A Love So Bold
by Anon Allsop

The story continues - Hope you enjoy!

-Fifty One-

Hannah had prepared breakfast for them all; while the children were eating, Gideon was seeing to their animals. “Once you are finished, put your dishes in our bucket and I’ll wash them.” She called out, “I’ll take care of them as soon as I’m done with Em.”

Cade quickly dropped his empty tin into the bucket and went off in search of his father. Watching from the back of the wagon where she was changing Emma, she saw Rachel kneel next to the bucket and begin to wash off the tins. Hannah smiled inwardly, as without being asked, the young girl took it upon herself to assist her.

Slowly Hannah carried Em over to where Rachel was busy working, “I’ve got them almost done,” she replied with a smile.

“I see that! Thank you for the help!” She gently caressed the girl’s face and smiled, “I really appreciate it.”

Rachel grinned broadly, and then continued to scrub the remaining dishes. “I like helping…I used to help momma all the time before…” Her voice trailed away as memories overtook her.

The three sat quietly for several seconds, Hannah saw that Rachel was on the verge of crying. “Did I ever tell you about a very good family I knew?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Rachel.

“There was a young man named Ezrah who was heading west with his family. He loved them very much. One day while he was riding along the trail, not far from his parents’ wagon, Indians attacked their train and of all that were there…very few survived.”

“The poor man...” she said in her thick German accent. “What happened to him…to Ezrah?”

“Well, when the Indians left, he went back to see if his parents survived. Only his father was alive but was severely injured, and dying.” Hannah had her eyes glaze over with tears as she was telling Ezrah’s story, “His father’s last words were to take their horse and leave quickly, so the young man was forced to leave without even burying his parents, because of his father’s fear that the Indians would return.”

“This Ezrah’s story is like my own,” Rachel realized. “We both lost our family.” She looked into the bucket at the rag she held, then dipped the tin and wiped the surface. “What happened to him, to Ezrah?”

Hannah forced a smile and stroked the girl’s long hair, “He lives. Ezrah’s story is still being written.”

As they sat talking, a slight mist began to fall. “Come on, child, we’d better be gathering up our belongings and getting them into the wagon.” Hannah watched as Rachel quickly finished the remainder of the dishes and carried the bucket of wastewater to the edge of camp and dumped it.

Hannah stood and was beginning to gather items for the wagon when she was startled by Cade’s sudden appearance. As would be typical of a young boy, he laughed at his mother’s reaction.

“Were you sneaking up on me?”

“No, I heard you tell Rachel to pick up the camp and I was helping you.” He carried items to the back of the wagon, handing them up to Gideon who was already inside. He put them away and took what Hannah was holding. In no time at all they were packed and ready to roll once again.

Since the day was turning dreary, Cade was in the back of their wagon reading aloud to Rachel and Emma. It brought tears to Hannah’s eyes seeing how he had welcomed Rachel into their family. Hannah glanced toward the back of the wagon; her deep sigh caused Gideon to turn toward her.

“Expecting to see Blackie tied back there?”

“You know me too well.” She turned back around. “That horse meant so much to my father…and I’m the one who lost him.”

Gideon patted her slender thigh, “You didn’t lose him. He just ran away.”

“I know…” She sighed, “Now he will probably end up as some Indian’s prize.”

“Would that be so bad? Indians love and revere their horses.” He tried to reassure her. “He’s probably still trying to figure out where we went.”

“That isn’t helping…” She frowned, looking toward the opposite side of the Snake River they were paralleling. She put her hand out of the wagon and watched little droplets of rain fall into her palm, then quietly drew her bonnet up over her hair.

Cade paused during his reading, looking up he sighed. “I miss riding Blackie.”

Hannah realized that he had been listening to them talk, “I know, honey, I miss him too!”

Gideon turned slightly and spoke over his shoulder, “Finish your story, son, I’m waiting on the ending.” He glanced toward Hannah and winked. Cade opened the book again and started reading, his voice was soft and clear.

