Robin Lee Hatcher (4 page)

“I thought you would be here when the baby was born,” Fiona said as she dried her eyes with a handkerchief. “I
wanted
you here.”

“I wanted it too, but spring will be here before you know it. The baby won’t be so very grown by then.”

“You’ll write to me?”

“Of course,” Emily answered. “Just like I did while I was away at school.”

“Be sure that you do.”

Emily turned toward her sister, and a small sob escaped her throat.

Maggie took hold of her by the shoulders. “I’ll pray for you every day, Emily. We all will.”

“I know. Thank you. Please don’t worry about me.”

Emily had her tears under control by the time Gavin Blake brought his wagon around from the livery and halted the team in front of the hotel. He hopped down from the seat and his gaze swept the large gathering until he found her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Good morning, Mr. Blake.”

He stepped onto the sidewalk and touched the brim of his battered hat. “Morning, Miss Harris.” His eyes flicked once more over the group of friends and family, then returned to her. “Where are your bags?”

Stepping forward, Tucker said, “I’ve got her trunk in my carriage.” He held out his hand toward Gavin. “I’m Judge Branigan, Emily’s brother-in-law.”

“Gavin Blake.” His hand clasped Tucker’s.

Emily had the feeling there was some sort of testing going on between the two men as they stared into each other’s eyes. She held her breath until Tucker’s expression relaxed.

“We can’t say we’re glad to have Emily leaving us this way,” her brother-in-law said.

Gavin nodded. “She won’t come to any harm while staying with us.”

“We’re counting on that. Kevin?” Tucker turned toward his oldest son. “Get one of the twins to help you bring Emily’s trunk over to the wagon.”

“Sure, Dad.”

“Put it in the back of the wagon there. I’ll get my wife.” Gavin turned on his boot heel and disappeared through the hotel doors.

Frowning, Maggie placed her hand on Emily’s shoulder. “You can still change your mind and come home with us.”

Emily shook her head. “No. I’m going with the Blakes.” Despite the nerves churning in her stomach, she meant it. She was going. She wouldn’t be dissuaded. Not by her sister, nor by Mr. Blake’s cool reception.

Moments later, Gavin and Dru came out of the hotel. Dru’s smile was warm, very different from her husband’s stern expression. “Good morning, Miss Harris. Is this your family?”

“Most of them.”

Gavin moved his wife closer to the wagon. “We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. We’d best go.” With that, he lifted her onto the wagon seat.

Emily turned toward Maggie, her heart thundering in her chest. “I’ll write you every week, but don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from me right away. They told me the summer range is quite remote.”

“I’ll write you too. And I’ll worry when I don’t hear from you, no matter what you tell me.”

Another flurry of good-byes erupted. As she was engulfed in a final round of embraces, Emily sensed Gavin Blake’s mounting tension.

“Miss Harris, we need to be on our way.” His words were tinged with impatience.

Emily kissed Maggie’s cheek one last time, then turned. “I’m ready, sir.”

He met her at the back of the wagon, put his hands around her waist, and lifted her effortlessly into the wagon bed. Besides Emily, it held two trunks — hers and another smaller one — a tick mattress, and numerous blankets.

“Make yourself comfortable, Miss Harris. It’ll be a while before we stop.”

She sat on the larger trunk, twisting so she could look at Maggie and Tucker again.

Gavin took his place next to his wife. “Do you need anything before we leave?” he asked softly.

“I’m fine, Gavin. Let’s go home.”

With the rattle of harness and braces, the wagon jerked forward. Emily stared at her loved ones until the wagon turned a corner and they were hidden from view.

They didn’t stop to rest until it was time for their midday meal. When they resumed their journey, Dru joined Emily in the back of the wagon.

“Tell me more about your time in the East,” she said. “Why did you stay there so long when all your family is here?”

“After I graduated, I went home with a friend to visit her parents in Washington. Her father, Professor Abraham, saw how interested I was in his historical research, and he asked if I would stay and assist him in his work. I was thrilled by his offer, especially because he seemed to value my opinions and ideas. He didn’t put me off just because I’m a woman, the way some men do.”

“It sounds like you were happy there.”

“I was.”

“So why didn’t you go back to Washington after your sister was restored to health?”

Emily shrugged. “I’m not sure why. For some reason, it never seemed right to go back. I guess I missed living in Idaho more than I realized.”

“Perhaps there’s a young man in Boise?” Dru smiled at her. “Someone you hope to marry one day?”

“No, there’s no one.”

Dru lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t want a family of your own?”

“Someday, perhaps. But not yet.”

“Then I guess it is safe to assume that you’ve never been in love.”

She thought about Maggie and Tucker, of the way they seemed to be two parts of one whole. She thought of their tender glances, of the way they touched each other — a brief brushing of hair from the other’s forehead, a light caress of the cheek — of the smiles they exchanged that said they shared a secret, of the sweet words of endearment they whispered.

