by Linda Ford
They talked about Eve rescuing him, going over every detail several times, considering how things might have ended differently. It seemed they had to work it all through in their minds.
They moved to the doorway and looked around.
Sanchez trotted across from the barn and nudged Cole. “I forgot about you, didn’t I?” He looked around at the three women. “Things are settled down. I think I can safely leave the three of you and check on my cows.”
Three pairs of eyes registered a protest.
“They may be scattered clear to Canada by now. I don’t want to lose my investment. It’s our future.” He carefully kept his smiles for Ma and Aunt Alice, not having the courage to face Eve and perhaps see refusal in her eyes.
He wished things could be different, but he dared not pin his hopes on an event overwrought with fear and tension. Instead, he pressed home the importance of making sure his cows were all right. “I’ll take supplies with me and stay as long as I need to. It might be only a day if they are where I left them. It might be a few days if they’ve wandered.” He waited for Ma to nod.
“Very well. I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”
“Indeed,” Aunt Alice added. “We have brave Eve here to protect us from danger.”
“I wouldn’t leave if I thought any danger existed.” He looked at Eve, wanting her approval for his absence. Though why he should, he couldn’t have said. She’d proven how brave and resourceful she could be.
She smiled, though her eyes held a flat light. “We’ll be fine. You go do what you need to do, and I will do what I’ve come here to do.”
“Tsk.” Ma made it sound like he’d somehow failed, but he couldn’t imagine why she would think it.
“Good. Then I’ll leave as soon as I’m ready.” He went indoors, filled another sack with food, then led Sanchez to the barn and got his bedroll.
All the while, the ladies watched him from the veranda. They were safe, though still shocked at the danger that had invaded their home. They would be just fine without him.
He stopped at the house. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. If you need anything—” It wasn’t like they could seek assistance from a neighbor. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
He mounted up, waved to the ladies, and rode west. As he passed the trees close to the house, he glanced into them…more out of habit of the last few days than any danger. A shadow moved. He stopped and stared. Nothing. Only the darkness of a tree trunk.
He had to stop imagining intruders lingered in every corner.
Chapter 12
Eve watched Cole ride away. She’d thought there was a chance they could recapture those old feelings that often bubbled to the surface. When he kissed her in the barn, she believed he felt the same way. But then he’d said the cows were their future and pointedly looked at his mother and aunt.
He couldn’t have made it any plainer that he didn’t see Eve as part of his plans.
Alice broke the silence on the veranda. “I know the danger is over, but I’d still feel better if he stayed.”
Knowing she must be strong and reassuring for the ladies, Eve smiled. “I really enjoyed those stories you wrote. Do you think you could write some more?”
Nancy cocked her head. “Cole’s all grown up.”
“He is indeed. And now instead of fears, he has adventures.”
Nancy brightened. “I could write about those.”
“What will I do?” Alice’s voice hovered on a whine. She was used to being active and having a broken arm had forced her to slow down.
“Do you draw?” Eve asked her.
“I’m as good as my sister.”
“I’m sure you have only to look around you to see things you could draw. So long as you don’t overdo it, you should be fine.”
Alice glanced about. “It is beautiful country. You’re right. Come on, Nancy. We’ve got work to do.” She paused. “Eve, you don’t mind if we leave you, do you?”
“I’ve got work too. Cole cleaned out all my baking.”
His mother laughed. “That boy has a good appetite. Oh, that makes me think of another story.”
The ladies got out paper, pencils, pen and ink, and set to work at the kitchen table while Eve began a baking spree. She made cookies, a cake, and biscuits. The afternoon passed quickly.
Several times she glanced out the window. She no longer had to be on guard against intruders, but she couldn’t help wishing Cole would return before nightfall.
Supper cooked in the oven. The worktable held an array of cooling baked goods. The ladies didn’t seem to mind the heat of the stove, but Eve longed for some cool, fresh air.
“I’m going to the garden,” she said.
“Go right ahead.”
Neither of them looked up.
She looked toward the barn as she left the house and shuddered as she remembered the fear of seeing Cole with a gun aimed at him. Thank you, God, he’s all right.
As she headed for the garden, she saw dust on the road and changed direction to wait the visitor. It was Pa bringing the wagon back.
He turned in at the barn, and she ran to greet him.
He hugged her. “You are the hero of the day. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Pa, but it’s all due to you.”
“How’s that?”
“You taught me how to use a gun. Thankfully, I didn’t need it. But you also taught me to be strong.”
“Sweet daughter, I didn’t have to teach you that. You were born that way.” He looked about. “Where’s Cole?”
“Gone to see about his cows.”
“Then I’ll take care of his horses.”
He untied his horse from the back of the wagon. He parked the wagon, unhitched the horses, and turned them out to pasture. Eve followed. “How is Ma and everyone?”
Pa told her about the Sunday dinner. “We missed you and Victoria.” He looked up. “Things are changing as they should. I want to see my girls happily married and having families of their own.” A dark shadow crossed his eyes.
