Winds of Change (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 4)

by Vicki Hunt Budge

  “You’re welcome to touch my hair now,” Cora said. “In fact, I think I’d like that.”

  “Like this?” Gideon asked, reaching around to the back of her head and gently running his fingers through the locks that were falling free.”

  Cora sighed. “You’re going to have to talk to my father, if you’re going to touch my hair this way.”

  “I agree,” Gideon said, his voice husky. “Let’s go talk to him right now.”

  “He’s still out on that land survey.”

  “We could go search for him. But wait. You said there were three reasons you wanted to marry me.”

  “Hmm, the third reason.” She blinked several times as though weighing whether to share or not. “Oh yes, the third reason is that I never wanted Milo to kiss me.”

  “But you wanted me to kiss you?”

  “I’ve wanted you to kiss me for what seems like a very long time now.”

  Gideon’s eyes filled with a look of adoration. He gently slipped his hand through her hair again, caressing her locks until his hand rested on her neck. He slowly brought her closer to him and kissed her lips. Once, twice, three times.

  11

  Forty-three days later, Gideon rode Thor toward the Gardner homestead at a fast clip. He waved to Charlie and Mr. Gardner who were out working in the field. Their yapping black and white border collie rushed to meet him and snapped at Thor’s hooves long before they reached the house. Gideon swung from the saddle and secured his horse the moment he reached the Gardners’ porch. “You take your job too seriously,” Gideon said to Gunner, bending down and giving the panting dog a quick rub and scratch behind his ears.

  Then Gideon bounded up the steps.

  “Stop! You can’t come in here!” Fern and Beth burst through the doorway with their hands and arms stretched out in front of them.

  “Margie and Rose are here fitting Cora’s wedding dress!” Fern said.

  “And for her blue velvet traveling dress,” Beth added. “No boys allowed! Especially you!”

  Gideon laughed. He wanted to push right past the girls and catch a glimpse of Cora in her wedding dress, but he didn’t. He took off his hat and held it to his chest. “Will you please tell Cora that her husband-to-be is out here with some very important news?”

  “Okay, we will, but you have to stay out here on the porch,” Fern said.

  “Sit right there in one of the rocking chairs,” Beth added, pointing to the two chairs off to the side of the porch.

  Gideon sat in one of the chairs and placed his hat on his knee. His right knee bounced up and down as he waited. He loved this family of Cora’s and could hardly wait for the next two weeks to go by when Cora would become his wife. He and his father, along with his brothers and a few townsfolk had been working on the little cottage near the wheelwright barn every evening. They expected to have it finished within the week.

  While Gideon waited, Alice came out and brought him a glass of cool lemonade. Within a few more minutes, Margie and Rose Howell came out carrying a bag of sewing supplies. Gideon scrambled to his feet.

  “Your bride looks beautiful,” Margie said. “You are a lucky man!”

  “You should see her in her wedding dress,” Rose added, and then laughed, “but I guess you can’t. Not yet, anyway. It’s forbidden.”

  “Aww, come on. Can’t I go in for a quick look? Two weeks is a long time.”

  “Absolutely not!” Rose said, her hands on her hips.

  “When are you coming by the house for the final fitting for your suit?” Margie asked.

  “Whenever you want me to,” Gideon said.

  “Tomorrow evening will work.”

  “I’ll be there. I don’t look forward to wearing a suit, but I sure look forward to the occasion.” Gideon sat back as the girls climbed into their carriage and moved on toward town. How he wished the next two weeks would pass quickly. He sat back and enjoyed the sunshine and his lemonade while he waited for Cora. She stepped out of the house five minutes later.

  “I hear you have news,” Cora said, smiling at him.

  Gideon stood and kissed her cheek, taking his sweet time. While he did so, he slipped two quarters into her hand.

  “What’s this?” Cora asked, stepping back.

  “You won our bet,” Gideon said, softly. “Jackson and Crocker pulled into New York City early this morning. Bud too! I’m just paying off my debt.”

