“I’m sure she will.” Forsythia hugged her sister’s shoulders. “We should plant that garden in Ma’s honor wherever we settle. You know, like we were talking about earlier. Not just for ourselves, but a place where others can come and buy her seeds and starts, benefit from all the wisdom she taught us. A real horticultural business. What do you think?”
“We could call it Leah’s Garden, after Ma,” Lilac said from behind them.
“Leah’s Garden.” Del sniffed and reached for Forsythia’s hand to pull herself up. “I like it.”
Del wrapped both her sisters in her arms. Forsythia blinked into her older sister’s shoulder, wishing Lark were there too. Lord, we’re stepping into the unknown. So much ahead, and so much we’re leaving behind.
5
The oxen moved out when Delphinium, walking to their left, hupped and flicked the whip before dawn the next morning.
Lilac sat beside Forsythia on the wagon seat, sobbing on her shoulder. Tears dripped off Forsythia’s and Del’s chins too.
Mr. Holt and Jonah rode alongside on their horses, shadowy in the darkness. The men would lead them to where Lark was waiting.
Forsythia patted her little sister’s knee. “We’ll get through this. I know God is with us. He’ll never leave us, and as far as I can tell, we are doing His will.” She sure hoped so.
“I-I’m not afraid.” Lilac sniffed and pulled a bit of soft cloth from her apron pocket. “I just don’t want to leave home.” She wiped her nose and tears. “I think Lark is happy we’re starting on a new adventure. That’s what she called this—an adventure.”
An adventure to Lark maybe, but, Lord, I can see so many things that could go wrong. Forsythia’s thoughts piled on top of each other and weighted her down like boulders. She knew she was supposed to trust in God to lead and guide them, but . . . Lord, you seem so far away. Please don’t turn your back on us.
The four-up team of oxen plodded along. How could they cover twenty miles a day with beasts that didn’t even trot, let alone walk faster than this? She could hear her father saying, “Sure and steady wins the race.” There had been so many bits of wisdom stored in his silver-crowned head. She should have brought some of his journals just so she could hear his voice, at least through the written word. He had encouraged all of them to write journals, saying they were a mark of a thinking being. Hers had been sporadic, to say the least. Anders was the most consistent. Where would they even find journals out west?
At least her tears were drying. Maybe that was a good part of traveling with oxen—it gave one time to think. The moon cast shadows of the trees that lined the road. The whoosh of the wings of an owl on the hunt made her look up and watch as it flapped in and out of the moonlight. Up ahead it swooped down. A scream rent the air. The owl gained altitude again, a rabbit hanging limp in its talons.
The way of life. She knew there were plenty of rabbits and that the owl needed to eat and feed its family. God set it up this way.
Lilac flinched beside her. “Poor bunny.”
“You can go back and sleep on that pallet, if you like.”
“I know. I thought about it.” She tucked her hand under Forsythia’s arm and leaned on her shoulder. “Maybe later.”
Del raised her voice. “Jonah, you make sure you keep that garden weeded. Shame to have wasted all those seeds if you don’t.”
He pulled his horse back to ride beside her. “Who’s going to eat all that, since you won’t be there to put food by for the winter?”
“I guess you and Anders better put up the screens for drying. I’m sure some of our friends will appreciate all that produce and put some by for you too.”
“I think Anders and Josephine ought to get married soon and move into the big house, and I’ll sleep above the store.”
And get into trouble without anyone looking out for you. The thought brought Forsythia’s eyebrows up. “Remember, you promised—no more gambling. Nor drinking either.” She raised her voice. “Or Mr. Holt will attend to you, right?”
Mr. Holt reined his horse back. “Why will I attend to this young man here?”
“If anyone catches him in the saloon or drinking or carousing in general.” She shook her head. “No, never mind. We can’t ask that of you. He knows wrong from right, and he keeps saying he’s an adult, so he needs to behave like one.”
Holt shook his head. “Drinking and gambling are supposedly the realm of men. Some boys just start earlier and pay the price sooner. Between Anders and me, we’ll keep him too busy to have time during the day. Can’t speak for the night.”
“I know. None of us can. It’s all his choice.” Forsythia finished with an internal, Please, Lord.
“How much farther, Mr. Holt?” Lilac raised her head to ask.
“Oh, we’re about halfway there. Then we’ll all sleep for a while, let the beasts graze, and then get you back on the road in the daylight.”
“I see.” Lilac nudged her sister. “I think I’ll take you up on the pallet offer, unless you want to sleep.”
“No, you go ahead.”
Sometime later, when they reached the little house by the lake, Holt and Jonah unhitched the oxen and let them loose in the fenced pasture to graze. “We’ll let them drink at the trough after they cool down,” Mr. Holt explained.
Lark met her sisters at the door. “Bring a pallet in, and you three can sleep in the bed.”
“We could sleep outside. It’s such a beautiful morning.” Del hugged
