Dark Journey Home (56 page)

Loud applause echoed in the room and Olivia, embarrassed
and red-faced to the roots of her blonde hair and near to tears as well, glared
in Logan’s direction, then turned to sit at the end of the table where the
other travelers had been served large portions of hot stew, homemade biscuits,
and hot coffee.  Lord Beckford stood staring at Logan, with a new respect in
his eyes, and Amelia was speechless for a change, while the sobering Lieutenant
was slowly picking himself up from the hard floor. 

Two soldiers from the Cavalry unit had entered the
room, and, seeing what had happened, began righting the table and chairs, all
the time trying not to snicker at the position of their superior officer, but
it was a losing battle, and they both broke up into bursts of laughter, though one
of the two, a Corporal, said between laughter, “Could I be of assistance,
sir?”  Harrigan, now fuming with anger, and sobering quickly, suddenly realized
just what had happened, and viciously shoved the Corporal out of the way, as he
shouted across the room in Logan’s direction, “You ruffian!  I’ll have you shot
for assaulting an officer of the United States army!”

Logan
answered,
“You’ll need lots of help, sonny.”  As he started to walk across the room,
staring right at the Lieutenant, who backed up, then with a quick turn,
staggered towards the doorway leading to the outside.  But Claude had followed Logan, and put a gentle hand on his arm, saying, “Enough, son.  Hopefully the young man
has learned a hard lesson; maybe the cold air will sober him.” 

Silas Comfort, who had been sitting at a table off in
the corner of the room, playing checkers with his hired hand, Carlos, now
stood, and approached the two men, reaching out a hand to Logan, saying, “Since
that officer came in a few hours ago, we’ve all been wishing we could do just
what you did.  That arrogant peacock’s been nothin’ but trouble.  Thanks,
pard.  My name’s Silas Comfort an’ I am the proprietor of this place.  Always
try to keep the peace, an’ when the army comes in, we try to get along.  Don’t
want trouble with ‘em, but anyway, thanks again.”  After introductions were
made, and after shaking hands with Logan and Lord Beckford, he walked away
laughing to himself. 

<><><> 

Olivia, seated at the end of the long table, still
shocked at what Logan had done and wondering why he had hit the young officer,
began sipping the strong black coffee from the mug that had been filled for her
as soon as she’d sat down.  She preferred tea, but at this point, any hot brew
was welcome. 

Logan
, approaching the
table, took a seat at the end of the bench, nearest Olivia.  She stared at him,
still in shock, as she sipped the hot coffee.  He reached for the pot, then
poured himself a mug full.

This was a different Logan, from the easy-going
teasing cowboy she’d known.  This was a hard, serious stern man, whom she’d
only caught glimpses of in the past, and then even when he was helping take
back her uncle’s ranch, he hadn’t been like this.

Olivia didn’t know this Logan at all.  She looked away
and began to busy herself with dishing up a small portion of stew from the
large serving bowl setting in the center of the table.  She tried not to
listen, as Logan began talking to her, at least she felt he was looking in her
direction, as he talked in a serious deep tone of voice, “Olivia, I would like
to talk………” 

She quickly cut him off, glaring at him, “You dare
speak to me, after that crude display of temper?  You......you….Neanderthal!” 
Slamming the serving spoon into the bowl, she picked up her fork, though she
had suddenly lost her appetite, and began to eat.

Keeping his anger in check, Logan persisted, as the
other diners at the table watched in fascination, “At one end of the room, I
was thanked for taking down an egotistical womanizer, then at this end, I am
cussed for protecting a lady’s honor.  You, Olivia, are an ungrateful, spoiled
little…….or do you actually enjoy being accosted by a drunken cavalry
officer?”  He finished lamely. 

“How….dare….you?”  She fumed.

Regaining his nerve, Logan assured, “Oh, I do dare.  Someone
has to look out for you, with the trail of simpering idiots you leave behind.  What
you need, young lady, is a husband.  Yes, that is just what you need.”  He
stated firmly. 

