Mona Hodgson - [Hearts Seeking Home 01] (42 page)

By midafternoon, the Boone’s Lick Company had caught up to Caleb and Frank and set up camp. Since the rain had ceased and the clouds cleared, those who were anxious for supplies and a dose of civilization were making the short ride to the outpost before supper. Anna rode toward Rock Creek with Mutter, Caroline, Hattie, and Lorelei Beck. Großvater rode just ahead of them with Arvin Beck and the two Rengler brothers.

Rock Creek wasn’t as big a settlement as Anna had hoped. A small cemetery. A mill. A handful of cabins. It was about twenty buildings short of a town.

Resting her hand on the pommel, Mutter leaned toward Anna. “It’s not as nice as Independence, but it’s stationary and there’s at least some civilization.”

Anna drew in a deep breath. Mutter wouldn’t consider staying here, would she?

“I know you want to go all the way to California, dear, but I would be happy to stay here.”

“You wanted trees.”

Mutter sighed. “What a person wants and what they’ll settle for are not the same thing.”

Anna shook her head and turned to her friends.

“Hmm.” Hattie tapped her chin. “Where
shall
we go first?”

All the women laughed but Mutter. Anna smiled. They followed Hattie and tethered their horses to the hitching rail in front of a cabin with a shingle hanging out front identifying it as a general store. Minutes later, Anna and Mutter had sold their candles to the bald storekeeper. Each of the women purchased minimal supplies. Mutter added a nickel’s worth of horehound.

“Ooh, he has a soda barrel.” Hattie turned toward the assortment of stools placed in front of a rough-hewn counter. She nearly brushed Lorelei’s forehead with the brim of her hat in her excitement. “Doesn’t a soda and a leisurely visit sound delightful?”

“It does to me.” Anna looked at Mutter. “It might wash out some of the dust.”

The portly storekeeper shuffled behind the counter. “Warm sarsaparilla’s all I got for you, ladies.”

“Sarsaparilla is what we’ll have, then. Thank you.” A grin tipped Hattie’s mouth as she seated herself on a stool across from the storekeeper. “The men will be awhile, availing themselves of all the finery the lumberyard has to offer.”

Lorelei slid onto the stool beside her. “I’m in no hurry to return to camp.”

Anna nodded and sat on a stool. She didn’t blame Lorelei in the least for wanting to make the most of her time away from camp. Her husband seemed nice enough, but her father-in-law almost always looked and acted like he’d been sucking lemons. Even in Mutter’s worst moods, she seemed a harmless ant compared to the cantankerous Emery Beck.

Mutter laid a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “You go ahead, dear. I’ll find Vater and ride back with him. That way I can start supper nice and leisurely like.”

Anna stood. “I don’t have to—”

“Stay?” Mutter slid her hand down to Anna’s arm and squeezed. “Why wouldn’t you?”

To police you
. Anna swallowed her first answer and then forced her concerns down. Of course, Mutter was tired. And, really, these were her friends, not Mutter’s. “If you’re sure.”

Mutter looked from Hattie to Caroline to Lorelei, then back to Anna. “I’m sure. You stay and enjoy yourself. Enjoy your friends.”

“All right.” Anna drew in a fortifying breath. “I’ll be along shortly to help with supper.”

When Mutter closed the door behind her, Anna rejoined her friends at the stools.

Caroline patted Anna’s hand and smiled. “I’m glad you stayed.”

Hattie set her hat on the counter between them. “I’m glad too.”

“This will do you good, Anna.” Lorelei looked at her and smiled. “We’re all glad you decided to stay.”

Anna nodded, trying her best to be glad.

The proprietor carried tin cups to the barrel and looked up at the whiskey bottles on the shelf overhead. “Don’t get much call for genteel drinks here.”

Anna fought the lump forming in her throat. She was either going to trust Mutter—to trust God with Mutter—or she was not. Still, she couldn’t help but be thankful Mutter wasn’t here right now. She didn’t need the temptation.

Her soda came in a tin mug. Taking her first sip, Anna allowed herself to relax. The settlement wasn’t big enough for anyone to get lost or into much trouble. Besides, Großvater and Boney would both look out for Mutter.

Anna glanced at her friends. “It’s not lemonade on Mrs. Brantenberg’s porch, but it’s good that at least a few of us can be together.”

“I remember those chats.” Caroline ran her fingertip around the top of her cup. “And I remember what Elsa used to say when I was waiting for news about Phillip.”

Hattie raised her finger as the leader of the quilting circle had. “Worry is something the devil will use against us.”

Anna nodded. “To distract us from the truth.”

Caroline cleared her throat as Elsa Brantenberg would do. “God is in control, not us.”

They all fell silent as they raised their drinks for a sip.

Hattie pressed a fingertip to the corner of one eye. “I miss her and Emilie and Jewell—all of them.”

Caroline nodded. “I’m anxious for word from them.”

“Have you written Jewell to tell her of the upcoming nuptials?”

“I wrote her about my horseback rides with the captain, but not about the result yet.” Caroline quirked an eyebrow in a coy grin.

Hattie set her tin cup on the counter. “Once you and the captain wed, you may wish to, uh, change your living arrangements.”

After Mutter had brought up the subject of where Caroline and the captain would live once they married, Anna had considered offering to take Caroline’s place as the Kamdens’ nanny. She’d immediately dismissed the thought, however, well aware she had her hands full caring for Mutter and Großvater.

“We’ve talked about it.” A blush colored Caroline’s face and reached her red hairline. “Me and Rhoda.”

Lorelei swiveled on her stool. Leaning forward, she looked at Caroline. “How is Rhoda faring? I heard the pain was back again last night.”

