A Journey of the Heart Collection: A Heart's Disguise, A Heart's Obsession, A Heart's Danger, A Heart's Betrayal, A Heart's Promise, A Heart's Home by Colleen Coble

Author:Colleen Coble [Coble, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2016-02-01T23:00:00+00:00

THREE

SEPTEMBER 1866, NEAR FORT LARAMIE, WYOMING

The stagecoach lurched and rolled its way across the arid landscape with sage and cactus poking through the sandy soil. The air inside the stage was thick with the odor of sweat and hair tonic. Emmie clutched the seat to keep from falling across the lap of the soldier sitting next to her. She still could hardly believe she was out here in the Great American Desert.

A grizzled soldier in the seat across from her leaned forward and smiled a gap-toothed grin. His angular face was rough and reddened from the sun, and his uniform was none too clean. But he’d been friendly without being too familiar during the entire trip from Fort Leavenworth. “We’ll get there today, miss.”

Finally her new life was about to begin. “I’m ready to be off this stagecoach.”

Catherine Courtney had given her a month to find other living arrangements, and surprisingly, the woman had been kind every time they met. After a flurry of telegrams and last-minute plans, Emmie had embarked on a train journey to a far-off place she’d only vaguely heard of. Now, ten days later, her journey was about to end. She bit her lip and tried to still the nervous pounding of her heart.

She peered out the open window. Dry buffalo grass, sage, and weeds undulated as far as she could see in every direction. She already missed the soft greens of Indiana. No towns or settlements, just endless plains of wilderness without much promise.

But there was no other option except the one offered by Mr. Eddingfield, and almost anything was better than that.

“Ever been West before, miss?” the soldier asked.

“Never.” Emmie fanned her face and tried to keep her stomach from roiling at the stench of his breath mixed with the smell of rank, unwashed bodies and dusty leather in the tightly packed stagecoach.

“You ain’t seen nothing until you seen them mountains out here. Lots of wide-open spaces.”

The stage lurched again, and one of the soldiers up on top shouted, “Laramie up ahead!”

Emmie craned her head in a decidedly unladylike way out the window and tried to see, but the laboring horses threw up too much dust. She drew her head back in as the driver cursed at the flagging horses and urged them toward their destination. They stopped briefly at a swiftly running river, then the driver cracked the whip again and urged the team onto a waiting ferry. Her heart pounded as the fort grew nearer.

She pulled a handkerchief out of her reticule and wiped her face with it. She must look terrible. Her face and neck felt gritty with cinders from the train and her scalp itched. Large patches of dust and mud clung to her skirts and shoes. She tied her blue bonnet firmly under her chin as the driver pulled the team to a halt beside a crude adobe building. Soldiers milled around outside, and just across a wide parade ground, Emmie saw a neat row of whitewashed adobe buildings.

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