Journey of Hope: A Novel of Triumph and Heartbreak on the Oregon Trail in 1852 (37 page)

“Miss Emily! So good to see you,” he said, taking her hands. Emily smiled. He had been overjoyed when Michael Pound had showed up with Emily’s inheritance and they had deposited it in the bank. Michael hadn’t brought all of her money. She remembered their conversation.

“Miss Emily, I thought long and hard about this, and if you disagree, I will bring the rest of your inheritance next year. I’ve left half of it in interest bearing accounts in eastern banks. Perhaps in a few years, when these western banks are insured, your funds will be safer. For now, I’m uncomfortable with their risk.”

She had agreed. Half of five hundred thousand dollars was still a fortune.

“There’s talk of the railroad extending to California. That will make these cross country trips shorter and so much easier.”

Mr. Moran said, “What can I help you with today, Miss Emily?”

“I’d like to carry on our discussion about what I’d like to do with some of my land,” she said. She had returned the deed to Mr. and Mrs. Warren, and they had been elated. Abel’s deed was forfeited, and she had quite a lot of land left in her name. Mr. Moran had helped her change her name back to Lawton, her maiden name.

“Of course, let’s go to my office, Miss Emily.”

Caliope, her mare, knew the way home, and Emily hardly had to touch the reins. Buster sat resolutely in the seat beside her. He had turned into a carriage dog, and she couldn’t go anywhere without him. It had been a long day, and she knew Caliope was looking forward to her rubdown and her dinner. Dan Christopher, her groom, would be waiting for them, and he would make sure Caliope was taken care of.

He lived in the quarters alongside the barn. He had been on the wagon train and had lost his wagon in a river crossing. He also owed Abel money from poker games. Abel had taken it out on Dan in backbreaking work, but Dan had never complained. He had a way with animals, and Emily had hired him to work for her.

As horse and buggy made their way down the long lane to her home, Emily looked at it with pride. It was beautiful. She had met with the architect shortly after Abel’s arrest and told him there would be some changes to the plans. There would be no colonial style. Instead, her home was a white wooden two story with a sun porch in the back and a wraparound porch in the front. Inside there was a dining room, a library with a study, and a parlor and sitting room. The kitchen was in the back, and Mrs. Ortiz baked special treats every day. She smiled, remembering Mrs. Ortiz’s pleasure when Emily had asked her to be her housekeeper. Upstairs there were six bedrooms. The house was an exact replica of the one she had grown up in, and she loved it.

Soon she hoped to have her brother and grandmother from Virginia living with her. She had written to her grandmother, and she was hoping for a reply.

Her memories, the ones she chose to reflect on, were happy ones, but she didn’t spend much time in the past. She didn’t think much about the future, either. Her day-to-day life was too full and rich. Her overland journey had taken six months. She had met the people who were her new family. Her inward journey would take a lifetime, and she would meet it one day at a time.