Love's Compass

by Gade, Carla; Franklin, Darlene;

  “Ask me yourself—I’m not dead,” said Lucky Jim. Eliana held back a giggle.

  Yiska lifted his chin. “Now I know how you got your name.”

  “Luck ain’t got nothin’ to do with it. The good Lord has been watchin’ out for me for a long time. Matter o’ fact, He was watching out for all of us today.”

  Jacob piped up. “He was. I know it!”

  “How’s that, Jacob?” Yiska asked.

  “I was praying to Him the whole time. He even heard me over all that shootin’!”

  Everyone started to laugh and Eliana’s heart warmed. Out of the mouths of babes. Perhaps Yiska would see God’s hand in his life. Thank You, heavenly Father.

  “Yiska, are you going to drive the stage to the next station?” Jacob asked. “I’ll ride shotgun.”

  “Oh, no you won’t, young man,” his mother said.

  Yiska ruffled Jacob’s hair. “I’ll tell you what, you can help me check the horses.”

  “Sure,” Jacob said. “Hey, Yiska. Who was shootin’ at us? Indians?”

  Yiska looked from Jacob to Lucky Jim. “They appeared to be Utes. Probably just trying to stir up trouble.”

  Lucky Jim touched his bandages. “Thank you, Miss Van Horn. I’ll be getting along now.”

  Eliana gave Lucky Jim a scolding look. “But you’ve just been shot. You need to ride back here so you can rest.” She checked to see that he wasn’t bleeding through his bandages.

  “I won’t get any rest unless I’m up on the driver’s box, miss.” Lucky Jim groaned as he sat up. “Yiska, I’m going to need some help up there. You make a fine jehu.”

  Yiska helped Jim out of the coach then leaned back in. He took Eliana’s hand and squeezed it, and then he left. Warmth spread through her veins like a gentle stream that nourished the blossoms in a hidden valley.

  Yiska gazed at Eliana as she relaxed in a wooden rocker on the front porch of the log cabin. The building served as the hotel and restaurant for the Rio Grande Pass home station. After the attack, it took them two long hours to get here, fourteen from the time the stage pulled out of Del Norte that morning. It was good to be able to stop for the night in this serene valley. The stationmaster wouldn’t have a replacement driver coming in until the morning, and everyone seemed grateful for the reprieve.

  A satisfying meal of fried pork, potatoes, gravy, bread, and custard pie had left him feeling quite subdued. As Eliana sat reading, loose tendrils of hair spilled down around her face like a waterfall. The last rays of sun illuminated golden highlights.

  She looked up and smiled. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “I didn’t want to bother you,” Yiska said.

  “You’re not. Please, sit down.”

  Yiska eyed the Bible on her lap. “What are you reading?”

  “Psalm 138.” Eliana looked down and read from the open page, her voice soothing to his ear. “‘I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.’” She placed her hand on the page and glanced up at Yiska.

  He answered me today. The thought entered Yiska’s mind like an echo calling across a canyon. He looked at the Bible with interest. “That book is important to you.”

  “Mm. It’s life to me,” Eliana said. “It belonged to my mother. Papa and I usually read from it after dinner, but tonight his head was throbbing, so I encouraged him to retire early. Maria and Jacob have turned in as well.”

  “Maria?” Yiska squinted.

  “Mrs. Stafford, Jacob’s mother. Come to find out, she’s my friend Celia’s older sister, whom I had never met. They’ll travel on to Lake City with us tomorrow.” Eliana smiled. “Maria was hurting some from her injury, and she and Jacob were both exhausted.”

  “It was a brutal day.” Yiska shook his head. “I checked on Lucky Jim. One of the stable hands helped the stationmaster remove the bullet. He thinks Jim will be all right. Said you did a good job tending his wound.”

  “It wasn’t the first time. Papa and I have encountered other unfortunate incidents out here.”

  “I take it this wasn’t the first time you ever handled a rifle,” Yiska said.

  “No…but you seemed to know that,” Eliana said.

  “I guess I overheard something recently about Eagle Eye Eli.”

