Chapter OneEarly Summer-1859The sky overhead was a blue so pale and clear that it was almost crystalline in its appearance. Shafts of red, orange and yellow streaked behind the golden orb of a sun as it ascended rapidly toward its noon position. Warm sunlight shone down upon the solitary figure walking along a single country lane sheltered on either side by high stalks of wheat making their silken tassels glisten, leaping from one scarce treetop top to another, sending slivered beams of light dancing across the wagon-wheel rutted road. As the lone traveler continued on his way down the rural lane, one hand raised to remove the tattered wide brim hat from his head and let loose a mess of unruly chestnut curls. Perspiration that had gathered in the center of his forehead trickled down the sides of his handsome face in dirty rivulets. Tired cerulean blue eyes blinked rapidly against the sudden brightness of sunlight glancing off pebbles in the road. When he reached the top of a gentle slope that had risen up in the road, Kid paused to rest a moment and survey the enfolding scenery around him. Above the sea of golden wheat stalks he spotted a lonely chimney topped in the near distance and wondered if the house it was attached to belong to the farm he was looking for. He fumbled in the pocket of his faded denims for the scrap of paper with directions on it that the storekeeper back in Possum Flats had given him. Once he had found it, Kid unfolded the brown piece of paper and carefully read the brief and nearly ineligible directions for the third time in the past hour. He couldn't help but wonder if in fact he wasn't being sent out on a wild goose chase. The storekeeper had almost seemed to friendly when he was writing the directions down for him. Kid supposed that he wouldn't find out for sure, unless he continued on to the farm that the storekeeper had told him about. Besides, it didn't make sense to him that the storekeeper would go to all the trouble of writing down directions on a piece of paper, when he could easily of told Kid misleading directions. Kid stuffed the paper back into his pants, replaced his hat on his head and stepped off of the road and into the wheat field on his right. The directions had indicated that he needed to continue on the road for another ½ mile, before turning onto another road that led up to the Hufstead farm. He figured if he cut across the wheat field he would have save him some time and extra walking. Kid couldn't help hoping as he walked, that the storekeeper had been telling the truth and that the Widow Hufstead still needed help. The last bit of money he had borrowed from Doritha upon his departure from Manassas had only lasted a couple of months. Since then he had been making his way from town to town, earning enough money to buy food stuff and have a little pocket change to tide him over until he came to the next town. Just this morning he had spent the last of his money on a chunk of cheese, slice of bread and a couple of apples. It had been the only thing he had eaten in two days, except for some berries he had found along the road. He had eaten it all so fast in an attempt to assuage his growling stomach, only to have it come back up a few minutes later. That had been about an hour ago and he found himself becoming hungrier by the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a decent meal. Probably not since his ma had died the year before. A lump rose of his in his throat at mention of his ma and he hastily swallowed it. There was no since in letting his thoughts linger on his ma, because they would only remind him again of how much he missed her and wished she was still alive. As often of late, his mind would drift from the pain filled memories he had of his home life and ma, to happier ones filled with Doritha. It was when he was seven and had run off from home after seeing his Pa hit his ma for the first time. He had never run so fast or so far before and knew that he was sure to catch a licking once he went home, but he didn't care. All he cared about at the time was getting as far away from his pa and home as he could. He was racing through a pasture that ran along the swimming pond that all the area kids gathered around in the summer time and leaped over the hallowed remains of an old log and was startled to hear a girl's voice cry out in protest. Kid had stopped running and turned around and there was a young girl with hair the color of flame and green eyes filled with liquid fire. Doritha had yelled at him for ruining her tea party and Kid had been quick to apologize. Doritha had invited him to sit and play with her and Kid had been quick to do so in hopes of getting to taste one of the delicious little cakes she had sitting on a platter before her. From then on the two met regularly and as they grew their friendship strengthened and developed into love. Doritha was the only brightness he had in his otherwise gloomy life and Kid found himself clinging to it desperately. It was only a short time before his ma died and he left Manassas that Kid realized that he didn't love Doritha in the way that she loved him. He had tried to tell her on the day that he left Manassas that he would always be grateful to her for being his friend and helping him out, but