A light snow began to fall the following afternoon, as they wended their way through the mountains. Liam eyed the grey sky nervously. The snow wasn’t enough to impede them from traveling, but it was enough to raise worry in their minds. They plodded through it for the rest of the day, and by the time they made camp, there was six inches accumulated on the ground.
Liam and the other men did their best to provide shelter for the animals. They cut large branches and erected a lean to of sorts where the oxen, mule and cows could get out of the snow and wind. The weather showed no sign of improving, but at least the snow wasn’t falling too heavily.
That night, Liam and Selena lay snuggled under their blankets, their limbs entwined in the afterglow of their lovemaking. As Selena lay with her head on Liam’s shoulder, cuddled against his warmth, she knew his thoughts were troubled.
“Are you worried?” she asked softly, leaning her head back to see his face.
Liam gave her a tight smile and pulled her closer against him. “A little. Snow this early could be trouble. Its only September 17th.”
“How much further do we have to go?” Selena asked, stroking his chest soothingly.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly, but I know we have a few more passes to get through. Probably another week or ten days and we’ll be past the worst of it.” He gave her a rueful smile, and there was a tinge of guilt in the hazel depths of his eyes. “If I hadn’t gotten sick, we would have already been past the worst of it.”
Selena rose up on her elbow and stared down at him with amazement. “Well, there wasn’t anything you could have done to avoid that, Liam. It was an accident, plain and simple.”
“Hmmm,” he murmured. “I know you’re right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it. I’m just anxious to get home.”
“Home,” she whispered dreamily, resting her chin on his chest. “Our home. Sometimes I still have a hard time believing it.”
“Believing what?” he asked, tucking her hair back behind an ear.
“Believing that you’re really mine. Believing that I found my heart’s true love and that you love me too. Believing how incredibly blessed I am.” Her eyes were shining with happy tears as she smiled at him. “Sometimes I think it’s all too good to be true, and that I’ll lose you.”
Liam hooked his arm behind her neck to pull her down for his kiss. He savored her lips, using his own to reassure her. “Selena, short of God himself, no one could take me away from you. I know as well as you that we’ve been blessed.”
He kissed her again, and the tenor quickly changed until they were both panting, hungry yet again for the feel of melding bodies. He rolled her onto her back and rose on his elbow above her, one knee intruding between her thighs as he ogled her bosom.
“You know,” he said softly, reaching to cup her breast, “my dear mother always taught me to count my blessings.” He watched her eyes turn soft and dark with desire as he firmly squeezed her nipple. “I think I’ll start giving thanks with these.”
As he claimed her breast, Selena closed her eyes and luxuriated in his touch. The world, the snow, the mountain passes, and everything else would simply have to wait. She was in the arms of her beloved, and nothing else mattered at that moment.
The snow stopped during the night, but there was already ten inches of the white powder on the ground. Their progress was slow that day, as they trudged along through the deep drifts, and they only covered six miles. They all prayed that they wouldn’t get any more snow, and their luck held for the next three days, but it never got warm enough to melt the snow that had already fallen.
On the fourth day, a drizzling rain mixed with sleet started falling in the morning, and it got stronger throughout the day. The rain turned the snow into icy slush, and the oxen had to struggle to keep their footing as they negotiated their way up and down the steep inclines. By the time they camped that night, they were all shivering and miserable, wishing desperately to reach the end of their journey. They pulled off the trail and camped in a dense forest, thankful for the tall trees that gave them some protection from the weather.
They woke up in the morning to find that nine of their oxen had disappeared during the night, three from each family’s team. Liam squinted into the predawn darkness, as he felt icy fingers of dread settle into the pit of his belly. Gerald and Matthew stood beside him, equally unsettled.
“You don’t think they just wandered off, do you?” Gerald asked, standing shoulder to shoulder with Liam.
“No. It’s too neat, losing three from each team. Someone took them,” Liam muttered.
“Maybe Indians stole them,” Matthew suggested.
Liam shook his head. “It’s not unheard of for Indians to steal an ox for food, but I can’t see them taking nine. They usually wouldn’t take more than they could use.” Liam crouched down to examine the ground. The rain combined with the slush had turned the surface into a sloppy mess, but he hoped there would be signs they could follow. They needed those oxen back or they would have to abandon one of the wagons. “There!”
They could just make out hoof prints leading into the forest, but it was evident that a branch had been used to erase much of the signs. Whoever had taken the animals didn’t want it to be easy to follow them. More searching revealed the partial imprint of a boot.
Liam stood up and frowned at Gerald and Matthew. “Well, it’s definitely not Indians. We’d better get the rifles and ask the other men to come with us. If we follow this trail, there’s no telling what we’ll find. We don’t know how many there may be, and we might need all the help we can get.”
The other men nodded their agreement, and they went to talk with the others. They grabbed a quick breakfast and in a short time, the men were ready to go. Armed with rifles and pistols, they set off to track the oxen. Selena, Marcia, Cassie and Susan watched them go, worry etched on their faces.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Selena whispered.
Marcia nodded. “Me too, but there’s nothing we can do but wait and hope for the best.”
