An Unexpected Love (The Colorado Brides Series Book 5) (8 page)

Sally Anne needed little prodding to move forward, her grey colored tail swishing back and forth. Hannah had joined Nathan on the porch with Charlie in her arms, while I fought the urge to look over my shoulder. The feeling that I was leaving something behind needled me all the way to Denver City, and, even after my siblings were in the wagon, chatting amiably, I continued to feel as if I had lost something.

That evening, while preparing for bed, I found myself alone for the moment, because Mary and Susanna had gone to the privy together, sharing a lamp. I could hear them giggling in the backyard. The mirror sat upon the dresser next to the lamp. I stared at my reflection, seeing a young woman with almond shaped eyes. My expression was somewhat solemn, as I had felt dull for the last half of the day. Opening a drawer, I retrieved all the letters Wesley had ever written, and I proceeded to sit in the corner and read them again, while Mary and Susanna readied for bed.

In them, I rediscovered the sort of man Wesley was. His family came from Virginia, and they remained there, while he had traveled west to seek his fortune. His goal had been to earn a living mining, and he longed to find a wife and have a family. I had known him since arriving in the Denver City, and he had been by my side after I had stupidly run away. I’d spent several days in the prairie, wandering towards the mountains. I was a precocious fifteen-year-old, and I had caused Fanny and Jack a great deal of trouble through my thoughtless actions. I was lucky I survived the ordeal, especially because I could have been taken by any variety of Indian or I could have starved, being without food. It had been a foolish thing to do.

My history spoke for itself, unfortunately. I’d made some mistakes, along with bad choices. “Then I can’t trust myself,” I whispered.

“What?” Mary turned over in bed, staring at me. “Did you say something?”

“No. Go back to sleep.”

“It’s late. What are you still doing up?”

“I’m reading.”

She yawned. “You should come to bed.”

Placing the letters in the drawer, I turned the lamp down, sliding beneath the covers. Tomorrow I would not return to the Weaver farm, although I longed to. I was determined to put the episode behind me, chalking it up to a momentary lapse in judgment and nothing more. No one besides Hannah would know of my personal error. It would be…as if it never happened.

Chapter Eight

Resigning oneself to a new way of thinking was not as easy as I had hoped. I continued to bring my siblings to town, dropping them off at school and performing my chores for Fanny. We cooked, cleaned, minded children, and sewed in our free moments. I’d done my best to forget about the “tipi incident”, but the memories refused to leave.

I’d not had a letter from Wesley now in more than a month, and, as June drew to a close, and I had yet to see a single piece of correspondence, I began to worry. To complicate matters, renegade Indians attacked supply trains, hindering products and food items from arriving in Denver City. The mail had fallen victim as well, although Wesley’s correspondence came from the mountains.

After church one Sunday, we gathered near our wagons, Fanny, Hannah, Louisa, and Paulina’s children ran around the churchyard, while the older ones talked under a tree. We typically drove to Paulina’s house for brunch, but we would not do so today. The elder Hoffman’s spoke with Pastor Bailey, who stood on the steps of the church.

“Have you seen them yet?” Paulina asked.

Hannah looked confused. “Seen what?”

“The grasshoppers. It was like a dark, noisy cloud. They landed yesterday morning.”

“Mrs. Winter said something about it when I saw her on Tuesday,” said Louisa. “They live south of here. She said they’ve settled on her crops. They’re trying everything they can to get rid of them. Matthias fears they’ll come here as well and it sounds like they have.”

“Oh, heavens above,” muttered Hannah, her eyes shielded beneath the brim of a yellow bonnet. “I’ll have to pull everything out of the garden as soon as I get home.”

“Is there anything we can do?” asked Fanny. “The corn is only just beginning to show. It would be unfortunate if the entire crop is ruined.”

“Nathan must know something,” said Hannah. “I’m sure we’ll think of a way to keep them at bay.”

“We weren’t able to do a thing,” said Paulina. “Once they’re through eating our field, they’ll move to yours and so on and so forth, unless more fly in from somewhere else.”

Samuel approached. “We should go. I’ll get the children.”

“Did you tell Nathan and Matthias about the grasshoppers?”

“I did.” He looked grim. “This is the last thing we need. First the supply trains and now this.”

