The Wagon (Carter Sisters Series #1) Read online




  The Wagon

  Morgan Dawson

  Contents

  Dedication

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Dedication

  First up I would like to thank my Mom for supporting me through this dream of mine to become a published author. When I would feel discouraged during the process of writing she would always get me back on track.

  * * *

  I would also like to thank my sister who dealt with me hanging out with her all the time to all of a sudden me writing for hours during the day unable to do as much with her.

  * * *

  Thank you to my friends who understood why I couldn’t talk after supper for as long as normal because evenings were now my “best writing time.”

  * * *

  Also a huge thanks to Erin Dameron-Hill from edhGraphics for the beautiful cover.

  * * *

  Lastly, I thank all of you who are taking the time to read my book which I enjoyed writing every step of the way.

  Introduction

  The Wagon is a historical fiction set in pioneer days. This novella is written by 13 year old Morgan Dawson.

  It has been professionally edited, but all of the words and story is her own. She has created a story of a young girl who has to help save her family farm after tragedy strikes.

  Along the way, she finds love and finds out the strength of family.

  Prologue

  "Darlene, could you pass me the hammer please?" Pa asks as he wipes the sweat from his sunburned forehead with his handkerchief.

  Eager for a chance to finally help, I jump off the large rock I'd been sitting on and pass the heavy hammer to Pa. "Here you go, Pa."

  "Thanks, pumpkin."

  Pa begins his work again, and I sit back down on the rock to watch. I hear something crash in the bush and I whip my head around to look, worried it might be a bear.

  Instead, I see a frog as it jumps again, landing by my bare feet.

  Bending to kneel down by the frog, I scoop it up into my hands. "Hello little frog. Where is your home?"

  The frog croaks, seeming to answer me, then jumps off my hands and continues hopping the way he was going.

  I stand up and brush loose strands of hair behind my ear. Turning to face Pa, I notice that he's looking at me, his dark blue eyes peering into mine. I watch as a smile spreads across his face. "You're one special girl Darlene," he says, grabbing another piece of wood from the pile.

  "Why, Pa. What makes me so special?" I ask looking up at him.

  "You're a very kindhearted girl. You'll make a difference in this world, just you wait."

  I have no clue what he's talking about, but I don't want to bother him anymore. I've watched Pa for at least an hour each day for the past few days as he builds a wagon. We've never had a wagon before, so I'm eager for it to be done. It seems like it's taking five years to finish. To me, the wagon seems done, but Pa is always adding something more to it.

  "Darlene! Darlene!" I hear my younger sister Genevieve shouting from the house. "I need to show you something!"

  I run up the dirt path leading to our house, which Pa had made before I was even born. Genevieve is standing on our front porch with her hands behind her back. Her long, brown hair lays in a mass of perfect curls, as always.

  "What is it?" I ask, excitedly trying to peek at what she has in her hands. Genevieve pulls out a light pink bonnet from behind her back as a grin spreads across her face.

  "Ma found one of your old bonnets for me to wear since my old one ripped!" She smiles as she puts it on.

  "It looks lovely on you!" I laugh at my little sister. Genevieve is three years younger than me, so she's only six. Genevieve takes my hand and pulls me inside where I find Ma standing at the pot over the fireplace boiling some potatoes.

  "Darlene, could you set the table? Genevieve, you can help her." Ma asks, not looking away from the food. I take out seven plates from the old cupboard and hand them to Genevieve. We put the cups, forks, knives and spoons out, remembering to get the butter and jug of milk from the small ice box out back.

  The smell of the chicken and potatoes cooking causes my stomach to grumble. I hadn't realized how hungry I was after spending all day outside.

  Ma calls everyone to the table for supper. We all eat our food quietly as Ma and Pa talk about the wagon.

  "It's nearly done, Elsie! Just a few more things to do and our horses will be able to pull it. It will be perfect!" Pa waves his arms excitedly as he talks about the wagon to Ma.

  "That's great, Lawrence. There'll be enough room in it for all of us, I hope?" Ma lifts her eyes from her food to ask.

  "Of course there will be!" Pa laughs deeply, his eyes sparkling.

  We all finish eating, and Pa heads back outside. I think he's planning on finishing the wagon tonight. It's my turn to do the dishes, and my other sister, Adeline, is drying.

  Adeline is younger than me by one year, but she is truly the one person I know I can trust the most. I can tell her almost everything. She has the most beautiful curly, blonde hair that hangs down just below her shoulders. She's also the only one in our family with green eyes, making her even more beautiful.

  "Enjoy your presents." Genevieve grins a mischievous smile as she hands me the rest of the dirty dishes. Laughing, she skips to the door and goes outside with my other sisters. Ma always gives us free time after supper once we've finished our jobs. Since Adeline and I are doing dishes, we'll have less time to do as we like.

  Adeline dries the plate that I set down, and takes it to the cupboard. "What do you think about the wagon?" She turns her head to look back at me over her shoulder. "Doesn't it seem odd that it's just being built so suddenly?"