that he wasn't in love with her. Doritha had refused to listen and made him promise to send for her as soon as he had settled somewhere. Kid had reluctantly done so, knowing that he would never be able to keep it. Kid soon came to the end of the wheat field he was walking through and stepped out of the rows of stalks onto what appeared to be the back half of a farmyard. To his near left, the back end of a small clapboard house stood with a door leading into it opened. By the steps leading up into the house stood a polished cradle. A wash table with two tubs took up residency against the back wall of the house, next to the cradle, with one end of a clothesline nailed into the wall above them. Kid's eyes followed along the length of the filled clothesline to the its other end attached to a high branch of an oak tree. Next his eyes fell upon a large flower, fruit and vegetable garden patch in which its rows started a few inches away from the oak tree and stretched all the way back to a stream bed that seemed to run along the back of the yard and flowed into the wheat fields that lined the yard on three sides. The center of the stream seemed to deepen into a natural pool that appeared to Kid to be about three or foot deep. In the center of the pool was a woman swimming in it, the golden ends of her hair darkened by the water and hanging in loose strands down her slender shoulders and over her graceful back. As he watched the woman reached onto a bank for a washcloth and bar of soap setting on the top of the top of a smooth tree stump and began to vigorously rub the soapy washcloth over her arms. There was also a pile of bright material and a pistol lying atop the stump as well. Kid didn't know how much time had passed since he had first stepped out of the wheat field and laid eyes upon the beautiful vision before him. In the back of his mind he knew he should retreat back into the wheat field and announce his presence, in order to allow the woman to properly cloth herself but he found himself unable to make his feet move. This definitely wasn't an image of a widow woman he had imagined when the storekeeper had told him about her needing help. He was still standing there, motionless, his eyes riveted on the sight before him, when the object of his captivated attention, turned around and began to emerge from the water. She gave a startled cry in a foreign language as she caught sight of him and lunged toward the tree stump. Alerted to the fact that she had spotted him, Kid spun around as shame burned a hot streak across his face at having been caught spying on an unsuspected woman.
Chapter TwoOdella and Heinrich Hufstead had immigrated to Possum Flats, Missouri three years before from their homeland of Germany. As the eldest son of twelve children, it had been placed upon Heinrich's shoulders to go to the new world and establish a farm. His elderly parents were too ill to make the long and arduous journey to the United States, but had wished for their children to do so. They had heard many tales from relatives and friends who had made the journey and were now living happy, prosperous lives without so many of the restrictions that the German government imposed upon its citizens.Heinrich had worked long, strenuous hours building their house, tilling the land, digging up roots and planting crops. Odella had worked equally as hard inside the house to make it comfortable for her husband and any children that they would be blessed with. When Odella found that she was with child the couple had celebrated joyously, anxious, as they both were to fill their house with the laughter of children. When it had come time for their child to be born, it was in the middle of a terrible blizzard in February of that year and Heinrich had headed into town to get the doctor. Only he had never returned and she had given birth to their son Lars Heinrich Hufstead. Odella had only allowed herself to grieve for her husband for a few days, before falling back into the task of taking care of their farm, this time alone. Instead of accepting offers from area farmers to buy her land, Odella had instead hired a man traveling through town to plant and tend to her crops for a share of the money she made from them at harvest time. The arrangement had been ideal for both of them, until one night the man had made advances toward her and she had chased him away with Heinrich's rifle. After that some of the neighbor men had took it upon themselves to see check up on her from time to time. She greatly appreciated their efforts and hadn't had any lasting fears of anyone else attempting to harm her again until she caught sight of the dirty stranger watching her from a short distance away. Shock had raced through her for a brief moment, before she let out a muffled cry in German and reached for Heinrich's pistol lying on the tree stump next to her dress. Fear, anger and shock swept over her unclothed body as her hands fumbled to release the safety on the pistol, cocked back the trigger and leveled the gun at what was now the stranger's back facing her, instead of his chest. She took a deep breath to calm herself and in a surprisingly steady voice demanded, "What do you want?" "I'm, I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to spy on you." Kid