Linda Ford (6 page)

She waved to Miss Ward as they crossed the lobby, pretending she’d interpreted the older woman’s imperious gesture to wait simply as a greeting. “Come, Heidi, let’s get our things.”

Heidi clung to her hand as they rushed up the stairs to their room and collapsed on the bed.

Heidi bounced down beside her. “I’m glad we’re leaving this old place.”

“It’s not very old.”

“I don’t like it.” Heidi bounced again to emphasize her dislike.

That bounce unbalanced them both and they fell backward, laughing.

“It’s not the hotel you don’t like. It’s all the people you have to see.” As often as she could, Rebecca assured Heidi that everyone wouldn’t stare rudely at her, but the girl remained unconvinced and, as a result, was always uncomfortable in crowded places.

For a moment, Heidi didn’t respond. Then she said, “Mr. Colton’s parents might not care for me to live in their house.”

“Mr. Colton offered. We’ll trust that he knows what his parents would think.”

“He doesn’t stare at me. Why don’t you like him?”

Rebecca sat up and stared at the girl. “Who says I don’t?”

“You quarrel with him.”

“I suppose I do. How strange. I don’t normally argue with anyone.”

Heidi studied her as if waiting for more of an explanation.

“We’re simply sorting out our—”
Balance of power?
The phrase sprang to her mind. She wondered what prompted that. “We’re sorting out how to share responsibilities.”

Heidi sat up, her face upturned toward Rebecca. “You don’t hate him?”

“No.” Though she found him annoying and overbearing. “There are things about him that I admire.”

“Like what?”

His smile. His steady strength, which she’d had glimpses of. His defense of little Gabriel. “The few times I’ve seen him with his parents, he’s always been so kind. I would guess he’s loyal and trustworthy.”

Heidi jumped to her feet and began to fold her clothing. One of the townswomen had given them a small trunk. It wouldn’t take long to pack.

Rebecca rose and did the same, but Heidi’s question continued to play through her mind. Would Colton’s parents welcome them? Inviting three strangers into their household seemed like a lot to expect. She would have to prove to them that she could pull her weight...but what did she know about how to be helpful on a ranch?

“I’m done,” Heidi said.

Rebecca checked the room for overlooked items. “I am, too.” She closed the trunk and left it to be brought down, picked up her satchel with the paperwork for the children and left the room.

At the top of the stairs, she paused. Miss Ward and Colton were directly below. She stopped by the desk to settle her bill and request that her trunk be brought down and placed in the buggy, hoping Miss Ward would move along. But she stood her ground as if she’d grown roots through the soles of her shoes.

“I understand your concern about this abandoned infant,” Miss Ward said to Colton, no sympathy in her brisk words. “But doesn’t our town have enough of this sort already? Send him back to New York with Miss Sterling. I understand that she is to leave in a matter of days.”

Rebecca couldn’t recall ever saying how soon she’d be leaving, but Miss Ward was right. It would only be a matter of days. Father hadn’t expected her to be gone quite so long. His last communication had suggested that she let someone else oversee the construction of the orphanage and return immediately. She’d replied that she couldn’t leave until she’d finished her work, but it was only a matter of time before he would get more demanding, reminding her of her duties back home. Those duties paled in comparison with caring for Heidi and now Gabriel.

Colton appeared unmoved by the thinly veiled order. “This baby won’t be going to New York. He belongs here. He’s part of my family.”

“So you say. But nothing changes the facts. You’re a single man. Your parents are not in good health. The child will need more care than you can provide. That leaves the baby homeless.”

“So you’ve said, but as long as I live and breathe, this baby is not homeless. Nor will he be going to New York, a foster home or an orphanage.”

Rebecca fought an urge to shoo the woman from the premises.
Be polite. Never show your ire
. Her mother’s voice. Her mother’s words. But how would Mother respond to this situation? Rebecca knew she would just pretend that it didn’t exist.

Rebecca has no such intention. She tucked her chin in and prepared to join the pair.