  Eliana’s face turned as many shades of pink as the color hiding behind the clouds in the evening sky—only she had nowhere to hide.

  She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “I can’t believe it. You know I…?”

  Yiska smirked. “Yes…size small men’s dungarees.”

  “But you do know…”

  “That you wear the disguise for protection?”

  “Yes. And that I’m…”

  “Going on the expedition with your father.”

  Eliana threw her head back and moaned. “Why would he tell you?”

  “He didn’t. I heard him discussing the expedition with Mr. Whiley.”

  “Mr. Whiley is the only other one who knows. The disguise was a plan to keep me safe when I assist Papa.” She rolled her eyes. “You, of all people, had to find out. Did you suspect it when we were at the mercantile?”

  “I already knew.”

  Eliana exhaled deeply. “Well, you might as well tell me. What did my father say when he learned that you knew about it?”

  “He and Mr. Whiley discussed it. They decided that it would be unsafe for me to go on the expedition as the guide. They thought I’d give you away. Something about…the way I look at you.” Yiska had argued the point with them to no avail. Could it be that obvious?

  The corner of her mouth curved. “You’re the guide for the Robbins survey?”

  “Was.”

  Yiska stood and scanned the horizon then turned back to Eliana. “The sun will be down soon. I need to go check on Shadow. He’s out in the pasture.” He extended his hand toward her. “Come with me.”

  She stood and placed her hand in his. So delicate and soft. He held it until they’d descended the front steps. Despite the wearisome day, she still looked lovely. Her dark green dress sprinkled with tiny flowers reminded him of a certain valley. Beautiful.

  “Will you be cold?” he asked.

  Eliana adjusted her shawl. “No. This will be fine.”

  As they made their way toward the pasture, a majestic view of the Rio Grande opened before them. A clearing in a grove of ponderosa pines revealed the winding river below and the sun setting in the distance behind mountains tipped in white.

  “How lovely. It’s hard to imagine that there are so many wonderful places in the Territory.”

  “But there are.” And I wish to show you all of them.

  Eliana tilted her head. “You should know, Mr. Anonymous Explorer.” A satisfied grin crept across her lips.

  Yiska shrugged. “Looks like my secret is out, too.”

  She lowered her lashes then looked up with misty eyes. “I feel awful. I almost ruined everything for you. Your plans. Your dreams.”

  Eliana. You are my plans. My dreams. He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger and gazed into the deep pools of her eyes. “Everything worked out fine. I have an assignment to interview Mr. Snowden in Silverton? And if I have my facts straight, there’s a certain photography assistant that I might get to see there.”

  Her countenance softened. Was it relief? Expectation? “Now, shhh.” He wanted to take her in his arms but resisted. He could almost see the reflection of the sunset in her eyes. “It will be getting dark soon.” He took her hand, and they approached a split rail fence. He let out a sharp whistle, and Shadow appeared from a dusky corner of the pasture, galloping toward him.

  Black as midnight, Shadow pranced around, shaking his head up and down. He came up to the fence and nuzzled Yiska’s face. Yisk
a caressed his nose and then put his arm around the horse’s head and patted his muscular neck. “Shadow, my friend. Looks like they treated you well.”

  Eliana smiled. “He’s a handsome horse. No wonder you’re proud of him.”

  Yiska’s smile widened. “I couldn’t ask for a better one.” He climbed over the fence to check Shadow over. He slid his hand over the mustang’s sleek coat and down his legs, inspecting every inch of him.

  “How’d you come by him?”

  Yiska looked up at Eliana. “He was wild. A rancher up in Gunnison helped me train him.” Yiska patted Shadow’s haunch. “Well, Shadow, looks like you’ll be ready to hit the trail tomorrow morning.”

  Eliana’s face fell. Was she as disappointed as he that tomorrow their paths would take new directions?

  “We ought to get back before it’s too dark,” she said.

  “Have you forgotten that I am a guide?” Yiska asked, as they turned back toward the cabin.

  “’Tis true…and a journalist.”

  “And a journalist. Thanks to you.” Yiska smiled. “When do you expect to be in Silverton? Perhaps I could meet you there.”

