Dear Abigail,
I’m a little bit late answering your last letter, but it is a busy time for us. We’re beginning the fall roundup, and getting ready for the breeding season. The roundup is the busiest time of year for us since we are out on the range for several days at a time, getting all of the strays back into the herd, and cutting out the ones from other ranches that may have mixed in with ours.
We have to cull those we are going to sell and drive them to the marketing point. Fort Laramie is one of our customers, and we drive others to Cheyenne where we can ship to the East on the train. It’s about four days to Cheyenne and five or six to Fort Laramie. With that in mind, my best guess is we will be in Fort Laramie in about four weeks. This is an important time of year for a ranch. It’s when we determine how well we will eat for the rest of the year.
There’s a bit of a lull between the two drives to give our horses some rest. We cowboys don’t need the rest, but your life depends on your horses, so we are very careful with them. I say horses, because each man will have eight to ten in his remuda.
You have stirred my curiosity with what you said about needing to talk. Dare I get my hopes up? I can’t help it. Mama sends her regards, as does Papa.
Yours truly,
Thomas
* * *
Fort Laramie…
“Ohhh…”
“Something wrong, dear?” Cora asked.
“I have a letter from Thomas. It’s going to be another four weeks before he will be able to come back. They are driving a herd to Cheyenne, and then will drive another one here. They have to rest their horses between the drives. That means he will be sleeping on the ground for that time. I hope they don’t run into bad weather or it will be even longer.”
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“I’m going to tell him my story. If he doesn’t believe it, I don’t know what I’ll do. If he does, and asks, I’ll go to Laramie with them. I’m pretty sure I can convince his mother by telling her about the diaries. If not, then I’ll stay here as long as I’m welcome and can help.”
“What diaries?” Cora asked.
“She kept diaries on the trail out here and on up until 1878. I’ve read them and know what’s in them.”
“What if you get down there and it doesn’t work out.”
“Cora, if it turns out that way, then I have no idea what I’ll do.”
* * *
“The Colonel told me there’s a herd due in tomorrow,” Doctor Turner told Abby. Could that be your young man?”
“He’s not my young man, Doctor Jim. He’s a good friend. I hope it is him. It’s been close to two months now.”
The next day…
It was late afternoon, when the two bone-weary cowboys entered the confines of the fort. Both were wearing dusters, and looked tired. They had been on the trail for over a week, weathering two storms and a lot of dust. The Army had just verified the count, paid for, and taken over the herd.
The older man headed to the barbershop for a bath and a shave. “I’ll be down there in a bit, Papa; I want to let Abigail know I’m here.”
“I hope you don’t scare her. You look like a walking dirt pile,” Josiah said.
His knock was answered by Cora. “Thomas? My land, I didn’t recognize you. Come in, you look exhausted.”
“No, ma’am, but thank you. I’m too dirty to come inside. I wanted to let Abigail know we just got here, and I’d like to see her if possible, after I get cleaned up a bit.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’ll be on my way, but I’ll be by later if it’s all right with you.”
“It’s all right. Thomas, don’t tell her I told you, but she is going to tell you an unbelievable story. She’s only told three people, the colonel, Jim, and me. We believe every bit of it. She’s the most intelligent person I’ve ever seen. Listen to her, and make up your own mind.”
“Yes, ma’am, but you sure have roused up my curiosity.”
Later…
“You are as thin as a rail,” Abby said when she answered the door.
“Roundup and trail driving is hard work,” he said. “You can’t gain weight living off beans and hardtack.”
“I’m going to have to try that,” she said.
“You don’t need to lose weight,” he said. “You’re the perfect size.”
“Now you’re resorting to flattery?
“Come in and say hello to Cora and Doctor Jim.”
“You clean up right nice, Thomas,” Cora said.
“Yes, ma’am. The barber took all the dirt I washed off and is going to add it to his wife’s garden. Between Papa and me, we must have had twenty pounds. Plumb wore our horses out carrying us and the dirt.”
“You two go ahead, you don’t need to be spending time with us old folks,” the doctor told them.
“Doctor Jim, you’re the youngest old man I’ve ever met,” Abby said.
“Thank you… I think, now run along.”
Thomas walked on the outside as they made their way toward the café. “You said something in your letter about needing to talk,” Thomas said.
“I do, but I don’t want to do it in public. I thought maybe we could talk in the church. It will be quiet there.”
“Can we do it before we eat? My curiosity is killing me,” he said.
“If you like. You may not want to eat after you hear what I have to say.”
“I can’t imagine anything that bad.”
“Well, here we are,” she said. “Let’s go inside. We can sit in a corner in back.”
She turned to face him. “This is going to be the strangest story you have ever heard. I was visiting my grandmother in Laramie…” she began.
“I didn’t know you had a grandmother in Laramie,” he interrupted.