“Oh, talk about egotistical.  You lout.  I wouldn’t
marry you…..if you….were……the last….man on…..Why, I don’t even like you, Mr.
Wakefield.”  Her voice was rising now, as she went on with her tirade, “Maybe
some women like the cave-man type….but I….”

“All right, Olivia, let’s stop playing games.  We’ll
do it your way.”  He then looked down the table in the direction of Olivia’s
uncle.  “Sir, I would like your permission to ask for your niece’s hand in
marriage.”  He asked bluntly. 

Claude Beckford tried to hide a grin, as he answered
in all seriousness, “Of course, Logan, you have my permission, and good luck to
you.”  Olivia glared in her uncle’s direction, astonished at his calm
acceptance of the request. 

Turning back to her, Logan said, “What I meant to say
in the first place is, well…I’ll only ask once, and if you say ‘no’, that will
be final.  I won’t push, nor ask again.” 

“Wha…….what?”  She whispered. 

“I never asked before,” Logan began, “because I felt
we were worlds apart, but the way things are going, now since I’ve given it
more thought, maybe we shouldn’t ruin two households with our contrary ways.” 
He chuckled, then taking a deep breath before his courage left him, took her hand
in his, “I repeat, I’ll ask only once.” He began, “Olivia, love of my life, and
there’ll never be another, will you….will you….be my wife?”

Serious green eyes met startled blue ones, as he
awaited her answer, then Olivia, tilting her chin up, began, “I told you, Logan Wakefield…...I……I……”  Then meekly, looking down, “Y….Yes……I….I…..Alright.”

“Alright what, Olivia?”  He persisted.  

“Alright……I….will….marry you, Logan.”  Then as she
blinked back the tears that threatened, she quietly added, “I thought you’d
never ask.” 

Logan
reached over, to
gently wipe away a tear from the corner of her eye, and said softly.  “You’ll
never be sorry, Olivia.  Once we are married, I’ll never let you go, and I’ll
always be faithful.”

“I know that now, Logan.  I was never sure you really…well,
cared. I guess….I just….had to know.”  She whispered, suddenly thinking, for no
reason whatsoever, of the dried rose petals, which she had pressed so carefully
into her favorite book of poetry, so many months ago.    

Logan
grinned, “Sorry
about my temper, but the thought of another man even looking at you……I suppose
I should learn to control that spark of jealousy, huh?”  The Logan, she had
learned to love dearly, was back, and she smiled.  

As Lord Beckford and his wife secretly rejoiced, the
other travelers at the table became busy with their dinner, giving Olivia and
Logan the privacy they had earned.

<><><> 

It was a rugged country, rugged in its magnificence. 
The skyline to the north spoke of a forest rich with blue spruce, and ponderosa
pine; in the lower foothills, grew the tall lodgepole pine, which were used in
abundance for the building of cabins.  As the northbound stage out of Comfort
passed a grove of Aspen, Olivia caught her breath, and clutched Logan’s hand all the tighter, watching a white-tailed deer dart from among the trees, then
gracefully leap upwards toward the denser forest.  On their right, a glistening
waterfall fell from a cliff, to the boulders of a small stream below, while a
flurry of snowflakes threatened to freeze the water, as it fell.  

Cold and brisk as the weather was, Olivia loved the
scene unfolding.  As the struggling team pulled the stage closer to the town of
Logan’s childhood, he held an arm around Olivia’s shoulders, grinning in
anticipation.  He could smell the scent of pine on the cold wind beckoning him
home, and with longing and homesickness, he breathed deeply of the essence. 

As the stage rolled on, Amelia slept with her head on
her husband’s shoulder, while Olivia was wide awake, still enchanted by her
sudden engagement to Logan, and at the same time, entranced by the changing
scenery.  A softly falling snow was gracefully clothing the countryside in a
white veil, and the few misplaced pines along the trail, seemed to take on a majestic
crown of white. 