Hannah glanced over her shoulder. “Nathan! We should go.” Her gloved hands held a drawstring purse. “We need to go home quickly.”

“Can’t they be beaten off with flails?” I asked.

“That would require dozens of men,” said Louisa.

“What if we all pulled together and worked one field at a time? Even women and children?”

“That’s an idea,” said Paulina. “My field is gone, but Hannah still has hers. But, maybe they won’t find it. They seem to swarm haphazardly.”

“I’ll speak with my husband. I wonder how much time we have before they come?”

“I don’t know.” Paulina hugged Hannah. “Oh, how I shall pray this pestilence goes away. Maybe you’ll be spared.”

“We’ll know soon enough,” said Hannah. “We’ve things preserved and plenty of stored wheat and corn. If we lose the crop this year, it’ll hurt, but we won’t starve.”

“Other families aren’t as prepared, Hannah,” said Louisa. “We don’t farm, so we’ll have to buy our things at higher prices.”

“They’ve already risen because of the attacks on the supply trains,” said Paulina. “It surely can’t get any worse.”

“Let us know, if you need help,” said Louisa. “I had best be going. I’ll try to save what I can from the kitchen garden.”

People had begun to settle in their wagons, the children sitting in the back. I would be with Fanny and Jack on the bench. I waited for them, as Jack finished speaking with several parishioners. The conversation home was one of worry, especially over the wheat and corn that might be in danger. The Bailey farm wasn’t nearly as large as Hannah’s, but the loss of revenue would be felt. Once home, Fanny and I hurried to the garden, harvesting whatever vegetables we could find, ripe or not. Mary and Susanna helped, and, by the time we were finished, we had several baskets full of edibles, most of which would be canned and preserved before they spoiled.

That night, a knock on the door sounded while we were in the parlor reading aloud to the children, which was how we typically ended most evenings. Jack, knowing that something was wrong, hurried to the door, opening it.

A disheveled looking Nathan appeared. “They came today.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan. What can we do to help?”

“I’ve made the rounds tonight. Mathias and Samuel and their families will be at our place in the morning. We’re gonna try a coupla things, starting with beating the critters with flails. We might dig some ditches and fill ‘em with coal tar and set it on fire. The smoke should drive ‘em away. We’re gonna try our best to save our crop.”

“I understand,” said Jack. “We’ll be there first thing in the morning to help. The children will have to miss school. We need everyone.” A chorus of happy voices greeted this announcement.

“Oh, don’t think it’ll be easy,” warned Fanny. “After working the fields, you’ll be wishing you were in school doing sums.”

“We’re ready to help,” said Peter. “I’ll show you how well I can kill bugs. Me and Connor are gonna kill ‘em all.”

“Now that’s the spirit.” Nathan grinned. “I’ll be on my way. You all take care. Thank you in advance for your help.”

After he had gone, the mood shifted, and, sensing Fanny and Jack’s concern, I shepherded my siblings upstairs, preparing them for bed. When I returned, I found them seated together on the sofa, holding hands. They had been praying.

“I’d like to pray too.”

Jack smiled warmly. “That would be wonderful, Jane.”

I sat across from them in a rocking chair. “Lord, please keep the pests from our fields. Have them go elsewhere to eat. Please save Hannah and Nathan’s crops. Help us tomorrow to be victorious in this endeavor, and thank you for all your blessings. Thank you for watching over us and keeping us safe. Amen.”

“Thank you, Jane,” said Fanny.

“I’ll say more prayers before bed.”

“We need as many as we can get,” murmured Jack.

I was aware that I would be seeing Ryan again, as he was still employed at the Weaver farm, but I had firmly resolved to put the “tipi incident” behind me. It was a lapse in judgment on my part, and such a thing would never happen again. With this in mind, I began to prepare for bed, changing into nightclothes, brushing my hair, and traipsing out to the privy; all the while, my memory had begun to torment me with images of the things that had happened between Ryan and myself. By the time I slid between the sheets, I was in such a state of anxiety, that I knew sleep would be impossible. I left the bed, trying not to disturb Mary, who snored softly. Not wanting to wake my sisters, I quietly went into the hallway and down the stairs, where I stood at the window staring out into the night. To add to my vexation, the high-pitched shrills of coyotes sounded in the distance. I would never again think of the animals in the same way, as they would forever be associated with the soft, insistent lips of a man. I could almost feel the touch of him on my neck, while my body began to tingle with pleasurable pulses.

