by P. Creeden
“Hello there!” one of the soldiers called out.
“Hello,” Harper called back as the men approached.
Once they got to them, they were all smiles. “Sir, we’re looking for a man who went missing five days ago. He’s a lawyer who fell from his horse. Did you happen to see anyone like that? He’s an important man to the commander at Fort Kearny.”
Harper frowned. “Do you mean Mr. Brown?”
The leader of the soldiers’ eyes went wide, and then he looked toward his fellows. “The same! You know of him, then?”
With a nod, Harper said, “I found him buried in the snow at the foot of the trail to my cabin five days ago. He was sick but is getting better. He’s there now.”
“That’s excellent news!” one soldier said.
“Finally, we can stop looking for the chap,” another said with a deep sigh.
Harper released Jack who went up to the soldiers and began sniffing at them but didn’t show them any aggression or excessive friendliness. That was a good sign. Jack was an excellent judge of men’s characters, and Harper trusted the setter. He got things situated on his sled to bring back to his cabin and then led the soldiers there. As they approached the house, Mr. Brown stepped out onto the porch, a blanket wrapped around his soldiers. He called out to the soldiers. “Good day there, gentleman!”
“Mr. Brown,” the leader of the three soldiers called back. “We’re happy to find you in good health and spirits. Your daughter has been worrying our commander sick about you, and the commander at Fort Kearny has sent his concerns by messenger, as well.”
A frown tugged at Mr. Brown’s lip. “That would be my wife’s doing. The commander there is her brother. Do come in, gentlemen, as I’ve made a soup. Let’s get everyone’s bones warm before we decide our next move. I know that Mr. Jones would like to get me out of his hair.”
Harper chuckled at the man’s jest and then shook his head. He’d never had soldiers in his home before. In fact, he’d never had so many people in his cabin at once. He prepared himself for the crowded quarters and told Jack to stay out on the porch.
Mabel sat for tea across the table from Sergeant Henry Renault. The soldier had been her line of communication to the commander at Fort Laramie, and he’d been a caring friend while she’d been alone and full of worry over her father. He tried to keep her cheerful with funny stories about his adventures as a soldier coming up in the fort, though sometimes his sense of humor was a bit dry for her taste. There were times when she had to just smile and nod while she thought to herself how strange he could think at times. She wondered if this was the way of all men, but her father was never like this.
As she began to watch the activity out the window, and stopped paying full attention to the sergeant, he took hold of her gloved hand. Her heart leapt to her throat at the man’s forward action. “Miss Brown, please do not worry overmuch. I know your father will soon be found, and he will be well.”
Somehow, though, as she looked into his brown eyes, she had the feeling that the man was only patronizing her. He didn’t honestly believe what he’d said. Mabel bit down on her back teeth and smiled wider to keep from frowning. “Your support means much to me, sir.”
He squeezed her fingers. “Please, dispense with calling me sir, if you will. In fact, I’d like it very much if you would call me Henry.”
A lump suddenly formed in Mabel’s throat, and she resisted the urge to pull her fingers from the man’s grasp and leave immediately. As much as she needed to cooperate with the man so that the commander would keep looking for her father, and the gentleman would keep her informed of what was going on, she still felt the need to keep a good distance from him. She squeezed his fingers back and then withdrew her hand from his, taking hold of her cup of tea. “Sergeant Renault, I could not possibly. My father would disapprove of me becoming so informal with an officer. I must remain faithful to my father, even without him present.”
The man blinked several times and then nodded. “Why, yes. Of course.”
Out the window, three soldiers rode into town, one of them riding double with a man who had a heavy fur on his shoulders. The man sat up straighter, and Mabel recognized him right away.
“Father,” she cried out as she stood quickly, dropping her tea cup back into its saucer. Tears blurred her vision as her heart leapt into her throat.
Mr. Renault stood, and peered out the window, suddenly blocking Mabel’s view. She skipped to the side and ran for the door. The moment she got out to the covered, porch, she cried out again, “Father!”
Her father turned his head her direction, a smile spreading across his lips. With the soldier’s help, he slid from the rump of the horse and then spread his arms wide to receive her. “Mabel, darling!”
She ran through the mud created by the snow that had melted and been crushed under horses’ hooves. A slip nearly landed her on her back side. But she barely squealed, flailing her arms as she continued to run to her father. And the moment she reached him, she flung her arms around his round chest. His arms held her tightly as she reveled in his warmth. He was back, and he was safe, and God had answered her many prayers. Immediately she sent up one for thanks and in gratitude of God’s mercy in bringing her father back to her.
When she pulled back from him. she smiled up into his face even though her vision blurred again for the tears. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”
Just as her father opened his mouth to answer, a cough came out instead. He covered his mouth with his fist as he bent over part way and continued in a fit of coughs. She patted his back and frowned. Once he finished and straightened, her father said, “It’s a long story, and one that I will tell you every word of, but first, let’s get inside in the warmth. And maybe get a spot of tea.”
“Of course,” she said with a nod and then helped him to turn toward the inn.
