Ruth, p.17
Ruth, page 17
“Yes, ma’am. On both accounts. Between the second and third game, he offered me a job.”
“A job? Did you just say a job? As in employment?”
“That’s correct. Yes, ma’am. He needs a smithy and all-around handyman. Says I came highly recommended and figures we need to start expanding the fort right away to get ready for next year. The way Grant sees it . . . our wagon train is just the beginning.”
Suddenly, the ramifications of Grant’s offer hit her good and hard. “But . . . but . . . Where would we live?”
“He offered us two rooms here in the fort until we build us a cabin. I’ll be working for the Hudson Bay Company, a British company. They bought the fort about five years ago. I’ll be paid forty dollars a month plus found for all of us.”
“Oh, Logan!”
“What do you say, Ruth? Do you want to stay here? Grant wants a year’s commitment.”
“Yes! Oh, yes, my darling! It would indeed be wonderful to end this journey right here and now!” She jumped to her feet.
He joined her. “I figured you might. I spoke with Reverend Whitman on my way here and asked if he could marry us this evening.”
“Oh! Oh! Star! Did you hear that? We’re getting married! Tonight!”
The girl heaved twice then broke into tears. Between sobs, she found some voice.
“What about . . . Doak! I have to go to Oregon.” She whirled on her father. “You said we were going to Oregon! What about our land?”
“Calm down, Daughter.” He motioned for her to come to him and sit on his knee. “It could only be for a year. We can still go on to Oregon next summer if we want. Or the next.”
The boy stepped from behind the wagon. “Or I’ll come back for you when your Pa says we can marry.”
She stared at the boy then glanced back to her father. She sniffled and wiped her tears then stood and walked over to Doak. “Will you promise to? Promise me you won’t fall into love with anyone else?”
“Of course, Star. Like I’ve told you, you’re the only one for me.” As if he suddenly realized he wasn’t alone, speaking such intimate things meant only for Star’s ears, he swallowed hard then cleared his throat and looked Logan in the eye.
“Sorry, sir. I mean . . . if you approve. With your permission.”
Her almost-stepdaughter filled her lungs, sniffed again, then smiled at the boy. “Will you write to me? Tell me everything that happens along the way and when you settle?”
“Yes, I will. I’ll write along the way and first thing when we get there. I’ll post all the pages to you, a long letter telling all about our trip.”
“Good, on account of I love you, Doak McKenny. You best not break my heart.”
“Never.”
She turned to her father. “And you best give us your blessing, too, Pa.”
“I know Doak will grow into a fine young man. When you’re old enough to—”
“Pa, I’ll be fourteen soon and next year, fifteen. That’s plenty old enough.”
“I said we’ll see about it.”
“Yes, sir.” She reached out, touched Doak’s hand, letting her hand fall to her side, then grinned. “Guess we’ve got us a wedding to go to.”
Epilogue
Logan fulfilled his year, but by then, word had spread about the wagon trail those of the Great Migration of 1843 had blazed. By the first of the next August, thirty-seven trains had gone through the fort.
He spoke with each of the captains, questioning their knowledge of the trail and then was surprised when Marcus Whitman showed up leading a small train.
Though offered a good raise, three things caused Logan to end his employment with Hudson Bay at the fort and spurred him farther west: the promise of free land, Star being reunited with Doak, and Ruth being with child.
The new baby, due just after the first of the year, would be born in Oregon close to where the midwife had settled, the one who claimed she knew how to deliver big-headed babes. He wasn’t taking any chances with Ruth.
Compared to the eleven hundred and forty-seven miles to Fort Hall, the six hundred and seventy-six on to Oregon City proved to be twice as hard, or more, but the Manchesters made it through the Blue Mountains to the Promised Land. It was as beautiful and rich as Logan had heard.
Close to Helen Parker and not too far from the McKennys, he and Ruth staked out six hundred and forty acres. Doak and his father helped him build a good-sized cabin with plans for enlarging it.
