The Hardest Part (Brookside #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

H e’d become too well acquainted with this log by the river. Levi sat on it, staring out at the vista before him as he had with Walker the day before. He could smell the beans and bacon cooking. It did little to motivate him. Even though today was for rest, he had to get going. There was still so much to do.

Get the horses shod.

See about the oxen and winter supplies.

Repack the wagon to make space for the provisions they’d purchased.

And for my wives .

Yes, plural.

He couldn’t have one without the other, and Levi wanted them both, so the world be damned, he was taking them.

How he would explain his decision to Elijah and his sisters, Levi did not know. Of course, he wanted their approval, not that he thought he’d get it, but they were his family. He didn’t care what anyone else might think. In time, he hoped they’d at least come to respect it.

Another hour rolled by when Elijah sat down on the log beside him. He was quiet for several moments before he cleared his throat. “Walker told us.”

“Told you what?”

“That there’s going to be a wedding.” His gaze shifted away from the water. “For Lucy, Fallon, and you.”

Damn you, Walker .

“It’s all right, brother.” Elijah cupped his shoulder. “He figured you’d have a helluva time comin’ up with the words, so he spared you. Had a sit-down with me and your sisters. Explained the ways of his late wife’s people.”

“You must think I’m mad.”

“Back home I probably would have, but that’s not our home anymore.” With a half-shrug, he rubbed his lips together. “Oddly enough, the things he said made sense. Our lives here will be different. Harder in some ways, but simple in many others, so no, I don’t think that. Besides, if the Mormons can have twenty, why can’t you have two?”

Elijah’s lips slowly curved into a smile, and they shared a chuckle.

“And my sisters?”

“Shocked, as you might expect, but not abhorrently so.” And he patted him on the back. “Given some time, I’m certain they’ll come around. They like Lucy and Fallon, but more than that, they dearly love you .”

Levi turned his gaze back to the river. “I hope you’re right.”

“Lucky bastard.” He could hear the smirk in Eli’s voice. “Two women warming your bed at night. However will you manage?”

“Honestly?” Levi turned to look at him. “I don’t know.”

“C’mon.” Eli rose, pulling him up from the log. “We have to go and wish Dalton farewell.”

“Farewell?”

He nodded. “He and some of the others are setting off this morning.”

Levi counted twelve wagons. That’s half of us . Lined up, their oxen hitched, the bedraggled travelers took up positions alongside them. He surveyed the scene, his hands on his hips, and with a shake of his head, walked over to the first in the line.

“George?” His back to him, the man lashed a barrel of water to the wagon’s side. “Dalton?”

“Levi.”

“Are you sure about this, George?”

“I am.” Nodding, he wiped the sweat from his hands on his britches. “No offense to you, Gantry, but I’ve thought on it. I’m taking my family to California.”

He glanced at his wife, their young child strapped to her back. The man was a couple of years older than Levi, at most.

“But—”

“I know you don’t think we can make it, but I believe in my gut that we will.” His hands slipped inside his pockets. “Winter is coming, though. You’re right about that. So, I’m not about to waste another day sittin’ here.”

“And the others?” Had Dalton convinced them all to follow him into what could very well be their deaths?

“St. John and the rest of ‘em decided for themselves.” He glanced at the wagons down the line. “It was a simple choice to make. See, you don’t even know where you’re going and nobody wants to stay here until spring. It’s not safe for the womenfolk.”

There was nothing left for Levi to say. “This is farewell, then.”

“It is.” George grasped his hand, his shake strong. “Good luck to you, my friend. I’ve been privileged to travel this far with you, and I hope your journey takes you to whatever riches you seek.”

A place to call home .

That’s all he wanted.

“I wish you well, Dalton.” Levi let go of the man’s hand and hugged him. “Godspeed. Perhaps someday our paths shall cross again.”

He stood there and watched them depart, knowing in his heart it was the last time he’d ever see his friend.

“Don’t be so glum.” Walker slung an arm around his neck and pulled him away. “Didn’t I tell you every man has his own path to follow?”

“You think he’ll make it?” He was looking for some assurance that they could.

“Can’t say,” the mountain man said, and spat tobacco into the dirt. “Come along, now. There’s some folks I want you and Eli to meet.”

He brought them to a wagon. It looked the same, but was outfitted differently than the others he’d seen during their travels. Besides a water barrel, a small chicken coop was affixed to its side. A panel in the back was folded down with a swinging leg that formed a table. A stout man with ginger hair, his arms folded across his chest, propped himself beside it.

“Hank, get over here.” Josiah waved the man toward them. “Meet Levi Gantry and Elijah Brooks. Them here are the young men I was tellin’ you about.”

He traded a wary glance with Eli.

“Boys, this is Hank Coulter.”

“You can call me, Cookie. Most do.” The man extended his hand, shaking each of theirs with a firm grip. “Pleasure.”