“This isn’t going to work if you don’t let me talk. Just hear me out. Then say or ask anything you want. Anyway, I was visiting my grandmother and was going down the road when lightning struck a tree not thirty feet away from me. I lost control and flew through the air. I wasn’t hurt, and I could see the ground. I went through a black wall, and the next thing I knew, there were two men on horseback asking me what I was doing alone out in the middle of nowhere. One was the wagon master and the other was a scout for a wagon train headed for Oregon.”
“I told them about Laramie, which convinced them I was crazy. Addled , they called it. They took me to a preacher and his wife, who were members of his train, in spite of my story. I rode with them until we met some people that had turned around and were headed here.”
“When I got back here, I went straight to the colonel and told him what happened. He thought I had been hit in the head and had amnesia, and took me to Doctor Turner. I told him and Cora the story and they believed me. So did the colonel, although I think he still has a few doubts.”
“I don’t know how or why everything happened, but it did. I know you have a million questions, so ask away.”
“You said your grandmother is from Laramie, did she live on a ranch? I know there’s no women in Laramie, except for the fancy girls.”
“I don’t know what fancy girls are, but yes, she lives on a ranch.”
“Your parents let you take a six month trip alone? Did you come with friends or neighbors?”
“It didn’t take six months. It took six hours,” she said, looking him in the eye. “I flew in an airplane. Thomas, I was born in 1993, near Columbus, Ohio.” She pulled out the sketch she had drawn for Colonel Hays. “This is an airplane, a jet powered plane. It travels over five-hundred miles an hour. The larger planes can carry over four hundred people depending on the type of plane.”
“I don’t know what to say; these things are impossible. I can’t believe it,” the doubting Thomas said.
“I hope to convince you,” she said quietly. “I told you lightning struck a tree. That is the truth. I wasn’t in a wagon. I was in my car and lost control. This is what a car looks l
ike.” She showed the car sketch. From the ranch, the Bar B to Fort Laramie took less than an hour. I was on my way back when all of this happened.”
“I’ll tell you, Abigail, I find all of this hard to believe. You went from Columbus to Laramie in six hours, and it took us six months. Miss Cora told me they believe you and they’re educated people, but I’m not.”
“I guess that is up to you. I believe I can prove it if I were at the ranch.”
“How?”
“I know some things that I doubt you know.”
“Miss Cora said you were the most intelligent person she’s ever met, so I guess you probably do. I’ve got to think about this.”
“I understand. You either believe, it or you don’t. You know where I’ll be.” She left the church and a befuddled young man, and returned to the hospital.
Chapter fourteen
An Invitation
“You’re home early,” Cora said.
“I told him everything and he’s having trouble accepting it. He said he had to think about it. The thing is, I understand that, and don’t blame him. It’s so farfetched, I don’t know if he can.”
“You convinced us. He loves you. He’ll come around.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Honey, all you have to do is look at his face. He’s all doe-eyed when he looks at you. He loves you all right.”
The next morning…
“May I come in?” Thomas asked, when Abby answered the door.
She stepped aside and motioned for him to enter. “Abigail… Abby, I’m trying to get all of this straight in my mind. I didn’t tell Papa any of what you said. I did tell him I was going to ask you to come back with us, because I’ve fallen in love with you. We’re leaving in the morning. Will you? Come with us, I mean. If you decide you don’t want to stay, we’ll bring you back.”
“I will. I was hoping you would ask. What time will we leave?”
“By eight o’clock. I’ll come collect you.”
“Thomas…?”
“Yes?”
“I would like for you to kiss me.”
Hesitantly, he took her in his arms and brought his lips to hers. She had her eyes closed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips were smooth and soft while his were chapped and dry from the sun. He felt the heat from her lips as it raced through his body looking for a place to settle.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever kissed a girl.”
“I’m glad it was me,” she murmured. Tightening her arms around his neck, she kissed him again, surprising herself with the feelings that bubbled to the surface. She pressed against him, as he massaged the softness of her lips. They broke the kiss.
“Did it get warm in here all of a sudden?” he asked.
“A little.”
“Have dinner with me?”
“I’d like that,” she said.
* * *
The next morning…
The sun had just peaked over the eastern horizon when Thomas called for her. She had all of her belongings in one bag. “I don’t have very much and what I do have is due to the kindness of Cora and Doctor Jim,” she told him.
“Cora, you and Doctor Jim have been lifesavers for me. I’ll never forget what you did for me and your belief in what I told you.”
“You’re the daughter we never had; it has been a genuine pleasure,” Cora replied.
“You can come back if you need to. There’s always a place for you in my hospital,” Doctor Turner said.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she hugged them one last time. Thomas took her bag, and led the way to the camp, where everything was packed and ready to go.
“You ride on the chuck wagon with Lem,” Josiah said.
Thomas gave her a hand up, before swinging his leg over the saddle and mounting his horse. They moved out, with the men who had helped drive the herd spread to the sides to avoid the dust. Two of them were driving the remuda.
At the end of the day, a tired Abigail offered to help the cook prepare supper. “No thank you, ma’am,” Lem said. “I’ve been doing this a lot of years. You take a walk and stretch your legs. It’ll help with the tightness.”
