The Long Way Home

by Lauraine Snelling

  Jesselynn and Benjamin mounted up in the cool breezes before the stars left off their twinkling. The rest of the folks were just starting to shuffle around.

  ‘‘God be wid you.’’ Meshach’s blessing lifted on the cool air. ‘‘We be prayin’.’’

  ‘‘We too. See you back at the fort, if not before.’’

  The two rode into the rising sun, watching it gild the hillcrests and paint the clouds in shades of joy. They kept the horses at a steady jog, stopping to rest midmorning, then pushing on. When they reached a wide creek, they dismounted and let the horses have a couple of gulps of water before pulling them back to graze. Jesselynn removed her boots and rolled up her pant legs before striding out in the creek. She dipped water and splashed it up her arms and over her face.

  Ahab threw up his head, his nicker catching Benjamin unaware.

  ‘‘Now, ain’t this a purty sight.’’ Tommy Joe Jones stepped from behind a tree, his rifle at the ready. A slouch hat shaded a face that might have been handsome had it not been mashed so many times by fists and even cut by a knife. To Jesselynn he was ugly as sin and ten times meaner, inside and out.

  His laugh sent fear stampeding up Jesselynn’s back. ‘‘What are you doing here?’’

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘‘Why, we was just stoppin’ fer a drink, same as you.’’

  ‘‘We?’’ Anything to buy time.

  ‘‘Oh, me’n my purty little wife.’’

  The slitting of Tommy Joe’s eyes told her much about his feelings for his ‘‘purty little wife.’’ The way he knocked her around, she’d long before lost her ‘‘purtiness’’ to his heavy fists.

  ‘‘No hope, I suppose, that your brother’s dead?’’

  ‘‘Nope, none.’’

  The leer he gave her sent more chills racing up Jesselynn’s spine. While she had a pistol stuck in the waistband of her pants, reaching for it would be sure death. Without moving her head, she glanced sideways to see what Benjamin was doing. He had a rifle on the other side of his horse if he could get to it.

  ‘‘Well, Mr. Jones, if you’re lookin’ for a drink, I’ll move out of your way. Plenty of water here for everyone.’’ She took a step toward the bank, but the end of the rifle now pointed directly at her.

  ‘‘No, you don’t.’’ He stepped out farther and leveled the rifle, the grin on his lips nowhere near matching the flames in his eyes. ‘‘Take yer hat off.’’

  ‘‘My hat?’’

  ‘‘You heerd me. Don’t ya understand English? Take yer hat off—now!’’

  Jesselynn did as he asked, clutching the worn brim at her side.

  ‘‘Ah, your hair, it’s done growd some. Bet you was real purty afore you cut it all off.’’

  Jesselynn narrowed her eyes, staring directly into his. Even across the distance she could see the spittle gathering at the corner of his mouth. Oh, dear God, I’m in real trouble now. He knows I’m a woman, and he has just one use for women, other than knocking them around. Any time you want to send some angels in would be fine with me. ‘‘How’s that leg doing that I bound up for you?’’ The two Jones brothers had gotten into a shooting argument, and much to her disgust, she’d been on hand to patch them up.

  ‘‘Good as new. Got a little somethin’ else you can do fer me now, though. Take yer shirt off.’’

  ‘‘Sorry, can’t do that. Wouldn’t be at all proper.’’ Keeping her lips or any other part of herself from quivering took intense concentration. If those angels didn’t show up, she’d need every bit of backbone she’d ever had.

  He stepped forward. ‘‘I said, take yer shirt off—now!’’

  ‘‘Now, Tommy Joe, you know what your mama would say about such goings on.’’

  ‘‘My mama is long gone, and even if she was right here, I knowed how to handle Mama.’’ He waved the rifle. ‘‘Yer shirt.’’

  In looking down to the buttons, Jesselynn glanced at Benjamin from under her lashes. He needed more time too. With shaking fingers she pulled her shirt out of her pants and freed the lowest button. Raising her head to stare at Jones with all the venom she could muster, she let her shirttails flap.

  He licked his lips.

  She slowly pushed the next button back through the fabric and, with fingers curled under the edges, held the shirtfronts apart so he could see her waistband. As she revealed the front, the gun at her back felt heavier.

  ‘‘You’re going to regret this.’’ She kept her voice conversational while her fingers fussed with the third button. Lord, if not angels, would you send Wolf? Please, I want to see him again.

