“I’m only comforting her,” Nate shouted back, “she’s shivering from the cold.”
“If there’s to be any comforting going on, I’ll be the one to do it. Now remove your hands.”
Nate slowly removed his arm and Davis dragged Emma over to his chest. “Thanks again, Hale, I’ll take over from here.”
Emma straightened. “Yes, thanks, Nate. We’ll be fine now.”
With tightened lips, Nate nodded and slid off the wagon seat to the ground. Mounting his horse, he rode off, leaving them sitting in the pouring rain.
“Come on, darlin’, you’re shivering, and I’m a bit cold myself.” Davis left the seat and reached for her.
“I was so scared. You have no idea. I never saw a storm like this before.”
“I know honey, that’s why we came back as soon as it started. We knew with how dry everything was there would be a chance of flooding.” The mud sucked on their shoes as they sloshed through the water to the back of the wagon.
“We’ll need to leave our wet clothes out here, or we’ll muddy up the wagon worse than it is. I’ll go first.” Massive shivers raced through her body.
She took off her shoes with stiff, cold fingers, then dropped them into the mud. With rigid movements, she crawled into the wagon, staying on the very edge. She peeled wet clothes off and threw each piece outside the wagon, hitting Davis square in the face with her drawers. He pulled them from his face and smiled. “You ready yet, woman? I’m freezing out here.”
“Yes, come on in.” Emma wiped her cold body with a drying cloth, then reached for a wrapper. Davis stripped down and made plopping sounds as he too tossed his clothes outside. After handing him a cloth, Emma undid her braids and rubbed her hair. By the time they had dried off, the sun had broken through.
Davis eyed Emma as she stood, shaking.
“Come here, darlin’. You’re rocking the wagon.”
“But...but...the wa-wa-wagon. We sh-sh-should fix it.”
He sat on a partially dry box and pulled her to his chest, running his palms up and down her back. She buried her head into his shoulder like a small animal burrowing its way into its home. Davis reached down and dragged a dry blanket from under a shelf, and wrapped them both in it.
“This will warm you up.” His head descended and he brought his lips to hers in a possessive kiss.
Emma slid her arms around his waist.
“Yow! You’re fingers are cold.” Davis pulled her hands from his back and rubbed them between his. He knelt and pulled her down with him, once more claiming her mouth. “Let’s see if I can warm you up, wife.”
Emma sighed, not quite as cold as she’d been.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The wagon train remained at the creek for two days. Wind, hail, and heavy rain had damaged just about every wagon. Emma and Davis kept busy sewing up holes in the canvas, and dragging everything out to set in the sunshine to dry. Davis spent a lot of time reinforcing the wagon and fixing the cracked wheel. Up and down the line, the sound of hammering and cussing rang out as the men repaired the damage. The women made good use of the creek to wash clothes covered with mud, draping them over bushes to dry. Since everything had been soaked by the storm, campfires were small and smoky. Families gathered together to share fires and cooking.
Emma wrung out one of Davis’s shirts when she jerked from a voice behind her.
“Morning, Emma.”
Startled, she turned, lifting her hand to shade her eyes from the sun. “Morning, Nate.” She returned to her task.
“How badly were your things damaged?” He walked around to face her.
“Actually, not too bad, all things considered. I have a lot of washing to do, as you can see.” She shrugged and gestured toward a large pile of clothes waiting to be scrubbed. “Our wagon had some damage from the crash, but Davis is shoring it up now. How about you?”
“Our tent collapsed with the force of the hail and rain, and like you we had a lot of clothes muddied up. Our bedrolls are drying in the sun now.” His face flushed, and he took in a deep breath. “I’d like the chance to talk to you sometime. You know, when we can be alone.” He looked down into her face.
Emma chewed on her lip and glanced around. Davis was quite a distance away, working on the wagon, his back to them.
“Well, I’m alone now. You can speak.” She twisted the shirt in her hands with nervous tugs.
Nate reached out and touched her cheek. “Why, Emma?”