A Home at Trail's End (7 page)

“If you'd found my letter, you'd know that I was journeying over to Empire City.” He released the brake and shook the reins to get the team to move.

“To Empire City?” She frowned. “That's a long trip.”

“Don't I know it.” He rubbed his back. “Much better on horseback than driving a wagon.”

“Speaking of horseback…where is your horse?”

“Back in Empire City.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“I traded him for the lumber.” He smiled but his eyes looked a little sad.

“Eli?” she exclaimed. “Your horse? You traded him? You love that horse, Eli. How could you—”

“I love you and the children more,” he said firmly.

Despite her resolve to be strong, tears filled her eyes—but they were tears of joy this time. She slipped her arm into his and pretended to be looking at something alongside the road. She could hardly believe that when she was questioning his loyalties, he was giving up his horse in order to get lumber to build their home.

“I was starting to cut down trees,” Eli told her, “and I realized it would be impossible to get very far on our cabin before the rains set in. Then I remembered the Prescotts and how they bought lumber in Empire City and how much more quickly their building went up. And it seemed clear that was what I needed to do.”

Elizabeth thought about the beautiful Appaloosa again. She knew Eli would miss that horse. It had always been his source of livelihood, and in some ways it was his ticket to freedom as well. “Well, anytime you need a horse, Eli, you know that Molly is as much yours as mine. And before we left Kentucky I was starting to break Bella and Beau to saddle too. Some people say you can't have both in a horse, but Percherons are special.”

He nodded. “Yes, and if your father gets his way, there will be more horses in time. But what we need most of all right now is a house.” He grinned at her. “And a wedding.”

If Elizabeth could have her way, she would wed Eli right now. Today. They could live in the tent and the wagon just as her parents and Matthew and Jess were doing. However, it didn't seem like it was her place to bring this up. Besides, there were the children to think of. “How long do you think it will take to build a house?” she asked meekly. “Now that you have lumber?”

“I don't know for sure. But it'll be a lot faster than it would have been if I'd had to log all the timber.”

“And Father's house is nearly finished. And it sounds like Matthew's is coming right along too. So I feel certain that we can have Brady's help soon. Especially now that Father's rafters have been raised.”

At the homesite, Elizabeth ran inside the house's foundation to discover her dusty note and a wilted bunch of wildflowers. Then she insisted on helping Eli to unload the wagon. And as they carried the planks and boards together, he seemed genuinely grateful to have her help—or perhaps he simply enjoyed her company as she filled him in on the latest happenings in and about the settlement. But after they got all the lumber neatly stacked near the foundation, a couple of boxes still remained in the wagon. He slid the first one out. The wooden crate was big and flat, and Eli seemed to be handling it with extra care. She helped him carry it over to the foundation, where he leaned it on its side.

“What is it?” she asked curiously.

“A window.”

She blinked. “A
glass
window?”

He laughed. “Is there another kind?”

“Well, most of the settlers have wooden windows.”

“Yes, and we will have some of those as well. But we will have one glass window in the front of the house.”

She threw her arms around him. “Oh, Eli. Thank you—thank you!”

He leaned down and kissed her, pulling her close and holding her tight. “You're so very welcome.”

“This is so exciting!” she said as he released her. Of course, she wasn't sure which was more exciting—being in his arms or having a real glass window. “Ruth will be over the moon when she hears that we have a
real
window.”

“Let's just hope it's still in one piece by the time I put it in.” Eli returned to the wagon. “Now this next crate is pretty heavy. Why don't you back the wagon up to the house, and I'll attempt to ease it down onto the foundation.”

She worked with the team, maneuvering the wagon into a position where the tailgate was right against the front part of the foundation before she pulled on the brake. Then she watched as Eli eased the crate to the back of the wagon and down onto the wall with a clunk. By the time she got back inside of the house, the heavy crate was solidly on the dirt floor.

“What is it?” she asked.

He grinned at her. “What do you think it is?”

She looked at the square, sturdy crate. “Bricks?” she guessed.

“Nope, but you're not far off. Want another guess?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“It's a small cookstove.”

Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the crate in wonder. “Really? A cookstove? You found a cookstove in Empire City?”

“It seems someone had ordered it and then changed their mind. It was still sitting on the dock. I actually got a pretty good deal on it.”

“A window and a cookstove.” She let out a sigh of wonder. “It feels like Christmas, Eli.” She smiled happily at him. “But the best part is having you home again.”

“And now, since the day is still young, I think I will get to work.”

“Why don't I take care of the wagon and the team,” she offered.

He nodded. “I'm much obliged.”

“And then I'll ride back to Malinda's and fetch you something to eat,” she called out. And after that, she would make a run over to her parents and tell them the good news.
Eli was home!

It was late in the afternoon by the time Elizabeth finally made it back to her parents, where they had already stopped work for the day. As she approached their campfire, she could tell by their glum faces that they were still feeling concerned about her.

“Good news!” she called out as she hurried over. “Eli is safely home.”

“Thanks be to God,” Clara exclaimed as she hugged her.

