A Home at Trail's End (3 page)

He grinned at her. “I was about to tell you that you look pretty as a picture.” He nodded to Ruth. “As do you, Miss Ruth.”

“What about me?” JT joked. “Do I look pretty too?”

Eli chuckled. “Well, looks to me like you're fixing to break some young girls' hearts tonight.”

“Hannah Flanders wants to dance with JT at the party,” Ruth teased.

“I've got an idea,” Eli said. “How about if we sing our way to the barn dance?”

“Yes! Yes!” Ruth agreed. “Let's sing ‘Coming Round the Mountain.'”

And so they did, going through all the choruses and even making up a few new ones until they got to Malinda's place. It was amazing how singing made the trip go much more quickly.

“As soon as we get the pies set out, I want you to meet Malinda,” Elizabeth told Eli. “She's my very best friend.”

It wasn't long until Elizabeth got the chance to introduce Eli to Malinda. But they were both careful not to mention their engagement. Still, Elizabeth could tell by Malinda's questions that she was suspicious. When Will came over to join them, politely greeting Eli with a curious expression, Elizabeth grew uncomfortable. It was the first time all four of them had been together, and she so wanted them all to be friends—though she knew that was probably unlikely. Will and Eli…they were so different. Even so, they exchanged polite greetings, and Eli congratulated Will and Malinda and made a respectable attempt at small talk.

“I just know something is up with these two,” Malinda said suddenly to Will.

“What do you mean?” Will gave her a perplexed frown.

“I mean something is going on here. I can see it in my best friend's eyes.” Malinda grasped both Elizabeth's hands and stared intently at her. “What is it? Tell me.”

Elizabeth suppressed a nervous giggle and looked away, attempting to avoid Malinda's probing stare.

“I know it!” Malinda declared. “I know exactly what is going on!”

Elizabeth gave her a warning glance, but Malinda ignored it.

“I don't believe in betting, but I would wager that you two have gotten yourselves engaged.” Malinda tilted her head to one side. “I just know it. And if I'm wrong, I challenge you to be forthcoming and set me straight.”

“All right,” Elizabeth said quietly. “You figured us out. But we wanted to keep this a secret for the evening. This is your night, Malinda. Yours and Will's.”

“I just knew it!” Malinda clapped her hands. “I'm so happy for you!”

Elizabeth made a nervous smile. “Thank you.”

“Congratulations,” Will told Eli.

Eli gave him a slightly uneasy smile. “Well, truth be told, I reckon I owe you my gratitude, Will Bramford.”

Will looked confused. “How so?”

“I'm obliged to you for not stealing my girl.” Eli chuckled. “It took me a while to figure things out. But I'm sure thankful you left her for me.”

Will's brow creased, but then he chuckled too. “Now that you mention it, Eli, I can see that I should be equally grateful to you.”

“How is that?” Now Eli looked confused.

“I'm obliged that you had already stolen Elizabeth's heart.” Will looked at Malinda with real tenderness. “That allowed me to wait for this one.”

“And all's well that ends well,” Elizabeth proclaimed with relief.

“Oh, no,” Eli told her. “This is just the beginning.”

Chapter Two

I
insist that you and the children come stay at my house until Will and I wed in December,” Malinda told Elizabeth as they gathered in front of the small building that functioned as both the school and the church. The service had just ended, but as usual the congregation continued to visit outside in the autumn sunshine.

“But I thought Will's girls were going to be staying with you.”

“They will be, starting this week. But Emily and Amelia came up with a delightful idea.” Malinda pointed to where the older girls were circled together, chattering among themselves like a flock of chickens. “They suggested that the boys sleep in the loft of the barn like they did a couple of weeks ago. They all claimed it was very comfortable. Then you and I and Ruth will share my room. And Emily, Susannah, Amelia, and Belinda can share the sleeping loft in the house—we already have enough beds up there.”

Elizabeth did the arithmetic in her head. “That's ten people,” she told Malinda. “Won't that be crowding your little house?”

“Not at all. Besides, it's only temporary. For the next few months, we'll make the most of it and have fun,” Malinda assured her.

“That would be wonderful,” Elizabeth confessed. “Especially when the weather gets wetter and colder. I'm sure Ruth and JT would enjoy being there, and they'll appreciate being closer to school. If you're certain we won't be a burden…” Elizabeth tried to imagine everyone at mealtime. “Ten hungry people at suppertime might be a challenge.”

“We'll all work together.” Malinda nudged Elizabeth's elbow, nodding over to where Belinda was talking with one of the Levine boys. “And unless I'm mistaken, it's only a matter of time before Belinda will be living under someone else's roof.”

“
Really?
” Elizabeth glanced over to where Belinda was chatting with the tall, serious-looking young man. “Which one is he anyway?”

“That's the oldest boy, Jacob. He's twenty-three, I believe, and as dependable as the sun. He really stepped up after his father died.” Malinda shook her head. “The second son, Charles…well now, he's another story.”

“What do you mean?”

Malinda frowned and then lowered her voice. “Charles took an Indian woman for his wife several years ago…although they're not legally married.” She made a tsk-tsk sound. “But I think they have a child.”

“Oh…” Elizabeth thought of Eli's previous wife. She shuddered to think what Malinda would say if she knew about that. And yet at the same time, she had the strangest urge to just blurt it out.

“Hello, hello!” Lavinia called out as she hurried over to join them. “I missed church this morning because Augustus was feeling under the weather.”

“Nothing serious, I hope,” Elizabeth said.

“No, I don't think so.”

