The Complete Oregon Series, page 22
“Luke…”
“It’s all right. It’s all right,” Luke said, willing it to be so. She felt Nora tremble in her arms and tightened her hold on her. Luke hadn’t prayed for a lot of years, preferring to take her fate into her own hands, but now, as they waited in terrified silence, she found her lips moving in silent prayer.
“That box.” Sobs shook Nora’s body. “I shouldn’t have lifted it down from the wagon. If the baby—”
Luke shushed her once again. “You’re only making yourself more upset. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She stroked Nora’s face with her fingertips, trailed her palms down Nora’s arms, and then laid her hand on Nora’s belly, silently telling the unborn child to stay put.
Nora rested both of her hands over Luke’s, clutching her fingers in a death grip.
They waited while heavy raindrops pelted the tent cover. Thunder boomed from time to time, sounding closer and closer. The tent started to leak, and pools built. Rainwater saturated the soil. Water soaked through Luke’s pants, but she ignored it and pulled Nora higher on her lap, concentrating on keeping her warm and dry.
Their own little universe that consisted just of the two of them and their shared fear was interrupted as the tent flap lifted. “What happened?” Bernice entered, shedding her wet coat.
“I don’t know. I bent down, and suddenly, there was this sharp pain, and now I have cramps. I think it’s the baby.” Nora’s fingers bore into Luke’s forearms, but Luke suffered the pain in silence as if she could somehow take away Nora’s pain by bearing it herself.
Bernice knelt down.
Glad that help had finally arrived, Luke tried to move back to give Bernice room to work, but Nora didn’t let go of her. “Please, stay.”
Bernice gave her a silent nod and continued her examination around her.
Anxiously watching the older woman, Nora pressed her cheek against Luke’s shoulder while they waited for Bernice to say something.
“Just a second,” Bernice said and hurried out. She returned a minute later, carrying a cup. “Drink this.”
“What is it?” Luke asked while she helped Nora hold the cup steady and bring it to her lips.
“A mixture of herbs,” Bernice answered. “It should help with the cramps.”
Nora grimaced but swallowed bravely. She emptied the cup and let her head sink back against Luke’s shoulder.
They waited with bated breath.
“Luke?” Brody Cowen stuck his head through the flap. “The captain needs you.”
Luke glanced at the waiting Brody, then back down at Nora, who was looking up at her with pain in her eyes. After a lifetime of following orders and respecting authority, Luke didn’t even hesitate. “Not now.”
“But—”
“Whatever it is, it has to wait,” Luke said. “I won’t leave my wife now.”
“You can go. I’ll be fine,” Nora said, but the grip of her fingers on Luke’s sent another message.
Luke didn’t move from her place, holding Nora. “Get someone else to help you, Brody. I won’t come right now.”
With a grunt, Brody turned and disappeared.
Nora’s fingers tightened around Luke’s, and then they slowly relaxed as the herbs did their job and the cramps started to ease.
“How are you? Better now?” Luke realized she was whispering, almost afraid to talk too loudly.
Nora’s head bobbed against her shoulder as she nodded. “Tired.”
“That’s the herbs,” Bernice said. “They will help her relax, stop the cramps, and make her sleepy.” She picked up the empty cup and stood.
Luke realized that Bernice was about to return to her own family and would leave her alone with Nora. A lump formed in her throat. “Bernice,” she said, looking down at the drowsy woman on her lap, “is she gonna be all right?”
“Yeah, I think so. She needs some rest now.”
“And the baby? Is it…?” Luke couldn’t finish the sentence, too afraid to voice her worries.
Bernice lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “We won’t know for sure until it’s born. But for now, it should be all right. The contractions stopped. Let’s just hope that everything stays quiet tonight and we don’t have to break up camp in the middle of the night again. It wouldn’t be good for Nora.”
Luke nodded and watched her walk toward the flap. “Bernice?” She waited until the older woman had turned around to look at her. “Thank you for coming over to help us.”
