Vow Unbroken (24 page)

Love her? She thought Henry loved her? She'd be so crushed when they parted ways. Sue had to talk to Henry and tell him not to be so nice to her daughter! Well now! That sounded stupid, even to her, but she couldn't let him hurt Becky's heart. “Oh? So you think he loves you, do you?” Sue unfolded the napkin full of the heavenly candy and shook her head in disbelief.

“I'm sure of it, Mama, aren't you?” Her answer more than stunned Sue. Becky handed over a sack of cornmeal and a big package wrapped in brown paper. “It's salt pork.” Her pile was now down to manageable. She wrinkled her nose and lifted her
shoulders. “He got you something, too. Wait till you see.” She literally sang the words, but softly; obviously so that Henry wouldn't hear her share his surprise.

“Well, he shouldn't have!” He got her something, too? Sue wondered what in the world it might be, and the butterflies came back. Suppressing any show of anticipation, she took the rest of the booty from her daughter's arms. “Now where are we going to put all this?”

Becky ran ahead to the back of the second wagon, holding her new doll by both her hands, making her dance in the air. Sue followed at first, then stopped abruptly. “Levi Baylor! What are you doing?”

He looked up. “Oh, uh, sorry, Aunt Sue. Uh, Mister Henry. He told me to uh, unhitch these mules.”

“What! Unhitch the mules? Well, that's it! He's gone too far!” She stormed back to where Titus had heaped Henry's furs over his arm. “Henry Buckmeyer! Why did you tell my nephew to unhitch my mules from my wagon? You knew full well that I have been ready to go this whole time. Trying. To. Wait. Patiently on you, and, and your—your incredulous liberality!”

She dumped the load of Becky's stuff in his arms and marched back to the first wagon, where Levi worked on harnessing Dex and Daisy in front of Mil and Mabel.

Like a sledge to her left temple, it hit her. That man had gone and bartered her wagon and half her cotton for all the stupid stuff. Well! She never! It wasn't his to trade; every bit of it was hers! Well, not the furs, but good Lord have mercy! How dare he!

The man was worse than Littlejohn! She walked back to where he stood still holding Becky's things. She forced herself to be calm, as much as possible. “Henry.”

He turned around holding what appeared to be all his tobacco and smiled that infuriating, smirky smile of his. “Yes, boss?”

She closed her eyes and nodded toward the side of the trading post. “I need. A word. If. You don't mind.” She walked ahead of him into the shadows.

Not soon enough, he joined her, still smirking. “Something I can help you with?”

“Did you barter half of my cotton and my wagon to Mister Titus for all that merchandise you just bought and gave to my children?”

“No, ma'am.”

His answer shocked her. She'd been so certain. “But. Then. Why is Levi—” At that exact moment, the boy hurried past her toward the back of the building. “Where is he going?”

“Around back.”

“I can see that.” Icicles dripped from her words even though the temperature had to be over ninety. “What is he doing back there?”

“Titus needed some help.”

She closed her eyes, sure that smoke wafted from her ears and nose. She willed herself to be civil. She was about to slap him. If he didn't tell her what was going on, she might just lose all composure and do exactly that. He deserved worse for that smirky grin of his. A close snort pulled her eyes open.

Levi and Titus led a team of four harnessed mules right toward them.

Totally confused, she managed only . . . “What—”

“I traded for 'em.” Henry moved to her side. “If we've only got three more days to get to Jefferson, I figured we'd need some extra mules.”

She was speechless. Oh, Lord, why could she never hold her tongue? Why? Why? Why did she always have to jump to conclusions? Shoot her mouth off? Her face burned; it had to be three shades of red. She sighed and wished she was invisible, then spoke softly. “Henry, I can't pay for those mules.”

“Don't have to. I already did.”

“But—”

He waved her off. “When we're done with 'em, I should be able to get my money back. I mean to get you to Jefferson in time to sell your cotton, Sue.”

She lowered her head and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Henry.”

“You're welcome.”

S
UE WAS PLEASED
to be on the trace again and could hardly believe how easily her four mules pulled the load now. It pained her so bad that she'd been such a shrew with Henry for taking so long and buying so much. Good Lord, she chided herself, he was only trying to be wonderful. The poor man had only wanted to do everything he could to get her cotton to Jefferson in time.

Forgive me, Lord.

What a shame Henry Buckmeyer was such a confirmed bachelor, because he would make some woman a near-perfect husband. Well, except for his being unsaved. Any God-fearing woman would know better than to yoke herself up to a nonbeliever. Sue had never known a man like him, though, not even her Andy.

Henry's selflessness amazed her, especially seeing as how he'd been alone all these years. His thoughtfulness, too. He acted so much like—so much like—Christ. What a paradox.

Never ever would she have considered buying more mules to help get to market in time, but he did and wanted to please her. Had she done anything on the journey, since she'd first ridden
into his yard that day, specifically to please him? She couldn't remember a thing and was shamed by that.

Oh, wait, she'd picked up a couple of pieces of deadfall. Mostly, though, she'd given him nothing but grief. She'd been stubborn, and short, and bossy. Elaine's words about trying not to be so bossy came back to her. She should have listened to her friend. But why would Henry want to be so nice to her after all that?

Probably just another one of his admirable traits—doing whatever it took to get the job done. Maybe that was it, and he hadn't done it for her sake at all, rather just to do what he'd been hired to do. No, that wasn't it. She'd seen the joy in his face when he told her he bought those mules. He'd definitely done it to please her, help her.