“No word on Josh?”
“Nothing yet.” He smiled reassuringly at her. “We never lose hope. God knows where he is and will help us find him.”
“Can you stay for a visit?”
“I have to get back to town. They took the injured man to your mother. I don’t think she can do much to help him, but there’s no way he would survive a trip to the doctor. I don’t like to leave her alone dealing with it all.”
“I understand. Give her and Josie my love.” She hugged him again, finding comfort in his arms.
“Will you be in for church on Sunday?”
“I can’t say. Cole didn’t know how long he’d be gone.”
“So long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters most.” He mounted his horse and rode away, pausing at the bottom of the lane to wave.
She watched him out of sight then spent an hour at the garden, picking weeds from between the growing plants. She would have stayed longer, but the ladies needed to eat.
She returned to the house. “Ladies, it’s suppertime.”
Alice gathered up the paper and things and carried them to a shelf in the sitting area. “That was great fun, wasn’t it, Nan?”
“Best afternoon I’ve had since before we moved into the boardinghouse.”
Eve washed her hands thoroughly, pulled the layered casserole from the oven, and set it on a trivet on the table. Alice put on three plates and the silverware as Eve went to get some biscuits.
She stared at the baked things. Knew she wasn’t mistaken in thinking a dozen biscuits were missing and a stack of cookies. At least the cake hadn’t been taken.
She chuckled. “You ladies must have been hungry.”
“We are,” Alice said.
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.
“A dozen biscuits gone. That’s what I would expect from Cole. And half a dozen cookies each. Are you sure you can eat supper?” she teased them.
“I don’t
know what you mean. We didn’t eat any biscuits or cookies.”
“If you didn’t…” She didn’t want to alarm them. “I guess I moved the stack and forgot.” She knew she hadn’t. Nor had she heard Cole return to help himself. She was certain she would have. She glanced out the window. Were there more than two men involved in the robbery? Her neck muscles twitched. Would Cole come back tonight?
He didn’t come back that night. She barred the doors tightly at bedtime, closed the windows, and put her derringer under her pillow. She lay awake, startling at every sound, as she stared at the square of gray that was her window. Her drapes were tightly closed, but the moon shone bright. Did that make it easier for a prowler?
She thought of the stories Nancy had written about Cole being afraid. His fears had been imaginary. Hers weren’t. What would Pa say? She smiled in the darkness. He’d say, take the necessary precautions and then trust the God who sees everything and everyone.
She recited verses Ma had had them memorize and fell asleep with those words in her thoughts.
The next day the ladies were happily occupied with their writing and drawing.
Eve made a tour of the grounds but saw nothing to indicate someone lurked about. Could it be the ladies had actually taken the missing food and were simply getting forgetful?
She’d set bread to rise and baked it in the afternoon. Secretly, she hoped the aroma would bring Cole home.
Working in the garden had proven soothing, so she returned to weeding, returning at suppertime to serve the meal.
She stared at the six loaves of bread she’d made. Except there were only five. Her nerves twitched as she thought of the men the sheriff had taken away. Was there another one—or heaven forbid—more than one—of the same ilk out there? Ready to hurt others for gain? The patch of trees wasn’t large. Barely big enough to provide any kind of shelter. Why were they sticking so close to the house?
Cole again did not return for supper or at bedtime.
Eve couldn’t help but wonder if he had run into trouble at the hands of the person or persons stealing food. How was she to find out? And help him if he needed it?
The next morning, she woke, determined to take control of the situation. She sliced the cake that the ladies had eaten part of and left a generous-sized piece near the open window. She made sure the ladies were happily occupied, then took her hoe and headed for the garden. She hacked at the weeds for a moment, then got down on her hands and knees as if to weed. Instead, she went to the fence where she was half hidden by a huge rhubarb plant, and she watched the house.
She waited. Grew uncomfortable and shifted her position to wait some more. She would not give up, even if she had to do this day after day. Her neck grew weary of straining toward the house, and she rolled her head to relieve the stress. And almost missed seeing the intruder.
It wasn’t a man. It was a ragamuffin boy. She’d guess him to be ten or twelve. So thin it hurt to look at him. His pants were torn and six inches too short. His shirt in equal shambles. He had brown hair. Or perhaps it was blond but needed washing, because even from this distance she could see he was in sore need of a bath.
She sank back on her heels, gladly letting him steal the cake and disappear into the trees.
Somehow, she must help this child.
Food seemed the most likely way of gaining his trust.
That afternoon, she opened a jar of the canned meat and made a thick stew. As soon as she thought the vegetables were cooked, she put a goodly portion of the stew into the jar and headed out for the trees. She’d seen where he disappeared and found the barest hint of a path. But it vanished. The boy was clever and clearly a survivor.
She stood perfectly still and scanned every tree, convinced now that all those times she’d thought she had seen something move in the shadows, it was this boy. Again, prepared to take all the time it required, she waited, straining for the least sound or movement. Apart from birds chattering in the treetops and leaves rustling, the only sound was her own breathing.
