A Kiss for Cade (10 page)

“Having them for the day includes feeding them.”

“Oh? What did you feed them for dinner?”

He stopped in the middle of the path. “They weren’t hungry.”

Brody turned to look over his shoulder. “I’m hungry. I’m starvin’!”

“Me too!” the other kids chimed in. “Starvin’.”

“Oh, my. Uncle Cade forgot to feed you.” She picked up speed and passed him.

He easily caught up with her. “I intend to feed them. I was about to call them in when you showed up. How long are you going to hold this grudge?”

Her steps quickened. “How long are you going to be here?”

Latching onto her arm, he stopped her and turned her to face him. “It’s my day, and I’m feeding them.”

“You can just hold a gun to their heads and order them to like you.”

“A gun? Is that what the cold shoulder’s about?”

“I don’t hold with killing. You know that. You knew that when you rode out of here.” She jerked away from him, rubbing her arm. “How could you do that to your poor father?”

She was spoiling for a fight, but he wasn’t going to oblige her. His profession didn’t concern her. “You sent for me.”

“
Addy sent for you. Not me.”

He grabbed her arm again, grasping it tightly. “Only because of Addy?” Their gazes locked in a heated duel, and he shook his head. “You were never good at lying, Red.”

She didn’t back down. “When the children are recovered from being burnt alive, you can take them to wherever you’re staying and spend time with them.”

“That’s big of you. I’m sleeping over the jail. I have a leaky roof, a bed, and a washstand. All five of us can’t get in the room, let alone socialize.”

“That isn’t my problem.”

“Look. I need your help and you’re shutting me out. You have a right to be mad at me, but that’s between us. Right now, let’s worry about Addy’s kids.” He glanced at the children, who had wandered ahead, chasing a frog down the path.

Zoe stopped and brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I wish it would rain and cool things off.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop wishing for more rain. I’m not sleeping in a wet bed another night.”

“Stay with Pop.”

“Pop doesn’t feel like company.”

She turned accusing eyes in his direction. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Gooseberry pie.”

Her cheeks bloated as if the thought sickened her. A smile started at the corner of her mouth and then quickly faded. They stood for a moment in awkward silence.

Children’s laughter filled the clearing, and Cade considered the situation. He used to have fun with her; it should be a happy time now. Instead, it was war.

Sighing, she said, “I wish you had been here for the funerals. The children needed a man to lean on.”

“I tried. Sorry I didn’t make it.” He’d ridden for twenty-four hours straight hoping to arrive in time. If he’d ridden any harder, it would have killed his horse.

“When are you going to talk to the Brightons?”

“Tomorrow. I’m doing Pop a favor in Suffox County. I’ll stop at the Brightons’ on my way back.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“We’ve already had this argument. If it would make you feel better, you’re welcome to come with me. We can talk to Bonnie and Seth together.”

She stared into the distance, her face void of emotion. “I’ll fight you on this, Cade.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Cade watched Will grab the frog, admiring the boy’s quickness. “Fight me all you want. You’re young—you need to think about remarrying and starting a family of your own. A woman with four kids isn’t going to attract a whole lot of men…with the exception of Fell and Perry Drake. If those two turn you down, you’re out of luck.”

He watched her swell with indignation. She needed an explanation as to why he wouldn’t give the kids to her. This was as good as any—a lot better than the truth.

Will ran back to them and thrust the frog in Cade’s face. “Uncle Cade, Uncle Cade, look! I caught him!”

Taking a stumbling step back, Cade dodged the slimy offering. “Don’t stick that thing in my face.”

“Put the frog back in the water,” Zoe ordered.

The boy’s disappointed expression made Cade want to let him take the frog home with him, but instead he watched them take it to the water’s edge and give it its freedom.

“How do you say no to them?” he asked.

“You have a lot to learn about children.”

Taking her by the shoulders, he forced her to look at him. “That’s why I intend to spend time with them. The kids and I are eating together tonight, either at Glori-Lee’s or your house. You decide.”

Zoe pulled away and kicked the dirt. “They’re burnt to a crisp, half starved, and exhausted. What they need is a vinegar bath, supper, and bed.”

Missy ran back and tugged at Zoe’s dress. “Please, we nevew eat at Glowi-Lee’s!”

“I want to eat at the café,” Will joined in. “I’m not crisp or the other thing you said!”

“We’re not ‘accosted,’” Holly blurted. Cade wanted to laugh at Holly’s mispronunciation, but he knew that if he so much as smiled, Zoe would slap him silly. “I want to eat with Uncle Cade at GloriLee’s too!”

Cade’s gaze locked with Zoe’s.
Get out of this one gracefully
. “You’re outnumbered, Red, so you might as well join us.”

She tossed her head. “That would be a waste of money. I have a perfectly good chicken waiting for me at home.”

He glanced at the kids and grinned. “Come on. You prefer a chicken’s company to ours?” The kids burst into giggles. Zoe didn’t.

“Before the meal’s over, a chicken’s company will look good, Cade Kolby. Have you ever eaten in public with four children?”

“No, but eating’s eating, isn’t it?” He winked at the kids. “They’re big enough to feed themselves. What’s the problem?”

“Fine,” she said. “Pick them up in an hour, and may I remind you
again
that my name is Zoe, not Red.”

Her sudden acquiescence made him wary. His smile faded. “Why won’t you come with us?”

“I have chores, thank you. Come along, children.”

Zoe stalked off as the youngsters hung back, trailing behind her and waving shyly to him. Cade lifted a hand and waved back. How hard could feeding four children be?