“You’re welcome,” Bernice said. “Amy can stay with us tonight if you want her to.”
Looking at Nora, who was already half asleep, Luke started to nod. She would have enough on her hands just caring for Nora. But then she thought about how Amy would feel if they left her with the Garfields. She remembered the many times when she’d had to stay with other people as a child, staring at the wall all night and wondering how her mother was doing. “No, thank you. I think it would be better if she stays with us. She has to see for herself that her mother is well.”
Bernice nodded. “You’re right. I’ll bring her over.”
As Bernice left, Luke helped Nora settle down on her bedroll and spread a dry blanket over her.
“You should finally change out of that shirt,” Nora said, looking up at her.
Luke fingered her sleeve. The fabric had dried in the meantime. “It’s dry now, but we should get you into your nightwear.” She searched in Nora’s bag until she found a nightshirt that hadn’t gotten wet in the rain. Then she looked down at Nora, waiting for her to undress, but Nora lay without moving, her eyes half-closed. Biting her lip, Luke began to unbutton her bodice.
Nora didn’t react, but her gaze followed Luke’s fingers as they moved from button to button and finally stripped off bodice and skirt.
For a second, Luke touched her fingertips to Nora’s bulging belly.
Their gazes met.
“I was so scared,” Nora whispered.
Luke took her hand and squeezed it. “Yeah, me too.”
“Really?”
Luke just nodded. She didn’t know how to explain what she had felt during those terrifying minutes.
“Mama?” Amy’s voice came from outside.
Quickly, Luke helped Nora sit up a bit, eased the nightshirt over her head, and pulled it down just as Bernice lifted the tent’s flap so Amy could enter.
Nora held out her arms. A sobbing Amy sank into her mother’s embrace.
Luke settled one arm around each of them and nodded her thanks at Bernice over their heads.
After nodding in return, Bernice turned and disappeared into the darkness.
“Will you lie with us?” Nora asked, turning her head to look into Luke’s eyes.
Luke rubbed the bump on the bridge of her nose. She should probably head out and help the captain with whatever task he needed her to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Nora just yet. Awkwardly, she slid down until she rested along the edge of Nora’s bedroll.
Amy immediately snuggled down between them, and with a content sigh, she fell asleep.
Knowing she would not sleep tonight, Luke kept her eyes open and gazed over Amy’s small body at Nora.
Nora’s eyelids drooped, but she fought against sleep, returning Luke’s gaze.
“Sleep now,” Luke said.
“Luke?” the captain’s deep voice came from the tent’s opening. “You there?”
With a regretful gaze to Nora, Luke turned. “I’m here.” She stood and stepped toward him, not wanting him to enter and disturb the peace in the tent.
Abe McLoughlin stood in the pouring rain, his beard dripping and his eyes wild. “Luke, we need you. The herd is nervous as hell in this weather, and I don’t trust those deadbeats and greenhorns with ’em. One wrong move and they’ll stampede for sure.”
Sighing, Luke looked back over her shoulder.
Nora met her gaze and nodded.
“All right,” Luke said. “I’m coming.” Under the pretense of collecting her hat, she turned and knelt down next to Nora. “Will you be all right on your own?”
Nora felt for her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll be fine. Take care of yourself, please.”
With a grim nod, Luke settled the hat on her head, turned, and walked out into the rain.
Luke directed Measles along the edge of the herd, circling them in some distance. One lightning bolt after another flashed across the sky, showing her the restlessly milling oxen, mules, and horses. One of the dairy cows lifted her head, the white of her eyes gleaming, and gave a panicked moo.
I don’t like this. We should have kept them within the circle of wagons tonight. The best grass grew farther down the river, though, so they had driven the herd away from camp and left some men to stand guard.
On the other side of the herd, barely visible through the curtain of rain, Wayne Garfield ventured a little too close to the nervous animals.