  ‘‘Sure, who’s goin’ ter make me? You?’’ His laugh made the rifle bounce.

  She shuddered. His finger had been so close to the trigger, he could have fired accidentally.

  ‘‘You mind if I get a drink? I’m powerful thirsty.’’

  He wavered. ‘‘I guess that won’t hurt nothin’. Just make our little game last longer, that’s all.’’ He motioned with his head. ‘‘Drink away.’’

  Jesselynn leaned forward to scoop water up in her hand. The other still held her hat. Could she shield her arm with her hat and retrieve her pistol? She dipped another handful and let some run down the front of her shirt.

  Tommy Joe Jones stared at her, took two steps forward, his gaze burning into her shirtfront.

  She sighed, an audible sigh that carried directly to his ears. ‘‘Ah, this water is so fine. Nothing quenches one’s thirst like a clear flowing stream on a hot day.’’ When she stood, she drank again and patted her cheeks with her wet hand. ‘‘Aren’t you thirsty, Tommy Joe Jones?’’ Her voice carried a lilt put there by sheer desperation. Never in her life had she behaved like this, but if wanton would save their lives, wanton she could act. Come on, Benjamin, get the gun.

  Keeping her gaze on the man with the rifle, she undid the next button, one to go. If she weren’t wearing the strips she used to bind her breasts, he’d be staring at bare flesh. The thought alone made her skin tighten. Surely maggots crawling on her body couldn’t feel any worse.

  Tommy Joe took another step forward. The gun barrel pointed toward the ground.

  ‘‘Ah, this water feels so good. You ever learned to swim, Tommy Joe?’’

  Another step. Benjamin took two and disappeared behind Domino.

  She arched her back. Lord, forgive me if actin’ this way is against any of your commandments. It’s not me doin’ the lustin’ here. She splashed one hand in the water. The gun, if only she could get to her gun.

  ‘‘Take it off!’’ He hawked and spat, his eyes never leaving her chest.

  Jesselynn slid the final button through its hole and with both hands keeping the shirt closed, lifted the front of her shirt so that it fell back, revealing her shoulders.

  Tommy Joe Jones took one more step forward. He never saw the brown arm that threw the knife, hitting him right between the shoulder blades. ‘‘Arrrg.’’ His groan strangled in his throat as he pitched forward face first into the water. The barrel of his rifle smacked the edge of the stream, sending up a small spurt.

  Benjamin slowly waded into the water and lifted Tommy Joe. ‘‘He be dead.’’

  ‘‘It couldn’t be helped, Benjamin. You had no choice. God knows.’’ Jesselynn’s hand shook a bit as she pulled her shirt back into place. Stuffing it in her waistband, she strode out of the creek. ‘‘I’ll water the horses while you pull him back in the brush, and let’s get out of here before his brother comes looking for him.’’ While it seemed like hours since Tommy Joe Jones strolled back into their lives, she knew it had been only a matter of minutes.

  Keeping her gun at the ready, she led the horses to the water. After staring across the creek for a few seconds, Ahab dropped his head and drank. Jesselynn breathed a sigh of relief. But how had the man gotten that close to them without her watchdog, or watchhorse in his case, letting them know? Unless he’d already been there and was downwind so Ahab didn’t smell him.

  She looked up to s
ee Benjamin with a leafy branch brushing out the tracks the dragging heels had caused. He reset a stone that had been turned over and, standing, looked back to check his handiwork.

  ‘‘Looks fine.’’

  ‘‘I’se sorry I took so long, Marse Jesse. Had to wait till his back to me.’’ Benjamin walked upstream and bellied down to get a drink. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and reached for the reins. ‘‘We go soon’s you get your boots on.’’

  I wonder where his no-good brother is. Not far, likely. We better get out of here. Jesselynn sat down to pull on her wool socks and then her boots, all the while checking over her shoulder in case Rufus showed up. Knowing him, he was most likely abusing his brother’s wife, one way or another.

  When Ahab dropped his head to snatch a few mouthfuls of grass, she breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of taking the body into the fort went out of her mind as fast as it came in. There was no way on God’s green earth she was wasting any more horsepower, manpower, or even regrets on a man like Tommy Joe Jones. He’d earned the hell he’d be consigned to.