Miss Ward adjusted her pristine white gloves. “I can’t imagine what this town is becoming. Misbegotten children. Children bearing the mark of judgment.” Her gaze slid toward Heidi.

Rebecca swept across the carpeted floor, her heart thudding hard. “Miss Ward.”

Miss Ward jerked around to face her, lines of disapproval deepening the tangled wrinkles in her face.

Colton turned at the same time. Their gazes crashed together with such force that Rebecca jerked in a tiny gust of air.

Beatrice Ward stepped directly in Rebecca’s path, making escape impossible. “This town is overrun with the likes of these.” She swept her hand to indicate the baby and Heidi, who pressed into Rebecca’s back. “It has to stop.”

Rebecca did her mother’s memory proud with the smile she pasted on her face. “Gabriel and Heidi will be out at the Hayes ranch for now, so I’d say things have already changed. As to God’s judgment, might I remind you that we are warned against judging others for we will ourselves be judged? Good day, Miss Ward.” She nodded politely and swept past the woman, Heidi clutching her skirts.

Colton followed. As soon as the door swung shut behind them, he let out a low whistle. “So that’s how it’s done in New York.”

“I have no idea what you mean. I was nothing but polite.” She spun around to confront him. “How dare she say such awful things?” She almost sniffed, but caught herself just in time. Heavens above, the action had a solid hold on her.

“I’m glad Gabriel is too young to understand.” He shifted his gaze just enough to indicate that he understood Heidi wasn’t.

Rebecca’s anger fled as she turned and pulled the child around to face her.

Heidi hung her head, hiding her face in the curtain of her hair. Rebecca tucked the hair behind Heidi’s ears and gently lifted her face toward her. “Honey, I wish I could say it doesn’t matter what people say about you, but I know it does.” She herself had felt the sting of disapproval in words or expressed in long sighs and sad looks. Her jaw muscles clenched. Not to mention the shame of being left by her fiancé like so much wasted produce. There was no way she could pretend it didn’t hurt. Thankfully, her tears had finally subsided. “But someone saying something unkind doesn’t make it true. You are a beautiful little girl with a sweet spirit.”

Heidi clung to Rebecca’s gaze, her eyes full of hope. Then sadness slumped her shoulders.

Colton put the baby back in the basket. “Come on. Let’s go home.” Colton caught Heidi around the waist and, before she could utter a protest, lifted her into the buggy.

Heidi, her eyes big and round, gasped, then she ducked to hide her face.

He released her, but rested his hands on the back of each bench. “Heidi, Miss Rebecca is right. You’re a beautiful little girl. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Do you hear me?”

Slowly, Heidi lifted her head enough to steal a glance at Colton.

“Do you hear me?” he repeated gently.

She nodded and hope lit up her eyes.

Rebecca couldn’t believe what she’d seen. She was so bemused by how Colton had reassured the child that she didn’t hesitate when he held out a hand to help her into the buggy.

She was silent as they headed north through town.

She’d been right about one thing. Colton was kind. She expected she was right about more than that. He was likely as domineering as she thought, too.

Out of appreciation for his kindness to Heidi, she would do her best to overlook that trait. Or, at any rate, she’d
try.
Only time would tell if she’d succeed.

Chapter Five

C
olton couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such a burning anger toward anyone. He knew it was wrong, but when Beatrice Ward self-righteously said such nasty things about Gabriel and Heidi, including Rebecca in her attack, he saw a flare in the back of his eyes.

Beatrice might rail against the orphanage and Rebecca, but Colton Hayes would not stand back and let her do so unchallenged. But though he’d been ready to leap to her defense, he couldn’t help but be proud of the way Rebecca had defended herself and Heidi. Without raising her voice and with a steady smile on her face, she’d cut Beatrice Ward right down to size.

His anger waned as he escorted Rebecca and Heidi to the buggy and helped young Matt, who worked at the hotel, tie the trunk to the back.

