Emma's Journey (17 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Another month passed as they grew closer to their destination. The days all blended into another. Emma still slept every afternoon, ate like a logger, and practiced her shooting each night. Davis even took her on a hunt, where she managed to bag a rabbit. However, they gave it to Sarah’s family because Emma couldn’t stand to eat it, knowing she’d killed the poor little thing.

Their weary wagon train stopped briefly at Fort Boise, the Hudson’s Bay Company trading post on the Snake River. The excitement of another trading post paled by Emma’s anxiety to reach their destination.

She’d passed the morning sickness part of her pregnancy, and even though she felt happy and energetic most of the time, by the end of another long and tiring day, she felt the itch to grouse at someone to relieve some of her anxiety and fatigue. No matter how hard she tried to poke at him, her husband would pat her on the back and offer to rub her shoulders or feet. Then she’d burst into tears because she was so mean and awkwardly climb into the wagon.

They soon reached the Blue Mountains. The days were now shorter, and the nights cooler as they entered autumn. Ezra assured the group at his nightly meetings that they would reach Oregon City by the end of the month. They’d made it into October, he boasted, not having had many episodes of bad weather.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Davis and Emma placed their empty supper bowls on the ground in front of their campfire. The sun had sunk low in the sky, leaving the air cool. Davis had fetched a wrap for her to warm herself. They huddled close together, holding the warm cups of coffee. Emma put her hand on her stomach as she felt a slight fluttering. “Oh!”

Her breath hitched. “Here. Feel this.” She reached for his hand and placed it where hers had been. “Does that feel like the baby moving?”

Davis frowned and waited for a minute. “I can’t tell, honey. Maybe you’re just hungry and your stomach’s grumbling.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, we just got through eating. No, I think this is the baby moving. Here, try it again. See, do you feel that?” She smiled slightly as she studied his face for acknowledgement.

“Yeah. . . . I think I feel something.” His lackluster answer irritated her.

Before she let her annoyance push her into another foul mood, she stood. “I’m so glad this cool weather makes sleeping much more pleasant.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “I think I’ll turn in.”

“I’ll be right in. Just let me douse the fire.”

Emma slid a nightgown over her body and crawled onto the pallet. Within minutes Davis entered the wagon, removed his outer clothes and climbed in next to her. The moonlight cast his features in an eerie glow. She listened to quiet nature sounds from outside their snug cocoon. Crickets chirped their melodies, reminding all of nature that summer was at an end.

“What are your plans when we reach Oregon?” Emma shifted, then pushed the hair from her eyes. She placed her folded hands under her cheek and studied him. “Do you have to find land for your horse farm, or do you already have something picked out from one of your trips out there?”

“As I mentioned before, my parent’s farm finally sold last year, and the bank sent me a check for the balance after everything was settled, and all debts paid.” He rolled so he faced her. “I also have most of the money I’ve made as a scout for Ezra.” He chuckled. “You’ll see when we arrive in Oregon City, the other scouts will make fools of themselves with women, liquor and gambling away most of their money. I never joined them.”

As he talked, he ran his fingers over Emma’s cheek, causing shivers to race up and down her spine.

“I plan to get land under the Donation Land Act. I could have gotten one hundred sixty acres as a single man, but as a married couple, we qualify for three hundred and twenty acres.”

Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise at the generosity of the Act.

He grinned. “And you’ll be interested to know that due to the advance thinking of the Oregon Territory, your half of the property will be held by you in your own right.”

Emma perked up at this last part. “You mean I can own my own land?”

“Yes, darlin’, you can. The law states we have to claim it, and then establish residence. Since Ezra seems to think we’ll reach Oregon around the end of October, that gives us time to pick out land we want, get it registered, and establish a residence before the worst of winter sets in.”

“What does
establish a residence
mean?”

“We’ll have to build some sort of permanent structure, and do something to prove that we’re going to be using the land to provide our living. I can do that by buying our horses, and putting up fences. We can do it together, but it will take a lot of work.”

Emma lay quietly while she thought about a horse farm, and acreage in her own name. Davis’s soft caresses had turned more demanding, as he slipped his hand into the front of her unbuttoned nightgown−
when did that happen?
−and caressed her breast.

The familiar tightening in her stomach and warmth between her legs soon overtook her thoughts of horse farms and Oregon City.

Davis pulled her closer, then nipped at her bottom lip. “I know it’s chilly in here, sweetheart, but I promise if you lift up so I can take off your nightgown, I’ll keep you plenty warm.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after the wagon train had stopped for the evening, Sarah, Abigail, Elizabeth and Emma joined several of the other women who washed out a few pieces of laundry they hoped would dry overnight.

The air of expectancy surrounded the whole wagon train. In a couple of weeks they would reach Oregon City, and then separate from each other. Watching all the women work, Emma realized these were the first true friends she ever had, since she had always relied on her mama for company and female companionship.

Feeling a sense of belonging she never felt before, Emma gazed on these brave women. They had started out as strangers in Independence some six months ago. Now they had gone through storms, illness, river crossings, burial of loved ones, and even an Indian encounter. But all these women, herself included, had come through it all. Feeling silly, she wiped tears from her eyes.

“What’s got you looking so sad, Emma?” Sarah asked as she wrung out one of Buck’s shirts. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, Sarah. We’ve become friends, but once we get to Oregon City, we’ll be going in different directions. I feel almost as sad about that as I did leaving my parents. You all have been like family to me. And oh, dear, here I go crying again.” She used her apron to dab at her eyes.

“No. We may be going separate ways, but we can keep in touch. We can write letters and visit.” Sarah reached out and hugged her.

