"We don't really know that there are Indians," Anna said. "Mrs. Kamden, uh, gets excited over nothing sometimes."

"Come in here with me, anyway."

Anna shook her head. "I need to see to the animals if we're going to be stopped for a while."

The oxen reared against the yoke, trying to give themselves some space.

Mutter poked her face through the pucker in the canvas. "What was that?"

"Just the cows letting the horse know they don't like the situation."

"Well, they're not alone."

Anna sighed. She was weary of all this too but wasn't about to admit to it. Not when it had been her idea.

"It's Indians!" A man's voice. Oliver Rengler's?

"That wasn't Davonna." Mutter didn't come to the opening in the canvas this time.

"No. But even if it is Indians, I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of. We've seen the villages and camped near them. The captain is probably only exchanging niceties."

"I hardly think that's a good idea."

Shouts began riding the wind. "They're blocking the road!"

Anna's heart raced.

"There's twenty of 'em."

The oxen snorted and stamped the ground. Anna's sweaty palms were barely able to grasp the lead rope.

The shouts continued. "They're dressed for war!"

"Your grovater is out there!" Mutter cried.

Anna stepped out around the Becks' wagon as far as the rope would allow. "I still don't see any Indians, Mutter." Or Grovater. Or Caleb or Boney. As a precaution, she moved back behind the Becks' wagon.

"I have to lie down," Mutter said.

Anna listened as Mutter climbed onto a crate, then a barrel, and into her squeaking hammock.

Within a few minutes, Grovater rode up, his face free of tension. "Had us a little excitement."

"Was it Indians?" Anna asked.

"It was. About ten of them."

How was it that Mutter had come from this man? One would've thought he'd just participated in a sport, not faced a potential enemy.

"Friendly Indians who wanted a toll."

"A toll?"

Grovater nodded. "That's what the captain called it. A trade, of sorts. He gave them some blankets, and they were happy."

"If it was a trade, what did they give us?"

"Directions, bead necklaces, and an open road." He glanced around, then up at the empty seat. "Your mutter get scared?"

Anna nodded and pointed to the wagon.

He swung down from the saddle. "Did she eat?"

"A morsel."

A shadow deepened the wrinkles framing his blue eyes. "I wish all this wasn't so hard on her."

A wish Anna shared. But in her heart, she knew the trip wasn't really any harder for Mutter than daily life in Saint Charles had been.

40.

Sometime before the horn blew Thursday morning, a light rain started and added a steady rhythm to Anna's steps on the road west. Rutherford Wainwright had read from the Scripture that morning since Caleb had left early to scout with Frank. That suited Anna just fine. Of course, she was happy for Caroline and couldn't begrudge the talk of her plans to wed Garrett, but it seemed all Anna could think about was her disappointment in Caleb and how foolish she'd been to believe she might have had a future with him.

By midafternoon, the Boone's Lick Company had caught up to Caleb and Frank and set up camp. Since the rain had ceased and the clouds cleared, those who were anxious for supplies and a dose of civilization were making the short ride to the outpost before supper. Anna rode toward Rock Creek with Mutter, Caroline, Hattie, and Lorelei Beck. Grovater rode just ahead of them with Arvin Beck and the two Rengler brothers.

Rock Creek wasn't as big a settlement as Anna had hoped. A small cemetery. A mill. A handful of cabins. It was about twenty buildings short of a town.

Resting her hand on the pommel, Mutter leaned toward Anna. "It's not as nice as Independence, but it's stationary and there's at least some civilization."

Anna drew in a deep breath. Mutter wouldn't consider staying here, would she?

"I know you want to go all the way to California, dear, but I would be happy to stay here."

"You wanted trees."

Mutter sighed. "What a person wants and what they'll settle for are not the same thing."

Anna shook her head and turned to her friends.

"Hmm." Hattie tapped her chin. "Where shall we go first?"

All the women laughed but Mutter. Anna smiled. They followed Hattie and tethered their horses to the hitching rail in front of a cabin with a shingle hanging out front identifying it as a general store. Minutes later, Anna and Mutter had sold their candles to the bald storekeeper. Each of the women purchased minimal supplies. Mutter added a nickel's worth of horehound.

"Ooh, he has a soda barrel." Hattie turned toward the assortment of stools placed in front of a rough-hewn counter. She nearly brushed Lorelei's forehead with the brim of her hat in her excitement. "Doesn't a soda and a leisurely visit sound delightful?"

"It does to me." Anna looked at Mutter. "It might wash out some of the dust."

The portly storekeeper shuffled behind the counter. "Warm sarsaparilla's all I got for you, ladies."

"Sarsaparilla is what we'll have, then. Thank you." A grin tipped Hattie's mouth as she seated herself on a stool across from the storekeeper. "The men will be awhile, availing themselves of all the finery the lumberyard has to offer."

Lorelei slid onto the stool beside her. "I'm in no hurry to return to camp."

Anna nodded and sat on a stool. She didn't blame Lorelei in the least for wanting to make the most of her time away from camp. Her husband seemed nice enough, but her father-in-law almost always looked and acted like he'd been sucking lemons. Even in Mutter's worst moods, she seemed a harmless ant compared to the cantankerous Emery Beck.

Mutter laid a hand on Anna's shoulder. "You go ahead, dear. I'll find Vater and ride back with him. That way I can start supper nice and leisurely like."