It was beginning to rain; Gideon reached up and pulled out a makeshift canvas awning so they were at least covered from the rain. Hannah studied the little bent rod that held it, the weight of the canvas kept it tight.

Gideon cleared his throat, speaking softly to Hannah, “I heard you telling your story to Rachel.”

“We are kindred spirits, she and I.”

“It was still nice of you to share it.” He smiled, “It just shows her that some folks are dealt bad hands in life…it’s left up to you on how you play them out.”

Hannah smiled and circled her arm around his, hugging him in the process. “I just got lucky finding you and the children.”

Gideon nodded, “What you were saying last night, while we was… well.” His face reddened, causing her to laugh. He looked into the distance, the rain looking much like fog as it fell.

“My Grandma had a ring; my mother gave it to me after Grandma had died. It had a red stone in it.”

“A ruby most likely.”

Gideon laughed and continued, “When Hannah and I got married, I gave it to her as our wedding ring.”

“Oh, no…It’s buried out there in the…” she began.

Gideon interrupted her, “No, by that time she had stopped wearing it. She threw it at me about two weeks before she had died.”

“Well that’s good. I’d hate for you to lose it to the desert.” She did not look at him.

“I was wondering, since you’re having my baby and all… would you wear the ring?” He looked at her as she slowly turned toward him.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” He laughed, “If you’re going to be here with us as Hannah, I want to make sure you realize how much we all care for you each and every day!”

She sat and thought, overwhelmed by what a ring truly meant to a woman. Glancing down toward her left hand she looked upon the unadorned fingers, slender and feminine that she now possessed. She caressed the area where a ring would rest.

She looked at Gideon, “Are you sure?”

“It doesn’t make me any difference where you came from. You were dealt a bad hand losing your folks like you did… but to accept Hannah’s life wholeheartedly, to allow me into your bed, to carry my child…”

“Our child,” she corrected him.

He smiled, “That’s what I mean, and you have accepted her life as your own. You have settled in and have become the perfect woman that Hannah could never have dreamed of being. I want you to have this ring as a promise from me, to take care of you all of your remaining days here on earth.” He held the ring out, the tiny ruby red stone glinting back. “It ain’t much but it is all I got! Every time you look at it, it’ll say ‘Hannah Shepherd, I love you’!”

Behind them the children giggled. “I’ll cherish it all of my days.” He carefully slipped the ring onto her finger, sliding it along until it stopped.

Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at the simple ring. The red stone on a golden band, which held so much promise and love that she couldn’t help but beam with thankfulness. She glanced toward his finger, still wearing the band that Hannah gave to him long ago.

He followed her eyes, “I can get a different one if you like, but when we get near a preacher, we’ll do it up right.”

“I will not change the ring that Hannah gave to you, but if we do find a preacher…we can have them both prayed over.”

He smiled, “Then it’ll be our vows, our rings, our wedding.” His smile suddenly turned, “It’s too bad that we’ll miss out on all the honeymoon fun.”

“You do realize that I’m pregnant,” she said laughing. “Don’t worry yourself too much though; I’m sure we can figure out some special way to celebrate.”

Gideon grinned, “I’m getting excited just thinking about it!”

“Don’t be getting too excited. We’ve got a trail to navigate.”

“Yep, you’re a woman alright. One mention of fun and you…”

“Watch it, mister, you just may not want to go there…” She scolded but began laughing.

He smiled as he watched her, “God, you are so beautiful.”

Her reply was to draw herself into his side, and lay her head upon his shoulder. He kissed her tenderly on her upturned lips; so soft and inviting, even way out in this cold, unpleasant land.

-Fifty Two-

The days droned on in repetition, each week was nearly like the previous week. Their lives became almost a programmed routine upon the trail, much like the rising and setting of the sun, knowing that it will happen, and unable to prevent its progress.

As Arden was beginning to show with each passing day, her excitement washed over them all as the new life began to grow. Hannah on the other hand, was in constant flux of illness. Her stomach would lurch from different smells - sometimes the items she had enjoyed in the past would send her scurrying for the brush.

