Harvey was talking, and Eric had to focus. "I knew you'd realize you needed to come, assuming I could ever find you. We tried to reach you by telegraph, but no one in that Missoula Mills town you gave us knew who you were. I finally decided I had to come myself. Got here a few days ago, and I've been trying to figure out how to locate you. This place is as backward as a blacksmith at a ladies’ tea. And the people..."
Eric held up his hand to stop the flow. He couldn't listen to his cousin demean the land he'd come to appreciate so well. Besides, they needed to make plans. "You came on a steamer?"
Harvey launched into a diatribe about the horrible conditions he’d dealt with.
"So the river's not frozen yet?” Eric interrupted the man’s complaints. He’d forgotten how fussy Harvey could be. “We'd thought it might be since the snowstorm."
Harvey's expression turned sour. "It is. Seems the whole place is cut off from civilization. The boat I came in on was the last one that made it. In fact, we had to disembark a mile downriver because the captain feared the ice would break through his hull. We waited ages in the cold and wind for them to bring transportation. You’d think they’d be prepared, but it was like they’d never done the like before. And then it was wagons of all things. Not even a single coach. I've never been jostled so much in all my life."
Eric wanted to grip his cousin's shoulders and shake him till he stopped talking. He couldn't think straight with all that griping. "Be quiet a minute. I need to think."
Was there any way to travel on the river with it iced over? Or could they rent a rig and travel overland? It'd be cheaper and easier just to buy horses. Maybe a few weeks on horseback would be good for Harvey. Turn his blisters into calluses so he'd toughen up some.
Eric had to talk to Jonah. He would know the best way to travel.
CHAPTER 20
Eric spun, scanning the street for him. No sign among the passersby, so he started back toward the livery.
"Where are you going?" Harvey called from behind.
Eric glanced back to make sure he was coming too. "I need to find my friend. He'll know how to travel with the river frozen."Friend. After these past weeks on the trail, the label felt right.
Harvey caught up with him, following close as Eric wove through the horse and wagon traffic on the side-street that led to the main road and livery. As they turned the corner, he nearly bumped into Jonah.
They both lurched to a stop, and Harvey stepped on Eric's heel as he realized the change in pace too late.
Jonah frowned. "What's wrong?"
Anxiety thrummed through Eric's veins. "It's my father." He stepped to the side to reveal Harvey. "This is my cousin, Harvey Reynolds. He came looking for me. My father's ill. The doctor said maybe only a few months left. How can I get back east to a train station? Is there a way to travel on the ice?" Probably not, but he had to ask.
Jonah's frown deepened, and Eric could see worry churning in his eyes. "Horseback is the only option that makes sense. It's not easy, especially in the snow. You can count on bad weather for some of it. If you hit a snowstorm on the prairie..." He shook his head. "It's too hard." A harder shake, as though he'd made up his mind. "No. That's not a good option."
Panic welled in Eric's chest. "What else then? My father is dying. At least that's what the doctor said. I'm sure someone else could help him though. I have to get there. They need me." He sucked in a breath. He needed to help with the business too. Who was managing it while his father was ill? And if the worst happened...
Jonah gave another slow shake of his head. "Your only decent option would be to hire someone to take you. A guide who knows how to survive when the weather gets rough." His brows stayed low, his expression troubled.
A guide? Maybe that would be best. As much as Jonah learned on his way to and from the ranch, he might not be aware of a critical step in helping them survive a snowstorm without shelter.
Could Jonah...? No, he wouldn't ask this man to leave his family for weeks. Months.
He met the man's gaze. "Who would you suggest?" Though the Coulters lived far from Fort Benton, they seemed to know people here.
Jonah pressed his lips together, considering for a moment before he responded. "There's a man. Silas Grant. He's rough around the edges, but he has a reputation for knowing this land and how to manage it. He's guided folks through worse winters than this." He offered a wry smile. " I just saw him in the livery, coming in from a scouting trip. Don't know if he has his next ride lined up, so you might want to get to him beforeanyone else does."
Eric's muscles tensed. "Thank you." He moved around Jonah. "I'll catch up with you at the hotel when I can."
Harvey stayed on his heels as Eric strode across the street and a few doors down to the livery.
Inside, Irish was talking to a man draped in animal furs. A few even had the stuffed heads still intact—muskrat or fox maybe, though Eric was no expert on local wildlife.
When that fellow turned at Eric and Harvey's approach, his beard drew Eric's gaze more than anything else. Long and white, it nearly blended into the pale tan-and-white fur across his chest. Between his beard and the fur cap on his head, the man's eyes were too shadowed to make out well.
Eric met his gaze with a friendly nod. "I'm looking for Silas Grant. Might you be him?" Seemed a good guess. This fellow looked more than capable of surviving in a mountain snowstorm—or any other disaster that dared face off against him.
The man's eyes, dark and piercing, assessed Eric for a moment before he spoke. "I know a Silas Grant. What business do you have with him."
Eric had been in more than one negotiation with a shrewd and skeptical businessman. This likely was Silas, and he simply needed to know Eric meant no harm. That in fact what Eric had to say would be a help to him. That was what usually drew a man into a more open mindset for negotiations.
