From a distance of five miles the whitewashed fur-trading post of Fort Hall was visible, occupying half an acre of sagebrush plain alongside the shining Snake River. The breeze played over the red flag on the pole, ruffling the initials of the Hudson’s Bay Company. But this time upon approaching a fort, the mood of the company was a peculiar mixture of excitement and subdued resignation.
Amanda gave no more than a cursory glance to the five-foot wall surrounding the two-story bastion or the hewn-log buildings inside. Word had it there was no meat, flour, or rice to be had. Only a small supply of coffee and sugar—and that at fifty cents a pint. Nevertheless, two days of rest would be appreciated. “Look, Pa!” she heard Tad shout. “A cannon! A real cannon!”
But before the lad could skip off to the piece of artillery parked in the courtyard, his father reined him in. “Slow down, son. That’s nothing to fool with.”
The boy groaned in disappointment.
Jared tousled the towhead’s hair on his approach to Amanda and Sarah. “If you two would look after the young’uns, I’d like to go hunting with the other men. See if I can replenish our stores.”
Amanda nodded. “Go on. I’ll see to your oxen.”
With a grateful smile at her and Sarah, he retrieved his rifle and walked toward the loose horses among the animals that had trailed the company. Amanda thought she caught a wistful longing in her sister’s expression as he left.
“I’m hungry, Miss Sarah,” Bethany implored.
Her brother perked up. “Me, too.”
“Well, let’s see what we can scrape together,” Amanda heard her say, “while Sissy takes care of the animals.”
That night, the camp was anything but quiet. News of the gold strike had the whole place abuzz, precluding the customary music and dancing while folks made plans for the remainder of the journey. Amanda and Sarah sipped coffee by their evening fire until Jared tucked his little ones into bed.
Moments after he came to join them, the Randolphs paid a visit as well. Beaming from ear to ear, the older couple had stranger in tow. It took Amanda only one look to guess the young man was their son. He bore an uncanny resemblance to his father, already possessing similar body structure and bearing, and the same pear-shaped face. But one striking difference stood out—he had the brightest red hair Amanda had ever seen.
“We’d like you all to meet our Charlie,” Minnie Randolph said proudly, her small blue eyes aglow as they rested on him. “He’s just come over from California to meet his pa an’ me. Charlie, this is Amanda—the sweetest little gal a body could know—and her sister, Sarah Jane, and Jared Hill, our neighbor.” She indicated each in turn.
Amanda blushed at the emphasis of her name.
“Howdy,” he managed, fair sunburned skin turning an even deeper hue up to his hairline as he nodded to her, then Sarah. He shook hands with Jared, who had risen to his feet.
“How’d you find the desert trail?” Jared asked.
“Not much good a person can say about that,” the young man admitted candidly. “But I figured my folks would do all right with me to help out.”
“Would any of you care for some coffee?” Amanda asked, regaining her composure as Sarah spread out an extra blanket.
“Don’t mind if we do,” the elder Mr. Randolph said, kneading his bearded jaw. He assisted his wife, then settled his solid bulk between her and their son as they accepted the proffered refreshment.
“Mm. Tastes mighty good,” the old man commented. “Near as good as Minnie’s, if I do say so.”
His spouse beamed in agreement. “Reason we come by,” she said, centering her attention on Amanda, “is to invite you an’ your sister to come to California with us when we take the cutoff.”
Aware of the woman’s son on the fringe of her vision, Amanda blanched. “We—”
She held up a gnarled hand. “I know, the store an’ all. But seems like the Good Lord’s layin’ a real good chance at your feet. You won’t know a soul when you get to Oregon, and more’n likely, folks who’ve suffered the hot sands and dry waste of the desert will be needin’ clothes as much as anybody else. Might be, you could even happen across a few nuggets of gold to help get you started. We’ll be passin’ nigh Sutter’s Fort on the way to our new place, a handful of miles farther.”
“I’ve been considering heading off on that fork myself,” Jared announced out of the blue before Amanda had opportunity to reply. “I was gonna make you and Sarah Jane the same offer.”
Sarah, raising her mug to her lips, halted midway and lowered it to her lap instead.
Amanda had never once considered branching off the main trail and settling in California. Her sights had been fixed on Oregon since before leaving Independence. She looked to Sarah for a response and found her sister’s expression unreadable as the younger girl stared at Alvin Rivers’s wagon.
“My other offer still stands, too,” Jared told Amanda quietly when the others began talking among themselves.
It was all too much to take in at once. Amanda felt torn in two. Either route had definite merit as well as dreaded pitfalls. But she wasn’t exactly up to committing her entire future in marriage just yet, either. Looking to her sibling once more, her gaze drifted above Sarah’s shoulder and happened upon Seth Holloway, exiting the fort’s general store with his partner. That same instant, his attention flicked her way. He tipped his head slightly in Amanda’s direction and said something to Mr. Hanfield. They both laughed.
Amanda set her jaw. One good thing about the Lord, she reasoned, He always provides a way of escape, just as He promised in First Corinthians. With a glance encompassing the Randolphs,-Jared Hill, and her sister, she hiked her chin. “We’ll do it. We’ll go to California!”
“You’re not serious!” Alvin snapped his sketchpad closed in the only true display of his temper Sarah had ever witnessed. His charcoal pencil and blending stick fell unheeded to the sandy ground outside the fort, where he’d been working on a new landscape.
“I’m afraid I am,” she replied, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. “When the wagon train leaves this fort tomorrow morning, Mandy and I have decided to take the California Trail with the Randolphs, Mr. Hill, and whoever else will be splitting off from the company.”
