A Home at Trail's End Read Online Free Page B

there, maybe I should camp there myself. That way I could work on the house without having to go back and forth to your parents’ place. It might speed up the process.”
    â€œYes,” she said eagerly. “That’s a wonderful idea.”
    â€œAnd I could take care of the livestock if you like.”
    Elizabeth considered this. “I already arranged to bring them over to Malinda’s,” she said. “She has fencing for the horses and cows. And the hens are just starting to lay, and I figure with ten people in the house, we could use the eggs.”
    He nodded. “Yes, that’s a good plan. But perhaps I can keep your team to help with the logging.”
    â€œYes, of course,” she told him. “You keep the Percherons here and put them to good use.”
    â€œThat should help speed things along.” He peered up at the sky. “As it is, we’re getting a mighty late start, Elizabeth.”
    She nodded somberly. “I know. Believe me, I know.”
    â€œI hear that building becomes quite challenging once the rains start. Mud makes everything much more difficult and slow. Some of the men think we’re foolish to start building at all this late.”
    â€œWhat do you think?” she asked.
    He grinned. “I think I’d better get busy.”
    She smiled back at him. “We’ll use the team and the wagon to get our things moved over to Malinda’s this afternoon. And then I’ll send them back with JT.”

    JT and Ruth were both eager to relocate to Malinda’s. Not only did it mean being with cousins, it also made the trek to school a little shorter. The three of them worked together to break down their camp. Then they packed and loaded their wagon—almost like they used to do each morning while traveling the Oregon Trail. Elizabeth drove the wagon, and JT drove the livestock. The plan was to let their animals share the pasture with Malinda’s, and perhaps Goldie would be with calf by the time they moved back to their own property.
    At Malinda’s they unloaded everything they felt they’d need for their stay. And while JT returned the wagon back to the property so that Eli could have use of the team for logging, Elizabeth helped Malinda to get supper started and Ruth went outside with Bart and Susannah to help get the chickens situated.
    â€œOh, Malinda,” Elizabeth said happily. “It is so lovely to prepare food indoors again.” She didn’t even mind that Malinda cooked over an open fire or that her kitchen setup was much more rustic than what Elizabeth had left behind in Kentucky. She knew Malinda had made similar sacrifices years earlier.
    â€œI remember that feeling well,” Malinda told her. “The first time I cooked inside my house after so many months of cooking outside over a campfire—it was simply wonderful.”
    â€œAnd I don’t even have to wipe the grit out of the bowl before I mix up the biscuits.” Elizabeth laughed as she peered inside a clean yellow bowl. “What a treat!”
    â€œWe decided that Will’s children won’t move in here until next weekend,” Malinda told Elizabeth. “I thought that would give us time to get settled a bit. Plus we can get some things moved around and prepare for our additional household members.” Now she explained how she wanted to transform a section of the barn loft into the boys’ bedroom. “We’ll put clothing hooks on the wall, and I have a rather worn commode we can put up there with a pitcher and basin—although I expect the boys will do most of their washing up on the porch. I thought we could put some crates up there for storage and seating. And I want to make sure there are safe places to hang lanterns. We don’t want them burning down the barn.”
    Elizabeth blinked. “No, we certainly do not.”
    â€œAlso, I hoped to get some produce put up for winter. And I have a