Chapter 4
Clutching the side of the driver’s seat, Jeff tried to think of something to do. How could he stop this accident from happening?
Too late, he realized there was nothing he could do but hold onto the seat as the cart snapped its shaft and the horses broke free of the traces.
A quick look over at Bonnie was all he had time for as he and his new wife, the harmonium, and the other passengers all tumbled from the cart, landing in the water with splashes and groans, and in the case of the harmonium, a strangely musical crash.
“Is everyone okay?” he asked as he got a little shakily to his feet a couple of moments later.
Bonnie was standing in the creek, up to her knees in the water. She looked a little shaken but otherwise unhurt as she nodded. Jeff said a prayer of thanks that she’d been spared a second time today. First the bandits, then this. What a welcome to Texas!
Kevin was helping Father Sumner up. The priest looked dazed and rather angry. “My poor harmonium!”
“Hey, Leo,” Jeff said, holding out a hand to the older man. “Can I help you up?”
Leo accepted his hand. “Sure. Tell me, are things always this eventful around here?”
Jeff shrugged. “More or less.”
The sound of splashing halted their conversation as Bonnie came past. She was trying to run in the water. Her skirts wound around her legs, and she fell, face-first, into the water.
Jeff left Leo, who also came rushing to her aid. Together, they helped her up.
“What are you doing, Peanut?” Leo asked.
“My bag!” she cried, pointing.
Sure enough, one of her bags was happily floating downstream. There were several other things that were also bobbing in the creek’s current.
Jeff took off running to retrieve them. Splashing as he ran, he slipped and slid the last bit of the way to where Bonnie’s valise fetched up against a couple of rocks.
“Got it!” he said.
Thank goodness it had floated.
Bonnie looked up from where she was helping her uncle drag his portmanteau to shore on the far bank.
She smiled at him through long, dripping eyelashes and sent happy shivers through Jeff.
She was so delightful. Even in a situation where some folks would be angry or upset, she had spent the last few minutes after the accident helping instead of whining.
The only one complaining was Father Sumner. He looked ready to cry.
“My harmonium,” he moaned, standing beside the instrument in the water, which was making odd noises as it flowed through the keys and pipes.
“Jeff, come help me,” Kevin said. “Maybe if we heave, we can get it out of the water.”
Jeff picked up the valise and came splashing back. With the added water weight, Jeff doubted a herd of elephants could maneuver the instrument to the shore. However, Father Sumner looked distraught.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to do much more than maybe get it to dry land. The axle on the cart is broken. We’ll have to leave it here and walk into town. Then we can make a plan to come back and get it,” Jeff said. “Maybe Troy and Lizzie can come up with something.”
“Maybe Mr. Pike or one of the other farmers would lend us their cart,” Kevin suggested.
“We can ask,” Jeff said with a shrug.
“I’ll help,” Leo said.
It took all four men to move the wet instrument to the bank. By that point, it was obvious there would be no lifting it any further.
“I’ll take a horse and go to the nearest farm to borrow a cart,” Jeff suggested.
“No, I should,” Kevin said. “Your wife is here.”
“She needs me to get the cart,” Jeff said. “I won’t be long.”
“You just got married.” Kevin cut his eyes meaningfully at Bonnie. “Maybe spend a few minutes with her, Jeff.”
The prospect of it was both exciting and daunting.
So much had happened in such a short span of time.
What he really needed was some time on his own to think.
Yes, that was it. Some time in which to work things out.
That’s what he wanted, and he knew he wasn’t going to get it.
Kevin had that determined look on his face, the one that made it crystal clear he wasn’t going to back down.
“Kevin, can we talk about this?” Jeff asked, taking his friend by the arm and walking him a little way from the others.
“What is wrong with you?” Kevin asked him urgently. “Of course, I should be the one who takes a horse and goes to get another cart. It’s common sense.”
“I know,” Jeff said, “but I can’t.”
“You can’t what?” Kevin asked.
“Kevin, this morning I was determined to put Bonnie on a train back to New York the moment her foot touched the station platform,” Jeff said.
“And now we’re married. You have to understand how strange and unsettling that is.
I need a moment on my own to work out how I’m going deal with all of this. ”
Kevin regarded him with a look that was a lot less understanding than Jeff thought it should be. Kevin’s wife Anita’s arrival had been a bit of an adventure too. All Jeff was asking for was a ride to a farm on his own to sort himself out.
“Jeff,” Kevin said, putting an arm around his shoulders. “You’re going to let me go and get a cart, and you’re going to speak to your wife. Okay? As worried and unsettled as you are, she’s probably feeling it a lot more.”
