Westward Hearts

by Melody Carlson

  “Make up your mind about what?” Elizabeth closed the iron door with a clang.

  “If you and Matthew decide to go to Oregon, I will no longer oppose you. It may be in Matthew’s best interest to be on the other side of the continent. I may not be happy about it, but I will not stand in your way if you choose to go on the Oregon Trail.”

  “Oh?” Elizabeth smiled at her mother. “I appreciate that. But if it’s any comfort, I have made no such decision.”

  “But Matthew seems determined.” Clara picked up a piece of a broken shortcake cookie, popping it into her mouth.

  “What do you mean by determined?” Elizabeth took the other part of the broken cookie, nibbling on it.

  “I mean he’s been working out in the barn. He got the notion that he can outfit one of the farm wagons into a prairie schooner. Not only that, but he is working on some new innovations.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very. He’s been sawing and hammering. I took a peek at it while he was in the house, and I must say I was quite impressed. Matthew rigged up a long narrow box that’s attached alongside the wagon, but it folds down into a workbench or table of sorts, and there are places to hang and store pots and pans and cooking utensils behind it while traveling. But when it’s up, you hardly notice it. Very clever indeed.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “That does sound handy.”

  “I suggested he cut a hole in the board to hold a tub. It could act as a sink for washing up.”

  “That sounds like a good idea, Mother.”

  Clara waved her hand. “Well, if one is going to live like that for months on the dusty trail, one should be as comfortable as possible. Don’t you think?”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “Elizabeth?” Clara lowered her voice.

  “Yes?”

  Clara got a sly expression. “Be honest with me now… don’t try to spare my feelings.” Now she looked doubtful. “Do you think your father and I are too old to make an overland journey to the Oregon Territory?”

  Elizabeth was shocked but tried not to show it. “Too old?” She considered this for a moment and then slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so. You are both hard workers, and you’re in good health. I think if you truly wanted to go, you would be just fine.” She studied her mother carefully. “Do you want to go?”

  Clara shrugged. “I suppose I’m simply thinking out loud.”

  “Have you spoken to Father about this?”

  “Oh no, of course not! He would say I’ve gone daft.”

  Elizabeth laughed.

  “Two old grandparents bungling along down the Oregon Trail with a bunch of young whippersnappers… it does sound a bit batty.”

  “Not necessarily. You and Father have a lot to offer in the way of wisdom and experience. I know that if Matthew and I should decide to take this venture on, I will sorely miss your sage advice and your…” Elizabeth felt a wave of sadness now. “And your friendship too, Mother!”

  “Oh, Elizabeth.” Now Clara began to quietly cry. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her mother, holding her close and longing to assure her that she wasn’t really going to leave Selma or Kentucky or her family. However, she just wasn’t sure that was true. And so she held her tongue.

  Chapter Seven

  Everything seemed to move so quickly in the first week of the new year that Elizabeth wondered if she could possibly keep up. It started with an unseasonably warm spell that melted all the snow and ice within a day and consequently flooded the nearby creek, turning much of the farm into a lake. The ground on the road was so soft and muddy that she kept the children home from school. But the weather wasn’t the only thing changing. One evening, just before suppertime, Flax began to bark as if he heard an intruder, and Elizabeth looked out the window to see a horse and rider in front of the house. Upon closer inspection, she was pleased to see it was her brother.

  “You stay here,” she told the dog as she slipped outside to greet Matthew.

  “The parents were afraid your house might be underwater,” he said as he came onto the porch, where they both stood surveying the large brown pond that had once been her barnyard.

  “I’m not concerned.” She pointed to the water. “In fact, it seems to be receding. Tell them not to worry. But I do appreciate you checking on me.”

  He nodded as if satisfied, but didn’t appear to be leaving. “Well, my mind’s made up, Lizzie.”

  “Made up about what?”

  “I’m going to Oregon, sis. Come early spring, I’ll be on the Oregon Trail.”

