An Unexpected Love (The Colorado Brides Series Book 5) (9 page)

“It’s not working,” said Samuel. “We had the infestation for two days, and they’ve eaten through most of the corn.”

“We have to keep trying,” said Nathan. “One more walk through and then I’ll think of something else.”

Matthias joined them, looking concerned. “We should dig the ditches and fill ‘em with the tar.”

“Yeah, that’s next,” said Nathan. “The smoke might ward them off. If the flailing doesn’t work, we’ll try that.”

“You notice how they fly together,” said Samuel. “They take off at the same time and land at the same time in a bunch. It’s strange. There were some plants that hadn’t been damaged at all. I saw clear patches in the middle of the field.”

“I saw that,” said Nathan. “I wonder if some folks will get lucky and not get ‘em?”

“Maybe,” said Jack, who had strolled over. “They’re operating in a herd mentality, but your field is awfully infested. They just moved along to a new stalk.”

“I’ve not yet exhausted all my options,” said Nathan. “I’ll think of somethin’ else. It would be a shame if this entire crop went to ruin.”

I skirted around the men, making my way to where the children sat, but, instead of joining them, I headed towards the jugs of water, hoping to get a glass.

“It’s been a long time,” said a voice behind me.

I knew who had spoken. “It has.”

“I’m always hoping you’ll come back and work here.”

Holding a cup, I turned to face him, worried by how hard my heart had begun to pound. “Hannah doesn’t need help at the moment.”

“I never was able to apologize.”

“That’s not necessary. It’s just as much my fault.”

“I’m sorry for being…so forward with you.”

“I’m sorry too.”

“Did that beau of yours ever come down from the mountain?”

“N-not yet.” His gaze was sober, but something simmered beneath the surface that sent my belly into nervous spasms.

“I hate the grasshoppers, but they brought you back to me.”

“You shouldn’t say that.”

“I have to, because I don't know when I’ll see you again. With that in mind, I should speak my peace.” He leaned in fractionally, murmuring, “I’ve never met a woman like you. I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m not completely green where ladies are concerned, but none have ever gotten under my skin like this.”

“I don’t want to hear—”

“What I’m trying to say is that, if you’re not engaged to that man, maybe you wouldn’t object if I courted you. There’s a social on Friday. I’m not a good dancer, but I could try.”

Hannah approached before I was able to reply. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hartsock.” She glanced at me. “It’s rather warm today, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“What was this about courting?” A grin played around the edges of her mouth. She had overheard part of our conversation. She pointed to me. “This woman has a beau. She’s all but spoken for.”

“B-but I’m not engaged to him. What harm could come from attending a social?”

“Oh, plenty,” she laughed. “If you’ve decided you’re no longer seeing Wesley, and you’ve explained this to him, then you are more than welcome to be courted by Ryan Hartsock…under strict supervision.”

Chapter Nine

The labor went on for hours after lunch, until I could barely hold my arms up. When we had finished for the day and returned to Fanny’s house, dinner was fried egg sandwiches and milk. Exhausted, I struggled to run a brush through my hair, as my arms were sore.

A knock sounded on the door, Fanny peeking her head in. “You were all very helpful today, girls. Thank you.”

“Did it work?” asked Mary. “I couldn’t tell if there was an improvement. The bugs seemed to jump to other stalks.”

She sighed wearily. “Yes, they did. They’re digging trenches tomorrow.”

“I think I prefer school,” said Susanna, who had crawled beneath the covers, peering over the edge of the blanket. “I never thought I’d say this in my life, but I’d rather do arithmetic than farm. I’m most eager to work word problems now.”

Laughter filled the room. “Goodness, is that so?” Fanny’s eyes sparkled. “What a revelation. Unfortunately, we’ve another day to help the Weavers, and then we’ll see what happens. So far, our field seems fine. The pests haven’t come here, but we don’t have a farm the size of Hannah’s.”

“Dig trenches?” I asked, feeling a sense of dread. “Will we all dig?”

“I don’t know. We’ll do what we can.” Thomas’ cries resounded in the hallway. “I have to put him to bed. I’ll wake you up a little later tomorrow. We could use the sleep.”

“Goodnight,” said Mary.

“Goodnight, and say your prayers.”

