A Home at Trail's End (2 page)

JT nodded proudly. “I know.”

“So, JT,” Elizabeth began, “what do you think? And please be honest.”

JT looked from Eli to Elizabeth, and then a slow smile broke over his face. “I think it's a good idea. I approve.” He stuck out his hand to Eli, and they shook on it.

“I appreciate that,” Eli told him. “You had me worried there for a bit.”

JT chuckled. “Sorry. I just wanted to give it my careful consideration.”

Elizabeth laughed, patting him on the back. “I appreciate that, son.”

“Does anyone else know about this?” Ruth asked. “Grandma and Grandpa or—”

“Nobody but you two,” Elizabeth assured her. “Remember what I told you—you and JT would be the first to know.”

“Can we go tell them now?” Ruth asked.

Elizabeth glanced at Eli, and he just shrugged. “Don't see why not.”

“Yes, but let's ask them to keep it to themselves until after Malinda and Will's party tomorrow. I don't want to steal their thunder.”

“Good thinking,” Eli agreed.

And so they all headed over to share the good news with Asa and Clara and Matthew and Jess and Brady. Naturally, everyone was nearly as happy as Elizabeth and Eli, and they all promised to keep it under their hats.

“We don't see anyone out here much anyway,” Jess assured her. “Besides our own family, that is.”

“And now our family is getting bigger,” Ruth said proudly.

“In more ways than one,” Elizabeth added mysteriously. She glanced at Jess, who was expecting her first baby in the spring. However, other than immediate family, Jess was keeping this to herself. “How are you doing?”

Jess grinned. “I've never felt better.”

“And the house is coming along nicely?” Elizabeth asked. Since Matthew and Jess' house was farther away, she hadn't been out there in a few weeks.

“Oh, yes! Matthew and Pa and Brady are quite the carpenters.”

“So when is the big date?” Matthew asked Elizabeth. “I'll need to warm up my fiddle for the dancing afterward.”

“I'm not sure,” Elizabeth admitted.

“We haven't really discussed that yet,” Eli told them. “But I say the sooner the better.” He looked at Elizabeth again. “But I don't want to rush you.”

She laughed nervously. “I don't really know. Maybe we should think on that a bit. And let's not forget that we don't even have a place to live yet.”

“I s'pect Lizzie told you we were making her wait until last for her house,” Asa told Eli. “We hadn't really planned it that way. We thought she was going to live with Malinda.”

“And I don't know why you and the children don't do that,” Clara told Elizabeth. “Seems you could stay up there—at least until the wedding.”

“Except that Malinda will have a full house before long. I heard that Will's girls are going to move in with her soon. Will and Jeremiah will keep working on the cabin on his unit…although it sounds like that house might go to Jeremiah now that he and Mahala are planning to wed.”

“So many weddings.” Clara rubbed her hands together. “Won't it be fun!”

Elizabeth looked at Eli. “Maybe we shouldn't make plans for our wedding until after we get our cabin built.”

He just nodded. “That makes sense.”

She was glad he agreed, but she also wondered how good a plan it really was. Having a cabin finished sounded like a long way down the road. Still, she wasn't going to worry about it today.

“Where will you stay?” Asa asked Eli.

Eli scratched his chin. “I hadn't given it much thought. But I can camp most anywhere.”

Clara made a concerned frown. “Anywhere…except on Elizabeth's land.”

“But we have lots of room,” Ruth injected.

Asa tweaked one of her braids and then grinned. “Why don't you stay here with us?” he asked Eli.

“I'd be much obliged.”

“Watch out,” Elizabeth teasingly warned Eli. “They'll probably try to put you to work if you're living here.”

“No,” Asa assured her. “I'll bet Eli will want to get to work on your place as soon as possible.”

“Elizabeth has already made a nice start with that stone foundation,” Eli said with pride. “It looks good and square.”

“'Ceptin' that she made it a might too big,” Matthew teased. “Did you notice?”

Eli shook his head. “I thought it was a good size for a family—with room to grow.”

For the past couple of weeks, Elizabeth had capitalized on the good weather by sprouting seeds. As a result she now had dozens of tiny delicate plants—apples, peaches, pears, plums, and berries that were nearly ready to be planted in soil. JT was helping his uncle today, but Ruth was on hand to help Elizabeth with the task of planting. Their first task was to finish the stick fence they'd been building to protect the plants from foraging critters. Elizabeth was well aware of the damage deer and rabbits could do to young plants.

“Is this going to be high enough to keep deer out?” Ruth asked as they pounded sticks into the ground.

“No,” Elizabeth admitted. “But I plan to put tall poles every few feet. I'll string wire about this tall.” She held her hand up as high as she could reach. “And then I'll tie colorful rags that will flutter in the wind. Hopefully they will dissuade the deer from jumping the fence.”

“And Flax will help too. He's a good watchdog.”

As she and Ruth worked, Elizabeth was surprised that Eli didn't come by to say hello. In fact, as she strung the wire, she realized how much she would have appreciated his help. Even so, they were making good progress. And by late afternoon, not only was the seedling fortress fairly secure, but she and Ruth had planted most of the young plants as well. How many would survive remained to be seen. But hopefully by next fall, she would have enough little trees to transplant into a small fruit orchard.