  “Are you in earnest?”

  He looked westward with a longing in his eyes. “I’m ready for it.” He adjusted the brim of his hat against the bright rays of the sinking sun. “Well, I’m not actually ready, but I’m working on it.”

  “Mother told me about your invention.”

  He brightened. “I did some reading up, and it seems you don’t have to buy a prairie schooner. You can outfit your own wagon. That is, if you’ve got a sturdy one. And I figured I won’t need to haul as many goods as a full-size family would. Anyway, I’ve been doing some reading and making some modifications, and if I do say so myself, the wagon is looking pretty good.”

  “So you really plan to do this?” She could hardly believe it. “In the spring?”

  He nodded. “And I want you to understand that I don’t expect you and the children to go just because I’m going. Not unless you truly want to…and unless you know it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Oh, my…” She shook her head.

  “What?”

  “Well, the last time the children and I prayed about this—and, believe me, we’ve been praying about it a lot—but the last time—”

  “You mean Jamie and Ruth know you’re considering this?”

  “They most certainly do.”

  “What were you about to say, Lizzie? About praying with the kids?”

  “I was going to tell you how we prayed.” She took in a deep breath. “We asked God to show you, Matthew, because we have all decided we want to go. But we also decided we would not go unless God showed you first.”

  He shook his head in a confused way. “Well, I don’t rightly know that God showed me…but I do know I’m going, sis. My mind’s made up.”

  “Can you stay for supper?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”

  Naturally, Jamie and Ruth were thrilled to have Uncle Matthew as their supper guest. After Elizabeth asked the blessing, she invited Matthew to tell the children about his plans for the upcoming spring. His announcement had barely left his mouth when a loud whoop erupted from the Martin house—so loud that Elizabeth wondered if Brady would come running or if her parents might have heard it as well!

  “Does this mean we’re going too?” Jamie’s brown eyes gleamed hopefully.

  “Well, I don’t know…” Elizabeth glanced nervously at her brother.

  “We prayed that God would show Uncle Matthew what to do, Mama.” Ruth beamed at her uncle. “If he’s going on the Oregon Trail, we should be going too.”

  Matthew held up his hands in a helpless gesture. “Now, I don’t want to take responsibility for your ma’s decision,” he told them. “It’s a big decision. And she’s got to do what she thinks is best for ya’ll.”

  “Let’s put it to a vote,” Jamie suggested eagerly. “That’s how democracy works.”

  Matthew chuckled.

  “All right.” Elizabeth nodded. “Let’s put it to a vote—just for the fun of it.”

  “Should it be secret ballot?” Jamie asked with a serious expression.

  “You bet,” Matthew told him.

  “Wait until after supper,” Elizabeth told him.

  Throughout supper, the children quizzed Matthew regarding his plans to go to Oregon. Ironically, Matthew was now taking the role of expert, although Elizabeth felt sure that she probably knew more about these matters than he did. After all, she and James had begun looking into this many
years ago. However, she appreciated his enthusiasm, and it was clear that he’d done some investigating. She was also relieved to see him excited about something.

  After the supper dishes were cleared, Jamie brought in four slips of paper and a pencil. “If you want to go to the Oregon Territory, write down ‘go,’ ” he instructed. “If you want to stay here in Kentucky, write down ‘stay.’ ”

  Matthew chuckled as he took his paper. “Well, ya’ll know what my vote is. But I’ll play along just the same.”

  Elizabeth sat looking at her blank piece of paper for a long moment. She knew this vote wasn’t going to become law, but she wanted to vote sincerely.

  “Here you go,” Matthew handed her the pencil they were sharing.

  As she looked in his eyes, she remembered her mother’s dream, and a cold chill ran down her spine. She couldn’t bear to lose her little brother to a war. Not after losing James and Peter. It was hard to believe that war could really intrude upon their gentle community, but she couldn’t pretend it was impossible.

  “Come on, Mama,” Ruth urged her.