Caroline nodded. “Yes. Sadly, it seems more frequent. She hasn’t eaten well the past couple of days.”

“And she’s not pregnant?”

“She and Dr. Le Beau both insist she is not.” Caroline brushed stray curls into her bonnet. “Dr. Le Beau recommended Rhoda see a doctor at Fort Kearney. He said a surgeon might even be necessary.”

“Oh dear.” Lorelei shook her head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Garrett and I talked about postponing the wedding, but Rhoda wouldn’t hear of it.”

“She doesn’t want to interfere with your happiness.” Lorelei lifted her cup to her mouth and faced Hattie. “I’m sorry for the interruption. You were saying?”

Hattie smiled. “My mother and I talked, and I could take over as nanny for the Kamdens, if they’d like me to.”

A grin brightened Caroline’s face. “As it happens, your name came up in my conversation with Rhoda. I suggested you might be a good replacement, and she thought you would do well with the children and her mother-in-law.”

“Wonderful! Perhaps we could talk to Rhoda when we return to camp.” Hattie tilted her head and sighed. “If she’s feeling up to it.”

Anna glanced toward the open front door, looking out at the dusty road. Mutter had surely found Großvater by now, and they were on their way back to camp.

At least that was what she had to hope. She couldn’t be Mutter’s keeper, try as she might. Mutter’s well-being was between her and God. All Anna could hope to do was pray for her and love her.

Caleb sat astride a fallen tree with the wagon’s tack laid across his lap. He let out a deep breath. He should’ve gone into Rock Creek. It might have afforded him an opportunity to talk to Anna. If nothing else, he could’ve helped her keep watch on her mother. He wanted to go, if only to make sure the peddler wasn’t anywhere near the place. But Anna had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Besides, Otto and Boney had both accompanied the women. He would have only been in the way.

He dipped the rag into the neat’s-foot oil and spread it onto the leather. The changes he’d seen in Wilma Goben since he pulled her from the river and sat with her in the draw were stark, almost day and night.

Come to think of it, the change in Anna had been just as drastic, and around the same time. More than two weeks had passed since she’d quit speaking to him. Outside of the obligatory niceties, anyway. Unless he counted her indignation that day he’d found her on the hillock and interrupted her
thinking
time, and then the following Saturday, during the evening music. Since that awful day at the river, he hadn’t even caught her looking at him during the morning Bible reading the way she used to. And she didn’t speak one word to him when she found him and Mrs. Kamden at the graveside.

More importantly, Anna had lost interest in listening to him.

On the hillock, she claimed she wasn’t embarrassed by her need to be rescued. Wasn’t embarrassed knowing he’d seen her toss a bottle into the fire or witnessed her mother’s behavior. During their very few dance steps Saturday night, she said she wasn’t angry with him, but at herself.

None of it made sense. He would’ve guessed Anna had learned the truth about the raid at Centralia, but she couldn’t know. He was the only person alive who knew what had truly happened there. He’d talked to her mother some, but hadn’t told her any of that. No, it was most likely she felt guilty about her mother’s behavior and was all the more determined to look after her.

Either way, it didn’t seem he could do anything but wait. And hope the feelings Anna had for him the day they kissed were still there and would one day surface again.

He prayed it would be soon.

He’d just stretched the harness out on the log to dry in the sun, when he
heard horses approaching and looked up. Wilma Goben sat atop a borrowed chestnut, looking every bit fine. Boney and Otto rode on either side of her. Where was Anna? It wasn’t like her not to be at her mother’s side.

“Caleb.” Boney waved his hat toward the harness. “You get my work done for me, did ya?”

“You know me better than that.” Caleb looked at Anna’s family. “Otto. Ma’am. How did you find Rock Creek?”

“A very well-named town. About all there was to it.” Otto chuckled. “A rock and a creek.”

“You’re forgetting about the lumber mill and the general store.” Wilma turned toward Caleb and smiled. “That’s where Anna is. She stayed behind to enjoy a sarsaparilla with her friends.”

“Oh?” The word came out as a question. He could have been knocked over with a feather right then. Anna had actually done something for her own enjoyment.

“I was surprised too,” Otto said. “They won’t be far behind us. The captain, Arvin, and Tiny are in town to see to ’em.”

Perhaps it was a good sign that Anna was feeling comfortable letting her mother go—to get out from under the dark cloud that had settled over her. A good sign that she might soon be ready to talk to him again. To listen to him.

Right now, he’d settle for a smile.

A
nna looked up at the crescent moon set in the graying sky. She breathed in the cool evening air and rode Molasses past the grouping of wagons. Großvater waved to her from the back of Ian Kamden’s Conestoga where he was helping to grease a wheel.

Mutter had been right—it had done her good to enjoy some refreshment with friends. There wasn’t much to Rock Creek, so it wasn’t the place that did her so much good, but the company. Even lukewarm, the sarsaparilla was a welcome treat after so many weeks on the road.

All the while, Mutter had been back here cooking the stew and baking fresh biscuits. Anna needed to help and catch Mutter up on the news from her friends. She guided her horse around a gaggle of children playing stickball.

At their camp, Anna stepped down from the stirrup and tethered Molasses to the tongue at the front of their wagon. She looked around. Three empty stools framed the worktable. Carrots and potatoes lay peeled but not cut. Water boiled in the dutch oven, which hung above a dying fire.

“Mutter?”

Had she gone to the stream for water? Or maybe into the wagon to lie down while she waited for Anna’s help?

Anna climbed the wheel spokes. She had no sooner reached the wagon seat when the bitter stench of liquor assaulted her senses.