Just as she and Ruth were finishing, JT came home from helping with the men. “We started putting up Uncle Matthew's roof,” he told her as he came over to see the progress in the seedling garden. “Eli was there to help, and that made it go lots faster.”

“So that's where Eli was today.” She stood up straight and brushed the dirt from her hands.

“He said he'll be here around six to take us to the barn dance at Aunt Malinda's,” JT told her as he dipped a cupful of water from one of the buckets she'd been using to water the seedlings.

“Yes.” She rubbed the sore spot in her back and nodded. “He told me he would.” She pointed to the water buckets. “Why don't you run down to the creek and refill those. Then you can help us water the seedlings and we'll call it a day.”

“And then I'll jump in the creek and take a bath,” he called out as he grabbed both buckets.

“Me too,” Ruth called out.

Elizabeth looked up at the clear sky overhead. “You might as well make the most of this summerlike weather while we have it.”

When JT returned, the three of them finished watering the seedlings. “Just enough to moisten the soil,” Elizabeth reminded JT. “We don't want to drown them.”

“Eli had to quit working early in order to go to town and buy some tools from the Prescotts,” JT explained as he dropped the water cup into the nearly empty bucket. “I reckon he got tired of having to borrow tools from everybody.”

“The Prescotts aren't open for business yet,” Elizabeth said as she dripped some water on the last tiny seedling. “I hope Hugh will have some tools available to sell to him.”

“Oh, I'm sure they do,” JT assured her. “According to Augustus they have a little bit of everything.”

“Wait until you see their mercantile,” Ruth said as she wiped her dirty hands onto her work dress. “We've been watching it get bigger and bigger every day on our way to school. It looks just like a real building.”

“A real building?” Elizabeth frowned.

“I mean with real wood,” Ruth explained. “Not just logs, like Grandpa and Uncle Matthew are using.”

“Augustus said his pa went to the lumber mill in Empire City and brought back a bunch of milled wood. That's why they were able to build it so fast.”

“I'll bet that cost a lot of money,” Ruth added.

“You're probably right about that.” Elizabeth led the way out of their seedling garden, latching the stick gate behind them. She hoped it would keep the critters out. “Well, I'm happy for the Prescotts. I can't wait to see the mercantile after church tomorrow.” And truly, it would be interesting to see a “real” building out here in the frontier, where everything else seemed to be made of logs and twigs and bark.

While the children bathed in the creek, Elizabeth gave herself a bucket bath in the tent shelter that her father and brother had constructed for her and the children to use as a temporary house. The tent was attached to the wagon, and compared to conditions while coming over the Oregon Trail, it was spacious and comfortable, albeit rather rustic. She had no idea what it would be like once the rains came—probably very damp. She was just finished getting dressed when Ruth and JT returned, shivering from their cool dip in the creek. But at least they were clean. And their good clothes were clean and dry and ready for them to wear.

Elizabeth went outside to survey the seedling garden. The poor tiny plants looked a little worse for wear, but that was to be expected. With sunshine and moisture, they would perk up. And with the mild winter in this region, they would probably be several inches tall by spring—and twice that by next fall. The ones that survived.

She returned to the tent to check on the children's progress.

“Here, Mama.” Ruth handed her the hairbrush and her blue satin ribbon and then turned around. Elizabeth sat down on the rocker and brushed out Ruth's honey-colored hair. It was still damp from the creek as she separated it into three parts and then smoothly plaited one long braid, tying the ribbon into a nice big bow. “All done.”

“There's Eli,” JT called from outside.

Elizabeth reached up to her own hair, smoothing the bun she'd made earlier into place.

“You look beautiful, Mama,” Ruth assured her.

Elizabeth laughed. “Thank you.”

“Are we all ready to go now, Ma?” JT reached for his guitar case, which was resting as usual next to his bedroll.

“Yes.” Elizabeth handed Ruth a kerosene lantern. “We'll need this on our way back.”

“I wish we could take the wagon,” JT told her.

“It's not that far to walk,” she reminded him. She wished they could take the wagon too, but that would mean taking down their tent and breaking camp. Besides, they'd have to unload the wagon and load it all back in later. She picked up the basket containing the two berry pies she and Ruth had made the night before. One of them had gotten a little blackened on the edge of the crust, but the blackberries had been tasty, and hopefully no one would complain. Elizabeth tried not to miss her oven back in Kentucky, reminding herself that pies could burn in it too.

“Hello there,” Eli called as he came into their camp. Instead of his usual buckskins, he had on his Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes, and Elizabeth could tell by the shine on his chin that he was freshly shaved. “Now, what can I carry for you?”

Elizabeth handed him the basket, and he rewarded her with a kiss on the cheek. Naturally the children giggled—and Elizabeth's cheeks blushed.

“Where's your guitar?” JT asked Eli.

“Back at camp,” Eli told him. “Didn't know I was supposed to bring it tonight.”

“That's all right,” Elizabeth assured him.

“Maybe next time.”

“Uncle Matthew will have his fiddle,” JT told them. “And the McIntires will be ready to play music too.”

“This will be so much fun!” Ruth clapped her hands and skipped along as if she hadn't worked hard all day.

Elizabeth smiled at Eli as she linked her arm into his. “You look mighty handsome tonight, Mr. Kincaid.”