Page 69 of Wagon Train Redemption
Morgan grinned. “I haven’t forgotten you’ve spent the last months crossing this great country in wagons. Come as you are.” He turned to Carson. “Do you have plans for where they will stay now that they’re here?”
“I’ve purchased a house in town. I’ll take them there.” He led them from the fort across the wide street to the town and up a side street to his house.
Ma barely waited for the wheels to stop rolling before she was on the ground and rushing inside.
Carson laughed at her exuberance for the place. “There are four bedrooms. I suppose you can all sleep here until you are able to get settled in your own places.”
Ma looked around. “Where are Ruby and Robert?”
Again, Carson laughed. “Maybe they want some time tothemselves.” Had Robert filed on the land he wanted before anyone else claimed it? Both he and Robert were anxious to get on with the next phase of their lives. Happily, Carson knew the man interested in Robert’s quarter favored something closer to the mountains, so he wouldn’t likely be wanting the place Carson had chosen.
Ma, already busy organizing things to be carried into the house, didn’t respond.
Angie still sat on the wagon seat. Shouldn’t she be as eager to get unpacked at Ma? Or—his chest swelled—was she anxious to see their future home?
He climbed up beside her. “Tomorrow I will ask for time off and take you to the land I intend to file on. If it meets with your approval, I’ll sign the papers.”
She blinked and widened her eyes. “Why not do it the other way around? I trust your choice. File your claim, and then we can see our piece of land.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll do that.”
Ruby and Robert joined them. Ruby’s eyes sparkled, and Robert couldn’t stop smiling.
Their happiness assured Carson his future would be equally bright. Robert spared time to inform Carson that his quarter had not yet been filed on.
He smiled often and laughed lots as he helped unpack the wagons. Soon crates lined the walls, and dishes formed stacks in the kitchen. He’d made sure there was a table and chairs. The bedrooms held bed frames with mattresses, but now they were made up with colorful quilts on each.
Ma assigned the rooms. “Louise, Cecil, and Dobie here.” She moved down the hall. “Gabe and I will take this one.” There was a little room off thatbedroom. “Just right for Bertie.” He already sat on a cot, Limpy and the cats beside him.
“Mama say Alice stay outside.” He shook his head. “Alice not like it.”
“She’ll be fine,” Ma said. “You can make her a nice bed in the little barn. Maybe she’d feel better if Limpy slept with her.”
Carson smiled over how Ma tried to persuade Bertie to leave the dog outside.
Further down the hall, she pointed. “Irene and Walt.” At the fourth door, she hesitated. “Only one room left.”
Hazel caught Ma’s arm. “Joe and I and little Petey prefer to sleep outside if you don’t mind. Let Ruby and Angie have the bedroom.”
With her eyes sparkling, Ruby laughed. “It’s only for a few days until Robert and I get married and move to his homestead.” She hugged herself. “We can sleep in a wagon or a tent until we get a house built.”
Carson met Angie’s eyes across the room. Did she look as eager to get married as Ruby? As he was? Tomorrow, when he took her to their new home, he’d ask.
The meal with the commanding officer was pleasant. They regaled him with stories about their travels. But they soon departed to their own quarters.
Carson lingered long enough to ask for permission to be absent the next day and was granted it. He escorted the family back to the house, drawing Angie aside. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow after breakfast.”
“I can’t wait.” Her soft words, laced with eagerness, sang inside his heart.
“I can’t either.”
He hurried back to his quarters, grabbed clean clothes, and filled a tin tub with water that barely had the chill taken off. Tomorrow, he meant to be at his best as a man should be when heasked a girl to marry him. Of course, he’d already asked her, and she’d already agreed. But this was different. This time they would set a date.
He was up earlyto attend to his horse and then paced the boardwalk, his boots thudding on the wood slats. He peeked in the window of the little church. He and Angie could get married there with friends and family as witnesses. He borrowed the buggy from his commander, hitched up the driving horse, and made his way to the house.
