A Journey of the Heart Collection (52 page)

“Sorry, boy. We've got to get on the road again.”

He slipped the bit into Buck's mouth and hurriedly saddled him. He led him out the door into the wind-driven snow. After swinging up into the saddle, he tucked his buffalo robe securely around him, checked his compass, and dug his heels into Buck's flank.

He was close enough to Fort Laramie to travel in the daylight. This close to the fort most of the Indians were friendly Brulé Sioux. It was still slow going in the drifting snow, but Isaac felt a new strength coursing through him, a new optimism. He was going to make it.

After riding nearly three hours, he began to recognize the terrain. He was almost to Fort Laramie. Maybe they would have news of Fort Phil Kearny. A sentry stopped him as he rode up, then opened the gate. Isaac made his way to the commanding officer's headquarters and knocked on the door.

“Enter,” the commander called.

He stepped inside and saluted the major seated behind a scarred makeshift desk. “Sir, I come with a dispatch from Colonel Carrington at Fort Phil Kearny.
There's been a terrible battle and we desperately need reinforcements and ammunition.”

The major waved his hand. “Where have you been, Lieutenant? We got word of the massacre days ago. Troops should just about be there by now.”

Isaac sagged in relief. The fort was saved. “I had some bad luck, Major. I'm just thankful Phillips made it through.”

The major nodded. “You don't look well, Lieutenant. You'd better head to mess and get some chow.”

Isaac opened his mouth to object and say he was going back to Fort Phil Kearny, when the major interrupted him.

“That's an order, Lieutenant.”

Isaac sighed. It seemed he didn't have a choice. He saluted, then left headquarters and made his way across the tiny parade ground to the mess hall. After a bowl of stew and a stringy piece of meat, he mounted up and pointed Buck's head back to Fort Phil Kearny.

Reveille sounded outside in the parade ground. Two weeks. Emmie put water on to boil for soup and tried
to hold on to hope that Isaac had survived the trip, but he'd never made it back to the fort.

He can't be dead. I won't believe it.

Sunshine blazed through the windows and shone on the wooden table as she opened some canned vegetables for the soup. She pulled out a chair and sat down with her back to the door. She could hear Sarah singing to Amelia's baby in the bedroom.

The door creaked behind her, and a cold wind rushed in. “Emmie.”

She froze, almost afraid to turn at the deep timbres of Isaac's voice. Maybe she was dreaming. She turned at his touch and looked up into his dear face. His mustache had grown into a beard during the time he'd been gone, and he looked gaunt. But his blue eyes sparkled with joy, and his lips turned up in a tender smile.

“I-Isaac?” She reached up to touch his face, and the rough scratch of his beard assured her that she was awake. “They said you'd died in the blizzard.”

“I'm too tough even for a blizzard. If you're marrying anyone, it had better be me.”

She finally looked over his shoulder and saw Rand and Jacob standing in the doorway. Both were grinning. She clutched his hand and stared into his face.
“Isaac?” Blinking, she let her gaze travel over the planes and contours of his face, rough and reddened by exposure. She rose from the table and threw herself into his arms. “Isaac!”

The feel of his arms around her and the sensation of the coarse wool under her cheek grounded her in the moment. He was really here.

“What's going on?” Sarah stood in the doorway with the baby in her arms. Her eyes widened when she saw Isaac. “Oh, Isaac, you're alive!”

Rand stepped past him and Jacob shut the back door. Emmie pulled her face out of Isaac's wool coat. “Are you all right?”

“I am now.” His voice was husky as he hugged her. “Sorry I didn't make it back sooner. I know you were worried.”

She glanced at Jacob to see how he was taking the upheaval of his plans, but he was staring at Morning Song who looked back at him with her heart in her eyes. Emmie blinked and realized that Morning Song cared about Jacob. No one could ever replace Amelia, but maybe Jacob could heal in time.

Emmie looked back at Isaac and laid her head against his chest again. His pulse thumped strongly
under her ear, and she wound her arms around his waist. “Are you all right, truly?”

He rested his head atop her head. “Not even any frostbite.”

“Where have you been all this time? How did you survive the blizzard on your own?”

“I wasn't alone. God was with me even in the storm. This old geezer stumbled across me when I couldn't go any farther, but we both know who directed his steps.” He pulled away a moment and cupped her face in his cold hands. “I couldn't wait to get home to you.”

