Dakota Father (2 page)

“Guess I've known it for a long time. I've just been going through the motions of asking, waiting, hoping because I knew that's what I should do. But you know what, horse? I expect I'm happy enough to let it go. In some ways it's better that it is over and final.” Still he couldn't quite shake a sense of failure. He should have walked away from the ranch when he'd seen how Flora felt about it. He didn't need her parents pointing out that her present condition and her current incarceration in the insane asylum was due, in no small part, to his failure to do so.

He flicked the reins and rode into the yard, turning toward the barn. He dropped to the ground. “Lucky,” he called to the squat little man hanging around the corrals, wielding a pitchfork. The man was past his prime, one leg all gimped up from an accident. But he was handy around the place and had proven to be a loyal friend. “Look after my horse.”

“Okay, Boss.” He dropped the fork and sprinted over to take the reins. “Good trip, Boss?”

“Glad to be home.”

Lucky chuckled. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say.”

“What's new around here?” He'd only been away two days but it felt like a month.

“Nothing, Boss. Though Mac said he thought the spring over to the west was drying out.”

“I'll ride over tomorrow and check.”

“And the mosquitoes been awful bad. I'm about to start a smudge over past the barn for the horses.”

“I'll do it.” Burke welcomed the chance to be out in the open doing something mindless and undemanding. He didn't want to think of Flora or his failures. He smiled as he recalled the look on the young woman's face as he warned her this territory was too tough for a woman, then he shook his head.

He didn't want to think about her, either.

His restlessness returned with a vengeance matching the vicious prairie winds. “Lucky, throw my saddle on another mount. I'll ride out and have a look at things.” He strode to the house with an urgency that had no cause and quickly changed into his comfortable work clothes. He paused long enough to build the smudge, smeared some lard on the back of his neck to protect himself and rode into the wide open spaces where a man could enjoy forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness was all he sought—all he needed.

 

Jenny jolted to one side as the buggy bounced along the trail. She feared little, hadn't blinked when caring for Meggie's parents in their final days. Nor had she felt anything but a trickle of excitement at the task they had given her before their death—deliver their child to her new guardian. But trepidation gnawed into her bones as the miles passed. She'd soon have to meet Lena's brother and his wife and inform them of Lena and Mark's deaths, then turn Meggie over to their care.

Jenny smiled at the child in her arms. It was appreciably cooler riding in the open buggy and Meggie had fallen asleep. She loved this little girl. It would be a wrench to leave her.

“How much farther?” she asked the man she'd hired to take her to the ranch in the far corner of the Dakotas.

“Lookee there and you can see the buildings in the distance.”

She followed the direction he indicated and indeed, saw a cluster of buildings. “Looks almost as big as Buffalo Hollow.” The little prairie town had proved dusty and squat but friendly. The store owner had allowed her to wash Meggie and tidy them both up as best she could. Customers had offered greetings and given her details about the ranch she was about to reach.

“Big place.”

“Boss works his men hard and himself harder.”

“Too bad about what happened.”

When she pressed for details on that latter bit of information she found the people of Buffalo Hollow suddenly reticent.

Too bad? A fire perhaps or a broken bone.

Now, as she studied the far-off buildings, she wished she'd insisted someone tell her what they meant. She could almost hear Pa's voice and she smiled up into the sky. ‘Pepper, you must learn to guard your inquisitiveness. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof.' He meant everyone had enough troubles and trials of their own without borrowing from others. And that included wanting to know more than she needed about other people.

She turned her attention back to Meggie. Despite her attempts to clean them up in the tiny town, they were both dusty and soiled, and smelled of coal smoke and sour milk. Not the way she would have wanted to arrive on a stranger's doorstep. She could only hope Meggie's new guardians cared nothing for such things and only for the well-being of their orphaned niece. Suddenly she wanted this meeting over with and had to remind herself to be patient. Like Pa would say, “Settle down, Pepper. You can't make the world turn faster.”

They rounded a corner, ducked between two sharp
embankments crowned with a jagged row of rocks and headed toward the buildings.

She strained forward, assessing everything. A barn surrounded by rail fences with a horse in one of the pens. Several low buildings on either side of the alleyway running from the barn to the rambling frame house that sat like the crowning jewel a little apart. Smoke twisted from the rock chimney.

She squinted at the house as they drew closer, anxious for a good look, wondering what sort of life Meggie would be thrust into.

A roofed but wall-less lean-to covered the sides of the house—a sort of veranda though it seemed to come to an abrupt halt midway down one wall.

