A Change of Plans

Chapter Ten

Waking an hour later, Olivia climbed down from the wagon. The fire was still going and Anson was sitting with his elbows on his knees, staring into the flames. He looked up at her as she sat down next to him. "I thought you went to bed." He said softly.

"I did, but I kept waking up." She replied.

"Not as tired as you thought?"

"I guess not."

"I went down to the creek." He said. "I think it feeds into a river somewhere downstream."

Her eyes flew to his face, lit only by the light from the fire. "Does that mean we're going to have to make a crossing?"

"We might." He said. She sounded scared. "I'm sure it'll be fine." He assured her.

"I can't help but wonder if I should have turned back."

His stomach lurched. "Why?" he asked calmly.

"What if we get there, wherever there is, and it's not what I expected?"

"It probably won't be what you expected." He said. "That's the beauty of going west; to start over."

"Is that why you're going west?"

"I guess so."

"The only family I have left is in Oregon." She said softly, "My cousin Henry and his wife. I thought maybe I would go to Stanton, where they live and buy a little house for me and Annie."

"It's good to have family close by; People that can help you out when you need it."

"Yes. And goodness knows I'm probably going to need it."

"This cousin of yours," he said. "You're close with him?"

"I used to be. I haven't seen him in quite a few years, but we've always stayed in contact. Why?"

"I just don't want to leave you stranded somewhere thinking you have people to help you if you don't."

"Once I get there," she said, "what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe head south to California." He shrugged. "Or I might stay in Oregon. I've heard it's something else."

"Well, I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

"Thanks." He nodded.

The next day, instead of moving on, they both agreed that a rest would do them some good. After breakfast, Anson grabbed the buckets from the wagon and headed down to the creek to fill the water barrel.

"Wait," Olivia said. "We'll go with you." She hurried after him, carrying the baby.

Anson slowed his pace to match hers, surprised that he didn't feel irritated by her wanting to come along. He knew it would slow him down. He might have even forgotten what he was going to the creek for if he hadn't been carrying the buckets.

"She's really looking around, isn't she?" he asked, looking at Annie as she leaned against Olivia's shoulder, staring at him.

She smiled over at him and he just shrugged. "I'm just saying her eyes are open a lot more lately."

"She's nearly a month old now." Olivia said, leaning her head over to peek at the baby's face. "She's watching you."

"She just happens to be looking this way." He shook his head.

Olivia stopped suddenly and the tiny baby strained to see him as he continued walking. "No, she's watching you."

He stopped to wait for her to catch up. He saw Annie's eyes brighten when she caught sight of him again and he was tempted to reach out and gently ruffle her hair. But he didn't. He wouldn't.

When they reached the water, he filled the buckets and set them on the bank for when they returned. Then he sat down in the grass and watched quietly as Olivia knelt next to the water and bathed the baby's head and face with the cool water.

She was leaning down to kiss little Annie's neck, when the baby grabbed her bonnet and flung it into the swift moving, if rather shallow, water.

"Oh no!"Olivia exclaimed. "That's my only bonnet!" She turned to Anson, handed the baby to him before he could protest and scrambled to her feet to hurry down the bank after her bonnet.

Surprised at finding the baby suddenly in his arms, Anson clutched her to him. He was surprised that she didn't fall to pieces in his clumsy grip. But she stared at him with a contented smile on her face and he relaxed a tiny bit.

Laying her against his shoulder, he reached up and touched the incredibly soft patch of hair before turning his head and placing a kiss against her soft cheek.

With a gasp, he suddenly held the baby out at arms length and stared at her as though she'd bitten him. What was he doing? Kissing babies! He didn't like babies! They were more work than they were worth......messy.....irritating.

She cooed at him ,blowing a spit bubble as she stared right into his eyes. "If you think I'm going to change my mind, just because you're looking at me that way, you've got another thing coming. I'm not falling for it!" He glanced over to see if Olivia was coming back yet and nearly choked.

Her bonnet had floated up against a rock sticking up out of the water, just a few feet from shore. It was too far for her to reach with her hand or a stick and he watched as she pulled her shoes off, pulled her skirts up around her knees and daintily stepped out into the water to retrieve it.

The baby's kicking pulled his attention away from Olivia and he stared at the infant in his hands. He was holding her as if she was a wet puppy and he didn't want her to get him wet.

"Oh thank you," Olivia breathed, sitting next to him and taking the baby from him. "I already lost my good bonnet, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been able to save this one." She laid the baby on her lap and shook the bonnet off. It was wet, but nothing else seemed wrong with it and she set it on the grass to dry. She looked at Anson to find him staring blankly at her. "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. He got to his feet and grabbed the buckets, hurrying back towards camp.

"I don't know what to do about him." Olivia shook her head with a sigh as she played with the baby's toes. "One minute he's all calm and collected and the next he's all flustered and nervous. There must be something wrong with him."

"I could have dropped her, you know?" he snapped, coming back to fill the buckets again. "You just shoved her at me like that. What if I'd dropped her?"

"Then she would have cried, I'm sure." Olivia said. "But you didn't drop her and I was sure you wouldn't or I wouldn't have given her to you."

"You didn't give her to me; you practically threw her at me. You know I don't like babies and that also means I don't like holding them."

Olivia stifled a giggle as he filled the buckets and stomped back to the wagon again. "He's so dramatic, isn't he?" she whispered to Annie, who cooed and kicked.

Anson finally came back, without the buckets and flopped down on the grass next to her. He still looked to be in a sour mood, but she wondered why he would bother coming back if he was really upset.

"Would you like to hold her?" she asked.

He glared at her and she burst out laughing.

"Very funny," He grumbled. "I've already held her and I can assure you it'll be the last time I ever do."

"Oh don't be like that." She nudged him with her elbow. "It didn't hurt you any to sit there with her for a whole five minutes."

He mumbled something incoherent.