“Will you stay then?” Maria asked.
Kate looked out and saw the twilight deepening. She sighed. “I had better get back. I should really be helpin’ Maget supper on.”
“Then one of these days we’ll return the favor.” She reached out and took Davie into her arms as Kate gently tugged her necklace out of his chubby fist. “Even if I can’t use that blasted thing.” She sent a dark look in the direction of the Dutch oven.
“That sounds wonderful! And maybe I can give you a few tricks for that ‘blasted thing.’” Kate replied with a smile. “’Til next time, then!” Waving, she turned back to her family’s camp, radiant with the treasure of newfound friendship.
Her father sat checking over a harness by the fireside as Kate skipped up behind him and flung her arms around his neck. He smelled wonderfully of leather and horse and pipe smoke.
“Thank you, Pa!”
“What are ye thankin’ me for, my bonny lassie?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“For givin’ me a friend.”
“And how I did that, I’m not sure, but I’ll gladly take credit for somethin’ that makes you so happy.”
Kate kissed his red-bearded cheek and released his neck to plop down beside him. Danny and Ian were noisily washing up by the wagon, and Ma stirred beans over the fire. Remembering her promise, Kate continued, “James Leighton says thanks too, for givin’ him the courage to come out West.”
“So he’s with us! I thought I recognized him. I’m glad. We’ll be sure to look out for him and his family. He’s a good man, James is.”
“He said the same thing about you!”
“Did he now?” Pa puffed out his broad chest and continued with a twinkle in his eye. “We great men, we’re not afraid to admit the greatness in others.”
“Will the ‘great man’ please put his tools away and wash up for supper?” Ma eyed Pa with an arched eyebrow.
He stood up with affected dignity but whispered to Kate under his breath, “I suppose we great men must also do as we’re told.” Kate snorted a laugh.
“Katherine, ladies do not snort like pigs in the mud. Now go fetch some more water. I’m afraid we won’t have enough for coffee.”
“Sure, Ma,” Kate said, suppressing a sigh, and she turned out into the twilight.
Chapter 6
“Idon’tunderstandwhywehave to make nice with all thesefarmers.” Seb mumbled the word like a curse around a fresh cigarette.
“Come on, Seb, I thought you loved turnin’ on the charm.”
“Sure, when there’s some pretty eyes and a nice pair of ankles involved.” He spat. “I mean, it’s not like we’ll see ’em agin once we get to Oregon. Heck, some of ’em probably won’t even make it to Oregon.”
“Folks like to know who’s takin’ care of them. You’ve got to understand people, Seb, to know them, and they need to know you, otherwise they won’t listen when you really need ’em to.”
“Folks ought to be smart enough to know sense when someone talks it,” Seb retorted.
Jacob looked to the sky for serenity. After years of doing this, after all the people they’d ferried across the wilderness, he still didn’t get basic human nature. “All right, Seb, just let me do the talkin’.”
Kate slipped through the gathering night, happiness slowly returning after yet another of her mother’s corrections. She pushed it from her mind and her step lightened until she floated like a tendril of mist on the soft air. Is there anything quite so wonderful as a new friend?
The familiar cadence of her father’s voice drifted toward her, folding around her, drawing her in with warmth and love and home. She walked in dreamy content. Nearly at the fire, an unfamiliar voice pulled her to the ground and into the present. She stopped and listened. Smooth and low, the voice rose and fell with a musical charisma. Pulled by the resonant magnetism, Kate quietly stepped to the corner of the wagon, keen to see who it was.
The voice belonged to a young man, perhaps a few years older than she. His hat hung on his knee as he casually sat in her usual spot on an overturned pail next to Danny. She could tell he was tall by the length of the leg he stretched to the fire. Built like a blacksmith, his arms thick with muscle, his shoulders broad and strong, he had the physique of a man used to good, honest labor. He would have been imposing if not for his ready smile and the easy nonchalance in his posture. His dark, tangled hair, the color of the rich Missouri soil, curled wild and unhindered from his brow to his tanned neck, and while he wore a beard, it was neatly trimmed. It made him look older, but Kate could still see his youth in the eager way he smiled, mouth tilted in a lopsided grin, disarming and adventurous all at once. And his eyes, deep-set and intent, were the most beautiful shade of blue Kate had ever seen; in the light of the fire, they danced in midnight and ice and indigo, clear and intense.
His cobalt eyes shifted to her spot where the shadows stirred on the edge of the firelight, and he locked his bewitching gaze on hers. Kate froze. It felt like diving into a mountain lake, all tingly and clear, awareness skittering along every nerve ending in her body, where nothing existed but the intensity of swimming in that deep, deep blue. Then he raised an eyebrow and grinned roguishly. Sudden heat flared in her cheeks.
“Katie!”
She jumped at the sound of her name.
