~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Davis and Emma placed their empty supper bowls on the ground in front of their campfire. The sun had sunk low in the sky, leaving the air cool. Davis had fetched a wrap for her to warm herself. They huddled close together, holding the warm cups of coffee. Emma put her hand on her stomach as she felt a slight fluttering. “Oh!”
Her breath hitched. “Here. Feel this.” She reached for his hand and placed it where hers had been. “Does that feel like the baby moving?”
Davis frowned and waited for a minute. “I can’t tell, honey. Maybe you’re just hungry and your stomach’s grumbling.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, we just got through eating. No, I think this is the baby moving. Here, try it again. See, do you feel that?” She smiled slightly as she studied his face for acknowledgement.
“Yeah. . . . I think I feel something.” His lackluster answer irritated her.
Before she let her annoyance push her into another foul mood, she stood. “I’m so glad this cool weather makes sleeping much more pleasant.” She covered her mouth as she yawned. “I think I’ll turn in.”
“I’ll be right in. Just let me douse the fire.”
Emma slid a nightgown over her body and crawled onto the pallet. Within minutes Davis entered the wagon, removed his outer clothes and climbed in next to her. The moonlight cast his features in an eerie glow. She listened to quiet nature sounds from outside their snug cocoon. Crickets chirped their melodies, reminding all of nature that summer was at an end.
“What are your plans when we reach Oregon?” Emma shifted, then pushed the hair from her eyes. She placed her folded hands under her cheek and studied him. “Do you have to find land for your horse farm, or do you already have something picked out from one of your trips out there?”
“As I mentioned before, my parent’s farm finally sold last year, and the bank sent me a check for the balance after everything was settled, and all debts paid.” He rolled so he faced her. “I also have most of the money I’ve made as a scout for Ezra.” He chuckled. “You’ll see when we arrive in Oregon City, the other scouts will make fools of themselves with women, liquor and gambling away most of their money. I never joined them.”
As he talked, he ran his fingers over Emma’s cheek, causing shivers to race up and down her spine.
“I plan to get land under the Donation Land Act. I could have gotten one hundred sixty acres as a single man, but as a married couple, we qualify for three hundred and twenty acres.”
Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise at the generosity of the Act.
He grinned. “And you’ll be interested to know that due to the advance thinking of the Oregon Territory, your half of the property will be held by you in your own right.”
Emma perked up at this last part. “You mean I can own my own land?”
“Yes, darlin’, you can. The law states we have to claim it, and then establish residence. Since Ezra seems to think we’ll reach Oregon around the end of October, that gives us time to pick out land we want, get it registered, and establish a residence before the worst of winter sets in.”
“What does establish a residence mean?”
“We’ll have to build some sort of permanent structure, and do something to prove that we’re going to be using the land to provide our living. I can do that by buying our horses, and putting up fences. We can do it together, but it will take a lot of work.”
Emma lay quietly while she thought about a horse farm, and acreage in her own name. Davis’s soft caresses had turned more demanding, as he slipped his hand into the front of her unbuttoned nightgown-when did that happen?-and caressed her breast.
The familiar tightening in her stomach and warmth between her legs soon overtook her thoughts of horse farms and Oregon City.
Davis pulled her closer, then nipped at her bottom lip. “I know it’s chilly in here, sweetheart, but I promise if you lift up so I can take off your nightgown, I’ll keep you plenty warm.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after the wagon train had stopped for the evening, Sarah, Abigail, Elizabeth and Emma joined several of the other women who washed out a few pieces of laundry they hoped would dry overnight.
The air of expectancy surrounded the whole wagon train. In a couple of weeks they would reach Oregon City, and then separate from each other. Watching all the women work, Emma realized these were the first true friends she ever had, since she had always relied on her mama for company and female companionship.
Feeling a sense of belonging she never felt before, Emma gazed on these brave women. They had started out as strangers in Independence some six months ago. Now they had gone through storms, illness, river crossings, burial of loved ones, and even an Indian encounter. But all these women, herself included, had come through it all. Feeling silly, she wiped tears from her eyes.
“What’s got you looking so sad, Emma?” Sarah asked as she wrung out one of Buck’s shirts. “You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking, Sarah. We’ve become friends, but once we get to Oregon City, we’ll be going in different directions. I feel almost as sad about that as I did leaving my parents. You all have been like family to me. And oh, dear, here I go crying again.” She used her apron to dab at her eyes.
“No. We may be going separate ways, but we can keep in touch. We can write letters and visit.” Sarah reached out and hugged her.
“Jeb hopes to open a church right in Oregon City. I hear there’s a need for one,” Abigail added to the conversation.