by Danni Roan
Climbing into the wagon and propping the older man up on a flour sack Daliah helped him drink then rummaged for the medicine with one hand as she took his wrist between her fingers. It was obvious that something had passed between the two men by the way that Mr. Gaines was looking at her, but she didn’t speak.
“I’ll get my horse put up and take a turn around the camp,” Spencer said, his eyes lingering on Daliah a moment longer before he turned disappearing into the circle of wagons.
“That’s a good man there,” Ben said.
“Yes sir,” Daliah agreed, giving him the medicine she had.
“I got pills,” he said, after taking what she offered. “Doc a few towns back gave ‘em to me.”
“You still need to rest,” Daliah chided.
“I’ll slow down I reckon. Maybe take over driving me and Spence’s wagon and let that boy ride ahead a bit.”
Daliah smiled. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“Does doesn’t it?” Ben said. “I hope you have plans too,” he continued. “Like settling down and maybe helping Spence figure out how he belongs in this new place.”
“Mr. Gaines?” Daliah said. “What do I have to do with him?”
“He needs help with that boy of his and you got no one but the Hampton’s to see to you,” Ben said. “You two would do all right together.”
“I don’t think Mr. Gaines is interested in anything like that,” Daliah tried, dropping her eyes and hoping he didn’t see the spark of hope in them.
“Spencer has some silly notions in his head yet. That don’t mean any of them amount to a hill of beans,” Ben continued, with a slight cough.
Daliah smiled. “You should rest before supper,” she said, changing the subject. “I’ll come back and fetch you if you’re up to it then.”
Ben chuckled, as the young woman climbed back out of the wagon. He’d given both parties something to think about and that was good enough for now.
***
“Pa is Ben gonna be all right?” Chad asked as they sat down to dinner around a small camp fire, closely watched by all.
“Miss Owens thinks he has a good chance,” Spencer replied. “He needs to rest a bit, so don’t you go bothering him.”
“I thought she was kinda mean when I first met her,” Chad said. “She didn’t give me that hat ya know.”
“And now?” Spencer asked.
“I like her, and I really like her brown sugar dumplings.”
Spencer’s bark of laughter made several of the people around the fire look at him oddly, but for once, he didn’t care. His son’s words had broken the tension that had wound around his middle like steel bands since the fire had caught them, and for the first time that day, he felt like he could breathe again.
Tonight Spencer Gaines was grateful that everyone had survived one of the terrors of the wide-open prairie, and when he made it to Texas, he was determined to settle somewhere that had good water.
Daliah looked across the fire at Mr. Gaines, Ben’s words still echoing in her brain as she fixed the older man a plate. She hadn’t even thought of the possibility of marriage and family. For far too long life had been nothing more than going to work and getting through each day on her own.
The Hamptons had been the biggest blessing in her life, and she would always be grateful for their kindness, but she couldn’t count on them forever.
Over the past few weeks she could see changes in Mr. Gaines’ attitude toward her. He was less sharp, more willing to talk, and slower to hurry off with a harsh word. Still she couldn’t see the man being interested in a wife or family. Most days he was still terse, and distant. Of course dancing with him everything had been so different.
“What’s worryin’ you?” Ben asked as she carried him a plate. Mr. Hampton had helped the man out of the wagon earlier, letting him sit on a crate against the tailgate, but neither of them thought he should walk more than he had to.
“Excuse me?” Daliah asked handing him the plate where he sat on the lid of a barrel.
“You look like you got something worryin’ you.”
“No, I think everyone is just a little over tired and still frightened,” Daliah hedged.
“If you say so,” Ben smiled taking a bite of his dinner. “What do you plan on doing once we get to where we’re going?” he asked after finishing his first bite.
“I don’t know,” Daliah admitted.
“You can cook. Might be a need for that somewhere, or maybe one of them cowboys will take a fancy to you and marry ya.”
“Have you ever been married Mr. Ben?” Daliah asked turning the tables on the man.
“Me? No, no. I’ve got too much of the gypsy in my soul. No woman would want to have lived their life on the trail with me.”
Daliah smiled, thinking she’d turned the man away from the track his conversation had been heading. “You never know there might be a woman with an adventuresome soul.”
Ben chuckled. “I’m an old man now and looking forward to sitting on the front porch and watching others do for a bit. Them folks you’re with,” Ben continued waving his fork in the direction of the Hamptons, “they could start up another boarding house or such if you want to live as a spinster lookin’ after others.”
Daliah bristled at the words. Even if marriage had not been on her mind, no woman liked to be considered a spinster. She was only twenty now as it was. Not quiet on the shelf yet.
“I think it’s a good thing women like you and some of these families are making this trip,” Ben continued as if he hadn’t said anything offensive. “Young towns are wild, sometimes dangerous, when folks start making something of it that’s when it will grow up.”
“You think where we’re going will be dangerous?”
Daliah asked suddenly worried.
“Not if good folks are determined to make something of it,” Ben said tucking into his dinner with some energy.
Daliah walked back to the fire, thoughts racing through her mind. What would her future hold when she arrived in the no-name town of Texas?