On one such occasion, Gideon followed her to the edge of camp and knelt beside her, holding her long red locks away from her face. "I am truly sorry for putting you through all of this."

Hannah slowly rose up, sitting upon her knees. "Don't be sorry - I had a hand in on it too."

He crouched beside her and gently rubbed her back, "Are you going to be alright?"

"For now, probably not..." She smiled weakly, "Eventually, I sure hope so." As Gideon stood up, he gently assisted her to her feet.

Ever since her transformation, Hannah had to come to grips with the daily result of being a woman. Many of the normal functions that she had taken for granted as Ezrah, were now compounded by the mere fact that she wore a dress. She sighed at the thought of how much her own life had changed.

Simple functions, such as her toilet, had become a whole new adventure to her, even so many months later. She would stand beside the wagon and watch Gideon shirtless, shoe one of the mules. She would fondly think back to when she was able to go without a shirt.

She shuddered as she thought of him without his shirt, but it wasn’t from disgust but rather of that yearning that only an admiring lover could experience. So integral a part of her psyche had her feminine side progressed, that mere thoughts like this created a strange warmth within her. Of course, she knew what it was, but coming from where she had been, it still was a strange feeling to become used to.

As she rode in their wagon, often she would glance down at her stomach. Even though she had the maternal practice of nursing Em, this new experience of pregnancy left no doubt that she was female as any natural born woman. The fact that there was a baby growing inside her womb, drove home the point even further that she was destined to become exactly what others saw of her.

She knew Gideon was staring at her. Finally he broke the silence. “You’re pretty quiet, is everything alright?”

“I’m just thinking.”

“Thinking…about our baby? Regretting becoming pregnant?”

She looked down at the first sets of mules before the wagon, and then began to shake her head. “No, I don’t regret it at all.”

“Why then are you so melancholy?”

She looked at him, “I’m not melancholy…whatever it means.”

He chuckled, “Sad, gloomy, perhaps quiet.”

“Oh then, I guess I am.” She laughed slightly, “But I’d never regret becoming pregnant.”

“That’s good to hear,” he replied honestly.

“Besides, together we created this life growing inside of me; I’d never have remorse over that.” She looked at him and smiled, “I love you too much to ever regret anything.”

Gideon spoke earnestly yet tenderly, “I’m going to ask you something strange. Please humor me and just answer as truthfully as you can.” He glanced quickly toward her and then returned his eyes to driving the team. “Being a former male, what is it like to know you are pregnant? I mean, can you feel the child moving?”

She shrugged, “Coming from where I did, I don’t think that is a strange question at all.” She raised her slender hand up and pointed her thumb toward the back of the wagon, “I mean, if you really wanted to know, there is this little necklace in the…”

“Oh no…hell no!” he whispered with a laugh, “One day was enough for me.” He then glanced at Hannah to judge her expression at his comment. “I’m sorry, Hannah; I shouldn’t have said it that way.”

She shrugged, “I’m not offended. I guess after you have been like this as long as I have, you eventually get used to being a female. Looking back at how far I’ve come since I became Hannah…and knowing what I’d lose if I changed back, I’d do it again.”

Looking down she smiled, “To answer your question, I have to admit that it is like a book has been opened to a chapter that impossible to imagine.” Her gaze returned to him, “My mind tells me that what has happened - can’t happen, yet the unmistakable fluttering in my stomach tells me that indeed there is something there.”

Gideon nodded to her and smiled, “Thank you.”

She tenderly touched his arm; the loving caress caused him to grin broadly. With a snap of the reins, he turned his head back toward the trail, and focused on navigating around the embankment where it had collapsed during the last storm. They had been running parallel to the Snake River for several weeks, a few times actually crossing back over it. They were slowly working their way toward the Columbia.

Gideon suddenly reined the mules to a stop and rose in his seat, “I’ll be dipped.” He swore under his breath as a light drizzle began to fall.

Hannah turned her head and looked in the same direction he was looking. As he was returning to his seat, she gave him a strange questioning look. He laughed. “Just for a second, I thought I saw something running on the opposite shoreline.” He shook his head and clicked the mules started again, quickly reaching up to open the little canvas awning.

