Ginger almost didn’t recognize the outlaw camp as she pulled the reins and halted the oxen. The stench and clutter from a few days ago were gone, and instead, there seemed to be a sense of order. She grinned to herself, imagining Miss Sadie organizing the cleanup effort and demanding help from anyone able to stand on his feet.
Miss Sadie straightened up from her place bent over the fire and headed toward the wagon. Her face nearly melted in relief to see Ginger back. “Thought you’d taken down with cholera, gal. According your pa, you were so sick, the doc had to carry you to your tent. You got well might-fast. Not that I’m complaining.” She grinned, but it was a tired smile. Ginger noted the shadows ringing her eyes. Now that she was back, Miss Sadie could rest a little.
“Grant says it was just a weak stomach and exhaustion.” She gave a sheepish grin. “Too many smells all mixing together at once. I couldn’t help it.”
Miss Sadie chuckled and followed her to the back of the wagon. “Well, you’re not the first person to lose a meal that way.”
“I guess.” Ready to put the entire incident behind her, Ginger looked past Miss Sadie. The camp seemed deserted. “Where’s Yuley?”
“Off yonder, attending to the wood.”
Ginger lowered the tailboard and turned to Miss Sadie. She leaned against the wagon and gave her full attention. “Thank goodness he’s pulled through.”
“Yep. God looks out for those that can’t look out for themselves.”
“How about Mr. Harrison and Web?” She gave a short laugh. “I didn’t figure Web would be much help, but I thought for sure Mr. Harrison would be working up a storm like he does around our camp.”
“Who do you think cleaned up the bulk of the mess around here and set fire to the burn pile?”
Ginger gave a shrug. “I don’t know. Yuley?”
“Honey, no matter how sweet Yuley is, I wouldn’t hand him a flint. He’d be likely to burn down the whole camp and every tree for a mile in every direction.”
“Well, then, where are Web and Mr. Harrison?”
Jerking her thumb toward the tent, Miss Sadie’s eyes grew somber and she shook her head. “Charles came down with it this morning. I thought he looked a little peaked yesterday, but you never can tell for sure with a man that’s not your own.”
Dread bubbled in Ginger’s stomach and weakened her knees. “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “Poor Mr. Harrison.”
“Poor Amanda Kane,” Miss Sadie said with another shake of her gray head. “Charles told me they’re planning to get married at Fort Boise. His main concern is that she might return to the laudanum if he doesn’t pull through. She’s lost so much in the last few months. Her share of sorrow. Almost more than her share.” She paused, then scrutinized her. “You haven’t asked about Web.”
“What about him?” She frowned. “He doesn’t have cholera too, does he?”
“Web’s ailing, but not from cholera.”
Relieved that he wasn’t suffering the deadly disease, Ginger couldn’t hold back the short sarcastic laugh. “Then what’s he ailing from? Too much liquor and not enough sleep?”
A scowl pinched Miss Sadie’s face. “You could use a little more respect when you talk about your pa, you know.”
Again, Ginger couldn’t keep a straight face. “If I had any for him, I might use it,” she retorted. “Too bad I’m fresh out.” She lowered the tailboard on the wagon and started pulling on Miss Sadie’s tent. “Don’t worry about Web. Just let him sleep it off, and he’ll wake up ready to drink some more. Hide his bottle, or you won’t get a lick of work out of him.”
“It might interest you to know that he wasn’t drinking. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of a bottle of anything. It’s a lot more serious than that.”
Something in the sound of her voice made Ginger stop and pay attention. “Well, what is it then?”
“I’m not a doctor, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s suffering from a wasting disease. He’s all the time doubled over and favoring his right side.”
Ginger frowned, remembering. In her mind’s eye, she could picture Web bending over and pressing his hand to his side, sweat beading his brow as he fought the pain. She nodded. “He gets sick from time to time, doesn’t he? I’d forgotten.” She squinted at Miss Sadie as she realized how sober the old woman was. “Is he dying?”
“I’ve seen this type of illness before, and the poor person hardly ever makes it. Sometimes they might last a good while…months, maybe, but after a time, they pass on.”
Stunned, Ginger wasn’t sure what to say. A world without Web? Granted, he didn’t contribute much of anything. At least not enough to balance out the things he took, but still…
Miss Sadie gathered up the tent stakes. She stood with her arms full and sought Ginger’s gaze. “You know what worries me the most?”
