Page 39 of Wagon Train Dreams
The regret in his voice echoed her own. But they still had the rest of the day. A glance at the sky revealed the sun partway down in the west. Their day was almost over.
She reached for his hand. “How far do you think we can walk along the rim?”
He smiled down at her. “As far as we want.”
She pulled her lips in. Not enough miles lay between here and the Pacific Ocean to satisfy her. “Then let’s walk into tomorrow. Let’s forget all the challenges life has for us, and let’s?—”
His finger touched her lips, ending her desperate pleas. “Enjoy today.”
“Of course.” What else could she say? Besides, she didn’t want to spoil the few hours they had.
Hand in hand, they wandered along the gully’s edge to the end. This side was steep. “Good thing we didn’t go down right here.”
He nodded, his gaze on the distant horizon. To the south lay blackened ground, the wind whipping up ashes. To the west lay more prairie. To the north, the railway and the town. But here, they were alone without any sign of another human.
For a heartbeat, she considered the idea of them finding a place where they would be alone, not bothered by what others thought or said. But they couldn’t live that way. She didn’t want that for Petey.
“Look.” He pointed to the right. “Flowers. See them?”
Squinting, she made out a white hue on the grass several feet away. “What is it?”
“Little prairie flowers.” Tugging her by the hand, he led her to the spot where white flat petals glowed like moonlight, almost hidden in the grass.
She knelt beside one plant. “A person could almost miss these.”
“Hidden treasures.” He sat cross-legged beside her. “I remember when my pa and I found a patch like this. He used it as a teaching moment. Said life was like these flowers. It holdshidden treasures. It’s up to us to seek them out and enjoy them.” His gaze again went to the west as if something waited for him in that direction. Then his eyes met hers, dark and intense. “Or we can let ordinary and hard things make us overlook the good things.”
She gulped. He was warning her not to lose sight of treasures when life wasn’t as sweet as it was right now. When he refused to view her as anything but a white woman, but she didn’t accept that. Could she convince him?
He spoke again before she found the words she needed.
“My pa was a good and wise man. Respected by everyone he met.”
Longing and sadness filled the cracks in his words, and she leaned back on her elbow to look at him. “Don’t you think your father would be proud of you?” Maybe if he believed that, he would be ready to ignore the slights of unkind people.
He straightened the fringes on his vest until they lay in perfect order. When he was satisfied, he lifted his gaze to her. “I hope so.”
His words tore at her heart. She sat up and faced him. “Joe, you are a good man. Your relatives in Manitoba are the poorer for not getting to know you.”
A smile started at the corners of his eyes and spread to his eyes and mouth.
Besides being noble and kind, he was handsome. His features were strong.
And stubborn, she feared.
“Hazel, I think you are the sort of person who sees only the good. Like hidden treasures. I like that.” He trailed his finger down her cheek, and she forgot to say she didn’t want to look for treasures. The greatest one she could dream of sat within reach.
“Look. A hawk soaring overhead.” He lay back, patting the ground nearby in invitation for her to join him. The sky wassilvery bright with brittle sunshine, the hawk nothing more than a black dot riding the air. Then it screamed and dived.
“Found his lunch.” Joe’s voice carried a hint of humor.
“What did your pa say about hawks?” It seemed his father had used nature to teach his son lessons in life.
He didn’t speak. Then he laughed. “Pa once complained to Ma that he wished he could hunt like a hawk. Be above everything. Calm and peaceful and then dive for his food. Ma rubbed his back and said, ‘Men weren’t made to fly. God gave you two legs. Be grateful.’”
“I like hearing about your family.” Maybe she shouldn’t have used that word. He tried to hide it, but she sensed a sadness in him when they talked about family.
“I like remembering how we were.”
