Taking the Reins (19 page)

“I wonder how that is,” Katherine said. She swung down from the saddle and turned to look up at the tall man who had closed the gap between them.

“Your face is familiar too,” he said, scratching his beard, “but I can't seem to place it.”

Katherine removed her hat. “Albert Jones at your service.” She gave a deep bow, flourishing her hat.

Emma remained on Duke, ready to turn and flee at any second. Edward left the horses and moved closer to the newcomers. She glanced at him, and he smiled as if happy to see her. She looked away.

“But...you're not...you can't be...Miss Harris?” Tall Joe looked Katherine up and down, his face hard. “What is the meaning of this?”

Without giving Katherine time to reply, he pushed her aside and strode over to Emma. “Emma?” He glared up at her. “You've followed us? Dressed as a boy? And riding astride a horse! Have you no shame, girl?”

Oh, and here it comes now,
Emma thought.
He will send me away and never want to see me again as long as I live.

But Tall Joe wheeled around on Katherine. “I hold you accountable, Miss Harris. You must have put Emma up to this. She never would have done such a thing on her own.”

“It was both of us, Tall Joe,” Emma said, careful to keep her voice calm in spite of a knot of anger that wedged itself beneath her ribs. “Katherine has some news to share, and if you had only waited one more day instead of running off, you could have saved us all a lot of trouble.”

If Tall Joe heard her, he gave no sign. “This country is no place for two young ladies on their own. How you made it this far without meeting disaster I'll never know.”

“And yet we are here,” Emma pointed out. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Not only that, but we started a day later and caught up with you.”

“It's unfitting...” he stammered. “Young ladies should never...”

In spite of Emma's efforts, the knot inside her grew out of control. “Oh, an' I suppose it's fittin' to run off and leave me alone, same as you did me mam?”

Tall Joe's face collapsed.

Emma glared down at him. And she didn't feel sorry, not a bit of it. She spoke the truth and it needed to be said. And more besides.

Katherine cleared her throat. Looking up at Emma, she pressed a finger to her lips, shaking her head ever so slightly. Emma took the hint and let her friend take over.

“Mr. Bentley,” Katherine said, “Emma and I have an important matter to discuss with you. It involves an excellent opportunity to purchase a farm with a good-sized cabin, a barn, and a well already in place, with much of the land already cleared. There is even a milk cow included in the sale. I call her Genevieve.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Rather than pre-empting acreage way out there in the wilderness,” Katherine said with a sweep of her arm, “you could have a comfortable home to live in and crops planted this very spring, with easy transport down the Fraser to markets at Victoria and beyond.”

While Katherine talked, Emma dismounted. She stood at Duke's head, the reins held loosely in her hand. The anger was still there, but she forced it down, forced herself to speak in a calm voice, like Katherine. “At least listen to what we have to say, Tall Joe,” she said, surprised at the way her anger shrank with every word. “We've come all this way to tell you.”

“I can't believe you would do this to me, Emma. What were you thinking?”

“I did nothing to you, Tall Joe, except try to stop you from making a second mistake. Where's the harm?”

“You could have gotten lost,” he sputtered. “Or been killed!”

“But I wasn't, as you can see. And we have good news to share, if you'll only listen. Katherine, why don't you show my father the letter?”

Tall Joe stared at her. His beard split in a smile. He blinked as if there was smoke in his eyes.

What happened?

Tall Joe strode over and wrapped her in his arms. Emma didn't pull back, she didn't even mind. It was then she realized what had changed between them. For the first time ever, she had called him her father. And it didn't feel half bad.

“An' don't go gettin' all mushy on me, Tall Joe,” she said, pulling away. “Shall we all sit by the fire and discuss our plans?”

Tall Joe read the letter and handed it to his cousin.

When Edward was reading it, Tall Joe said, “I don't suppose it will hurt to take a look at this farm.”

“It sounds the perfect set up,” Ned Turner replied, puffing on his pipe. “At my age, I'm ready to choose a degree of comfort and a farm closer to civilization.”

“We'd be closer to Victoria so I can visit my mother and the children,” Edward added.

“Good then. Hurry and eat up those bacon and beans you have cooking,” Katherine said. “We've a long way to travel back to Yale.”

“An' seems like we'll need to go real slow so's you men can keep up,” Emma added.

Tall Joe, reaching for the frying pan, stopped and glanced up sharply. Ned Turner leaned forward, puffing black smoke from his pipe. Edward put down the letter, removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair.

Emma's cheeks grew warm. Her words were meant to tease, but not one of them looked to be laughing. Well, and she had a lot to learn about joking. And families. Friends too.

Then Katherine broke the silence. “We can try, Emma,” she laughed. “But going so slow won't be easy, and that's for certain-sure.”

Author's Note

Taking the Reins
grew quite naturally out of two historical novels I wrote several years ago.

The first,
The Golden Rose
, tells Katherine's story. In 1862, fourteen-year-old Katherine travels from England to British Columbia with her family. Both Katherine and her sister, Susan, are excited about this big adventure. But once on their land, reality sets in. Susan dies of “Panama Fever,” and the bereaved family attempts to carve a successful farm out of this rugged and untamed new colony. A task that proves too much to bear.

The second novel,
Living Freight
, is Emma's story. After her mother dies as a pauper in Manchester, Emma is determined to keep her promise and never let the authorities place her in a workhouse. So Emma sets out on foot for the English countryside and eventually finds herself on the bride ship,
Tynemouth
, headed for the colony of Vancouver Island.

Taking the Reins
answers a question many readers have asked over the years. “What happens next?” I have to admit, I've often wondered the same thing myself. And that got me to asking, “What if?”

For those of you who wonder where ideas come from, my answer is simple. For me, most stories begin with those two little words, What if…?

About the Author

Dayle Gaetz is the author of more than twenty books for young readers, including the YA novels
Spoiled Rotten, Crossbow
and
No Problem
and two mystery series published by Orca Book Publishers.

She began her writing career on Salt Spring Island, where, alongside publishing sixteen novels, she wrote a column for the local weekly newspaper and articles in children's magazines.

Dayle's books have been shortlisted for several Young Readers' Choice Award programs, including the OLA Silver Birch Award, the Red Cedar, and MYRCA, as well as for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction.

She lives, writes and teaches in Campbell River, BC.