Chase the Wind (13 page)

“Let’s just hope it’s a boy, because from the way you talk about
our place, you’re going to need lots of help.”

“It makes no matter to me,” he cheerfully replied. “And it’s too
late to change it now, whatever it is.”

Faith took a nibble out of the biscuit and decided she could
stand this condition for now. Pregnancy had always seemed like something a long way off, but since it had happened, it would be
wonderful. She changed her mind, however, the next morning
when she crawled away from their bed and was sick again. Ian took
care of her with his usual good patience. Faith just looked at him
from under her half-closed eyes and wondered why he got to have
all the fun.

They continued on the trail to Independence, making camp close
to other travelers, Faith being sick in the mornings, Ian caring for
her until her good humor was restored. They turned north at In
dependence and traveled to St. Joseph. Ian was worried about Faith
by now; she had huge circles under her eyes, and her cheeks were sunken in. He took her to a doctor as soon as they reached St. Jo. The man pronounced her healthy but in serious need of rest. He directed them to a boardinghouse, where the landlady promptly
decided that they both needed fattening up.

“I should have known that you’d find a cook who would fall madly in love with you even all the way out here,” Faith said as
Ian pulled the covers over her weary body.

“I guess I just look like I need mothering,” Ian replied with a
grin.

Faith looked up at him. His cheeks had gotten a bit gaunt also,
and he was badly in need of a haircut. The hair that used to flop in his eyes was now touching his nose. She reached up and
smoothed it back.

“I’m going to do a bit of exploring while you rest. We can stay
here for a bit and get the lay of the land,” he said.

Faith yawned in agreement. They were close now, Iowa territory
was right ahead of them, and they would soon have a home. Ian took her wooden box out of her bag and placed it on the table by the bed. She was asleep before he left the room.

Chapter Seven

Ian left Faith to sleep and went directly to the livery stable. After
arranging for the care of the horses, he wandered around the town,
checking out the mercantile and the land office and then picking up a newspaper. He went into the saloon and hung out for a while
just to pick up on the local gossip. After that he went to the barber and felt a bit more civilized once his hair was cut. He made it back
to the boardinghouse just as the landlady, Elizabeth, was starting dinner. She invited him into the kitchen, and he sat at the table
enjoying milk and oatmeal cookies while she worked on the meal.

Elizabeth and her husband, along with his family, had been some of the earliest settlers to come to St. Joseph. Both she and her sister-in-law were widowed now, her sister-in-law having the blessing of a married daughter to take care of her and her dress shop. Elizabeth
had turned her home into a boardinghouse, which at present only
had one other boarder, the local schoolteacher. Elizabeth’s one
child, a son, had died of scarlet fever many years ago.

Ian shared parts of his and Faith’s story with her, leaving out
the part about Mason chasing them. He had just reached the part where they realized Faith was pregnant when she came into the
kitchen.

“Are you feeling better, my dear?” Elizabeth asked her.

“I think I could sleep for a week,” Faith said and looked point
edly at the cookies and milk. Ian just grinned at her.

“You need your rest now,” Elizabeth said and set a glass of milk
on the table for Faith. Faith slid into the chair and helped herself
to one of Ian’s cookies.

“We need to get you healthy,” Elizabeth declared with her hands
on her hips. She went back to preparing the meal, and Ian shared
his day’s adventures with Faith.

That evening, Ian made dinner a fun experience with his dry observations on the things he had seen in town. He even had the
schoolmarm laughing into her napkin, and Faith could have sworn
she saw the old maid bat her eyes at him. Faith ate as if she were
starving and then couldn’t keep her eyes open when they moved
out onto the porch to enjoy the cool evening air. Ian said he felt a
bit tired himself, and the two retired to their room.

“I’m sorry, Ian,” Faith said when she was beneath the covers. Ian
was sitting up, perusing the newspaper.

“For what?” he asked, setting the paper aside.

“For this—for messing up our plans.”

“This isn’t messing up our plans,” he said.

“But we’re sitting here instead of finding a place.”

“Faith, taking care of you and our baby is the most important thing right now. The land is out there, it’s not going anywhere. I
want to look around and see what’s here, instead of just rushing out and settling on the first place we see.” He pulled her up into
his arms. “Besides, what would happen if we were out there on our
own and you had trouble giving birth? I wouldn’t be able to help
you or the baby.”

“What are you saying?”

“I guess I’m thinking that maybe we should stay in St. Jo this
winter. It would be hard starting out in the fall anyway. It would
take all our money just for provisions, and getting a house and
barn built before the snows come would be close to impossible without help. I could get a job at the livery. It would give me a chance to see a lot of stock and maybe buy some more mares. It would be nice to have the herd under way when we found a place
to call our own.”

“I think Elizabeth would like it if we stayed—she seems to really
care—and I know the schoolmarm would like it. She has a crush
on you.” Ian laughed at her comment. “I have to admit, Ian, I’ve been a little scared, thinking about going out on the plains and
having a baby all by myself.”

“I’ll talk to Elizabeth tomorrow and see if maybe she’ll reduce
the rent in exchange for my doing chores. There’s a lot around here
that needs to be done.”

“And what am I supposed to do while you’re doing all this
work?” Faith yawned against his chest.

“Get fat and healthy and keep me warm at night.”

