Page 26 of Wagon Train Melody
Alice watched Bo. Did he seem normal? She looked at Rudy, guessing he would understand her silent question.
“Bo was a great help,” he said.
Bo nodded. “I did good, didn’t I?”
Alice was relieved to hear it although Bo sounded like a young boy when, until his accident, he’d been doing a man’s job. “Bo, you’ve always done well. Thank you.”
He grinned and followed Rudy to the fireside and sat beside him.
Seeing that Bo seemed settled, Alice heaved a sigh of relief and served a simple meal of fried pork and potatoes.
The meal ended. Knowing they’d been riding all day, she suggested they go for a walk. The girls eagerly ran ahead of them. Bo hesitated as if he couldn’t decide if he should stay with Rudy and Alice or join the girls. Then, with a whoop, he chased after the girls. They screamed with delight to have him playing with them.
“He’s better this evening, isn’t he?” She could see it for herself but wanted Rudy to verify it.
“Much better.”
“He struggles to find the right words though.”
“I think it will come.” He stopped and looked down at her. “But I have to be honest. I’m only guessing.”
“I know, but I need to hear you say he’s going to be all right.”
He chuckled and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “He’s going to be all right. You just wait and see.”
They laughed together and followed the children, exploring the trees and running around the pool of water. Reeds and weeds grew in it.
Rudy had informed her at supper that the water wasn’t fit for them to drink so they’d used the supply she carried.
Again, she told him the information she’d been given about the journey had proven correct.
She let the girls play until she saw Kitty getting fussy. Then they returned to the wagon. She tried to assess the situation. Could she and the girls sleep in the wagon tonight?
“Bo, do you want to sleep outside with me?” Rudy asked.
“Sure.” Bo got his bedroll from the wagon and waited for Rudy to spread his bedding then he put his nearby.
“I’ll keep an eye on things,” Rudy murmured.
“Thank you,” she mouthed, then settled the girls inside the wagon. She might have been tempted to return to the fire and visit with Rudy, but Bo was already in his sleeping roll, and she didn’t want to upset him. She lay beside the girls and tried to relax, but her mind buzzed with questions for which she had no answers.
Would Bo always remain like this?
How long until they reached the fort and Clint’s help?
And the one question she had not allowed herself to ask—would Clint welcome the responsibility of a family to help raise?
CHAPTER 6
The next morning, Bo helped Rudy take care of the horses, though his broken arm hindered him a bit. He seemed to remember how to do that. Maybe out of habit. Much like Rudy had found his way home in a storm when he was six. But other things befuddled the boy. He constantly asked where they were going. Asked about his pa again and again. Rudy wasn’t sure if he should tell Bo that his parents were dead. Would that knowledge upset him? Or would he even understand?
“I sure like your horse,” Bo commented for the tenth time. “Could I ride him?”
Afraid Bo would forget to come back to the wagon, Rudy looked to Alice for guidance.
Her eyes were wide with protest.
Rudy agreed without any need for words. But would denying Bo’s request upset him? He tried to silently communicate his concerns to Alice though it was foolish to think she could read his mind.