She closed her eyes as his lips came down on hers. The cold encasing her heart melted into warmth that spread through her midsection. Isaac's love had made her whole. Their future together stretched in front of them as brightly as the sun sparkling on the snow.

E
PILOGUE

E
mmie looked around the nearly bare rooms where she'd spent the last two years. Was she leaving anything behind? This would be the last time she would ever see these rooms again. Sap no longer oozed from the rough logs, and the tiny rooms looked barren without their gay calico curtains and tablecloths. Dust motes danced in the hot summer sunshine that filled the parlor.

The treaty of 1868 had agreed to abandon Forts Reno, C.F. Smith, and Phil Kearny to the Indians. No
one would ever inhabit these walls again. Isaac said the Indians would burn the fort as soon as the soldiers were out of sight. Jessica had already left to go to Fort Laramie with her mother, and the rest of them would leave for various locations too.

She looked down at a tug on her skirt. Tiny Amelia, just over two, lifted her arms up to be held. Smiling, Emmie knelt and took the child in her arms. She buried her face in her daughter's sweet-smelling hair. God had blessed her so much. Amelia's birth had been easy, and the joy the little girl brought to both Isaac and her was simply amazing. Who would have thought Emmie would have so much just three years after she had heard the shriek of the overturning carriage that day in Wabash?

Life was good. Even Jake seemed to have finally put the past behind him. He looked at Morning Song with love in his eyes now. They were expecting an addition to their little family in October. Sarah had given Rand another son last year and was also expecting a new baby around Christmas. She and Rand had said they wanted a large family, and they were well on their way to having their dreams fulfilled. Emmie had even had an opportunity to tell her brother, Labe, about
how God had changed her life when he'd stopped by three months ago on his way back to the gold fields of Bozeman.

He had brought news about Ben's death in a shooting during a poker game with other miners. Emmie had been sad but not surprised. Ben had too much pride to ever bend his knee to God.

Emmie whirled now as the front door banged shut and her husband strode in. Isaac smiled as he caught sight of her with Amelia in her arms.

“It won't be long before you won't be able to pick her up.” He glanced at the gentle bulge where their new baby grew. Amelia held out her arms to him, and he took her and tossed her into the air.

She giggled. “Again, Daddy!”

Emmie watched as Isaac played with Amelia. He was never too busy to take a moment to bring a smile to the little girl's face. He had certainly kept his promise to be a good father. And husband. She loved him with a fierce, almost painful love.

His deep voice interrupted her introspection. “Are you ready to leave?”

Emmie linked her arm through his and gazed up into his blue eyes. “I'm ready.” He opened the door
and they walked across the parade ground for the last time.

“Bye, bye, house.” Little Amelia waved her chubby hands.

Emmie echoed the sentiment in her heart as Isaac helped her up into their wagon and then handed Amelia to her. A new home awaited them near Sheridan . . . Home. Isaac was everything the word meant to her. And no matter where they were, as long as he was with her, she was home.

A
LSO BY
C
OLLEEN
C
OBLE

S
UNSET
C
OVE NOVELS

The Inn at Ocean's Edge

Mermaid Moon

Twilight at Blueberry Barrens

(Available September 2016)

H
OPE
B
EACH NOVELS

Tidewater Inn

Rosemary Cottage

Seagrass Pier

U
NDER
T
EXAS
S
TARS NOVELS

Blue Moon Promise

Safe in His Arms

T
HE
M
ERCY
F
ALLS SERIES

The Lightkeeper's Daughter

The Lightkeeper's Bride

The Lightkeeper's Ball

L
ONESTAR NOVELS

Lonestar Sanctuary

Lonestar Secrets

Lonestar Homecoming

Lonestar Angel

All is Calm: A Lonestar

Christmas Novella
(e-book only)

T
HE
R
OCK
H
ARBOR SERIES

Without a Trace

Beyond a Doubt

Into the Deep

Cry in the Night

Silent Night: A Rock Harbor

Christmas Novella
(e-book only)

T
HE
A
LOHA
R
EEF SERIES

Distant Echoes

Black Sands

Dangerous Depths

Midnight Sea

Holy Night: An Aloha Reef

Christmas Novella
(e-book only)

Alaska Twilight

Fire Dancer

Abomination

Anathema

Butterfly Palace

N
OVELLAS INCLUDED IN
:

Smitten

Secretly Smitten

Smitten Book Club

O
THER
N
OVELLAS

Bluebonnet Bride