Trying to come to grips with her own feelings about Web’s illness, Ginger shook her head.
“If that man breathes his last breath with his soul as black as tar, he’ll burn sure as that fire over there.”
“Burn?” Alarmed, Ginger’s gaze shot to the burn pile at the edge of camp. Then she realized it was a spiritual matter. “Oh, you mean in hell?” The situation was hopeless. Web would never give up his wicked ways. “Oh, Miss Sadie. Web’s been thieving and lying practically all his life. How’s he going to give it all up in time to make it to heaven when he passes on? It’ll take him a hundred years to make up for all the wrong he’s done.”
“He could never make up it.”
“Well, then I guess there’s no point in telling him what to expect when he dies.” Ginger shook her head, truly sorry for Web. “I wish he’d changed his ways when he was young like I did.”
Surprise lit Miss Sadie’s eyes. “What are you saying?”
For some reason, Ginger felt shy about sharing her new life with Miss Sadie. She wasn’t ashamed. Not by a long shot. Only, it was still new, and she felt like keeping it between her and God for a while. But now that she’d opened her trap and made Miss Sadie curious, she didn’t really have a choice. She ducked her head and averted her gaze. “This morning, I went up where Sam was holding the service.”
Miss Sadie expelled a breath. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Land sakes, are you telling me you went to the altar and prayed for forgiveness today?”
“Yes. Buddy did, too.”
Miss Sadie shook her head. “Well, if that doesn’t beat all. I’ve pretty nearly worn my knees out praying for your soul, and God goes and draws you on a day I can’t witness the blessed event.” She gave a little huff. “How do you feel? Different?”
“Yes. And the same in a lot of ways.”
“You’re not the same. Not even a little. When Jesus comes, He makes you over. You’re like a newborn baby without one little sin. Well, maybe except the crack about your pa and the whiskey earlier. You need to show more respect. The Bible says so. Even a pa like the one you have deserves the honor that comes from being a parent in the first place.”
“You’re making that up.” Ginger couldn’t even imagine. Didn’t God know Web? How was she supposed to respect a liar and a thief? A man that dragged his children along while he robbed trains and stagecoaches and banks? Surely Miss Sadie was mistaken. “How could the Bible say I have to respect Web?”
“Well, it doesn’t exactly mention Web by name, but it says to honor your parents so that you don’t die before your time. And if you do, things will go all right for you in your life.”
Ginger released a sigh. “I don’t know anything about God. How does a person ever really know Him?”
“You’ll learn. I’ll teach you as much as I can, but mostly it comes from reading your Bible and praying. We learn God’s character as we see His word come true in our lives.”
“Like what?” Ginger had thought the Bible held a lot of rules. But the way Miss Sadie spoke, her voice soft and loving, made Ginger wish she owned a Bible herself.
“For instance, the Bible says when a person is in Christ, he’s a new creature, old things are passed away, like we just said, and all things are new.” She demanded Ginger’s gaze with her own. “How do you feel different since you asked forgiveness and made the decision to become one of God’s family?”
A slow smile spread across Ginger’s face. “I guess like you were sayin’, I feel new. Like a different person.”
“There you go. You’ve just come face-to-face with the heart of God. If His Word says it, you can believe it. Even if you didn’t feel it, it would still be true.”
The very thought made Ginger go warm all over. She’d never really known anyone that always kept his word. Even Clem had gone and died, instead of taking her and Buddy out west. Life so far had been full of disappointments. But, like a flint, something inside of Ginger sparked hope. And that hope had just grown into the smallest flicker of flame.
“The first thing I’m going to help you study is the grace of God,” Miss Sadie said with a smile. “You need to understand that you can’t ever make up for sins. Not with God. All you can do is repent and accept His forgiveness and believe that He won’t remember them.”
“How can God not remember? If He’s God, He knows it all.”
“He forgets because he chooses to. Right in the Bible, He says he blots out our sins for His own sake and doesn’t remember them. It’s the same as when you rub a bar of lye soap across a pair of old trousers and scrub until whatever it is you’ve gotten into comes off. It’s gone. And by the time you put those trousers on again, you don’t even remember the stain.”