  Adeline is always suspicious of things, which makes me smile. "I suppose it was a little sudden, but I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe just something for Pa to take with him when he goes to town." I set down a cup on the towel for her to dry.

  "Maybe."

  I can tell by the faraway look in her eyes that her mind is still thinking of what could be going on, even though I'm sure it's nothing. I watch as she dips her hand in the water pail and flicks the warm water on my face. Blinking in shock, I stick my hand in and do the same to her.

  Laughing, we set down the dishes and washcloths we were using, and stick our hands in again. I splash some water on her face as she chases me around the table, flicking more water on me. We giggle as we fall to the floor.

  "Should I bother asking?" We sit up and see Ma standing at the door, with one eyebrow quirked and a wide grin on her face. She isn't the type of mother who gets mad when we do things that make us laugh. She would much rather see us "bonding" as she calls it, than bickering.

  Adeline and I finish the dishes, our hair still wet from the water we splashed each other with.

  "Want to go play outside?" I ask her as she hangs the towel on the hook by the cupboards.

  "Of course!" She laughs. We
run outside with no shoes on and head to our favorite place — the great oak. We're all sure it's the largest tree in the whole world, and we love climbing it and playing on its huge roots.

  "We should pretend we're people who can't touch the ground!" Adeline suggests, already jumping up to the first branch and pulling herself up.

  "Sure!"

  Soon we're near the top of the large tree. Our younger siblings aren't allowed up on this tree yet. Ma and Pa only let us on it because they said if we get hurt, it's our own fault.

  We swing from the branches, pretending the tree is our house, with each branch being a different room. Laughing uncontrollably, we jump and swing from the branches.

  Suddenly, without warning, I hear Adeline's ear piercing scream below me. I look down and see her falling, about to hit the ground. It feels like time stops as I watch her hit the ground then bounce up. Her eyes are wide as she looks up at me.

  I can hear her sobbing as I rush down the branches, landing softly on the ground beside her. I kneel down and pull her in close to me, hugging her tightly. Still wailing, she wipes her eyes and hugs me back.

  I don't let go. I sit, holding her close while I feel her warm tears running down the back of my dress. Eventually, her loud cries turn to quiet sniffles.

  "Where are you hurt?" I ask her, pulling back to look into her puffy, red eyes.

  "My...arm." She stutters, bringing her right hand up her left shoulder.

  "Is it broken?" I take a look at her shoulder when she rolls up her dress sleeve. Her shoulder is red and looks a bit swollen.

  She looks at her shoulder and bites her lip. "I don't think so."

  "I'll go get Ma." I decide, standing up to run and get help.

  "No! Please no." Adeline reaches up and grabs my hand with her good arm. "If Ma finds out, she won't let us play on the big oak anymore. This is our favorite tree and I want to still play on it. I only fell because I wasn't looking!"

  "Adeline, what if it's broken?" I ask, trying to get her to see why we need Ma.

  She looks down at the ground, playing with a piece of grass. "I just love this tree so much. We always have so much fun on it. Plus, I don't think it's broken, maybe just really hurt. I'll just be careful with it for a while, and then it will heal and we can keep playing on the tree. Please?" Her eyes give me a pleading look, making my heart melt. If this was what she wanted, then I guess I could do it for her.

  "I guess so, but if it doesn't get better, we need to tell Ma." I reach out to help her up, then start to dust off the back of her light blue dress. We wait until the redness of her eyes and nose is gone before we walk back into the house.

  Ma and Pa are sitting at the table when we walk in the door. I assume the rest of the family is getting ready for bed up in the loft.

  "Sorry we're late, we uh, lost track of time." I explain, not making eye contact with either of them.

  "It's all right. Go get ready for bed now, won't you? I'll be up in a few minutes." Ma gives us one of her gentle smiles.

  Adeline and I walk up the steep steps to the loft where the children sleep. Genevieve has her white cloth nightgown on and is brushing out her hair. The rest are sitting on our two beds waiting for Ma to come up.

  When she climbs up to our loft, she helps the younger ones brush out their hair while Adeline, Genevieve and I lie down on the straw bed with a thin blanket. It's summer, which means we don't need lots of warmth.

  She leans over to blow out the candle between the two beds, saying good night to us all. Rolling over, I sigh and shut my eyes. I feel myself drifting off to sleep when something Ma says causes my eyes to fly back open.

  "How long of a ride will it be?" I hear Ma ask. Adeline sits up beside me, looking toward the loft stairs. I put my finger to my lips and motion for her to be quiet.

  "I'm not sure. Nebraska is our new start, Elsie! We'll buy a farm and start our new life!" I haven't heard Pa this excited about anything in a long time.

  All of my siblings are sitting up in bed now, silently listening to the conversation below. Genevieve taps me on the shoulder and whispers. "What's Nebraska, Darlene?"

  "It's a state. Quiet now, just listen." I reply, once again pressing my finger to my lips.

  "I just don't understand what's wrong with Kansas. We have a great house and farm. Lawrence, we already have everything we could possibly need." Ma is talking louder now; I can hear the strain in her voice.

