A Home at Trail's End (28 page)

No matter, she told herself as she went to the rear of the house, where a rustic set of wooden steps, almost as steep as a ladder, was situated. Still in her stocking feet and holding her damp skirt up, she gingerly climbed the rungs. She knew this would be the children's sleeping quarters. She expected to emerge into a large open loft where her children would make beds on the floor out of blankets and quilts. But to her surprise, the loft space had been divided into two separate bedrooms, each complete with a small bed made from rough-hewn logs. Next to each bed was a bedside table, created from a wooden packing crate, with a small lantern on it. Along the dividing wall was a row of clothing pegs. Eli had thought of everything!

Curious as to how the beds had been constructed, she decided to investigate. Ropes were wrapped around the logs and then woven together to provide springy support for the mattress that rested on top. But where had Eli found mattresses? And what were they stuffed with? She gave the mattress a squeeze to discover that it was probably filled with straw. Perhaps it had been gathered from the dry grass that grew down by the river—back before the wet weather had set in. But how did Eli have time to do that?

On closer inspection, seeing the fine stitches on the mattress ticking and the colorful crazy quilts created from some familiar fabrics, Elizabeth realized it had to be her mother's doing. Of course—Clara would want to ensure that her grandchildren had comfortable places to sleep. The dear woman had even made them pillows. What more could anyone ask of a bedroom?

However, the most amazing and impressive part of these two sweet sleeping places was that each room had a small glass window above the bed and centered in the gable. It was a way to let light in, and thanks to the wooden hinges, which must have taken some time to carve, the windows could be opened to let in fresh air as well. Elizabeth was touched that Eli went to so much trouble for her children. And she couldn't wait until JT and Ruth saw everything.

Chapter Twenty-One

E
lizabeth?”

“I'm up here,” she called as she went over to the stair ladder.

“Taking a nap, are you?” he teased.

“Oh, Eli,” she exclaimed as she came down the steps. “That loft is simply wonderful!”

He grinned as he reached for her hand. “You like it?”

“I never dreamed the children would have their very own rooms. Not at first anyway.”

“I wanted to make the roof sturdier, and building a privacy wall seemed a good way to kill two birds with one stone.” He helped her down to the floor. “Besides, we might have more children someday. The girls could be on one side and the boys on the other.”

She laughed. “You have thought of everything.”

“Oh, I'm sure there are some things I forgot.”

“All the pegs for hanging clothes,” she said. “And the bedside tables and lanterns. JT and Ruth will be over the moon when they see what you've done.”

“I'm so glad you're pleased.” He beamed at her.

“I'm beyond pleased,” she proclaimed. “Everything is just perfect.”

“And I found our dog down by the creek. He'd trapped some critter inside a hollow log and seemed determined to remain there until it came out.” Eli chuckled as he pointed to where Flax was lying next to the fire. “I'm afraid he's plum worn out.”

“Hello, old friend.” She went over to pet Flax, but the tired dog didn't even bother to stand. However, his tail slapped happily against the floor. “We're finally home,” she told him as she stood. “We'll all be back together soon.”

“Did you see everything in the house?” Eli asked.

She smiled shyly at him. “Not everything…yet.”

He pointed to her damp skirt. “Your personal things that Matthew brought over are in the bedroom. You should probably get into some dry clothes before you catch your death.”

She looked over at the only interior door inside the house. It was just opposite the kitchen and she knew it must lead to their bedroom. “Yes,” she said slowly. “Dry clothes would help keep the chill off.”

“Meanwhile I'll stoke up this fire,” he told her. “Get it nice and warm in here.”

Elizabeth took in a deep breath as she slowly slid the wooden latch on the door that led to the bedroom—the room she would be sharing with Eli from now on. She had no idea what she was expecting to find, but when she saw the sweetly furnished room—with a bed similar to the ones upstairs except bigger—she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

Somehow, and to her amazement, this room felt very welcoming to her, as if she were truly home. On top of the bed was the beautiful quilt with the log cabin design. She felt the mattress to discover it was her own feather bed that she'd brought from home. And her feather pillows were here as well. All were covered with the new bed linens that Will's girls had given her at the shower. And beneath the feather mattress, resting on top of the rope supports, was yet another straw-filled mattress. They would sleep comfortably in this.

As wonderful as the bed looked, she was even more impressed that just like the bedrooms upstairs, this room had its own window. She went over to peer out, seeing that it looked toward the stand of fir trees behind the house. Hanging over the window was a lovely curtain that she felt sure had come from her mother's home in Kentucky. She fingered the crocheted lace and smiled. A very nice touch indeed.

Next she examined the washstand beneath the window. Like the dry sink in the kitchen, this piece was made of roughly hewn wood, which appeared to be maple. But on the front was a carved rose. Hanging on the towel bar were some fresh white linens, and positioned in the center of the cabinet was a creamy white pitcher and bowl—with water in the pitcher.

She picked up a bar of soap from a small china soap dish and sniffed it—lavender. Her mother had brought dried lavender from Kentucky with the plans of making soap once they got settled. She suspected this too was her mother's doing. Beneath the bar of soap was a slip of paper that said, “To Eli and Elizabeth with love from Father and Mother.” They had obviously put the washstand and everything on it together. Bless them!