Even several hundred yards away she could see an untidy assortment of things under the roof of the lean-to. As if the barn wasn't big enough to accommodate the tools of ranching.

“We's here.” The driver's announcement was redundant as he pulled to a halt before the house.

“Could you please put my things on the porch?”

He yanked the two bags from the buggy and deposited them. One contained her traveling things and Meggie's few clothes. The other held most of Lena's and a few of Mark's belongings. The bulk of Mark's possessions had been claimed by his brother, Andy, who also wanted to take Meggie but Lena had been insistent that Meggie go to a married man.

“I don't want her raised by a bachelor. How would she learn to be a refined lady? No, promise me you'll take her to my brother. He sent for his bride six months ago. They'll be happily settled by now. My brother and I were always close. They'll take good care of my baby.”

Jenny had gladly given her promise and would very shortly fulfill it.

She allowed the driver to help her from the buggy, carefully shifting Meggie from one arm to the other as she descended. The baby wakened and whimpered.

The man stood by his buggy. “I'll wait and see if anyone has letters to post.”

Meggie hesitated. Why had no one come to the door or strode from one of the outbuildings? She'd glimpsed the shadow of a man in the barn. Seems someone should show a degree of curiosity if not neighborliness but apart from the creak of a gate blowing in the wind and the far-off cry of a hawk, there was no sound of welcome. “This is the right place?”

“The Lazy B. 'Spect all the men are out working but Paquette should be in the back. Want we should go that way?”

“Paquette?” What was that? But if it meant admission to this house, she'd follow the man most anywhere.

“She's the housekeeper. A Métis.”

She'd heard of the part Indian, part French-Canadian people, many of them descended from the fur traders.

They left the baggage where the man put it and picked their way past overturned buckets and around a huddle of chairs.

They found the back door open. The driver stepped inside with complete confidence and Jenny followed hesitantly. In her world, one didn't walk into a house unbidden. This, however, was a strange, exciting new world. A thrill trickled through her lungs.

The enormous size of the room surprised her. A scarred wooden table with plank benches along each side and a chair at each end took up the area nearest the door. At the far end, cupboards and a stove—presided over by a little woman so bent and crippled Meggie wondered if she could walk. Her graying hair hung in twin braids down her back, tied with a length of leather. The frayed ends of each braid were black.

“Hullo, Paquette. The boss man about?” the man at her side called.

“I hear him soon ago. Out by de corrals, him. He ride away 'gain. I hear horsesteps. I help you? Me?”

Jenny edged past the driver. “My name is Jenny
Archibald. I need to speak to the Edwards. Could you tell Mrs. Edwards I'm here?”

Bent as she was, the woman appeared to regard Jenny from beneath her gray-streaked, black hair with eyes so dark the pupils were indiscernible. “Be no Missus Edwards.” She gave a jerky sort of laugh that seemed oddly full of both mirth and mockery.

“But—” Jenny fell back a step. “There must be.”

“No, Ma'am, there is not.” The deep voice behind her jerked Jenny about so fast it hurt her eyes. She blinked. It was the man from the train. Except—

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him more closely. He looked like a wild cowboy now but with the same dark intense eyes. Yes, it was the same man.

She gathered her thoughts and chose the most obvious one. “Mr. Edwards, I presume?”

“That would be so, though I prefer to be called Burke. But tell me, why must I have a wife?” His words were slow, his voice deadly calm.

She shivered at the way he spoke as if she had insulted him and he was about to demand some sort of retribution. Suddenly the strength drained out the soles of her well-worn black leather boots. As her knees turned soggy, she groped toward the table and plunked down on a bench.

“Perhaps you better explain what it is you want.”
He signaled to the woman. “Paquette, bring us coffee, please. Unless…” He silently questioned Jenny.

“Might I have tea?” she whispered.

“Tea, for the lady, Paquette.”

“Yes, boss. Fer de lady. I get de tea.”

Jenny pulled in a long, strengthening draft of air, hot from the stove and rolling with scents of many meals past and present. An explanation, he wanted, did he? Well, seems he had some explaining to do himself. Maybe she'd misunderstood. “No wife?”

“No wife now or ever.”

“But—”

Mr. Edward's expression stopped any comment she'd been about to make. Lena said he had sent for his intended six months ago. They should have been married by now.

She reminded herself of all the times Ma had warned her to control her emotions, speak like a lady.
Mama, how would a lady speak and act in this situation?
Thoughts of Ma settled her and common sense replaced her shock. She'd deal with the facts one at a time.

