A Home at Trail's End (18 page)

“It's possible that this is an older cougar,” Eli said. “To be honest, they can be the most dangerous because their hunting skills are rusty. If they're hungry and desperate, they aren't so picky about what they eat. That's when they become a very serious threat.”

She sighed. “I told Malinda that after working so hard to get my livestock all the way to Oregon, I don't care to lose them to a cougar now.”

“Can't blame you for that. Now I wish I'd brought Flax over here with me. He could help keep watch over these animals.”

She thought about the other half of her team. “No, I'm glad you left him there, Eli. Flax can protect Bella if need be.”

“That's true enough.”

Now the boys emerged from the barn. “There's stew inside,” she told them. “I'm sure they're keeping it warm for you.” She pointed at Eli. “And I'm certain there's plenty for you as well.”

Eli went inside but soon returned with a bowl of stew. “Thought I'd help you keep watch while I ate.”

“Thank you.”

“I'm going to stick around here for a while,” he told her between bites. “Maybe get a little shut-eye. The boys offered me a bed in the barn. Then a couple hours before daybreak, I'll set out and see if I can track that cat down in the predawn light.”

Elizabeth thought that sounded dangerous. However, she knew Eli well enough to know that this was a lifestyle he was comfortable with. She was not going to question his skills. “Just be careful out there,” she said quietly.

“You know I will.”

“I know.”

With six of them sharing guard duty, no one had missed out on too much sleep by the following morning. Everyone got up in time to do morning chores. And thankfully, all the livestock were safe and sound.

“Eli set out while it was still dark,” JT told Elizabeth as she handed him a bowl of oatmeal. “I offered to go with him, but he said no.”

“That's on account you have to go to school,” Ruth reminded him.

“Hunting a dangerous cougar is more important than school,” JT shot back.

“Which is exactly why Eli is out hunting that cougar,” Elizabeth assured them both.

“But shouldn't he be back by now?” JT asked. “He told me that cougars sleep during the day.”

“Who knows how far he may have tracked it.” Elizabeth handed Bart a bowl of oatmeal.

“And maybe he got tired and took a nap,” Todd suggested.

Before long it was time for the children to go to school. As planned, Todd carried a gun. “Don't use it unless you really need to,” his mother warned as they were heading out.

“I can't imagine a cougar would want to take on a pack of eight kids, half of them mostly grown,” Elizabeth said as they watched them trekking off toward school.

“Yes, I do believe there is safety in numbers,” Malinda concurred.

Elizabeth looked around the farm. “I do wish Eli would stop by before he goes back to work on the cabin. I'd like to hear if he had any luck or not.”

“I'm sure you're worried about him,” Malinda said, “and my best cure for worry is to keep busy.”

“Yes, and there's plenty to keep us busy around here,” Elizabeth agreed. However, as she worked, she longed for the day when she'd be investing her energies into her own farm and her own housekeeping. And even though Ruth had forgotten to give her the day count until the wedding, Elizabeth knew it was nine more days. Just the same, she was grateful for the time they'd been able to stay with Malinda. Certainly, not everything had gone smoothly, and she would be glad when their visit came to an end, but she was still thankful.

It was midmorning when, just as she was finishing churning butter on the porch, she spied a black horse with a rider coming down the road. She knew at once it was Eli, and since the butter was nice and stiff, she hurried out to meet him. Of course, she was not prepared for what she saw slung across the back of her big black Percheron.

“Oh, my!” Her hand flew to her mouth to see the giant lifeless animal behind Eli. “You killed it.”

He gave her a tired nod. “I had to, Elizabeth.” He extracted himself from the saddle, and once his feet were on the ground, he stretched his arms and back.

“I'll bet you're hungry,” she said suddenly.

He grinned. “Now that you mention it.”

“Come on in,” she told him. “I'll cook you up some eggs, and you can tell us the whole story.” She hurried into the house, calling out to Malinda. “Ruth was right,” she announced. “Eli is the best hunter in the world.”

Elizabeth handed him a cup of coffee, and as she cooked him a late breakfast, he told them about riding along the river until he found what appeared to be cougar signs not far from the Thompsons' ranch. “I wasn't sure if it was from Sunday night or last night. But it made sense that the animal might go back there for another meal. The sun was just coming up by then, so I wasn't feeling too hopeful. I figured the cougar had probably bedded down for the day. But I decided to go check out that ridge that runs alongside the Thompsons' place. Seemed a good spot for a cougar to hide out.”

He paused as Elizabeth put a plate with eggs and biscuits and gravy in front of him. “Maybe I ought to go cougar hunting every morning.” He hungrily smacked his lips. “This looks delicious.”

“Come on,” Malinda urged him. “Tell us the rest of the story. You got me on pins and needles here.”

He chuckled as he took a big bite, taking his time to savor it. “So I got to the rocky part of the ridge, tethered Beau to a bush, and walked around a bit. I had my rifle loaded and ready. After a while I decided to climb on up and have a look around from a higher spot. And I was just about to scale up the rocks when I heard something above me.” He took another bite, and both Elizabeth and Malinda waited anxiously for him to chew and swallow. “When I looked up, there was the cat, perched and ready to pounce.” He gave Elizabeth an uneasy look. “Right over Beau.”

