“Could I help you reach that?” a deep voice asked.
She jerked up, nearly falling. With a little cry, she jumped clear, landing nimbly between the counter and the shelves. She whirled around to face him, her mouth agape. “Will?”
“Hello, Mama.”
“Will Steed?” She took a step or two forward. The feather duster dropped from her hands and clattered to the floor totally unnoticed by her. “Is that really you?”
He reached up and rubbed the dark, thick beard with a chuckle. “Yep, it’s me under all this.”
“I can’t believe—”
Will didn’t wait for her to recover. In three running steps he made his way behind the counter and reached her, sweeping her up in his arms. “Mama!” was all he could say as he buried his face in against her shoulder.
“Will’s home?” Lydia stared at Caroline, who was standing at the door. “You mean here? In Nauvoo? Now?”
“Yes,” she cried.
“But . . . what about Nathan?”
“He’s coming. But Will wants the whole family to come to the top of the quarry.”
“To the top of the quarry? But why?”
“All he will say is we have to get everyone to the hill above the quarry as quickly as possible.” Caroline had to stop for breath. She had run all the way from the store. “Will’s gone for Derek. Olivia’s gone for Mother and Father Steed. Your Joshua has gone for Matthew and Peter and Carl. Let’s get everyone else. Will says we have to hurry.”
It took them almost a full half hour to gather everyone and walk the several blocks to the small bluff that overlooked the stone quarry. Since Derek’s farm was some blocks away, he and Will were the last to arrive. The family were waiting for Will, adults moving in to shake his hand or hug him tightly. The kids swarmed in behind them, dancing and crying out, laughing at the sight of Will with a beard.
“Where’s Nathan?” Lydia blurted, the first chance she had to break in.
Will turned and looked north. The quarry bluff was high enough that the Mississippi’s great arching curve could be seen in both directions. To the north it straightened out again, moving away in a northeasterly direction. From this vantage point they could see two or three miles up the river. Grinning like a kid with a ten-dollar gold piece, Will lifted an arm and pointed. “There!” he said.
The family turned, spreading out in a semicircle so they could see better. “Where?” Emily cried. “I don’t see them.”
“On the river. About a mile away now.”
Benjamin squinted; then his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my word!” he breathed. “Is that it?”
“Where, Grandpa? Where?” Savannah demanded. “I wanna see my papa.”
Now the others were picking it out too. They had missed it at first because it was so long it looked almost like an island. “In the river,” Derek exclaimed, as excited as one of the children. “It’s that big raft.”
“Big?” Benjamin said in awe. “That’s not big. It’s gigantic. Look at that thing!”
Caroline picked up Savannah and was pointing now too. “See there, Savannah? In the river. It’s that great big boat. That’s where Papa is.”
“Would you look at that?” Matthew said. “It must be two hundred feet long if it’s an inch. That’s unbelievable.”
“Actually,” Will said modestly, “it’s closer to three hundred feet. And that’s only the first one. The second one is about half a mile behind it. See it?”
“I see it!” young Carl Rogers cried, jumping up and down.
“If the truth be known, Savannah,” Will said, “it’s that second one that Papa is on. And your papa too, Emily. I was on the first one with Jean Claude, the Frenchman.”
“But how did you get here?” Carl broke in.
“I left camp early this morning and came overland. We talked about it and decided you needed to see it coming from up here first. You can’t get quite the same perspective down close.”
The great floating mass was coming steadily toward them, and now they could pick out the tiny figures moving across the top of it. Knowing those figures were actual men only added to the sense of the massiveness of the raft. Benjamin rubbed his chin. “I expected something pretty impressive, but this . . .” He just shook his head. “This is really something.”
The welcome-home dinner at Joshua’s house was filled with joviality and turned into an extended affair. It was frequently interrupted as friends and associates of Joshua and Nathan alike stopped by to welcome them home. At least, that was their ostensible purpose. In actuality, they came to ask questions and talk in awestruck tones about the great rafts of lumber they had brought down from the north. Their arrival had caused a city-wide stir in Nauvoo. By the time the two rafts tied up on the riverbank about a half mile north of the boat landing, a crowd had already gathered, and as word spread, there came a steady stream of people down to see this new wonder. The whole city was buzzing with talk of it.