While Ginger tried to wrap her mind around this new concept, she remembered something Miss Sadie had said about Web. “That’s what you mean when you said Web couldn’t make up for his wickedness, either.”
“No one can. Not the most blessed saintly woman or the blackest heart on earth.”
“Maybe so with normal folks. But Web’ll never give God a chance like I did.”
“Once upon a time, there were folks who said the same thing about you, my dear.”
Heat crept to Ginger’s face. She cleared her throat. “Where do you want the tent?”
Miss Sadie pointed to a flat spot not far from the men’s tent. “Over there.”
“You sure? That seems a little close to be proper.”
A good-natured smile tipped Miss Sadie’s lips at Ginger’s teasing tone. “With an old lady like me in your tent, it’ll be plenty proper.”
“With my rifle next to me it would be, anyway.”
They made short work of putting up the tent. Ginger thought Miss Sadie looked mighty tired. “I take it the men are all sick now?”
“They’re getting better, though. Elijah’s asking for you to join him as soon as you get back.”
“Asking for me?” Ginger gave a frown. “I wonder why.”
Miss Sadie shrugged. “He didn’t say.”
“Is he in the tent?”
“Yes, but you’re not going in there. He should be well enough tomorrow to sit up out here awhile.”
“Fannie and Blake sent you a bearskin, so I’m going to make you a pallet inside the tent, and I think you ought to sleep for a while.”
The older woman pressed her fists into the small of her back and nodded wearily. That surprised Ginger. She figured she’d have to argue for a good five minutes to get the stubborn woman to take a break.
Within a few minutes, with strict instructions that she was not to go near the men’s tent, Miss Sadie collapsed onto the soft pallet Ginger had made with special care.
It felt strange, eerie even, for Ginger to be in this camp while the men lay sick in one tent and Miss Sadie, exhausted from days of giving everything she had to the sick, in another. Ginger unhitched the oxen. After hobbling them, she wandered to the campfire and lifted the coffeepot, glad that there was at least a full cup left, even if it was the bottom of the pot. Alone, she felt at a loss. The pot was full of the soup and another of stew, so there was no need to cook. She felt faintly disappointed. Cooking was one of the few domestic chores where she excelled. She’d been doing all the cooking for Web’s gang since she was thirteen years old. Well, Miss Sadie would be wanting coffee when she woke later, so Ginger could at least get some to boiling.
Filling the dipper with water from the bucket next to the fire, she slowly filled up the pot, barely paying any mind to the task at hand. Her thoughts turned to the conversation she’d had with Miss Sadie. If the woman was right, then God didn’t remember that Ginger had joined the wagon train bent on revenge against Grant. The problem was that she remembered. And Grant had a right to know. He couldn’t go on having ideas that he might want to court her and most likely marry her, when Ginger knew it would never be possible. Even if she loved him as much as she’d once hated him, it still wouldn’t work.
Especially once he discovered who had provided the decoy that day. She had stood in the road, flagged down the stagecoach and had cowered behind a tree until she’d seen her brother, Clem, shot from his horse.
No. God might not remember it, but Ginger did. And once Grant became aware of her place in his wife’s death, he’d never love her again.
But that was a chance she’d have to take. She wouldn’t start out her new life by holding onto a lie. She just couldn’t.
Thankfully, there was no time for her to mull it over any more, because Yuley crashed through the perimeter trees, his arms filled with a load of wood. He stumbled under the weight and almost dropped his burden. Ginger hopped up and hurried to help him. His eyes were still dark and sunken in, much like Buddy’s, but clearly, his strength was returning. He grinned broadly, showing only a few teeth left in his mouth. “I’m glad to see you, Miss Ginger!”
“I’m glad to see you up and about, Yuley. How you feeling?”
“Better. I thought I was going to die like Dale did. You want to see where we buried him? You never got to say goodbye.”
That was just about the last thing Ginger wanted to do. She’d seen enough death. Dale would have to do without her. “I’ll say goodbye another time. Right now, I have to get the fire built back up so that we can get that soup boiling again.”
His expression drooped. “I don’t much like that soup, Miss Ginger. I’m fixin’ to go to the river and catch us some fish.”
“There’s some stew.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t much care for it, neither. Ate it for breakfast.”
“It’s kind of cold to be fishing. You think they’ll bite?”