Anna stood. "I don't have to-"

"Stay?" Mutter slid her hand down to Anna's arm and squeezed. "Why wouldn't you?"

To police you. Anna swallowed her first answer and then forced her concerns down. Of course, Mutter was tired. And, really, these were her friends, not Mutter's. "If you're sure."

Mutter looked from Hattie to Caroline to Lorelei, then back to Anna. "I'm sure. You stay and enjoy yourself. Enjoy your friends."

"All right." Anna drew in a fortifying breath. "I'll be along shortly to help with supper."

When Mutter closed the door behind her, Anna rejoined her friends at the stools.

Caroline patted Anna's hand and smiled. "I'm glad you stayed."

Hattie set her hat on the counter between them. "I'm glad too."

"This will do you good, Anna." Lorelei looked at her and smiled. "We're all glad you decided to stay."

Anna nodded, trying her best to be glad.

The proprietor carried tin cups to the barrel and looked up at the whiskey bottles on the shelf overhead. "Don't get much call for genteel drinks here."

Anna fought the lump forming in her throat. She was either going to trust Mutter-to trust God with Mutter-or she was not. Still, she couldn't help but be thankful Mutter wasn't here right now. She didn't need the temptation.

Her soda came in a tin mug. Taking her first sip, Anna allowed herself to relax. The settlement wasn't big enough for anyone to get lost or into much trouble. Besides, Grovater and Boney would both look out for Mutter.

Anna glanced at her friends. "It's not lemonade on Mrs. Brantenberg's porch, but it's good that at least a few of us can be together."

"I remember those chats." Caroline ran her fingertip around the top of her cup. "And I remember what Elsa used to say when I was waiting for news about Phillip."

Hattie raised her finger as the leader of the quilting circle had. "Worry is something the devil will use against us."

Anna nodded. "To distract us from the truth."

Caroline cleared her throat as Elsa Brantenberg would do. "God is in control, not us."

They all fell silent as they raised their drinks for a sip.

Hattie pressed a fingertip to the corner of one eye. "I miss her and Emilie and Jewell-all of them."

Caroline nodded. "I'm anxious for word from them."

"Have you written Jewell to tell her of the upcoming nuptials?"

"I wrote her about my horseback rides with the captain, but not about the result yet." Caroline quirked an eyebrow in a coy grin.

Hattie set her tin cup on the counter. "Once you and the captain wed, you may wish to, uh, change your living arrangements."

After Mutter had brought up the subject of where Caroline and the captain would live once they married, Anna had considered offering to take Caroline's place as the Kamdens' nanny. She'd immediately dismissed the thought, however, well aware she had her hands full caring for Mutter and Grovater.

"We've talked about it." A blush colored Caroline's face and reached her red hairline. "Me and Rhoda."

Lorelei swiveled on her stool. Leaning forward, she looked at Caroline. "How is Rhoda faring? I heard the pain was back again last night."

Caroline nodded. "Yes. Sadly, it seems more frequent. She hasn't eaten well the past couple of days."

"And she's not pregnant?"

"She and Dr. Le Beau both insist she is not." Caroline brushed stray curls into her bonnet. "Dr. Le Beau recommended Rhoda see a doctor at Fort Kearney. He said a surgeon might even be necessary."

"Oh dear." Lorelei shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Garrett and I talked about postponing the wedding, but Rhoda wouldn't hear of it."

"She doesn't want to interfere with your happiness." Lorelei lifted her cup to her mouth and faced Hattie. "I'm sorry for the interruption. You were saying?"

Hattie smiled. "My mother and I talked, and I could take over as nanny for the Kamdens, if they'd like me to."

A grin brightened Caroline's face. "As it happens, your name came up in my conversation with Rhoda. I suggested you might be a good replacement, and she thought you would do well with the children and her mother-in-law."

"Wonderful! Perhaps we could talk to Rhoda when we return to camp." Hattie tilted her head and sighed. "If she's feeling up to it."

Anna glanced toward the open front door, looking out at the dusty road. Mutter had surely found Grovater by now, and they were on their way back to camp.

At least that was what she had to hope. She couldn't be Mutter's keeper, try as she might. Mutter's well-being was between her and God. All Anna could hope to do was pray for her and love her.

Caleb sat astride a fallen tree with the wagon's tack laid across his lap. He let out a deep breath. He should've gone into Rock Creek. It might have afforded him an opportunity to talk to Anna. If nothing else, he could've helped her keep watch on her mother. He wanted to go, if only to make sure the peddler wasn't anywhere near the place. But Anna had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Besides, Otto and Boney had both accompanied the women. He would have only been in the way.

He dipped the rag into the neat's-foot oil and spread it onto the leather. The changes he'd seen in Wilma Goben since he pulled her from the river and sat with her in the draw were stark, almost day and night.

Come to think of it, the change in Anna had been just as drastic, and around the same time. More than two weeks had passed since she'd quit speaking to him. Outside of the obligatory niceties, anyway. Unless he counted her indignation that day he'd found her on the hillock and interrupted her thinking time, and then the following Saturday, during the evening music. Since that awful day at the river, he hadn't even caught her looking at him during the morning Bible reading the way she used to. And she didn't speak one word to him when she found him and Mrs. Kamden at the graveside.

More importantly, Anna had lost interest in listening to him.