Page 41 of Wagon Train Redemption
They’d all made it over safely. Angela laughed out of sheer relief, joined by Ruby and several others. Her smile lingered as they resumed their trek.
In a week or so, she’d arrive at their destination and, with Carson’s help, find a place where she’d belong. Father would be pleased at her prospects. On his deathbed, he’d urged her to take every opportunity to start anew. “Away from the past that has haunted you.” The Woodses had offered her that for four years, and she meant to keep moving in that direction.
They stopped to noon at a hill that allowed a generous view to the east and the west. She shielded her eyes and lookedat their back trail. Something moved in the distance. Soon she made out a flash of red.
“Carson,” she said.
Ma looked up. “Just in time to join us for the meal.” She turned back to setting out cold victuals.
Angela helped, but her fingers placed food of their own accord because her mind was rushing ahead to the things she meant to talk to Carson about. The others gathered and filled their plates, ready to partake.
Horse hooves tromped closer. Nervousness swamped her over the request she hoped to make. The horse stopped and she looked up. Dark smudges smeared Carson’s jacket. He’d been involved in something. A fire? She shuddered. But she’d have to wait until he gave his news to learn the nature of his discovery.
But first, Ma waved him in to join them. She handed him a plate of cold food. Gabe prayed, and they began to eat.
“What did you find?” Ma asked.
Carson told of the water undercutting a bank and sucking in a large portion of a house. How the young couple had rushed to rescue most of their belongings. “Until it became unsafe.” Despite that, he’d helped get more items out and stayed to set up their stove. “Got soot on me.” He brushed a hand over his red serge. “I’ll need to clean it.”
As he explained the husband and wife’s plans to rebuild, his voice warmed, and his eyes glowed. “They made a real good team.”
Probably the only thing keeping him from rubbing his hands together in glee was the plate he held.
After they’d eaten, they rested, as did the oxen. Now might have been a good time to talk to Carson except he ducked out of sight to change to a shirt and set to brushing his tunic. She wandered over to him once she was certain he was decent.
“We’ve missed something.” Did he hear the urgency in her voice?
He squinted at his top. “It looks clean to me.”
Laughter bubbled up. “I meant our agreement to tell what happened in the last four years.” Walking together would give her plenty of opportunity to thank him properly.
He slapped his forehead, though that grin might have meant he was teasing. “I plumb forgot.”
She wasn’t above a little teasing herself and pressed her palm to her chest. “I’m hurt.” The hurt turned real. Maybe he truly had forgotten about her. Curling her fingers into her palms, she lowered her hand and widened her eyes to keep from blinking.
“I didn’t forget.”
Maybe he’d guessed at her feelings, even though she’d tried to hide them.
He gave his coat a final swipe, hung it inside Ma’s wagon, and smiled down at Angela. “Let’s walk together this afternoon.”
She’d like that, but all she could manage was a nod. She joined Ruby who lounged on a blanket by their wagon. Of course, she was drawing and didn’t even try to hide the page when Angela sat beside her. The picture was of flooded waters surrounding a wagon. On the facing page, she jotted some notes.Water—necessary to survival but also a danger.
Angela watched Ruby fill in details—a shirt caught in a branch, bits of wood floating along. But at least she didn’t draw Angela struggling in the water.
“I am so happy to be on our way again.” Ruby’s pencil stilled, and her face to the sky, she smiled.
So much joy and anticipation shone in her eyes that it made Angela lonely. Once they reached the fort, Ruby would marry. Angela would truly be alone. She must enlist Carson’shelp to solve that problem. Was she willing to settle for a marriage of convenience? Could she expect anything more?
She jolted upright. Would she have to tell any prospective groom the truth about herself?
“Ang, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She settled back on her elbow to prove it.
Who said she had to confess all? In a marriage such as she had in mind, was there any need to reveal secrets? Would she want to know the man’s past?
She could never be close to a man even if she married him. Because the truth could destroy her and any chance to be accepted, and without truth between them, there couldn’t be real trust.
