Page 47 of Wagon Train Hope
He squinted into the distance as a moving object wavered in the heat waves rising from the land. At first, all he made out was a horse and rider, and then he recognized a familiar figure and sank back with a groan.
Why was she out here by herself? Couldn’t he trust her to stay with the wagons for an hour or two? How was he to keep her from riding into trouble crossing the valley?
He trotted toward her and reined in a short distance away to wait.
Dust swirled around her as she pulled up facing him. “I see you haven’t been sucked up in an alkali pond.”
“Of course not. I was careful. Did you come to make sure I was all right?” The idea that she might be worried about him erased his irritation, and he grinned.
She spun around and galloped away. Called something over her shoulder that might have been, “Why would I care?”
Leaning forward with the wind rushing past his cheeks, he raced after her, overtook her, and reached out to stop her horse.
Her shoulders rose and fell rapidly as if she’d been the one planting one foot in front of the other as fast as possible. She averted her face. Had he bruised her feelings?
He swallowed hard. “Thank you for coming to make sure I’m all right.”
Still, she kept her head averted.
With a signal from Walt’s knee, his horse moved closer until Walt’s leg pressed to Irene’s. “I’m sorry for acting like it didn’t matter to me. It does.”
She tried to break free, but he had a firm grip on her horse. Inch by inch, she brought her gaze to him. At first, it was full of sparks and fire. The fire died. The sparks faded. But warmth remained, touched with caution. “I kept thinking of those alkali pits.”
He nodded. “They are as bad as Joe said.” He told how Socks had sunk. “And it looked perfectly safe.”
Her eyes widened. “How will we know where to go and what’s safe?”
“We’ll take our time. I’ve marked out a trail for us to start on. How did the hay gathering go?”
“I think we have enough for two days. If it takes longer…” She worried her bottom lip.
“We can add to the supply tonight. I’ll figure out a way to store it.” Though by the time they’d traveled all afternoon, that which was already cut would have settled and made room for more.
The worry didn’t leave her eyes, and he leaned closer, cupping his hand to the back of her head. “We’ll be fine so long as we don’t take any chances. Slow and careful.”
A shudder trekked across her shoulders. “It sounds…”
He didn’t give her a chance to finish. “Sometimes it takes precision and care to reach the goal.”
Before she voiced the protest that he saw building, he pressed his fingers to her lips. “This is where we learn to trust God.” The words trailed into a whisper as the air between them disappeared.
Her gaze held his, seeking, searching, and, he hoped, finding whatever it was she sought.
Just as he found secret places in his heart filling with something unfamiliar and yet incredibly sweet and promising.
He didn’t know how long they remained in the same position, her breath warming his fingers on her lips, a gentle breeze lifting strands of her hair to tickle the back of his hand. They might have stayed there longer except a mosquito landed on his cheek, and he slapped it away.
“Let’s get back to the others. We need to get as far as we can tonight.”
Together, they rode toward the camp at a leisurely pace. Pa saw them approaching, and by the time they rejoined the others, the oxen were back in harness and ready to travel.
That afternoon, they made good progress across easy ground. Walt signaled an early stop where the water supply was good and grass abundant. Pa and Cecil studied the valley before them.
“It’s as bad as Joe said,” Walt murmured, not wanting to alarm the ladies, though Irene already knew. She’d keep the information to herself. “Let’s get some more hay cut and stored.” The men set to work cutting swaths of fragrant grass. The ladies gathered it and topped up what they’d cut earlier.
Every tarp was heaped with grass when Walt called a halt. It looked like plenty. Unless?—
“This is where we trust God. Remember?” Irene’s soft voice came from his right.