The boy had grown a lot, but Logan just wasn’t ready to give his permission—yet.
After much debate and negotiations, he shook hands on blessing the union the following year—if the young man had a cabin built and could establish himself in that time. That appeased his daughter and his wife.
Life was good. So was God!
And now, please enjoy the first chapter of the next Prairie Rose Collection story, TESS by Annee Jones.
Sneak peek of Tess
1855. Independence, Missouri.
Tess awoke suddenly, startled by the sound of something hitting her bedroom window. She lay in bed, listening. There it was again. It sounded like a bunch of pebbles.
Quietly so as not to wake her great-aunt Augusta whose snores were emanating through the thin walls of the house, she pushed back the faded quilt and began to tiptoe across the wooden floorboards to the window.
However, being the middle of March, the room was still cold at night and she shivered in response to a draft coming in through the cracks. Backtracking quickly, she grabbed the patched quilt and wrapped it snugly around her lithe frame, leaving the ends to trail behind her.
She was grateful the moon was full and shining brightly through the window so she was able to make her way across the room easily without bumping into anything. The sound came again as the glass was struck, and now Tess could see it was in fact small rocks that was creating the noise.
Curious as to how rocks would be making their way up to her second-story window, she lifted the latch and raised the sash, sticking her head partially out into the night air. The chill met her face with a slap. Her long brown hair stayed held back, contained under the folds of the quilt.
There he was, the man of her dreams, Dirk Draven, crouching beside a large shrub in the side yard. His blonde hair fell rakishly across his forehead and he grinned up at her with the sexy smile that made every girl she knew in town swoon. She rubbed her eyes and looked again just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming.
“What are you doing here?” Tess whispered loudly, pretending to sound like she was scolding him but secretly excited that he had come despite her aunt’s forbiddance of their continued acquaintance.
Strict old Aunt Augusta who had never married or had children of her own, thought Tess. She was probably so old she didn’t even remember what young love was like - that is, if she’d ever experienced it herself, which Tess highly doubted.
After her parents died in a fire when she was three she had gone to live with her father’s mother’s sister, Augusta, now her only living relative. Tess understood that her aunt didn’t have high hopes for her.
She was too intelligent, too emotional, too impetuous…too poor... just “too.” Her aunt suggested the convent as an alternative to marriage, fearing that her grand-niece may never be able to secure a a member of the opposite sex in holy matrimony, but Tess never liked going to church, anyway.
God seemed so far away and the wooden pews were uncomfortable. She was well aware that money was scarce, but she was young still even if she wasn’t a ravishing beauty. And Dirk seemed to find her looks sufficient. She wasn’t sure he knew the full extent of her mind, but so far she hadn’t managed to offend him.
Then again, was being a wife and mother really all she had to look forward to even in the best of circumstances? She’d never spent much time with babies, wives, or mothers, for that matter, so how would she know if she even measured up?
All Tess knew was that she longed to find whatever it was that would quell the ever-present feeling of wanting in her heart. The problem was figuring out what would fill the emptiness.
Was it Dirk? These days, she found herself occupied by thoughts of him that would surely make Aunt Augusta gasp. Tess blushed. She couldn’t understand why her aunt had taken such a strong dislike to the man when he was so charming and was sweet on her, besides.
Wasn’t he an answer to Aunt Augusta’s prayers?
“I’m here to see you, Pretty,” called Dirk from down below. “Come outside, I have something I want to tell you.”
Holding a finger to her lips, Tess nodded and lowered the window. She crept down the hall past Aunt Augusta’s snoring and descended the staircase. She held her breath as she walked through the parlor and pulled open the front door with a soft click.
Dirk met her as he came round the corner of the house, motioning her to join him under the overhang of the roof, which instantly shrouded him from the moonlight. The grass felt damp and cold under her bare feet.