So it was after dark before things in the house quieted down to the point where Carl could pull Nathan out on the back porch for a few moments. As they stepped into the darkness, Nathan breathed deeply, then sighed with great satisfaction. “It is good to be home, Carl. I loved the Pine Woods, but there’s nothing quite the same as home.”
“I know. And Lydia has missed you.”
“I’ve missed her and the family.”
“Nathan, I’m sorry to have to do this right now, but with Joshua leaving again in a day or two to go downriver, it just can’t wait.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Didn’t you see John C. Bennett here tonight?”
Nathan’s mouth tightened. “Yes. I thought it was pretty rude of him to take Joshua outside to talk with him, even if it was only for a minute or two. I wonder what is so pressing that it couldn’t wait.”
Carl gave him a strange look. “But that’s just it. Bennett probably heard that Joshua is leaving again too and he isn’t waiting. So we can’t either.”
“Wait on what?” Nathan said, truly puzzled now.
Carl was a little exasperated. “You know what. I’ve done what Joshua asked me to—” Suddenly he stopped, his jaw dropping. “Didn’t Joshua talk to you?”
“About what?” Now it was Nathan who was showing a little frustration.
“About Bennett.”
“No. He’s not said a word. What’s this about?”
Carl looked away, lost in thought for a moment. “That changes everything,” he said. Then suddenly he was all business. “All right. I heard Joshua tell Caroline that he’s meeting with Bennett and some others tomorrow at ten. Joshua and I are meeting at noon. I want you there, but we need to talk first.” He blew out his breath, disgusted at himself for not seeing this possibility. “I was so sure that he would have told you.”
“Told me
what?
” Nathan exclaimed.
Carl shook his head. “It’s much too complicated to even start telling you now. I’m sorry to do this to you so soon, Nathan, but can you come by the brickyard tomorrow morning? Say nine o’clock? Then I’ll tell you everything.”
“Carl! What is going on here?”
“Believe me, Nathan, there is not time to get into this tonight. I’ll see you at nine in the morning. I think maybe you’d better bring your father.”
Caroline watched from the bed as Joshua unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it across a chair. “You look tired,” she said.
“I am. It’s been a long two weeks coming down the river.”
“Do you really have to leave again, Joshua? Jean Claude seems very competent. Couldn’t he take the other raft down to St. Louis for you?”
He sat down and began tugging at his boots. “Maybe another time, but right now I’ve got nearly a hundred thousand feet of board lumber with no buyer. I’m not even sure anyone is expecting it. I sent a letter to Samuelson and hopefully he’s working on it, but who knows what we’ll be facing down there. I can’t put that on Jean Claude’s shoulders.”
She nodded glumly. He had already explained that to her, but it was still a bitter disappointment. He would be gone another ten days at the minimum, maybe more. “Does it have to be right away?”
“Well, the crew’s anxious for their money, but I told them we’d be here at least until Monday.”
“Really?” Today was Thursday. That would give her a few days at least. “Well, that’s not quite so bad. And you’re not taking Will with you?”
He gave a quick shake of his head. “Will’s been away from home long enough.”
She sat up straighter, plumping the pillow behind her back. “How are you and he doing, Joshua?”
He lowered the first boot to the floor and then looked at her. “I assume Nathan gave you Will’s letter about what happened up there between him and me.”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s passed. And don’t let him give you any of that nonsense about going back to sea again. That’s just his way of saying that he’s hurting. Now that he’s home again and Jenny’s married, that will pass too.”
Will it?
It came out as an anguished cry within her, but her face remained impassive. She decided to change the subject. She reached up and touched his beard. “It’s thick now.”
He nodded, reaching up to stroke it too. “It’s been almost six months.”
“And Will, I hardly recognized him at first.”
“It has its advantages in the cold up there, but now that it’s warm, it’s driving me crazy. I’m going to the barber tomorrow.”
“Savannah will be glad. Did you hear what she said to me at dinner?”
“No, what?”
“She said you looked like a bear.”
He laughed, lying down next to Caroline now. “And Olivia told me I looked like a wolverine. Nathan thinks it makes me look like a moose. I think it’s time for it to come off.”
