Page 12 of A Joyful Ring
“Nope.” Gunder had planned to court Karin Olsen once he’d saved up enough money he could think about a home of his own and a wife to live with him there. Only she’d gone and married Abe Peterson last summer.
Although he’d had his eye on Karin for a long while, he wasn’t as upset as he likely should have been if he’d loved her.
Gunder had always been so busy working he hadn’t taken much time for courting. His mother had threatened more than once to arrange a marriage for him if he couldn’t choose a wife and settle down.
He’d assumed she’d been bluffing in hopes ofspurring him into finding a girl to love. Now he wondered what she’d say if he fell in love with an Oregon girl and started a family so far away from home.
She’d likely still be pleased if he opened his heart to love.
Not that he’d closed it. More like he hadn’t encountered the girl he wanted to wed. Yet.
“A big strapping lad like you should have had girls lined up at his door,” Lars teased, then handed him a jar of cold well water. Gunder took a long drink and handed it back to the man, wanting to ask if he’d returned to the boardinghouse and Mrs. Franklin to get the water, but concluded it was best not to voice that particular question.
“Ever have a special sweetheart?” Lars asked.
“Not really. There was a girl I’d planned to court someday when I’d saved enough money to do it properly, but she wed last summer.” Gunder shrugged. “She seems happy.”
“Then I suppose that’s what matters.”
Gunder nodded, seeking a change of topic. “Would you mind telling me what happened to the last freighter who worked at the mine? The one whose tent I’m fairly certain I slept in last night?”
Lars didn’t answer right away. He took another drink from the jar, then set it in a box beneath the seat wedged between the crates of cherries and apricots. Finally, he cleared his throat, although he didn’t make eye contact with Gunder, instead choosing to stare out across the sagebrush-dotted hills.
“Remember I mentioned explosives?” Larsasked.
“Yes. I don’t think I’m likely to forget that,” Gunder answered. The images they had created in his mind were hard to dislodge.
“Leo was hauling a load of explosives two weeks ago. No one knows what happened, exactly. He was almost back to Lovely, just before that last rise in the road, when there was a big boom and smoke in the sky. Goodwin sent men to check it out, and there wasn’t much left for them to clean up. Leo wasn’t a bad sort, but he could get careless, which made him dangerous. You can’t rush with a load of explosives. You can’t jostle the wagon too much. You can’t forget what you are hauling could kill you at any given moment. If you use a little common sense and care, you should be just fine.”
Gunder nodded, but his mouth had suddenly gone as dry as the desert landscape around them. Could he really consider hauling something so dangerous? What if the mules bolted? Or he accidentally drove through a hole in the road? Or what if …? Gunder drew in a deep breath to calm himself.
“I think you’ll do just fine, Gunder. You’re good at driving the wagon, cautious without being hesitant, and from what I’ve gathered today, you have something between your ears besides hot air and moss.”
Gunder grinned. “Thanks, I think.”
Lars chuckled. “You have to decide what is best for you, but if you take this job, I’ll do my best to teach you everything I know.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.”
On the rest of the way back to Lovely, they talked about the town, the mine, and the people Gunder had met in Baker City.
The sun was just dipping into the horizon when they arrived back at the mine.
“Pull up behind the cookshack. Jed will be waiting for us,” Lars instructed.
As soon as the wagon stopped, Jed swung open the cookshack door.
“About time you two got back. I was startin’ to ponder if you got lost,” Jed groused as the three of them unloaded the wagon.
“You dunderhead. You know how long it takes to make the trip there and back. Did the sun addle your brains today?” Lars asked as he handed Jed a bag of flour.
The cook glowered at Lars, then the two of them laughed as though they’d shared some grand joke.
Gunder remained silent as he carried in a crate full of canned vegetables.
When Jed reached for the fresh cherries, Lars pushed his hands away. “Those are for Risa and the picnic tomorrow.”
“Well, why didn’t you bring me some?” Jed asked, somehow managing to appear wounded.
