He was just finishing checking Bella’s shoes—although he always carried spare shoes, the last thing he needed was for her to throw one while they were on the road—when he heard someone clear his throat. He looked up to see Fox standing there again.
“I beg your pardon for leaving so abruptly.”
“Not at all. I hope Mrs. Fox is all right?”
“She’s lying down just now. The children are with her.” Fox sighed. “It’s early days yet, but she can’t keep anything down. As I was saying earlier, we need to get to our destination as soon as we can.”
“You’ve got a mule team?”
“Yes.”
Steve tugged on his lower lip. Oxen and mules had more stamina than horses, so that was a good thing. He did some rapid calculations. “It should take you a bit more than two months to get to the Dakotas.”
“That long?” F
