Lazy Days (4 page)

After dusk, the stagecoach unloaded its
passengers at the Brandon Hotel in St. Louis. The weather had turned chilly and
Hallie pulled her wrap tightly around her. Buttoning Timmy's jacket, she supposed
they would spend the night at the hotel; that is, if accommodations were
available. She sighed. There was so much about her journey that depended on
circumstances at any given moment. Her ordered life no longer existed. Mentally
and physically she squared her shoulders, hoping the action would strengthen
her resolve. Being a timid woman, she had allowed Thomas to structure their
lives. Of course, with his physical limitation, she had done her best to
relieve the load of running their farm, but that in no way prepared her for the
unforeseen happenings that were now part and parcel of her daily existence.

The opening of the stagecoach door interrupted
her reverie and once again she grasped Cooper's extended hand so he could help
her down. Timmy hopped the short distance to the ground, his eyes wide with
curiosity. Emmett opened the other door and assisted Lydia and Sammy. Hallie
heard the drivers yelling instructions and within a short time her trunk, as
well as the Hankersons' trunk, was lowered to the ground.

Cooper suggested, "Hallie, why don't you
and Tim wait in the portico while I see if I can secure a room and find bellboys
to haul your trunk."

Hallie nodded and reached for Timmy's hand,
drawing him up the steps and to a corner of the immense enclosed porch. This
hotel seemed huge in comparison to the one in Jebson and Timmy's eyes rounded
as he watched the comings and goings of cowboys with low slung, holstered revolvers,
sophisticated women on the arms of business type men, and even women with
rouged cheeks and fancy hats, enter and exit the hotel. Hallie felt overwhelmed
herself.

Holding tightly to her son's hand, Lydia was
guided by her husband to stand beside Hallie. She leaned toward Hallie and
whispered loudly, "This shore ain't my little town of River Bend
Grove."

Hallie smiled at her new friend. "And it's
not Jebson either."

The women giggled and Emmett laughed along with
them. He teased, "Lydia, I'll be right back. Don't start any trouble while
I'm gone." He ruffled his son's hair and winked at his wife.

Hallie watched him enter the hotel and laughed
nervously. "What if there aren't any rooms? Do you suppose we'll have to
sleep in the stable?" She was only half kidding, but when she saw the
startled look on Lydia's face, she wished she'd kept her remark to herself.

* * *

Cooper stared at the hotel clerk and refused to
back down. "Surely, there's got to be
something
available."

"Sir, as I've explained, this is the season
for travelers making their way to the westward trails and we're
always
full up."

Cooper pushed his Stetson back and rubbed his
forehead. He already had a headache and this yokel was making it worse. He
glanced sideways and saw Mr. Hankerson enter the hotel. Sighing, he reached into
his pocket and pushed a shiny coin toward the clerk. "Will this find us a
room?"

The clerk slipped his hand over the coin and smiled,
"Yes, I believe it will."

Cooper slipped another coin his way. "And
how about this one for the man who just entered?"

The odious little man, who’d attempted to hide
the bald spot directly on top of his head by slicking wiry gray hair over it, quirked
a sidewinder grin at his double fortune, and surreptitiously palmed the coin off
the counter.

Cooper motioned Mr. Hankerson over. "I was
just informed that there are only two rooms left. How's that for luck?" As
he watched relief wash over his traveling companion's face, he knew his coin
had been well spent.

"That's terrific. I didn't want to return
to my wife and son and tell them we'd be sleeping in the alley," he joked.

After they paid for their rooms and secured their
keys, Mr. Hankerson turned to Cooper. "Please call me Emmett. May I call
you Cooper?"

"Not a problem." Bouncing Hallie's key
in his hand, he added, "Guess I'll give this to Mrs. Wells and then head on
over to the stable to spend the night with my horse."
There, that
should keep this guy from getting the wrong impression.

Emmett
made a waving motion. "Lead the way back to the ladies, sir."

The relief on Hallie's face when Cooper handed
her the key made him feel like a hero. He said, "I'll see you and Tim in
the morning—say, about eight. By that time, I'll have a buckboard hired to drive
us to the dock." He glanced at Emmett. "Would you like to ride with
us? There'll be plenty of room for everyone and the trunks."

