A Welcome Guest

Life here on the frontier was hard, but at least they didn't have meadows to cross or mountains to climb. The land was flat and fairly sparse of vegetation, so I was able to make slow progress with our wagon and the three of us.

In truth, I was thankful for the flatness of the land. This summer was the first one that didn't produce an abundance of new homemade dresses for my daughter. We had been without a man for a year now, ever since the one I married lost everything in a stagecoach robbery with a rival company. Though my daughter was four and my oldest boy was only two, I knew I couldn't let them starve out here. There's not much to hunt for, since the land is so flat, so I had to make do.

I had been surviving without the help of men, but there were still some choices I had yet to make that were a luxury I couldn't afford. Little things like a good thrashing or a proper bath.

We had cleared and plowed the land, planted our own gardens and put up some buildings, but still there wasn't enough in the larder to last the year. I knew it was more than the three of us could do to get by on the land we had. There was still room for us to stretch out and grow a garden, but that was mostly a dream.

Just outside of town, there was a shanty for the boy and I to sleep in and a porch for my daughter to play on. We couldn't afford a child's swing, much less a real swing for my daughter to play on like the girls in town did. Sometimes, on the rare occasion I could afford some new fabric, a bright new ribbon or a glittering new bead to stick in her hair, I would set her vanity table up on the porch.

I would sit her on the table with all of these drawers and cabinets full of glass to put it all on and sit them all around her, just so she could pretend. She would giggle and run around playing princess, while I would smile and stand back with an approving wave. She was more like a grown woman, with such clarity and strength already.

Our little cabin was right off the road and in a field of tall grass that covered the spots along the dirt road. There were narrow trails and sections of the land that wound around and through the tall grass and in doing so, brought more travelers to our corner of the hellica.

It was a slow, unassuming journey to town but one that brought us all the closer to our goal.

Out here, it could be any day of the week and it could rain at any time and still rain. I always hated this time of year. I hated the cold, wet and muddy days and nights. I hated the wind, which never went away. Yet, this was the only way I knew to build our life, to give my family the best chance at living.

It was so tiring, but we had to keep going. I knew it was for the sake of my children, for me and for anyone else that might come our way.

We had been on this trail for almost three weeks now, with just a little left, when we heard hoof beats coming from behind our wagon. We had been walking for several hours now and I knew we were close to our destination.

I slowed my pace a little bit, so it didn't look like we were trying to get away from someone. I had seen two or three parties like us in the last few days and I had been worried someone would try and attack us.

It won't have time to get far before it comes up to us, gave me the confidence to speak a bit more quickly than usual. It still seemed unnatural, like I was playing a part on stage. I wished I could simply just keep on walking, but since there wasn't much else I could do for the family, I couldn't do that.

"Oh, it's you," I said, stopping and waving to the horse and wagon.

"Love," came the soft, familiar voice. "This is a nice surprise."

"Love?" I teased. "I thought you might be a bear or something."

"Why would a bear be speaking?" he chuckled.

"Either way, it's nice to see you. We're just about to get off the road. You can walk with us or pass us. It's your choice."

The man tied off the horse and stepped down from the wagon as I backed away to let him walk up. He walked up to me and started chit-chatting, always equal parts polite and silly.

"Nice day for a walk, isn't it?"

"Sure is."

"Your land is pretty flat."

"Yup," I answered, somewhat frustrated by his "chit-chat".

"Your crops should come in good," he said.

"Yeah," I answered, more interested in the stories I could tell my children than in the land.

"Hello," came the little voice from behind.

I had been focused on talking to the stranger, so I hadn't noticed the drag behind me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," he said, almost immediately.

I took a step back, ready to set him off when a little girl come rushing toward me, almost out of control.

"And I'm sorry that I startled you sir," she said, her smile so big.

I knew I just looked at her, my eyes wide with fear, as she turned and looked up at me. "What's the matter momma? Didn't you say it was okay to say hello?"

The man smiled and then he turned his eyes toward me, "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, she saw you before I could tell her not to."

"I see," he chuckled, "Well, my names Matthew. Just call me Matt. The child, who I know you know, is Kayla. You can call her Kay."

"Kay?" I joked. "That's a strange name."

"Well, all they would give me was a name," he said.

He was such a smiley man. I couldn't help but warm up to him, even if he was just on the move and about to go on his way.

"Nice to meet you, Matthew. It's nice to meet you, Kay. Are you running away from someone?"

"Well, no, not really," she answered. "We're going on an adventure. You know the type of bunghole we always like the wind blown and babies crying and it's cold, cold and you wanna be warm?"

"Well, we need a place to rest for a while," I said to Matthew.

"Of course. If you want, you and your family can join us. Why don't you come on in and get off your feet. It's not far."

"Were you planning on staying?" I asked, suspicious and naïve.

"No, not really."

"Well, I don't know," I said, "You just bum rushed us pretty fast."

"I don't mean to impose on you. I just can't travel on the road. I just got a little turned around."

"Well, it's fine," I said, uncomfortable. "We can just sleep in the barn tonight."

Actually, I would have loved to sleep in the barn. I would have loved to get off the road in any kind of lodge and even under the starry sky. If a man might rob us, I wouldn't want them to be able to track us back. At the same time, I couldn't just refuse a welcome guest.

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