Page 56 of Wagon Train Melody
The next group turned left, heading west. And the first rays of sunshine caught King’s golden coat.
“Goodbye, Rudy. I will pray for you every day and cling to the hope you will return.” Not until the patrol was out of sight did she return to the house to begin her work.
It was so generous and kind of Clint to arrange the credit at the store. She’d be able to concentrate on being a mother and homemaker for a little while longer.
She’d put water to heat for laundry the night before and now built up the fire to get it boiling. She gathered up the washing and there was plenty of it after their travels. The tubs were up outdoors and everything ready.
The bar of lye soap was among the other laundry things—the scrub board, the clothes pegs, the flat irons. Except it wasn’t. She’d used it a couple of times on the journey, so she knew she’d had it. But it was no longer there. She must have left it behind.
There was nothing for it but to go to the store and buy a bar. What a nuisance. It would delay her scrubbing by at least an hour.
She’d have time to prepare breakfast and feed everyone before the store opened.
Both girls wore their saddest faces knowing Rudy was gone. Bo, on the other hand, tried overly hard to be cheerful.
She served the food then told Bo she had to get more soap. “Watch the girls while I’m gone.” At the store, she quickly found what she needed.
The storekeeper made a note of it.
Feeling as if she had to show the gratitude she felt, she tapped the tally book. “It was so thoughtful of Clint to leave this for me.”
The man closed the book and shoved it under the counter. “T’weren’t your brother.” Then he blinked. “But I wasn’t supposed to tell you. That gentleman you were with—” He stopped. “Can’t seem to keep me mouth shut today.”
“Rudy did this? Mr. Powers?”
The man held up his hands in protest. “Ma’am, I can’t tell you.”
She left the store, a smile as wide as the sky on her lips. She knew it was Rudy. She should be surprised but somehow, she wasn’t. He might not stay and help her, but he had helped in a significant way.
Her heart swelled with pure sweet love for this man.
Love? How foolish of her to feel this way. But there was no denying the bittersweet feeling in her heart.
CHAPTER 14
They were a full day’s ride from the fort and still, Rudy couldn’t keep from glancing over his shoulder. Only this time he wasn’t looking for Big Al. He was pulling his heart away from Alice and the children.
They stopped early that day because of the ideal camping spot familiar to the Mounties.
Rudy helped with camp chores. The men were cheerful and kind, but all Rudy could think was how lonely it was without Alice and the family he’d grown to love.
The others gathered around the campfire that evening. Someone pulled out a mouth organ and played mournful songs. In the distance, a coyote howled.
Both sounds filled the corners of his heart with profound sadness that choked him. He was relieved when the others moved toward their bedrolls. He lay on his and looked up at the stars.
God, keep them safe.
It was a prayer that he knew he would repeat over and over in the coming days…weeks… he couldn’t think any further.
They were up early the next morning and on their way. He was determined not to constantly look over his shoulder and, instead, focused on what the man next to him was saying.
Mid-morning, he heard a crack and then a burning in his shoulder. He glanced down. Had he been shot?
The Mounties instantly dismounted and sprang into action. Someone pulled him from his horse. Or did he fall? More shots rang out. Maybe he should have been paying more attention to the trail behind.
Alice had beenaware of men riding into the fort at a gallop but paid it no mind. Rudy was gone, so she didn’t care who came and went.
“Alice! Alice!” Bo yelled and ran toward her. He’d been out looking for a job, though the fort doctor said it would be three or four weeks before his arm healed, but she guessed from his excitement that he’d found something he would get paid to do.
