This Homeward Journey Read online

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  This

  Homeward

  Journey

  Heart of the Mountains

  Book 5

  Misty M. Beller

  Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

  Isaiah 43:18-19 (KJV)

  ~ ~ ~

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  Chapter One

  Only a final massive obstacle lies between us and a new life. I can push through the last of this journey. I must.

  ~ Rachel

  June, 1869

  Fort Benton, Montana Territory

  Rachel Gray straightened her shoulders as she scanned the dim interior of Fort Benton’s trade store. The high brick ceiling made the room feel less hemmed-in than she’d expected, but her vision still spotted with remnants of the bright afternoon outside.

  Men's laughter echoed from a back room, tugging the knot in her middle. She’d come into this tiny trade room tucked inside fort walls because she’d hoped to avoid all the raucous men sloshing down the streets of the town. Through the week she and her son had camped outside the town, she’d had her fill of mountaineers sated from an afternoon of drinking and gambling.

  It seemed when the men stumbled from their bedrolls late each morning, they headed straight for the gambling tables. Not that a man could help his addictions once the demon was planted inside him. But these were a sorry lot. Maybe they’d come west hungry for gold or to escape their lawless past. She worried some were even running from a hangman’s noose. But all they’d found was drink and cards. The sights and sounds of their den still churned her stomach into a tight wad.

  “Howdy, ma’am. Need help with somethin’?”

  She spun to face the man who strode toward her from beside a large hearth. His buckskins and overgrown beard made him a perfect match to most of the others she’d observed around the town, though his manner seemed proficient enough. Like a worker in the course of his duties.

  He strode behind the wooden counter, bent to peer at a lower shelf she couldn’t see, then straightened. After spreading his hands across the worn wooden surface, he peered up at her as though eyeing her over spectacles. He wore none, but the look was telling, as was the indention across the narrow part of his nose.

  She pulled her gaze upward to his assessing eyes. “I’ve a question about the trail northward. Is there a guide here who knows it well? All the way to the Canadian territories? I need someone to tell me the best route through the mountains.”

  His graying eyebrows shot upward. “You aimin’ to go through the mountains? It’s a sight easier through flat land.”

  Maybe he thought women the weaker vessel, but he’d not traveled with her the last two and a half months. She and her son had managed quite well trekking across the territories alongside the Missouri River.

  Without the help of a man. And they could continue north alone, too, as long as they had a map to guide them. Finding the trail through the mountains would be much harder than following the Missouri River as they’d done to this point.

  Of course, Andy tried to fill the role of a man, but at twelve, he carried only the good qualities of the male species. None of the weaknesses.

  And she’d keep him that way as long as she had breath in her body. Thus, the need for their journey northward.

  Ignoring the shopkeeper’s question, she proffered one of her own. “Have you a map or sketch of the best route through the mountains?”

  His mouth pinched as he studied her. “The best route is to the east, through the prairieland alongside the mountains. You be goin’ to Fort Hamilton?”

  Apparently, he did know the northern country. A sliver of satisfaction filtered through her. “I’d rather go through the mountains. I prefer that terrain to the flatlands.”

  His brows hiked up again, nearly brushing his thinning hairline. “You musta ain’t seen those cliffs yet. You’ll go twice as fast an’ stand a sight better chance gettin’ where yer goin’ if you stay on the prairieland.”

  She let his words slide past her. His statement may have been true, but she’d also seen the two trains of freight wagons heading on that same eastern route just this week, filled with supplies from the two steamboats docked beside the levee. She’d not spend the next weeks in the company—or rather avoiding the company—of a stream of vice-ridden freighters.

  But she also didn’t plan to pick a verbal skirmish with this man. “Perhaps you could provide me with a map for both routes. Have you such? Or is there someone nearby who could sketch the trails?”

  Obtaining actual maps might be too much to hope, but she didn’t want to have to ask directions at each settlement she passed. Entering every town would require rubbing elbows with too many strangers.

  And leaving Andy alone each time.

  The man ran a hand over his greasy hair as his look turned thoughtful. “I could probably draw up something that showed the milestones I know of.” His focus turned sharp again. “Can you give me a day or two?”

  The relief sinking through her almost brought a smile. “I can.” A day or two would allow their horses more time to rest before they had to take on the rough terrain they’d encounter next.

  He nodded, then his expression eased into something hopeful. “I don’t suppose you have a way to pay for my efforts?”

  She wasn’t sure whether to be incensed that he would think she’d consider taking goods without paying for them or weighed down by the fact that she’d have to part with their hard-earned animal pelts. She settled for a displeased expression. “I have furs to trade.” After hoisting her bundle to the counter, she unfastened the cloth wrapping the skins and unrolled them. “I need cornmeal, beans, salt, and any kind of horse feed you have. How much will you offer for these?”

