Taking the Reins Read Free Page A

paused to grab the gun herself, everything would be different. Instead she had raced from her bed waving her arms, furious at that mother bear and cub for digging up her precious vegetable garden. The cub had ambled away but its mother turned on Katherine, and when Father ran outside he was mauled trying to protect her.
    If she had stopped to think, they might have dried bear meat in storage and a warm bearskin rug to help keep out winter’s chill.
    If it’s your fault, then it’s up to you to do something about it. The voice came out of the darkness, not Susan’s voice exactly, but there nevertheless. It was a quiet voice that continued to give her direction whether she wanted it or not. Katherine tried to push it away but the idea caught hold. She had to make this right and there was only one way to do so.
    Katherine stumbled out of bed and made her way through the dark to her bureau. She slid open the top drawer and felt inside until her fingers closed around the small cloth bag. She felt the hard lump inside and dropped it onto her hand. The gold rose nugget. Susan’s final gift.
    She climbed back into bed and curled on her side, clutching the nugget in her tightly closed fist. Sometimes she needed so badly to talk to her sister that it seemed impossible she could be gone forever. Tears trickled over her nose and onto her pillow. She had promised Susan to keep the golden rose for the rest of her life. How could she even think of selling it? She couldn’t, she wouldn’t. The nugget was all she had left of Susan, a token to keep her sister’s memory alive for a lifetime.
    And if they all died of starvation, is that what Susan would want? No, Susan would tell her to sell the nugget and purchase provisions.
    Oh, but she had promised!
    Katherine’s thoughts kept going back and forth until at last she slipped into a troubled sleep.
    She awoke with a start. Her room was black and close around her. She knew now that there was another choice, something else she could sell in place of the golden rose.
    But how could she bear to part with Nugget?

2

    K atherine rolled over, delighting in the soft ground beneath her body. Warm too – she had not felt so warm at night in a long time. But the fingers of her right hand ached. Why? And why were they clutched into such a tight fist?
    She pulled her hand from beneath the blanket. Blinked away the fuzziness of sleep. Opened her eyes. Saw nothing but grey. But wait – directly in front of her was a square of warm light. A window.
    Of course, that’s why she felt so cozy. She was not curled beside a dead campfire with early morning dew making everything damp and chill, but snug in her own bed with a mattress and blankets to keep her warm. And yet her fingers ached. She opened them slowly to reveal the nugget. Pressed tight against her palm, it glowed deep gold. Katherine thought back to the first time she ever saw the nugget, held just this way in Susan’s hand as they stood side by side on the steamer’s deck.
    â€œDo you see?” Her sister held the nugget, shimmering under a harsh southern sun. “It looks just like a rose, as if someone had carved it that way.”
    Katherine tucked the nugget back into its cloth bag but still held it in her hand. No. She could never sell the golden rose, not ever. How could she even think such a thing? Which left her no other choice. If she couldn’t part with the gold nugget, she would need to sell its namesake.
    Katherine was surprised how easily she came to accept this choice, once her decision was made. They did not need two horses on the farm, eating hay all winter long. With only Duke and Genevieve, there might be enough feed to last until spring. And the money from the sale would buy much-needed provisions.
    As soon as her chores were done, she would ride into Hope and inquire if anyone was looking to purchase a strong, fast horse. She slid out of bed and picked up the little pile