“Is that all?” She snuggled up closer to him. “I think I can handle
that.”

The next day, Ian charmed Elizabeth over the breakfast table and
soon had her convinced that she couldn’t make it another day
without his help about the place. He drew up a list of improve
ments, and she was trying to decide how much credit she could get from the bank, Ian’s days were full with his job at the livery
and the chores around the boardinghouse. Sundays he left free for
exploring the surrounding countryside.

Faith really didn’t know how to cook and begged Elizabeth to
teach her, without letting Ian know. She began to fill out, and with
rest was feeling much better. She now had a glow about her and
was quite content. She helped Elizabeth where she could, and
when her talent with a needle was discovered, she found herself
employed by Elizabeth’s sister-in-law making dresses and shirts for
the well-to-do in town. Every Sunday they went out to explore,
Ian simply couldn’t get enough of it. He was leaning towards the
north and west territory and wanted to make a trip to Council
Bluffs to see what it was like.

As Faith’s condition began to show, she left him to wander about
on his own, and he returned after each expedition with exciting
stories of game and scenery. He also began to practice with his rifle
and revolver and took to wearing the revolver in a holster on his
hip when he was out of the house. At first it bothered Faith, but she soon became used to it, and remembered his adage about having it and not needing it instead of needing it and not having it. Faith used the money she earned to buy fabric so she could
make Ian shirts and clothes for the baby. Elizabeth became so attached to the couple that she was soon referring to the baby as he grandchild and spent all her free time knitting caps, stockings and
blankets.

By the time winter arrived, Faith was feeling cumbersome and
Elizabeth admitted that she was rather large for being just six
months along. The baby was constantly kicking or pushing against her, and Ian was amazed at the antics going on inside her extended
belly. He loved to watch the movements in the morning before
they started the day and would lay his hands on her to determine
which end was up.

“I swear. Faith, I think you’re going to have a foal,” he said one
morning as he watched a major protrusion come out on her side.

“Feels more like a full-grown horse to me,” Faith groaned. The baby was pressing on her lungs, making it hard to breathe. Christmas was coming and Elizabeth was full of plans, but Faith was
having a hard time keeping up with the older woman.

Ian just grinned at her, his hand roaming over her stomach.

In all her life Faith couldn’t remember being as happy as she was now. She hadn’t had many joyful Christmases as a child, but since
she had married Ian, it seemed like Christmas was all year long.
He was constantly scavenging things for her. The shed behind the
boardinghouse was full of furniture he had found and repaired,
and one day he even came home with a buckboard he had earned by doing chores. He also became quite a hunter and often contrib
uted to the larder. As the Christmas season approached, he became
as giddy as a child with all the preparations. He was constantly snooping around in the kitchen to see what treat Elizabeth was working on, and she would shoo him out with her broom or towel,
any tool that was handy. She adored Ian, and doted on Faith.

Christmas came with all the trappings. Ian found what he called
the perfect tree, and the three of them decorated it on Christmas
Eve. They all went to the church service, Ian and Elizabeth on either
side of Faith to help her walk through the light dusting of snow.
The next morning they exchanged presents. Faith gave Ian a knife and scabbard. He gave her a lovely shawl and a cradle he had found and restored. They both gave Elizabeth a rather impressive looking
bonnet, which she promptly put on and wore while fixing breakfast. They spent the day in peace, and after their bountiful dinner, featuring a wild turkey that Ian had shot, Ian read the Christmas
story from Faith’s Bible.

“Please, God,” Faith prayed as she listened to the rich timbre of
his voice. “Let us always be this happy.” She felt the baby move
beneath her hands. Ian caught the movement out of the comer of his eye and laid his hand over hers as he continued reading the
passage. Elizabeth watched the two and gave thanks that they had
been sent into her life.

Winter was soon upon them, but it didn’t stop Ian from his Sunday
adventures. He had purchased a gelding to use on his forays and
made sure that he was prepared for any contingency on his outings.
Faith, meanwhile, was finding it harder and harder to get around.
She couldn’t make it to the dress shop anymore and worked on things at the boardinghouse, when she had the energy. She was now seven months pregnant but looked more like nine.

There were a couple inches of snow on the ground when. Ian
rose to begin his preparations for another exploration of the countryside. He was quite familiar with the area now and was beginning
to venture further out to the north and west. Faith was buried
under the covers, only the tip of her nose sticking out. Earlier she
had complained about being hot, but now she looked as if she
were hibernating. He kissed her and placed his hand on her belly to feel the baby before he left. For once the babe was quiet. He hoped again that it was a boy, because of its size. Once again he
was glad they had stayed in town; he knew that this delivery would
be difficult for Faith.

He set out on the gelding, heading northwest as usual. The air
was crisp, his breath showing in the air, and the hooves of the horse crunched through the snow. The sun was shining in the
winter sky, but it was not having any impact on the temperature. Ian rode for a while, taking note of various landmarks, and how
different they looked in the snow. This area was pretty well settled,
he had seen it all before. The place he was going was north of the
Platte; it was wide-open there, with plenty of range for the herd he envisioned. This was to be his last trip for a while. He had promised Faith that he wouldn’t range far now that winter storms were more likely. He had also told her not to expect him back for a few days.
He would choose his land on this last trip; he wanted to be ready when he took his small family north to Council Bluffs.