  The way he perused the stack made it clear he knew his wares. And she had nothing to be ashamed of in these. Every animal Andy brought down for their food had been carefully skinned, and she’d spent long hours readying these hides. She and her son may not have had two nickels to spare, but out here in the frontier, they wouldn’t need coin anyway. Trading was the expected means of obtaining supplies.

  For the rest of the journey to find Henry, they could barter for whatever they needed. Thank you, Lord. The idea of having enough food seemed almost too good to trust. As was the hope of finding her brother in this wilderness, but she had to try.

  After examining the furs, the man leveled a long, and thankfully sober, gaze on her. She tensed for the insulting offer that w
ould come next.

  But the deal he proposed was slightly better than she’d been hoping for. Had she misjudged the price of supplies in this western fort? Or maybe the value of furs was higher than she’d estimated.

  Either way, she couldn’t afford to miss even one pound of corn she might gain by bartering a good transaction. She raised her chin and asked for five more pounds of beans.

  The man let out a hard breath and rocked backward, then scrubbed a hand through his hair again. “Here I thought I was bein’ noble giving you my best offer up front.” His chuckle sounded half amused, half frustrated. “I ’spose, but not a pound more.”

  She let her breath ease out in a quiet stream, refusing to allow the niggle of guilt that tried to slip into her midsection. “Good. I’ll take the supplies now and return in two days for the maps.” She hated to hand over the furs without receiving everything owed to her, but they couldn’t wait for food. Andy had already become leaner than she liked, even with the steady diet of venison, rabbit, and anything else he could bring down with the rifle. Growing boys took in more food than she’d imagined.

  The man eyed her once more over the brim of his invisible spectacles. “Supplies are out back. Don’t suppose you have a wagon to load them in?”

  “I’ll bring my horse around.”

  As she turned to leave the place, the rush of accomplishment surged through her. Supplies and a map. This arrangement worked better than she’d allowed herself to hope.

  When she reached the door, a swell of laughter from the back room stole any joy the happy thoughts might have conjured.

  She and Andy would have food for a few weeks and be able to travel on their own, but as long as men allowed themselves to fall under the spell of awful vices like the drinking and gambling taking place on the other side of that wall, she and Andy could never truly be safe.

  “WE’LL HEAD OUT IN TWO days then?” Seth Grant leaned in as he waited for the older man’s confirmation. He could practically taste the open wilderness again. A much better sensation in his mouth than the flavors of tobacco and whisky consuming the stale air around this card game.

  Elias Benbow nodded. “Daylight morning after next. Meet me back here at the gate behind the trade store, an’ make sure your animals are loaded and ready to go.”

  “Will do.” Samuel, Seth’s twin brother, extended a hand to the older man.

  After taking his turn to shake, Seth stood and turned toward the doorway connecting to the store. He needed fresh air. Not because the scents in this room were luring him back to his former vices. The opposite actually. The stench in here made his stomach want to heave. God had so deeply carved those old desires out of him, he couldn’t seem to stand more than ten minutes in a gambling den. And only when the situation required it, like now, to secure their guide on this last leg of the journey northward.

  Thank you, Father. He’d take the threat of casting up his accounts any day over the way those habits used to clutch him by the throat.

  Samuel’s familiar boot steps sounded behind him as they pushed through the hanging buffalo robe that served as a curtain between the gaming room and the brighter chamber where the exchange of goods took place. The fur swished back into place, mostly blocking out the male voices behind them, and a sense of calm settled into his spirit.

  The buyer stood behind the counter, sorting through a stack of pelts —mostly deer, from the looks of the fur peeking out of the pile. The man glanced up as Seth stopped before him.

  “We need a bit more feed corn or oats for our horses. Do you have any to trade for gold dust here, or do I need to go to the livery up by the river?” Being as this store mostly did business with the Indians, they likely didn’t appreciate white men using up all their supplies. Even in exchange for gold dust.

  The man’s gaze slid over them as he raised one of the furs. “You boys from Helena?”

  Seth shook his head. Not that it was any of this man’s concern, but he didn’t mind being friendly. “California.”

  His brows rose. “They run out o’ gold there so you had to come hunt it in these parts?” The twitch of his cheek was enough to show he meant nothing unfriendly with the question. Yet the curiosity was clear in his eyes. Why would they leave the gold fields of California to come to the much colder panning in the Montana Territory?

  “Nope. But I think we’re done mining for now.”

  “Hmm.” The sound didn’t say much, but the knowing glint in his eyes spoke the rest. Clearly, he felt they’d finally come to their senses. This fellow must have spent a month or two himself digging for yellow rocks. Seen what kind of laborious work the pursuit was for the pittance the average mine returned.