“I brought you food,” she said. “Stew. I think you’ll like it. Why don’t you come to the house and I’ll give you a real meal?”
Nothing.
“I’ll leave it here for you. But I’ll be back with more. I’d really like to meet you.” She left.
She took cookies out later in the day. And biscuits toward evening. Each time she spoke to the boy assuming he would hear her. Each time she said, “I’d like to meet you.” She knew he was there, because the food disappeared.
Again, Cole did not return at nightfall, but Eve wasn’t anxious any more. The intruder posed no threat. But he needed help.
The next morning, she prepared a plate of hot food and took it to the same spot. She sat down. “I brought breakfast. Why don’t you come and get it?” She waited, hoping the smell of fried pork and potatoes would prove irresistible to the boy.
She felt his presence before she saw him. A shadow buried in the shadows. “Hello. Nice to meet you. Are you hungry?”
He’d chosen a place that barely allowed her to see his eyes. But from what she could make out, he gave no indication that he heard her.
“It’s hot food. Best eaten before it gets cold.” She waited. “My name is Eve. What’s yours?”
“Mutt.” A whispered word.
Eve held back her shock at such a name. It’s what you would call a dog. “Hi, Mutt. I’m pleased to meet you. Why not come and enjoy this food?”
He moved an inch and waited. Another inch. Another pause.
Eve realized the boy expected her to grab him.
“I won’t hurt you. You can take as long as you want.”
He made it to within five feet of her and reached toward the plate.
She picked it up to hand to him. “You’ll stay here and eat?”
He nodded and snatched the plate. But he stayed on his haunches and ate with his fingers, greedily, his eyes guarded and watchful.
“Mutt, where are your folks?”
“Got none.”
“How did you get here?”
He looked about, fear in every movement. “I runned away.”
“From who?”
“Man who own me.”
“I see.” She managed to hold back a protest. You don’t own a child. You loved and nurtured one. “How long ago was that?”
“Long time ago. When snow melt.”
Goodness. That was two months ago. If he’d been surviving like this since, no wonder he was thin as a piece of paper.
“Where did you run from?”
“Maybe I hear him say town called Billins.”
“Billings?”
“Maybe.”
That had to be five hundred miles away. How had the boy survived that long, gone that far?
“Mutt, what happened to your parents?”
“Died. Long time ago. Then man take me.” He licked the plate clean and faded into the trees.
“Mutt, I’ll be back later with more food. I like talking to you.”
She returned three times. By then the boy had begun to relax around her.
“Did your parents call you Mutt?”
“No. Only man do that.”
“What did they call you?”
“Matt.” He spoke it with pride. “I am Matt.”
“Do you have a last name?”
He studied the idea. “I am Matt Williamson.”
“Matt Williamson. I am pleased to meet you.” She’d prayed about what to say next. How to broach the subject without frightening him away. “My mama and papa died too. I wasn’t even six.”
“They did?”
Pleased that she had his attention, she continued. “I don’t know what would have happened to my sister and me if some nice people hadn’t adopted us. I don’t think we were as smart as you about taking care of ourselves.”
He almost smiled at thinking she considered him smart.
“Those people would give you a home too.” She didn’t even have to ask them to know
they would gladly give him a home.
He jerked back. “Man not nice to me.”
She’d noticed how his speech deteriorated when he spoke of the man. “These are very nice people. They would never hurt you.”
He rocked his head back and forth.
“They live in Glory—”
“I not live in town.” He was on his feet and gone.
“I’ll be back, Matt Williamson.”
The ladies were on the veranda. They watched her return with the empty plate.
“Are you feeding someone out there?” Nancy asked.
Eve had wondered how long it would take them to notice her frequent trips away from the house and had thought what to say. “There’s a boy out there.”
“He’s the one who’s been taking the food?” Alice asked. “A poor, hungry little boy.”
“He’s not so little.”
“What’s he doing out there?”
She told him what she’d learned. “I’m hoping to convince him to go to my parents, but he’s wild and scared.”
Both women tsk-tsked.
Nancy brightened. “No doubt God has sent him to us for a reason.”
“I’ll keep talking to him,” Eve said. “He needs a home.” She went inside to clean the kitchen. The ladies talked together, but Eve couldn’t hear what they said. She smiled, thinking Matt would provide them with a safe bit of adventure.
Cole had found the cows scattered. He’d spent hours searching ravines and bringing them back. He hadn’t minded being away the first night. Even the second night wasn’t so bad, but by the third, his teeth began to ache from gritting his teeth.
Yes, he knew Eve and the ladies were safe. Just as he knew they could manage on their own with Eve’s capable help. But he didn’t like being away from her…them…home… so long.
It was late afternoon when he was satisfied the cows were all back together, and he rode toward the ranch. He’d get there in time for supper, and his stomach growled with hunger pains. He’d run out of food at breakfast and even that was lean.
He rode directly to the barn and took care of Sanchez before he headed for the house. He could smell meat frying and something spicy. “I’m home,” he called.
