A Heart Renewed (10 page)

The trip to Prescott proved more productive than Will hoped.  He and Ben were able to find three more men.  One he would keep on permanently, if he worked out.  His name was Warren Cahill.  Seems he had worked on a ranch prior to seeking his fortune in mining.  Said he found mining to be a whole lot more work than ranching.  Will would send Cahill with Ben on the drive.

The other man that would head out on the drive with Ben was Simon Palmer.  Though he had no experience with cattle, he was good with horses.  Will decided Palmer would be the wrangler for this drive, freeing up Covington to ride with the herd.

The third man he hired was Ian Flanagan.  Obviously Irish, from the name and his speech, he looked as solid as a tree.  He had a sister with him who was taking a job in town for the time being.  He said he’d be more than happy to work as the night guard until Will’s men returned from the drive.  Then he said he’d be looking for work in town.

Dismounting Jackson, his favorite horse, Will had to admit Ben was right this morning.  He had been foolish to think he should go on the drive to California.  He was tired just from the half day in town and his headache had returned.  No doubt he still was not fully himself after the accident.

About six weeks ago he had been riding out on the eastern edge of his property when Jackson spooked.  He was thrown from the horse.  Normally, that wouldn’t have caused him much more than a bruised hind end and bruised ego.  Unfortunately, when he landed on the ground, he hit his head hard on a rock.  It was two weeks before he woke up.  When he had, he struggled to remember a few things at first.  Eventually, most everything came back to him.

Everything except his ability to read.  It was so odd.  He was still able to manage the ledgers and calculate sums and distances—anything mathematical.  At least he thought he retained those skills.  Maybe he should have Hannah double check the ledgers just to be certain.  But when it came to reading words on a page, like in his Bible, he just could not make sense of the words, not even old familiar passages.

And he missed it.

He missed being able to read his Bible on his own.  Before the wedding, Jed and Hawk took turns reading scripture to him in the morning.  Since Hannah was now at his side, she took over that role.  In the evening, she insisted they spend an hour working on his reading skills.  She seemed to think he was improving, but Will disagreed, still frustrated over having lost the ability.

Besides not being fully healthy, he would have been miserable if he left Hannah to go on the drive.  In the week since their wedding, he wanted to spend more and more time at home.  He even took himself off of the rotation for herding the cattle, something he thought he would never do.  Though, he would have to help out again when the men left on the drive.

When he stopped working with the cattle, he started working on building up the horse breeding and training business.  While he knew a little about training horses, he certainly did not know as much as Adam Larson.  Hopefully the young man was on his way west.  He had not received any returned correspondence from Larson to the offer he made back in June.  Despite having regular mail service within the territory, communication outside of the territory seemed very slow.

There was no rule anywhere that said as a rancher you had to work the cattle.  Many ranchers back in Texas rarely worked with the cattle, at least when they neared forty or so years of age.  Not that Will was close to that.  He just turned thirty last month.  But, some of the ranchers he knew focused more on the business side of running a ranch, while some preferred working with the cattle. 

Will had a keen mind and many plans for Colter Ranch.  His contracts with Fort Whipple and many businesses in Prescott meant he no longer had to drive the entire herd to distant markets.  As each new hotel or restaurant opened in town, he successfully negotiated contracts to supply beef.  He even built a smoke house and small slaughter house for preparing orders.  Snake handled most of the butchering and smoking.

This coming year, in addition to starting the horse business, he was also going to start growing his own horse feed.  He detested farming and hoped to hire someone from one of the many incoming wagon trains who would be able to manage it.  If things went well, he would even grow extra and supply feed for the local livery or perhaps the fort.

Hearing the supper bell, Will set aside the bridle he was mending and made his way to the ranch house.  As he entered, he gave Hannah a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Hello, beautiful.”

She smiled at the compliment, but continued dishing up two plates so Rosa could take the remaining food out to the bunkhouse.  Taking a seat across from him, she bowed her head, waiting for him to say grace.  When he finished, he dug into his meal.  This was so good.

