Cal bounded to her side and pulled out her chair. After she sat, Jenny pasted a kiss on Cal’s cheek. The lad winced.
After supper, Mac led Jenny upstairs. “We can sit here as well as in the parlor,” he said. “And it will be quieter.”
She sat in her rocking chair by the fireplace. Mac started a fire, though the warm evening did not require it. He didn’t want Jenny to get chilled.
“I felt the baby move today,” Jenny said. “So far, it’s healthy.”
Grinning, Mac leaned over and placed a hand on her belly. “That’s good.” He sighed in relief. He still needed to get to Eugene sometime and wondered if he could leave her soon. But with Johnson in the area, it would be best to wait.
“How are your business interests?” Jenny asked him, as if reading his mind. “You haven’t mentioned anything recently.”
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said. Then he explained about Ladd’s banking developments and the Eugene group’s road surveying project. “I might need to travel to Eugene soon. But it can wait a few weeks.” Just until they found Jacob Johnson or learned he had left the area.
Chapter 27: Joining Up
Will and Jonah worked at the livery Thursday morning, then the proprietor fed them a hearty meal at noon. Will thanked him as he shoveled food in his mouth. “This is pay enough, sir,” he said, and the man laughed.
After they ate, Will and Jonah lounged outside the livery. A man rode into town pulling a string of mules behind him. Will nudged Jonah’s arm and pointed. “Is that your brother?” He’d only seen Joel Pershing a few times, but the man reminded him of Jonah’s oldest brother Zeke.
“Yes,” Jonah shouted, and ran to greet his brother.
Joel stopped in the street as Jonah approached. The two brothers gesticulated, but they were too far away for Will to hear their conversation. Joel didn’t act happy. After a few minutes, Joel led the mules toward the livery, while Jonah ran alongside Joel’s horse.
“Well, Will,” Joel said when he dismounted. “Never expected to see you here.”
“No, sir,” Will said.
“Jonah tells me you’re both after prospectin’,” Joel said, his face expressionless.
At that point, Will realized Joel didn’t want them there. “I’m sorry, sir.” He rubbed at his pockmarks.
“Sorry for what?” Joel asked. “For runnin’ away? For wantin’ to prospect? For searchin’ me out? Which is it?”
“Yes, sir,” Will said.
“We’ll be fine, Joel,” Jonah said, with a skip beside Joel’s horse. “We can help, you’ll see. You can teach us, and we’ll help you find gold, and we’ll all be rich.”
“But I ain’t prospectin’,” Joel said. “I’ve signed up to run pack mules for the Army.”
“The Army,” Jonah said, his eyes growing wide. “Are you a soldier?”
“Nah,” Joel said. “I’m a contract packer for the Oregon militia. There’s an expedition headin’ out from Fort Klamath to reconnoiter the Owyhee Basin. The Army wants a better route from Klamath to Boise. And they need pack mules to carry their provisions. I’ve signed on to lead a string.”
“Then there’s nothing here for us?” Will asked. Should he and Jonah turn around and head back home? Though he had nothing to do there either.
“I know mules,” Jonah said. “So does Will. We been plowin’ with Daniel and Zeke for years. We can lead mule teams.”
Joel frowned at Will. “I thought your folks lived in town.”
“We do, sir,” Will said. “But I’ve spent a lot of time on the farms. I know how to work with mules.”
“The militia might not need more packers,” Joel said. “And I ain’t sure I want to be nanny to you two young’uns for the summer.”
“C’mon, Joel,” Jonah begged. “We don’t wanna go home.”
“Why’d you leave?” Joel squinted at his younger brother.
“Daniel treated me like a baby,” Jonah said. “Told me what to do right and left, mornin’ till night.”
“Maybe you needed tellin.’ Act like a man, you’ll be treated like a man.”
“I’m almost seventeen.” Jonah stood up straight. “You left home when you was ’bout my age.”
Joel sniffed, then turned to Will. “What’s your excuse?”
Will shrugged. “Jonah asked me to join him. I had nothing better to do.”
Joel frowned. “Your folks know where you are?”
“No, sir.” Will shook his head.
“When you aim to tell ’em?” Joel demanded.
“We need to decide what we’re doing first, don’t we?” Will responded.
“Let us stay,” Jonah pleaded. “At least for a while.”
