Sojourner shook her head sorrowfully. “Your grandfather demands an heir and Cole was created in his father’s image.”
Reno understood. He looked like his mother. Indian.
“What will we do?” he whispered softly, the reality of their situation beginning to sink in.
“I’ll send money.”
Silas Black’s voice broke through the fog surrounding Reno. He wanted to refuse. To yell. To cry. Instead, he pushed passed his mother to run into the house to find his brother. “Cole?”
“Yea.”
Reno didn’t have to go far. The cabin was small. He found his brother on his knees by the bed, stuffing his clothes into a small satchel. “What’s going to happen to us?”
“I don’t know.” His brother’s voice sounded choked. Like he was just about to cry.
“I want you to stay.”
“Me too.” He spoke on a sob. “I don’t want to leave Mama.”
Reno stood behind his older brother, a million things running through his brain. The good times. How they played in the woods. Fished in the creek. Told stories by the firelight. He could hear his father’s happy laughter and his mother’s sweet singing. “How could this happen?” They were a family.
“I’m not sure. Pa won’t say.” Cole stood and turned around. Reno had grown in the last year, but Cole was still a half foot taller than him. “You’ll forget me.”
Reno shook his head. “Never. You’re my brother. You’ll always be my brother.”
“Cole! Now!”
Their father’s voice roared.
“Come here.” Cole pulled Reno to him, hugging the boy hard. “We’ll see each other again. I promise.”
“Cole!” Another bellow from Silas Black.
“Let’s go. I’ll help you.” Reno took Cole’s satchel. He could hear their mother’s voice, quietly pleading. He could also hear his father’s voice shutting down her protest.
“This is not what I want.” Silas cleared his throat. “I just don’t have a choice.”
But he had a choice, Reno knew that. As he walked through their small, simple cabin, a startling truth dawned.
Silas Black was a coward. His father was afraid to turn his back on the stability his family in Boston offered. Instead, he chose to abandon the wife they didn’t approve of and the grandson they couldn’t accept.
“I’ll never forget you, Reno,” Cole mumbled at his side.
“Of course not.” He gave his brother one last embrace. When he turned him loose, his mother was there to draw Cole close. She whispered something in his ear, and he leaned up to kiss his mother’s face over and over.
With a heavy heart, Reno stood by his mother as his father and brother left them. They remained in the same position until the wagon disappeared around a bend – gone from their sight. Only then did Reno let the tears come.
“Don’t despair, Reno.”
His mother’s soft voice soothed away some of the pain.
“I’ll take care of you, mother. You’ll never want for anything, I promise.”
“I know, my son. I know.” She kissed him softly on the cheek and placed a sheltering arm around his shoulder. “We shall endure. You have the journey of a lifetime before you. I have seen your future and joy awaits.”
Journey – Present Day
“Next!”
At the barked word, Journey jumped a bit.
“Sorry. Woolgathering.” She smiled at the clerk as she moved forward to place four packages on the counter. “How are you, Mabel?” Yes, she came to the Post Office often enough to be on a first-name basis with the employees.
“I’m much better, Journey. Mailing more oils and lotions to your lucky customers?”
“Yes, I am. Remedies for poor eyesight, memory loss, and allergies.”
“I think I need some of each.” Mabel giggled. “I tell you that salve you gave me worked wonders for my arthritis.”
“Great! They are my great-grandmother’s concoctions. Tried and true.” Journey took her wallet from her purse and placed it on the counter while Mabel rang up the charges. “When you run out, let me know. I have a big batch of my aches and pains salve already made up.”
“What did you say was in it? My sister asked and I couldn’t remember.” She pushed her glasses up on her nose while she waited for the postage labels to print.
“Ten drops of each essential oil – frankincense, myrrh, ginger, and palo santo – mixed with four ounces of coconut oil. I’ll jot down the recipe if you like.”
Mabel shook her head. “Oh, I’d rather buy it from you than try to make it myself. You’ll never know how many remedies I’ve tried. Sometimes, the pain is almost unbearable.”
“I’m glad I could help.” As she started to extract her credit card, Mabel gasped, and reached out to jerk the wallet to face her. “What’s wrong?” Journey asked, not knowing what to make of the clerk’s sudden actions.
“That guy. That picture. He’s gorgeous!”
Journey laughed as the woman kept staring with her mouth open. “Yea, he is. Isn’t he?”
“Is that your boyfriend?”
“Alas, no.” Journey shook her head. “This picture is a photograph of an antique tin-type. Unfortunately, this man lived over a century and a half ago.”
Mabel playfully wiped her brow before she began affixing the postage labels to the packages. “Well, he’s certainly eye-candy, that’s for sure.”
“I agree.” She gazed down at Reno’s handsome face. “He was a good friend of our family. We owe him a lot.”
“Plus, he’s nice to look at when you need a pick-me-up, I bet.” Mabel tore off a receipt and placed it in Journey’s hand.
“That he is.” Journey tucked the slip of paper into her purse along with the wallet. “Well, I’ll be off. Take care.”
Glancing at an overhead window, Mabel pointed at the dark sky. “Don’t get wet.”
Journey waved. “I’m sweet, but I won’t melt. Bye, Mabel.” A little rain couldn’t dampen her good mood. She had a date tonight!
She’d gone no more than