But he hesitated and turned back to the soldiers. “Thank you so much for seeing me back safely. Do you need me to make a report to the commander?”
“Not at all, Sir,” the taller, thinner of the guards said, “We shall see the commander directly so he can send word to the commander at Fort Kearny. I’m sure your wife will be happy to know that you are safe as well.”
“Thank you so much,” her father said with a smile and then leaned upon her as she offered support to help him through the mud that had gathered in the street and to the inn.
Once inside, they found Sergeant Renault standing in the foyer. The officer bowed. “It’s good to see you’ve returned safely, Mr. Brown. We’ve all been worried for you and have been doing our best to console Miss Mabel.”
Her father lifted a brow at the man. “Thank you for your time. I’m sorry to have caused my daughter and the fort so much trouble.”
“No trouble, Sir. Just having you back is blessing enough,” Sergeant Renault said, and then stood there a moment awkwardly.
Then Mabel got the hint. “Oh! Father, this is Sergeant Renault. And may I present my father, Mr. Brown.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, finally. And I hope that we might dine together, once you’re feeling more civilized.” The man eyed her father.
She had to admit that a slightly musky odor came from her father. Something muddy and animalistic. With the furs covering his body and his unkempt beard, her father looked as much a wild man as a lawyer. “That would be lovely,” Mabel answered. “But for now, I’ll take my father up to our rooms.”
The tall sergeant stepped to the side and bowed. “Of course.”
As they made their way up the stairs and to the landing at the top, her father whispered, “I’m not sure I like that the soldiers are taking note of you, Mabel. Perhaps I shouldn’t have brought you on this trip.”
Mabel thinned her lips. “I’m happy to have been here to alert the commander of your being missing the moment that it happened, Father. That is a blessing.”
“You are a blessing, darling,” he said with a sigh. “But for now, I cannot wait t
o get a hot bath and make preparations to get home as soon as possible. I’d hate to have your mother worried a minute longer than she needs be.”
Her father’s love for her mother touched Mabel as she left her father at the door of his room to go to her own through the adjoining door between them. She hoped someday she could find a man who would care for her as much. But for now, she was content just to have her father whole and alive. She sat upon her bed while she waited for her father and then stifled a yawn. Before long, she lay down and decided to just shut her eyes and rest for a moment.
Chapter 5
It was nearly noon the next day when Mabel woke. She blinked at her surroundings, suddenly very confused how it had gotten to be brighter outside than it had been when she’d closed her eyes to rest, since sunset was forthcoming before. The door between her room and her father’s rooms at the inn opened, and her father stepped in with a cheerful smile as soon as he found her awake. “Lovely! Mabel, I just booked passage on the stage that is leaving this afternoon. Make yourself ready for travel.”
Her stomach grumbled audibly. Her cheeks heated as she wrapped her arms around it.
With a laugh, her father shook his head. “I tried to rouse you for dinner last night, but you wouldn’t budge. And then this morning, I tried again, but still you seemed to have needed the sleep. Did you get any rest at all in my absence?”
She chewed her lip as she shook her head at her father. “Not a wink.”
He frowned at her as he sat beside her on the bed and took her hands into his on his lap. “Darling, you cannot allow worry to rule your life so. When you have no control over your predicament, you must turn it over to the Lord in prayer and then let it go. You do no one any good by refusing to eat or sleep. And letting your worry eat away at you only makes it stronger. Don’t feed it, my dear.”
She’d heard her grandmother say as much. With a sigh she said, “Yes, Father. I understand.”
But saying the words, hearing the advice, nothing made actually doing it when the time came any easier. Then her father suddenly leapt to his feet. “I’ve got it! I know what I need to do now to pay him back!”
Mabel frowned and looked up at her father. “Pay who back? What do you mean?”
He leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll return shortly. Don’t wait for me if you’re going to get some lunch. I’ve got to go see a few people about this.”
“What are you talking about, Father?”
He shook his head. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’ll be back!”
And with that, he left her blinking behind him.
Harper had worked to clear the trail to his house using the broom he’d fashioned himself from straw. Sweat dotted his brow and dripped down his back by the time he’d reached the main roadway, nearly a half a mile down. But when he reached it, he stretched his back and spent a moment enjoining the sound of the melting snow dripping from the tree branches. Though it was still cold enough at night to create icicles of the melt, some of it was burning off in the sunshine and moderate warmth of the day. Jack chased a fox into the woods.
A horse trotted through the snow to his right, and Harper caught sight of a flash of chestnut coat. When it got a little closer, Mr. Brown smiled from the saddle. Harper blinked at him and flashed a wave. At about the same time, Jack returned, wagging his tail in greeting at the man’s approach while staying close to Harper’s side.
“I finally found you! I must have ridden up and down this road four times trying to remember exactly where the trail to your house was.” Mr. Brown dismounted his horse and drew near to Harper.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Brown, though I should admit that I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Harper said and offered a hand for the man to shake.
Mr. Brown shook his hand with vigor. “I figured it out—what I could provide for you that you don’t already have. Something that you need.”
