made her hesitate in making this trip. This was the first time in her life that she’d been completely on her own and far away from family.

  Cora had always been her protector. Caroline had been her confidant. Now she had no one but herself to rely on, and if she allowed her thoughts to wander too much, she’d have to admit how scared and lonely she was.

  She blinked back the sudden sting in her eyes as her thoughts drifted to the morning of their departure. Among all the well-wishes, there had also been a lot of tears.

  Josie had hugged her nieces and nephews, who were all still too young to understand why she had to leave, or even the length of time she would be away. Evie and Alex Walker had wished her a good journey, and Evie had pulled her into a motherly embrace.

  For the first time in a long while, Josie had truly missed her mother. Cora had taken over that role after their mother’s death, but being held in the embrace of an older woman had brought back all the pain and memories of losing her real mom. Shortly after, Josie’s life had become a living nightmare.

  At least the tears that flowed from those horrible memories could be chalked up by everyone as tears of goodbye rather than her ordeal from eight years ago.

  “You stay strong and brave. You’ve made this journey before, and you know what to do to protect yourself and others,” Cora had said after pulling her into a tight embrace that had knocked the air from Josie’s lungs.

  “Work with Travis. He’s a good man, even if he needs a swat between the ears every now and then.”

  Josie had smiled at her sister’s words. She did need to work together with Travis, as difficult as that would be. If he proved to be as bullheaded as always, she’d have to be the one to approach him first. It might prove to be easier to talk to a group of women who were strangers than to the man she’d known nearly a decade.

  Anna’s advice had been to get along with all the women and to get to know them.

  “When a bunch of women get together, there’s bound to be a lot of gossip. Just make sure you don’t get pulled into squabbles.” Anna had looked at Josie with a serious expression on her face. “Someone will inevitably try and outdo the other. Some women will act as if they know everything, but remember that you were chosen by Mr. Hammond to lead, not to take orders from other women. The best thing is to ignore it, but remain polite.”

  Ethan had chuckled as he’d stood next to his wife. “She speaks from personal experience, Josie, and I can’t agree with Anna more.”

  Caroline had handed her a sack, smiling through the tears that had streamed down her face.

  “Some medicines and supplies in case someone becomes ill or injured. These things can’t be avoided.”

  Caroline had gone through the sack and explained every ingredient, and the content of every bottle and what it was used for. If it came down to her needing to use the items, Josie wasn’t sure she’d remember everything Caroline had said.

  Patrick had complained loudly that he should be allowed to go on the journey with Travis.

  “I’m old enough, but everyone still treats me as a little child.”

  “By the time I get home, I’m sure Cora will think you’re old enough to go on an adventure, too,” Josie had reassured her brother - the youngest Hudson sibling - but by the look on his face, he hadn’t believed her.

  When Harley had pulled her into a bear hug, Josie had nearly crumbled and begged him to tell her to stay. Would she have backed out of going if he had suggested it? Probably not. She had to make this journey, and as everyone had said, she would be stronger for it in the end, no matter how terrified she was at the moment.

  Harley had held her by the arms and looked into her eyes with a serious expression on his face.

  “I know I told ya that ya can do this, but ya might cross people who ain’t too keen on a woman callin’ the shots. Travis’ll always back you up. The two’a’ya gotta learn to work together. I know it’s hard to believe, but Trav knows what he’s doin’, even if he acts like a mule most’a the time. I’d trust him with my life, and so should you.”

  Travis grabbing her arm had instantly come to mind, and she’d felt foolish then for her reaction. Harley was right, as usual. Even though they didn’t get along, she and Travis had to depend on each other to get these people home safely, and at the first opportunity, she’d finally find the courage to talk to him.

  Josie was sitting on the tailgate of the Hammond wagon, smiling and chatting with Ada Hammond. Travis slowed his steps as he caught sight of them, but walked into camp and sniffed the air while keeping his eyes on the women. He was
famished.

  Three days on the trail, and he’d gotten little sleep, but that was by choice. Making sure the trail was safe during the day and keeping watch at night had been his attempt to keep his mind from straying to things he really didn’t want to be thinking about.

  He couldn’t very well ask the women to take turns at night watch, and the men hadn’t been much help, either. He’d found both of them asleep the couple of times he’d asked for help. At least Hammond had stayed awake for each of his shifts, but taking up the slack for everyone else was quickly wearing on Travis.

  Utterly exhausted, he conceded that he needed some rest and a hot meal before everyone else went to sleep. He would have to confront Josie at some point, and it might as well be this night.

  In hindsight, he should have talked to her the same day as when she’d pulled her knife on him, and apologized for putting a scare in her. He hadn’t found the nerve to approach her about it since.

  Ada Hammond saw him first and stood. She set her supper plate next to Josie on the tailgate and walked toward him.

  “I’m sure glad you’ve decided to come to supper at a reasonable hour, for once,” she said with a warm smile.

  Travis accepted the plate she’d piled high with stew.

  “I appreciate the meal,” he said, glancing to where Josie sat. She was looking at him, but instantly dropped her gaze when their eyes met.

  “Have a seat over there, Mr. Wilder.” Ada Hammond pointed to the crate she’d been sitting on when he’d come into camp. “I’m finished with supper. I think I’ll go visit Mrs. Colby and her children for a few minutes. I know Anthony’s been trying to console the poor woman. She’s been having a difficult time ever since her husband passed away. It’s not easy with three young’uns and a newborn.”

  Travis nodded as Ada walked out of camp, then headed toward the wagon. Josie visibly stiffened as he approached. Travis clenched his jaw and sucked in a deep breath. He straddled the crate next to the wagon and stabbed his fork into the stew.

  “Evenin’,” he mumbled and shoveled food into his mouth.