Page 33 of Wagon Train Dreams
Freeing his arm, he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her tight. “I’ll protect you.”
“I’m counting on it.” The trust in her eyes almost robbed him of reason.
“Let’s look for a surprise.” But he didn’t move as he held her to his side, smiling down at her sunshine hair.
“No snakes!”
“I’ll do my best.” He shifted his attention and studied their surroundings for anything to draw her attention to. “See how the horizon changes. Bits of it seem higher than the rest. It’s a mirage.”
“I see it. How fun.”
They walked across the unburned grass. The ground dipped.
“Here’s another surprise. The land isn’t as flat as you think. Turn around. We can’t see the gully. But to look the other direction, you’d think it was flat.” A scattering of rocks lay on the slope. “Let’s sit here and enjoy the view.”
They sat. Petey toddled around their legs, happy to be on his feet. Hazel leaned over her knees.
Joe met her eyes, not blinking, not shying away, or lowering his gaze like he would have to do in public. He let himself float in the blueness, let himself feel safe, let himself dream of what life would be like if he shared it?—
“Joe, I was wondering…”
“Umm. About what?” He didn’t want to leave the pleasantness of swimming in her gaze.
“Well, you seem so…” She looked past him as if seeking words in the distance.
He waited, letting her take all the time she needed to sort out her thoughts.
Her shoulders rose and fell as she sucked in air. “You seem so calm and peaceful about life, although it hasn’t always been fair.” Her gaze found his, held his, searched his. “I want to trust God. Feel Him as close as I once did.” She ducked her head, twisting her hands in her lap. “I struggle with believing God has only my best in His heart. I pray. I ask Him to work in my heart. Still, it’s a struggle not to regret the past and worry about the future.”
The hunger in her eyes as they returned to him filled him with a deep ache. He didn’t want to point out that she’d have more worry about the future—both hers and Little Warrior’s—if they continued to be together once they left this place. But today was for the impossible.
What encouragement could he offer her?
He took her hand. “We can find flowers dotting the hillsides. Waterfalls run out of the crevasses. All manner of trees grow up and down the slopes. God made it all.”
She nodded. Drinking in his words.
“But look again. To one side is a bare spot where there’s been a landslide. It looks barren, scraped clean. We move closer to have a better look and find flowers and grass growing in the raw dirt. Seedling trees have taken root. And the ground that fell away has created a little dam. The water is still. It’s a place where birds nest, and wild animals drink.”
Her lips parted slightly while she waited for him to explain.
“God’s work never ends. He is making something new from what was. In nature and in your heart.”
A smile flooded her face. Her eyes sparkled like sunshine on rushing water. “Joe, that’s beautiful.” She pressed her hands to her chest. “Something new. I like that.”
The possessive look she gave him made him draw back. He could not be what she wanted. Being together was not possible. It meant being shunned and worse. It wasn’t the kind of life she deserved. He set aside his protests to deal with tomorrow.
Petey played at Joe’s feet and provided him with an escape from Hazel’s claiming look. The little one clutched three pebbles in his fist.
“What have you found, Little Warrior?”
Petey lifted his hand and babbled something.
Joe laughed. “I didn’t understand a word of that, but I’m sure it’s true.” Feeling Hazel’s continued study on him, he inched his attention back to her… and was trapped in her demanding look.
The seconds passed, matching the steady, insistent beating of his heart. Nothing was said. There was no need. The air carried a thousand messages of hopes and dreams.
Impossible dreams.