  A reddish flush crept up Cora’s neck as though the reference to her placing a bet embarrassed her. “I knew they’d make it,” she replied. “Somehow, from the first day I read about them in the newspaper, I just knew they would be the ones to succeed. Thank you for coming all the way out here to tell me.” She leaned into Gideon and hugged him once again.

  “You’re more than welcome,” Gideon said, wanting to hold her forever.

  Cora stepped back, holding the quarters in her hand and jiggling them. Tears appeared in her eyes. “After all the trouble they had, Jackson and the Vermont finally made it all the way across the country to New York.”

  “It only took sixty-three days and fifteen hours,” Gideon said, wiping away her tears with his thumb. “The news came over the wire.”

  More tears slipped from Cora’s eyes. “Jackson won his bet, and I won mine,” she said. A teasing smile graced her face. “I’d better not tell the family that I’m a betting woman.”

  “Some might say I lost, but I’m the biggest winner of all.” Gideon pulled her close to him once again and kissed the side of her head. “Because through all of this, I won your love.”

  Cora pocketed the coins and reached her arms around Gideon’s neck. “I’m saving these quarters,” she said softly before kissing him.

  “Someday, I’ll show them to our grandchildren and tell them our story.”

  Author’s Note

  Winds of Change was a fun story to research and write. Doctor Horatio Nelson Jackson did make a fifty-dollar bet in 1903 that he could drive an automobile from San Francisco to NYC in less than 90 days. He didn’t own an automobile at the time and didn’t know how to drive, but he had the American spirit of adventure, courage, determination, and optimism. Within days of making his bet, Jackson purchased a 1903 Winton automobile and all the necessary supplies for the journey.

  Jackson and his mechanic, Sewall K. Crocker, turned north out of San Francisco and headed toward Oregon to avoid the Sierra Nevada mountains. After many days of hardships, breakdowns, and treacherous mountain roads, they finally made it to southern Oregon and then Idaho where they took on their third passenger, Bud the pit bull. Once the news of their adventure began to spread, people lined the streets of the towns they drove through in order to see an automobile. Those who fed Jackson and Crocker were often given a short ride in the cherry-red Winton.

  Jackson changed directions at the last minute in Mountain Home, Idaho, taking a route to the north of the original Oregon Trail. That route, called Goodale’s Cutoff, was established by Oregon pioneers starting in 1852. The three adventurers traveled through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, and points east until they finally reached NYC on July 26, 1903; 63 days after leaving San Francisco.

  Not all accounts of Jackson’s adventure agree on the specific dates and details of America’s first road trip, but I have tried to stay true to the facts as I found them. I have also used some artistic license to adapt the details to fit Cora’s story.

  Thank you for reading Cora’s story.

  If you’ve enjoyed Winds of Change, watch for more books in The Surveyor’s Daughters series. There will be eight books total in the series, and all stand alone. Please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews help more readers find my books and are really appreciated. Thank you so very much.

  I love to hear from readers. You can email me at vicki@vickihuntbudge.com. To hear about the upcoming books you can find me on the web at vickihuntbudge.com or on Facebook at VickiHuntBudgeAuthor.

  The Next Book

  Watch for A Cherished
Gift.

  Alice is the fifth sister in The Surveyor’s Daughters series, and will be available soon. I’ve included a sneak peek of Alice’s story here.

  Alice Gardner stretched her arms and legs in her cold bed, and then quickly rolled to her side, snuggling under her quilts. When Cora, Alice’s sister just older than her had married and moved to her new home, Alice had been excited to finally have a bed to herself. Now, with the temperature well below zero outside and nearly freezing inside, Alice missed her sister’s warmth.

  Truth be told, Alice missed all four of her married sisters who had families of their own. With the exception of their huge family dinners on Sunday when the house was filled with laughter, fun conversations, and the shrieking of nieces and nephews, Alice’s life was lonely.