Gripping the reins more tightly, Luke tried to give him a sign to back away, but Wayne didn’t look in her direction. She wanted to shout a warning, but every yell, every unexpected sound could cause a stampede, so she just watched with growing concern.
Another flash of lightning zigzagged across the sky, bathing the prairie in white light for a second. Then thunder boomed right above them.
The herd bolted into the darkness, not caring what stood in their way.
Oh, shit. They were heading straight for her! The black drove looked like one big, impenetrable wall as they came closer and closer. Luke ducked over Measles’s crest and let the mare surge forward. They raced just ahead of the stampeding herd.
One quick glance over her shoulder showed her that she was gaining a lead on them. She breathed a sigh of relief—until she remembered in which direction they were running. They were heading straight for the corralled wagons and tents less than a mile away. Nora! Amy!
Luke could make out the lanterns in some of the tents, but nothing moved. She couldn’t even see a guard watching over the camp. Everyone who wasn’t out with the herd was probably asleep or resting unsuspectingly in one of the tents. They probably think that roar in the air is caused by thunder, not a stampeding herd.
There was no time, no place for letting the herd run themselves out. If they didn’t change direction, they would trample right over the tents and the sleeping emigrants. Even if someone noticed the herd before it reached them and the emigrants hastily fled from their tents, Nora might lose the baby if she didn’t get some rest tonight.
Instead of breaking off to the left, away from the herd behind her, Luke galloped straight ahead. With one hand, she lifted her Walker Colt and fired shot after shot into the air, hoping it would frighten the animals behind her away from the camp.
Another bolt of lightning illuminated the sky, giving her a glimpse of the roiling mass bearing down on her. They hadn’t changed their direction. The sounds of her shots had mingled with the roar of thunder and hooves and had done nothing to slow the herd.
Damn. Gritting her teeth, Luke drew her rifle from its scabbard and turned around in the saddle. She was holding on just with her legs now. She lifted the rifle and sighted down the barrel.
In the darkness, it was almost impossible to make out individual animals in the black mass. Then a bolt of lightning momentarily shattered the darkness.
There was no time for hesitation. Luke pulled the trigger.
McLoughlin’s big lead steer fell. The confused cattle that followed behind him veered slightly to one side.
Not enough.
They had almost reached the camp now.
Luke squeezed the trigger again.
The ox that had taken the lead stumbled, then fell, making the others veer even more to the side.
Then Wayne and Brody were there. Luke slowed her mare, and the three of them forced the cattle in the front even farther to the side. With the first tents just ten yards to the right, they thundered past the camp.
The riders forced the cattle to the left until they ran themselves out in a wide circle.
Coughing and gasping, Wayne Garfield slid from his horse. He trembled as he looked up at Luke. “I’m sorry, I…”
Luke was too shaken to talk. The thought of how close she had come to losing Nora and Amy was the only thing on her mind. She just nodded at the young man and directed her mare toward the tents without a word.
“Luke?” Nora blinked up at her when she slipped into the tent. “Is it still raining? I thought I heard…”
“Yeah, just raining,” Luke said and knelt down next to Nora. “But I think it’ll be quieter now.”
Nora freed one hand from the blanket and touched Luke’s shoulder. “Your shirt is wet again.”
Luke gazed down. Not only was her shirt dripping wet, it was covered in sweat, mud, and grass. Knowing that neither she nor Nora had the energy for another fight about changing clothes, Luke turned around and, in the darkness of the tent, slipped the wet shirt off and a new one on. She hoped Nora wouldn’t notice that she had left the damp undershirt in place.
“Doesn’t the captain need you anymore?”
“No.” The herd was all run out now, too tired for another stampede. “He doesn’t.”
“Good,” Nora whispered, “because I do.”
