Chapter Twenty-Eight
T hree weeks.
That’s how long they’d been following this goddamn river. With October nearly gone, the days were cold, and the nights even colder. Crystalline ice and snow clung to the faces of the rugged peaks surrounding them. Majestic as it was, Levi wondered how the fuck they could ever survive in a land such as this.
The river corridor came to its end, and they gazed out on the edge of the wilderness. Water trickling through the scree fields gathered into a stream at the bottom of the V-shaped valley. A vast blue lake fronted a square-top mountain, and tucked between two ice-covered canyons, stood to the north of them.
“Now what?”
Follow the Seeds-kee-dee-agie, and when you can’t follow it no more, keep going.
“We’ll camp here for the night, Elijah.” He squeezed his friend’s shoulder, hoping to reassure him. “And tomorrow, we keep going.”
“To where, brother?” He threw his hands up. “This is as good a place as any to settle.”
This isn’t our home .
Levi refused to give up. Somehow, they would get there.
“We keep going.”
The girls gathered wood, and he built a large campfire to warm them. Coulter served up a generous rabbit stew with biscuits. Sure beats hardtack, beans, and bacon . He was grateful for the bounty. Taking on Cookie had proven to be a wise decision. He looked out upon the lake and, sopping up the gravy with his bread, Levi couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps Elijah was right.
“Should we stay here, Taghee?” He turned to the Bannock eating beside him.
Taghee licked gravy from his fingers. “What does your heart tell you?”
“No.”
With a tip of his chin, the man smiled. “Then we don’t.”
“Do you believe Josiah’s visions?”
“Do you have faith in yours?” He picked up his plate and stood then. “We all have them, my friend, but most of us don’t listen.”
Levi had faith, but he worried for Lucy, Fallon, his sisters, and young Elizabeth. For all of them. They trusted him enough to follow him here, and that made him responsible for their welfare.
Since the wagons were packed with no room to spare, they slept on blankets spread atop the cold, hard ground underneath the box of the wagon. They hung canvas cloth or blankets from the sides to afford them some protection from the elements. Four feet wide and nine feet long, it made for cramped quarters in which to rest, but it was something.
Victoria and Mary Alice came around from the back, bundles of blankets in their arms. “We’re going to stay with Elizabeth tonight. She’s frightened and cold. We can care for her.”
“And Elijah can’t?” He cocked his head at the younger twin.
“He has no one, Levi.” Her pert brows drawing together, Mary Alice stomped her booted foot. “Besides, you’ll have some privacy without us. I’m tired of hearing you rutting under the blankets.”
“Mary Alice,” Victoria nudged her sister, muttering under her breath.
“Like you’re not?”
“Fine.” And here, he thought, they’d been discreet. “Go on, then.”
It’s not like they were going very far. Elijah’s wagon sat right next to his.
Lucy held the blanket open, ushering him inside. “What’s troubling you, husband?”
“Nothing, love.”
“Spread your legs for him, sister.” With a soft chuckle, Fallon winked at him. “That will ease the worries from his mind.”
It did for a time, but his slumber was fitful. He woke up tired, and just as troubled as he’d been the day before.
After breakfast, the camp packed up in silence. Too weary, no one chattered as they resumed the grueling journey. Without the river to guide them, Taghee, Hawkes, and Tyndall scouted out their route up ahead.
They’d just stopped for a brief nooning when Cooper came racing back. “Hurry and eat your damn beans, you’re all gonna wanna see this.”
A mile ahead, maybe two, an alpine lake fed a clear-running stream. A green, fertile valley lay below them, and a mountain with three peaks loomed above their heads.
“It’s just as my father saw it.” Tears ran down Lucy’s beautiful face. “I told you, husband.”
It seemed as if no man before them had ever set foot upon this earth.
“This is the place,” Levi shouted, a jubilant fist in the air.
He kissed Lucy, then gathering Fallon to his chest, he kissed her, too.
Elijah picked up Elizabeth and, spinning in a circle, hugged the child who still hadn’t cried for the mother she lost, her sister, or her father. He held her tightly to his chest, the twins hanging onto his arms. Victoria glanced up at him. Lifting her chin with his finger, he lowered his lips to hers.
Ha! I knew he was sweet on her .
But then, he bestowed a kiss upon Mary Alice, too.
His lips twitching, Taghee tried to hide a smile.
Behind their hands, Lucy and Fallon just giggled.
He gave them a pointed look.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Lucy kissed his cheek and grinned. “Everything that comes in threes is perfect.”
“Look at this place. We have been generously favored. The earth has given us its blessing.” Her arms wrapped tightly around him, Fallon laid her head on his shoulder. “Don’t fret, husband. All is as it should be.”
Levi glanced at Elijah. He’d have a word with him later. Right now, they had to prepare for winter. And after that, a town to build, crops to plant, and cattle to breed.
“Welcome home, Levi Gantry.” And she kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you.” Gazing into her warm chocolate eyes, his fingers caressed her cheek. He reached for Lucy, and holding the sisters close, he whispered, “My bluebird and my butterfly.”