She quickly swiveled her head in the direction he was looking, an involuntary shudder raced through her. “Was it an Indian? I can’t see much through all of the drizzle.”

He was well aware of their fears, especially of Indians along the trail, and shook his head, “What I saw was a big horse as black as night.”

“Blackie…” She whispered, “Could it be him?”

“I think he’s following us, trying to figure out how to get onto our side. That’s the damndest thing I ever heard tell of.”

“He’ll get hurt if he tries to cross here, won’t he?” she worried, still trying to get a glimpse of the big horse through the foggy drizzle.

He sighed, “It’ll bust him up some, that’s for sure - might even kill him.”

As Hannah sat studying the opposing shoreline, she bit her lip with worry. She smiled with pure joy as she saw him dart along the bank, then pace back and forth as if he were trying to find an avenue across. “I see him!” she pointed across the river.

“Blackie!” she shouted. The big horse paused and turned his ears toward them, then reared up and ran along parallel to them.

“Yep, it’s him and he wants over here real bad!” Gideon said sadly, “Problem is, if he tries, and as swift as that river is moving, he’ll drown.”

“Blackie!” Hannah again shouted to him.

He cautioned her, “I wouldn’t be doing that. He’ll try crossing, and if something happens, you’ll never forgive yourself.”

She slumped slightly, lowering her arms from where she had been using them to project her voice. “I guess I’ll just have to give up on him.” She sighed, watching the powerful horse gallop alongside the river, the drizzle coming down and surrounding them like a thick fog.

She looked toward her hands in her lap; tears struck her long skirt, “I’m sorry I failed you, Pa.” Her voice was soft with emotion.

“That wasn’t your fault, Hannah.” He lifted her chin and pushed a tear that gathered near the corner of her eye away. “That big horse was just fearful of the crossing, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’d be mine.”

“Yours? Why would you say that?”

“I forgot all about him as we were crossing, I should’ve been checking on him.” He frowned, turning back toward driving the team. The steady drizzle really began to dampen his mood.

“Nonsense, the rope broke and he ran away,” she replied as she patted his strong hand, looking back across the distance toward the other side. “Someone will get a good horse.”

“That they will… That they will…” He glanced toward the big horse as it trotted in the distance, “It’s a damn shame too.” He groused under his breath.

He glanced back toward Hannah, “I’ll buy you another one when we get into Oregon. I promise you that much.” He sadly shook his head and again glanced toward the thoroughbred as it raced along with them.

“You don’t need to do that; we’ll need our money for more practical things.” She again looked toward the big black horse longingly, “Milk cows for the children, chickens for the meat and eggs.” Finally she smiled as they planned their future together on the farm they would build.

He nodded, “Some good pullers that can draw a plow too.” He watched her, feeling better at seeing her finally smile.

Although the rain steadily increased, they stayed on the trail until it was almost dark. When they finally did set camp, Hannah only had time to make sandwiches of dried fish and bread that she had bartered with Arden for.

Dusk had settled on their camp, and so had the rain. It grew steadier and stronger with each passing hour, forcing them all to sleep within their wagon.

Hannah lay against Gideon, and nestled in her arms was Emma. Not far from them both were Rachel and Cade. Constant rumbles of thunder, bright flashes of lightning and torrential rain surrounded them throughout the late evening.

Hannah lay quietly inside their wagon, listening to the rain drum against their canvas top, even though the weather outside was miserable; there was a part of her that didn't mind. She always had a strange fondness for storms that she had developed as a child along the Wabash; in fact she actually grew more excited as the storms neared. As a child her own mother would refer to her as a sky watcher, always eager to spy odd cloud formations.

However, her excitement was slightly more subdued tonight. Now as a mother herself, she had a strange concern that continued to drift in and out of her mind, and it was fear.

She had so much to worry about now that she had responsibility; family survival was paramount and ever present, especially since her transformation.