She snuggled in against him, putting an arm across his chest. “It is so good to have you home again, Joshua. Don’t go up there again, at least not for so long.”
“I don’t plan on it. That’s what I’m hiring Jean Claude for.”
“Good.”
They both lapsed into silence for a minute, content to be close to each other. But finally Joshua spoke. He was staring up at the ceiling, and didn’t turn to look at her. “Caroline, there’s something I want to say.”
She felt herself tense a little. His voice had become suddenly distant again. “What?” she asked.
“Will says he won’t be baptized until you can be baptized with him.”
“He told me that tonight.” She hesitated. “I didn’t put him up to that, Joshua.”
He waved that away. “I know.”
“My feelings haven’t changed.”
He brushed that aside too. “Caroline, there are some things happening here. Now that I’m back, I’m going to look into them.”
“Oh?”
“Carl has been doing some checking too.” He took a quick breath. “It could be something that might influence your feelings toward the Church. Will’s too.” She came up on one elbow to look at him in the darkness, but he rushed on. “Maybe it won’t. It’s still too early to say.”
“What kinds of things, Joshua?”
“I don’t want to say yet, not until I know for sure. But I’ll tell you this much—if it pans out, it could change your decision and Will’s too.”
Caroline suddenly remembered things said in recent meetings. “If you are talking about the stories going around right now about Hyrum and Brigham Young and others locking that woman in her room, I already know about them. And I don’t believe them.”
“Hyrum?” That took him aback. “I haven’t heard that.”
“Well, it’s trash,” she said shortly. “So if that’s what you’re talking about, save your breath.”
His mouth drew into a line. “It’s not. But here’s what I want to say. Promise me that you’ll listen to whatever it is that turns up. When you’ve done that, if you still want to be baptized, I’ll step aside.”
There was a quick intake of breath.
“I mean it. If this doesn’t change your mind, then you’ll have my blessing. Will too.”
“Not just your permission?” she whispered. “Because you’ve already given me that.”
“No, not just my permission. You’ll have my blessing. Fair enough?”
She lay back down slowly. “Why, Joshua?” she asked in wonder.
“I won’t lie to you, Caroline. I think I’m going to win on this one. I think that what I’m going to have to tell you will end this infatuation with the Church and Joseph Smith and all that he teaches once and for all. But if not, then I’ll stop fighting you. You have my word on it.”
The door to Kathryn’s bedroom opened slowly. It was about nine in the morning, but Jennifer Jo had not yet been in to draw her curtains and the room was semi-dim. She turned her head, expecting her sister, but was surprised to see the larger shape of a man step inside. Then the door shut behind him. For a moment she thought Matthew might have returned—she had heard him leave about an hour before—but this person was noticeably larger than Matthew. As he walked across the room, his face came more into the light. Her eyes widened. “Uncle Joshua?”
He moved over and took the chair beside her bed. “Hello again, Kathryn,” he said softly, reaching out and taking her hand.
“Well, this is a surprise.”
Matthew had carried her across the street the previous evening so she could be there for the welcome home for Nathan, Joshua, and Will. She had seen the shock in their eyes at her condition, but they had been warm and wonderful with her and she had enjoyed being out of the house immensely. She and Joshua had talked about what had happened, so seeing him here again so soon was a complete surprise to her.
“I can’t believe you’re finally home,” she said. “It’s been so long.”
“It has,” he agreed.
“I wish I could see the rafts. Everyone says they are amazing.”
“They are.” He squeezed her hand. “I just talked to Jennifer Jo and she has given me permission to bring a wagon here this afternoon at three o’clock. I’ll have a bed in it and we’ll just take you on down to the river so you can see those rafts, especially the big one before we take it on down to St. Louis.”
“Would you?” she cried. “Oh, I would love that, Joshua.”
“Then it’s a date.”
She smiled shyly at him. “All of my other suitors will be completely livid, but I accept.”
He laughed right out loud. “Good enough.” Then almost instantly he sobered. “Kathryn, I can’t tell you what a shock it was to come home and find out what had happened to you. How are you doing?”
She wanted to force a smile and bravely say something like “Fine,” or “Terrific,” but something in his eyes wouldn’t let her. Suddenly there were tears trickling down both of her cheeks. She turned away.