stammered apologetically. " I only meant to save some time and walking by cutting through your field." "Why you come to Hufstead farm?" Odella continued suspiciously. " My name's Kid. I'm looking for work ma'am. The storekeep back in Possum Flats said you were in need of some help on your farm." Kid told her. "Why you not come to door to ask for work? Is not good manners." Odella questioned. "What storekeeper name?" "Jensen, Malor Jensen. You're right ma'am. I just been doing a lot of walking of late and thought I could lessen how far I had to walk to get to your farm. I'm really sorry, ma'am. I don't mean you know harm honestly." Kid said, anxious to put the woman at ease. Odella heard the sincerity in the man's voice and felt her anger began to drain away. It was slowly becoming obvious to her that if the man had been there for any other reason than what he had just said, then he would have tired to prevent her from getting Heinrich's gun. Or even fled back into the fields before she had it ready to fire. Instead he had spun away from her in embarrassment and remained in the yard to apologize to her. "Do not move. If you are sincere in your apology, then you will allow me to dress without doing me any harm." Odella told him. Relief flooded through Kid as he realized the woman believed him. He remained as still as possible in order to cause her any undue harm and listened to the faint ruffling sound of material as the woman dressed herself. "You may turn around now." Odella told him, after she had buttoned the top of her calico dress into place. She had lowered the gun softly to the grass by her feet while she dressed quickly, but had picked it up again when she was done. While not exactly pointing it at the stranger anymore, she felt more comfortable knowing she still had it. Kid turned slowly around to face the woman. Her eyes were the color of spring grass, her nose gently upturned and her lips soft and full. The fear had seen flashing through them as she had spotted him watching her had disappeared and was now studying him in obviously distaste. Kid felt his face warm again with embarrassment over his dirty and sweaty appearance and longed for a long bath and clean clothes. "I know I look pretty bad-"Kid began, feeling the need to apologize for his appearance. "I understand. It is hard to stay clean while traveling, no?" Odella said, sensing just how uncomfortable he was. "Yes." Kid answered. "No matter. No need clean clothes to work in field. You sleep in loft of barn while work here. Come I will show you what needs doing." Odella told him, starting toward the house. "You are the Widow Hufstead then?" Kid asked as he fell into step beside her. "I am Odella Hufstead. What is widow?" Odella answered, stopping briefly beside the rocker to peer through the mesh covering it to see if Lars was still asleep. Her son was a good baby who didn't fuss much and often lay contently in his cradle for some time before alerting her to his being awake. Lars eyes were still closed, so Odella straightened and continued walking toward the front of the house. "A woman who has lost her husband." Kid answered. Odella paused in mid-stride as a searing pain swept through her chest. She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes and bit her lip to keep from hurtling a torrent of German at this stranger who dared to bring up hurtful memories with his insensitive questions. Back in the homeland, amongst her family, it was considered bad manners for anyone to make mention of one's loss or deceased spouse, unless it was to honor them. In America though, she knew they had other customs. "My husband is in Heaven. We must not speak of him again." Odella told Kid in a harsh tone and resumed. Kid was puzzled by her sudden tone of voice and wondered briefly if he had said something wrong. He spent the next hour following Odella around the farm and listening to her giving him instructions on the care of the animals and tools in heavily accented English. Most of what she explained to him he already knew how to do, but when they came across something he didn't know and Odella couldn't explain in words he would understand, she would let fly a string of words in the strange language he had heard her use earlier. By nightfall, he was so tired he could barely stay awake long enough to eat the delicious vegetable soup and bread that Odella had made. When he was finished eating he thanked her kindly for the meal and stumbled toward the door to head for the barn. "Kid, if like take bath in pond. Leave clothes in washtub by door." Odella suggested. As tempting as the thought of a cool bath sounded, Kid decided it was probably better not to take one that night. He was likely to drown if he did and the thought of washing up only to redress in his dirty clothes wasn't a pleasant idea. "I think I'll wait till morning. Night, Ma'am." He replied before going out the back door. It took him but a few moments to reach the barn and climb up into the loft. When he stepped off the top rung of the ladder into the loft, he found that Odella had made him a pallet out of hay, sheeting, blankets and pillow. Kid stripped down to his union suit and flopped wearily down upon the pallet. No sooner had his head hit the pillow than he was fast asleep.