  Seth couldn’t agree more.

  “I have a couple sacks of oats I could sell ya.” The man peered up as though looking over spectacles. “Will that do?”

  He nodded. “We’re headed up to the Canadas through the mountain country, so I guess that’ll get us at least part way. Hopefully we’ll find a place to restock along the trail.”

  The man’s chin jerked up. “You know the going’s a sight easier if you head northeast over the prairies.” He spoke as though the trail they took actually mattered to him. Which it shouldn’t.

  Seth kept his tone friendly. “I’m sure you’re right, but the fellow traveling with us lives in the mountains above the Marias River. After we drop him off, we’ll head farther north.”

  The trader ran a hand over his hair, slicking the greasy strands flat. “You’re the second person today to say they’re taking the mountain trail north. Makes for some hard goin’, even in the summer.”

  His interest honed. “You mean Elias Benbow?”

  The man shook his head. “No, a woman come in here while ye was in the back. Asked me to draw her a map o’ the landmarks. Sure don’t like the thought of any kind of female travelin’ that way alone.”

  “How do you know she was alone?” Samuel stepped into the conversation, surely as concerned at the news as he was.

  “’Cause she was in here tradin’ fer supplies and askin’ directions on her own. If she had a man, he’d be doin’ that. ’Specially as jumpy as she was. Looked like she was afraid one o’ you men was gonna charge from the back room an’ take her by force.” The opening in the man’s beard where his mouth should be pressed to a thin line.

  Seth glanced at his brother to see if he was thinking the same thoughts that were spinning through Seth’s own mind. The return look and nod made his unspoken answer clear.

  He turned back to the trader. “Do you know where this woman is staying? Maybe she’d like to join our group. It’ll just be the three of us, but she’ll surely be safer with us than on her own.”

  The man appeared a little relieved. “The hotel’s been full from the passel o’ steamboats that’s hit the levee. She may be in the camp east o’ the fort.”

  Seth nodded. “We’ll look for her.” He’d not stop ’til he found her.

  The transaction didn’t take long to finish, then he and Samuel each hoisted a sack of horse oats on their shoulders. The moment they stepped out into the bright sunshine, Seth turned to his brother. “You wanna store these with our provisions while I go look for her?”

  “Nope.” Samuel didn’t pause to talk, just kept a steady march toward the livery where they were keeping their supplies. “We’ll go together.”

  A stab of frustration jabbed Seth’s chest as he trudged forward in his brother’s footsteps. Samuel was right, of course. But curiosity blazed inside him about this woman.

  What would make her strike out on her own? And why the mountain trail? He and Samuel had good reason—they needed Elias to guide them northward, and Elias was headed to his home in the mountains.

  But what would drive her on such a treacherous journey? Something told him this woman wouldn’t be like anyone he’d met before.

  Chapter Two

  I’ve been given so much. I can’t help but aid others as I find need.

  ~ Seth />
  SETH COULDN’T HELP the defeated feeling in his gut as he pushed through the tree cover later that day. No one in the cluster of tents knew of a woman headed north alone. No one even knew of a woman camping alone. One fellow who looked to be half-Indian said he’d seen another tiny campsite set away from town. Tidy and well-hidden.

  May have been just what they were looking for.

  If they could have found the place. They’d traipsed pretty far from town, checking behind every tree and over each ridge. But still hadn’t found any sign of her.

  “Wait. Did you hear that?” Samuel’s low voice caught Seth’s steps short.

  He stilled his breathing as he strained to hear. A voice, higher than a man’s but...something about it didn’t ring like a woman’s tone.

  The talking sounded just ahead through a patch of cedar and heavy underbrush. He stepped forward, slower than before, keeping his tread light.

  Except... maybe he should allow her to hear them coming. The last thing he wanted to do was surprise an unsuspecting woman. If she knew how to shoot a gun, he’d hate to meet the business end of her rifle. To survive this far, she surely knew how to shoot one. Of course, it’d be even worse if she didn’t know how to handle the weapon.

  If only he knew her name, he’d call out to announce himself. Maybe best to call a greeting anyway.

  “Hello. Anyone out here?” It’d be nice if she would answer. Sound a friendly response.

  But of course she didn’t. Was she running from the law? Afraid of men? Did she have a violent husband chasing her?

  A cluster of bushy spruce sat a dozen strides ahead, so he moved that direction. “Is anyone here?” Surely she’d heard his first call, but he still didn’t want to give her the idea they were sneaking up.

  A horse’s snort sounded on the other side of the trees. Definitely someone there.

  Samuel’s breath warmed the back of Seth's neck as he reached to push the branches aside, giving them both a glimpse of what lay beyond.

  His view made him recoil.

  “What do you want?” The woman on the other side of the rifle spoke with a tone edged in steel.