A Fair Trade by Laylah Abrams

Author:Laylah Abrams [Abrams, Laylah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, western, fiction, Oregon Trail
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Published: 2018-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

“Live free and unfettered, with the thrill of surviving by your wits and strength.”

~Daniel Briggs

“Dr. McLoughlin ships lumber and wheat from his mills to places like the Sandwich Islands, London, and California,” Jack explained. “In return, he gets goods to sell at his stores in Oregon City. I’ll be travelin’ with some of the vessels so that his son David doesn’t have to be away as much.”

“I’ve heard of the man,” Penelope replied, placing a dish of potatoes on their small dining table. “Wasn’t he head of Fort Vancouver? Hasn’t he just been elected mayor of Oregon City?”

“Yes, actually.” He grinned as she filled his plate. “Dr. McLoughlin was a friend of my grandpa’s. I was named after him. I’m sure it’s hard to imagine me havin’ respectable acquaintances.”

“Astounding,” she answered.

“I’m only goin’ up to Fort Vancouver tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few days. I’ve hired men to work on a house over the winter, and since there’ll be some trips that are longer, Ben Long will look after you and the property. Dr. McLoughlin’s wife and daughter have invited you to supper on Thursday, and the Longs are always happy to see you. You shouldn’t get lonely while I’m gone, I imagine.”

“No, likely not.” Of course, he would keep wandering. “With all the improvements you’ve made to the plot and with the house being built, are you planning to sell a portion of it soon? Should I begin making plans for my own home?”

“Can we talk about this later?” he huffed and reached across the table for a roll.

Penelope frowned. There was no reason for him to be annoyed. They were married in name only. He hadn’t laid a hand on her since the night he came upon her undressing. Thankfully. His touch hurt more than any other man’s. As soon as she received payment for her acres, she could leave for good.

Over the following months, she met the stately Dr. McLoughlin and visited his wife and daughter. Ben checked in on her whenever Jack was away—often for a few days up to Portland or Fort Vancouver, once for several weeks to San Francisco and back—and she went with Ben to see his family, only two miles away. On Sunday afternoons sometimes, she played the organ for the Long children at the new congregational church. Bess would crawl into her lap, and Ann would sing with her perfect, angelic voice. Her thoughts wandered to her battered melodeon then, and to Sissy and Miss Barrett.

She was free when Jack was gone, belonging to no one, save herself. When she sat in the dark cabin alone, though, with the winter rain dripping on the roof, it felt empty and cold. The hill near The Dalles was hard to forget. How it had felt to be that close to him, to feel his skin against hers, his warmth and strength, and what had seemed like affection.

Penelope was stitching by the window one afternoon when the door of the cabin opened.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.