Page 16 of Wagon Train Melody
More tears stung her eyes. When had she ever been so prone to crying? Unless one counted the days after her parents’ deaths and more recently, the deaths of John and Evelyn.
It was time to prepare the girls for bed. The problem of where they’d sleep loomed. The last three nights, she and the girls had slept in the wagon and Bo on the ground. But Bo was now on the narrow mattress.
Did they have any other choice than to sleep outside on the ground with no protection from prying eyes or prowling animals?
CHAPTER 4
At Alice’s call, Rudy brought the giggling girls back to the wagon. He’d had a lot of fun playing with them.
Alice chewed her bottom lip and looked nervous.
“Bo?” Had her brother taken a turn for the worse? He should have stayed closer in case she needed help.
“He’s resting.” A pause. “In the wagon.” A waiting pause as if she expected him to know something.
“We sleepin’ with Bo?” Kitty asked.
Ah. Now he understood. Alice and the girls had been sleeping in the wagon, but with Bo there and unconscious, they’d have to find something else. “I don’t have a tent, but I have a groundsheet and can fashion you some protection.”
“You don’t have to—” She sputtered then swallowed her words. “Thank you.”
He put his saddle and saddlebags on the ground and untied the bedroll, removing the groundsheet. “Under the wagon or in the trees?”
“Under the wagon.”
He secured the groundsheet to one side. “If you have a quilt to spare, I can close in the other side.”
She brought him one and, in a few minutes, he’d created a cozy little shelter for them.
She got a second quilt. “The wind will blow through.”
He grinned, knowing it wasn’t the wind she was as concerned about but being exposed. He fixed the quilt in place. “Do you want one on the other end?”
She considered it. “Would you think me crazy if I did?”
“Nope.” He couldn’t really blame her. He hung another quilt.
The girls watched with interest.
“It’s a little hideout.” Sissy sounded pleased. “Can we sleep there?”
“Of course.” Alice prepared them for bed and gave them each a quilt. They were soon curled up inside the shelter, giggling. The sounds didn’t last long.
“It’s been a long day for them,” Alice explained as she and Rudy sat at the fire.
“Did I see the hint of tears a few times?” he asked.
“No. Yes. Maybe.” She heaved her breath out. “So many memories. Evelyn was more than my sister. She was my best friend from the time I could walk. She was four years older. It’s only been four months since she passed. I miss her more than words can say.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” The words were frail and inadequate but all he had to offer.
“She was my comfort and strength when our parents died.” She stared at the flames. “Seeing you play with the girls makes it so real that they’ve lost parents who loved them dearly.” She shook her head as if shaking off her memories. “But then, you lost your parents too, so you know what I’m talking about.”
“I can’t say as I do.”
Her look demanded an explanation.
“I didn’t have the kind of home you did. I wandered far and wide from the time I was little. Pa was seldom home, and Manever noticed if I was home or not. I got most of my meals from neighbors.”
