Despite Opal's objections, a half hour later she was mounted on Butter and following Matthias’s broad shoulders as he and his gelding led them down the mountain trail. She shouldn't be leaving all the chores for Mrs. S., but maybe a short outing would be all right.
They rode in quiet for a while, which gave her the chance to soak in the brisk air and the sounds of nature. The trail wound through forests of evergreens, then onto open rocky ground and around clusters of giant boulders and buttes. The wild beauty of this land never ceased to invigorate her, weaving through her chest so that all her struggles seemed to melt away.
Matthias pointed out some of the landmarks they passed, including the deer path down the mountain that crossed their own trail. “That’s where I caught the buck I brought to Mutti this time. Whenever I’m in need of fresh meat, one of these trails is the surest way to find game.”
"Do you travel this way often?"
He nodded. "Almost every trip. This is the easiest way north from Mountain Bluff."
“What made you become a mountain man?” She hadn’t planned to be so nosy, but mystery seemed to shroud him, and something inside her craved to know more. Not just to know about him, but to know him. What caused Matthias to choose this life over that of a miller, or blacksmith, or storekeeper?
He was silent for a long moment as the trail wound downward. Perhaps she had pushed too far, asking questions that were none of her business.
But at last he spoke. “I come from a long line of Vikings.” He turned back to look at her. “Do you know what a Viking is?”
Of course, she’d heard of Vikings. What had she learned from her historical studies at the Boiling Springs School for Girls? “They were marauders of old, weren’t they? From Norway?” That would explain his fair hair and those piercing green eyes.
He nodded. “And other Scandinavian nations. My people came from Iceland after the Mist Hardships in the seventeen hundreds.”
“Mist Hardships?” A sudden longing pressed in her chest. What must it be like to know where one’s ancestors had lived over a hundred years before?
“A volcano erupted in the Laki mountains, spewing lava and poisonous mist for eight months. It killed most of the animals and plants, and the famine afterwards starved a great many people. Those who could escaped.”
She stared at him, trying to absorb the extent of the damage he described. “And your family came to America.”
“I can remember my mum saying how these mountains are so much like those in Iceland. Even the geysers are the same.”
“What is that?” He spoke so casually about having come from a foreign land, one she’d barely heard of and couldn’t have placed on a map. Maybe ’twas not so different than the fact that her family had once lived in England. Although a country named Iceland sounded so much more exciting than plain old England.
“I'll explain the geysers when we arrive.” He glanced over his shoulder, and the mischievous tilt of his mouth made her stomach flip. Where exactly was he taking her?
They rode in silence a few minutes longer as the horses picked their way down a trail that edged around the base of a rocky butte. She tried to imagine a young tow-headed boy scampering through these mountains with his fair-haired parents. ’Twas hard to think of the strapping man sitting atop the gray steed in front of her as ever having been small and wiry.
“So what about you, Miss Boyd? Why did you become a baker?”
She glanced up as his question pulled her from her imaginings. “I…” She'd have to tread cautiously to sidestep the question without revealing what had truly driven her to this place of safety. “My cousin and I came to the Wyoming Territory to meet her correspondence partner, whom she happened to marry.” She pinched back a grin at the memories. “Before he convinced Tori to marry him, Ezra was trying to secure work for us. He met the Shumeisters, and they agreed to take us on, but not long after that, Tori succumbed to his charms.” An image of her cousin’s radiant smile on her wedding day flashed through her mind. That was the day that changed both their lives, mostly for the good.
“But you still decided to come work for Mutti and Vatti?”
She nodded. “Why do you call them that? Those names—they aren’t their German names, are they?”
He flicked another glance over his shoulder. “It means mum and dad in German. The first time I met them, I was half-dead from some type of winter sickness. Between the doc and Mutti, they nursed me back to health, then Vatti read to me from his Bible for hours on end. By the time winter was over and I’d recovered enough to head back into the mountain country, they liked to call me their new son. They seemed to appreciate when I teased them with the German names, so I just kept on.”
His voice had dipped low and soft, laced with a tenderness that made her chest ache. “They’re good people. I try to do what I can to help them.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “They love you, and I know they appreciate the meat you bring them. I think Mrs. S. wishes you’d stay longer on your visits, though.”
He shrugged. “’Tis about time I head back out again.”