  Eliana’s eyes brightened. “Yes. You could conduct your interview, and then we could take the photograph.”

  “A good idea…But I would like to see you again, Eliana.”

  “The one who’s responsible for you not getting to go on the survey?”

  “The very one.” Yiska gazed into her eyes. “I can’t help the way I look at you.”

  “The way you’re looking at me now?” She tilted her chin and flashed her dancing eyes at him. “Or perhaps the way you looked at me as I saw you through the lens when I took your photograph. There was a certain look you had that day…a stifled smile perhaps?”

  “Can I help it if you make me smile?”

  “That reminds me. You have something that belongs to me.”

  Yiska thought of the ribbon he had bought for her. How did she know?

  She raised her eyebrows. “The picture of you that my father confiscated. It belongs to me, you know. It was a fair trade.”

  “Ah, but it was given back to me, so now it’s mine.” A grin eased across Yiska’s face. “I’m willing to trade.”

  “For what?” The look in Eliana’s eyes dared him to suggest a worthy exchange.

  “For this.” Yiska caressed her face with his fingers and with a gentle touch lifted her chin. As he looked into her warm eyes, he sensed her timidity. “Have you never kissed an Indian?”

  “No…I have never kissed any man.”

  Yiska enveloped her in his arms and pressed his lips against hers, savoring her sweetness beneath the twilight sky.

  Eliana awoke with a start, and her eyes scanned the small, unfamiliar room. The relay station was nothing more than a large log cabin; her bed, a small cot. The room was sparse, with only a washbasin sitting upon a pedestal table and a single chair against the wall—her shawl draped on it—and a horseshoe wedged above the doorframe, for luck.

  She jumped to her feet and looked down at her wrinkled dress. When had she fallen asleep? She hardly remembered coming back to the station last night. She was utterly exhausted after the long ride on the stagecoach yesterday. And blessed. They had all been in grave danger. Thank You for a new day, heavenly Father, and please bring quick healing to Lucky Jim and Maria.

  She rubbed her arms in the morning chill. Thoughts of her time with Yiska the evening before swept over her with warmth. Had he really kissed her? She closed her eyes, and images of his tawny skin, his dark hair, and enchanting eyes looking deep into her own sent a tingle over her skin. She could almost feel his touch. His closeness. She reached for her shawl and recalled how he had wrapped his buckskin coat around her on their way back to the cabin. As she draped the shawl around herself, she imagined the warmth and scent of leather. And of him.

  She searched for her reticule to retrieve her comb and make herself presentable before going downstairs. She hoped she would see him again before he left.

  She remembered that she’d placed her small bag in Papa’s room for safekeeping. As she hurried across the landing to his room, the smell of bacon and fresh-baked bread filled her senses. The stationmaster’s wife met her in the hallway.

  “Good mornin’. You’re in a hurry today.”

  “Yes, good morning.” Eliana saw that the woman held her mother’s Bible.

  “I was asked to see that you got this. Apparently you left it on the porch last night.”

  “Oh, thank you.” Eliana smiled and took a step forward, eager to be on her way so she could get downstairs.

  The woman touched her arm. “That young fella, Yiska, gave it to me before he rode out. Said it was important that you get it.”

  Eliana turned, her heart sinking. “He’s gone?”

  “Yes, miss. Pulled out before the sun was up. My husband told him about some men who were in need of a guide.” The woman put her hands in her apron pockets and gave Eliana a knowing smile. “Breakfast will be served shortly.”

  The stationmaster’s wife walked away, leaving her alone in the hall. Eliana hugged the Bible and sighed. Lord, would it be Your will for me to see him again?

  She looked down at the Bible and opened the cover. There inside lay the cabinet card photograph of Yiska. He had returned it. Hope and longing filled her heart. She closed her eyes to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to release.

  “There you are.” Papa appeared at the top of the stairs, a glint in his eye. “Are you ready, Sunshine? Our journey awaits.”

  Chapter 10

  Lake City, Colorado

  It’s a miracle that our cargo made it here in one piece,” Eliana said as she and her father sorted through the new photography equipment and supplies in the back room of their studio. The small shop was almost a second home to them, as quaint as their clapboard house situated next door.