“Sure they will!”
“All right, Yuley,” she said, dropping the wood to the ground by the fire. “I’ll tell you what: if you catch some fish and clean it by the river, I’ll cook it for your supper.” She nodded toward the pot of stew. “But if you don’t catch any, you have to have a bowl of that stew. You need to keep up your strength.”
He frowned, clearly weighing his odds. Then he nodded. “Thank you, Miss Ginger. I’ll do it.” He started to dash off, then turned back to her. He closed the distance between them in a few lanky strides. “Forget something, Yuley?”
“I got to tell you something.”
“What is it, Yuley?”
“I can’t be an outlaw no more.”
“You can’t?” Ginger held back the smile lurking at the corners of her lips. The thought of Yuley as an outlaw was just silly.
“Miss Sadie says it ain’t right.”
Ginger took a breath and released it in a cloud of frigid air. Land sakes, Miss Sadie ought not to say things like that, right in the midst of outlaws. She could get herself hurt. Or worse, if she angered someone like Lane. He’d put a bullet into her without thinking twice. “I suppose it’s not right, but no one is going to hold it against you.”
“I just want to do what’s right. Like Miss Sadie.”
How could she encourage him to stay with this band of thugs if she herself had no intention of staying? “It’s okay, Yuley. You don’t have to be an outlaw anymore if you don’t want to.” And then an idea hit her that was so ridiculous in its simplicity that she had no idea if it would work or not. “How would you like to go to Oregon with me?”
“I think I’d like that fine.” A slow grin spread across his face and before she knew what was happening, he swooped her up into a tight hug that lifted her clean off her feet. “You won’t change your mind will you?”
“Of course not. I want you to come with me and Buddy. It’ll be like having two brothers again.”
“That’d be good. I ain’t never had a sister.”
“Well, now you will. What about those fish? If you don’t hurry up, they’re going to think you don’t want a fish dinner, and they’ll all swim away.”
“Aw, Miss Ginger, you’re teasin’ me.”
Chuckling, he moved off toward the saddlebag that held all of his belongings, including his fishing tackle. Walking toward the river, he turned and gave her a hardy wave.
Ginger grinned and shook her head, staring after him. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to find Web coming. He stopped when he reached a rough-hewn bench. Sweat dotted his forehead, despite the frigid air. Miss Sadie was right. Sickness had somehow caught Web, and if he didn’t do something about it fast, he’d be swallowed up in death.
Web nodded toward Yuley. “You got a special way with him, you know. Always did.”
She shrugged. “Yuley’s a good boy.”
“I heard what you said to him about going to Oregon with you and Buddy.”
Ginger raised her chin. “That’s right. He wants to stop riding with you, because he doesn’t feel right about it anymore. I’ve seen you let men walk out of the gang before with no hard feelings. Surely you won’t stop Yuley.”
He pursed his lips and gave a slow, thoughtful nod. “He can go if he wants. I only kept him around for his brother’s sake, anyhow.”
Something in the way he stressed he wrapped a tight fist of dread around Ginger’s gut. “But not me or Buddy?”
“Like I said, we got one more job to do; then I’ll let you go.”
Summoning courage she didn’t even know if she possessed, she stared into Web’s eyes. “I’m not doing any jobs. We agreed after Clem died that I didn’t have to help after that. I can’t steal anymore than I could kill Grant. I’m not the same as I used to be. I’ve been around folks that work hard for a living. Folks that care about each other. And I like them. I’m not stealing from them.”
“Look, I know I didn’t give you the chance to be around decent folks much. And maybe I was wrong for that.”
Anytime Web admitted to any wrongdoing, he was probably lying through his teeth. He didn’t have a sincere bone in his body and everyone knew it. She opened her mouth to tell him as much, but Miss Sadie’s words came back to her in a flash. She swallowed her skepticism and tried to wipe the disbelief from her face. “Well, I’ll be around decent folks from now on. And so will Buddy. So don’t fret about it.”
“Look, girl.” His graying eyebrows shoved together in a deep frown. “You’re gonna have to do what I say, or you might get into more trouble than you bargained for.”
“Like being forced to marry the likes of Lane Conner?”
“You know about that?”
“Lane told me.” She gave him a pointed look. “And he kissed me, against my will and threatened to do more than that.”