“Because, as you know, my mother is good with herbal medicines.” Elizabeth looked over to where Clara and Asa were visiting with a couple about their age.

“Yes, I'll keep that in mind. Evelyn is with him now.” Lavinia looked up at the sky. “It's another marvelous day. If this weather keeps up we will have the mercantile completely finished soon.”

“I saw it on my way to church this morning,” Elizabeth said. “It's just like Ruthie told me—it looks like a
real
building.”

Lavinia laughed. “It
is
a real building. And we're getting the store all set up downstairs. Now if only we can get the living quarters finished before the rains come. I hear the rain in this region can be relentless.”

“It's what makes things grow and keeps it green,” Malinda told her.

“And wet,” Lavinia added.

“I wonder what the men are discussing so intently,” Malinda said with a tinge of concern in her voice. “I hope there isn't any trouble brewing somewhere.”

“Trouble?” Lavinia's brows arched. “What sort of trouble?”

“Oh, nothing.” Malinda waved her hand dismissively, but Elizabeth could see the fear in her eyes.

“Well, I'll be pleased to take you up on your offer,” Elizabeth told Malinda.

“What offer?” Lavinia asked.

So Malinda explained the plan to take in Elizabeth and the children along with Will's daughters.

“Oh, my. You will have a full house,” Lavinia said.

“A full house and a full barn,” Malinda told her.

“And everyone will help with the work,” Elizabeth said. “Many hands make light work.”

Malinda laughed. “Yes…perhaps I will become a lady of leisure soon.”

“Out here in the West?” Lavinia scowled. “I don't believe any of us will ever experience leisurely living again. Sometimes I dream about life back in Boston. It seems so far away…like a different country.”

Malinda grew serious. “Do you regret your emigration?”

Lavinia pursed her lips as she looked around at the young people talking and frolicking about. “No, no…for the sake of my children and my husband…I think we made the right decision.” She gave Elizabeth a sheepish smile. “Although I'm sure there were times on the trail when I highly regretted it—many, many a time.”

Just as Malinda and Elizabeth were confirming plans to join households later in the day, Eli and Will and Hugh came over to join the women. “I've been promised a sneak peek into the mercantile,” Eli told Elizabeth. “Would you like to come with me?”

“Yes,” she said eagerly. “Very much so.”

“Oh, good,” Lavinia told her. “I've been so eager to show it off to my friends.” She lowered her voice. “However, we can't make it appear as though we are open for business yet. Especially since it's the Sabbath. But do come and see what we've done.”

They called out to the children, explaining where they were going and that they'd be back shortly. And then they all trekked down the street to where the most impressive and most talked-about building was progressing nicely. Like so many buildings in the frontier towns they'd passed through on the Oregon Trail, the mercantile had a false front, which made it seem even taller than its two stories. Hugh unlocked and opened the front doors, and Lavinia hurried in to light some kerosene lamps.

“You even have a glass window,” Elizabeth said. “So nice to get that sunlight in here. And it faces south too. Very smart.”

“And we hope to put in a few more glass windows next year,” Lavinia gushed. “Now if anyone would have told me a year ago that I would be swooning over glass windows, I would have thought they were daft.” She laughed. “But, oh my, how times have changed.”

Elizabeth looked at the wooden shelves that were being loaded with provisions and supplies. Many crates were still unopened, stacked in the back of the room. “I can see you're getting ready for business,” she told Lavinia. “When will you be officially open?”

“We've actually been serving a few customers already,” Lavinia confided. “But we plan to have a grand opening ceremony next Saturday. Isn't that so, Hugh?”

“That's right,” he called from where he was showing the men something over in the tool section. “I expect to receive another shipment from Empire City midweek. Hopefully we'll have most of the stock unloaded and put out by then.”

“It looks like you've got plenty of goods already,” Elizabeth said after they'd browsed a bit. “If today wasn't Sunday I'd be doing some shopping.”

“So would I,” Malinda said eagerly. “It's so wonderful to have a real store in our settlement.”

“Well, you two come on over tomorrow afternoon if you like,” Lavinia told the women as they were preparing to leave. “Invite Clara to come too. I'll open the doors especially for you folks.”

Before long the children were gathered, and Elizabeth and Eli and the children began the walk back to their homesteads. But they hadn't gone far when her parents and Matthew and Jess came along in their wagon, offering a ride. The children, acting as if they were worn out, happily hopped in the back.

“I don't mind walking,” Elizabeth called out to her parents.

Asa winked at her and nodded at Eli. “I'm sure you don't.”

By now most of the settlement seemed well aware that Elizabeth and Eli were betrothed, which made having some time alone with the man who would one day be her husband even more precious. “I miss having the use of my wagon,” she told Eli as they walked down the rutted road. “But I'm still using it to store our goods, and it seems silly to drive it around fully loaded like it is. But maybe once the house is built…maybe this winter we'll have it to use.”

“From what I hear it's hard to drive a wagon in these parts once the rains start. It doesn't take long for these roads to turn to mud.” He nodded toward the river lazily meandering alongside the road. “Seems the best way to travel might be the river. That's what the coastal Indians do to get around.”

“My father has wondered about that very thing,” she told him. “He's talked about using the oxen team to pull a barge up the river from the ocean. But as far as I know, no one has tried that yet.”

“The Prescotts would benefit from that kind of venture,” he said as he reached for her hand. “As it is, they have to go all the way to Empire City to get their shipments, and that will be difficult once the rains come. From the looks of the mercantile, Empire City has been a good resource for them. Hugh tells me there's an enterprising family running a sawmill up there on the bay. Having access to milled lumber has hastened the Prescotts' building process considerably.”