And then they were on their way, north past the town square. They drew abreast of Miss Ward’s damaged house and he stopped the horse.

“That’s what’s left of that woman’s house.”

They stared. The roof had been badly smashed.

“I know,” Rebecca said. “Holly showed me.”

“The businesses and homes near the creek took water damage in the flood. But this house is beyond where the water came. Nope. This is wind damage. If disasters are a sign from God, I wonder what message He was trying to send her.”

“Do you believe that?”

He couldn’t tell from her guarded tone which opinion she held. So he gave his answer careful consideration. After a moment, he spoke. “I think we too often decide that a man’s neglect or meanness is God’s hand. I don’t believe it is.”

“Exactly. The delays at the orphanage are being caused by men. Not God. And I get mighty weary of Miss Ward suggesting otherwise.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a way that made him wonder if she grew tired of her struggles. He wanted to assure her that he would take care of vandals and delays, Miss Ward and her interference.

But he didn’t want to prompt a reaction from her, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

On second thought, it was kind of fun to see her get all huffy. But before he could speak, Heidi leaned forward to whisper in Rebecca’s ear.

“She wants to know what a hooligan is,” Rebecca said.

He guessed she was trying to keep the emotion from her voice, but she failed. She sounded ready to explode. He’d spare her the pain of explaining the word to Heidi.

“A hooligan is a person who does bad things to hurt others.”

Heidi hung her head. “She doesn’t like me.”

“Do you hurt people?” he asked softly, turning toward the child.

“I try not to.”

“Then you’re not a hooligan.”

She tipped her head, hiding her face behind the curtain of her hair. “It’s ’cause I’m ugly.”

He scooped the hair aside and studied her scars. “You are not ugly. Ugly is something that happens on the inside. Not on the outside.”

Slowly, Heidi lifted her face to him and glimmers of trust dawned in her eyes. “I don’t want to be ugly on the inside.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Like Miss Ward.”

Rebecca faced the girl. “Heidi, we should not speak ill of others.” But her voice bore no trace of scolding and she favored Colton with a smile full of gratitude.

Now, if she could be this pleasant all the time, life at the ranch would be as easy as pie.

He urged the horse onward. They traveled north for another mile, then turned east.

“I should tell you about my parents. Ma’s heart isn’t as good as it used to be. She doesn’t get around much anymore. And Pa had an accident three years ago.” He hated to even talk about it. He hero-worshipped his big father. Never saw him as old. Never expected to see him laid up and in pain. “He’s pretty crippled.”

Heidi leaned forward and whispered in Rebecca’s ear. He heard enough to guess she’d asked about Pa.

“I’m right here. You can ask me.” He lifted his arms and looked at them. “Unless I’ve become invisible.” He grabbed Rebecca’s hand in mock alarm. “I’m not, am I?”

Heidi giggled.

Rebecca’s eyes rounded and her mouth formed a rosebud.

He jerked his hand away. “Sorry.” He hadn’t meant to touch her, but despite the embarrassment between them, he didn’t regret it. He liked discovering the cool silk of her skin. “It’s just I got so scared thinking I’d disappeared.”

Heidi muffled another giggle. “You’re still here.”

“Oh, good. Then you can talk to me.”

She met his gaze, her brown eyes measuring him.

He let her look, hoped she saw that he liked her and didn’t think she was ugly.

“What happened to your pa?”

“You mean his accident?”

She nodded.

He snapped the reins and gave far more attention to the road than it required as he sorted his emotions from the facts. When he’d achieved a reasonable amount of success, he spoke. The emotions didn’t leave entirely, tightening his throat so his words sounded strangled. Perhaps the others wouldn’t notice.

