Page 21 of Wagon Train Dreams
He liked listening to her sweet voice as she told him how Bertie wanted to carry his cats down the trail.
He liked?—
This had to stop while it was possible. While he could find a sliver of reason. He jammed his hat on his head, held Petey secure, called “I’ll see you later,” and rode away.
Petey laughed as he jostled on Boots’s back. Cantering produced a breeze that cooled Petey’s skin as well as Joe’s.
But he’d have to gallop clear to the mountains to cool his thoughts.
Petey’s happy chuckle drifted back to Hazel. She wiped her face on her damp and soiled handkerchief. One of the many Peter had brought her from the store. He’d been a good husband. Generous. Kind. Thoughtful. He’d given her a home she’d thought would be forever.
How surprising that she could think of another man with affection and longing.
Sweat dripped from her chin. She swiped it away.
Waving the fan before her face brought limited relief. They’d endured warm temperatures and dry land before, but August heat had a vigor all its own. The heat rose from the ground. It poured down from the heavens and bounced off every rock and wheel.
Ahead, Joe waved at them to pull in beside a tree.
“It’s a poor excuse for a tree,” Louise muttered. She’d been urging Dobie to keep walking for the last half hour. The boy, generally eager and active, was about ready to melt into a puddle like the rest of them.
If Hazel hadn’t been so hot, she would’ve laughed when Joe said they’d rest, “In the shade.”
He handed Petey back and turned to the men. “Unhitch the oxen. We’ll stay here until late afternoon and travel in the cool evening.”
No one answered. They’d traveled at night before. Perhaps she should have found the idea frightening. They wouldn’t be able to see what lay ahead. Though what was there to see? More grass. A horizon that stretched into forever? But she felt not so much as a twinge of concern knowing Joe was in charge.
Irene joined them. “Someone ought to inform Joe that it didn’t cool off last evening.”
Hazel sucked back two mouthfuls of water from her canteen. The warm liquid did not cool her mouth.
While Ma and Hazel and Louise set out the cold food for the noon meal, the men carried water to the panting oxen. Then Ma called everyone to the meal. Gabe offered a prayer of thanksgiving and asked for journeying mercies.
Hazel took food for herself and Petey, though she’d probably choke if she tried to eat a dry biscuit. She managed a few mouthfuls of beans and urged Petey to eat. He ate very little. But at least he drank water, and tonight, if she had a drop of milk in her breasts, she’d nurse him.
Joe returned from tending the animals and ate a generous serving of beans and two biscuits. Her gaze sought him between offering Petey food. Her insides dipped when he moved away.
“Rest.” Joe’s gentle voice came from behind her. “Take advantage of the shade.”
Irene and Walt hung tarps from the side of the wagons to provide more protection from the sun. As the sun moved to the west, the area would grow larger.
Petey fussed, too tired and hot even to cry properly.
Hazel removed all but his diaper and laid him on a blanket under the wagon. Oh, for a breath of wind. Her arms grew weary from fanning him. Finally, he fell into the oblivion of sleep. She closed her eyes and willed slumber to come. She’d need to be ready for a night of walking. Her breathing slowed, but her thoughts danced. Now that she’d opened her mind to what she wanted between herself and Joe, she wanted to be with him more. Tell him more. Ask him more.
But there’d be no place where they’d escape the others until they made it across this arid prairie.
The shadows lengthened.
Dobie and Bertie played with the pets, knowing not to disturb those who slept.
Irene and Walt whispered to each other.
Ma and Gabe lay in the shade of their wagon a little distance away, but their murmured conversation drifted across the grass.
Hazel shifted to her side so she could see Louise and Cecil. She was glad for them, especially her friend. They all deserved their happiness. But it made her feel alone.
She shifted again until she spied Joe leaning against the solitary tree, his hat drawn low over his face. He must have felt her gaze on him, for he lifted his hat marginally, and his dark eyes found her. The corners of his mouth tipped up. She’d seen that hint of a smile before. He liked to keep his feelings well away from onlookers.