“No!” I whispered in frustration. “All it takes is knowing I’ll see him again and then…this.” I rested my forehead against the glass. “Lord, give me strength. Please help me not to think about him anymore. I really don’t want to. I’m madly in love with Wesley and…and…I shall be his wife…eventually.” I repeated that several times.

The coyotes continued to make their strange, crying sounds, while the house slept. It would be some time before I returned to bed, finding that Mary had taken most of the blankets. I tossed and turned for most of the night. We were woken early, as the touch of a hand on my shoulder brought me out of a deep sleep.

“We’re almost ready to go,” said Fanny.

I turned to look at her, seeing a woman in a bonnet. “Oh, all right. I’ll hurry. You should’ve woken me earlier.”

“Just get yourself ready, and we’ll be waiting outside.”

I flung the covers back. “Five minutes and I’ll be presentable.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what we would be doing today to help the Weavers, but all of us, including the little ones, were tucked away in the wagon for the short ride to Hannah’s. Once there, other wagons had joined ours, and I recognized Paulina and Louisa and their children. Craning my neck, I scanned the workers, most of whom I did not recognize, until I spied Ryan standing against a fence on the end. He wore denim slacks with a green tow shirt, which had been tucked in and surrounded by a leather belt. His raven locks were hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat. He must have sensed my attention, because he lifted his chin, staring at me.

My belly flipped over, as if I had swallowed a fish that wiggled inside of me. It was the most peculiar feeling, and it began to chip away at my resolve. I could feel myself weakening—from only one look.

Oh, gracious
.

But, I wasn’t able to ponder this reaction for long, because we had all been pressed into action. My siblings and I had been given flails, which we would systematically use to beat the insects off the vegetation. The flails were two pieces of wood attached by a short, sturdy chain. This was normally how grains were separated from their husks, but today they would ward off the grasshoppers.

“I need everyone to follow me,” said Nathan, waving a hand in the air to get our attention. “We’ll start at the worst affected field and work our way across.”

Everyone, including Louisa’s children began to march through the cornfield, which smelled sweetly of grass and earth. The heat of the sun beat down upon our bonnets and hats. The elder Hoffmans had stayed behind to mind the younger children, most of whom were toddlers. They would have their hands full. Hannah had transformed the parlor into a playroom, bringing out every toy Letty and Charles owned.

The stalks were infested with noisy, screeching grasshoppers that clung to the plants, chewing away at anything they could get their mouths on. Once we began to fling our weapons, the insects took to the air, landing on stalks further away. I was hopeful that we could beat them right out of the field, but, midway through, it became clear that it would not be so easy. The constant slashing became exhausting after an hour, and the hour after that, my arms were throbbing. I switched hands frequently, striking the plants gently, trying to dislodge the bugs, although they would shoot into the air only to land on the next stalk. After reaching the end, my boots were caked with dirt, my skirts were filthy, and my arms ached.

“Good job!” yelled Nathan. “Now let’s go back again.”

Groans resounded, but we trudged into the field, determined to gain the upper hand. By the time we had finished the second go-around, we were ready for a rest and lunch. The men had drenched their shirts with sweat, while my dress clung to me, damp with perspiration. I’d caught glimpses of Ryan occasionally, seeing him swinging his flail with aplomb. He removed his shirt at one point, as did several of the other workers, their toned chests gleaming in the sun. He labored several lanes away from me, which I was grateful for; otherwise, I would have struggled to concentrate on the task at hand. Seeing him in such a state reminded me of the day when I had trespassed into his tipi without first asking if anyone was inside. The men donned their shirts for lunch, as it was improper to be half-naked in front of ladies, although those rules had been negated in the field.

I sat on a blanket with Louisa’s children, Annie, Oscar, and Hugh, while others were in chairs that had been brought out and other blankets. I assumed Ryan had taken his food to his tipi. He preferred to be by himself. Once the meal of sandwiches and lukewarm tea had been devoured, I set off for the privy. Upon my return, I overheard Samuel and Nathan talking.