Offering it up

In the cool of the morning, Annie prayed especially hard. She prayed that God would keep the bad men away. She prayed that He would never let Pa and her be separated again. She prayed for good weather on their trip to wherever they were going.
Pa was up when the first stars began fading into the pale blue sky. She could hear him stoking the fire, making coffee, heating up beans; Annie remembered mornings like this before the cattle drive that he didn't return from. Before their chickens started laying eggs, beans were a staple for breakfast at their home. At first, they didn't even have a roof over their heads, only a covered wagon. Those were the good days. Annie began to get up. She stretched her arms out, curled her toes, and screwed her eyes shut for a few last minutes before embracing the cold.
"Pa, I love you." she smiled at him. He was still the same old Pa she remembered in her dreams, remember only in her dreams before yesterday. Last night she had dreamt of laying her head on her Momma's lap in their cabin. Momma was working on her needle craft by the light of the fire while Pa was whittling pieces for a toy wagon. She could see his shape illuminated by the fire behind him. It was warm in her dream, warm and cozy.
Annie hurried to roll up her blanket. She tapped out her boots by the fire, making sure nothing had snuck in them during the night. Sitting down, she brushed off the feet of her stockings before putting each boot on. She thought that she should have put her boots on before rolling up her blanket. Tomorrow morning she could do that. Pa passed her a tin cup full of beans. He wiped off the spoon that he had been using with a flap of his shirt. Annie noticed that his clothes could use some mending. Maybe she could try to sew while they were driving along. When they got a chance to uncover her Momma's chest, she would find Momma's needles and thread. The beans tasted good. She liked beans, which was probably a good things since there wasn't anything else to eat.
Pa looked over at her as she scarfed down the steaming hot beans. "Slow down there sweety!" We have time for you to eat. No need for you to burn up your mouth on those beans!" He chuckled. "When we get up the road a bit, we will look for some meat to add to our meals. I didn't figure there was any need to shoot something yet as we wont be staying put long enough to properly take care of any animal of size.
"I have a friend about 3 days away who will let us stay with him for a bit. When we get there we will have time to do hunting, curing, and jerking of all the animals that we can find. We need to be ready for winter when it comes. There is no need for us to get into to much of a hurry and find ourselves starving in some wilderness." He cocked his head to the side while he watched Annie pour coffee into the mug she had just been eating beans out of. At least one bean floated to the top as she blew and sipped at the cup. She was a good girl. His wife had done a good job with her since he had been gone. He felt sad for a minute as he thought of Mary. She had just lost another baby before he left. They had hoped to have a cabin full of little ones. The Good Lord had only seen fit to give them just this one. She was a precious one and he would do his best to raise her up with a love of God.
"Little one, when you finish up that cup, find a nook to put the pot so that we can finish the rest of the coffee later." He silently hoped that some of it would not spill out on their journey across the bumpy prairie. As long as they didn't have to make a run for it. "We will have to clean the dishes up better when we get to a stream or river. We ought to hit one or the other before we make camp tonight."
Annie found a spot for her cup on a nearby rock so she could get to packing. The coffee was too hot still; she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to taste anything for a few days as every taste bud on her tongue had gotten a good singing by the beans first and then the coffee. They were loaded back up in no time. Pa had gotten the horses fed, watered, and hooked up. Annie felt like a queen up on the seat next to Pa. Heaven must be something like this, she thought.
"Could you lead us in a Rosary, honey?" Pa asked. Annie reached into her apron pocket, pulling out her Momma's Rosary. "We believe..." she began. Her father's deep voice echoed her own as they joined together in prayer. Her heart felt full. Surely God would keep them safe; surely God would hear their heartfelt prayer!