“We all agreed,” Forsythia said softly, blinking hard.
“Why did Lark have to go in that saloon? She’s always charging into things.” Lilac glared at Jonah and headed out the back door.
Del stood to go after her, but Anders shook his head. “Let her be. Better to work it out here than on the trail.”
The silence was broken only by an oriole singing in the ash tree that shaded the south side of the house and the scrape of spoons on the bowls.
“More coffee, anyone?” Forsythia pushed cheer into her words. She couldn’t deny Lilac’s point, but they were family. And family stuck together.
Anders raised his cup. “I figure we’ll park the wagon behind the store and have everything ready to load tonight under cover of darkness. I’ll make a diagram of where everything needs to go. I’m hoping you can leave before dawn tomorrow. It’s a good thing I’ve done this before, and the wagon was mostly loaded already when Sam’s wife died and he decided not to go.”
“How were you able to refund his money?”
“He hadn’t paid it all. Was planning on the last payment on departure, but now we have the barrels of flour and slabs of bacon, sacks of beans and coffee that you need. The oxen are freshly shod too. I’ve been studying maps, and it looks like you could take the National Road across Ohio and join the Oregon Trail in Independence. It goes through Nebraska, so you could easily stop off there if that is where you decide to settle. One of my officers in the army hailed from out there and moved back after he was wounded and discharged. He’s an attorney. I’ll write to him and see what I can find out to pass on to you.”
Forsythia nodded. At least that gave them something of a plan. “Give me the list so we can start packing.”
Lilac came back into the house, her face more at peace. “Ma always said to use bay leaves to prevent weevils. We should put bay leaves in all the foodstuffs.”
“Good idea.” Forsythia sent her a smile.
They heard Mr. Holt talking to his horse before he mounted the steps and entered at Anders’s invitation.
“Sit down and have some breakfast while you tell us what happened.” At Anders’s invitation, Del rose to fetch the coffeepot and kettle of mush while Lilac brought dishes from the cupboard.
Holt brown-sugared his mush and poured cream both on the cereal and into his coffee. “We made it without anyone noticing us, at least as far as I could tell, and Lark let the horse out to pasture before we ate. I left her getting ready for bed and made my way home. ’Bout fell asleep on my horse, so it’s a good thing he knows the way.” He paused to eat a few bites and wash it down with coffee. “I tried to give her all the information I could about taking care of the oxen and the wagon, since I’ve had some experience with ’em on my farm. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, but . . .” He heaved a sigh. “I hate to see you four undertake such a strenuous ordeal all by yourselves.”
“You didn’t tell her that, did you?” Jonah asked, his face wrinkled.
Holt shook his head. “Nope, I know better’n that. Best way to get folks all fired up is to give them unasked-for advice.” He looked at Anders. “You got any maps to send along?”
“I do, some ’specially for folks heading west. We were just talking about that. Lark did a good job running the store while I was gone. I imagine she was the one who ordered the maps. I know I hadn’t before I joined up with the Ohio brigade. I guess that’s why my sisters figure they can do this—they helped so many others.”
“True, but they didn’t make the trip. I’d feel a lot better if they could join someone else from around here.”
“We can join up with a wagon train in Independence, assuming we can get there in time,” Del said. “It’s mid-May already, and the trains start leaving in April, I think.”
“Can I get you anything else, Mr. Holt?” Forsythia asked.
“More of that coffee, if’n you don’t mind.” He held up his cup. “Then I need to get some sleep so I can show you all the way to pick up Miss Lark.” He looked around the table. “You’re still planning on leaving before dawn tomorrow?”
Forsythia’s head spun. So much to do.
Anders nodded. “Just praying we can keep their departure from Deacon Wiesel.”
“It’s a shame we can’t figure out a way to get him out of commission for a while.” Holt drained his coffee and set the cup on the table, staring at it for a long moment. “Just such a rush.”
“Like Pa always said, ‘Just do the best you can.’” Anders stood. “Jonah, you come with me. You can pack boxes in the back while I take care of the store. Or I’ll pack the boxes, and you mind the store.”
“I don’t know.” Holt’s head moved slowly from side to side while he studied the embroidery on the doily in the center of the table. “All this hurrying could cost you your lives on the trail because you don’t have something that didn’t get packed in the rush.” He looked at Anders. “Think about that, all right?”
That afternoon, Forsythia took a break from packing and stepped out to soak in Ma’s garden one more time. The primroses struggled up bravely in the sunshine despite the deacon’s careless stomping. She gently fingered the irises budding along the fence. They would miss the graceful lavender blooms this year.
She found Del bent in her favorite corner by the lilac bush, digging up several of their mother’s rosebushes.
“I want to take these four with us.” Del wrapped burlap around the root balls. “I don’t know if I can keep them alive
