Hope

the revelers. Soon, they all yelled, “Congratulations,” and left them in peace.
Once it was quiet again, they laid back down to sleep.
Hope made a fire in the morning and took out some bacon to go along with the fresh eggs. Anna had gotten up early to buy them from the army before they sold out. She said it was a wedding gift. Hope made pan biscuits to go along with them.
Daniel returned from caring for the oxen. “Oh, my! Tell me that’s our breakfast and not someone else’s.”
Hope laughed. “It’s ours. Anna and Walter bought the eggs from the Post Trader Store as a wedding gift.” She handed him a plate with five strips of bacon, two biscuits, and two sunny-side up, fresh eggs.
She enjoyed watching him eat—he relished every mouthful and made a lot of appreciative sounds as he ate.
“This is such a treat,” he said. “Have I told you what a fantastic cook you are?”
“Thank you. Enjoy it. You probably won’t get a breakfast like this for weeks.”
Daniel sobered. “The next leg of our journey will be rough. Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“I will be. I still have three days to rest up.”
“That’s exactly what you’ll do.” Daniel picked up the soiled plates and cups. “I’m washing the dishes. You are to lie in the sun, sipping tea or… something.”
Hope grinned as he walked to the river with the dishes. The marriage was going well so far.
“How were the eggs?” Anna asked, approaching Hope as she reclined in the sunshine.
Hope sat up straight. “Oh, Anna, thank you. We loved them. It was a real treat.”
“I’m sorry about the shivaree last night. I couldn’t stop them without letting on that… well, there wouldn’t be a consummation. Did Daniel behave himself?”
“We found it amusing. No harm done. Daniel was and is a perfect gentleman. He’s doing the dishes.”
“Oh, my. I hope Walter sees that.”
They laughed.
Anna said, “I’m going to use this time to do some laundry and mending. Do you have anything that needs either?”
“You can do the mending, but I’m doing the laundry,” Daniel said as he approached them.
The women spun around.
“Are you sure, Daniel?” Anna asked.
“Positive. If, that is, Mrs. Townsend will gather up the things she wants laundered.”
Hope was startled when he'd called her Mrs. Townsend—she’d forgotten that it was her name now—and she smiled. “I’ll get them. All except my personals.”
“I’ll do her personals,” Anna offered.
After she’d given Daniel the clothes, he took the lye soap and trudged back down to the river.
“I think you’ve caught yourself a good husband,” Anna said.
“Remember, Anna: it’s just temporary. Daniel still has the locket in his pocket with Nancy’s photograph inside, and he looks at it often. He’ll be grieving for a long time.”

Chapter Nine
The family in the neighboring wagon on the left brought over a pot of chicken soup for the newlyweds. Other food gifts appeared from neighbors, and the couple thanked them all graciously.
As Hope and Daniel ate their supper, Daniel told her about the upcoming trip.
“See those mountains yonder?”
Hope nodded. “They’re beautiful.”
“You won’t think so after we try to get our wagons around them. According to Shank, it’s rough traveling almost all the way up and down the mountains. Did you notice the junk pile over there?” Daniel pointed at a large pile of junk to their right, leaning against the fort’s wall.
“What is it?”
“It’s all the extras the other travelers got rid of to lighten their wagons to prepare for crossing the Rocky Mountains.”
“Isn’t that a stove and an antique table? Oh, Daniel, some of those things are valuable.”
“Charlie Bassett told me someone dumped a whole barrel of bacon there last month.”
“Do we need to lighten our wagon?”
“I did that to make room for you when you were ill. The only other thing I’m considering tossing is my heavy trunk.”
“But all your possessions are in it.”
“I was thinking of just keeping my toiletries, a few changes of clothes, and an extra pair of boots. I can replace the rest in Oregon.”
“Is my duffle bag all right? I didn’t have much to pack in it.”
“No, it’s not heavy.”
Hope looked up at the formidable mountains. “How do we get the wagons up the steep mountains?”
“There are trails used by previous travelers, but they’re steep and we need to do heavy pulling and pushing to get the wagons up and down the steep inclines. That’s why I want you fully rested because everyone has to help.”
Hope nodded. “I feel stronger already.”
Daniel picked up the dishes. “I’ll be back.”
Hope got a warm feeling inside her when Daniel talked to her in his compassionate voice as he had that evening. He made the conversation sound like a confidential tête-à-tête even though it wasn’t. Daniel just had that kind of voice. She hated to keep comparing him to Callum, but they were as different as a summer and winter.
She felt more comfortable sleeping beside him in the tent, too. She trusted him. Usually, he slept with his feet near her head, but it was cold that night, and they had to share a blanket. It didn’t work well with him lying opposite her, so she agreed that he could move up if they put something between them. Daniel found a tablecloth in the wagon, rolled it up, and put it between them. They slept well.
They enjoyed the rest at the fort, but Hope felt sad watching her neighbors discard valuable treasures from their wagons to lighten them. Even Anna discarded her treasured Victorian chair. She cried when Walter threw it on the pile of sacrificed possessions.
Hope remembered Daniel’s sacrifice for her. He’d cast-off Nancy’s hope chest and rocking chair—for her.