But the quake was gone as quickly as it had come.
“My word,” Kate heard Miss Pringle say. “That was something.”
She glanced over in time to see Mrs. Pettijohn draw herself up. “Does this happen often, Mrs. Tremaine?”
“Quite often,” Kate assured her, taking Danny’s hand in hers. “Though most are much less noticeable.”
“The Geological Survey informed me that Yellowstone has at least one a day,” Lieutenant Kingman said, joining them. “I can’t say I’ll miss them.” He nodded to Will. “I concede your victory, Prescott. My men and I should get back.”
“Now, Lieutenant,” Kate teased him, “surely you’re not put off by a little tremor.”
He smiled at Danny. “No, ma’am. I’m more afraid of the drubbing your son would give us if we played much longer.” He raised his head and glanced around. “Ah, Yellowstone. Nothing like it. I leave it in your good hands, Kate.”
“A responsibility I cherish,” she promised.
“A responsibility you carry better than anyone,” Will said.
Warmth filled her. He held her gaze a moment, as if he held her in his arms. Then he turned to direct his men to secure the bases.
Kate gathered her composure and managed to herd everyone out of the meadow. She glanced back just before leaving, trying to make out any dark shape through the pines, but everything was still.
Unlike her son. Danny couldn’t stop talking. He relived the moment he’d batted with Will and his men as they walked back to the hotel.
“He’s a hero,” Kate said to Will, watching her son reminisce with Miss Pringle and Mrs. Pettijohn after they’d bid Lieutenant Kingman and his men farewell. “He’ll never forget this.”
“Bigger triumphs will likely overtake this one,” Will said. “But I’m glad he had a chance to play. I don’t know when we’ll have enough players again.”
Kate nodded. “Winter will be here very soon.”
Will winked at her. “And then the real work begins. I have a feeling you’ve decided exactly how you’ll keep us busy.”
Kate laughed. “Oh, Will. You just wait.”
Mrs. Pettijohn and her sister climbed to the veranda. Miss Pringle sighed. “So much excitement! What else shall we do today, dear?”
Mrs. Pettijohn pursed her lips as she sat on the bench. “Perhaps we should learn to fish.”
As Kate and Will came up the steps after them, Miss Pringle brightened. “Perhaps Mr. Jones could teach us.”
“I don’t think I’ve laid eyes on him yet,” Will told them. “And none of my men have mentioned him. You’d have thought the number of times we ride by each day, someone would have had the opportunity to talk.”
She didn’t see the mystery as so deep. “I grant you he isn’t the usual visitor, but he does claim illness and injury. He may avoid conversation because his infirmities embarrass him, a once-strong man reduced to no more than fishing.”
Miss Pringle stuck out her lower lip. “Poor fellow.”
“I don’t think he wants our pity,” her sister informed her. “But I would appreciate a gentleman’s perspective on the matter. You must meet him, Lieutenant.”
“Perhaps when you come for church services tomorrow,” Miss Pringle suggested.
He hesitated. “I’ll stop by later today when we finish afternoon patrol.” With a tip of his hat, he left them.
Kate excused herself from her guests and entered the hotel, thinking. So, Will still would not commit to attending services. She wasn’t sure why that troubled her. She’d certainly avoided Mr. Yates’s preaching. And perhaps the Army required that Will lead his own services in camp on Sunday mornings. She should ask him.
After the baseball game and the earthquake, the rest of the day seemed slow, for all she had plenty to do. The quake had shaken loose some of the dishes in the kitchen. Only a few had broken, but she helped Pansy sweep up and reposition the others. She also kept an eye out for Mr. Jones, but he didn’t return to the hotel until the evening was well advanced, and Will and his men had already retired to their camp.
“I thought Mrs. Guthrie might appreciate these,” he said, holding up a brace of trout, their speckled sides striped with crimson.
“She certainly will,” Kate said, stepping aside for him to pass her for the kitchen. “I’m glad you had such luck today.”
“I used to enjoy all the manly sports,” he assured her before disappearing inside. Kate heard Alberta’s exclamation all the way through the door.
It seemed Mr. Jones had finally met with success. She’d had guests who spent hours in a cool stream, casting and reeling. Nice of him to share his riches with the rest of the guests. The trout was excellent fried and surrounded by the last of the green beans. And Mr. Jones spent the evening on the sofa, listening to Danny tell him all about the baseball game. Hard to fault a man for that.
Mr. Yates must have preached at Mammoth Hot Springs or Norris first on Sunday, because he didn’t arrive until early afternoon. Alberta, Pansy, Caleb, Miss Pringle, and Mrs. Pettijohn sat on chairs before the hearth. Kate marched herself away from her duties to join them. Mr. Jones once more made himself scarce, although he had spent part of the morning asking Danny about what other wonders he’d seen in the park. Danny had been only too happy to tell him about the ball game again.
Her son was still riding high from his victory. He wiggled where he sat in the back row, Kate beside him. She patted his shoulder and gave him a look, and he sat taller as Mr. Yates opened in prayer. Kate didn’t know the hymn the minister started next, but Mrs. Pettijohn belted it out with a gusto that brought a smile to his face.
Across the room, the door to the kitchen cracked open, and Will glanced out. Kate slipped out of her seat to meet him.
“We’re just starting,” she whispered as Mrs. Pettijohn launched into the third verse. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“It’s been a long time