She grimaced.

“So I had no choice but to take aim and shoot.” He stuck his fork back into his eggs. “The cat tumbled down, landing about ten feet away from Beau.” He chuckled. “You should have seen your horse, Elizabeth. He just looked at the dead cat and then went right back to munching the grass. Calm as anything.”

She laughed. “First of all, he is
our
horse, Eli. And he obviously knew he was in good hands with you.”

“Oh, my.” Malinda refilled Eli's coffee cup.

They peppered him with questions as he finished up his breakfast. “Thanks for the meal,” he told them.

“The children are going to be so thrilled to hear this story,” Malinda said.

“Well, you ladies will have to relay it to them. I've got work to do.”

They both walked him outside, pausing to look at the enormous cougar. “Does anyone eat cougar meat?” Elizabeth asked cautiously.

“Most people wouldn't care for it,” he told her. “But I've known mountain men who think it tastes like pork. And when the other game sources are scarce, some Indians are known to eat it. I reckon if you're hungry enough you'd eat most anything.”

Malinda wrinkled her nose. “I do not care to be that hungry.”

Elizabeth cautiously reached over to touch the fur. “The fur's very soft.”

“What are you going to do with the hide?” Malinda asked.

He shrugged. “I don't rightly know yet. But you can be sure it won't go to waste.”

Malinda excused herself, told Eli goodbye, and then returned to the house.

“Before you go,” Elizabeth said quickly, “I want to ask you something.” She told him about seeing the Indian woman and the child and taking the bread and blanket. “Was that silly to leave it there like that?”

He smiled. “I think it was very kind.”

“I got to thinking…what if Charles is sick or hurt? Or maybe he abandoned her. Or maybe he just can't provide for them. But for some reason I feel like she and her child are in need.” She pointed to the cougar carcass. “Do you think they could use any of that meat?”

He shrugged. “I think with the abundance of fish and deer in these parts, we could find her some better food than this.”

“Really?” she asked hopefully. “We could share food with her?” Though she contributed from her own staples, Elizabeth was hesitant to take any more food from Malinda's home.

“I don't see why not. I've got plenty of smoked salmon and venison. I'd be happy to share some of that. Why don't you send JT over after school? I'm sure he'll want to see the cougar anyway. I'll send a package of salmon and venison back with him for you to use however you like.”

“Thank you.” She looked into his eyes, feeling so very grateful that they were in agreement about something like this, something that other people might not understand, might even condemn them for. She was thankful to God that she was about to marry a good and kind and generous man.

Chapter Fourteen

O
n the afternoon before Thanksgiving, Elizabeth slipped away on her horse without telling Malinda where she was going. Fortunately, Malinda was too caught up in her own ever-growing Thanksgiving plans to pay much heed. First Malinda had invited Will and his family. Then, of course, they decided to include the Prescotts. But the Prescotts had already invited the Flanders family because Julius Prescott was marrying Mahala Flanders after the New Year. Consequently, Malinda felt compelled to invite them as well. As it stood now, Malinda was expecting twenty-one guests to fill her table and give thanks. Because of the size of the crowd, she had decided to set up the dinner in the barn, and she was determined to make it a dinner to remember.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was thankful that she and her children and Eli would be gathering with Matthew and Jess and Brady in her parents' humble home. And today as she rode Molly toward her property, her plan was to make a quick trip to where she'd left the blanket and bread a few days earlier. If the items were gone, Elizabeth would leave a second blanket, this time wrapped around a parcel of smoked fish and deer meat—the food that Eli had sent by way of JT. She had no idea if the woman and child were still there, but if her first bundle was gone, it would be a good sign. And she figured she could always pick up the bundle tomorrow if it remained there untouched.

When she got close to the brushy spot alongside the road, she slowed Molly to a stop and silently dismounted. Walking quietly, she approached the spot in the brush and was relieved to see that her previous bundle was gone. Like before, she spoke aloud. “I come in friendship,” she said clearly. “I want to share this food and blanket with you. Please, know that I am your friend.” She stood there for a long moment, wishing that the woman and child would come out and reveal themselves. And then she wondered if they were even within hearing distance. “God bless you,” she said as she set the bundle down in the same spot.

Feeling like that was all she could do—besides pray—she got back on Molly and rode back to Malinda's. More than anything, she wanted to just keep on going on to her own property. She wanted to walk around and inspect Eli's work. She wanted to make sure he was watering her seedlings even though the rain came almost every other day now. Mostly she just wanted to see his face. However, she intended on keeping her promise to him. Not until after the wedding.

“Where have you been?” Malinda asked as she walked in to discover Elizabeth removing Molly's saddle in the barn.

“I had a Thanksgiving errand to attend to,” Elizabeth said absently.

“Did you sneak over to look at your house?” Malinda asked with suspicion.

Elizabeth made a sheepish smile as she let Molly join the other livestock outside the barn. “I am dying to go take a peek. I can hardly stand it. But a promise is a promise.”

Malinda nodded. “That's right. Now, how about if you give me a hand setting up these tables and benches.” She pointed to a pile of long boards. “Will brought these over while you were gone. He got the lumber to use for the floor of Julius and Mahala's house, but he thought we could put the boards to good use here first.”