Anger flashed in his eyes again. This time directed toward Lane.
“Lane knows I’m sick. I’m tryin’ to make sure you’re looked after when I’m gone.”
“Miss Sadie told me about that, Web. I’m truly sorry you’re not well, but I can’t marry Lane. I can hardly tolerate ten minutes anywhere near him. Besides, if I married Lane, I’d probably have to shoot him within a year.”
“Let me tell you about the job.”
“Not that I have a choice.”
“Elijah’s been writing letters to a man in California. A man that struck it rich in the gold mines.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, Web.”
“Well, hush up and listen, and you will.”
Same old Web.
“He wrote some real fancy, pretty letters, if you know what I mean.”
“What for?” Ginger’s mind tried to wrap around the point Web was trying to make, but just why Elijah would write fancy, pretty letters to a man in California didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Unless…Ginger shoved to her feet. “Do you mean Elijah answered a rich man’s advertisement for a wife?”
His face brightened. “I always said you was a bright girl.”
“It appears I’m the only bright one around here,” she mumbled. “That’s about the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard. How did you plan on…” And then she knew. “Elijah pretended to be me, didn’t he?”
“That’s right. Now you’re catchin’ on.” He looked so pleased with himself, Ginger realized this must have been his bright idea in the first place. “Tell me about the plan.”
Reaching into his pocket, Web drew out a fistful of letters. Ginger took the dirty envelopes. “I figure Elijah’s about dead. I took these from his bag.”
Ginger gave the handful a cursory glance and sniffed. “Letters from the man in California, I take it.”
“Yep.” Web beamed with pride. “You read them letters and see what I mean. I need you to meet him, and we’ll take it from there.”
“I don’t see how my meeting him will give you the opportunity to rob him. For this big a job, you have something more in mind. This is a little too easy.”
He gave a sigh of resignation. “Okay. You might have to marry him. But it’d only be for a little while.”
Horror filled Ginger. “What? Marry him! Web, are you crazy? First you want me to marry Lane; now you want me to marry this fellow in California? Do you want me to live with them both at the same time?”
Instead of boxing her ears for her impertinence, Web grinned, showing a mouthful of mostly missing teeth. “Feisty, aren’t ya? After we get his money, we’ll leave California, and you won’t have nothing to worry about.”
“I’d still be married.”
“Only if you look at it that way. That’s up to you.”
“It’s the way it would be, Web. No matter how I look at it. God would see me as married to that man. You really want to force me to do that, just so you can line your pockets?”
“You know I don’t cotton to talk about God.” A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes. A sign Ginger recognized as Web nearing the end of his patience. “Just read those letters. You just might like the man’s pretty words.”
“How would you know what they say?”
“Elijah read ’em to us.”
“But how did they get back and forth so quick?”
Clearly at the end of his patience, Web struggled to his feet and towered over her. “I ain’t askin’, Ginger. If you want to leave us, this is your chance. You do one job for us, and you, Buddy, and Yuley are free to go. If you don’t…well, let’s just say, you won’t be goin’ anywhere.”
“You’re threatening your own daughter?”
“I don’t want to. But you forced me to it. Now you simmer down and do as you’re told, and before long, you’ll be free.”
He moved away, and Ginger faced her first test as the new person she’d become. The opportunity to gain her freedom or staying true to the new feelings of truth and goodness inside.
Was there anything in the Bible about how to get out of this mess? If only she could ask Miss Sadie about it. A sigh escaped her as she sat on the bench and opened the first letter.
Elijah,
I’m grateful you’ve reached Missouri and have joined up with Web. Be careful, my pa may not have learnin’ but he’s smart in the ways of man. He won’t be easy to fool. The most important thing is not to make him suspicious. If he gets wind of who you really are, he’ll kill you and that’ll be the end of our plans for Ginger…
Ginger frowned and reread the first part of the letter. Clearly, Elijah had been pulling a job of his own. One that had nothing to do with a man in California. Indignation shot through her. How dare he? Web wouldn’t know any better.
A chill scurried up her spine and she shuddered. Her eyes skimmed the rest of the letter, and when she reached the last words, a gasp tore through her throat.
It won’t be too much longer before I’ll be able to join them.
Thank you again, my friend.
God Bless and keep you,
Clem