“Well,” Joel asked, “did it have another name?”
“Who the hell knows?” The old man spat past his beard. “But that’s what the Army’ll call it now.”
It must be nice, Will thought, to have as much power as the colonel had—naming the terrain he passed through. Would there ever be a McDougall Valley? Then he remembered—he wasn’t really a McDougall.
They continued in Drew’s Valley through July 15, then moved into Goose Lake Valley. The weather was sunny, even hot during the days, but with fresh mountain air that smelled of pines. The evenings were pleasant, cool once the sun went down, and the moon rose more brightly each night as it moved toward its full face.
Although his surroundings were beautiful and pristine, Will’s mood was surly. What place could he find in the world when he didn’t even know who he was?
Chapter 36: Worries in Oregon City
A few days after Mac and Daniel returned from Eugene, Jenny went to visit Esther again, taking Maria and Maggie with her. Jenny also took a cake, so Esther wouldn’t feel obligated to feed guests. After they arrived, the older girls took the toddlers off to play with the barn cats, leaving Jenny and Esther in the house with the baby.
“I hate that Daniel and Mac couldn’t find any trace of the boys.” Esther sat in her rocking chair and nursed Martha. “I’m betting Jonah and Will passed through Eugene on their way to find Joel. But Joel hasn’t answered my letter, darn the fool.”
“He’s never been a good correspondent,” Jenny said. “You’ve waited months for him to respond in the past.”
“Yes,” Esther sighed. “But this time I begged him to answer right away. Surely he must realize how anxious I am about Jonah.” She moved Martha from breast to shoulder to burp the baby. “Jonah’s birthday is later in July.”
“The twenty-first, isn’t it?” Jenny asked. “I remember your mama each year as the time approaches. Seventeen years since she died—how time has flown.”
“Poor Ma,” Esther said, her voice choking. “I still miss her. Every day.”
“I do as well,” Jenny murmured. “She taught me so much in the few months I knew her.”
As the women talked, Hannah Pershing arrived to visit Esther as well. As soon as Hannah was seated, Esther launched into her worries about Jonah all over again. Jenny listened, feeling the same pain as Esther, though she let Esther talk and didn’t voice her fears for William.
Until Esther said, “I’m sure it was Will’s idea to leave home. Jonah would never have caused me such anguish without someone eggin’ him on.”
“And you think William would deliberately cause me heartache?” Jenny asked quietly.
“Well, he’s the one fathered by a criminal,” Esther said.
Jenny gasped and rose. Esther knew what had happened to her. Esther knew Will’s parentage wasn’t Jenny’s fault. Not Will’s. Yet now Esther maligned Will. Jenny couldn’t stay any longer.
“Now, Esther,” Hannah said, standing to put an arm around Jenny and urged her back to her seat. “Jenny isn’t to blame. And she loves Will same as we all love our children. Who fathered him doesn’t matter.”
“Blood do tell,” Esther murmured. “But I know you care for Will,” she acknowledged. “I’m sorry. I’m so anxious about Jonah my mind is addled.”
Jonah was Esther’s brother, not her son. Though Jenny spared her friend that thought, she felt certain she had a greater right to grieve the boys’ departure than Esther did. She wondered whether their friendship could survive this trial.
Jenny spoke little for the remainder of the visit. Hannah and Esther discussed their farms and families. While they talked, Jenny grieved for herself and for Will, and for the loss of innocence they had both suffered at the hands of Jacob Johnson, his father, and her stepfather. Why had the vile felon appeared in Oregon to haunt her? Why couldn’t he have stayed in Missouri?
That evening, Mac listened to Jenny describe her conversation with Esther and Hannah. “Why would Esther accuse William? Why would she say such terrible things about me and about him?” Jenny cried. She sounded as emotional as she had in the days right after Will’s departure.
“She’s hurting also, Jenny,” he said, trying to soothe his wife.
“Yes,” Jenny said. “But to say it’s William’s fault—we don’t know that. Sometimes, I wish Esther would hold her tongue.”
“She’s always been forthright,” Mac said. “More so than she ought to be.” Privately, he thought Esther’s theory was quite possible. Will was distraught after learning of his paternity. And angry after Mac chastised him for kissing Maria. The boy had acted irrationally all year—he might well have initiated the boys’ disappearance.
“You must be careful,” Mac warned Jenny. “We still haven’t located Jacob Johnson. I suspect he’s in the area, maybe even in town.”
“Why can’t he leave us alone?” Jenny moaned. “He’s destroyed my life for the second time. And this time he’s destroyed William and our family as well.”
The next morning, Jenny heard Rufus barking in the entry, then Mrs. O’Malley answered a knock on the front door. Fearing it was Jacob Johnson, Jenny reached for her sewing scissors. When she heard Hannah Pershing’s voice, Jenny gave a sigh of relief and escorted Hannah into the parlor. Then she asked Mrs. O’Malley to bring tea and muffins.
“I’m sorry about Esther’s comments yesterday,” Hannah said after Mrs. O’Malley left the room.
Jenny shrugged. “I was upset, but Mac calmed me down. Our greater worry is Jacob Johnson, not Esther’s inability to curb her tongue.”
Hannah smiled. “I love my sister-in-law dearly, and I know you do as well. But we both know what assault feels like. Unlike Esther, who can be quite outspoken.”
“She worries about Jonah, as I do about William.” Jenny said as Mrs. O’Malley walked in with the tea tray.
Jenny poured a cup for Hannah and handed it to her friend. “How are your children?” Hannah spoke about her daughter Hope and little boy Isaiah. Hope relished her school lessons, and Isaiah caused trouble, just like his Pershing uncles had as boys. “So Hope might be another teacher, as you and your niece Faith were?” Jenny asked.
“That is my dream for her,” Hannah said. “I do not want her to rush into marriage. And what about Maria? Are you still teaching her at home?”
“I haven’t had much time for Maria,” Jenny confessed. “And without William here, she mopes about the house—she misses him as much as I do. She is a great help to me, of course. But sometimes I wish I had not let her quit school.”
“Why did you?” Hannah asked, then sipped her tea.
“She was not treated well by the other girls.” Jenny sighed, remembering Maria’s frequent tears.
