Westward Hearts (28 page)

“Maybe this trip will change their lives.”

Jess made a sad little smile. “I wish that were possible, Elizabeth, but I seriously doubt it will happen. Some folks can get pretty set in their ways.”

They rode and talked on into the afternoon. And by the end of the day, Elizabeth realized she was quite fond of the girl. She just wished that Jess would give up this silly pretense of being a boy. Still, Elizabeth would keep her promise not to tell. She just hoped that, in time, she’d be able to convince Jess to become Jessica again.

I
t rained off and on for the rest of the week. The upside was that the prairie grass would be thick and lush for livestock grazing. The downside was that everyone was sick and tired of mud and the never ending dampness. At the end of each day, they hung damp garments beneath the tarp and around the fire, but nothing ever felt completely dry.

“One benefit from all this rain is that it’s put a real damper on Gertie Muller’s crusade to bring down Ruby’s wagon,” Clara said as they fixed supper in their soggy camp. “And the Lord does work in mysterious ways, so maybe this rain really is a good thing.”

“And we don’t have to carry water,” Ruth said as she watched Matthew and JT setting up the tarp over their camp.

“According to Asa, it’s going to clear up soon,” Clara said in a weary tone. “I sure hope he’s right.”

“There does seem to be a thinning of the clouds in the west,” Elizabeth told her. “I noticed it when I was riding this afternoon. If you get far enough away from the train, you can actually see the horizon.”

“Saw you talking to Jess again,” Matthew said. “How you get that boy to talk like that is beyond me.”

Elizabeth just shrugged.

“Is it true that Grandpa isn’t doing the church service tomorrow?” JT asked his grandmother.

“It’s true,” she told him.

“That’s news to me.” Elizabeth measured a cup of cornmeal and poured it into the bowl. “Why is that?”

“He invited Horace Taylor to lead the service,” Clara said.

“I like it when Grandpa does it,” Ruth said.

“So do I.” Clara paused from chopping an onion. “But Grandpa thought it was only fair to let folks take turns with it.”

“What if we don’t like Mr. Taylor’s preaching?” JT asked as he tied off one end of the tarp.

Clara chuckled. “Well then…I suppose we could have our own family service. No rule against that. But for tomorrow, let’s all try to be cooperative with the Taylors. I heard that Mrs. Taylor has a small piano in their wagon.”

“They brought a piano?” Elizabeth stopped from measuring the salt.

“She plans to play it for us at their church service tomorrow,” Clara told her.

“If the womenfolk don’t need any more help around here, JT and I would like to do some fishing,” Matthew announced. “According to Eli there are some good-sized trout in these parts.”

“Are you done tending the team already?” Elizabeth asked JT.

“Brady and Grandpa are just finishing up,” he assured her.

“All right.” She nodded. “Some trout would be welcome around here.”

Next Ruth asked to go visiting at the Bostonians’ campsite. “I told Belinda I’d help her make biscuits,” she explained. “She says hers keep coming out flat as pancakes.”

“Yes, by all means, go help them,” Elizabeth told her. “Just be back here in time to set our table for supper.”

“And you can spy for us,” Clara said playfully. “Find out how Lavinia’s faring in the kitchen.”

After Ruth was gone, Elizabeth and Clara worked quietly beneath the tarp with the sound of livestock nearby and the constant dripping of the rain. “You’ve got me real curious about something,” Clara said as she dropped chopped onions into some bacon fat.

“What’s that?” Elizabeth paused from stirring the cornbread batter.

“You and Jess getting along so well.”

“Oh…that?” Elizabeth started to stir again.

“Yes, that. Today, I was watching the two of you out there riding and talking together, and I’ll admit you were a fair ways off, but I could swear that I was looking at two women out there just a chattering away.”

Elizabeth nearly dropped the bowl. But instead, she took in a deep breath and simply continued stirring.

“You don’t seem the least bit surprised by what I just said.” Clara came over to peer closely at Elizabeth now.

“I’ll admit that’s a very interesting observation, Mother.”

“You’re not telling me that I’m wrong.”