She also thought of Fiona and her husband, James. Still in the first blush of newlywed joy, Fiona thought the sun rose and set with James Whittier. Fiona’s face almost glowed when she spoke of her husband, and James was solicitous whenever he was with his wife, even more so now that she was expecting their child.

No, Emily had never been in love, but from these examples and others, she had a good idea what it would look, sound, and feel like when it happened.

“Am I right, Miss Harris?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Dru leaned back on the makeshift bed and closed her eyes. “Someday you’ll meet the right man, and love will take you by surprise . . . as it so often does.”

On the first evening they were on the trail, after they’d eaten their supper and the women retired for the night, Gavin sat beside the dying embers of the campfire, a worn piece of harness in his hands. He would have to repair it before long. If the cattle prices were good come spring, maybe —

“Mr. Blake?”

He glanced up, surprised that he hadn’t heard Emily’s approach.

“May I speak with you a moment?”

He motioned to the stool on the opposite side of the fire. As she settled onto it, he couldn’t help noticing that she looked lovely, despite the long, dusty day. Such a contrast to Dru’s wan appearance when she’d retired.

“Is there some reason you disapprove of me?” she asked, her gaze lifting to meet his.

“Dru chose you, Miss Harris. That’s good enough for me.”

”That isn’t an answer.”

He supposed she deserved the truth. “I don’t think you’re cut out for the place we’re going.”

“Why is that?”

“You’re not headed for another city like Washington, D.C., or even one like Boise. Our nearest neighbors in the basin are more than likely a small band of Sheepeater Indians or some of their kin. There won’t be any tea parties to be shared with other womenfolk or dances to go to on Saturday nights, all decked out in a pretty dress. Winters are hard and long.” He lowered his gaze to the harness in his hands, then set it on the ground beside his feet. “I built the cabin at our summer range with my own two hands, and the house at the main ranch isn’t much different from it. There’s no money for luxuries, that’s for certain.”

“I can do this job, Mr. Blake, and I don’t need luxuries.”

He leaned forward and took hold of her right hand, turning it palm up. “Look at your hand. You haven’t done a real day’s work in your life. You may have been raised on a ranch, but it’s a gentleman’s ranch. That brother-in-law of yours hires all the help he needs to run it. Right? You’ve never had to — ”

She pulled away from him. “That’s not so. My family worked hard for everything we have. Like you, Tucker built our first house himself. I remember what it was like when we left the wagon train and settled in Boise. We worked from sun up to sun down. In some ways, it was even harder than being on the trail.” She stood. “Maybe Tucker does have others managing his ranch now, but he’s earned it. And maybe because of his success I haven’t faced much hardship, but I can do everything I was hired to do. I can take care of your wife and daughters.”

”I guess we’ll soon find out, won’t we?”

“Yes, I guess we will.” She turned away. “Goodnight, Mr. Blake.”

“Goodnight, Miss Harris.”

When she was gone, Gavin returned his gaze to the dying embers. She wouldn’t last. She would wilt like a rose without water. Just see if she didn’t.

The days on the trail were long and exhausting. Yet Emily felt a growing sense of adventure as Dru shared more about their summer range in the Stanley Basin. Still, despite the other woman’s glowing reports about the place she loved, Emily wasn’t prepared for the breathtaking panorama that met her gaze late in the afternoon a week after they left Boise.

In the valley, a carpet of green grasses waved like the sea while late summer wildflowers bobbed their colorful heads. Sage and pine scented the breeze. Winding its way across the valley floor flowed a ribbon of water, and beyond it pine trees climbed the mountainsides as far as possible, then admitted defeat before reaching the rocky peaks of the Sawtooths.

“Is that snow?” she asked, eyeing the splotches of white on the high crags.

“Glaciers,” Gavin replied. “They’re there year-round.”

“Can we see your house from here?”

Dru shook her head. “Not yet. The basin’s northwest of here. We’ll be there tomorrow.”

Gavin hopped from the wagon seat and walked across the narrow dirt road. His brows drew together as his gaze swept the nearby wooded area. Moments later, he returned to the wagon and pulled a long, heavy-looking chain from beneath the seat.

Emily watched as he carried the chain over to a fallen tree, dropped it on the ground, rolled up his sleeves, then bent over to slip the heavy links beneath the log. His muscles bulged as he leaned forward, pulling on the chain.

“What is he doing?” she asked Dru.

“It’s to help check our speed. Gavin fastens one end of the chain around a large log and the other to the undercarriage. The log helps create drag on the steep grade so the wagon won’t get away from the horses.”

Twenty minutes later, they started down the mountainside. Behind them, the dead tree carved a groove in the earth. It soon became apparent to Emily why Gavin had taken this precaution. Even with it, the horses leaned back over their hind legs, straining against the weight of the wagon pushing against them. The narrow track — too primitive to be called a road — wound back and forth across the side of the mountain but still the descent seemed too swift. The drop to the valley floor was frightening. What if the animals bolted? They would all plunge to their deaths.