"That's very kind, Cooper. And please, let
me pay for the buckboard."

"That's not necessary."

Emmett laughed and repeated Cooper's earlier words,
"The last two rooms in the hotel, huh? That was fortuitous timing,
wouldn't you say? No, I'll reimburse you for the buckboard. We'll meet you out
front at eight."

Cooper realized the ladies and children were
glancing between the two of them with questioning looks. He turned to Hallie.
"Well, ma'am, I'll see you in the morning."

He started to turn away, but her small hand on
his elbow stopped him. With pretty pink cheeks, she asked, "Where will you
be staying the night, Cooper?"

He grinned, "With my horse, ma'am. Sweet
Pea gets right lonely when I'm not around." He laughed and descended the
porch steps.

As
planned, Hallie and Timmy were waiting at the front of the hotel at eight the
next morning. So far, they hadn't seen the Hankersons.

The
night before, Hallie had ordered dinner from the hotel dining room sent to their
room. She knew Timmy had to be famished, as was she, and they relished a meal
of beef stew with chunks of potatoes and carrots poured over a bed of rice,
with large squares of cornbread, and for dessert, apple pie. Having saved back some
of the cornbread she now unwrapped it and handed it to Timmy.

"Here,
son; eat this until we can get a decent meal."

"Ma,
I think you should have it. You didn't eat as much as me last night."

Timmy's
thoughtfulness touched her heart; he had his father's same kindness. Longing
for her dead husband clutched Hallie's emotions and caused her to blink rapidly
to stop tears from falling. "No, honey, I want you to have it."

Timmy
accepted the square but broke it in half. "Ma, you eat half. Okay? I
wouldn't feel right eating it all myself." He handed her his offering. Hallie
ruffled his hair and quickly ate her meager breakfast.

While
they waited for Cooper she asked, "Son, I've been meaning to ask you about
your attitude yesterday with Daisy. What was that all about? You two seemed to
be friends up until then."

Timmy
blushed and turned his head. "Aw, Ma, she said…she said we was gonna get
married someday."

"What?
Why would she think that?"

Timmy
shuffled his feet. "She told me she had a dream 'bout it and it was so
real she knew it was true."

Hallie
stifled a smile. "Well, I'm glad you told me. Now I understand your
attitude." Glancing up, she noticed Cooper heading toward them. She
pointed, changing the subject. "Look, there's Mr. Jerome."

Timmy
appeared relieved to drop the subject of Daisy's dream and waved at Cooper as
he pulled the buckboard into the closest opening. Hallie waved also and
wondered if Cooper had eaten. She felt guilty for not saving more cornbread.
Perhaps they would have time to eat in the hotel dining room.

Hallie
heard her name being called from the porch and turned around.

Lydia
waved and called again, "Hallie, hello!"

Holding
his father's hand, Sammy jumped up and down with excitement and shouted,
"Hey, Timmy, we're gettin' on a boat today!"

Emmett
grinned at his son, lifted him onto his shoulders, grasped his wife's elbow,
and led her in Hallie's direction. Cooper reached her first, carrying a large
sack. Wonderful smells wafted from the bag and Hallie's stomach growled.

He
handed the sack to her and smiled. "Sure hope ya'll are hungry. I found a
little diner and had the cook bag some breakfast. There should be enough for
the Hankersons, too."

Timmy
grinned. "Oh, yeah! Thank you, Mr. Jerome."

Hallie
also thanked him and accepted the paper bag. When her hand brushed Cooper's,
tingling shot up her arm. She opened the bag, feigning interest so he couldn't
see the affect his touch had had on her.

Hallie,
what's the matter with you? You should be ashamed of yourself.

The
Hankersons stepped next to her and while Emmett and Cooper convened, she
reached into the sack and began handing out huge fluffy biscuits, thick slices
of bacon, and boiled eggs to the children.

Timmy
and Sammy gobbled their food while the men loaded the trunks again. Soon, the
buckboard was ready for departure.

The
adults ate the remaining food until their expressions evidenced full bellies.
Cooper said playfully, "I believe Oregon is calling our names. Shall we
answer the call?"