Harper lifted a brow. “I’m not sure what you mean, but I’ve already told you that you don’t need to pay me back in any way.”
“Poppycock!” the old man said with a dismissive gesture. “Don’t ruin my fun. I want to help you as you’ve helped me. It will make me feel better to do so.”
The breeze felt good after Harper had exerted himself, but he didn’t want to stand here and argue with the older man. After letting out a slow breath, Harper leaned on his broom. “Okay, then. Whatever it is, I’ll accept it with grace.”
“Excellent,” the man said with a wide smile. “Then I’ve already made arrangements with the pastor at the church in Laramie. He will get word from the preacher in Fort Kearny once the paperwork is all settled.”
Frowning, Harper stood straighter. “Paperwork?”
“Yes. My wife will want to have a wee bit of time to adjust to the news, but I want it to be official right away, so I no longer worry about it.”
“Worry about what, sir?”
“Your wife, Mr. Jones. I have three daughters of marrying age—all of them lovely and handy about the home. When I get back to Fort Kearny, I will discuss the situation with them, and have a wedding by proxy. Then after a month, enough time for the weather this way to clear up better, I will send your new bride to Fort Laramie for you.”
For a long moment, Harper just stared at the man. Something wasn’t fitting just right in his brain and a lump had formed in his throat. Finally, he coughed and asked, “Bride?”
Mr. Brown’s grin widened. “You should take some of your own tea for that cough. But yes, one of my daughters will become your bride. Marsha, Maude, and Mabel each have their own strengths. Obviously, I want to ask the eldest of my daughters first, but I know one of them would be willing to bless this union for their father. I owe you a great deal, Mr. Jones and making a god-fearing man like you into my son-in-law would be a great blessing to my family.”
Harper shook his head. “I didn’t ask for a bride. I can’t marry. My life is much too rough for feminine delicacies.”
“Nonsense!” Mr. Brown lifted a brow. “Life is hard. I’ve raised all my daughters to understand that. And besides, you’ve already agreed to take whatever it is I will offer you. And I’m offering you a bride.”
With a deep sigh, Harper’s eyes fixed on the ground. He couldn’t say that he didn’t always want a wife. The young girl with the green eyes flashed through his mind, making his heart flutter. He pushed that thought away. Even if the girl was exactly his physical ideal of a woman, she was young, too young, and probably not prepared for the kind of life he lead as a mountain man. What woman would be? He shook his head. “I can’t accept.”
Mr. Brown’s face fell, and his eyes grew watery. “You must. You must accept, Mr. Jones. I need to have all three of my daughters wed as quickly as possible. The doctor has informed me that I don’t just have a cold, but I have a weak heart and winter fever. He doesn’t think I’ll survive until summer.”
Harper blinked at the man. “Winter fever?”
“Yes.” The older man let out a slow breath. “There are times when it burns when I take a deep breath. The doctor tells me not to exert myself, but I’m here in Fort Laramie in order to get all my affairs in order.”
Harper frowned. Now he understood the man’s hurry. Though he didn’t want to accept a bride as a gift or payment back for what he didn’t feel was a debt, he wanted to help Mr. Brown.
“You must help me,” Mr. Brown whispered. “I’m in need of a good man like you to take care of my daughter once I’m gone.”
Harper’s heart squeezed in his chest. He suddenly felt selfish for refusing the man. Slowly, he nodded. “I will accept your offer. I promise to take care of your daughter as my wife.”
Mr. Brown’s eyes crinkled as he grinned. “I know you will. You are a godly man who lives the life of the Good Samaritan. I know that any of my daughters will be blessed to have you as their husband. I don’t want for them wealth of this world. I know now that God led me to you for this very purpose. You will be
helping me take care of a need while I am helping you. God knows this will work out.”
“Must we have a wedding by proxy?” Harper asked. “I can wait for your daughter to arrive here in Laramie.”
Mr. Brown shook his head. “I don’t want there to be any possibility of cold feet. I don’t want something to happen to me before my daughter arrives and for her to back out of the arrangement. Though I want my daughter with me for my final moments, as a lawyer, I want things in writing and finalized so I can rest in peace.”
A frown tugged at Harper’s lip. “I don’t like the idea of forcing your daughter to marry me.”
Mr. Brown laughed. “It will be her choice, I promise you. Once I explain the situation, one of them will make the right choice. I have faith in them.”
The wind that had been welcome before began to chill Harper, so that he shivered while standing there. He needed to get back inside. “I will trust you, then, Mr. Brown. And wait for your word.”
With another grin, Mr. Brown patted Harper on the shoulder. “You won’t regret this.”
As he watched the older man mount his horse and take off back toward town, Harper gripped his broom. He truly hoped that Mr. Brown was right. But somehow, he doubted that he wouldn’t regret it. After letting out another sigh, Harper followed Jack up the hill back to his house. For now, he’d put the thought out of his mind. It twisted his gut too much if he allowed it to stay at the front of his thoughts.
Chapter 6
