She didn’t even mind the long hours they spent in the wagon, because each night Jackson rented them a room at an inn or a boarding house, and she spent the night in his arms. On their last leg of the journey, Sophie lay in bed beside Jackson, thinking how wonderful it had all been. During each day, she rode beside Jackson on the wagon seat, her leg touching his, and they talked and talked and talked. She told him about all the troubling things that Delia had told her, and how, in hindsight, that it was easy to tell how sick Delia and her father’s relationship had been. There had been so many signs, but she had been too young to recognize them. He told her of his mother, and how loving she had been. Really, she had been exemplary, except when it came to his father. She had allowed her wishes to override her good sense. In all other ways, she had been a wonderful mother, and he missed her so much some days. Sophie told him about David, how good he had been to her, and how much they had loved each other.
