A Prairie Rose

Chapter 14

Pa had told me that building a homestead out West made the property yours. Of course, that was only if you could legally own property- which little girls could not do. Now that Pa was gone, if anyone found out it was just me, they could snatch away the house and land and apple trees, casting me out to the streets. And in these parts, the 'streets' were nothing but trees, grass, and a stretch of dirt that went on for hundreds of miles- a certain death sentence.

I did not think that Mr. Hansen would do such a thing to me. But I also did not think he would leave me alone. Most likely, I thought he would wait to find a traveler heading to the East, and send me back with them, telling them to find me the nearest employment, or orphanage, or charity school.

Those were other things that Pa had told me all about- whenever he made me go without food, or berated me, or beat me, he would always tell me about how lucky I was compared to other children. He told me of the horrible abuse and neglect and suffering of the children left to such fates- so really, he would ask me, did I dare believe that I was any of those things, when so many children had it so much worse?

Those fates sounded even worse than shivering through the night, or starving alone in a cold house. More than that, I could not help but feel shame inside of me. Was it my fault that Pa had died? What if they asked why I hadn't done more to save him?

So I kept my mouth shut as we all piled into the Hansen's wagon and made off towards my house.

There was still no sign of sunrise when we pulled up in front of the little cabin. But everyone was exhausted as we all head inside- at Mrs. Hansen's insistence, we stripped and washed up quickly, but neither Hattie or I had the strength to pull on our nightgowns ourselves after dragging the axe so far and then holding up the heavy wall.  

Mrs. Hansen did it gently for us, and it was only in the glow of the firelight that I could now see that she looked a bit injured- she had a scratch down her cheek, and a graze along her forehead. Still, she was gentle and nurturing, not heeding her own injuries as she gently rubbed my sore arms. "Thank you for helping today, Rose. You're quite brave for a little girl, you know that? Hattie, as well."

"Hardly, Ma'am. I just couldn't leave her out there. You, either."

She smiled at me, brushing some hair out of my face and then stroking Hattie's cheek. "Are you girls ready to say prayers?"

I nodded, but Hattie yawned. "Mama, I know it's my turn to say them, but I'm so tired."

"That's alright, Peanut. I can say them tonight, and you can have your turn tomorrow, alright?"

Hattie nodded, snuggling closer to me. She was still so cold- colder than me. 

Mr. Hansen popped his head into the room just as his wife finished up with the prayer. He had been just outside the little room, using some rope from his wagon to re-secure the canvas fabric that Hattie and I had dragged the axe in back up, separating the little bedroom from the front room again.

He looked at his daughters, then his eyes found mine. "Rose, where is all of the firewood?"

I felt myself grow nervous. "I burned it all, Sir."

His brow furrowed. "Your Pa didn't leave you with enough for the whole time he was gone?"

Blushing, I was glad he could not hear my thought to know that the true reason my cheeks were reddening was my lie. "He did, Sir, but I sold most of it. Most of the food he left, too. I forgot I needed it, and was just thinking about how happy he would be to have more money."

The lie sounded ridiculous, even to me. But luckily, grown-ups seemed to expect little girls to say and do ridiculous things, because he just shook his head. "It's a good thing we came when we did then, I suppose. I'll head out to chop enough wood until morning, and I'll set up snares near the river. The water pitcher could use a refill, anyway, and I'm sure something will wander into the snare overnight."

"But Sir, fetching water is girls' work. My Pa always sent me to do it."

Half a second too late, I realized that I had used past-tense. Pa sent instead of sends. Luckily, he did not seem to notice my mistake as he replied. "Nothing after dark is girls' work. Little children should be in bed by sunset, and its long past. You go to sleep now, and I'll make sure it's warmed up when you wake. If there's no catch by dawn, I'll salvage some food from the house, or go to a nearby settlement to make a trade for some. I can head into town within the next few days to get any supplies we need long-term."

My curiosity peaked. "Town, Sir?"

He nodded. "Just a little one, a bit to the north. There's a larger one Eastward, but further out. It's a settlers' hub. You can buy basic tools, foods, fabrics. Just the necessities. I'm sure there will be far more by this upcoming fall, when the first crops come in and the animals have bred."

"Now that's enough," Mrs. Hansen scolded, though I could not tell if she was directing her tone more towards her husband or myself. "It's time for the children to sleep- it's quite late. You go on and fetch the water and set up snares, Walter, but you be careful. You've not got your gun, so make haste."

"You can take my Pa's gun," I offered him, laying my head beside Hattie's on the pillow. I brushed some of her hair aside so I would not lay atop and pull it by mistake. "It's just near the fire."

"Your Pa didn't take his gun with him when he left?"

I hesitated. "He has two, Sir. You can use that one."

He nodded at me in thanks, turning and heading for the door. His wife followed after him, but unlike Pa had used to, she left the canvas propped open when she left so she could still see into the room. It also allowed the little warmth provided by the fading fire to travel towards us, warming the room slightly. 

Hattie was quiet for a long time, and I wondered how she had fallen asleep so quickly. I was pretty sure I was still waiting for my anxiety to calm and fade away. But Hattie, it seemed, was not truly asleep- she turned over to face me, her voice a hushed whisper. "Thank you for saving my Mama."

I shrugged, the quilts that were covering us shifting slightly at the movement. "It wasn't me. Your Daddy is the one who got her out."

"He couldn't have if you didn't open the door. And let me in. And let us use your axe. And help me carry it there."

"Then you saved her, too, by running all that way, and carrying the axe with me. And Grace, by helping your Father hold the wall up."

Hattie smiled, shifting to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I suppose that's right. Though Grace did less than anybody else, as usual."

We giggled until Mrs. Hansen suddenly appeared in the make-shift cloth doorway, her warning glance silencing us. She had a bandage on her forehead now, and was dabbing a cloth against her cheek to clean that wound. "Girls. It's time to sleep."

"Yes, Ma'am," We echoed in unison- we struggled not to giggle when we did so. Pa would have whipped me good for such a thing, but Mrs. Hansen just smiled slightly at us, shaking her head at our antics as she made her way back out to the front room. Soon, I heard her husband make his way back in, and the thud of heavy logs being gently set on the ground and in the fire.

I slept well that night, feeling warm and safe and not alone for the first time in so, so long.