Winds of Change (9 page)

“She’s well taken care of. We’re to be officially wed tomorrow.” Despite all the unexpected news, a small smile curled his lips. He looked at the old man, staring into his differently colored eyes. His heart softened toward Roscoe, and he knew, however, bizarre it sounded, the man told the truth and cared for Candace. “It’s cold out. Why don’t you come in and join us for dinner, see for yourself how Candace is faring.”

Tired eyes brightened. “I’d be honored.”

Opening the door, Patrick gestured for Roscoe to enter first. He stepped into the house and secured the door against the elements. “Ma, Candace, there’s someone you should meet.”

A flurry of footsteps sounded through the house, as Ma, Candace, Liza, Jeanette, Lucas and Benjamin hurried to see their visitor.

Candace’s jaw dropped open when she saw the man she knew only as the fake Judge Thomas. She shot Patrick a questioning look but didn’t say anything alluding to the man’s identity.

He put a hand to Roscoe’s shoulder. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Roscoe Dalkin, Candace’s uncle.”

“Hello.” Roscoe’s voice was considerably weaker than fifteen minutes ago.

Mouths gaped open as the name surfaced in their memories. Candace’s eyes remain fixed on Patrick, imploring him for answers. He second-guessed his rash decision. Ideally, he should have spoken with Candace first before announcing it in front of most everyone. Sam and Maeve would be in for a shock later.

Ma came to the rescue. “We’re about to eat our dinner. Liza and Jeanette, come help me set the table. Boys, bring some firewood inside.”

Patrick, Candace, and Roscoe were all who remained standing by the door.

“Is it true?” Candace asked, her expression impassive. “Are you truly my uncle?”

“Yes.” Roscoe nodded feebly. “Your mother, Nancy, was my sister.”

“Where have you been all this time?” She didn’t falter, and Patrick was proud of her gumption.

He also noticed Roscoe’s subtle sway. Pointing to the parlor, he suggested they sit for a few minutes until Ma called them for dinner. Which he knew was already finished, but Ma was being polite and giving them this time to talk with Roscoe.

Roscoe gave him an embarrassed but grateful look. Unwanted sympathy settled into Patrick. The man was but a shell of what he’d been four months ago, or maybe he’d been too startled by the circumstances to notice how sickly Roscoe had appeared as Judge Thomas.

They sat close to the fire. Patrick pulled the two rocking chairs closer to each other so he could be near Candace. Her hands shook in her lap, and he reached over and covered them with his left hand.

Watching Candace listen carefully as Roscoe retold his tale, Patrick also paid close attention for any inconsistencies from the version he’d been told. There were none.

When Roscoe finished, Candace looked at him, tears coming down her cheeks. “Did my Ma love my Pa?”

“She must have to run away with him.” Roscoe’s shoulders slumped. “Once she left, I never heard from her again, but I have to believe she did.”

“What was Ma like?”

A distant smile reached Roscoe’s eyes. “Nancy was an angel on earth. She was sweet as honey and everyone loved her. There wasn’t a person alive, she couldn’t find good in and put everyone she met at ease. She was also impetuous and impatient, thus her running away with Burl, but we never could figure out why she never wrote.”

“Did he love her?” Her hand gripped his with a mighty strength.

“Yes.” Patrick could tell how hard it was for Roscoe to admit that. “Your Pa had many flaws, but back then, the little we knew about him, he was a good man, for the most part. During their brief courtship, he showered Nancy with love and attention.”

“Then why didn’t they stay and get married?” Her features twisted with confusion.

“Burl treated your ma well, but he was an irresponsible man. We worried he wouldn’t take good care of her. Plus she was so young, only sixteen.” Covering his mouth, Roscoe erupted in a fit of coughs.

Candace turned to Patrick. “Ma’s death changed Pa. I knew it. I wish I could have been enough to keep him happy, but it helps to know he loved Ma.”

He cupped her chin. “You should have been enough, Candace. You
are
enough. Don’t ever doubt that.”

It took several moments for her to regain composure, and she turned to Roscoe again. “During your two days at Pine Prairie, did Pa ever mention someone named Betty, possibly from Cheyenne?”

“Not that I can recall.” He hooked a finger under his chin. “Just a second. He didn’t say anything, but one night around the poker table, some men were talking about a new brothel in Cheyenne and about one girl in particular. I believe her name was Betty.”

A dull pain immediately settled in Patrick’s heart when he saw the crestfallen expression on Candace’s face. He might not have wanted to go chasing Betty down, but he didn’t want the truth to hurt Candace as it had.

He watched her swallow, then take several deep breaths. “You mentioned another sister. Is she still alive?”

“Yes. Your Aunt Diana lives in Nebraska.” Pausing to catch his breath, Roscoe closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he continued. “I wrote a letter to her when I found out about you but haven’t been back to South Dakota yet. That’s where I live most the year.”

“I’d like to write to her.”

“She would like that.” A single tear hung at the corner of Roscoe’s left eye. “Forgive me, Candace. I wish for everything I would have known about you and done something sooner.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Uncle Roscoe. You did what you could, and the marriage, though humiliating at the time, has worked out for the best.”

Patrick had never felt as fortunate as when she turned to him and smiled, nor had he ever been so proud of someone. Candace had accepted and forgiven Roscoe with the grace of a true lady.

The pews behind her were full, but Candace tried not to think about everyone staring at her. Only one person mattered, and he stood at her side. Their journey to this place hadn’t been easy, but they’d surmounted every obstacle.

She glanced down at her hand, catching a glimpse of the ring Patrick had just placed there. It was a beautiful gold band with a ruby that matched her necklace. It was a wonderful surprise, but not nearly as grand as the surprise her husband turned out to be. He was so much more than she could have imagined that night they’d first met.