Though she lay with Gideon, and felt the safety that his nearness offered; she would watch the flicker outside, hear the wind scream like a banshee, or the crack of thunder that sounded like a cannon going off right outside their wagon... there would be no quiet peace on this night.

She felt Gideon wrap his arm protectively around her shoulder, drawing her nearer to him. "You asleep?" he whispered softly.

"Not at all," she replied as she turned slightly toward him and cuddled in.

"Sure is fixing to be a whopper of a storm tonight," he said yawning.

The sound he made caused Hannah to yawn as well. She jumped with surprise, as an extremely loud clap of thunder arrived simultaneously with a brilliant flash. Gideon laughed nervously, "Whoa, that storm is right on top of us right now!"

"Are we safe in the wagon?" she asked him fearfully. “This rain will make the river overflow its banks – are we far enough from the water?”

He used his foot to push aside Hannah's dress as the saturated canvas top began to leak slightly, dripping down on it. "We're probably safer in here than out there, it sounds like it's coming down in buckets!"

He took his hand and drew Hannah's head into his chest, "We’re sitting pretty high above the river - we’ll be alright.” He kissed the top of her head, caressing her face, “Come on, Honey, try to sleep."

She sighed as she relaxed at his touch. He pointed to the children laying close beside them, "Look at them, sleeping as if no care in the world."

She giggled, "I don't think they even are aware it's storming outside."

After a few minutes, she became aware of Gideon's deep breathing. A soft snore escaped from his throat, causing Hannah to giggle. She knew he was very tired. As long as she had known this fine man; he only snored when he was exhausted.

Her ear became attuned to his breathing, and much to her surprise she found that it left her almost with the same feeling as she had as a youth back in Indiana, listening to the patter of the rain and rumble of thunder.

She smiled at the thought of comparing Gideon's sleeping to a storm, but in a loving way it helped her realize how in tune to him she had become. Somewhere within that time, she allowed herself to relax, feeling safe and content in his loving arms, and let sleep finally in to claim her.

-Fifty Three-

Hannah woke up just as the sun was beginning to break the horizon; a light fluttering within her stomach was what prompted her to open her eyes. It felt late, and she was angry at herself for sleeping too long. Now she would be hurried to get their breakfast before the train set out again.

She climbed down from the wagon, and stretched. Looking around their camp, Gideon was nowhere in sight. She slowly picked her way through the mud and began her search for firewood.

The ground here was quite soft from the rain last night; there was a constant sucking sound with each step she took. She frowned; the bottom of her dress would be horribly muddy by the time they set out today.

She began to ready a pile for their fire, but the sticks all seemed to be very damp. Remembering something she had seen her father do, she carefully unscrewed the stopper from a lantern and dribbled a little coal oil onto the wood, and allowed that to soak in.

Returning to the wagon she hung the lantern back in its usual place. Then she reached inside and took out a sack full of 'Prairie Grass Twists' that she had made for this exact reason, and removed three tightly wound twists.

She pushed two of these twists into where she had the driest kindling, and she lit the third braided twist with her match and carefully inserted it beneath the others she had just placed. As the three began to burn in earnest, the coal oil helped it to flourish.

She began to stack larger pieces of wood against the small stack of kindling until they too began to pop and steam, then finally burn. She heard noise and glanced up; Gideon was returning.

"Do you need any help?" he asked, balancing an armload of wood onto the ground at a safe distance from their campfire.

"Oh, thank you, Gideon, you're such a dear!" She smiled, genuinely pleased that he cared enough to bring additional wood for their fire. "I'll have something for us to eat here in a little bit. Will jowl bacon and biscuits be enough?"

He nodded, "Vance says that the rain we got has really fouled up the trail for a ways. He's afraid there will be too much mud if we leave today."

"So we're staying an extra day?" She pushed the rods for her Dutch oven into the mud and suspended the pot over the fire.

"We might even need to stay a couple extra days." He sighed, "Charles said that he was figuring, we got six or seven inches of rain last night." He stood looking toward the river, sadly shaking his head.

"By the looks of the water rushing past, I'm glad we aren't trying to cross at Three Islands today! It'd be a killer for sure."