Chapter 16
The next two weeks of travel brought the wagon train closer to its goal, but with changes along the way.
Trey Script took over the work that Ben had been doing while Ben’s hired driver took his team of oxen, and Ben took up the traces to the wagon he and Spencer had brought along that had been driven by their hired help.
The days grew warmer the further south they moved, and each stop at a spring was even more appreciated than before.
Spencer dropped Chad off with Daliah each day and ate at the Hampton’s each night. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the idea of what Ben had said out of his thoughts.
If he were honest, he rather liked the young woman. She didn’t seem to think about herself as much as others, a rare quality, and the quiet peacefulness that seemed to emanate around her was refreshing.
Perhaps once he got to town he might consider calling on Daliah Owens. He did need someone to look after Chad while he was on the range with his brother after all.
“You’re very quiet tonight,” Daliah commented as she helped serve dinner one night along the trail. “Are you worrying about the trail ahead?”
“Not so much,” Spencer admitted. “We’ve got one more river crossing, but the weather has been good so I don’t see any trouble with it. I imagine you’ll be glad to stop traveling soon.”
Daliah smiled appreciating his kind words. “I will,” she said. “It has been a long journey.” Her mind flashed back to all of the things that had happened over the past few years, and she prayed this would be the last time she would have to move.
Spencer looked up at the young woman and suddenly realized what he recognized in her. Loss had left her lonely, even among friends. She was a help and a blessing to the Hamptons as much as they were to her, but she had no real anchor on this earth, and something inside him turned recognizing his own lonely heart.
“It’s hard being on your own i
sn’t it?” he asked quietly leading her away from the fire to a seat.
Daliah looked up into the man’s blue eyes and simply nodded. “I’m afraid I don’t know where my place is,” she admitted something compelling her to speak honestly.
Spencer looked at Daliah fully for the first time since they had danced weeks ago. She was an attractive woman, kind, and hard working, but there was more to her than that. She had somehow found an inner strength drawn from heaven that kept her moving forward day by day.
For several minutes Daliah sat with Mr. Gaines. They were both silent, but neither seemed to need to speak. Something had changed between them. Something that had been growing as they had connected on the drive. It wasn’t something she could put into words, but it was a quiet, solid bond that had sprung from mutual respect and need.
Daliah looked over at Spencer as he finished his meal and smiled. Could she venture to give her heart to Mr. Spencer Gaines? Could she risk loving someone who could be gone in an instant? Perhaps she had been moving toward this all along?
“Daliah, I have a great deal of respect for you, and I can’t thank you enough for all of your help both with Chad and with the troubles we’ve seen on this trip. I just wanted you to know that,” Spencer finished.
“That’s very kind of you Mr. Gaines,” Daliah said. “I only do what I can.”
“No, you do more than that,” Spencer said. “You care about people. We need more of that in this world.”
“You and Chad are easy to care about,” Daliah whispered realizing that it was true.
Spencer chuckled taking her hand and placing it on his arm. “Would you mind going for a walk?” he asked.
Daliah nodded rising and following him out and around the wagons. Inside the circle of the wagons the stock grazed quietly or rested, and Daliah realized that soon this journey would end and a new one would start. A journey of finding her place in this world.
“I’m afraid I wasn’t very fair to you when we started this journey,” Spencer said. “You were trying to be kind and help me with Chad, and I was short and surly with you. I didn’t want to be around any woman that reminded me of my wife.”
“I remind you of your wife?” Daliah said looking up in shock, her heart going out to the man.
“Not in appearance, only in determination. My wife was a good woman, and she understood my weaknesses far more than I did. I’m quick to anger, and slow to forgive,” he continued. “I’ve been mighty angry with God for a long time, but I’m starting to see that I’m not the only one who has lost and been left adrift on this earth. I kept running when Chad was little, leaving him for months on end with family or friends. Everything has changed on this trip. I’m starting over in a new home with a new life. I’d like to see if perhaps our starting overs could go hand in hand, if you’re willing.” He finished stopping to look down into her face and waiting for some reply.
Daliah was quiet for several heartbeats, as she explored her heart. She knew she liked Mr. Gaines now that they had gotten better acquainted. At first, he had put her off, but now she understood how his broken heart had needed time to heal, something she could identify with.
“I think I’d like that,” she finally replied delighted when he smiled.
Spencer felt as if some heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he faced a new future head-on for the first time. For too long he had been letting the hurt of the past cloud his future. No one was promised tomorrow, something he and the young woman standing next to him knew better than many. Today he would step out in faith and hope that a brighter future waited on the other side.
***
“Daliah, are you gonna marry my pa?” Chad asked a week later as the wagons trundled over the northern border of Texas. They were several days from Dallas but thankfully would reach their new home before that city.
Daliah chuckled, a pink tinge gracing her cheeks. “Your pa and I are just getting to know each other,” Daliah said. The past week had been full of more light and laughter than she could remember in many years.
It was as if once Spencer had decided that he could take the risk, he left the shackles of his past behind and was a different person.
Each evening he took Daliah for a turn around the camp while the Hamptons chatted with Ben and their neighbors about where they were going, while Chad played with other children or followed Trey around like a puppy.