The casual words felt like a slap, as though he were intentionally trying to show that he didn’t care what the Shumeisters wanted. Had she imagined the tenderness in his tone only moments before?
Matthias didn’t speak again for a long time, maybe close to an hour. Maybe ’twas the silence, or maybe the beauty of their surroundings, the mix of mountain wilderness with the rich color of the evergreens, but her irritation with the man seemed to ebb away. It didn't matter what he said or did. She was here to simply enjoy the spectacular scenery.
Matthias looked back at her. “We’re not far now.”
“Not far from what?”
The eager grin marking his face made it easier to imagine him as that little blond boy she’d tried to picture before. He didn't answer, just smiled and turned back to the trail as his horse rounded a curve in the trees.
The path opened into a somewhat level area with a few spots of winter-brown grass interspersed with rocks of the same color. The bedrock had been crushed into loose pebbles in some areas, and in other spots, it sank into basins where water had pooled.
“Is this what we came to see?” The place was different from the rougher terrain they’d traveled so far, but it wasn’t particularly lovely or awe-inspiring.
“Sort of.” He reined his gelding around a pool of dark water. “We’ll eat lunch here and wait for a spout.”
Maybe she’d misunderstood that last word. Perhaps this was a special gathering place for deer or other wildlife, which would make sense with all the shallow water pools for drinking.
He led them to the far side of the clearing where the land sloped in a gradual incline, away from the water. When he dismounted, she did the same and reached for the bundle of food Mrs. S. had secured behind her saddle.
Matthias produced a canteen and a blanket for them to sit on, then he settled the horses in a grassy area to graze.
Every nerve in her came alive as he approached the blanket where she’d knelt and was setting out the foodstuffs. What was it about his presence that affected her so? Maybe ’twas the fact that she shouldn’t trust him. Like most men she'd known.
He reached for the food pack and unrolled a loaf of bread, then extracted his knife from the sheath at his waist. She slid a glance at him as he sliced the bread while she did the same with the cheese.
He picked up one of the cloths that had wrapped the food, then positioned cheese on two slices of bread and laid the bundle beside her. “Here you go.” He moved the canteen closer. "Mutti sent tea, even though I told her water would be sufficient. She always loves too much.”
As an affectionate expression crossed his face, she couldn’t help the way her heart softened a little more. Maybe she’d misunderstood his harsh words from before. Or maybe she’d read too much into them. “Thank you.”
She took her first bite, savoring the blend of rich smoked cheese and yeasty sourdough. The stiffness in her shoulders eased out as the food and the clear mountain air worked their magic.
“Look. I think one is starting.”
She turned at Matthias’s words, then let her gaze follow the reach of his finger to one of the larger pools about thirty feet from them. The water’s surface had begun to bubble. “What is that?”
But as she watched, the bubbles began to rise higher in one particular spot, until they lifted over a foot high into a sort of fountain.
She glanced at Matthias to catch his expression. He’d been watching the water, but now turned to her with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Have you seen this before?”
He nodded. “Watch.” His focus tracked back to the pool.
The fountain rose higher, then with a snapping sound, the water surged upward. Ten feet. Twelve feet.
She sucked in a breath. Magnificent.
Mist cloaked the air as the plume of water surged and ebbed in a powerful dance. “What did you say that’s called?” She couldn't take her gaze from the spectacle before them.
“A geyser.” The soft reverence in his tone matched the feeling that resonated in her chest.
A glimmer caught her attention, and she glanced to the left where a shimmering arc of color rose into the gray-blue winter sky. She reached for Matthias’s arm and gripped it. “A rainbow.”
“Nice.” His voice came out a low rumble, and she could only sit mesmerized.
This was truly amazing. One couldn’t see such miracles in nature without knowing for certain God cared. She hadn’t always believed, but living with Mr. and Mrs. S., ’twas impossible not to see and feel their unwavering faith in His love and daily provision.
As the mist from the spray caressed her skin, she raised her face to the heavens and let her eyes drift shut. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. She’d read the verse just that morning, and it brought another surge of love, which cloaked her with a sense of fullness and peace she couldn’t remember ever having felt before.
After another moment reveling in the feeling, quiet settled over her. Opening her eyes, she looked toward the geyser, but the fountain had lowered back to about a foot high. Slowly, it faded until only bubbles and foam gathered on the water’s surface.