“Did you work things out with Rosa?”

“Yes.  It was so strange.  At first she thought I wanted to cut her pay.  But when I explained she would be paid the same, she was fine with whatever terms I set.”

“Good.”  He paused to finish chewing a bite of steak.  “Would you mind this evening if we went over the ledgers instead of working on the reading lesson?”

“I thought you were fine with the ledgers.”  Concerned tinged her voice.

“I think I am, but it wouldn’t hurt to have you check my work for the last few weeks.  It makes no sense to me why I would be able to do that but struggle with words.”

“Remember that Dr. Murphy said head injuries often have unusual outcomes.  I’m just thankful that you have no other lingering issues.”

Will nodded.  How could he tell her it made him feel stupid to no longer be able to read?

As he finished his last bite of food, Hannah stood.  Eyes sparkling with excitement, she said, “I have a surprise for you… Pecan pie.”

“Mmm.  You spoil me.”

Once the table was cleared and Hannah finished the dishes, Will retrieved the ledgers and laid them out on the table.  When she sat down and started reviewing the numbers, her eyes went wide.

“What is it?” Will asked, worried that he overestimated his ability with numbers.

“It just that… That is a lot of money.”

Leaning over her shoulder, he looked at the tally.  “No that is what it should be.  It all adds up, right?”

“The calculations are correct.  I’m just used to the meager earnings of a doctor.  This has a few more digits than I expected.”  She laughed nervously.

Letting out the breath he was holding, Will explained, “That is more than what we made my last year at the Star C with twice as many cattle.  The Lord has been good to us.”

“Very good, indeed.”

Chapter 7

Cimarron Crossing, Kansas

September 13, 1864

They made it.  Finally.  Cimarron Crossing.

Adam sighed as he dismounted his stallion, relieved to see a wagon train camped just outside of the small settlement.  Their arrival could not have been timed better.

These last two weeks were the most challenging thing he experienced in his young life.  The first few days of the journey he set as fast of a pace as he could without injuring the horses.  Even though they camped at night, he could not shake the feeling they were being followed.  He forced himself to stay alert to keep watch throughout the night.  On the third night, exhaustion pulled him under and he slept.  Little good that sleep did him.  After two weeks of travel, he was physically and emotionally drained.

The trip to Cimarron Crossing took longer than expected.  They ran out of food after a week.  It probably would have been sooner, but Julia barely ate anything he put in front of her.  Then part way through the second week, he shot some quail.  They ate well that night and the next morning.  That was three days ago.  Neither had a bite of food since.

He was emotionally drained as well.  Being around Julia in her dark state of mind was difficult.  He never would have thought the jubilant jovial Julia would have retreated so far.  She was deep within herself—not speaking—and barely even going through the motions.

One minute, his heart broke for her.  Then the next, his anger flared at Reuben for whatever he did to her.  It must have been something even more terrible than he could imagine since it drove away the adventurous, happy girl he once knew.

Right now, her emotional state was the least of his worries.  Adam had to get them to Santa Fe.  He had very little money, so it was unlikely he could purchase passage for the rest of the way.  The only option he could think of was to find them some work in exchange for transportation, food, and shelter.  Leaving the silent Julia with the horses, he set out to do just that.

Approaching a group of men standing by one of the campfires near the wagon train, he prayed for wisdom.  He had to get them something soon and it had to be with this group.  He had no way to provide for them until the next wagon train came along.

“Excuse me,” he said to the group of men.  “Would any of you know where my sister and I might find work?  We need to continue on to Santa Fe as soon as possible.”

One short man spit a stream of tobacco juice at his boot.  “I know where your sister might find work—especially if she’s pretty.  Not so sure about you though.”  He slapped his hand down on his leg as he bent over laughing, causing the hole-ridden hat on his head to tumble to the ground.  His friends joined in with a similar response.

Moving away from the uncouth crowd, he sought out the wagon master instead.  Perhaps he would be more willing to help.