Chapter ThreeKid awoke the next morning to sunlight shining down upon his face from the open loft door. He sat up slowly and stretched his sore limbs to get the kinks out. When he was fully awake, Kid reached across the pallet of blankets for his clothes. When his hand found nothing but the hay strewn loft floor, he stood up quickly and glanced around. There was no sign of his belongings, save for his hat and boots and Kid couldn't figure where they had gone.He was still puzzling over their disappearance when he heard Odella's voice call up to him from the interior of the barn. "Time to get up, Kid. If look for clothes, I come up and took earlier. Need washing before you wear again. Find clean ones by pond. You bathe, and then come eat. Work to do." Before Kid could reply to what Odella had told him, he saw her leave the barn and head back toward the house. Kid climbed quickly down the ladder, with boots in hand, and over to the open barn doors. As soon as he saw Odella disappear into the house, he darted from the barn and ran across the farmyard to the back. He came to a stop beside the pond and leaned over his knees in order to catch his breath. That was when he noticed a clean pair of denims, union suit, blue work shirt, and socks on tree stump. Next to them was a washcloth, bar of soap, shaving kit, mirror, comb and a bit of toweling. Kid stripped out of his union suit and stepped tentatively down the bank surrounding the pond. The water was cool to the touch and it took him a couple of minutes to fully emerge himself in it. The water worked like a balm against his sore muscles and Kid took a few moments just to enjoy it, before washing his hair and scrubbing his skin. When he was done and all the soap had been removed from his body, Kid emerged from the pond, dried off and quickly dressed in the clothes Odella had provided for him. When he was finished shaving his face and combing his hair, Kid crossed the back yard and let himself into the house through the back door. Odella was standing at the stove stirring a pot of something on the stove and didn't see him come in. Kid sat down at the table next to Lars in his high chair and couldn't resist smiling at the toothy grin the baby was giving him back. Odella turned away from the stove with a hot pot of porridge in her hand and stopped midway as she caught sight of kid at the table. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she took in the handsome, chiseled features that had been hidden from view under layers of dirt. His hair was the color of bronze and combed neatly down the back in soft curls. Her heart fluttered suddenly in her chest and she felt her face grow warm as she hastily set the pot down on the table and turned back to the stove. She didn't turn back again until she had managed to compose her feelings and felt her face grow cooler.
Chapter FourA week went by, and then another, until a month had passed by before Kid even realized it. After the first couple of awkward days, he and Odella developed a friendship. She would awake him each morning after she had taken her morning bath and move onto to care for the chickens and gather the eggs, while he slipped away to the pond to take his own bath. By the time he was finished bathing, breakfast would be ready and he would take his seat beside her at the table. At noon, she would walk his lunch out to him in the field, with Lars on her hip, and chat with him until he had finished eating and then go back to the house.In the evenings after supper, Kid would help Odella clear the table and wash the dishes. Then they would go into the sitting room, where Kid would sharpen kitchen knives, clean the guns or read from the newspaper, while Odella knitted, darned socks or mended clothes. One night he taught her how to play checkers off of a board her had made himself and flat pebbles he had painted red and black. Lars took to squealing at him in the mornings when he came in from the barn and wouldn't stop until Kid picked him up and swung him up into the air. On Sundays, Kid would escort Odella into town to church, then take off to go hunting or fishing and then return in time to pick her up. Sunday afternoons were spent picnicking beside the pond or taking long drives around the countryside. The more time he spent with Odella, the more Kid found her attractive. He admired the fact that she hadn't just given up and sold the land and gone back to Germany or off to a larger settlement where she could support herself and Lars in an easier way. She was strong-willed and determined and not afraid of the hard work that came with being a farmer's wife. Her devotion to Lars was obvious in the way she tenderly rocked him to sleep; comforted him when he hurt him or nursed him nursed him when he was hungry. Odella too, found herself growing ever more attracted to Kid as the weeks went by. She tried to hide how her heart would flutter suddenly when Kid would appear in the kitchen for breakfast or how she would grow warm with pleasure from a simple compliment he had given her. She would find herself thinking about him several times a day and would bake special treats just to hear him rave about them. When she went into town on Saturdays, she would peruse the new bolts of material that would come in to sew new clothes for him or to craft new dresses for herself to wear on Sundays just to hear Kid whistle and tell her how pretty she was. One night about six weeks after he had been there, Kid awoke to what sounded like the