  Elizabeth wrote down her vote and handed the pencil to Ruth, and as soon as she printed her response, Jamie printed his and gathered up the slips. Sitting at the head of the table, he opened the first one and began to read. “One vote for go.” He opened the next. “Two votes for go.” He continued until it was clear that the vote was unanimous. “Everyone wants to go to Oregon!” he proclaimed victoriously.

  “Does that mean we’re going, Mama?” Ruth looked hopeful. “Truly going?”

  Elizabeth gave Matthew a nervous smile and then turned back to her children. “Is that what you two really want?”

  They both nodded eagerly.

  “Well, it’s always what your father dreamed of…for us. It was what we’d planned to do…” She closed her eyes, realizing that she felt calm and peaceful inside, as if this was exactly the right decision for them. “So it looks to me like we will be going.”

  Jamie and Ruth both jumped up and began dancing about the room. And it wasn’t long until their enthusiasm pulled Elizabeth and Matthew to their feet and they were dancing too.

  “Are you going to tell Mother and Father?” she asked Matthew when it was finally time for him to leave.

  He shrugged. “You want me to wait?”

  She shook her head. “No, you go ahead and tell them if it comes up.” She considered confiding to him about what their mother had said recently, asking if she was too old to go to Oregon. But she thought better of it. Mother could speak for herself if she wanted to.

  “There’s a lot to get done before we go,” Matthew told her.

  “Yes. We will have to sit down and make plans.” She still wondered if she could do this. So much was at stake now. “I’ll have to ask Thomas Barron if he still wants to buy the farm. James had promised to sell to him if we left.”

  “I bet he’ll jump on it. It’ll more than double his acreage. And his wife will probably be eager to move into your house. It’s so much nicer than their cabin.”

  Elizabeth knew that was true. She also knew, despite her father’s claims that she would never find such comforts out West, she would be perfectly happy to leave this all behind. She couldn’t even explain exactly why. She simply knew it was time to move on. And she was ready to go. Above all else, and as strange as it might seem to anyone else, she could sense James cheering her and the children on. They were going west!

  Elizabeth wasn’t terribly surprised to spot her parents’ carriage pulling up in front of her house the next morning. Fortunately, the standing water had receded, and although the ground was still soggy, the children had already ridden Molly to school. She didn’t usually let them ride a horse to school, but the idea of them slogging through the mud made no sense. Besides, she realized it would be prudent for them to both get more comfortable on horseback. Jamie was an experienced rider, but Ruth still had room for improvement.

  “Hello,” she called out to her parents, watching as her father helped her mother from the carriage. Brady came hurrying from the barn, giving Asa a hand with the team.

  “Elizabeth!” her mother exclaimed. “Matthew tells us that you have decided to go west. We wish to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Come in, come in.” Elizabeth opened the door. “The coffee is still—”

  “We did not come for coffee,” Asa said in a stern tone. “We came to talk some sense into our daughter.”

  Casting a concerned glance toward Brady, who didn’t yet know of her plans, Elizabeth ushered her parents into the house. “Please,” she said to her father. “Brady doesn’t know yet and—”

  “You’re worried about Brady?” He frowned. “What about us?”

  She patted her father’s shoulder. “I’m plenty worried about you, Father. But Brady is dependent on me, and I—”

  “Brady is a good man. He’ll have no problem finding employment,” Clara assured her as she peeled off her gloves.

  “We’ll be happy to have him work for us.” Asa hung his hat on the hall tree and began to remove his coat.

  “Elizabeth!” Clara blinked and opened her eyes wide. “You’re not wearing black!”

  Elizabeth looked down at her calico dress. “Well, there’s some black in the print. But you’re right, it’s mostly violet.” She sighed. “Ruthie had been begging me to put away my widow’s weeds.”

  “Good for her.” Clara briskly handed Elizabeth her hat. “But that is not what we came to discuss.”

  “That’s for sure and for certain.” Asa shook his head glumly.