Luke wanted to step out into the rain and run in blind panic, as the herd had. Something had changed between them tonight, but she wasn’t sure what. Staying aloof and objective was no longer an option. She searched for words but found none. Taking care to keep Amy between them, she lay down next to Nora. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her aching muscles, anything to keep her thoughts away from the woman next to her and what could have happened to her tonight. She still hadn’t succeeded when she felt Nora’s hand grasping her own.
“Do you mind? I don’t think I can sleep without…”
Luke smoothed her thumb over Nora’s palm. “It’s all right.” In the dim light in the tent, she studied the slender fingers, the work-roughened palms, and the delicate curve of her wrist. “What’s this?” She gently rubbed over a greenish, almost faded spot on the inside of Nora’s wrist, easily visible because the skin was paler there.
Nora turned her hand, hiding the bruise. “It’s nothing. One of the oxen got a bit overzealous when I fed them. That’s all.”
“Even naming one of them Snow White didn’t make them more cautious about food, huh?” Luke smiled at her, then closed her eyes. For the first time in her life, she fell asleep holding someone’s hand.
Three Crossings,
July 6th, 1851
“I could really learn to hate this river.” Bernice looked up from the noon meal she was preparing and sent resentful glances toward the gentle Sweetwater River. “This must be the hundredth time we had to cross it.”
Nora smiled tiredly. It wasn’t the hundredth time, but it felt pretty close to it. The Sweetwater was notorious for twisting back on itself. Unlike the river, the emigrants had somewhere to be and weren’t content to meander across the landscape, so they were forced to cross the river time after time. “Didn’t someone mention that we could avoid three crossings if we take the Deep Sand Route?”
“Yeah, we could,” Bernice said, “but after last night, the oxen are too exhausted to pull the wagons through the deep sand.”
After last night? Nora furrowed her brow, but Bernice’s oldest daughter distracted her from asking about it.
Sixteen-year-old Mary sat down next to Nora and rested her chin on her folded hands, intently gazing at Luke, who was using the noon break to grease the wagon’s axle. “Oh my, he’s marvelous.” She sighed.
Nora gave her a tolerant smile. She hadn’t been much older than the girl when she had gotten pregnant with Amy, but she could barely remember ever being so naïve and innocent. But I have to admit, if I had to spend my time gazing adoringly at someone, it would probably be Luke.
“He’s a true hero,” Mary said. “Wayne told me how he led the stampeding herd away from camp, risking his own life.”
Nora’s frying pan almost slipped into the fire. “Stampeding herd? Risking his own life? What are you talking about?”
Mary finally looked away from Luke. “You haven’t heard?”
Now Nora was the one staring at Luke. “No, obviously I haven’t. What happened?”
“The herd stampeded last night and raced right toward the camp, with only Luke between them and us. He was so close that he could have touched them. They had almost reached us when he shot the lead steer and forced the herd to veer to the side.” Mary’s eyes sparkled as if it were all just one big, fun adventure.
Nora, however, wasn’t excited at all to hear that Luke had risked his life without even telling her about it.
“It was a very foolish thing to do,” Bill Larson said from his place at the fire.
Nora looked at him through narrowed eyes. She knew that her levelheaded husband wouldn’t have risked his life if there had been another way, but it wasn’t her place to openly contradict a male member of the wagon train.
“He should have just ridden ahead and warned us, instead of shooting our best steer,” Larson said.
“There wouldn’t have been enough time to break up camp,” Bernice said.
Nora froze. Breaking up camp? Again, she heard Bernice’s words from the night before: Let’s just hope that everything stays quiet tonight and we don’t have to break up camp in the middle of the night again. It wouldn’t be good for Nora. She stared at Luke, who was just crawling out from under the wagon. Is that why he risked his life to direct the herd away from camp? For me?
Last night had certainly changed the way she saw her husband. Seeing his reaction to the almost miscarriage, the fear in his eyes told her more than any declarations that he would accept the baby as his own. She remembered his gentle hands soothing her as cramps had racked her body.