barn door creaking open below him. He lay still on his pallet and listened cautiously to see whether he had only imagined the noise. When he heard nothing else he closed his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep. He had almost managed to drift back to sleep when he heard someone begin to ascend the ladder to the loft. He was up and on his bare feet in an instance, crouched low in preparation of attacking whoever it was. Kid thought for a moment he was imagining things as he saw a dark shadow clad in white material stepped off of the ladder and onto the loft floor. As the shadow began to come closer, Kid could make out a slender shape and realized a second before he jumped, that it was Odella. "Odella? What are you doing up here?" Kid asked from the corner. Odella jumped at the sound of Kid's voice behind her and spun around. Kid came out of his crouch and moved to stand a few feet in front of her. His blue eyes gazed down upon her as she lifted her eyes up to meet his. Her heart hammered against her chest, her pulse raced and her mouth felt suddenly dry as she tried to come up with a way to tell him how much she cared for him. Kid felt as if his own heart was going to leap out of his chest as he stared down into her face and waited for her to answer his question. Her eyes seemed to glow with a light in them he had never seen before and it made his pulse race even faster. She seemed to be conveying something with them that she couldn't bring herself to say and Kid suddenly understood. He lowered his head ever so slowly and until his mouth was only inches from hers and asked, "Are you sure?" Odella's reply to his question was to press her lips to his. Kid leaned into the kiss, keeping his arms at his sight in case Odella would suddenly regret her forwardness. When the kiss ended a few moments later Kid waited for Odella to flee the loft, but instead she stayed. She took his hands in hers and gently led him over to the pallet on the floor. She stretched out on top of his blanket and waited for Kid to do the same. "Are you sure that you want to do this Odella?" Kid asked again as he lay down beside her. "I want you to make love to me." Odella whispered. "I've never, I mean, I-" Kid started, feeling embarrassment color his face as he tried to tell Odella that he had never been with a woman. "That's alright. I will show you." She softly whispered and drew him into her arms of velvet.
EpilogueOne week after Odella had crept into the loft, a visitor appeared at the front door of the farmhouse. Odella, at the time was busy getting Lars ready to go into town, so Kid went to get it. A tall blonde haired man, with green eyes like Odella's stood on the porch. He was dressed in homespun trousers and a tan shirt and was carrying a bag over his shoulder.The man looked as puzzled to see Kid as Kid was to see him. He set the bag he carried down onto the porch and fumbled into his pocket for a scrap of paper that appeared to Kid to have directions on it. "Excuse me. I'm looking for the Hufstead farm. Is this it?" the man asked in deep voice accented like Odella's. "Yes, it is. I'm Kid. Mrs. Hufstead is in the bedroom tending to her son. May I tell her who's calling?" Kid answered. "Tell Odella that it is I, her brother Olsen." The man told Kid with a grin. Before Kid had a chance to say anything, he heard Odella let out a squeal of delight behind him and hurried forward to embrace the visitor. Plans to go into town were laid aside for a little while as Odella and Olsen chatted excitedly with each other in their native language. Kid sat in the sitting room and listened to them talking, hoping that Olsen had only come for a visit on his way to somewhere's else and not to stay and help Odella tend to the farm as he thought. When Odella stiffened suddenly in surprise and her eyes flew to him, Kid knew that his suspicion had been correct. He got up from the chair he was sitting in and after telling Odella that he was going to go unhitch the team from the wagon, left the house. He tended to the horses and put them away in their individual stalls and then climbed the ladder up to the loft and began packing his few belongings. He wasn't surprised when he heard the sound of small feet climbing up the ladder and into the loft. He didn't turn around to face Odella, until she laid a hand upon his shoulder. A lump formed in his throat as he gazed down into her tear filled eyes and swept her into his arms. "I am sorry. It is custom for family to send male relative to care for farm if husband die. Since I in new world I not expect anyone to come." Odella explained tearfully. "It's okay. I understand." Kid told her, brushing away the tears that escaped from her eyes with his thumbs. "I can't stay here now. It would be too hard to pretend that I don't care anything for you." Odella nodded in understanding, but didn't reply. Kid lowered his head to meet her lips with his in one last kiss. When the kiss ended, Kid withdrew from her and gathered up the belongings he had accumulated during his stay. "There'll never be a time when I see a wheat field that I won't think of you." He told her brokenly before going over to the ladder and descending down it quickly. Odella stood by the open loft doors and cried as Kid started down the road leading away from the farm. Odella knew that she would never forget the young man who had come suddenly into her life and stayed only for a summer. THE END
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