* * *

Cooper
lifted Hallie into the bed of the wagon and then Emmett lifted his wife and
Sammy. In an exaggerated gesture, Cooper swung Timmy up beside his mother and
the boy laughed freely, the sound bringing remembrances of his own son's
laughter. He swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced at Hallie to see her
watching him pensively.

Suppressing
painful memories, he unhitched the horses and swung into the driver's seat
beside Emmett. "We're about two miles from the wharf. After I drop ya'll
off, I'll return the wagon to the stable and retrieve Sweet Pea."

Emmett
nodded. "We sure appreciate your hospitality in allowing us to ride with
you."

"The
way I figure it, we’ll be on this journey for a long time, and it won't be an
easy one. I've traveled quite a bit in my life and the best way to get from one
place to another is with folks watchin' each other's backs. There are some mean
hombres in this world."

"You
got that right. When I was a reckless young man, I almost got myself killed
more than once. If Lydia hadn't come along and changed my wicked ways, I'd
probably be dead by now."

Cooper
chuckled, but didn't comment. Emmett, a short, thin man who looked more like an
accountant than a farmer, seemed the least likely to be reckless. Of course, looks
could be deceiving. Some of the meanest men Cooper had occasioned across during
his own reckless days hadn't looked mean at all, and some of the meanest
looking had been upstanding and righteous.

Cooper
turned his attention back to the mules pulling their buckboard. The hard-packed
road, already teaming with travelers in every mode of transport and pedestrians
crisscrossing from one side to the other, required all of his attention. What
with this being the traveling season for folks headed west, St. Louis was
filled to overflowing. He sure hoped prices for supplies and a wagon wouldn't
be sky high in Westport. Although Hallie had a hefty sum from the sale of her
property, her money wouldn't go far if she wasn't prudent.

* * *

With
Timmy sitting next to Hallie on their trunk and Lydia and Sammy across from her
on their own trunk, they all stared wide-eyed at the bustling city. The pungent
odors of fish and murky river hailed the approach of the dock even before Cooper
turned the corner bringing their destination into view.

Timmy
stood and cried, "Look, Ma! Is that our boat?"

In
bold writing the word
Mirabella
was painted across the paddlebox and
across the pilot house. "It sure is," Hallie exclaimed. "Timmy,
sit down before you fall off the wagon."

Timmy
and Sammy fidgeted excitedly as Cooper pulled the buckboard to the first open
space and jumped off the wagon. "You ladies and boys wait here while Emmett
and I check out the situation; see how they want us to load up."

Hallie
patted her reticule. "Would you like our tickets now?"

"No,
keep them until I get more information."

Hallie
watched Cooper and Emmett walk toward the dock and offered a silent prayer of
thankfulness that Cooper had agreed to help her. If she'd been forced to find
her own way to Westport, the congestion and confusion of St. Louis would have
been simply overwhelming. She'd only been to the city a handful of times in her
entire life.

Born
and raised south of St. Louis in an area known as Muddy Creek Valley, at the
age of eighteen she'd married twenty-year-old Thomas and they'd lived with her
parents while saving to buy their own place. Timmy was born in Muddy Creek
Valley just a few years later. The sudden deaths of her parents in an influenza
epidemic shortly thereafter had forced her and her younger sister to sell their
childhood home to pay their parents' creditors. The remaining money was split between
the women, with Lilah promptly leaving for New Orleans, and Hallie and Thomas purchasing
their farm in Jebson.

Though
Hallie and Thomas had urged Lilah to come live with them, she'd refused, insisting
she was old enough to care for herself. After her move, she'd sent a letter praising
New Orleans. Hallie wrote regularly, but Lilah only responded occasionally with
short notes. That's how things had been for the past eight years. It had been six
months since Lilah's last correspondence, which was an added worry for Hallie.
Before leaving Jebson, Hallie had written her sister of Thomas's death and her
intent to continue onward to Oregon.

Thinking
about Lilah brought remembrances of Thomas. After the death of his widowed
mother when he was seven, the childless aunt and uncle who'd raised him saw him
and his disability as a burden. So it was no wonder he was more than happy to
leave unhappy memories in Muddy Creek Valley. Always a dreamer, he'd fed his
imagination by reading books packed with adventure and stories about the exciting
territories to the west.