She inhaled a deep breath, trying to pull her raw emotions back to a semblance of control. A glance at Matthias showed he was watching her, so she summoned a smile. “Is that what we came to see?”
He nodded, his eyes shimmering. “What did you think?”
She couldn’t put these overflowing feelings into words if she tried. So, she focused on one of his earlier comments. “You said they have geysers in Iceland?”
“Yes.”
“I think Iceland must be a glimpse of heaven.”
He raised his brows. “A land named Iceland? It sounds cold to me.”
She couldn’t help a real smile. “With mountains like these and magnificent acts of God like we just saw, I can’t imagine a better place.”
Matthias landed a solid blow on the head of the nail, sinking it deep into the wood planks at the rear corner of the boardinghouse. He still had two more sides to go before he finished resetting the loose nails in the building’s exterior.
This project seemed to be dragging as slowly as the last five days had since he’d taken Opal to see the geyser. He had to get this finished though. Now that Vatti was feeling better and on his feet again, he’d freed him up to take care of the repairs and the harder work that needed to be done around the place.
And the sooner he finished, the sooner he could leave.
He hadn’t realized how close he was getting to these people until Opal's comments during their ride. He'd come to care too much for Mutti and Vatti. And they for him. That care could only bring them pain and suffering.
It had already started with Vatti being injured making the delivery that Matthias should have handled, and would have if it hadn’t been for that crazed livery owner and his unfounded hatred. It still made no sense why the man held such a vendetta against him. That first day Matthias rode into town and tried to board Karl in a stall, Lefton chased him away with a pitchfork, threatening to replace it with a rifle.
The man was obviously a lunatic, but Matthias shouldn’t have cowered and allowed Vatti to go on that delivery. ’Twas just one more time his poor decisions had brought pain and hardship to someone he cared about.
And now he’d best get out of town before someone else got hurt.
He landed another blow, but the nail curved like it had weakened from too much time in the harsh weather. He pulled a newly forged nail from his coat pocket and fit it beside the older piece. This one drove straight and smooth, the nail head seating cleanly in the wood with only two strikes.
“Matthias?”
He stiffened, then slowly stood and looked to the back door. The pretty face that accompanied that delicate voice tightened his chest like it had every time he’d seen Opal since their ride.
That was another reason why he needed to leave. His body reacted far too strongly to this woman. He probably shouldn’t have taken her on the picnic, but Mutti had been so insistent, and she rarely asked for anything.
He'd kept his distance fairly well for the first half of the outing. Until the geyser had spouted and she’d been so caught up in the sight that her face practically glowed. Like the angel she was.
Which made her far too special for a rough mountain Viking like him.
“Matthias, Darrel just brought a telegram for you.”
A telegram. The moment the words started to register, he dropped his hammer and strode toward her. “Who sent it?”
She glanced at the paper folded in her hand. “I haven’t opened it. Should I have?”
He reached her and extended his hand to take it. “No. Sorry. That’s fine.” The surge of energy pulsing through his veins made his fingers shake, so he snatched the paper and turned away. Would this be good news? He’d sent inquiries to several more towns last week, extending his search for Alanna northward.
He fumbled with the edges and unfolded the note. In small, concise script, the message stared up at him.
Responding to your inquiry, stop. Nilsen family in Jackson until four years ago, stop. Moved north, stop.
Matthias stared at the paper as the letters swirled in his vision. Nilsen family in Jackson. He’d found a trace of them. This must be his father’s aunt and uncle—and Alanna. At least, God willing, Alanna would still be with them. Let her be alive and well.
He spun back around, his mind racing through all the supplies he’d need to gather before heading out.
Opal stood just outside the doorway, watching him.
“I have to go.”
She tilted her head, her honey-colored brows lowering as if she were trying to make sense of him. “Go where?”
“To find my sister.” His bedroll was packed, but he’d need to gather enough food to keep him for several days. The sky had simmered with dark clouds all morning, which meant the grass would be covered with snow for the next few days, and he’d need to take oats for Karl. Just as well. He’d rather not take the time to let the animal graze.
He moved to go around Opal, and she stepped aside out of the doorway.
“You’re leaving town?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “I have to.” The weather may not be ideal for traveling, especially through the mountains, but this was the first time he’d found a confirmed residence. He had to check into it.