As they drew nearer, Lark reined the horse around and rode beside Forsythia. “Sorry I took so long, but I shot a deer, and I knew it would rot before we could eat it all. There’s a hamlet with a store nearby, so I kept a rear quarter and traded the rest for some supplies. Tonight we’ll have venison steaks along with bread and cheese and rice. Even eggs for breakfast. We’ll dry as much of the venison as we can. I’m thinking we might stay an extra day to finish that. There’s a good place to camp a mile or two ahead.”
“We were worried about you, that you’d gotten hurt or something.” Lilac glared at her.
“Sorry, but had I brought the whole carcass here . . .” She blew out a sigh. “It was a difficult decision, but I figured it was for the best.”
When they arrived at the spot she had found, they set up camp as usual but made a longer fire. Lark used the tailgate as a table and sliced four slabs of meat to fry for supper.
“How will we dry the meat?” Forsythia asked.
“I saw a picture that showed Indians weaving thin slices of meat on sticks and setting them to hold over the coals. We’ll need lots of coals. We’ll cut willow sticks and sharpen the points. One end for the meat, and one to stab into the ground.”
Lark and Lilac took knives to cut from a thicket up the creek a ways. When they returned, the steaks were sizzling in the frying pan, and Del had sliced most of the rest as thinly as possible. “We can boil most of the rest, so we should have several good meals besides the smoked and dried pieces.”
Lark squeezed Forsythia’s shoulder as she passed. “Feeling better?”
Forsythia nodded and felt the worry band around her chest loosen. They were back to working as the team they had been raised to be. Thank you, Lord.
Forsythia had the middle watch that night, as it was Del’s turn to sleep through. She sang to herself to keep awake, checked the fire and the meat, and walked out to where the oxen lay, chewing their cuds. Starbright nuzzled her, hoping for the sugar treat she used to get.
“Sorry, girl. No more sugar lumps. No more cookies. We had it pretty easy at home, though we didn’t realize it.”
The mare nickered softly as Forsythia moved away. She sat on the hunk of applewood they’d brought along, a piece of home. Poking the fire with a stick sent sparks rising, like lightning bugs dancing in the dark. With no moon yet, the dark was so dense that she felt closed in until she looked up at the stars God had strewn across the sky. “Lord, all this you created, and yet you love me and ask me to spend time with you. How can I be so blessed? And thank you, the misery is gone.”
She got up to put more wood on the fire. May my praises rise to you as the sparks fly upward. She heard the flap of wings and hoot of an owl. Some critters rustled in the brush. How easy it would be to let fear take over. She used to be afraid of the dark, but her father would take his girls outside at night to learn about the stars and the birds and animals that hunted and moved around during the wee hours.
“What do you think, Pa, of your daughters heading west like this? Ma never wanted to leave her home. She wanted us all to marry good men and bring her grandchildren to love and enjoy. I can see her loving our children, like she did those at church when we no longer needed to be held and rocked and sang to.” She poked the fire again. “Lord God, I want to be like my mother.” And her father. She was so thankful Lilac had brought some journals after all. One of these days she’d read through them.
The next day, when it was her turn to ride in the wagon, Forsythia lifted the guitar off the hook on one of the hoops and tuned it, then picked out a tune. Lively or poignant, the music lifted their hearts along with their voices. As usual, they slipped into harmonizing as naturally as breathing. They sang songs that made them giggle and others that drew tears. “Arkansas Traveler,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” “In the Sweet By and By,” and “Fairest Lord Jesus.”
“Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be thine.”
When Forsythia strummed the final chord, she wasn’t the only one wiping her eyes.
“Thank you, Sythia, that was lovely. Perhaps one of these evenings we can bring out the fiddle and mouth organ.” Del clasped her hands in her lap as she sat astride Starbright.
“Makes me even more homesick.” Lilac blinked and wiped her eyes. She flopped her sunbonnet over her shoulders to let the teasing breeze play with her hair. “You think Pa and Ma are up in heaven, looking down on us?”
“And wondering why we ever left home.”
“I think Pa would have wanted to head west. He was so sick of all the division that was happening with the war, he wanted to go someplace where that wasn’t a problem. As if that were possible.”
Del stopped the horse and dismounted. “Come on, Lilac, you ride Starbright awhile. That always makes you feel better.”
They waved at a family in a wagon going the same direction, but much faster, who pulled out around them. The two boys in the back waved and whistled.
“Where ya goin’?” one hollered.
“West,” Lark answered.
“To California to find gold?”
The younger boy chimed in. “That’s where I’d go. Maybe when we get older.”
“The gold will all be mined out by the time we get that big.” The older boy punched his brother’s arm. The younger punched him back, and they almost tumbled out