She remembered what Becky had said, that he'd gotten her a surprise, too, and wondered if her daughter meant the new team. They weren't really hers. They were his mules; he'd paid for them and even mentioned selling them later to get his money back. She loved the way he thought.

He wasn't just handsome and selfless and thoughtful and generous, the man was extremely intelligent, too! She sighed. No matter how good he was, he needed the Lord. So what did she do? Live a horrible example of a Christian right in front of him. Why, a stranger would think he was the saved one and she was lost!

She sighed again, disgusted with herself.

Well, remaining single must be his life choice, because no doubt every unmarried woman he'd ever met did everything in her power to hook him, whether he was saved or not. Sue thought back to Lizbeth Aikin and had a whole new appreciation for the girl's crush. Back then, Sue hadn't known
him that well yet. Henry had handled the young woman so gently and sweetly.

A perfect example of what she was talking about. How in the world had the busybodies back at Sulphur Fork gotten it so wrong, saying that he was a no-good layabout? She needed to set those ladies straight.

A small incline to the horizon made Sue realize again the ease with which the four mules pulled the load compared with only two on each wagon. She might actually be able to make Jefferson in three more days. She could hardly wait until her turn came to walk. She wanted to ask Henry how many miles per hour he thought they were making now.

She searched to her right and to her left, looking for her nephew, but he was nowhere to be seen. Probably back behind, walking next to Henry, enjoying talking to the man. Both the children seemed to prefer him over her, but that wasn't hard to understand. So did she. The admission made her smile to herself.

Levi needed to be around a strong man. The difference in the boy— Well, she would hate to see him lose Henry's fellowship. Being around the man had caused such an incredible growth in him, almost like going from a child to a grown-up. She knew how to teach a girl to grow up to be a proper woman, but how could she know how to turn a boy into a man? She had no clue.

Maybe Henry would allow Levi to visit and even stay with him some after the trip was over and everyone went back home. But then, she needed Levi's help, too. Could she keep the place up and running without him? Even the thought of having gotten the cotton harvested without his help was daunting.

Where was that boy? She didn't want to wait anymore. It
seemed like it'd probably been almost two hours, and it was her turn to walk. Besides, she didn't take pleasure in not having anyone to talk to. She stood to look for him. “Leee-vi!” She turned her head the other direction. “Le-viiiiiii!”

In no time, he came trotting up beside her wagon. “Yes, Aunt Sue?”

“I'm ready to walk awhile. Come on up, would you?”

“Sure.” He climbed aboard.

She handed him the reins. “How are the new mules doing?”

“Oh, they're great. Good, well-mannered animals. Mister Henry seems real pleased with them.”

“Well, that's excellent.” She rose to jump down. Looking toward the moving ground gave her pause every time, but she'd learned how, even if she would never enjoy it. “Sure was a grand idea.” She grabbed her skirt and took the leap, landing on her feet.

“Yes, ma'am,” Levi hollered. “That man is chock-full of great ideas.”

Sue walked slowly; the second rig rolled toward her. She couldn't wait to talk to her children's new favorite person. Though she found it a bit difficult not to be a little jealous, especially with Rebecca, she reveled in the children's relationship with such a wonderful role model, and she decided she wouldn't change a thing.

She and her daughter had always been best friends. At the same time, Sue couldn't fathom being a little girl with no daddy at all—or a daddy like Henry either. She only hoped the man's leaving at the end of the journey didn't break her little girl's heart. Maybe she could hire him to help around the place sometimes.

The mules got even with her. They truly were fine-looking
specimens. When they passed, she looked back. Her daughter slept soundly, leaning into Henry. He finally came alongside.

“So, Levi says the new team is doing great. They're beautiful animals.”

Henry nodded. “Yes, ma'am. As advertised; I'm happy with 'em. Titus bought the lot off a man going west on his way home.”

She had thought about what exactly to say and how to say it, even practiced while riding alone, but now that the opportunity to speak with him lay before her, she forgot everything she had rehearsed. “Henry, I, uh. Well, I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry.”

“For what?”

“I guess for being me. I know I can be difficult at times—and that's putting it mildly.”

He smiled. “Nothing to worry over.”

“But I just cannot seem to stop my tongue from wagging or being so sharp. It seems I'm always on the edge. I don't intend to be mean, I truly don't.” He looked down at her. She gave him a half smile, then faced the ground. She was proud she could have this talk without actually being face-to-face; it was easier not to have to look him in the eyes. “Holding my tongue has never been an easy thing for me. Lord knows I've prayed enough about it.”

He looked down and smiled. “I've taken no offense, Sue.”

“I'm so proud for that, but I'm afraid it's one of my bad traits. I do seek God's will daily.”

He smiled, but this one held no hint of smirk. “Hope that helps.”

Taken aback a bit, she speculated on exactly what he meant by that but decided not to pursue it. “So, to change
the topic—and I thank you for letting me off the hook so easily—I've been wondering how many miles you think we're making an hour now? I can hardly believe how much easier it seems for the mules.”

“Hard to say. I think we can make a fork Titus mentioned in a couple of hours. I'll know better once we're there. Should be a good place to camp.”

Two hours? He was thinking of stopping so early?

“But, Henry, shouldn't we push on? How far is it anyway? And what makes it a good camping place?”

He sighed. “High ground.”

She looked toward the sun. “We've got better than four hours daylight.” With that, she made herself bless the Lord and, with great force of will, hush.

“If you want, we can go until dark or dark-thirty.”

Why did he have to speak in that tone and look at her as though he couldn't believe what she'd just said? She hadn't been sharp in the least; she was sure of it. Didn't he appreciate that? Realize the effort it took?