Passage West by Ruth Ryan Langan

Author:Ruth Ryan Langan [Langan, Ruth Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Western
ISBN: 9780671639808
Google: f7vBAQAACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 1890877
Publisher: Pocket
Published: 1987-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

James Market stayed drunk for days. When he wasn’t asleep, he was hurling abuse at his remaining two women—two women who struggled to cope with their loss by driving the team, hunting game, providing food and clothing, and hiding his condition from the other members of the wagon train.

One night, when Abby found Violet hunched over her mending, sound asleep, she decided things had gone too far. This poor woman was pushing herself beyond the limits, not only to overcome the loss of Carrie, but also because James Market was unwilling to face reality.

Reality. As Abby helped her aunt into the back of the wagon and covered her with a quilt, she pondered what their lives had become. They were no longer farmers, with roots deep in the soil. Now they were emigrants, crossing an alien wilderness, with no knowledge of what lay ahead.

As a child, she had thought her father and grandfather the two strongest men she had ever known. Her grandfather could do the work of three men as he went about his farm chores each day. Yet, while the others relaxed after their evening meal, he could spend the evening hours preaching the word of the Lord. And on Sunday mornings, he not only conducted church services for the nearby families, but on Sunday afternoons he went out in his wagon in search of fallen sinners, often bringing them home for supper, where he would lead them in prayers and singing.

Of all his sons, James was the most like him in physical strength. Her father had always been proud of driving himself and every member of his family to the limits of endurance. When the chores were finished, James often went into town to drink or play cards, staying until the sun came up. It was a matter of pride to him that he could return to the fields and work without benefit of sleep. Of course, Abby mused as she stepped from the wagon into the darkness, it wasn’t long before their farm had begun to wear the shabby look of neglect. Still, James had seemed to push himself harder than ever, determined to prove to his father and himself that he could succeed.

Had he sold the farm because it reminded him painfully of the wife and babies buried there? Shivering, Abby paused and studied the path of a shooting star. Or was he just tired of trying to pretend he could make it work? She felt a painful contraction around her heart. What had Aunt Vi once said? Maybe everyone heading west was running from something.

What was Rourke running from? Abby glanced toward the cook wagon, then knelt and carefully banked the fire. Standing, she brushed the dirt from her britches and started toward the wagon. Why would a man leave the beautiful, rolling hills of Maryland for this backbreaking journey?

“Evening, Miss Abby.”

At Mordecai’s greeting, Abby’s thoughts scattered.

“Good evening. Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Stump?”

“Mordecai, lass. I’m too young, or you’re too old, to be calling me Mr.

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