Chapter Eleven

R
eeking of vinegar and smeared with baking soda paste, Cade marched his brood into Glori-Lee’s café a little past seven. The tiny, birdlike widow glanced up and sniffed the air.

“Who tipped over the pickle barrel?”

Cade took off his hat and held it in front of him. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Glori-Lee. You’re even better looking than when I left.”

“You better believe it!”

“You got a man yet?”

“Been savin’ myself for you.”

Cade laughed. “You surely can do better than me.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “You’re too old for me anyway. I got my eye on one of the Pointer boys. He’s young enough to raise the way I want him.”

“You’re a fickle woman, Glori-Lee.”

Grinning, she motioned him to a large table near the front window. A vase of roses sat on a freshly ironed red-and-white checked tablecloth. The savory aroma of pot roast and baking bread drifted from the kitchen. A couple of the male diners smiled as the kids fought over chairs. The women gave Cade the cold shoulder, holding their napkins to their mouths as if they were protecting themselves from unsavory riffraff.

The children took their seats, and Cade sat down at the head of the table, admiring his newly acquired family. Despite their blistered skin and pungent odor, they were a handsome lot.

He studied the handwritten daily specials on the menu. Everything looked good. “What do you like to eat?” he asked the children.

“Peach pie,” they chorused.

“Pie and what else?”

“Cream!”

He thought for a moment. “Don’t you usually eat something before having pie?”

“Chocolate cake!” Brody answered.

Cade leaned back in his chair. “Okay, cake and pie it is.” He was thinking more along the lines of the roast beef and potatoes, but they ought to know what they wanted to eat. After all, it was a special occasion.

“Peach pie, chocolate cake, and a pitcher of cream,” he told GloriLee.

The woman frowned. “Have they had their supper?”

“Not yet. We’re ordering it now.” He’d sometimes eaten sweets for dinner, and it never killed him.

“Pie and cake!” the kids chorused.

Glori-Lee took the order and then stuck her pencil behind her ear as she ambled off toward the kitchen, grumbling, “Zoe ain’t goin’ to like this.”

The smiles on the kids’ faces were worth a tongue-lashing. Cade laid his hat on the table. “Well, now. Tell me about yourselves. Got any pets?”

Missy’s eyes lit up. “We got a tomcat, Womeo, and Butch. He’s ouw dog. And Bud.”

“Bud? Who’s Bud?”

“Bud lives in a jar,” Will explained.

Missy solemnly nodded. “He’s a bug. He’s nice.”

Cade lifted his brows. “A nice bug that lives in a jar. Anything else?”

“Nope,” Brody answered. “Just Romeo, Butch, and Bud. I wanted a pony, but Zoe says she can’t afford to feed one more thing.”

The statement “can’t afford” disturbed him. The general store had been in the Bradshaw family for three generations and should have left Zoe well off, but from the looks of the place, she wasn’t. Her dresses were old and faded, and the furnishings were the same ones Jim’s parents had had. She was still using the old cookstove.

He temporarily set the thought aside. “What about school? What grades are you in?”

Holly volunteered, “Third. Brody’s in fifth.”

“Guess school will be starting before long.”

“I might not go back to school,” Brody announced.

Holly slapped him on the arm. “Yes, you will. Zoe’ll make you.”

Cade intervened. “You have to go to school, son. You need an education.”

Brody scooted forward in his chair. “Ma said you never finished school, and you know stuff.”

“You need to know more stuff than I do. Besides, I had to quit. My pa got sick, and I had to go to work for a farmer to put food on our table.”

Will sat up straighter. “You know plenty of stuff. Pa said you’re the best there is at shootin’ bad guys.”

“Yeah,” Brody said. “A boy at school said you shoot ’em dead. You hardly ever bring ’em in alive.”

Cade frowned, disturbed by the boy’s misconceptions. While he did what was necessary to collect a bounty, he’d always given his prey fair warning, and he’d never shot a man in the back.

Holly stared at him with eyes so like Addy’s, it was chilling. “Ma said killin’s nothin’ for a man to be proud of.”

“Your ma’s right, but there’re times when it’s necessary.”

“Ma said she prayed for you every night, prayed you’d come home and we’d all be a family again.”

“We are a family,” Brody insisted.

“Yeah,” Will said. “Can I hold your gun?”

Cade shook his head. “No one holds my gun but me.”

Glori-Lee returned with a whole pie, a large cake, and a big pitcher of thick cream. “Help yourselves, young’uns. Heaven help you. You’ll all get bellyaches.”

The children proved well mannered and polite, and Cade felt an uncle’s pride as the meal progressed smoothly. He had to admit that a meal of pie, cake, and cream was a change from his usual beans and hardtack.

“I need to ask you kids something. We have to decide where you’re going to live.”

Missy’s face clouded. “We don’t want a kitten. We want to live at Zoe’s.”

Will looked up. “I want a pony, but I want to live at Zoe’s too.”

“That’s what we need to talk about,” Cade said. “If you couldn’t live at Zoe’s or the Brightons’, where would you want to live?” He studied the children’s sober looks.

“Not with Aunt Laticia,” said all four at the same time.

“What’s wrong with your Aunt Laticia?” Granted, he didn’t relish the disgruntled crone.

Brody put his fork down and stared. “She’s scary lookin’.”

Will wrinkled his nose. “And she smells funny.”

“We want to live with Zoe and you,” Holly said. “You’re our ma’s brother. Ma always said Zoe was like her sister, so that makes her your sister too. Ma said brothers and sisters stick together.”