"Oh I hope the trains behind us wouldn't try to cross with the water moving so quickly and being so high!" she worried.

"No wagon master worth his salt would attempt to cross it today, now a greenhorn...that's different." He spoke as he was dumping coffee grounds into the pot and adding water.

She laughed, making a face at how much coffee he had added, and then she began to roll the dough into small balls and place them into the oven, "I'm a woman, and I think even I would know better than to try and cross when the current is running as fast as it is right now."

"You'd be surprised how foolish some folks can be, pushing hard to get to the valley before winter sets in." He laughed and sat the pot beside the fire to get hot.

“Gideon, you got a minute?” A voice spoke from just beyond their camp. It was Charles Bloom, and he had mud from about his knees down.

Gideon laughed as he turned to look his way, “What happened to you?”

“I have something I want you to take a look at.” He looked over his shoulder, and then nodded to Hannah, “Good morning, Hannah.”

Hannah stood up and pushed her fiery hair from in her face with the back of her hand, “Morning, Charles, is Arden with you?” She tried to look past him but couldn’t see anything. “I hope she is well. You will give her our blessings, won’t you?”

“Oh no, ma’am, she is fixing the young-uns their breakfast. I thank you for your kind words, I’ll be sure to relay them to the wife.” He had removed his hat and then returned it to his head as Gideon stood.

“You aren’t going to eat breakfast?” she sighed.

“Save me some, I’ll eat it when I return.” He gave her a quick peck on her cheek and then followed Charles out. She followed them with her eyes until they had disappeared behind another wagon.

She bent down to stir the bacon and again her hair fell forward. Frowning, she walked to the end of the wagon and placed the gate down. Setting the long fork on the edge, she quickly began to brush and then braid her long red hair. The braid went to her waist, she then wound it around itself, creating a bun in the back where she pinned it so it would remain.

She wasn’t so sure about her hair. She kept it long mostly because Gideon preferred it. However, it just kept growing and was becoming a nuisance, so she had to resort to wearing it in a bun as she had seen her own mother wear hers. She smiled as she turned her head this way and that; the odd feeling would take some getting used to.

She was about to turn when Rachel sat up, slowly scooting toward the end of the wagon while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She kept staring at Hannah’s bun. It was a novelty to her because she had not seen Hannah wear it like that before. “Do you like it?” Hannah asked.

“It is like my mother’s.” She felt her own long blonde hair, “Could you make mine like that too?”

Hannah had her sit on the end gate and quickly picked up her brush to draw it through Rachel’s fine hair. As she sat the brush aside she took long tendrils on each side of the young girl’s face and braded those, pulling it to the back and wove each into a bun.

Rachel felt the bun, smiling as it was suspended behind her head. “It’s lovely,” she whispered.

Hannah lightly touched the young girl’s nose, “You are lovely.”

She hopped down and followed Hannah to the fire, “Thank you for being my new mother.”

Hannah suddenly stood and turned to face her, slender fingers splayed against her bodice at such a touching comment from the youth. “You are so welcome, Rachel.”

She hugged the youngster and kissed the top of her head, tears clinging to her long lashes as she and Rachel shared this tender moment. Then they heard a splash behind them; each looked up to see Cade shaking the mud from his shoes. “Wow, it sure is sloppy around here!”

Still in their embrace, the two females looked at one another and began to giggle. “Six inches of rain will do that, Cade.” Hannah laughed, her eyes following him as he wandered away from camp so he could use the toilet.

When he returned he asked, “Where’s Pa?” and then began searching the area with his eyes.

“Mr. Bloom came to get him earlier; he wanted to show him something.” Using her apron she removed the lid of the Dutch oven and examined the biscuits.

“Is it ready?” he asked, watching the pot swing from the rod, where it was suspended.

She sighed, “I got a late start this morning. I’m sorry, children.”

Cade shrugged, “Can I go and find Pa then?”

Hannah nodded, “Stay away from the river, and don’t be underfoot; breakfast will probably be ready in about twenty minutes. As soon as she began speaking, he was gone in a flash.