Elizabeth pressed her lips together and simply shrugged.

“Jess is a girl,”
Clara said with conviction. “I just knew it.”

Elizabeth blinked. “How did you know it?”

“Well, I’ll admit I didn’t know it at first. But seeing you together, out there on your horses and talking like that…it just made me stop and wonder. Then I got to thinking about what Gertie’s been saying about Ruby and the others. And it just made sense to me that Jess might want to appear to be a fella and keep her distance.” Clara chuckled. “Besides that, I’ve watched her walk. She moves a little too gracefully for a shy young man.”

“But you can’t tell anyone, Mother. I promised to keep her secret.”

“And you didn’t tell me, did you?”

Elizabeth just shook her head as she poured the batter into a cast-iron pan.

“The problem is that if I guessed her secret, what will stop others from doing the same, Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth looked up. “That’s a good point.”

“Why don’t you talk her into giving up her little charade?” Clara urged. “Tell Jess that God made her a woman and there’s nothing on earth better than being who God made you to be.”

Elizabeth set the empty bowl aside. “Now that you’ve guessed her secret, it might be easier to convince her that others will too.”

Clara wiped her hands on her apron. “Well, it looks like we’ve got supper off to a good start. Why don’t you go over to Ruby’s wagon and have a little chat with Jess.”

“Right now?”

“No time like the present.”

As she removed her apron, Elizabeth wasn’t so sure. On one hand, Jess trusted her. On the other hand, it seemed unwise to allow Jess to continue this pretense. What would she do when it was her turn to perform guard duty at night? Certainly Asa would put his foot down if he knew Jess was really a woman.

Elizabeth pulled on her riding jacket and hat and headed over to where Ruby’s wagon was parked just a ways behind her own. She entered their camp to find two of the women, like so many of the other campers, struggling to get their damp firewood to ignite. Ruby was bent over blowing so hard she was red in the face, and Doris was fanning it with her skirt. “Greetings,” Elizabeth said in a friendly tone.

“Oh, hello.” Ruby stood up and shook her head. “That doggone fire is so stubborn tonight.”

“Oh, look,” Doris said happily. “It’s starting to catch.”

“Keep blowing on it,” Ruby told her.

“Is Jess around?” Elizabeth asked.

Ruby gave her a suspicious frown. “I’d like to know…why are you spending so much time with Jess lately?”

Elizabeth glanced around to be sure that no one was near enough to hear. “I know that she’s a girl,” she said quietly.

“Oh?” Ruby chuckled. “Well, it was bound to happen. I told her as much.”

“I promised Jess I’d keep it to myself. But now my mother has guessed her secret as well. I want to encourage Jess to give it up.”

“Good luck with that,” Doris said.

“It would be easier for everyone,” Elizabeth told them. “Jess could make friends with some of the girls her age.”

“You think they’ll be friendly after thinking she was a boy all this time?”

“Some would be. Belinda is a sweet girl. I’m sure she’d befriend Jess.”

“Even with folks like Gertie Muller spreading her poison about?” Doris said bitterly.

“So you heard about that?”

Ruby placed another stick on the fire. “Hard not to hear when all you got is canvas for walls. And some folks talk so loud.”

Elizabeth took in a slow breath. “You should know,” she began slowly, “that Jess told me that you ran a dance hall in Saint Louis, Ruby.” This sure wasn’t a conversation she’d looked forward to having. And she hadn’t planned on having it tonight.

“It was a profitable venture for all of us,” Ruby said defensively. “Put a roof over our heads and food on the table.”

“Yes…I’m sure it did. But I doubt it was a wholesome place for a young girl to grow up in.”

Evangeline stuck her head out of the wagon. “Don’t you go faulting Ruby for being a good businesswoman,” she said.

“Hello, Evangeline.” Elizabeth gave the pretty woman a stiff smile. “I hope you’re feeling better. And I’m not faulting Ruby for anything. I’m only here to speak about Jess.”

“Elizabeth is a trusted friend,” Ruby assured Evangeline. “And she’s right about Jess. The dance hall wasn’t a good place for her. And we all know that’s why she goes around dressed like a man.”