Brimming
tears threatened to overflow and Hallie quickly returned her attention to the
present to study the steamboat that would deliver them to Westport Landing. Remembering
the information in the book Thomas had acquired about steamboats, she wasn't
altogether ignorant. She knew the
Mirabella
was a side paddle wheeler
because of its two paddles, one on either side of the hull. As with most
steamships, there were three decks, the lowest being the main deck, the center,
the boiler deck, even though boilers were not located on it, and the top, the
hurricane deck. Atop the hurricane deck sat the pilothouse where the pilot, the
most esteemed personage on a steamboat because of his knowledge of the river,
with its many pitfalls of raging currents and snags, guided the ship from port
to port. The best views were from the hurricane deck.

Surrounding
the boiler deck, with its staterooms and centrally located dining room, was the
promenade enclosed by gingerbread railings, a popular place for travelers to
watch the river, converse, or stretch their legs by walking around the deck.

The
main deck was for cargo, animals, and passengers unable to pay for staterooms.

Little
Sammy's excited shout startled Hallie. "There's Pa!"

Hallie
followed the direction he pointed and saw Cooper and Emmett walking back toward
their buckboard. Anticipation gave her goose bumps. She moved her mouth in whispered
words to her dead husband, "We'll soon be aboard the
Mirabella,
Tom."

* * *

Cooper's
questions had gotten him instructions for boarding passengers and trunks, as
well as Sweet Pea. His request that the Wells and the Hankersons have staterooms
next to each other was met with a grunt from the mate and an unfriendly,
"What'd'ya think this ship is, the
Great Eastern?
We gots so many
pioneers headed for Westport, we'll be lucky ta get 'em all onboard."

Cooper
glowered until finally the short, pudgy, greasy, salt-and-pepper-haired, smelly
man said, "I ain't promisin' nothin', but tell the steward when ya board
that Schmitty said ta give ya two rooms ta-gather. If'n he can, he will. That's
the best I can do."

After
thanking the man and heading back to the buckboard, Emmett said, "You
know, Cooper, you got a scowl that would scare the stripes off a tiger."

Cooper
glanced at the farmer, who today looked like a librarian or a teacher. "I
guess I can thank hard livin' and the war for that."

Emmett
said, "I wasn't in the war for reasons I'll keep personal, but I heard
enough descriptions of battles to give me nightmares for days."

Cooper
didn’t respond. The last thing he wanted to do was reminisce about the war. His
scowl softened when he saw Timmy's big grin and Sammy jumping up and down pointing
at them. He almost laughed at Hallie biting her nails like a schoolgirl.

After
moving the buckboard to the dock and unloading the trunks, Emmett waited with
the women and children while Cooper returned the wagon to the stable and retrieved
Sweet Pea. Within thirty minutes he was back at the dock hitching his horse to
a post and rejoining them. After a lengthy wait in line at the landing stages,
Hallie handed her tickets to a stocky young steward holding a clipboard. When Cooper
informed him of Schmitty's approval for adjoining rooms, he grumbled, flipped
through his roster, and wrinkled his brow. "I guess I can give you the
Tennessee and the Texas rooms on the port side."

Cooper
said, "Sounds good," and turned to Hallie and Emmet. "I'll get
some roustabouts to deliver your trunks to your rooms and after I settle Sweet
Pea on the main deck, I'll come find you."

* * *

Hallie
held Timmy's hand and followed Emmett to their staterooms. The steamboat
certainly wasn't one of the expensive ships that plied the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers with wealthy passengers. As Thomas had explained, it was a
retired mid-class passenger steamer now transporting pioneers, cargo, and
animals.

Emmett
pointed to a grimy door with the word "Texas," painted across it. The
door next to it was painted with "Tennessee." Opening the "Texas"
door, Hallie stepped into a tiny room reeking of tobacco. A narrow bed was
bolted to the far wall with another bed, bunk board style, above it. A tiny
chest with two drawers and a lamp sitting in a holder fastened to the wall were
the only other objects in the room, except for the key to the room resting on
top of the chest. It was one of the dreariest rooms Hallie had ever seen.

While
untying her bonnet ribbons, it suddenly occurred to her that her ticket was for
one room shared by three people. Where was Cooper going to sleep?