“No,” she replied firmly.
“I’m going with the Blakes.” Her comment was followed by a flurry of hugs and good wishes as everyone bade her one more farewell. Fiona had just released her when Gavin and Drucilla Blake came out of the hotel. Dru’s smile was warm and friendly.
“Good morning, Miss Harris. My! Is this your family?” Hazel eyes swept over the crowd.
“Most of them.” Gavin tugged gently on his wife’s arm.
“We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. We’d best go.” He escorted her to the wagon and lifted her up onto the wagon seat. Rachel turned quickly toward Maggie. Her heart was suddenly thundering in her chest. She
felt terribly afraid and incapable of doing what she’d set out to do. Maggie’s arms went around her. She pressed her cheek against Rachel’s and whispered into her ear.
“I was scared too, when we went after the wagon train, but we made it. So will you.”
“Miss Harris…” Gavin’s deep voice was tinged with impatience. Rachel blinked away her tears and turned toward the wagon.
“I’m coming.” Chin held high, she walked away from her sister. Gavin was waiting for her at the rear of his flatbed wagon. As soon as she paused in front of him, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her effortlessly into it. For a moment, she just stared at the wagon bed, the back of it taken up by her trunk, the front portion covered with a tick mattress and blankets.
“Sit down and make yourself comfortable, Miss Harris. It’ll be a while before we stop.” She sat quickly, twisting so she could look over the side of the wagon at Maggie and Tucker. Her fingers clenched the rough lumber that held her in. Gavin sprang up onto the wagon seat beside his wife. He looked at Dru.
“Ready? You need anything ‘fore we go?”
“I’m fine, Gavin. Let’s go home.” With the rattle of harness and braces, the wagon jerked forward, pulling away from the Overland Hotel. Rachel stared back at her family and friends until she couldn’t see them any longer through the blur of tears. When they stopped to rest and eat their midday meal, Gavin announced that he was going to walk about and stretch his legs. That left the women with time alone to get better acquainted. Rachel was eager to ask Dru about the children, but she wasn’t given the chance.
“You stayed back East for several years, Miss Harris,” Dru said as she handed Rachel a sandwich.
“Why was that?”
“An accident mostly. After completing my schooling, I went home with my friend Georgia to visit her parents in Washington. Professor Abraham—that’s what everyone calls Mr. Fielding—is such a remarkable man, and I was always pestering him with questions. Finally, he asked if I would stay and assist him with some historical research he was doing. I was thrilled to be a part of it.” She took a bite of her sandwich, then continued, unaware of the excitement in her voice.
“Professor Abraham doesn’t have those silly notions about education being wasted on a woman. He would talk to me about anything. He treated all my questions as if they had merit, even the ones that didn’t. I had access to any of the books in his library and could read to my heart’s content.”
“Was it all study and work?” Dru asked.
“Oh, no. Professor Abraham and his wife are invited everywhere, and Georgia and I were forever tagging along to parties and balls. And the Fielding home always had interesting guests coming and going. The professor is the confidante of statesmen and successful businessmen from all over the country. I met so many leaders of industry and politicians in the years I was with them, I couldn’t begin to name them all. It was always interesting, always so stimulating.”
“Then why did you come back to Idaho?” Rachel wasn’t certain how to answer. It was a question she’d asked herself many times in the past six months. Why did she come back?
“I don’t know,” she finally said, her voice soft and thoughtful, the excitement gone as she considered the question once again.
“Is there a special man waiting for you in Boise? Someone you plan to marry?”
“No,” Rachel answered firmly. Dru lifted an eyebrow.
“Are you saying you don’t want to ever get married and have a family?”
“Not at all,” Rachel was quick to respond.
“I do want it… when the time is right.”
“You’ve never been in love, have you, Rachel?” The expression on Dru’s face was strangely wistful. She shook her head.
“No, but I’ve seen what it’s like, living with Tucker and Maggie. That’s what I want it to be like for me. I don’t mean to marry someone just because he’s important or wealthy. I mean to be in love with the man I marry.” She felt a bit silly for the emphatic tone of her voice.
“But,” she continued, “the time isn’t right for that yet, so there’s no point worrying about it. I still have things to do.” She laughed at herself.
“I just don’t know what.” Dru grinned back at her.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so. It sounds absurd, I suppose, but I’ve always had the feeling that something special was going to happen in my life. When I decided to come home, it was because I had a feeling I would find it waiting for me here.” She shrugged.
“If it was, I didn’t find it.” Dru tilted her head slightly to one side as she observed Rachel.
“Perhaps you found it and don’t know it yet.” Rachel smiled and gave a little shake of her head. How could she have found it and not know it? She’d been waiting for that “something” to happen for years. Which was exactly why she was here with Dru now. Because she was tired of waiting and had chosen to go out and make something happen.
“Perhaps,” she said, not wanting to argue a futile point, but certain the woman was wrong. Later that night, Gavin sat beside the dying embers of the campfire and ran his fingers over a worn piece of harness. He would have to do some repairs on it before long. Perhaps, come spring, he’d be able to afford a whole new harness. If he could get the right price for his cows after round-up and if the rest of his herd wintered well, he should be able to… “Mr. Blake?” He glanced up, surprised that he hadn’t heard her approach.
“May I talk to you a moment?” Gavin waved at the log opposite him. She sat down. He noticed the graceful movements of her hands as she smoothed the skirt of her dress over her knees. She lifted a loose strand of pale blond hair and looped it behind her ear. The tip of her tongue moistened her lips as she stared into the red, glowing coals. She looked lovely, despite the long, dusty, tiring day.
“Is there some reason you disapprove of me to teach your daughters, Mr. Blake?” she asked, her eyes suddenly lifting to meet his. “
Is there any reason I should?”
“No… but you do all the same.”
“Dru chose you, Miss Harris. That’s good enough for me.” Her blue eyes widened a fraction, and her head tilted slightly to one side. The slight pucker of her lips told him she thought he was lying. He supposed he was. His fingers tightened on the harness.
“I just don’t think you’re cut out for the place we’re going.”
“Why is that, Mr. Blake?” Irritation caused his voice to deepen.
“Listen, Miss Harris, we don’t have a lot of fancy things. I built the log cabin at our summer range with my own two hands. And the main ranch doesn’t have much more to it. We got a couple of hired hands who help out, and the nearest neighbors in the basin are more than likely a small band of Sheepeater Indians or some of their kin. There won’t be any nice teas to be shared with the womenfolk or dances to go to. Winters can be plenty long, and if you get bored easily, they’ll seem even longer.”
“I can do this job, Mr. Blake,” she insisted. He leaned suddenly forward and grabbed her hand, turning it palm up.