After a brief conversation, the wagon train master suggested that he check with the freighters.  They were the ones usually looking to take on folks mid-trip—as long as Adam didn’t need to go any farther than Santa Fe.  Once they got to Santa Fe, he would figure out how to get them the rest of the way to the Arizona Territory.

Hope renewed, he made his way to where the freighters camped.  The first ten freighters he asked laughed in his face.  Who wanted to take on a brother and sister team and provide from their limited supplies for them?

He was about to give up when he met Chauncey Jones.  The man was young, not more than four or so years older than Adam.  He was built like a large oak tree, all sturdy immovable muscle.

“My name is Adam Larson.”  He started his now well-rehearsed speech.  “My sister and I are in need of transportation, food, and shelter for the trip to Santa Fe.  Julia is an excellent cook and would also care for any laundry needs.  I am experienced with livestock and capable of driving a wagon.”

“Chauncey Jones is the name, and you’re in luck.”

Adam’s jaw almost went slack when Chauncey replied affirmatively.

“We lost a man on the way here.  I need a driver.  Be happy to have someone other than Smitts do the cooking.  Gettin’ tired of the charred mess he calls food.  Can your sister make something a mite tastier?”

“Yes, she can.”

“Great.  She can ride with you in the freight wagon you’ll be driving.  Won’t be payin’ no wages.  Just your services in exchange for food and transportation.  I’ll provide a tent for camping at night, as well as food for ya both.”

“One tent?” Adam cringed inwardly.  How could he possibly share a tent with her?  If only he could hold on to the image of her when she was thirteen.  That would certainly help keep his confusing feelings away.

“Well, it’s all I got.  Sides, with you being brother and sister there ain’t no reason why you can’t be sharing a tent.  I ain’t got no bedrolls so you’ll either have to do without or rustle up some on your own.”

“We have bedrolls.  I also have two horses I would like to keep.  Is there any way we can throw in food and water for them as well?”

Chauncey rubbed his hand across the stubble of his chin and thought for a moment.  “Tell ya what.  Since I ain’t got to pay wages for the man that we lost, I’ll go ahead and throw in the feed for the horses, too.”

Thank you, Lord, for providing.
  “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

“Aw, just call me Chauncey.  No need to be so formal.”

Adam finalized the arrangements and went to get Julia and the horses.  She was staring off into the distance.  A deep sadness and pain hung over her like dark storm clouds.  She had retreated into her prison of despair and pain.  He wished he could help her carry that burden.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he approached her.  “I found us a way to Santa Fe.”

She turned her head to look at him, her dull eyes squinting against the sun.

He took a seat next to her.  “I found a freighter looking to hire us for the rest of the journey to Santa Fe.  In exchange for your cooking and cleaning skills, and my driving skills, he is providing us with the use of a tent, food, and water.”

“
A
tent?” she asked her voice low and lifeless.

He was so surprised that she finally spoke that he took a moment to respond.  “Yes, I’m sorry there is only one.  I know it’s not ideal, but we will come up with some sort of divider for privacy.  Given that everyone thinks we are brother and sister, we will have to make do with that.  I saw how full the wagons were packed with freight.  There will not be enough room for either of us to sleep there.”

“Very well.”

Really?  I thought she would put up more of a fight?  I’m not even remotely fine with the idea.

Standing, he helped her gather up her things.  Then they made their way to Chauncey’s wagons.  He introduced Julia to him.  When Chauncey asked if she would be able to make supper for them that evening, she nodded and asked where the cooking supplies were kept.  He showed her.  Quietly, Julia started preparing the meal.

As the aroma wafted about the wagons, Adam’s stomach growled.  He was more than ready for some sort of food.  When she handed him a plate, it was all he could do to remind himself to eat slowly.

Unfortunately, she needed no such encouragement.  He watched as she took a few nibbles of food before setting it aside.  She was going to get sick if she didn’t start eating.

“Julia,” he said nodding his head towards her plate.  He was going to say more, but she shot him an angry look.  Then picking up her plate she slowly ate the rest of her food.  When she finished, she jumped up and started cleaning, avoiding eye contact with him for the rest of the evening.