Now Elizabeth sat down and told them the whole story—from the lost note to how he'd sacrificed his Appaloosa for lumber—and finally about the window and the cookstove.

“Eli found a cookstove in Empire City?” Clara exclaimed. “Are there more?”

“Now, Clara.” Asa shook his head. “We already decided we would wait until next spring to—”

“But were there more?” Clara asked Elizabeth again.

“I don't think so,” Elizabeth told her. “It sounded like it was the only one. Someone had ordered it and changed their mind. It was on the dock. And the crate was very heavy.”

“Did you open it and see it?” Clara asked eagerly.

“Not yet, Mother.”

“Well, I know where we'll be going for Christmas dinner,” Clara told her.

Elizabeth laughed. “That's assuming we'll have our house finished by then.”

“I'm going to start putting shingles on next,” Asa told her. “Brady and I cut down a massive cedar tree last week, and there should be enough shingles for the roofs of all three of our houses.”

“That's good to hear. I'll let Eli know.”

Asa nodded toward Brady. “And I'll bet Eli would like to have your help now, Brady. Although I'll hate to see you go.”

Brady glanced at Elizabeth. “Well, I reckon Miss Elizabeth gets her say on whether I stay or go.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “You know you're a free man, Brady. But Eli and I would love having your help. And we already talked about a spot not too far from the creek, but high enough that it should stay dry. And there's enough timber there for you to build a small cabin. Eli wants to help you with it…if you'd like that.” She still felt badly that Brady would be unable to claim land as they'd hoped he could. But she also knew that unless he pretended to be their slave, he would be forced to leave. Even with their pretense, according to Oregon law he only had three years to reside here.

But she and Eli had decided to cross that bridge later. Most of all they just wanted to make Brady as comfortable as possible. He was older than her father, and she hoped he could live his final years in peace…and without being uprooted again.

“I'd be much obliged,” he told her.

“And we'll section you off a piece of farmland for you to use as you like.”

His dark eyes glistened. “I'm most grateful, Miss Elizabeth.”

“And I'll help you with your cabin,” Matthew offered. “Soon as I finish my house and help Eli and Elizabeth with theirs.”

“I'll help too,” Asa told Brady. “With all of us working, we'll get it up in no time.”

“And we'll share some household goods,” Clara told him.

“Ya'll is too kind,” he told them. “Better than family.”

“We
are
family,” Elizabeth assured him. “And now I better get back to Malinda's before it starts getting dark.”

Elizabeth felt unbelievably happy as she rode Molly back to Malinda's farm. It was hard to fathom how she had felt so downhearted and grievous earlier in the day…and now to feel so incredibly hopeful and glad. It was truly amazing. She slowed Molly in order to enjoy the last rays of golden sunlight filtering through the autumn foliage. The air felt so clean and sweet—so full of promise. She was just taking in a deep breath when she heard a rustling off to her right and up ahead.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she immediately thought of a wild predatory animal. She knew there were bears and wildcats in these parts, but she didn't think they'd want to tangle with a horse. Even so, she nudged Molly to the left side of the road, keeping her eyes trained on the brush where she'd heard the rustling. Just as she was passing, she saw what she was certain was an Indian crouched low in the overgrown brush. Their eyes locked, and Elizabeth's heart pounded with fear. But in the same instant she realized it was a woman. She looked as frightened as Elizabeth felt.

“
Hello?
” Elizabeth called out timidly. And then, just like that, the woman backed away and disappeared. With her heart still thumping hard, Elizabeth stared into the brush, blinking her eyes in disbelief. Had she imagined the young woman crouched down there like that? Or was that for real? But somehow those big dark eyes, so full of fear, burned into Elizabeth's memory. For a moment, she considered getting down off Molly and investigating more closely. But then she remembered what Malinda had said—if Indian women returned to these parts, the men would probably follow. And if that happened, there would probably be more trouble too.

“Gid-up,” she told Molly, squeezing her knees into the horse's sides. “Let's get home.” As Molly broke into a smooth gallop, Elizabeth tried to decide how to handle this. As badly as she wanted to rush into the house and tell Malinda, she didn't want to alarm her. Malinda seemed to have an unreasonable amount of fear when it came to the Indians in these parts. Perhaps it was rooted in her concern for her children…or perhaps it was more. But Elizabeth decided she would bite her tongue around Malinda. She would, however, tell Eli. Eli understood the Indians better than anyone. He would know what to do.

Chapter Six

O
n Saturday morning everyone at Malinda's was bustling about, finishing chores and getting ready to go to town. They were all eager to go to the grand opening of Prescotts' Mercantile. Everyone who lived within ten miles was likely to be there. Well, everyone except for Eli, who was determined to work from dawn until dusk on their house. As much as Elizabeth would miss him, she was grateful for his devotion to their future. Right now, every possible building day seemed precious.

She and Malinda were working in the kitchen when Will's wagon pulled into the yard. “That's right,” Elizabeth remembered. “Belinda and Amelia are moving in today.”