  Jake, the boy she loved so dearly, had recently traipsed off to Boise to apprentice with his uncle at a big city newspaper. It didn’t help that Jake had written, telling her how much he loved the city, and how many exciting things there were to do in the city. Alice hugged her pillow when she thought about Jake. He certainly wasn’t a boy anymore. He’d already turned twenty and passed the tall and lanky look that he’d had for years. His shoulders had filled out beautifully, and so had his muscles.

  If only Jake and I could have married before he left for Boise . . .

  Alice pulled the quilt around her face, leaving a small opening for a smidgen of crisp air to reach her. She tried to push the wish that she and Jake could have married out of her mind. Jake hadn’t even asked her to marry him. He hadn’t even kissed her yet. He was a fun-loving boy dedicated to helping his father in the newspaper business.

  Besides, Jake didn’t have money to support a wife. His father ran the Clover Creek Weekly, and his family barely squeaked by. That’s why Mr. Weston had sent Jake off to learn the ways of a daily newspaper. With the area around Clover Creek growing every month, Mr. Weston hoped to turn his weekly paper into a daily within a short time. Many of the new businesses in town were already starting to advertise in the Weston’s newspaper.

  One of Alice’s biggest concerns was that city life could change Jake from the kind, considerate, and hard-working young man she admired. For some reason, she had a small niggling feeling in her heart that she and Jake weren’t ready to marry yet. She had no idea why the thought pestered her. And if she wasn’t supposed to marry Jake, why did she sit home pining for him all the time?

  “Alice! Will you take the carriage into town and pick up my supplies?” Mrs. Gardner stood at the foot of the stairs and called up to her daughter. “Your pa is due back from his survey sometime this week and I’d like to bake bread and pies before he shows up. And . . . I could really use some help preparing breakfast!”

  “Coming!” Alice scrambled out of bed, grimacing and shivering the instant her feet hit the cold floor. She grabbed her clothes and shoes and hurried down the stairs. On mornings like this, she liked to dress by the warmth of the stove.

  “You’d better hurry,” Mrs. Gardner said as Alice peeled off her nightclothes in the kitchen. “Charlie will be finished milking the cow in no time and coming through that door.”

  Charlie, Alice’s only brother, didn’t help with the survey work anymore. He preferred to stay home and take care of the farm and family while his father was away on surveys. That worked out well for the family since Evan Howell, the oldest son-in-law, loved survey work and was now a partner with Mr. Gardner. Currently, they were part of a government survey which would bring dams, reservoirs, and canals to a bigger part of the Snake River Plain. The first phase of the project would convert more semi-arid land into productive farmland.

  Alice finished dressing minutes before Charlie walked into the kitchen, carrying a bucket of milk and a basket of eggs. He stomped the snow and straw off his boots. “Look who finally rolled out of bed,” Charlie said, setting the bucket on a chair and the eggs on the table. He rubbed his hands together rapidly. “I’ve been working for over an hour and I’m starving.”

  “You’re always starving,” Alice said, but she grinned when she said it and quickly pulled out the ingredients for flapjacks. She was just thankful that her father’s current survey was for the government. If the survey had been a private job as they usually were, Alice and one of her sisters would have been out in the freezing cold desert somewhere cooking for the survey crew. Since her father and Evan were currently part of a big government survey, the government fed them.

  Zina, Alice’s next younger sister, was staying with Nellie and her three daughters while Evan worked on the survey, so Alice didn’t make nearly as much flapjack batter as usual. With the smell of Mrs. Gardner’s bacon sizzling on the cookstove, Fern and Beth, the youngest sisters in the family, came bounding down the stairs before the flapjacks were ready.

  The five of them sat together at the kitchen table and Charlie offered a prayer of thankfulness for the food and a prayer for safety for the entire family. While everyone ate, the conversation centered around Charlie’s plans for his workday of repairing farm equipment, Alice’s assignment to travel into town for supplies, and the younger girls assignment to clean the kitchen and help with the laundry. All of the girls were expected to help with the baking later in the day.