“Mr. Edwards, I have come with some bad news.”

His eyes narrowed and he sat down a few feet away, forcing her to shift sideways to look into his face.

Ignoring the thunderous warning in his face, not
even pausing to wonder what it meant, she rushed on. “I'm sorry to have to inform you your sister, Lena, and her husband, Mark, succumbed to the fever a few days ago. And I have brought your niece to you.”

The man jolted like she'd stomped on his foot and she knew a certain satisfaction at surprising him as much as he'd done her. Her inappropriate feeling fled as quickly at it had come, replaced by sympathy. He'd lost his sister and brother-in-law. “I'm so sorry. Please accept my condolences.”

And somehow he'd managed to lose the woman who was to be his wife. What had happened to her? Why didn't Lena know this? It sounded very suspicious and she glanced about as if the corners held secrets.

“They're gone? Both of them?” He swallowed hard and shifted his gaze to the little girl. “This is Meggie?”

Meggie whimpered at the sound of her name.

“She's hot and tired and missing her parents.” The details regarding his lack of a wife could be sorted out later, after Meggie had been tended to. But what the baby needed most was a new mother figure.

There was no Mrs. Edwards. She tried to get her thoughts around the unwelcome information. Jenny glanced at the man in continuing disbelief.

His gaze held hers in the same steady probing look
that had trapped her on the train. She tried to free herself. Tried to think what she must do now.

Paquette set steaming cups at the table.

The driver sucked back black tea.

Jenny bent her head, ran her finger along the tiny handle.

This was not how things were to be.

B
urke stared at the young woman. Lena was dead? His baby sister and her husband? The only family he had? A sour taste like gall stung his throat. He'd cared for Lena after their parents died when he was sixteen and she fourteen. He'd found work, provided them a home, been her chaperone at outings. Only when she had Mark to care for her had he felt free to head west, full of plans for the future. He'd never considered Lena wouldn't always be there. He should have stayed and protected her. But shouldn't Mark have been doing that?

They were both gone. Taken by something no one could control but God. And God seemed not to care about the troubling affairs of individuals. No doubt He had his hands full running the world and taking care of the stars in space.

Burke had gotten his ranch. He'd planned to be
married by how, perhaps even have a new little Edwards boy or girl to look forward to.

That wasn't going to happen now. Suddenly he felt very alone.

He considered the fussing child. This baby was Meggie? He'd never seen her except for a likeness Lena had sent in a letter. He hadn't seen Lena and Mark since their marriage just before he headed west.

He choked back the thick bitterness clogging the back of his throat. Meggie was the only family he had left. A fierce protectiveness clawed at his gut. This child was now his. But what was he going to do with a little girl? If she'd been a boy…

The young woman coughed discreetly. “This changes everything. Lena was very clear that Meggie was to be raised by a mother and father. I'll take her back home and raise her myself. After I marry.”

His fists clenched of their own accord. He uncurled them and planted his hands on his knees, deceptively calm while inside raged a storm a thousand times more fierce than the one he had endured only yesterday at Flora's side. The thought of losing Meggie about tore his heart out. And who was this stranger that she thought she had a say in it?

“I think we better start at the beginning. I'm Burke Edwards, Lena's brother and now Meggie's guardian. This is my home.” He waved a hand to encompass
the room where they sat, suddenly aware of the inadequacies of his home. The leather straps he'd been soaping tossed in the corner, the clutter of pots hung on the wall because the cupboard he'd started to build sat in the back of the barn, unfinished. The rest of the house offered even less. The front room only a thought in his head, the bedrooms, intended for a family, used mostly for storage except for the one Paquette occupied.

To her credit the woman before him revealed little shock as she glanced about. “Pleased to meet you. I'm Jenny Archibald.” She held out a very tiny hand clad in soft kid leather.

He spared her a closer look. She wore what he expected was a fashionably appropriate but totally impractical bonnet. Her traveling outfit was of fine gray broadcloth although it now showed signs of her trip. She was every inch a city girl though her eyes blared with challenge.

“How did you know Lena?”

“We became friends when they moved to Center City, Ohio.”

“Ahh.”

“Lena and Mark were very specific in their instructions regarding their daughter.”

Did he detect a hint of defiance in her voice? And the sheen of tears in her eyes. No doubt she found this whole ordeal most taxing. Well, he could relieve
her of her problems immediately. “No need for you to concern yourself further about my niece. I will assume responsibility for her here and now. You can return with Mr. Zach.” He indicated the man she'd hired from the livery barn who watched the proceedings with avid curiosity. By the time he was back in town in fifteen minutes, everyone would know Burke's current situation. He drew in a breath that had to struggle past an angry tightness. Adding this to the speculation about Flora and Burke would provide enough fodder for many a delicious evening of head shaking and
tsking.

