"No doubt." Jericho shifted his gaze to the fire. "I suppose we should wait until the sun reaches its strongest before we attempt to dig a grave."
She spoke quickly before her mind let her hesitate. "Can we wait until Eric comes? I'm sure he'll want to help. And to be here for the burial." He should be here now, for this conversation. He'd spent the most time with Anna, not leaving until nearly dark. She'd almost asked if he wanted to stay the night, but neither Jericho nor Dinah had made the offer, so she'd hesitated indoing so herself.
She should have though. He should be part of these decisions.
Jericho nodded. "We'll have to wait for the sun anyway." He glanced around at his brothers. "We'll bury her in the graveyard, near Mum and Dat and Lucy?"
The others nodded their consent, none voicing concern.
Jericho stared at his fingertips pressed together. "I don't suppose we should wait to bury her until we find more family." He looked at Naomi again. "What has Anna said about herself?"
"Her surname is Jasper. I don't know if that's also her grandmother's name or not. She didn't know her grandmother's Christian name. She was simply Gamma to her."
So little to go on. But a young girl would hardly be expected to know more. "She hasn't spoken of her parents, and I haven't wanted to ask in case that adds to her pain." She glanced at Dinah to check her sister's reaction. "I suppose I can ask her tomorrow."
Dinah's eyes glimmered with sadness, but no censure for her reticence.
Naomi looked back to Jericho. "The only other thing she's said that might be helpful is what she told Eric. She and her grandmother were traveling to a town where her Aunt Patsy had gone. Her aunt had married a man there. Perhaps they lost the road when the storm struck? That's the only sense I can make of why they were wandering around these mountains."
Jonah's voice joined the conversation. "Sounds like we should head to Missoula Mills, since that's likely the town they were headed toward. We can ask around for news of a Patsy Jasper, or perhaps just Patsy if she's married now." His gaze narrowed on the low flames licking at the logs in the hearth. "We've no way of knowing if Jasper is Anna's father's name or her maternal family name, which would make it Patsy's as well. Unless Patsy had been wed before..." His voice trailed off as he sank into thought.
"Sounds like the best plan." Jericho looked around, maybe weighing who should go. "Maybe?—"
"I'll go.” Jonah said. “I can leave morning after next. If I go alone, I can move faster. Shouldn't be gone more than three days unless I get a lead." His jaw held a stubborn set that said he'd made up his mind.
Was he so determined for Anna's sake alone? Likely he also wanted to get away from the ranch. Maybe even away from Naomi. Her chest ached for him.
Perhaps allowing Jonah time away would help them all.
"You sure you want to tackle that on your own?" Though Jericho's voice held steady, it also possessed an edge of concern. "You never know when the weather might turn. Having someone with you in town to help ask around would make the search go faster."
Jonah gave a slight shake of his head. "I'll get it done. You'll need everyone else here to help with the stock. Especially if it snows again."
Even she knew they could spare a man to go with Jonah, but Jericho must have decided letting him go alone was the wisest move. He nodded. "Might be good to wire some of the other towns in both directions to see if anyone has heard of her."
Jonah nodded. "Good idea."
Silence filled the space, bringing tension she wished to avoid. "I'll ask Anna more questions tomorrow. Maybe I can get her talking and she'll say something that's helpful." Surely the girl knew more than she had told them so far. Though she was young, she'd proven to be a smart, capable child.
"We'll pray for the Lord's guidance through all of this." Dinah's words drew Naomi's gaze to her sister.
The Lord's guidance? Yes. But what if He brought Anna's aunt to them and she was a horrible woman? What if her new husband was coarse and heavy-handed? Couldshe stand to release the girl to her kin, even if they didn't seem like they would give her a good, loving home?
Naomi’s heart ached with the weight of the decisions they might have to make. She shouldn't let herself dwell on those possibilities yet. But the dread of them was impossible to push away.
Eric hoisted Mary Ellen up onto his lap at the large dining table with the rest of the Coulters. All except Jonah, that was. After five days away, he'd returned from Missoula Mills sometime in the night, but after telling Jericho he'd not found Anna's aunt, he'd gone to bed, promising to share the rest of the details this morning.
Morning had come, but apparently Jonah was still snoring in the bunkhouse, last Eric had seen him.
It was a relief that Eric had finally been invited to stay the night there too. He'd wanted to spend every moment here helping, so those first two days after they found Anna, he'd traveled the long journey to and from the village in the dark—late in the evenings and early in the mornings. In the afternoon of the second day, Jericho had pulled him aside and said it made a great deal more sense for him to stay in the bunkhouse, at least for now.
Did that mean until Jonah returned? He could understand Jericho not wanting another round of fisticuffs between them, but Eric wouldn't let that happen again, no matter where he slept. And though they weren’t friends, they’d managed to get along for weeks now.
Eric would do whatever the eldest Coulter asked, but he was more than grateful for these last two nights when he'd only had to walk down the hill to his bed, not ride two hours in the dark,wrapped up against the icy wind that never seemed to stop in these mountains.
Naomi and Dinah were the last to settle into their seats, both sisters carrying plates piled high with biscuits that they placed in the center of the table. After perching in her chair, Naomi wrapped an arm around Anna beside her, giving the girl a side hug and a kiss on the head. Naomi had lavished affection on the child every chance she could, which coaxed a smile every time—though sometimes only a slight one.
Eric loved Naomi's heart and the easy way she drew in those who needed her care and love. But Anna would likely be leaving them, going to her family as soon as they located them. He wasn't sure he could stand watching Naomi mourn her loss.God, how do I protect her now?Anna needed this affection and love too. It seemed wrong to stop its flow. Yet, the pain of losing Anna would be cruel for them both.
