Page 4 of Forbidden (Old West 1)

“Abner, why would she have a cookstove if she didn’t know her way around one?” Mr.Biggins asked, sounding exasperated.

Eddy sensed the drummer still wasn’t sure. After all, she was a stranger, but she prayed he’d say yes.

Finally, he said, “Okay. Come on then. I suppose there’s no harm in helping you out. Give me somebody to talk to on the way.”

She wanted to kiss him. “Thank you. I’ll not be any trouble.”

“Good. Let me pay my bill and we’ll be on our way.”

Mr.Pickerel turned out to be an excellent traveling companion. He made his living selling patent medicines that according to his boasting cured everything from stomach ailments to foot pain. He and his mule Rebecca had been traveling from St.Louis to Fort Collins for decades. While he and Eddy traded off driving, he shared a wealth of stories about the people he’d met, the towns he’d visited, and how much he missed his late wife, Edna. Eddy, in turn, shared her hopes of opening her own restaurant.

“A restaurant, huh? You certainly cook well enough.”

“Thank you. I learned from my mother. She was even better.”

“You’ve a long way to go to get to California though.”

“I know, and having no money makes it even more of a challenge, but I’m determined.”

“What are you going to do when we reach Fort Collins?”

“Hopefully find someone as generous as you’ve been to help me travel farther.”

“My sister-­in-­law, Winnifred Davis, lives there. Sometimes places around town have news boards set up where people leave notes for travelers. Might be able to find you someone on one of them.”

She thought that a great idea. “Thank you.”

Because he had to stop and sell his medicines at farmhouses and in small towns along the way, it took more than a few days to travel the sixty plus miles to reach Fort Collins. Eddy found him to be respectful and considerate, and his hunting and fishing skills allowed them to feast on rabbits and fish.

Eddy had never been to Fort Collins. Mr.Pickerel told her it had been erected in 1864 to protect the Overland Trail mail route and travelers during the Indian wars of the mid-1860s. The fort was decommissioned in 1867 and the area around it was now bustling with farmers and businesses.

When they reached the city, he stopped his wagon in front of an old house. “This is my sister-­in-­law’s boardinghouse. She might be able to put you up until you find another ride.”

“Since I can’t pay her for the room, do you think she’ll let me cook or clean in exchange?”

“Let’s go in and see.”

Eddy worried his sister-­in-­law would be wary of her, but when Abner explained about the robbery and why she was traveling with him, Mrs.Davis fussed, “My goodness. Gotten so decent women can’t even walk down the street. So you’re on adventure to California?”

“I suppose you can call it that.” Eddy liked her.

“I always wanted to go on an adventure. Closest I ever got was the long wagon train ride from Kansas to here with my late husband Bill. After all the trials and tribulations of that, I was cured. Been rooted here ever since.”

“Mr.Pickerel said you might have a room to rent, but because of the thief I don’t have any money.”

“I am one boarder short. How do you plan to pay me?”

“I’m an excellent cook and I can help with laundry, scrub floors. I don’t expect you to take me in for free.”

“I would like to have my floors scrubbed,” she replied as if thinking aloud. “The girl I used to depend on recently moved to Colorado Springs.”

“Then may I do them in exchange for a room for a few days?”

“Yes, you may.”

“I can start now if you wish.”

“You just traveled all the way from Denver. You need to eat, rest up, and get your strength back. The work can wait until the morning.”

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