Jenny drew herself tall and gave him a look fit to brand his forehead. “And how, may I ask, do you intend to care for a two-year-old child?”

“I'll manage.”

Paquette mumbled something in French or perhaps Cree in the background.

“It isn't like I'm here alone.”

Jenny's eyes flickered in disbelief and if he wasn't mistaken, amusement was the reason her eyes crinkled at the corners. “I suppose you intend to put her on a horse and teach her to hold the reins as you chase cows.”

It was so close to what he figured he'd do that he lowered his eyes lest she see his acknowledgement. Meggie had the same golden brown hair and light brown eyes Lena had. “She's very much like her
mother.” The way his voice had grown soft revealed far too much of what he felt—loss and pain that twisted through him with the cruelty of an internal auger.

“She is.” Jenny's voice softened too and trembled slightly. She cleared her throat. “I realize she's your niece. I'm sure you feel a sense of responsibility toward her, but be honest. You can't possibly hope to provide her with a proper home.” She pushed to her feet, ignoring Meggie's wails. Perching the child on one hip she turned to Paquette. “Thank you for tea.”

“Baby need food. Need loving. Need sleep, her.” The two women considered each other silently, some unspoken message passing between them.

Burke watched, wondering about the way Paquette's eyes flashed from Meggie to him.

Jenny turned to Mr. Zach. “May I ride back to Buffalo Hollow with you?”

Zach scrambled from the table. “Certainly, ma'am.”

Jenny took two steps toward the door, Meggie clutched to her side, before Burke realized what she had in mind.

He bolted to his feet. “Now hold on just one minute. I am this child's uncle and as her last living relative, I am most certainly her guardian. You can ride back to Buffalo Hollow with Zach and catch the
next train back home but you are not taking Meggie with you.” He reached for the little girl.

Meggie's eyes grew wide. Her mouth opened in a perfect O. She clung to Jenny's neck. For a moment, Burke struggled to extract the child from Jenny's arms. Jenny would not release her and Meggie fought him.

“Let her go,” Burke ordered.

A fierce, angry look crossed Jenny's face and then it fled. She nodded and released her grasp.

Meggie screeched fit to stampede every cow within a hundred miles. She threw her head back, arched her little body and turned into a writhing bundle of resistance.

Burke almost dropped her in surprise. His ears hurt from the noise. But he had to prove he could handle this. “Meggie, I'm your Uncle Burke.” He had to shout and even then he doubted Meggie heard a thing. She was every bit as hard to hold as an eight hundred pound steer as she reached for Jenny. Burke backed up so she couldn't touch the woman. But Meggie refused to come with him and hung suspended between the two.

Jenny watched, silently challenging him to admit defeat.

He would not. He turned his back on her and held the child so they were face to face. “Meggie, look at me.”

But Meggie tossed her head side to side, still screaming, tears washing her face. He sat her on the table hoping that would calm her. It didn't and he struggled to keep her from throwing herself flat-out.

Paquette shuffled over. “Boss man not know babies. Boss man need help, no?”

Obviously he did. He nodded toward Paquette indicating she could help him.

She shook her head. “Paquette not strong no more. Paquette not look after baby.” She waved toward Jenny. “Give baby to lady.”

“No!” He shouted the word. Startled, Meggie gulped back a sob and stared at him, her eyes wide and filled with fear. It burned clear through that she should be afraid of him. But it was only because they were strangers. “I've lost everything, everyone. Meggie is all I have left.” Seems God was prepared to allow him this much and he wasn't about to let it go.

At the sound of her name, Meggie again shrieked.

Paquette shook her head. “Boss man biting off big chunk of tough meat.” She retreated to the stove.

Surely Meggie would soon run out of steam. But she showed no sign of relenting.

He flung a look over his shoulder.

Jenny and Zach stood at the doorway. Zach looked ready to fly away in a heartbeat. Jenny simply stood
patiently, her arms crossed as if she knew he wouldn't be able to handle the child and waited for him to admit it.

At that moment he knew nothing in the world would induce him to let this child go. “She isn't going to settle so long as you're there. Please leave. Go back to town with Zach.”

Meggie's wails did not let him forget how powerless he was to deal with her.

“Mr. Zach, you can go,” Jenny said. “I'm not going to leave Meggie like this.”

