Dorothy Garlock - [Colorado Wind 03] Read Online Free PDF Page B

said she was shy. He said she’d not been around folk much.” Ellie shook her head sorrowfully. “Maybe she’s been living far out on the prairie someplace. Will you say grace tonight, Henry?”
    Henry bowed his head. “Thank you, Lord, for helping us get through this day, and bless this food.”
    “Pass the biscuits to Vanessa first, Henry,” Ellie chided gently when he helped himself first.
    “Yes, ma’am. I forgot. I sure wish we could have found a dog back in Dodge.”
    “We’ll get one the first chance we get,” Vanessa promised.
    “We won’t get one now till we get to Colorado,” Henry said like a disappointed child. “Mr. Wisner has a dog.”
    “Good. I hope it’s friendly. Well,” she said and smiled, “not too friendly. If it’s too friendly it won’t be worth a hoot as a watchdog.”
    When Ellie cooked the evening meal she always cooked enough food for the noon meal the next day. After supper she packed the food in a basket and set it in the wagon. Vanessa helped clean up while Henry watered the stock. All three had their chores. It was a routine that worked well.
    “Sometimes I wonder if we’ve done the right thing,” Ellie said when they had settled down beside the dying cookfire. “It’s so . . . big.” Her gesture took in their surroundings. “I had no right to bring you and Henry into this. Adam Hill could be dead. He didn’t answer my letters.”
    “Oh, Aunt Ellie! Don’t look on the dark side. You know how mail is in this country.”
    “I’m thinking there may be other kinfolk. My Henry said his brother was one of the most important men in the territory. He said he owned a big ranch and most of the town . . .” Ellie’s voice trailed off.
    “Now stop worrying. We discussed it. Henry and I agreed it was the best thing to do. We were in a rut in Missouri. It’s been good for all of us, especially Henry. He’s learned a lot and so have I. We’ve seen a whole new way of life out here and we’ve enough money to get us a start. Finding that Henry has kinfolk will be an extra bonus, but we’ll certainly not depend on them for our living.”
    “I know you wanted to come, but it’s one thing to sit in a comfortable house and talk about going west and something else when you are doing it.” She looked westward, toward the stretch of open plain. “I can’t help but wonder what’s waiting for us out there.”
    “Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than Dodge. Don’t worry, Aunt Ellie, dear. We’ve managed just fine up to now.”
    “Dodge was the jumping off place. From here on it’s a wild and lawless land.”
    “‘The Lord takes care of those who take care of themselves,’” Vanessa quoted. “With that shotgun and rifle I plan to do just that.”
    Henry had been listening quietly. He didn’t like the worried tone of his mother’s voice. His slow thinking mind tried to sort out what was bothering her. At first the trip was exciting; but now that the newness had worn off, there were times when he was bewildered and longed for the farm and the familiar everyday things; the cows, the sheep, the warm coziness of the barn, and old Shep. But Vanessa had said all that was behind them and they had to look ahead. She said they would have a new home in Colorado and that he was the man in the family and he would have to work hard just like he had in Missouri. He could do that. He could work hard, and he could take care of his mother and Vanessa.
    Henry placed his hand on his mother’s shoulder and looked up at her. His face was that of a man, a handsome man. But his eyes were the wide, worried eyes of a child.
    “Don’t worry, Mama. I’ll take care of you, and I’ll take care of Van, too.”
    “I know you will, dear.” There was a breathless sob in Ellie’s voice that only Vanessa recognized.
     
    *  *  *
     
    The old man and the girl were moving around their breakfast fire when Vanessa and Henry went for the mules. When they moved out at dawn the Wisner wagon