“Well, if you decide you like him good enough, I’d be all right with you marryin’ him.” The boy finished making Daliah laugh.
“Thank you for your permission,” Daliah said ruffling the boy’s hair.
“If you do marry my pa will you make brown sugar dumplings every night and let me eat all of them?”
Daliah’s laughter echoed out over the wagon train as it approached the river Spencer had mentioned earlier. “I don’t think I can make them every night, and if you eat all of them, you’ll get sick, but I could make them sometimes as a treat.”
“If you say so,” Chad replied kicking the dust of the trail with his feet. “I’m gonna go look at the river,” he added trotting off toward the lead wagons that were splashing across the blue trickle.
“Be careful,” Daliah called after him, hefting her skirts and hurrying to catch up. She’d already had to fish him out of a stream once before and didn’t want to have to do it again.
As she approached the bubbling stream, she smiled at Trey who sat on Ben’s horse in the middle of the knee deep stream watching the wagons trundle across the wide bed and up the other side.
“Hey Daliah,” Trey called with a wave.
“Hi Trey,” Chad called walking to the stream and sticking his bare feet into the shallows.
“Be careful Chad,” Trey called back. “It gets deeper in the middle.
Daliah smiled across the gap between the wagons at Spencer who sat on his horse on the other side of the stream. The once stern looking man waved back with a grin just as a loud splash met her ears.
Turning Daliah saw Chad topple into the stream, rolling into the current with the down ward motion of the stream.
“Chad!” she yelled rushing into the stream and grabbing the boy, pushing him to shore as her skirt snagged on a hidden log, and she went under the swift moving waters of the stream.
Trying to un-snag her skirt Daliah felt herself lose her footing and splash into the faster moving water. Taking a deep breath she yanked her hemline free only to be swept downstream her head striking a rock as she moved toward the churning feet of the next team.
Spencer choked as he saw Daliah go under then tumble across the rough streambed toward the wagon then disappear into a deep basin on the edge of the ford before popping up almost under the horse’s feet.
A loud whinny made the driver look up pulling his team to a stop in the middle of the stream as something tumbled under their prancing feet and out the other side.
Spencer was in the water, his hands grasping the sodden dress and pulling Daliah up from the water. Her dress was soaked, her hair hanging over her bloodied face like the long grasses at the edge of the stream.
“Daliah, Daliah,” he croaked. “Help,” he called as someone reached for him pulling him and his burden toward the far shore.
“Put her down son,” Mr. Hampton said soothingly, coaxing him to lower Daliah to the earth as Olive stroked the hair from their young boarders face.
“Daliah,” Mrs. Hampton called checking the bump on the young woman’s head then leaning in to see if she was breathing.
“Please God, please no,” Spencer groaned as he looked down at the limp form of the woman he was losing his heart to.
“Pa, is Daliah dead?” Chad asked as Trey dropped him from his saddle. “Please don’t let Daliah be dead,” the boy said his eyes filling with tears. “I promise I’ll be good.”
Spencer pulled his boy into his arms clutching him tight. He could have lost them both.
“She’s breathing,” Mrs. Hampton said, and Spencer filled his own lungs with
air once more.
“Bring her to the wagon,” the older woman said. “Trey you get the rest of them wagons across and we’ll stop for the night.” She finished as Spencer followed her to the wagon, Daliah resting limp in his arms.
“Don’t worry son,” Mr. Hampton said laying his hand on the man’s shoulders. “God didn’t bring her this far to end it here. She has work to do yet.”
Spencer paced the small patch of dirt next to the wagon for the next fifteen minutes until Olive Hampton climbed from the wagon.
“She wants to see you and the boy,” Olive said with a relieved smile.
Spencer grabbed Chad pulling him into his arms and climbing into the back of the wagon.
“Let me see Chad,” Daliah said her voice raw and scratchy.
“I’m here Daliah,” Chad said placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry I almost got you killed,” the boy added with a sniff.
Daliah struggled to reach for the scamp and Spencer slipped his arms behind her helping her sit up as she pulled Chad in for a hug.
“You scared us pretty bad,” Spencer said stroking a stray bit of straw colored hair from her eyes. “I’d rather you didn’t do that anymore,” he continued. “I was kinda thinking we might get married when we get to town ya see.”
Daliah smiled, but the action made her head hurt. “So soon?” she asked lying back against the sacks and pillows.
“After what just happened, I don’t want to wait,” Spencer admitted. “I didn’t see it coming Daliah Owens but I’ve fallen in love with you and I’d like to marry you if you’ll have me.”
Daliah looked up into Spencer’s eyes setting her heart free to fly to the man who had become so important to her. She could love him if God allowed, and deep down she knew she already did.
Life was too uncertain to wait when she knew her heart. Closing her eyes, she lifted a prayer of thanks to God, only to pop them open a moment later as Spencer brushed his lips across her lips.
“Yuk!” Chad said. “I don’t want to see that,” the boy chided scooting out of the wagon. “I’m getting changed.”
Daliah and Spencer chuckled as he squeezed her hand. “I’ll let you rest,” he said, kissing her one more time as his heart soared.