She looked back at the handsomely made bed. On one side sat a rustic chair—a good place to remove one's boots. On the other side was a small table covered in linen with lace trim. But on closer inspection, she discovered it was actually a crate. On this bedside table sat her small silver lantern as well as a little crystal vase that held a fragrant arrangement of evergreens and pretty dried grasses, giving it a feminine feel. Also there was a colorful rag rug on this side, perfect for keeping feet warm on a cold winter's night. Because of the more feminine touches, she suspected that this side of the room was meant for her. She had no complaints whatsoever.

At the foot of the bed was the trunk she'd brought in the wagon with her from Kentucky. As far as she knew, it was still packed with blankets and fabric and miscellaneous items of clothing for the children and her. But it looked nice at the foot of the bed. All in all, this room was unexpectedly sweet, albeit a little chilly.

And that reminded her that she'd come in here to get into a dry dress. Before long, her pretty blue wedding dress was hanging from a peg, and she had on her green calico and her moccasins. Putting her woolen shawl over her shoulders, she emerged to find Eli sitting by the fire.

“Are your clothes wet too?” she asked.

“My trousers are a little damp,” he said as he stood.

“Well, you don't want to get a cold either.”

“What did you think of the, uh…the bedroom?” He sounded slightly uneasy, which she found charming.

“It is beautiful,” she told him. “And quite homey too. Although it is a bit chilly in there. Do you think we should leave the door open?”

“That's a good idea.” He went to open it. “And the way the room is positioned, right across from the kitchen here, I expect that using the cookstove will help to warm it up some too.”

“I'd love to try out the cookstove,” she told him. “I'm not very hungry after our wonderful wedding feast, but perhaps I could make us some coffee or tea.”

“Coffee would be good to warm up on. And I think your mother brought some over the other day, as well as some other staples she thought we might need. And she was very helpful in getting the bedding on the beds all put together. I couldn't have done it without her.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I suspected she'd had a hand in some things.”

“And that rug in our bedroom was made by Jessica. She just brought it by a few days ago.”

“I wondered about that. It's so pretty.”

“And I'm sure you saw that Brady made the dry sink and your father made the washstand. They found an old maple that had fallen a year or more ago. The wood had plenty of time to dry and was in perfect condition for making furniture.”

“I wondered where they'd gotten the maple.”

She held up the red coffeepot that Lavinia had given to her. “I'll put this pretty thing to good use now.”

“And while you're doing that, I'll put on some dry trousers,” he told her.

It wasn't long until Elizabeth had a little fire going in the cookstove. Then she filled the pot with water and measured out some coffee. Just as she was setting it on top of the stove, Eli emerged. He'd changed into a clean pair of work pants, but he still had on his good shirt. She blushed to think of how handsome he looked.

“You have no idea what a thrill it is to put a coffeepot on a real stove again.”

“That's right, Malinda still cooks in the fireplace, doesn't she?” Eli sat down at the table, just watching her as she continued to explore her new kitchen.

She nodded. “I'm sure she'll be envious when she sees this one.” She opened the iron door to poke at the fire before she slipped in some additional pieces of wood.

“I expect it'll just be a matter of time before Will buys her one, don't you think?”

“I'm sure you're right.” She looked out the big window from where she was standing by the stove and sighed. “That window is just lovely. But I am curious as to why you put it over here instead of near the fireplace.”

“Seemed to me you would enjoy it more over here. You can look out when you're cooking. And we can all look out when we're sitting here at the table and eating. But when we're sitting by the fire in the evening, it will be dark outside, and a window would be wasted.

She laughed. “You really did think of everything, didn't you?”

“I did my best.”

She removed a parcel wrapped in brown paper from a cupboard and held it up. “Do you know what this is?”

“Something your mother left here yesterday.”

She unwrapped the paper to find a loaf of bread, a crock of butter, and a jar of jam. “Looks like she thought we might want some supper tonight. Are you hungry?”

“I'm not very hungry, but I wouldn't mind some bread and jam with my coffee,” he said.

She glanced around the homey-looking house, curious as to what time it was getting to be. Her best guess, based on the darkening sky, was that it was past five. Not too early for a light supper. Her livestock was still at Malinda's and her children were at her parents', so there wasn't much in the way of chores to be done this evening. She knew she should make the most of this unexpected bit of leisure.

“I have a clock packed somewhere,” she absently said as she sliced some bread. “From Kentucky. If it still works, it might look nice on the mantle.”

“I'm sure you'll have fun putting everything into place.”

“I will. I am so eager to unpack my things and get settled. To make this our home.”

“We
are
home, Elizabeth.” He stood and came over to where she was buttering the bread. “Can you believe it?” He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “We are home at last.”

“It feels a bit like a dream,” she confessed. “A very sweet dream.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid in their new home.” He kissed her. “This is for real.”

After a bit, she moved the coffeepot to the soapstone slab in the back of the stove, where it would stay warm without scorching. She suspected that they would have their light supper a little later.