Page 9 of Charlotte's Reckoning
“Damn straight we did,”his brother answered. “And we’ll carry on, in your honor.”
“You could retire. You’re set for life with this bank haul.”Pa and Judd looked at one another then grinned identically. “But where’s the fun in that?”they said in unison.
When Seth exchanged a tearful glance with his uncle, they both shook their heads. Bill and Judd were undeniably father and son, cut from the same ornery cloth.
Another coughing jag erupted that wore him out. “Gonna sleep now,”Pa said, his voice fading, thenheclosed hiseyesfor the last time.
Chapter 3
Unique Acquisitions
A St. Louis bound train, one month later…
The stale air, heavy with the unpleasant odor of unwashed bodies, combined with the constant swaying of the passenger car, made her stomach churn. Covering her nose and mouth with her scented handkerchief provided little relief.
Rowie shifted on the hard bench seat for at least the hundredth time since boarding. Every inch of her body ached, but none more so than her backside. The accommodations were dreadful, but the train wasn’t solely responsible for her discomfort. At least half of the blame could be attributed to the first leg of their journey, which involved traversing rut-riddled cow paths masquerading as roads to reach the train station.
She had only ventured beyond rural Carroll County twice in her life. Both times, they arrived at their destination in time to sleep in a proper bed. On this trip, because their funds were for train tickets and supplies for their journey west, they’d slept in bedrolls under the wagon, exposed to the damp ground. She had never experienced such misery in her life, so much so that she was already exhausted and sore from head to toe before setting foot on the train that morning.
She jumped when the door to the washroom at the front of the car slammed shut. Shared by all the third-class passengers—a few women but mostly men—it was a place she hadn’t dared venture and wouldn’t, not even if she were ready to bust. The incessant banging whenever someone came and went should have been old hat by now, but it had utterly frayed her nerves. Even though she prepared herself for the next time, she jumped, nonetheless.
Rowena cast her husband of less than a month an envious glance. Slumped against the window using his folded coat as a pillow, Carson slept soundly. She couldn’t fathom how. At least thirty other passengers occupied the car along with them, all strangers. No one looked the type you’d invite for afternoon tea or Sunday supper. They made her nervous. Further disturbing her was all the noise. Not just the wheels on the track, but benches creakedconstantly, and passengers chattered loudly without consideration for others around them. Many coughed, yawned, or belched—not to mention the other bodily sounds she’d rather not consider. Everything combined made it impossible to close her eyes. But even if she could, an obstacle remained—how to sleep while sitting up.
Their one-way fares for the next step up from a cattle car were dear at $60 apiece. Second class or a sleeper car would have wiped out their savings entirely. Even at that price, it only took them to St. Louis, halfway to their destination.
Beside her, Carson stirred. “How long have I been asleep?”he asked, yawning and stretching.
“I’m not sure,”she stated tersely. “I sold Papa’s watch to help buy the tickets, remember?”
Of course, he remembered. With their lives in turmoil, neither was likely to forget a minute of what had transpired since that awful night. Carson felt horrible for suggesting she sell her keepsakes and treasures, but it was that or starve. Bringing it up now wasn’t fair. None of this was his fault.
Carson didn’t marry her witch of a stepmother or give her control of her inheritance; the blame for that rested squarely on her papa’s shoulders. And it wasn’t Carson who snuck out to the barn the night Jael had caught them. In all of this, his only mistake was loving her.
Tears of shame blurred her vision as she laid her hand on his forearm. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m miserable and don’t think I can bear this train another mile, but it doesn’t give me the right to take it out on you.”
He covered her hand with his. “This has been hard on both of us, sweetheart, but we’ll be there soon.”
His gentle touch and sweet words usually made her smile. This time, she didn’t bother trying to be brave because St. Louis wasn’t their last stop. Although she’d never traveled by wagon train before, she’d read enough firsthand accounts from Western pioneers to know the bone-jarring trails and harsh conditions ahead of them would be grueling.
Thinking about it made her weary, especially since the first leg hadn’t been a picnic.
The sudden lurch of the train, more violently than usual, had Rowie grabbing hold of his arm to keep from landing on the floor on her already abused backside. What she wouldn’t give for one of the embroidered feather pillows she sold last week.
“How much longer?”she asked irritably as she shifted again.
Carson glanced out the window, but instead of gauging the sun in the sky to tell her the time, he frowned, squinting ahead.
“This doesn’t look good,”he murmured, still peering through the glass as the train slowed.
“What doesn’t? Why are we stopping? What is it, Carson?”
Without taking his eyes from what he saw, he reached over and clasped her hand. “Try not to panic, sweetheart, but armed men on horseback, at least six of them, with bandanas covering their faces, are blocking the track.”
At first, she didn’t react, staring at him as she tried to process what he’d just said. The accounts she’d read of train robberies sparked images of masked villains terrorizing innocent passengers, going so far as shooting some of them. Rowie did precisely what he warned her not to—she panicked.
“Dear god!”she gasped, her nails digging into his arm as she clung to him in fear. “They’re going to rob the train.”
“It appears so.”