“One of my biggest concerns about Jess passing herself off as a man is that she’ll be expected to do guard duty with the other men,” Elizabeth confided to them. “And, believe me, my father would have a fit if he found out he’d put a woman on guard duty.”

“Jess can shoot as good as a man,” Ruby told her.

“That’s not what I’m concerned about.” Elizabeth frowned. “It just wouldn’t be proper. It would be unfair to Jess and to any man serving next to her. Surely you can understand that.”

Ruby rubbed her hands together over the warmth of the fledgling fire. “Yes, I suppose I can. And I don’t much cotton to the idea of Jess out there in the middle of the night in the company of a strange man…and with firearms involved.”

“So perhaps you can talk to her?” Elizabeth felt hopeful. “Tell her about my concerns and also that my mother has guessed her secret. And warn her that others might figure her out as well. Really, it would be much simpler if Jess just admitted to everyone that she’s a girl and then got on with it. Certainly, folks will talk about it for a spell, but everyone has plenty else to concern themselves with. I s’pect it won’t be long till they forget Jess pretended to be a boy.”

“Well, I’ll talk to her. But Jess can be awful stubborn sometimes.”

“She’s an intelligent girl,” Elizabeth assured her. “I think she’ll make the right decision.”

As Elizabeth walked back to camp, she hoped that Jess wouldn’t see this as interfering. She really liked the girl and understood that her life was complicated. But hiding behind men’s clothes wasn’t going to make it any easier. Elizabeth looked down at James’ old barn jacket and chuckled. Really, she was one to talk!

T
he Taylors’ Sunday morning service was just as well attended as last week’s. And as promised, Mrs. Taylor sat in the back of their wagon, playing on her slightly out-of-tune piano and singing all the verses in a shrill, tinny voice with no concern that no one seemed to know the words to the somewhat obscure hymns. Then Horace Taylor preached a long-winded sermon on the seven deadly sins. Despite the cheerful sunshine that was warming their heads, Elizabeth felt quite gloomy walking back to their camp with her mother and daughter.

“I like Grandpa’s church better,” Ruth said glumly.

“I think we all do,” Elizabeth said quietly.

“Do we have to go to the Taylors’ church every Sunday?”

“I don’t plan on it,” Clara said. “And I’m sure we can talk Grandpa into doing a little family service for us.”

“Matthew sneaked out early,” Ruth said.

“I noticed.” Elizabeth chuckled. “So did a few others.”

“Who’s that at our camp?” Ruth pointed to where someone was sitting by their fire.

“Looks like Jess,” Elizabeth told her. Ruth was still unaware of Jess’ true identity, and Elizabeth wasn’t even sure how she was going to explain it to her. “How about if you go tend to the chickens,” she said quickly. “I thought if their crates could be set out in the sun for a while, it might help their cages to dry out a bit.”

“Yes, I’m sure they’d like that,” Ruth agreed. “You know what they say about a wet hen.”

Clara laughed as Ruth skipped away. But her expression grew serious when they saw Jess’ tear-streaked face. “What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked Jess.

“I just had a big argument with my aunt,” Jess told her. “She says I have to stop dressing like a man.” Jess looked up at Elizabeth with defiant eyes. “And that you and your mother are behind it.”

They both sat down next to Jess, and Clara poured her a cup of coffee, smiling sympathetically as she handed it to her. “We aren’t trying to make trouble for you, child,” Clara said gently. “We’re just concerned for your welfare.”

“We don’t want to see you doing guard duty,” Elizabeth explained. “My father would be beside himself if he knew that he’d put a girl on guard duty.”

“I could do it.”

Clara put a hand on Jess’ shoulder. “I’m sure you could, dear. But you are a woman. And it’s senseless for you to pretend to be anything else.”

Jess held her chin up, but her lip quivered slightly. “I didn’t bring any dresses with me. So my aunt said I had to wear some of Evangeline’s things since we’re the closest to the same size. And I told her I would rather wear a gunny sack and of course Evangeline got mad and then we all started to fight.”