“Jeb hopes to open a church right in Oregon City. I hear there’s a need for one,” Abigail added to the conversation.

Sarah sat back on her heels. “This is probably as good as any time to tell you all that I’ll be having another little one in about six months.” She blushed, and held her hand to her stomach.

“Sarah Boyle, you’ve kept this secret from us?” Abigail chided as she hugged her.

“Sarah, I’m so happy for you.” Elizabeth hugged her as well. “So I guess this is a good time for me to announce our new little one. Doctor Bennett figures sometime in the spring.” She also blushed and ducked her head.

“Oh, my,” Emma said. “With me due in February, Sarah in March, and now Elizabeth soon after, I think that gives us enough reason to stay in touch. Three little ones!” Emma looked at the women and grinned. “And I would say this has been a very busy wagon train.”

All four women laughed as they gathered up their clothes to hang on the nearby bushes. Emma brought her things back to the wagon, since Davis had strung a rope from the wagon to one of the trees for her to use.

She had just hung up the last of her clean laundry when Nate approached her. He seemed to walk taller since the encounter with the Indians. Nate’s ability to speak with the chief, along with Ezra keeping everyone calm, avoided what could have been an ugly situation.

“Good evenin’, Emma.” Nate touched the brim of his hat. “How are you getting along?”

“Fine. I’m really glad we’re getting to the end of our journey. But Davis assures me there’s still a lot of work to be done when we get there.”

Nate’s face muscles clenched at her words. “So you’re staying with him?”

“Davis is my husband and we’re expecting a child.” She put her hand on the small bulge, rubbing gently. Nate’s eyes went to where her hand rested and a look of misery shadowed his face.

“What about Indiana? I thought you wanted to go back.”

“I can’t even think about that until after the baby comes. There’s no way I’m giving birth in a traveling wagon.”

Nate moved closer, reaching out his hand to hold hers. “I would do anything for you. You know that. I’m still going to check into an annulment when we arrive in Oregon City. And I’ll wait till the baby is born, but then I hope you make the right decision for your future.” Lifting her hand, he kissed it gently and then disappeared into the darkness.

Emma sighed and looked up at the sky. She marveled at the inky blackness, dotted with millions of small, twinkling stars. Were her mama and papa looking up at the sky right now too? She sorely missed them, but after all these months, and the baby coming, what she should do remained elusive.

Somewhere along the way she had caught Davis’s excitement at having a horse farm. Having lived in town all her life, she didn’t have a strong relationship with horses, but she certainly could ride since it was the only way to get around. New husband, new baby, new home, new farm. So many changes. Her palm moved down to where the new life she carried sat snug and secure.

She liked Nate, always had, but did she want to hurt Davis by returning to Indiana, taking their child? Would he even allow the child to go? Being so travel weary, the thought of repeating the trip shortly after the baby’s birth repulsed her.

And what about Davis? He was kind, considerate, passionate, and funny. She enjoyed his company, and looked to him for help and protection. But did they love each other? He certainly showed signs of it every time another man came near, but possessiveness didn’t necessarily mean love.

Her own feelings confused her. So adamant at the beginning to return to her parents, all these months on the trail had changed her. She was no longer the little girl she’d been in Indiana. She was going to be a mother soon. Now she would be the mama, protecting and guiding
her
child.

Davis walked up behind her, enveloping her in his strong arms, and rubbed her stomach. “How’s my family tonight?” he whispered in her ear. Feeling a little guilty for her thoughts, Emma turned, wrapped her arms around his waist, and laid her head on his chest. She could hear his strong heartbeat. The only thing she was certain about at this point was nothing would be clear until after the baby came. And before that, they had a lot of other things to think about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Autumn had arrived in full force. Trees along the trail sported an array of golden, red and orange leaves. Against the hills and valleys, the foliage resembled fire rising up to cool in the crystal clear blue sky.

Log houses appeared and abundant wheat and cornfields had dotted the area for miles now. Obviously everything they heard about Oregon rang true. The land was plentiful, with tidy, productive farms.

Despite the bright sun, the air remained cool. Shortly after noon, Emma saw Oregon City for the first time. Not too sure what she’d expected, her curiosity knew no bounds as she looked excitedly around the town. She spotted a church, and wondered if Jeb would still set up his church here, or move on to another area in the Territory.

There were stores, blacksmiths, flourmills and an actual newspaper. They plodded past the Federal Land Office, a small bank, and the post office. Horses, wagons and people overflowed the area. Even though she was so far from Indiana, this small town reminded her of home. Happy and sad at the same time, she turned to Davis and smiled brightly with tears in her eyes. Seeming to understand her conflicting emotions, he squeezed her hand.

“Ezra wants to call a final meeting before we all go our separate ways.” Davis stopped the animals, jumped down, then reached up for Emma. He swung her down, and putting his arm around her shoulders, strode to where Ezra had gathered everyone in front of the post office.

Amused at how energized Davis had become since they’d entered the town, Emma shivered with conflicting emotions. She’d started this trip with one man, ended it with a different one. She’d worried about leaving her parents behind, now she worried more about the health of her own child. Instead of merely months, it seemed as though years had passed.

Smiling broadly, Ezra looked around at the weary, but excited travelers. “Folks, we’ve reached Oregon City. This is the end of the wagon train. Some of you will settle here, some further out, but before we all say our goodbyes, I’ve asked Jeb to offer a blessing.”

Jeb moved to stand next to Ezra. Bowing his head, he waited a moment, and then spoke. “Lord Father, we thank you for your love and caring. We acknowledge your help in guiding this group of worthy people to their destination. We ask you to keep those we lost and buried on the trail in your loving arms. May we all proceed with our new lives in your mercy and guidance. Amen.”