“Sleep well,” I murmured.

After I slid beneath the sheets, sleep came easily, as I was bone weary and utterly depleted. In the morning, I washed hastily with tepid water and dressed, determined to find the time to braid my hair and wind it into a secure bun. A good deal of it had come loose yesterday, and it had been annoying. In the kitchen, Thomas sat at the table eating tiny portions of ham and bacon, while Fanny made Griddle-Cakes.

“Is there coffee?”

“If you make it.”

“I will.” The kitchen was messy from the night before, and I doubted we would have time to tidy it before we left. “What if they lose their crop?”

“One season won’t ruin them, but it’ll hurt.”

“Our corn and wheat might just survive.”

“So far, so good. Jack’s checking things right now. He was hoping the pests wouldn’t come this way. They seem to swarm in groups.” She wiped her hands on an apron. “Tarnation, what a muddle. We’ve seen such calamity in recent years. The war, the fire, the floods, and now this.”

“I prayed that things would get better.”

She scooped out the Griddle-Cakes, placing them on a plate. “This latest disaster will ruin quite a few people. Paulina and Samuel will be fine and so will Hannah and Nathan, but others were worse off to start with. They came here after the war with little, and now this.”

“I should pray for them too.”

“Can you call your brothers and sisters? It’s time to eat.”

“I will.”

It was sobering to see Fanny so defeated. Yesterday, we had thought our efforts might be successful, if we could beat away the pests, but it hadn’t worked. Now, the stark reality of an entire season of ruined crops sat heavily upon everyone’s shoulders, as we would all bear the burden.

Once we had eaten and scrambled onto the wagon, Jack brought out several shovels, some of which were no larger than hand trowels. The beauty of the morning was not lost on me, as we ambled towards our destination amidst the meandering hills of grass. The mountains in the distance stood watch, the peaks jutting up to the heavens. Yellow sunflower like weeds brought color to the prairie, adding to the beauty of what would be a perfect morning, if it weren’t for the invading grasshoppers.

At Hannah and Nathan’s, the fields were awash with activity. The trench digging had already begun, and one had to wonder how early Nathan had been up. Ryan was among them, stooped over and digging.

Hannah approached, carrying Charles. “Good morning.”

“Is there any improvement?” asked Jack.

“Not much.” The elder Hoffmans were on the porch with Paulina and Louisa’s children. “If this doesn’t work, then we’re finished.”

“I’m sorry, Hannah.” Fanny climbed down from the seat, with Thomas in her arms. “Maybe the smoke from the coal tar will ward them off.”

“We have to try. Nathan went to town this morning to buy a few barrels. Other farmers are having similar issues.”

Susanna and Mary stepped to the ground, while Peter and Connor ran towards where Louisa’s boys were. Being nearly the same age, they had gotten on well yesterday, beating away the grasshoppers while chatting happily. The boys were stronger and far more energetic. They looked upon this as a sport, by counting the number of bugs they had killed the day before. As of this morning, Oscar was in the lead with a hundred and forty-four.

While Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman minded the younger children, the digging began. Mercifully, the soil wasn’t packed tight, as it had been tilled earlier in the season. The trenches bordered the perimeter, with several running in-between the stalks. The younger ones used the hand trowels, while Mary and I and Susanna held shovels. My arms ached from waving the flail around all day yesterday, and now I experienced a different type of agony. After the first hour, my wrists stung, and my shoulders throbbed.

By mid-morning, whilst we were occupied with our digging, a strange sort of roar filled the air, followed by what looked like snowflakes falling. My heart sank. It was the flutter of thousands of grasshopper wings; their approach was almost deafening. As they descended, Susanna screamed, dropping her shovel and running. I lowered my head to avoid having them in my face. They landed on my back and shoulders. Knowing that I was covered in bugs, I tried to keep calm, brushing as many off as I could.

“Heaven’s to Betsy!” cried Paulina, who slapped the grasshoppers from her arms. “How disgusting!”

“As if the first wave wasn’t bad enough,” muttered Hannah. “I’m not sure we can recover from this.”

“Keep digging!” shouted Nathan. “We’re lighting this ditch in a minute.”

“Gosh, I hope this works,” I said, craning my neck to witness Nathan dumping what looked like black sludge into the ground. Ryan and the other ranch hands dunked buckets into the barrel, tossing the smelly tar into the ditches.