“But I can hardly deal with her feelings if mine are all jumbled,” Jeff protested.
“And what exactly am I supposed to do until you get back?” Kevin asked.
“Help the father to sort out his harmonium organ,” Jeff said with a shrug, dislodging Kevin’s arm on his shoulders.
“No,” Kevin said flatly.
“Hey!” Bonnie cried. “There’s a cart coming up the track.”
“What?” Jeff and Kevin asked, both frowning.
That was a stroke of luck. Maybe one of the farmers was heading to Unity and they could get a ride.
Hurrying over to where Bonnie stood, Jeff looked down the track the way she was looking. And she was right. A cart was heading their way. It didn’t appear to be in any kind of hurry, the driver letting the horses walk along at a gentle pace.
Soon the cart came up to them and reined to a halt.
The driver was a man around Jeff’s own age. He was under thirty and had light blond hair, brown eyes, and a large smile.
“Howdy,” he said. “You folks having trouble?”
“Our axle broke,” Jeff said. “I don’t suppose you have some space in your cart for us?”
“Where you headed?” the man asked.
“Up the road to the new town,” Jeff said. “Where you coming from?”
“I’m passing through,” the stranger said. “I’m sure I can manage to fit you all in the back.” He turned in his seat and looked over his shoulder. “Why not hop on in?”
He turned back to look at them and his eyes instantly went to Bonnie. The look in the man’s eyes was friendly enough, but he lingered too long on Bonnie for Jeff’s liking.
“It will be my pleasure to help you folks,” the man said.
Jeff wasn’t sure about this. Although he was grateful to the stranger for stopping, something about this felt far too convenient. This road wasn’t well traveled and today wasn’t a market day. Usually there was no one on this road. It didn’t really lead anywhere but to Unity.
“We have a lot of luggage,” Bonnie said, glancing to where her bags and her uncle’s one bag were stacked.
“And a harmonium,” Kevin added.
“I’m sorry, did you say you have a harmonium?” the man asked, frowning.
“I’m afraid so,” Kevin said.
The man snorted and chuckled. “Well, this I have to see.”
He got down from the driver’s seat and followed them to the riverbank.
“Gosh, I see now what you mean. That is a harmonium. My sister plays,” he said, nodding sagely. “They shouldn’t get wet though. Did that one fall in the creek?”
Kevin nodded.
“Hopefully it will be all right once it’s thoroughly dried,” the man said. “I’m Joel Watson, by the way.”
“Kevin Munson. That’s Jeff Carter and his lovely wife Bonnie, her uncle Leo, and Father Sumner,” Kevin said, introducing them all.
“Where are you from?” Jeff asked.
“Dallas,” Joel said. “I’ve been working as I travel, offering to take things from one place to another for a fee. You know how it goes. A man with a cart who is keen to work can always find something. Am I right?”
“You must be, because you don’t seem to be starving,” Jeff said a little more testily than he had meant to.
“Jeff, he’s offering to help us. You realize that, right?” Bonnie asked, smiling as she spoke, but her tone was edged.
Jeff nodded. “Sorry, it’s been a day.”
“I’ll bet,” Joel said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry. I think if I had broken my axle, I would be more than a little out of sorts.”
“It certainly is an inconvenience,” Kevin said with a nod and a smile. “So how about a nice warm bed, stabling for your horses, and a good meal tonight in return for your services? Or we can pay, but you look as though you could do with a good night’s sleep.”
“That is a mighty fine offer,” Joel said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Usually, I only work with money. It’s easier to deal with, but I can make an exception for you folks. You seem nice enough.” He smiled.
“Excellent,” Kevin said. “I’ll get those two over there lamenting the harmonium to come and help, and we can be on our way.”
“Sounds great. I’ll shift some things in the back to make room,” Joel said.
Jeff walked closer to Kevin. “What are you doing?” Jeff asked in a low voice.
“Getting us home,” Kevin said, frowning. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re inviting a complete stranger into Unity,” Jeff said. “What about the town’s security?”
Kevin looked over his shoulder at Joel. “Does he look like one of El Aguila’s men to you?”
Jeff had to admit that Joel didn’t. He didn’t have the usual hard, cold stare of those men, but there was something there. Something Jeff couldn’t put his finger on.
“I understand we need to be careful,” Kevin said.
“But we outnumber him, and frankly, we don’t have a lot of options.
Let’s just keep our eyes and ears open. He’s only coming for a night.
” He sighed. “What I can’t understand is how we broke the axle in the first place.