“Hank was a cook for the Army, but he’s done with that life, ain’t ya?” Like he was an old friend, Walker drew him to his side. “He’s ready to settle down. Stay in one place. So, he’s agreed to go with you.”

What?

As stunned by this as he was, Elijah raised his brow. Levi could count the number of creases on his forehead.

“My wagon’s empty. Provision it with what I say and I can guarantee no one’ll starve,” the man assured them. “We’ll have plenty to see us through.”

“Take some of the burden off the girls, too,” Walker said, throwing in his two cents.

“How many wagons in your party?”

“Twelve now.”

“Fifty people?” Hank, Cookie, or whatever he called himself, rubbed the red stubble along his jaw.

That sounded about right. “Yeah, give or take.”

“That’ll work.” And his hand came down on the table. “I can take care of ‘em all.”

“So, what do you say?” His head cocked, Walker looked at them expectantly.

Flabbergasted, Levi didn’t know what the hell to say.

Eli, on the other hand, had no such issue. “We’ll have to discuss it with Archer and the others, but I’m guessing it’ll be all right.”

“You hear that, Hank? Yer leavin’ in the mornin’.” Josiah slapped him on the back and motioned to a group of men sitting by the fire. “Tyndall?”

Three men rose.

“Oliver Tyndall, free man from Texas. Cooper Hawkes started off in Kentucky. They know cattle, and they know horses. Yer gonna need ‘em.”

One man was dark-skinned, the other light. Both wore boots, chaps, and wide-brimmed hats. They tipped their chins.

“And this is Taghee Smith. He’s from the Bannock tribe. He knows the land. Very resourceful. Yer gonna need him, too.”

Levi turned to Elijah. He only shrugged. “Why?”

“All in good time, son.” He patted his shoulder. “Now, y’all need to get everybody ready.”

Then he turned around to leave them with these men they didn’t know.

“One more thing.” And with a bob of his head, Walker grinned. “Found you a preacher. You’ll be wed come supper.”

A mild morning for this early in March, surprisingly, the temperature was above freezing. Usually, that didn’t happen until late April or May. Both of them working the same shift, Jake and his brother quietly slipped from the house before dawn. He’d been subdued these past few weeks, certain he’d lose favor, that the earth would punish him somehow for his ‘mistake’ .

Billy came to him that very morning to tell him what he’d done, that he’d failed his test, as did Emily, shortly thereafter. He understood. Jake couldn’t blame either of them, and to be honest, it surprised him they hadn’t given in to each other sooner. They weren’t the first, and they surely wouldn’t be the last, to have done so.

His brother’s concern, though, was a valid one.

He had broken the rule.

Still, Jake didn’t believe he’d be punished for it or lose favor.

I hope not, at least .

Not looking forward to another long day mucking through snow and shit, he pulled in and parked behind Kellan’s truck. “A couple more weeks, this’ll all be over, and we can get back to work on the house.”

“Yeah.” And he tapped away on his phone. “Griffin ain’t comin’ in today. He’s a daddy. Shiloh had the baby last night—well, early this mornin’.”

“Tell him congratulations from me.” Glancing at his brother, Jake smiled. “What’d they have?”

“A boy. Named him Jaxson.”

“Jaxson Archer. That’s a good name,” he said, and dropping his phone onto the console, he reached into the backseat. “I wonder how Cassie’s takin’ it.”

“Don’t know, and I ain’t askin’.”

The way his brother said it had them both laughing.

“Ready?” Jake tossed Billy his work bag.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He opened the door. “We best get to it, then.”

Calving is repetitive work. A lot of it is observation, looking after the cows and heifers to see if any need intervention. After delivery, it’s making sure the calf is warm, can stand, and is nursing. Once that’s going well, and the calf’s gotten a bellyful of colostrum from its mother, it’s time to process the baby critter—tag, inoculate, dip the navel, castrate the bulls, get a weight, and write it all down.

Jake was doing just that. Processing. Tanner and Billy were on the opposite side of the snowy pasture, pulling a calf. A flash of red in his periphery made him look toward the gate. Arien swung it open, and holding her pregnant belly, went over to Kellan. They spoke for a moment, then she turned around and headed back inside.

Thinking little of it, he returned to his task until Kellan tapped on his shoulder. “Justin called. He needs you and Billy to come home.”

“Did he say why?”

“No, just that he’s been tryin’ to reach you two on your phones.” He pursed his lips, rubbing at the back of his neck. “And he said to hurry.”

He drove like lightning. Neither he nor his brother spoke on the ride back to the house. Billy tore up the steps the moment he put the truck in park. Jake could hear him shouting from the sidewalk, “Ma? Dad?”

But no one was there.

“What the fuck, Jake?”

“I’m texting them.”

Then Billy handed him a note, written in their father’s barely legible scrawl.

We couldn’t wait.

Come to the hospital.

And come quickly.