  As soon as breakfast was over, Alice ran upstairs to make herself more presentable for a morning in town. The first rays of sun glimmered through her lace curtains. Alice sat at her dressing table, brushed her toffee brown hair until in shone, and then pulled it into a chignon and pinned it in place. She had no sooner finished her hair than Fern and Beth came charging up the stairs, calling to her.

  “Alice, can we go to town with you?” Fern yelled before she cleared the last stair. “Please! We finished the kitchen!”

  “And we won’t cause any trouble this time,” Beth said. “Ma said we could go if you helped us with the laundry first!”

  “I don’t know if it’s possible for you two to stay out of trouble,” Alice said, winking at her sisters. “Besides, it will take too long to strip the beds and wash everything. Ma needs her supplies back here early so we can get started baking.”

  “Please take us,” Fern begged, clasping her hands together, and pleading with her eyes. “There’s not many clothes to wash this week and if you help us, we can have everything washed and hanging in no time.”

  Alice tucked her brush into the dressing table drawer and stood. “You two are so spoiled,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. But she grinned and finally agreed to help them with the laundry. “Only if you girls work fast and hard though.”

  “We will!” Beth cried, bouncing excitedly.

  Alice placed a finger to her lips. “Hmm,” she said, narrowing her light hazel eyes, “how about I time us, and see if we can have everything washed and hanging in the cellar in one hour?”

  “Yes!” Fern yelled.

  Mr. Gardner often timed his family when they worked together on family projects, and his method of making work more fun and go faster had trickled on down to his children. Alice made assignments, and in no time, there was a flurry of stripped bedsheets on the kitchen floor next to two piles of clothing and the wash tubs. They washed the sheets first in their new hand-cranked drum washer, and rinsed them in cold water in the double tubs. While Alice and Beth lugged the sheets down to the cellar and hung them, Mrs. Gardner and Fern washed the white clothing and then the dark. After the last pair of coveralls hung on a rope strung across the kitchen, the wash tubs were wheeled to the back porch.

  Alice consulted the parlor clock. “One hour and twenty minutes,” she announced. “I think we set a record for washing clothes in the wintertime!

  Also by Vicki Hunt Budge

  The Surveyor’s Daughters Series:

  Her Believing Heart

  Ruby’s Rhapsody

  Daring to Dream

  [ Contemporary Women’s Fiction ]

  Hope & Healing Series

  Intercession

  Renewal

  Deliverance

&nbs
p; Acknowledgments

  Once again, a special thanks to you, the reader. The response to the first book in this series has been so rewarding and makes this whole process worthwhile. I love my characters, but nothing thrills me more than to have my readers love them too.

  I am indebted to Peggy, Deborah, Mark, and Michelle for reading the book. Their insights and suggestions were invaluable and greatly improved my writing.

  A special thank you to Malary Bartholomew for editing this manuscript, and to Erin Dameron-Hill of EDHGraphics for the amazing cover art!

  I’d like to express my love and gratitude to my husband and best friend. His devotion and encouragement mean everything to me.

  I want to acknowledge the help and guidance I received to countless prayers about my writing. When I prayed, the answers always came. The joy of writing increased tenfold during these moments.

  About the Author

  Vicki Hunt Budge grew up in southern Idaho with a mother who read to her and a father who taught her to golf and swim. She attended Idaho State University and the University of Utah. Vicki and her husband raised four children on a small peppermint farm in Central Oregon. She has always loved history and the settling of the west because years ago her ancestors broke up sod and sagebrush in southern Idaho to farm and raise their families. In addition to her family, Vicki enjoys reading, family history, long walks along the river trails, writing sweet historical western romance and contemporary women’s fiction, and not cooking. Nothing makes her happier than beating her grandchildren at the game of Aggravation, or their wild celebrations when they beat her.