I’d just had the cart checked before this trip. ”
“Maybe it was cracked, and it took that last jolt to break it,” Jeff said. “This cart has been through a lot.”
“I don’t know, you might be right,” Kevin said with a shrug. “But maybe we can come back tomorrow and see if we hit something.”
Jeff considered this. He had a point. The cart had been through a lot, but Kyle was always very careful with it and the horses. He never would have allowed them to take it out if it was damaged.
“We’ll have to find a way to get the cart back to Unity anyway,” Jeff said. “We can try to determine what happened then.”
It took them about twenty minutes to get everything loaded into Joel’s cart.
He was helpful, polite, and pleasant. Bonnie and Father Sumner were loaded into the back of the cart, where they had to sit on the trunk and hold on because of the lack of room.
Leo sat up front with Joel and Kevin, and Jeff rode one of their cart horses and led the other.
None of this inconvenience seemed to bother Bonnie at all. She talked happily with Father Sumner, who seemed more cheerful now that his harmonium had been saved.
Jeff was convinced it was Bonnie’s upbeat conversation that had turned the sulking, morose clergyman’s mood around.
“Jeff, is there anyone in Unity who knows anything about fixing musical instruments?” Father Sumner asked as they rode along.
“Gee, I don’t know,” he said. “There might be. We can ask. And if not, there’s always Troy and Lizzy. They seem to be able to fix almost anything.”
“See, there is hope,” Bonnie said. “I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”
Father Sumner nodded. “I hope so. It was a gift. My mother gave it to me when I joined the clergy. She was ever so proud to have a priest in the family, you see. She died shortly after, and it’s really all I have left of her.
I know I’m not supposed to have earthly attachments to such things, but I just can’t help it with the harmonium. ”
“That’s understandable,” Bonnie said, patting his hand. “I don’t think having attachments to people is a bad thing.”
Jeff left them for a little while and rode on ahead to check that the track was clear of bandit ambushes. He found nothing, and after about a two-hour journey with the cart creaking along slowly, they finally rode into Unity.
How the place had come on. Where it had once been a collection of tents and lean-tos, it was now a flourishing town with actual houses and buildings.
Jeff’s heart always thumped a little harder and prouder when he rode into the town, over the hard-packed dirt streets and past the wooden buildings, some freshly painted.
Most of the pitched roofs were slate, but some folks had splurged and gone with red tiles that made their roofs look exotic.
They decided to store the harmonium in the town storeroom until they could find a better place for it. Kevin promised to look after Joel, and so, Jeff, Bonnie, and Leo were dropped at their house.
It was odd for there to be only three of them now. Jeff was nervous as they walked up the path to the front door and he opened it to let them in.
“I know it’s probably not what you were expecting,” he said as he lifted the trunk to get it inside.
“Are you kidding?” Bonnie asked, her eyes large and round. “It has a yard! This is fantastic. I’ve had to grow vegetables in window boxes and planters my whole life. This is going to be amazing!”
Uncle Leo looked around and nodded. “My goodness,” he said. “I think the last time we were in a place with this much space we were at Audry’s farm.”
“You’re right,” Bonnie said, walking slowly through the house. Then she turned to Jeff and smiled. “I love it.”
Jeff let out the breath he had been holding. “Oh good,” he said. “Now, the bedrooms are upstairs. There are three of them. So, while things are still new, you can have your own room.”
She nodded, looking grateful. “And Uncle Leo can have one.”
“Oh, I won’t be staying,” Uncle Leo said, shaking his head. “Isn’t there a guesthouse or an inn?”
“Not yet,” Jeff said.
“Ah,” Uncle Leo said, looking around a little uncomfortably. “I don’t want to be in your hair.”
“You’ve never been in my hair,” Bonnie said with a kind look at him.
“Not yours, Peanut,” Leo said. “Jeff’s a grown man who has been living on his own for a while now. Having another man in his house, one who is terribly set in his ways, might not be a good idea.”
“It’s fine,” Jeff said. “Really, Leo, you’re welcome.”
There was a knock on the door.
Before Jeff could say anything, Kyle opened it and stepped inside.
“Hi there,” he said brightly.
“Bonnie, Leo, this is Kyle,” Jeff said, making the introductions. “What can we do for you?”
“Well, it’s more what the town is doing for you,” Kyle said. “This is your official invitation to Bonnie’s welcome feast at the campfire, which has been moved to the town square due to the bridge issue.”
“It sounds like fun,” Bonnie beamed.
“Excellent!” Kyle said with a chuckle. “We’ll see you all at seven sharp in the town square.”