  They crossed the creek and kept to the trees until they were far enough away so that Rufus Jones wouldn’t see them, then picked up a lope to make up for some of the lost time. They covered five miles or so before either of them said a word.

  ‘‘He were a bad’un.’’ Benjamin finally broke the stillness.

  Jesselynn could only think of one worse, Cavendar Dunlivey, who’d burned Twin Oaks to the ground and then come after her. While she hadn’t pulled the trigger there, she had left him, gut shot, to die. Did war bring out the worst in men, or did they always harbor such cruelty behind a thin veneer of civility? Another one of those questions for which there were no answers.

  ‘‘You all right, Marse?’’ Benjamin raised his voice in case she hadn’t heard him before.

  Jesselynn nodded. She could still hear the thunk the knife made, and she knew if she closed her eyes she would see the shock on Tommy Joe’s face as he fell forward. Lord, what if . . .How do I. . . ? She couldn’t even finish the thoughts. Lord, am I becoming as callous as these men? This thought gave her another case of the shakes. ‘‘Thank you for saving our hides back there,’’ she finally responded to Benjamin.

  ‘‘You done more’n me. If he hadn’t been . . .’’ Benjamin let his words trail off. He shuddered.

  Jesselynn knew that if anyone discovered who’d killed the man, Benjamin would be hung without judge or jury. I can’t let them at Benjamin. Father, I promised not to lie anymore. How? What?

  So many have died. Please, Father, protect us.

  ‘‘What we goin’ do?’’

  ‘‘Nothing.’’ Jesselynn sighed. ‘‘We’re goin’ to trust in God to protect us.’’

  ‘‘Yes, suh.’’ But the fear hadn’t left his eyes.

  When they finally reached Fort Laramie several days later, they heard the bugle blowing the evening call and saw the flag coming down for the night. The haunting notes floated over the valley. As they rode closer, Jesselynn searched the grazing horses to see if Wolf ’s Appaloosa was among them. She took in a deep breath and let it out. So much for that hope, but perhaps Wolf was within the quadrangle somewhere.

  Or maybe he’s long gone, and you’ve been building up false hopes. She ignored that reasonable sounding voice within her head and continued to hope. Just the thought of seeing Wolf again set her heart to thumping.

  ‘‘What can we do for you?’’ The first soldier they saw wore the bars of a sergeant.

  ‘‘I’m Jesse Highwood. We came through here with a wagon train, the one led by Gray Wolf Torstead, until Cobalt took over.’’ The man nodded. ‘‘Our train met up with a terrible thunderstorm and a near stampede.’’

  ‘‘Where’s the train now?’’

  ‘‘Those that still trusted Jason Cobalt are on their way to Oregon Territory, taking a shortcut he talked them into.’’

  ‘‘I take it you weren’t part of that trusting group.’’

  ‘‘No, sir. We have five wagons on their way back to the fort. We’re hoping for another train.’’ Or for Wolf to come back to us.

  ‘‘How bad was the damage?’’

  ‘‘Three people killed, several wagons beyond repair, and probably half their supplies gone.’’

  ‘‘And the oxen and horses?’’

  ‘‘We kept the herd safe.’’ She noted his raised eyebrow. ‘‘The herd was some behind the wagons. Got them down in a hollow and running in a circle.’’

  ‘‘That was good herding.’’ He looked up at her, head turned slightly to the side. ‘‘Didn’t Cobalt circle the wagons?’’

  ‘‘No, sir.’’

  ‘‘Well, I’ll be . . .’’ The man shook his head. ‘‘See any Indians?’’

  ‘‘Only one that trailed us for some days. I never saw him.’’

  ‘‘Hmm. No new wagon trains shown up since you left. Nowhere near as many this year as in the past. Folks scared of the Indians, if’n you ask me.’’

  ‘‘Have you seen Wolf?’’ She hardly dared look at the man when she asked the question that had been festering like a boil.

  ‘‘Cap’n sent him out elk hunting with a squad.’’

  ‘‘So he hasn’t left for the north, then?’’ She kept her lips pressed together with an effort. Wolf hadn’t left!

  ‘‘Nope, but he didn’t look any too happy at the setback. He’ll go north soon as he can load his ponies.’’

  Jesselynn touched her fingers to her hat brim. ‘‘Thank you, sir, you’ve been most helpful.’’