“We were driving cattle and something spooked them.” That something had been Colton calling out a greeting to the neighbors passing by, including the family’s pretty daughter, who had caught his eye on more than one occasion. So he’d waved his hat and whooped loudly. At the same moment a deer bolted from the brush. Together, it was enough to send the herd of cows racing for the wide-open spaces. Pa had tried to turn them. Colton closed his eyes as he saw it all in slow motion, felt every agonizing heartbeat. Pa’s horse had fallen, tossing the man into the midst of the thundering hooves. By the time Colton got to him, he was barely alive. And wishing he wasn’t. “Pa got trampled in the stampede. He’s never recovered.”

Pa didn’t complain, but ever since then he could hardly walk and had never again ridden a horse. The man who had lived to ride. And every day Colton faced the reminder of his own stupidity. He had been no green kid. He had been twenty-five at the time. Old enough to have a few smarts stored up.

He felt Heidi and Rebecca watching him and pushed aside his regrets.

“Maybe they would like someone to help them.” Heidi sounded as if she might like to be the one to do so.

Colton could think of nothing better, but he was never certain how Ma would react, and with Pa...well, it kind of depended on how much pain he was in. But he didn’t know how to explain those details to Heidi, or Rebecca. “We have a fairly big house.”

He studied Rebecca. “Probably not what you’d think of as large, but there’ll be room for us all.”

She spent a few seconds studying the landscape, then looked at Colton. He saw the doubt in her eyes and wondered at the cause. But he didn’t have long to wonder.

“Will I have a private bedroom?”

Some perverse part of his brain made him answer, “You and Heidi
could
share with Ma. Her bed is... Well, I’m sure you’ll manage. She don’t snore too loud. I can barely hear her two rooms away.” It was all true.

Her eyes filled with horror.

“Pa can bunk with me if necessary. Though I might decide to sleep on the floor, rather than risk bumping him and causing him pain. But don’t worry. I’ve slept on the ground lots of times when I’m out with the herd. Or even just for fun. I’ll be fine. Just fine.” Again, still true.

Rebecca stared at him. She swallowed loudly and looked away. Her fingers plucked at a fold in her skirt. Faster and faster. She swallowed again and pushed her shoulder back, then faced him, determination branded on each of her features.

“Mr. Hayes, I fear I have misunderstood you. I don’t believe this arrangement will work.”

He laughed. He hooted. He tried to control his merriment, but every time he started to speak, chuckles rolled up and could not be contained.

She considered him. At first she was surprised, then confused. Then she grew concerned, no doubt wondering about the state of his mind. As he continued to laugh, she grew annoyed. “I fail to see what’s so funny.”

He held up a hand, signaling her to wait. “I’m trying—” He swallowed back a laugh. “Let me explain.”

“I think that would be a good idea.”

He nodded, stilled his chuckles, but couldn’t hold back a grin. “I was joshing.”

“About what?”

“About you and Heidi sleeping with Ma and me sleeping with Pa. We have two unused bedrooms. Pa built big. He said there was no point in being mean about the size of one’s house.”

Rebecca’s eyes narrowed.

“You and Heidi can each have a room if you want. Or you can share. You can have the baby in the room with you or I can keep him with me.” He waited for her reaction. She didn’t disappoint him.

“He’ll share a room with Heidi and me.”

“The offer is open if you change your mind.”

“I won’t.” She faced straight ahead.

He chuckled softly and repeatedly.

“You think it’s funny to play tricks on someone?”

“Hugely funny.”

The way she considered him, he wondered what she had in mind. But perhaps she only meant to inform him that she didn’t like his sense of humor. Or worse, maybe in her fancy life back East she was expected to be serious at all times. Now, wouldn’t that be a contrast to the informality of Evans Grove?

What a shame if she didn’t know how to laugh. But he’d soon teach her how.

Now, that was something to look forward to.

They turned down a laneway.

“We’re almost there.” He might have announced impending disaster the way Rebecca straightened and Heidi pressed into the back of her seat.

“Relax. They’re my ma and pa. You both know how nice I am. They’re every bit as nice.”

Rebecca snorted. “What an interesting concept.”

He simply grinned. Time enough to prove it.