  Elizabeth felt guilty as she led the way to the kitchen. She knew her parents were hurt by this news, but what could she do to soften the blow? Soon they were seated around the table with three mugs of hot coffee and a plate of leftover doughnuts between them.

  “There’s really not much to say,” Elizabeth quietly told them. “We have decided to go with Matthew to Oregon.”

  “Just like that?” Asa shook his head.

  She gazed sadly at her parents, wishing there was an easier way to do this. “The hardest part by far will be leaving you two.”

  “Yes…well, that is precisely why I insisted your father and I pay you a visit this morning.” Clara spoke in an uncertain tone that didn’t sound quite right. “In order to discuss this a bit further.”

  “Not that it will do much good.” Asa picked up a doughnut and peered into the hole as if looking for something. “Seems to me she’s already made up her mind, Clara.”

  “It seems that way….” Clara looked intently at Elizabeth now. “But I am not going to take this lying down.”

  Elizabeth blinked. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  “I refuse to sit idly by as my only two living children and my two precious grandchildren trek to the ends of the earth…perhaps never to be seen again.” She pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing her eyes, although Elizabeth didn’t detect any tears. “There is only so much an old woman can take.”

  “You’re not an old woman,” Asa insisted. Now he pointed a finger at Elizabeth. “See what you’ve done to your poor mother.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Elizabeth patted Clara’s hand with a curious look. Either Elizabeth was mistaken or her mother was up to something.

  Clara turned to Asa now. “It seems our hands are tied. Apparently the only thing left to do is to pack up and go with them.”

  Asa’s heavy brows arched. “Go with them? Have you lost your senses, woman? You want to go with them? At our age?”

  Clara tilted her head to one side. “But you just said I’m not an old woman, Asa.”

  “Well, you aren’t. Not exactly, anyway. But you cannot be serious.”

  She gave him a stern look. “I am serious. If the children insist on doing this, I must insist on going with them.”

  He blinked. “You can’t possibly mean what you’re saying, Clara.”

  She nodded firmly. “I do mean this. Matthew and Elizabeth…Jamie and Ruthie…the
y are all I have.”

  “You have me,” Asa said meekly.

  She put her hand on his cheek. “I know, dear. It would be terribly hard to leave you behind. But there are four of them…and only one of you. So tell me true, Asa, could you honestly sit by and watch them leave—perhaps never to be seen again?”

  “Well, I… uh…I don’t know for sure.”

  “You used to be a strong and adventurous man, Asa. You loved hunting and fishing and riding the horses.” Clara squeezed his arm. “I hate to say it, but you’ve let yourself get a little soft.”

  Now he lifted his arm, flexing his muscle with a determined look. “I am not soft!”

  She squeezed again and then chuckled. “No, I see you’re not. That’s what I’m saying, Asa. There’s a lot of life left in you—and in me. Why shouldn’t we want to have an adventure together? And with our children and grandchildren? Certainly, you don’t want to spend the rest of your days sitting in your rocking chair, do you?”

  He frowned. “Well, no…of course not.”

  “So why shouldn’t we go? What is stopping us?” She looked directly into his eyes. “You’re not scared, are you?”

  “Scared?” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, no…I’m not scared. But I’ve read a lot about the Oregon Trail. It’s a grueling trip, Clara. Full of perils and pitfalls and dangers.”

  “So you are scared?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I am not scared. But are you sure you’re capable of such a strenuous journey?”

  She sat up straighter, narrowing her eyes. “You doubt me?”

  “No, no…I’m not saying that, dear. But have you given this serious thought?”

  “I have thought of little else since Christmas Eve.”

  Asa looked at Elizabeth now. He appeared to be just as stunned as she. “What do you think about this?”

  She paused to consider her words. “I think…well, if you and Mother know this is the right thing for you…I mean, if you truly believe God is leading you in this direction…then I would love nothing more than for you to join us on this adventure.”

  He frowned with uncertainty. “You don’t think we’re too old?”