Freeman
, Wyoming, with its weather-beaten clapboard buildings, some false fronted, lay in a serene
valley, with the skyline of the Black Hills, off to the far northeast.  The
trail leading into the small settlement was narrow, though widened as the town
came into view, through the veil of swirling snowflakes.  Freeman hadn’t grown
much in the years Logan had been away, but it looked good to him none-the-less,
as he stepped down from the stage, his boots crunching the newly fallen snow,
then he turned to assist Olivia from the stage, Claude following with Amelia.

Logan swallowed back the emotion that threatened to
overtake him, as he first scanned the quiet street, then as Olivia held onto
his arm, and gazed up at his anxious expression, he searched the faces of the
small crowd, which had braved the freezing cold and falling snow, to welcome
possibly the last stage from Comfort, before the coming blizzard closed the
passes, cutting off all travel until spring. 

Seth Wakefield, tall, slim, bent, and white-haired,
pulled his battered black Stetson down lower, while hugging his heavy coat
tighter around him, as he squinted, then blinked through the haze of snow
flurries, and over the heads of shorter folks standing in front of him.  He’d
been driving the rig from the ranch, to Freeman every day for the last week,
watching the stage from Comfort roll in, then roll out.

He knew this might be the last run for the season.  The
blizzard that had been threatening was due any day now, and from the feel of
the icy wind, it would be soon.  Once again he watched as the few passengers
alit, an older rancher, whom Seth knew, returning from a late cattle drive to
the railhead in Kansas, then…….Who was the tall muscular, dark-haired,
green-eyed, handsome young man?  Their eyes met, and Seth Wakefield wiped a sudden
tear from his eyes.  He knew at that moment, there could be no mistake.  His
son had finally come home.  Cassandra, Logan’s mother, would be pleased. 

<><><> 

Lord Beckford led his wife into the small Western
Union office across the road from the stage stop, leaving Logan, Olivia, and Logan’s father to their privacy for the moment.  Claude and his wife were anxious to meet Logan’s parents, but they would have all winter to get acquainted, and now Claude wanted
to see if any telegrams were awaiting their arrival and he was not
disappointed.  Seth Wakefield had made sure the wires were safely kept for his
guests.

Two messages were from Garth, and a long wire from
Ricardo at the Triple-B.  One missive was especially addressed to Olivia, this
one from Maria.  Claude knew his niece would be ecstatic to hear from her dear friend,
as she had missed her terribly. 

The first wire from Garth, asked rather bluntly if
Olivia, “had married that ‘cowboy’ yet, or is she still playing hard to get?” 
The missive from Ricardo was short and to the point, stating briefly as
possible, that the ranch was being run smoothly.  Chester Burns had proven to
be a capable foreman, and had been telling many colorful stories about the late
Sam Beckford, the original owner, but that he would have to wait until he
returned in the spring to hear those tales. 

Ricardo also briefly stated that the cook, Hank
Chavez, was sweet on Consuelo, who had returned to the ‘Triple-B’, as
housekeeper again.  Trudy Perkins and Cougar Olson had married, and Olson was
now running the Perkins’ ranch, making many improvements on the place.  Also Sheriff
Denton had wed Lulu Haskell, though she was still helping out, now and again,
at her sister’s Mercantile.  While rather enjoying her new status as wife of
the Sheriff, she was also proving to be a good helpmate to him, and a loyal
citizen.  . 

Last, but not least, in Ricardo’s wire.  “My Maria,
she is gaining beauty, as never before, as well as mucho weight.  Mi amigo, you
will congratulate me, no?  As in the spring, and at her age, my Maria will make
me a father.” 

Claude read the missive over again, to make sure he
had read it right, then read the last sentence, “Maria has sent the Señorita
Olivia a wire telling her of the coming event.  She knew that if the Señorita
had known of her condition before you left for Wyoming, you would not have been
able to drag the Señorita Olivia away.  So we sent the wires on ahead for you
to receive once you arrived in the Wyoming territory.  We all look forward to
seeing you in the spring.”