  Papa inspected his new camera with a critical eye. “I was more than a bit worried for a while, but the good Lord saw fit to keep everything intact.”

  “And us, too.” Eliana kissed him on the cheek.

  “We won’t make any new appointments while we’re here, unless it’s something important. We already have enough work to keep us busy until we head out again.”

  Eliana picked up a small carton from the floor and placed it on the counter. “You do remember that Celia is coming in next Monday for her wedding portraits? I still can’t believe she’s getting married.” Eliana glanced up. “I thought she would be one of the last among my friends to settle down—she’s so particular. But Thomas won her heart.” Eliana sighed.

  “Seems rather rushed to me,” Papa said.

  “The preacher, Reverend George Darley, is coming to town. And if the weather is nice, they’ll be married out at Lake San Cristobal.”

  “How you gathered all this news already mystifies me. We haven’t even been back a full day.” Papa grinned. “Hand me that cloth, please.” Papa carefully wiped the lenses. “You know, Sunshine, one of these days I suppose you’ll marry, too. Your mother warned me of such a thing, but I never wanted to believe it. You’ve become a remarkable young woman before my very eyes.”

  “It’s not as if I’m available for courting. Most of my time is spent behind the camera or in men’s clothing. Or both.” Eliana shook her head. “It’s hard to get a gentleman to notice you that way.”

  Papa rubbed his whiskers. “Well, I seem to know a young man who’s taken notice of you.”

  Was he displeased? She would ignore the comment. Eliana finished inspecting the thin iron plates. “All of the plates are in fine condition. Now we’ll need to blacken them, and then we can pack them up for the expedition.”

  “I’ll japan them myself,” Papa said. “I wrote out a list of tasks for you this morning. Now, back to the subject at hand.”

  “I don’t know what you mean…unless perhaps you’re speaking of Cornelius Crawford?” Eliana laughed. “He’s not even my type.”

&
nbsp; Papa chuckled. “You know whom I’m speaking of, dear.”

  Eliana lowered her lashes. “I may never see him again.”

  “If my suspicions are correct, he’ll find his way to you somehow.”

  Oh, how she hoped.

  Yiska pulled open the flap of his saddlebag to retrieve his journal and a pencil. This would make a good spot to get some rest and do some writing. The pool of water would provide refreshment for both him and Shadow, and the shade would feel good after riding in the bright sun for most of the day. A little jerky and dried fruit would do for now to curb his hunger, and later he would try to catch some trout.

  He sat down on a large rock by the stream. Water flowed into it from a precipice above. Dappled sunlight filtered through the trees, and visions of Eliana’s sweet face, her clear hazel eyes, the slight dimple in her chin, and her adorable smile filled him with wonder. Eliana Van Horn disturbed his thoughts, challenged his beliefs, and filled the long-vacant crevices of his heart.

  Yiska untied the cord that bound his journal and opened it. From between the pages, he pulled out the photograph of the beautiful woman who had changed his life forever. He’d never given any credence to the idea of sharing his life with someone, yet now she seemed to be the compass navigating his every thought.

  He would see her again. Perhaps not on the expedition, and it may not be in Silverton, but he would track her back to Lake City if he had to, just to hold her once again.

  Eliana displayed Celia and Thomas’s wedding photographs on a table covered with a white linen cloth. She admired how well they had come out—the family sitting and bridal portraits were stunning. But the one with Celia standing behind her soon-to-be groom was Eliana’s favorite. Celia wore a beautiful new paisley shawl, which she would someday use for her child’s christening.

  Eliana imagined how the couple’s children and grandchildren would enjoy the pictures and ruminate over their happiness on this occasion, as she treasured the daguerreotype of her own parents’ wedding. How lovely Mama looked, and Papa, so proud and handsome. Perhaps she would marry, too, someday, though her heart ached knowing that Momma would not be there to share her joy. How she longed for conversation that only a mother and daughter could share, especially now, when her heart overflowed with so many new feelings. So many thoughts of Yiska.