The man nodded and strode away.

 

Jenny knew her eyes flashed defiance. It was an attitude she'd tried hard to quell but Burke's behavior undid all her carefully fought gains. How dare he tell her to leave? As if she were to blame for the fact Meggie was crying. As well she should. She'd never seen this man before and he had rudely wrenched her from Jenny's grasp.

Being her uncle gave him no right.

As she boldly, defiantly met his startled look, she realized what she'd done. This was not what she'd planned. A few days. A week. Two if she pushed it, to allow Meggie time to get used to her new guardians, with a Mrs. Edwards taking over Meggie's care. Then Jenny would return home to her promises. Now what?

It wasn't like she had a lot of choice. She glanced around. A crippled old woman who mumbled and fiddled with things on the cupboard and made it clear as the air outside the door that she wasn't up to looking after a child. As if she needed to speak the words. Her first look had given Jenny the necessary information. Paquette was so crippled Jenny wondered if she could lift a pot of water which she did so right before Jenny's eyes. Barely. The woman must be in constant pain.

She shifted her attention back to Burke. He looked like he wanted to throw a brand on the baby.

She could hardly leave Meggie here under these circumstances.

“Where is your…fiancée?”

Paquette grumbled loudly but Jenny couldn't make out what she said.

Burke scowled. “She's gone. That's all you need to know.”

Well, fine. He was entitled to his secrets, as was she.

Then the enormity of her situation hit her and she plunked to the hard bench. Here she was with a man who looked like he cared nothing what people thought and an old woman who—what would Ma and Pa think? What would they say? Pa had warned her to act wisely, speak carefully and live a life that gave people no cause to whisper about her. She knew
her reputation was a precious thing and didn't intend to compromise it. She shivered. Not after her narrow escape.

Meggie thrust herself into Jenny's arms and Jenny held her close, finding comfort in the way the baby clung to her. She had a responsibility to this little one. But would everyone understand her choice?

She fired another look at Burke. “I intend to stay until suitable arrangements have been made for this child and she is settled.” Her decision raised all sorts of quandaries. “Where do you…will I—?” Heat crawled up her neck and stung the tips of her ears. She couldn't even voice her concern. Where did he sleep? Where would she sleep?

Burke leaned back on the heels of his dusty cowboy boots and grinned. “Got yourself into a predicament, did you? Didn't check out the situation before you made your bold decision?”

Bold. The word clawed through her mind. How often had Pa said she was too bold? How often had Ma said it would get her into trouble?

Boots thudded on the wooden floor outside and Mr. Zach appeared, carrying her luggage. “Thought I'd carry your bags inside.”

“Not too late to change your mind and go back with Zach.”

Burke's voice was low, insistent, as if he not only
thought she should do so, but felt an urgency she should.

Meggie in her arms, she pushed to her feet and faced him knowing her determination blared across her face. “If I can take Meggie.”

“'Fraid I can't let you do that.”

Slowly she nodded. “Then I'm afraid I must stay with her until you get married.”

Ignoring Burke's sputter of protest, she thanked Mr. Zach, who hesitated then slowly retreated. As she listened to the buggy rattle from the yard she knew she was irrevocably committed to this decision.

She stared hard at Burke, each of them taking stock of the other's reserve of stubbornness. She narrowed her eyes, hoped he would see she would not back down. Not now. Not ever. Not until arrangements were up to what Lena would expect.

The look he gave her might have made her shiver if she had been the quiet, refined lady her parents hoped for instead of one who acted first, thought later, afraid of nothing and no one. She remembered Ma's admonition to moderate her boldness and lowered her gaze. “I hope we can arrange a suitable living arrangement.”

Burke snorted. “And what do you intend to do if we can't? Shouldn't you have thought of that before you sent Zach away?” He sighed. “It's too late to ride with him but I'll take you back.”

“Why are you so determined to get rid of me?”

“Because you don't belong. Better you accept it right now before you get in over your head.”

Little did he know that she was already in that situation, but it would not cause her to abandon Meggie whose warm arms clung around Jenny's neck, her face buried against Jenny's shoulder.

“It's not too late to change your mind.”

“I'll let you know when I'm ready to leave. But I can assure you it won't be until I'm satisfied Meggie will be properly taken care of.”

His gaze darkened. “I don't think that's your call to make.”

“I disagree. Lena and Mark trusted me with seeing Meggie properly settled. I intend to do just that. Now—” she glanced about “—if you would be kind enough to show me where we might clean up.”