  "Yes, I know that, but just think of the opportunity and experience for our kids! We don't want them to be afraid of change, do we?" Pa is trying to convince ma.

  It's quiet for a minute, with no one saying a word. Her quiet voice breaks the silence. "I don't know about this."

  "It'll be great. We can take the wagon. I have built it sturdy and strong enough to get us safely to Nebraska."

  I hear Ma sigh loudly.

  "I suppose it would be good for the children." Ma says softly.

  "So, we're going to Nebraska?" Pa asks, excitement in his voice.

  Ma laughs. "We're going to Nebraska!"

  My sisters all look at me, waiting for me to explain. Genevieve looks terrified, Adeline is staring at her hands, while the rest of them just look confused.

  "Adeline, you were right about the wagon being built so suddenly." I say sadly. She just nods.

  "I don't want to go to Neraka!" Genevieve pouts, slamming her fists on the bed. I give her a small smile.

  "Nebraska?"

  Genevieve looks up at me with her soft, baby blue eyes. "Yes, same thing!"

  "Let's just go back to sleep. Ma and Pa will hopefully tell us everything in the morning."

  I lay my head back down on the bed, with my eyes unable to close. Thoughts race through my mind. Somehow, I feel my eyes begin to droop and I know soon I will be lost in sleep.

  Chapter 1

  Tears running down my face, I turn my head to look at my four sisters standing beside me. Pa has already gone inside, not saying a word to any of us. I watch the three men who came in from town pat down the dirt covering the box that my Ma was buried in. She had got pneumonia and died.

  Genevieve presses herself closer to me. My other sister, Hazel, is looking down at her feet. Since she is only twelve, I can't begin to imagine how hard it is for her. She's the youngest so I know she wants to seem strong to all of her older sisters.

  Not wanting to watch any more, we all walk back up to the house silently. Inside, the bedroom door is closed, and I believe that's where Pa is grieving. Finding some left over bread, I make some bread and butter. It's all I'm in the mood for.

  I give some to my sisters, then sit down at the table. My gaze falls on my other sister, Lydia. She's sitting over by the fireplace staring at nothing, with her head resting on her hands. I walk over and sit down beside her, resting my hand on her leg. When she looks up at me with tears running down her cheeks, I notice that her long blonde hair has stuck to some of the tears.

  "Come here." I pull Lydia into my arms, which seems to make her cry even more. My hands stroke her hair like Ma would have done.

  "Ma wouldn't want us to be sad. She would've wanted us to keep being her happy children. To keep living our lives. She may be gone, but not in our hearts. We still have all the happy memories. Remember when all of us played tag outside? Even Pa. Or when Ma took all of us on a picnic to the creek? We ate sandwiches, remember?" I try to comfort her, but it only makes her cry harder.

  Lydia is thirteen, and I know she's trying to be strong. An idea comes to me; one I hope will help everyone feel a little better.

  I race up the ladder and grab blankets from our loft, then bring them all into the kitchen. Everyone looks at me confused as I lay the blankets down by the fireplace, moving the rocking chairs out of the way.

  Adeline comes over and helps lay down the blankets. I pretend I don't notice when she winces, still having days when she has pain from the tree accident years ago. I motion for everyone to sit down on the blankets.

  "Let's all tell our fav
orite memories with Ma."

  "My favorite was when all of us were fighting over the last biscuit that time, so she made some more so we could all have one. She even made one for Pa." Hazel smiles sadly rubbing the blanket in between her fingers.

  Genevieve looks up at us. "I liked the time when we were getting in the wagon about to move from Kansas and all of us where sad, so Ma and Pa took us around the house and yard so we could each tell about our favorite memory of that place."

  "Kind of like right now." Lydia laughs. "Is that where you got the idea from Darlene?"

  Smiling, I wrap my arm around Lydia. "Perhaps. My favorite is when Ma and Pa would do this with the blankets when there was a storm out and we would sleep on the floor together. That's why I chose to do this. It always brought us closer as a family."

  Adeline rests her hand on mine. "You bring our family closer, Darlene. Every day."

  We all talk some more, until eventually the girls lie down and go to sleep. I can't sleep though.

  I pull a blanket over Genevieve's shoulders then lay another one on Hazel who fell asleep without wrapping up. I hear Pa cough in his room and I wonder how he is doing. Standing up, I step over my sleeping sisters and walk toward Pa's room.

  I rap on the door softly. "Pa, can I come in?"

  "Of course, Darlene."

  I open the door to reveal him sitting on his bed. He doesn't look like my Pa. His face is sunken and bags hang deep below his eyes. He pats the spot beside him looking at me with wet, dull eyes.

  Pa wraps his arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder.

  "Thank you." He says, not looking at me. "I never would've thought of putting the blankets on the floor. You're so much like your Ma, and your sisters sure look up to you. I'm glad they have a sister like you." He strokes my hair and coughs.

  "Pa, I love you." My voice feels strained as I fight back a sob.