They turned around to face the members of the congregation. In the front row sat the Holden family, except Lucas and Benjamin. They sat in the second row back, one on each side of Uncle Roscoe. She wished she would have more time with her uncle, but she knew he wouldn’t be on this earth much longer. For the remainder of his time, he would be treated as the family he was.

Glen and Rosie Simpson sat in the third pew, next to the Fosters. Behind them, the McCades. It seemed most of Weatherton had shown up for her and Patrick’s wedding, whether to support and encourage or from curiosity, she would never know.

It didn’t matter to her. She had a family, those who’d become so by choice, and one uncle who was designated family by blood. Last evening, before he’d retired to his cabin, Patrick, and she had talked. They’d decided that next summer if time and money allowed, they would attempt a honeymoon to Nebraska so she could meet her Aunt Diana.

Patrick held her hand, and they turned to look at each other at the same time.

“I think eighteen ninety-four will be my favorite year yet,” he whispered in her ear.

She laughed, but before she could reply, Patrick kissed her, in the front of the church, for everyone to see. Everyone clapped, and no one disapproved.

At long last, she was unquestionably married and loved.

Ten Years Later

“Jack, grab your sister’s hand and come up here now.” Maeve stood on the porch with a hand on her hip.

Candace laughed at her sister-in-law, who had her hands full with her six children. Jack, the oldest at nine years of age, was a typical boy and into everything. Nary had a day passed that he didn’t bring home a frog or snake. Myra was their next child, a rambunctious seven-year-old girl who wanted nothing to do with dresses but followed everything her eldest brother did. The four-year-old twins, Michael and Dayton ran around in the dirt, their mother’s plight to keep them clean lost.

“I give up.” Maeve sighed, but then laughed. “At least Lilly and Rose show no signs of liking dirt yet.”

“But they’re only two and three. There’s still time.” Candace winked. “Where are they?”

“In the house. If I let them out, one of the boys would surely have them covered in dirt.” Maeve looked at Candace’s distended belly. “And I wouldn’t laugh yet. Just because Isabella and Mallory shriek at the mention of dirt, Ike is all boy, and you never know what this next one will be.”

Rubbing her stomach, Candace laughed. “It will keep life interesting.”

Liza waddling to them, also with child. “I, for one, have all the interesting I can handle. Did Ma tell you Bobby got into the bull’s pen yesterday? I was so scared, I thought I’d go into labor.”

Candace gasped. “How did that happen?”

All the children knew the rule about staying away from the pens, but a few of the children were rule-breakers, including her own Ike.

“He thought the bull looked lonely.” Liza sighed. “I’m just glad Patrick happened along when he did.”

“Did I hear my name?” Patrick came up behind Candace and gave her cheek a kiss.

“You didn’t tell me about rescuing Bobby.” She looped her arm through his. Ten years of marriage and she never tired of being near her husband.

“I didn’t see the point because he was fine and you would have worried about Ike.”

“I do worry. You know he struggles to obey.” Her son had a big heart but had inherited her husband’s wild nature.

“He’ll be fine—he is young yet. If it makes you feel better, I had a talk with him and the other boys yesterday evening, reinforcing the rules.”

“Thank you.” She gave Patrick a smile, glad that he was patient with all the children.

And there were many of them. Ma Holden had nineteen grandchildren, all of who lived on the ranch. Plus, there were three more babies on the way.

“Places, everyone.” George Talbot, a photographer for a New York paper, waved his arms.

The Holden family was being featured in a story that would run next month about family legacies that thrived despite ever-mounting obstacles. Somehow, the newspaper had been given the Holden’s information and chose them as one of the families.

Obstacles, they’d seen their share of—fire, death, storms, and herd loss, just to list a few. But the Holdens didn’t stay down. They joined as a family and fought back until the ranch had become one of the largest in the state. Through grit, determination and a lot of faith, they’d succeeded and beat the odds.

Maeve went into the house and brought out her second set of twins, the two-year-old girls. Widowed Lucas struggled to get his children situated until Benjamin’s wife stepped in to help. It took thirty minutes, but soon the entire family was lined up in front of their home that was now a sprawling estate which housed Ma, Sam’s family, and her and Patrick’s family. The other children had homes built nearby on the property, except for Jeanette, who spent most of her time in Boston at finishing school but was home on summer break.

As the family Matriarch, Ma Holden stood in the center of the line. To her immediate right were Sam, Maeve, and their six children. Next to them, Lucas with his infant son and toddler daughter. In the end, Benjamin, his wife, and their three children. To Ma’s left, Candace stood with Patrick and their three children. Liza and her husband stood beside them, with their five children and then finally, Jeanette.

She loved each member of this family dearly. In a time she’d been scared and alone, they’d welcomed her with open arms and made her a part of the family. Ten years later, she’d never had to experience loneliness again. Her heart was full of love—for her husband, her children, and this ever-growing family that she’d forever hold dear to her heart.

Whiter Than Snow

A Brides of Weatherton Christmas Novella

Available
Here

Raised in an orphanage, Tallie Duncan hadn’t known love since she was a young child, but when she secured a position as a nanny to two rambunctious boys, she loved them as her own. They filled a void left by a life of tragedy, but when their mother discovered Tallie’s secret, her position was immediately terminated. She found herself on the streets, in a town and land about which she knew nothing. 
Jeremiah Scott was returning to Weatherton, Wyoming after a six-year absence. Now that both of his parents had passed, he planned to renew the family ranch he’d left after his father’s death. The train ride from Chicago to Cheyenne reminded him how lonely winters in the west could be without someone to share them. While in Cheyenne, arranging business deals and outfitting his ranch, he decided to find an impromptu bride. 
But when the bride was more than he bargained for, will it destroy his plans for marriage?