The West was a place where their dreams had been tested, where the land itself seemed to challenge every one of them who’d been brave enough to cross it. But the journey wasn’t just about reaching a new home, it was about discovering the strength they didn’t know they had. They lost everything they thought they could never live without, but they gained something far greater: resilience, trust, and a bond that defied the world’s expectations. The frontier wasn’t just a place; it was a test of will, and for them, the rewards weren’t just land or riches, but the unshakable knowledge that not only had they endured it, they had survived.
The blood, sweat, and tears—the love—of those who came before them is the reason they were all here. Levi, Elijah, Taghee, Archer, Cookie, together with every man, woman, and child worked to build a place that not only sustained itself but thrived. All because they heeded the words of a crazy old mountain man.
He told them if they kept the ways of the people, listened to the mountain, and respected the earth, that they would flourish and prosper.
They shouldn’t have survived, but they did.
Prosperity, which continued to this day, had been granted to all of them.
An outsider, someone who didn’t know their history, would never understand, but for nearly two hundred years, their ways had served them well.
Jake got out of the truck and breathed in deep. The scents of clear spring water, wild meadows, earth, ozone, and pine reminded him how favored he was, and how lucky they all were to belong to this place.
Brookside might not be Eden, but it was pretty darn close as far as he was concerned. The world outside the gate could keep their bullshit. He wanted no part of it. Here, at least, they could live a life filled with abundance, absolute love, and the purest joy.
His wife stacked foil-wrapped aluminum pans in his arms. “Got it?”
“Yeah, babe.” Emily looked a little peaked. “You okay?”
“What do you think? I’ve only been cooking since five o’clock this morning.”
Thanksgiving at the ranch. Despite the loss of his mother, Jake had so much to be thankful for. They all did.
“Wait, Billy.” She placed a casserole dish in each hand. “Okay, I think that’s everything.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, c’mon.”
They followed her into the kitchen, where Arien, Grams, Shiloh, and his mother-in-law prepared the feast while sipping on Melinda’s hard apple cider. The stuff was potent, too. It could grow hair on your chest.
Well, not exactly .
“Ladies, you’re all beautiful. Happy Thanksgiving. Where do you want these?”
“Here, honey.” Grams kissed his cheek. “I made you some room.”
Jake relieved himself of six aluminum pans, and Billy dropped off two casserole dishes.
“I guess we’ll leave y’all to it.” He waved to the ladies, laid a smooch on his wife, and then he and his brother got out of the kitchen.
The living room looked like a daddy daycare. Matthew Brooks had Benjamin playing with blocks on the floor at his feet. Griffin entertained eight-month-old Jaxson on his lap, while the twins napped on Tanner and Kellan.
A childless Justin looked up at him, and pursing his lip, he shrugged.
“Dad, what the fuck did you do?” Billy’s hand covered his mouth, no doubt concealing his hanging jaw.
“He cut all that glorious hair off, that’s what he fuckin’ did.” And judging by the pout, his father’s husband wasn’t at all happy about it.
“Why?” Jake asked, even though he knew. You miss her .
“It was time. I’m almost fifty.” Victor ran his fingers through his newly shorn scalp. Short on the sides, he still had some length on top. “Besides, I only kept it long for your mother.”
“What about me?” Justin protested.
“I didn’t think it mattered to you.”
“It did.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m sorry. Shall I grow it back?”
“Yes.”
Kim came waltzing through on her way to the dining room. “I’ll never understand why y’all think it’s a good idea to cut off your hair.”
“I ain’t cuttin’ mine.” Billy held onto his chest-length mane as if it might disappear.
“Smart boy,” their mother-in-law said over her shoulder. “Your wife would never forgive you if you did.”
Noted .
Not that Jake had any intentions of cutting his, either. Hair is sacred, a symbol of strength and pride. Cutting it is a sign of grief and mourning.
“Ems,” Arien called out from the kitchen. “What’s the matter?”
Holding both hands over her mouth, she tore through the living room.
He jumped up and ran after her.
“I got you.” Rubbing her back, Jake held up her hair while Emily vomited, holding onto the commode for dear life. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not.” She threw up some more. “Ugh, this is so gross.”
Billy knocked on the door. “She all right?”
“Yes,” he said.
“No,” she countered.
“C’mon, let’s get you over to the sink.” Jake helped her rinse out her mouth, and after looking through the vanity drawer, he handed her a toothbrush and smoothed her hair. “Emily, do you think you might be—”
“No, I’m not pregnant.” She sniffled, wiping off mascara from her face. “I had my period a couple of weeks ago, remember?”
He did.
“Must be Grams’ cider or maybe it’s all the shit I ate making the food this morning.”
“You feel better now?” Jake held her and kissed her forehead.
Blowing out a breath, Emily nodded. “I’m sorry.”
It’s going to happen soon, michante. I feel it in my bones .
He’d dreamt of a little girl with long, dark hair and golden eyes. They called her Lucy.
“Did I ever tell you which story is my favorite of them all?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Ours.” He gazed at the woman he’d love for the rest of his life. “And it isn’t over yet.”