Chapter 4

"I can't believe you're leaving us." Beth burst into tears as they stood at the mouth of Hidden Canyon. She was prone to that lately, so Kat didn't let it upset her overly.

Except it turned out she wanted to burst into tears herself. She hugged Beth as close as she could with Baby Jacob in Beth's arms.

"The only thing that makes me hesitate to leave is how much I've come to love all of you. Most especially these babies. I want to watch them grow up."

"I can tell you're half mad with wanting to leave, though." Beth held her tight.

Ginny came and pulled Kat into her own arms. "We don't use the term half mad in this canyon if we can possibly help it."

Kat laughed, which helped stave off the tears. She was grateful to Ginny for lightening the mood.

"Will you two be getting married right away?" Ginny, acting like some kind of chaperone, which got a smile out of Kat.

"We're planning to be married as soon as we reach town, which we hope to do before the end of the day. That's why we're out here just past sunrise. It's why we ate breakfast in the dark." She exchanged a look with Seb, who smiled and gave his chin a firm nod.

He was currently shaking hands with each of the men who'd also been trapped in here, along with Kat and Seb, all winter. None of the rest seemed inclined to escape.

"I spent time last night after supper, scooping." Oscar gestured at the bottlenecked canyon entrance.

Seb slapped him on the back. "It was melted down enough, Oscar. You didn't need to do that."

Oscar shrugged. "I'm going to miss you two. It suited me to throw my upset into hard work."

Kat turned to look at the way out. "You must have worked half the night."

"It was going to be treacherous climbing through that snowdrift. I didn't want your horses breaking a leg or either of you coming to grief wallowing in a sunken drift."

The snow rose nearly to the horses' shoulders to the sides of where the trail had been dug out. They'd planned to walk right out over it, threading their way through on the ground. But even with all of Oscar's work, they'd still be treading on a sheet of sharp, hard ice. It was possible the horses could get hurt—possible but not probable.

Still, Oscar's scooped-out trail would make the crossing both simpler and safer.

Kat went down the line of men, getting a warm squeeze of her arm or hand. The men showed their affection and loyalty by their hard work, not emotion.

"I'll write to you," Kat promised.

"Send the letters care of the O'Tooles, using Jake's name, and let them know your plans," Ginny said cheerfully. "Oscar is eager to see how his brother is doing, so he'll go visit now and then. And leave the gifts we're sending."

Oscar's third brother, Bruce, had stayed with the O'Toole family who'd come west with them, turning aside from the Oregon Trail. He thought they needed more farming skills than they currently possessed, especially after the death of the family's father, Shay, in a drowning accident along the trail. "Don't bother sending the letters directly to town in our names because we're not going."

"We'll ask the O'Tooles to gather any mail that comes addressed with your names on it." Kat understood better than anyone how important it was that no one find Ginny. "We won't speak to anyone about knowing you or knowing of your whereabouts."

Kat gave little Jacob a quick kiss on the forehead, then turned to her horse.

Beth, speaking quickly and quietly, said, "I packed venison in your satchels. Seb said he's got enough money, but I included a bit so you can transport your horses if you want to take them along."

"You already gave us the horses, Beth. No more was needed."

"Take the critters east with you or sell them in Alton and keep the money you earn to buy a new horse in Cheyenne or wherever you settle. Not a bad idea to have a bit of money in case there's trouble. And remember what I said about the laws getting changed concerning insane asylums. There are ways to fight what happened to you."

Kat's gut tightened to think of her uncle. She saw Ginny's eyes go wide and knew she was thinking of her tyrant husband. But Kat didn't argue. She had no courage to face down her wealthy uncle Patrick, yet now wasn't the time to debate that again with Beth.

Beth gave Jake an arch look, and he produced two satchels, both of them squirming. Kat peeked inside one to find two puppies, and the other contained two kittens.

"And these are for the O'Tooles, along with the other supplies we're sending. I ought to send four of the six puppies with you. I'll bet you could sell them, too." Jake hitched them like saddlebags to her horse.

Kat gave a smile while fighting back tears.

Alton was the little railroad town where they'd catch the train. When they'd turned off the Oregon Trail in Idaho and headed north, they'd crossed the rails. But no one had gone into Alton. It didn't suit a one of them to speak to anyone outside their group. Hiding was the point.

Jake had known the town was there and he'd given them careful directions to the O'Toole place, which Kat and Seb would stop at on their way.

Kat hadn't brought anything along on the journey west such as a satchel or trunk. A woman traveled light when she was escaping from an asylum. But the Collins brothers had a lot of such things packed in the wagons, and they had shared generously.

"I also packed some hardtack, and Jake filled two canteens for each of you. I threw in a little wedding present, as well."

"Th-thank you." Kat sniffled and could barely respond as she swung up on horseback. Once in the saddle, she looked at Ginny and Beth. A mirror image of each other. Dark hair and blue eyes. They'd started out the wagon train passing as sisters, and it was believable. Jake, tall and whipcord lean, held his daughter like he'd been doing it all his life. They'd all certainly had enough practice.

The Collins brothers watched with solemn eyes. They were a matched set for each other. Blue-eyed, stocky, and comfortable in their western clothes.

"I'm going to miss you all." She felt her throat closing as tears threatened. "Ginny, you saved me by getting me out of that asylum. Beth, you were there to get us away as fast as could be. Oscar and Joseph, you carried us all the way out here. Jake, thank you for leading our wagon train and being part of all this. You all rescued me. I am going to miss every one of you."

Ginny smiled, but her eyes were suspiciously bright. Ginny had taken Kat under her wing until Kat felt like she had a mother again. "I think we all helped save each other, Kat. With that train zipping across the country, there's no excuse not to come and see us often."

Kat thought of Seb and his saying how the West had swallowed up two of his sisters and one brother he'd never heard from again. She waved, then reined her horse around to follow Sebastian. As the horse's hooves crackled across the pitted ice, she wondered if she'd ever see any of them again.