Thomas dismounted, brushed the dust from his clothing, and slapped his hat against his leg several times to dislodge the dust.
“Do you need to uh… you know?”
“Yes. Where do I go?”
“You’ll have some privacy over there.” He pointed to some bushes off to the left. “We’ll be right here. Yell if there’s a problem.”
“Thank you, Thomas.”
When she rejoined the camp, she said, “I’m going to walk around a bit. Are you too tired to join me?”
“No, it will feel good,” he replied.
“Did you tell your father about our discussion?”
“No, I thought it would be best for you to tell him and Mama at the same time.”
“I think that was a good idea.” She slipped her hand in his as they strolled ahead of the camp.
“You’re going to get all dirty,” he said.
“”Don’t you want to hold my hand?”
“Well, yes, but mine are dirty from the trail dust.”
“I’m not complaining,” she responded.
“Why did you decide to come?”
“It’s where my future is, and it’s where you are.”
Lem made a bed for her in the wagon, but she didn’t sleep well. Her mind kept going back to what had happened and what might be ahead for her. When she finally fell asleep, it seemed as if only minutes passed before she heard the noises of the camp coming to life.
The next afternoon, Thomas took the reins of the chuck wagon and Lem mounted the horse Thomas had been riding. “Are you nervous,” he asked her.
“A little,” she admitted.
He started telling her about the house and how it was built of stone gathered from the ranch itself. “I know,” she said.
“How do you know? I don’t remember telling you about it.”
“I’ve been there, remember. It’s the Bar B.” She described the original part of the house that had been pointed out by her grandmother.
He looked at her strangely as she continued. “The Bar B is where my grandmother and grandfather lived. The house was a lot bigger than it is now. I haven’t seen it like this, of course, but part of it was still standing and in use. My mother was a Barnes before she married by the way.”
“So you’re saying we’re kin?”
“I don’t know about that, because I’m not born yet technically. I know this is confusing to you. It confuses me and I’m living it. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t.
“I’d like for you to not mention our talk yet,” she said. “I’ll tell them tomorrow at dinner.”
“Okay.”
He stopped between the house and the barn, and helped her down. “Lem, I’ll take care of the horses, after I go in with Abigail.”
He pushed the door open, and followed Abby in. “Mama, we’re home,” he called out.
Chapter fifteen
The Bar B
Sophie came in, carrying a feather duster in one hand and a straw broom in the other. Her hair was covered by a scarf to block the dust. “There is just no end to the dust around here,” she said. She spotted Abby. “You came! I was so hoping you would.” She embraced her, patting her on the back with one hand and wrapping the other around her neck.
She hugged her son. It’s good to have you back. Where’s your pa?”
“Probably taking care of the horses. I’d better go help him. He’s more tired than I am.” To Abby, he said, “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Ma, do I smell apple pie?”
“I doubt you smell anything besides yourself. You have to clean up before you can have anything.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After he went outside, Sophie asked, “What made you decide to come?”
“I like Thomas, and I decided my future was here.”
�
�I’m glad you decided that way. Follow me and I’ll show you to what will be your room.”
“The men folk have been gone a good bit of the past two months and it’s been lonely around here. I’m glad they’re home. Except for things we can’t get from the small store in Laramie, they won’t have to be gone that long again until the spring roundup. We’re hoping the railroad is here before next fall. That’s going to make it so much easier on all of us.”
The small room had a bed and a chest. “There’s not much in here,” Sophie said, “but we’ve only used it when someone stays over unexpectedly, and that’s not often.”
“That’s all right. I don’t have much anyway,” Abby said.
“Let’s get some coffee. They’ll be back in and in want of some pie and coffee. We always have a big meal after they’ve been gone a while. We all love Lem, but he’s not much of a cook.”
Sitting at the table…
“Do you prefer Abigail or Abby?”
“It doesn’t matter. Mom and Dad called me Abby, Grandma called me Abigail and so did the doctor and Mrs. Turner. Thomas uses both.”
“I think I prefer Abigail,” Sophie said. “You just look like an Abigail to me.”
Thomas and Josiah joined them for the apple pie and coffee. “I believe I missed the apple pie more than anything else on the trail. Except Abigail of course.”
“Nice recovery,” Josiah told him.
Both men were tired, and Thomas fell asleep. Sophie woke him and told him to go to bed.
“Good night. I’m glad you came and I apologize for being such bad company,” he told Abby. “I’ll be up well before you, and I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“I’m glad I came too. Goodnight Thomas.” She kissed him lightly on the cheek.
“You have stolen his heart,” Sophie said, after he padded off to bed.
“He’s a nice man.”
“Do I hear a but coming?” Sophie asked.
“No, not at all. I like him. Mrs. Turner, whom I respect a great deal, likes him too.
“You’re not going to hurt my son are you?”
“Not intentionally, but I don’t know what he expects of me.”
“Thomas needs someone to love him. He hasn’t said so, but he believes you’re the one. I’ve been hoping he would find a nice girl, marry, and have a good life.
Romance in Time: An Oregon Trail Time Travel Romance Page 6