Once the coal tar had been lit, a grayish, noxious smoke filled the air. “Oh, dear,” said Fanny. “What a smell.”

We labored under even worse conditions now. First there had been the bugs, the heat, and now the stench of coal tar filled our lungs. Once I had completed my ditch, I stood back while Nathan poured the sloppy, sticky, black fluid, which sloshed over the edge of the bucket. He lit it by striking flint to steel, the spark igniting the highly flammable material. A grayish pall hung over the cornfield, while the workers carried their shovels to the neighboring wheat field to perform the same task there.

I grasped the handle of my shovel, feeling the effects of exhaustion acutely. How I would go on for several more hours was beyond me. I longed for water and something to sit on, just to rest my bones for a few minutes, but time was of the essence, and everyone had gone ahead. The filth on my dress was something to ponder later, yet thankfully I had chosen a work garment, rather than something new and pretty. The long skirts with petticoats beneath dragged on behind me, while my booted feet sank into the earth.

“Jane!” a male voice shouted. “Jane!” Ryan raced towards me, which was odd. He’d not said one word to me today, and I had desperately tried not to think about him. “Your dress!”

“What?”

“It’s on fire!”

I glanced behind me, gasping. The bottom of my petticoats had caught alight, and they burned vigorously, the flames reaching halfway up my legs. I hadn’t even felt it.

“Oh, bother!” I shouted, panicking and running.

“No!”

This made it worse, as I now felt heat against my thighs. Ryan’s hat had fallen off, his raven hair flying out behind him, while his expression revealed distress. He grabbed me, throwing me to the ground, where he proceeded to pound out the fire by folding my skirts over on each other. This effectively put out the blaze, but the dress was ruined.

“Never run, if you’re on fire! You would’ve gone up like a Roman candle, if I hadn’t been here.” Too shocked to speak, I glanced at the blackened cloth that had once been my skirt. “Are you burned?” he asked.

“I-I don’t think so.”

His hand found my leg. “You’re hot.”

“My stockings saved the day, I suppose.”

“Another few seconds and you would’ve felt it.”

“I’m glad you were near.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you.” He grinned, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry I had to throw you down like that.”

He helped me to my feet. “It’s fine. I understand.”

“Let’s make sure it’s all out.” He examined my backside, his hand skimming over my shoulder. “It looks good.”

Had he been referring to the fire or my person? “I’m glad you think so, sir.”

He dropped to his knees, feeling my boots. “They weren’t touched. You’ll need a new dress.”

“I can wear this one for the day. I don’t care what it looks like.”

“There isn’t much salvageable, eh?”

“It’s completely ruined, but I’m still alive.”

Ryan got to his feet, facing me, his expression earnest. “Have you decided yet what you’ll do?”

“About what?”

“Letting me court you.”

“I-I haven’t had much time to think on it.” But that had been a lie. It was all I thought about.

“If you weren’t attached to this Wesley person, would you consider me?”

“I hardly know you.”

“That’s why people court one another. That’s how they get to know each other.”

“I haven’t heard from Wesley in weeks. I’m…not certain of what I’ll do. I have a habit of rushing into things without thinking them through. I don’t wish to do that again.”

“Will you be at the social on Friday? I hate town, and I hate places with lots of people, but, if I knew you were there, I’d go.”

“They’re so mean to you in town. I can understand why you’d want to stay away.”

“They have to get used to me at some point. Then they’ll know I’m a white man who only looks Indian.”

“But you live in a tipi.”

He grinned. “They’re very comfortable.”

I regretted my words instantly. “Oh, never mind.”

“As I recall, you enjoyed my tipi rather well.”

“Ouf!” I brushed by him to leave, but he held my arm, bringing me close.

“You do remember that afternoon, don’t you?”

“Let go.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” he murmured. “It’s burned into my memory, but I don’t mind.”

I met his gaze, feeling my resolve crumble, which was worrying. “We shouldn’t talk about this.”

“Is it the way I look? Am I too Indian? Is that why you won’t let me court you? Are you afraid people will throw things at you and call you an Indian lover, if you were with me?”

I gasped. “No! I don’t care two sticks for what others have to say.”