Dirk reached out and tugged the quilt just loose enough for him to pull out a lock of her hair. “That’s better,” he smiled.
Tess shivered again, but this time she knew it wasn’t from the cold but from the intense way he was looking at her.
“So what’s this big secret that you just had to come wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me?” she asked.
“I did something, Tess,” he said, the excitement growing in his voice. “Something big, something that’s going to make me a rich man, I’m sure of it! But I have to leave at daybreak, so I came to let you know.”
“What? You’re leaving town?” gasped Tess. She knew that Dirk’s parents had too many mouths to feed at home with him being the oldest of ten and his father a mere laborer, but this sounded too good to be true.
“Yes, I’ve taken a position with a mining company and am joining up with a wagon train tomorrow bound for Sunset Hills, Oregon. I’m going to strike it rich with all the gold just waiting to be found out there!”
Tess frowned. “But Dirk, that sounds so dangerous! Who knows what could happen on the way out west? That’s wild country, most of it is still unsettled after all!”
“I know, but I’m strong, I can take care of myself,” said Dirk, flexing his biceps. “I’m going to own my own piece of land and once I’m rich, I’ll be able to sit back and have other people work for me for a change. If I stay here, there’s nothing for me but to follow in Pop’s footsteps and I refuse to have other men boss me around my whole life and work for pennies like he does. Out west, no one is going to tell me what I can or can’t do.” He jutted his chin forward angrily.
Tess reached out a hand and laid it gently on his arm.
“But, won’t you miss me?” she asked as unbidden tears filled her eyes. “I….I thought we had something special.”
Dirk stepped even closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He looked into her cornflower blue eyes, the heat in his gaze unmistakable.
“We do, Tess, we do,” he whispered. “You’re my girl, remember? I want to send for you once I’m established in Oregon. I’ll start a homestead for us out there, baby. We can leave this place behind and start a brand-new life together. There’s nothing for either of us here. We’ll get rich out west, we’ll be able to do anything we want. The time, the chance, is right here, right now. I can’t pass up this opportunity. My question for you is, will you join me when I send for you?”
“Oh Dirk!” Tess’s voice quickened. She was overcome with trepidation and excitement at the same time.
“Yes!” she cried, flinging her arms around his neck. He lowered his mouth to hers in return, kissing her deeply. The quilt fell from her shoulders as their embrace grew more passionate, yearning. Tess tried to ignore the sense of foreboding coming from deep in her belly as she gave herself over to desire.
Tess swallowed as she looked up at the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall. May 17th, three months since Dirk left with the other young men rounded up by the mining company’s representative in Independence. She sat at the breakfast table across from Aunt Augusta and tried to finish her plate of eggs and toast despite the bites sticking in her throat on the way down.
Aunt Augusta sipped her coffee, eyeing Tess primly over the rim. “What’s wrong, child?” she asked. “You’re looking rather green around the edges this morning. Are you unwell?”
“I’m fine, Aunt,” Tess began to reply; however a wave of nausea overtook her just then and she ran for a bucket before dropping to her knees and retching violently into it.
“That’s the fourth or fifth time this has happened this week,” Augusta said, rising from her chair. She silently helped Tess clean up the mess, then gave a nod toward her great niece. “Please join me in the parlor after you’ve finished cleaning up after yourself,” she said.
Tess knew she had no choice but to admit the truth – to herself as well as her aunt. She followed Augusta’s brisk walk down the hallway leading to the front room. Augusta drew back the curtains from the wide window, allowing the morning sun to throw a dim light of hope into the small expanse. Augusta took a seat in one of the wingback chairs and crossed her arms. Tess made herself as comfortable as she could on the sofa beneath her aunt’s all-too-knowing gaze.
“Do you have anything you would like to tell me?” Augusta asked sternly.
Tess gulped and hung her head. “I believe I’m with child,” she said quietly.
“Dirk’s, then?”
