“She doesn’t want to make anyone else sick.” Clint saw tears forming in Annie’s eyes and he pulled out his bandanna.
“She’s gonna die and we’ll be all alone,” Annie whimpered.
“I promise I’m going to take good care of your ma,” Clint told her.
“Most people die with the fever.” Katie wasn’t showing her emotions like Annie, but Clint thought she was trying to be brave for her younger sister.
Clint put his arms around their shoulders. “I’m not going to let her die.”
Annie looked up at him, and through her tears, she asked, “You promise, Mr. Mitchum?”
“You have my word on that.” Clint didn’t allow himself to think of all the things that could go wrong having made that promise. But he couldn’t let these girls down.
Katie jumped up and stared Clint in the eye. “You can’t say that! She’s probably going to die, just like everyone else.”
Clint reached for Katie and pulled her in his arms. He felt her small body trembling, and she finally lost control and started sobbing uncontrollably. Annie stood and nudged her way under one of Clint’s arms until he was holding both of them. “I promise you girls I will do everything I can to help your mother. Will you trust me?”
Both girls nodded.
After a few moments, Katie whispered, “Can we go say goodbye?”
“Your ma doesn’t want to take any chances you might get sick. She loves you too much to do that, but you can stand outside the wagon and talk to her that way.”
Annie sniffled. “Okay.”
“I want you girls to remember this is hard on your ma too. She doesn’t want to leave. Don’t let her think you won’t see her again, because you will see her when she’s better.”
“Okay,” they answered together.
Clint hugged them tighter, hoping he could live up to their faith in him. “I think you should tell your ma you will see her for Christmas.” Clint released them and bent down to look at their faces. “Stop the tears; we don’t want her to know you were crying. As a matter of fact, why don’t you tell me what you would buy your ma for Christmas . . . besides a husband . . . if you could?”
The girls wiped away their tears. “You mean a real present, like we could get at the mercantile?” Annie asked.
“Yes. What do you think she would like?”
“Ma saw a pretty locket at the mercantile,” Katie told him.
“A locket. Now that sounds like a fine present,” Clint responded.
“But we don’t have money,” Annie countered.
Clint smiled at her. “Remember, I told you about the magic of Christmas. You have to believe anything is possible. Tell your ma you will have her Christmas gift waiting for her.”
“Do you think the gold we found would be enough to buy that locket?” Katie asked.
“I think if you girls look for more gold while we are away, you might have enough by Christmas. But promise me that you will stay close to Mr. and Mrs. Nelson or Mr. Newcombe at all times.”
“Yes, sir,” they replied.
* * *
When they reached the wagon, Clint opened the flap and peeked inside. “Amelia, the girls wanted to say goodbye. They are standing right by me.”
“Oh, girls, I’m going to miss you.” Amelia was making an effort to sound cheerful.
“We’re going to miss you too,” Annie whispered with trembling lips.
“Mr. Mitchum says we will see you by Christmas,” Katie stated.
Amelia was quiet for a moment, then replied, “We shall celebrate together. Mind Mrs. Nelson and always stay within her sight.”
Clint heard Amelia’s voice cracking as she tried to hold her emotions in check.
“Yes, ma’am, we will. We already promised Mr. Mitchum.”
“Remember how much I love you,” Amelia told them.
“We love you, Ma.”
“And we’ll have your Christmas present waiting for you,” Katie remembered to say.
Tears started falling over their cheeks, and Clint knew Amelia was also crying. “Amelia, we will be leaving soon.”
“Thank you, Mr. Mitchum, I’ll be ready.”
* * *
Mrs. Nelson handed Clint a cup of coffee, along with a plate of biscuits and bacon. After he gulped his breakfast, Tom and Whitt helped him with the horses.
“This is a fine thing you’re doing. Come back as soon as you can,” Whitt told him.
Clint told Whitt about the gold he’d found. “It might be a good spot for you to try.”
“I’ll pan there today.” Whitt shook Clint’s hand. “I wish you well.”
“Keep a sharp eye out. Those men might come back.”
“I will.”
“We’ll sleep in shifts,” Tom Nelson told him.
Bo and Boone ran to Clint before he reached the wagon.
“You will come back, won’t you?” Boone asked.
“Yep, I’ll be back.” Clint bent down and added, “Will you boys look after the girls for me?”
“Yeah. Pa already told us that we have to take care of the ladies. We’ll look after them,” Bo promised.
“I knew I could count on you.”
Katie and Annie ran to him and hugged him goodbye one last time.
Clint drove the wagon slowly, not wanting to cause Amelia more discomfort than she was already feeling. He stopped once every two hours to check on her and to make sure she had plenty to drink. Each time, he tried to persuade her to eat, but she refused food, and that worried him.
“Mr. Mitchum, I’m sorry, but I don’t have an appetite. I’m afraid my headache is making me dizzy.”
“I think you need to call me Clint. Does riding in the wagon make your headache worse?” Clint noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
“I don’t think so. But Mr. Mitchum, I think you should stay outside the wagon instead of coming in here each time you stop.”
Clint smiled at her as he held the back of her head, urging her to take another sip of water. “Yeah, you told me that the last time we stopped.”
“I think you are a stubborn man, Mr. Mitchum.”
“So I’ve been told. And my name is Clint.”
Amelia closed her eyes. “Of course . . . Clint.”
“We can stop for the day.”
She shook her head from side to side. “No,