Rachel stood beside Hannah quietly, “You shouldn’t need to apologize for having a late start.”

Hannah glanced up, “Well, I just felt as though all of this should have been ready.”

“You are a ma, and ma’s get pretty busy.” She smiled brightly, “Men-folk just don’t understand how hard it is for us women.”

Hannah laughed, “You sure have that one right!” The girl followed Hannah to the back of the wagon to check on Em who was still sleeping.

“Well, this ma needs to go and…” She raised her slender brows, Rachel laughed at the expression trying to mimic it herself.

“I’ll stay here. You can go first, and when you get back, I’ll go,” the youngster said.

“You sure? I can wait until you go.” Hannah really needed to pee desperately, and after a bit of shooing from Rachel, she was thankful to scurry into the tall brush to relieve herself.

Upon returning, she saw Rachel inside the wagon with Em. “She woke up, and I changed her.”

Hannah smiled as she inspected what the youngster had done. “You did very well!” She hugged Rachel and then picked up Emma, cooing to her. “Did you like your big sister helping you?”

Rachel smiled broadly, hearing her being referred to as a big sister. Finally as Hannah was walking back toward the fire, she reminded the girl that she had been waiting to go and toilet.

She raced off into the weeds and was gone for some time before returning; when she did she was frowning. “What’s the matter?” Hannah asked.

“While I was going, I saw Cade sneaking a peek at me.” She looked toward the ground, “It isn’t like I’m mad at him completely. I mean I do intend on marrying him someday, but still.”

Hannah laughed with the girl’s frankness about the future with Cade, yet the peeping did bother her. “I’ll have his father talk to him; a girl does need her privacy!”

After several minutes Cade returned to their camp; he walked over and sat beside Hannah. Rachel shot him an angry look and walked away from them both. Finally, he tapped his mother on her arm.

“Momma?” he began, and she knew he was troubled and choosing his words carefully. Leaning in close, he motioned for her to lean also. In a whisper he spoke, “She’s different than I am…down there.”

Hannah’s face reddened, as she was embarrassed for the both of them. “And you would know this, how?” she asked sternly, already knowing the answer but wanted him to confess.

He looked at his muddy shoes, “I saw her going to the toilet.”

Hannah frowned, “Cade…son, I’m disappointed in you.” His shoulders slumped as she continued. “Girls need their privacy when they have to go.”

He glanced up at Rachel who was standing not far away, her arms folded defiantly across her chest. “I guess she’s a bit sore at me.” He sighed.

“She’s a lot sore at you, son.” Hannah motioned for Rachel to come over to them, “Do you have anything you want to say to her?”

He lowered his eyes, “I’m sorry for peeking at you.”

“And?” Hannah asked, wanting more from him.

“And I won’t ever do it again…until we’re married,” he added with a smile.

Hannah dropped her head, trying to keep from laughing aloud as Rachel responded, “I catch you peeking at me again like that and I’m going to sock you in your eye.” She shook her fist at him, and then lowered it, “After we’re married…I guess it won’t matter no-how.”

The woman’s eyes swiveled from girl to boy, “Do you have a response to that?”

He sat for a few seconds contemplating what the girl had said, “No, not really.”

Hannah suppressed a laugh, to which the boy then asked, “Is breakfast ready?”

“Did you ever find your Pa?” She carefully handed Em over to Rachel.

“He, Mr. Vance and Mr. Bloom are trying to fetch something out of the mud.”

“Oh, like what?” she asked as she used the apron to again remove the hot lid from the Dutch oven.

“An old brown horse got into the really soft mud and was stuck; they were trying to free it.” He looked at her touching the tops of the biscuits to see if they were ready. “Are they done?”

She returned the lid, “They’re still a bit soft, it’ll be a few more minutes.” She said as she began to stir the bacon.

He then approached Rachel and sat beside her, “Are you still mad at me?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Good. I don’t think I like it when you are mad at me,” he responded, sounding much older than he really was.

Hannah sighed, thinking to herself that the next ten years could be quite interesting with these two.