If she wasn’t mistaken, Tess thought she detected a hint of sadness in her aunt’s voice. She nodded. “Yes.” Unable to help herself, she burst into tears.
“Oh, Aunt! He’s on his way out west to join the mining expedition in Oregon. He said he was going to send for me once he got settled in Sunset Hills. But now…I can’t wait until then, can I? I’m sure he would marry me right away if he knew about the baby!”
“Are you planning to go to him as soon as possible, then?” asked Augusta, her own blue eyes unreadable.
“I don’t think I have any choice, do I?” Tess said. “I should leave now and hope I get there before the baby comes.”
Augusta nodded. “I had hoped and prayed this wouldn’t happen. I did my best to raise you after your poor parents died and only hope they forgive me the mistakes I’ve made along the way.” She sighed and reached into her pocket for the small embroidered handkerchief she kept there, using it to dab the corners of her eyes before continuing.
“I’m afraid I haven’t been the best stand-in for a mother.”
Tess was struck by her aunt’s sudden show of emotion – however small – realizing for the first time that she never considered the position the woman had found herself in to be saddled with a young child unexpectedly late in life, and without any assistance.
“Perhaps I’ve tried to hold onto your reins too tightly,” Augusta continued. “But it appears that God has plans of His own for you and I will leave Him in charge now, which I likely should have done all along. I will help pack what we have for your journey west. You are bright and resourceful. I’m sure you will be a help to the other women on the wagon train in tending to the needs of those in the camp.”
“Thank you, Aunt Augusta,” said Tess. “I will miss you, but I must go – for my child’s sake as well as my own. The baby deserves to know its father.”
“And you deserve a rightful family of your own,” said Augusta. “I only pray Dirk is worth the risk you are taking. Come, let’s start gathering your things.”
Ruth
The Lord works in mysterious ways. Fleeing heartache, shame, and betrayal, Ruth finds all her plans are thwarted until the untimely death of a goat that gives her hope! Hired as a wet-nurse for Logan’s motherless son, she rejects his marriage-of-convenience proposal, hoping to find true love at the trail’s end. Though she turns him down, he determines to prove his love is true. Come along on this infamous journey of love and adventure.
Tess
A betrayal...a secret baby….an unknown imposter…will Tess survive the wagon train journey to Sunset Hills, Oregon after her life is threatened? And if so, what will she do once she gets there? In 1855. Independence, Missouri, she can’t wait to be reunited with her beau who went out west three months ago to mine for gold. He said he’d send for her, but . . .
Sophie Wagon Train – Oregon Trail, 1850s Sophie left New York to see the grand new country. The last unmarried daughter, she hoped to avoid ending up a spinster raising another woman’s family. Pete Fleming is anxious to start a new life in Oregon, leaving behind his old life in Missouri. He needed a wife according to the charter set by the wagon master, Captain Farneswell. For convenience, they marry to journey across the continent. Will they find love before they reach Oregon?
Cadi After her father’s betrayal, Cadi saves her prized pregnant mare and joins her aunt and uncle on a wagon train to California where her brother has a ranch. On her uncle’s death, several men approach her, insisting she needs a husband. Carpenter Trynt Pembroke just wants a fresh start. A week before his wedding, his fiancée ran off with his brother, so a new lady is not what he’s looking for, but he keeps coming to the rescue of strong and determined Cadi.
Read all the Prairie Roses’ stories:
Prairie Roses Collection One: - 2019
SADIE by Patricia PACJAC Carroll book one
REMI by Caryl McAdoo book two
HOPE by Barbara Goss book three
JULIA by Vickie McDonough book four
Prairie Roses Collection Two - 2020
LILAH by Caryl McAdoo book five
SUSAN by Patricia PACJAC Carroll book six
KATE by Donna Schlachter book seven
Prairie Roses Collection Three - 2021
RUTH by Caryl McAdoo book eight
TESS by Annee Jones book nine