“But why would you do a fool thing like that?” Not to be put off, he sidled up to her, his fingertips lightly grazing up and down her forearm. “For—gold? I’m already in line for a considerable fortune, you know. I’m not about to waste weeks and months grubbing through a bunch of rocks and mud for a few paltry nuggets.”
“I never suggested you should.”
His movements halted. “I see.” The light that dawned in his head was almost visible in his eyes and lent them a steely glitter. “So this is good-bye, then. Fare thee well and all that.”
Sarah nodded, brushing aside a loose tendril the fall breeze whisked over her face. “I thought I’d tell you now, while there’s still time to talk. But please don’t think ill of me, Alvin. I’ll always remember you. I’ll think back with pleasure on the happy times we shared on this journey. And I truly hope one day you’ll find someone who’ll fulfill all your dreams. She’ll be a very fortunate person.”
“Indeed.” A smirk lifted a corner of his mouth. “I thought I already had.”
“No.” Slowly shaking her head, Sarah smiled thinly. “There was only room in your heart for me. My dream is to be part of a family… the bigger the better. To bear children and watch them grow and have children of their own. Even if I were poor and had to scratch for my existence I could never settle for less than that.”
He raked long fingers through his wiry curls and shook his head. Then, reaching for both her hands, he pulled her into a warm hug, his heart beating against hers for several seconds until finally he eased her to arm’s length. “I’ll tell you one thing, Sarah Jane Shelby. If it were a few years down the line and I’d already been to the places I plan to see, I just might be tempted to settle for a piece of that dream of yours. But not right now.”
She smiled sadly.
Alvin paused and searched her face as though committing it to memory. Then he raised her chin with the edge of an index finger and lightly brushed her lips with his. “Well, do be happy, little friend. Any young lady who happens across my path in the future is sure going to have a lot to measure up to. Who knows, perhaps one day we’ll meet again, and you’ll be able to show me your brood of little ones.”
Fighting tears, Sarah could only attempt to smile as she took his hand and squeezed it in mute silence. Then she turned away and walked slowly back to the gate.
Amanda braced her heart against even a twinge of regret the next day as the cutoff to California loomed ever nearer. Ignoring an inner sense of guilt over not having prayed about her rash decision, she purposefully closed her mind to scenery and everyday matters and focused on the future, on the blessed time when she would no longer be forced to suffer the unbearable presence of wagon master Holloway. She determined not to even announce her change in plan to the man. Likely he would be relieved anyway that she and Sarah would no longer be his responsibility. And Amanda had no desire to provide another opportunity for him to gloat. Nor would she permit her gaze to seek him out during nooning stops or evening camps. Whatever strange fascination she might have felt toward the man, it was time it died a quick, natural death. So decided, she ceased the solitary evening walks she had previously enjoyed and expended the supreme effort required to center her attention within the three- or four-yard circumference around her person. After all, she had mules to tend, meals to cook and clean up. It would do well to get used to being with the lesser number of travelers who would be turning off at the split tomorrow.
That night at the campfire, Deacon Franklin prayed for those who on the morrow would part company with the remainder of the Oregon Trail travelers. Reflecting on his thoughtful words afterward, Amanda finally willed herself to sleep. Morning dawned in grayness, and Amanda drew perverse pleasure that it matched her mood. After what seemed an interminable length of time to dispose of breakfast and early chores, the signal finally sounded to roll.
“This is it,” Sarah breathed, her excitement barely concealed. With Bethany on one side of her and Tad on the other, she waved to their father and began walking at a brisk pace.
Amanda mustered all her resolve. Tonight, camped on at new trail, her heart would sing a victory song. She was sure of it. Refusing to acknowledge the silly tear that teetered over her lower lashes and plopped onto her hand, she clucked the team forward.
Riding at the rear end of the column, Seth watched the company dwindle as, one by one, wagons turned off onto the California Trail, taking along several head of cattle that they had cut out of the herd earlier this morning. Granted, some folks retained sense enough to continue on to Oregon Territory, but out of the nearly thirty families who had begun this journey at Independence three months ago, it appeared only a handful would stay with the original plan.
Oh well, he mused, it would make the job easier on him, Red, and the scouts. There were some pretty rugged mountains yet to be crossed. He shook his head. The hardships on this route were nothing compared to what lay ahead of those gold-crazy fools. His friend, Thomas Fitzpatrick, had related some amazing tales of overlanders he had bossed across that frying pan.
Only three wagons had yet to come to the branch. Seth watched the Randolphs turn off. He’d known from the onset their destination was to be northern California. He’d found Nelson Randolph a decent man, one who had acquired respect from a lot of the folks during this journey. Having a son come to meet them with the foresight to trail a string of extra mules and water, Seth figured the old couple would make out okay—provided the heat didn’t do them in.
Nearby, a bony heifer meandered away from the fringe. Seth nudged his mount in that direction and brought the wanderer back in line.
He glanced ahead once more, and his heart lurched. The Shelby cart had veered onto the southerly trail toward the Raft River—with that widower, Hill, right behind!
A battle raged as Seth fought the irrational desire to chase after Amanda and spare her from the horrific dangers of that route. After all, he had somewhat enjoyed playing rescuer once. But on the other hand, he reminded himself, she was no longer his responsibility now—wasn’t that what he’d wanted all along?
He shifted grimly in the saddle and watched the rickety cart growing smaller in the distance. Once Amanda crossed the river, she would be on her way to an entirely different world.
Leaving his own profoundly empty.