* * *

Rebecca set aside her feelings about how Colton had tricked her. Not that she could even say what she felt— annoyance, disapproval...or pleasure at how he’d laughed, a big, noisy laugh that tickled her insides.

One thing was certain, however. She would find a way to get even, though she had no idea how. Her life up to this point had not included this kind of nonsense. But she would think of something.

Right now the uppermost thought in her head was that they’d reach the ranch house in a few minutes. And his parents.

She looked about her, amazed and surprised at how pretty the area appeared. The buildings were in a little hollow, surrounded by trees in their spring finery. A clean scent filled her mind with joy. She picked out smatterings of color in the verdant grass. Wildflowers. She’d like to see them up close and inhale their scent. Would she have an opportunity? The buildings consisted of a hip-roofed barn, several smaller buildings in a neat row and the house. She had no idea what to imagine, but the house looked inviting. Low and rambling. Painted white with red trim. Windows on either side of a brown door. More windows down the side. Were these the bedrooms Colton had mentioned?

“It looks real nice,” Heidi said, her voice full of awe and a bit of longing.

Rebecca sighed. All this child wanted was a home. And her brother, though she bravely said she was glad Jakob had a home of his own. Rebecca would never let her know that she heard the child crying out Jakob’s name at night. She’d reach out and touch Heidi’s shoulders, and that always calmed the child. She wanted to do the same now— reassure Heidi that she’d be safe here. But as she stared straight ahead, her heart thumped rapidly.

In a moment she would begin an adventure.

She only hoped it would be an adventure and not a disaster.

I can do all things through Christ,
she repeated over and over in her head.

But nothing eased the sense of dread and anticipation, and her chest began to hurt.

“Ma and Pa will be happy to see you.” Colton’s words were meant to encourage, but she detected a note in his voice that wasn’t as convincing as his words.

She squared her shoulders. She’d always been a welcome visitor, an asset at any house party. But this wasn’t a party and she was an uninvited guest.

He pulled the buggy to the front of the house.

Rebecca sucked in a deep breath, meant to stiffen her resolve, and almost choked. “What is that smell?”

He looked surprised. “What smell?”

She fought against a desire to wrinkle her nose. “
That
smell.” It should be obvious to anyone with a nose.

He sniffed hard and looked around. “I smell cows and horses and pigs, but nothing out of the ordinary.” His gaze jerked to her. “Do you object to the farm smells?”

Object! To such an offensive stench? Now, why would the idea cross his mind? But she wasn’t so overcome with the odor that she couldn’t see that she’d better tread carefully. She swallowed hard and kept her breathing as shallow as possible. “What’s to object to?” If this was the worst she’d encounter in this strange environment, then she could handle it. But her insides quaked so hard she feared she would swoon as another thought occurred to her. What if it was only the beginning?

She tucked in her chin hard. She could do this. She was capable and strong...not just a rich, city girl.

But she fought a desire to cling to the strength of his hand as he helped her down. Instead, she pulled away. She would not reveal any weakness to this man. Or anyone.

She reached for the baby Colton held, but he shook his head. “I’ll take him.” His low words rang with insistence and something else. Desperation? She studied him as he faced the door. Was he afraid to face his own parents?

Heidi clung to Rebecca’s hand. “He said they were nice,” she whispered.

Her words jolted Colton from his staring. “They are nice. They’re my parents, remember? Now, come along.” He led them to the door, opened it and hesitated. “You won’t be offended if I go first?”

She started to sigh, then stopped, not wanting him to think she’d sniffed. “I’ll overlook it this one time.”

He chuckled. “I’ll bear that in mind.” He stepped into the room.

Rebecca caught a glimpse of a table cluttered with dishes, chairs scattered around it, a stove with pots sitting on top and a cupboard equally untidy. She swallowed back a growing alarm that screamed to escape.

Heidi peeked around her. “It’s a little messy,” she whispered.

She’d never noticed before the child’s knack for understatement. Likely because they’d never before faced a disaster area.