  ‘‘What we gonna do now?’’ Benjamin rode beside her.

  ‘‘Guess we get something to eat and ask where we can bed down. I’ll go on over and talk with the captain’s wife, Mrs. Jensen. She was real nice when we were here.’’ They angled their horses across the parade grounds and dismounted in front of a two-story white house with porches across the front on both levels. The green trim looked freshly painted, and lace tieback curtains graced the windows. Flipping the reins over the hitching rail in front, Jesselynn mounted the two steps to the porch.

  ‘‘I stay wid de horses.’’

  Jesselynn nodded and crossed to knock on the green door. She’d barely raised her hand when the door flew open and Rebeccah Jensen took her hand and drew her inside.

  ‘‘Land sakes, child, what a wonderful surprise. I thought you’d be halfway to Fort Bridger by now.’’ She stopped her river flow of words and looked deep into Jesselynn’s eyes. ‘‘Something bad happened, didn’t it, to bring you back like this?

  Come, come in and sit down. Supper will be ready in a little bit.’’

  ‘‘No, I can’t . . .’’ Jesselynn motioned to her dusty pants and pointed to Benjamin out front. ‘‘We’ve been riding all day. I reckon you might let us have a plate of supper out on your back stoop or something. Or you could tell us where to go to get something to eat.’’

  ‘‘You think I’m going to waste female companionship like that? Not on your sweet smile. Why, I reckon a bath might be something you’d enjoy. Then, while Clara is washing your clothes, you can wear a dress of mine. Bet you’re dying to wear a dress again after all these months in those britches. I’ll send my maid out to show your boy where to put the horses.’’

  As she spoke, Rebeccah hustled Jesselynn up the stairs and into a guest room that had a hip bath in the corner. ‘‘I’ll send water right up. There’s soap and towels behind that screen. Oh, I am so excited to have you back. Are you thinking of staying here? Now that would be pure delightful.’’

  Jesselynn hated to break in on this happy daydream, but she had to set the woman straight. ‘‘No, we’re not staying. I came back to see if I could talk Wolf into taking our much smaller train on to Oregon.’’

  ‘‘Oh, I see.’’ From a chifforobe Rebeccah pulled a white cot- ton dress sprigged with blue forget-me-nots and the bodice laced with blue ribbon. She held it up against Jesselynn. ‘‘This should fit about right. You and I aren’t too differe
nt in size.’’

  ‘‘But . . . but this is too nice. An old housedress would do me just fine.’’ In spite of what her mouth was saying, her fingers had a mind of their own, and that mind said to stroke the fabric and remember what a dress feels like.

  Jesselynn could feel the heat creeping up her neck. ‘‘But I don’t have any undergarments either. Please, this is too much.’’

  ‘‘Nonsense.’’ Rebeccah turned to a chest of drawers and pulled out the necessary camisole, pantaloons, and petticoats, all made of the finest lawn and trimmed with lace and ribbons. ‘‘I don’t have an extra corset, but you are too thin to lace up anyway. I heard that corsets are going out of style.’’

  ‘‘Water’s here.’’ A voice spoke from the hall.

  ‘‘Come in.’’ Rebeccah spun away to open the door. A black woman with a bucket of water in each hand led the way, followed by another.

  Just the sound of the water swishing into the tub made a smile begin in Jesselynn’s heart and spread quickly to her face. A bath, a real honest-to-heaven bath, with hot water and soap.

  ‘‘Enjoy yourself. When you finish, if I haven’t called you yet for supper, you can stretch out on that bed for a few minutes. Might feel real good.’’ Rebeccah shepherded the two servants out ahead of her, then peeked back around the door. ‘‘Happy bathing.’’

  Her light laugh trailed behind her as she descended the stairs.

  Jesselynn needed no second invitation. Within moments she was stripped to the skin and stepping into hot water scented with rose petals. The fragrance rose with the steam, and no matter that the air temperature was hot as the water, she sank into the froth with a sigh. Leaning back against the slanted metal, she closed her eyes and inhaled to full lung capacity. When she let it all out, she took another breath, sank under the water, and came up blowing and wiping the wet hair from her face. She soaped herself, scrubbed her hair, and sank again. A sound made her open her eyes upon rising.

  ‘‘Don’t pay me no nevermind. I jest set this pitcher here for rinsing.’’ The black maid left as silently as she’d come.