Pearl: Prairie Roses Collection - Book 16 by Zina Abbott

Author:Zina Abbott [Abbott, Zina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-26T04:00:00+00:00

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Final Rest

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Along the Snake River, Oregon Territory – Late August 1858

Clutching her stomach with both arms, Pearl blinked in an effort to clear her eyes of the tears that blinded her. Although well-meaning, both Leah and Mary encouraged her to leave the grave in which her father now rested. She refused. The soil the men tossed into the hole now covered his blanket-shrouded body, but she could not bear to turn away yet. Pa, what will I do now?

“Here, Pearl. There aren’t many wildflowers, but I found a few.” Mary spoke softly as she shoved a few late blooms before Pearl’s gaze. “Perhaps, when the men are finished, you can place them on top.”

“Thank…” Pearl coughed and swallowed in an effort to clear her throat. “Thank you, Mary.” She reached out one hand and accepted the floral offering.

“Eat supper with us tonight, Pearl. You have enough to accustom yourself to without worrying about what you’ll cook this night.” Mary wrapped her arm around Pearl’s shoulder and hugged her. “Norb will see to your oxen, although all the cattle have been able to graze these past several hours. They’ll be fine.”

Again, not trusting herself to speak, Pearl nodded. Right then, she could not care about oxen, or supper, or anything. Her beloved father—whom she dearly loved in spite of him dragging her from her home, only to leave her alone in this wilderness—lay dead in the ground. She would never see him again. She doubted she would ever find his grave again so she could visit it. Capt. Bearden already declared they would leave no marker. Although they had seen no sign of the Shoshone, he did not want the Natives to find obvious signs of a white man’s grave. The location of your earthly remains will be lost to future generations, Pa.

When the day started that morning, Pearl could not have imagined it would end as it now had. Her father seemed in good spirits when he awoke. He persisted in his demand that he sleep under the wagon as he had done since the journey started. Once she woke up and left the wagon, she checked on him. Realizing he was awake, she held out her hands to help him as he kicked his blankets aside and stood to walk to where the men took care of their morning business. She had watched, filled with gratitude, when Ellis quickly stepped to her father’s side. Although it appeared as the two men companionably walked to find the privacy they needed, Pearl knew Ellis had joined her father in case he needed physical help before he returned to the wagon.

While her father was gone, Pearl moved his cornmeal barrel and the quilt next to the front wagon wheel. When he arrived, she brought out another blanket, which she wrapped around his shoulders. Although the morning was not that cold, she knew her father’s body did not generate the internal heat it once did. She smiled and responded to his chatter, much of his cheerful observations of their campsite interspersed with a few introspective thoughts.

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