“Good boy, Jacob.” Ty stood and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I guess we’ll have to finish this conversation later, Mr. Mason, but I do have one more question.”
“I would imagine you have many questions, Mr. Morgan. And I can’t blame you. What bothers you the most?”
Ty forced his eyes away from Jacob. “Do you plan to . . . head back to Missouri?” He trusted Mason understood the question.
“Ty Morgan?” Emma called from the top of the stairs. “You best get up here, and bring Doc with you.”
Ty took the steps two at a time. Mason’s answer would have to wait.
###
John eyed the family threesome still around the table. Doggone, if he didn’t feel as welcome as a pebble in a shoe just sitting there. The others chattered like he wasn’t even in the room. “I reckon you’d like a place to bed down for the night?” He shot the question at no one in particular.
Obed’s steady gaze met his. “That would be more than I could expect, Mr. Wenghold. I’ve been housed quite sufficiently in a place not so far from here.” He smiled down at Jacob on his lap. “I no longer need to ride into the shadows, you know. That is, if you don’t mind my hanging around in the daylight.”
“You’d leave the boy here, I reckon?”
Jacob’s eyes widened. “I want Papaw to sleep with me and Tripper. He misses Tripper.”
Sam stood and laid his arm across his pa’s shoulders. “We can put him up in the bunkhouse, Mr. Wenghold. It’d be more comfortable than the cave he’s been sleeping in. Plus, me and my pa, we got a whole lot of catchin’ up to do. If you’re worried about us leavin’, we ain’t gonna.”
“Seems to me catchin’ up is what your pa done did.”
Obed shifted Jacob to one arm and stood, his large hand wrapped around the boy’s legs. “I don’t know if you can understand this, but the only catching up a man can do is with words. A man ought to live in such a way there’d only be tomorrow to look at, with no regrets. Redeem the time, John Wenghold. Redeem the time.”
John slumped back into his chair. Jacob’s giggles floated through the open door and twisted around his heart. He’d been getting along real good all by himself for many a year. But suddenly he’d never felt so alone.
###
William stepped into the shadows as Sam, Jacob, and the stranger strode past him. He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop. It took restraint to keep from following Ty Morgan to where Robin lay. Had she called for him, or was it only Emma? And why did they need Doc in such a hurry?
Dusk threw its first blanket of darkness across the hills. Everything surrounding him spoke of peace, yet a sense of impending doom settled across his shoulders. If the two older Masons should decide to go back to Missouri, they surely would take Jacob with them. Wouldn’t they? And without Jacob, Robin might be more willing to return to Chicago. The boy was the one obvious bond between her and Ty Morgan.
Who was he kidding? Jacob indeed played an important part in the strange chain of events that had led to this moment, but the boy wasn’t the only link between Robin and Ty.
John stepped from the house into the shaft of light brightening the porch. “Thought I heered somebody out here.” He scratched his shoulder on the porch pillar across from William. “You got big ears, do ya?”
“Never found a good time to interrupt the conversation.”
“T’weren’t none. Leastways not ‘til Emma hollered for Ty.”
“Is Robin worse?”
“Well, I reckon you done heered the same thing I did. Nobody come back down the steps a tellin’ me nothin’ so I can’t rightly answer that question.” John grunted as he lowered himself to the porch. “Did you get a gander of that man we’ve been callin’ the stranger?”
“Not a good look. Saw he was big, not much else.”
“Ain’t nothin’ like I thought. Fact is, I kinda like the fella. But I’ll tell you one thing for downright certain. Like him or not, if he tries to take Jacob off this prairie before Robin is well enough to deal with him herself, he’s done chose a battle he ain’t gonna win.”
“Whose battle will it be, John? Robin’s? Or could it be you aren’t willing for either Robin or Jacob to leave this prairie. The boy’s grandfather has every right to take him back to wherever it is he calls home. And I have my doubts Robin will want to stay only to become your housekeeper or Ty Morgan’s second choice.” If only his confidence matched his words. By the looks of things, she wasn’t Ty’s second choice, but she didn’t know that yet. Would it make a difference if she did? “Now, if you don’t mind”—he gave a nod in John’s direction—“I think I’ll see if Doc will let me sit with her for a spell.”
John stood and placed one arm across the doorway. “You might as well plunk your behind right down on them steps cuz Ty’s up there with her now.”
William pulled John’s arm from the doorway and sidled through. “Then I’ll plunk my behind, as you suggested, on the floor outside her room. The man has to sleep sometime. Good night, John.”
THIRTY-TWO
Robin attempted to focus on the faces of Emma and Doc Mercer as they bent over her bed. “Please let me try to sit, Doc. I fall into a hole when I’m lying down, and I need to talk to Ty.”
Doc shook his head. “It’s against my better judgment, Robin. But if there’s no fresh bleeding, maybe it won’t hurt for a bit.” He turned to Emma. “Suppose you could help me sit her up so I can examine those bandages? I’ll hold her head if you can lift her shoulders.”
Emma leaned and put her arms around Robin’s shoulders. “I tell you girl, you do beat all. Ty could wait, you know. He isn’t going anywhere. You can talk to him tomorrow, or the next day if need be. Girl, you’ve got a bump on your head big enough to swing a rope around.”
“Please don’t scold me. You have no idea how good it feels to sit up.” Robin clutched at the covers hoping the room would stop spinning. “You did tell Ty I wanted to talk to him, didn’t you?”
“I’m here.”
She jumped at the sound of Ty’s voice behind her.
“But Doc said I had to keep my mouth shut until he knew why Emma hollered for us.”
“I didn’t hear you come in.” How long had he been standing there? Had he seen how helpless she was? “Can you come around where I can see you?”
Ty rounded the bed to kneel in front of her, and his face blurred as she squinted to focus. She giggled. “I’m sorry, but my eyes are doing funny things. Did you know you have only one eye, but two noses?” He also had a chin covered in at least a day’s worth of whiskers and a smile that took her breath away.
One set of lips under the two noses ventured closer. “And you have purple eyes. A couple of nice shiners.” He touched her cheek. “But I’m glad those eyes are open.”
Doc probed Robin’s bandages. “Doesn’t look like you did any damage by sitting up, but I’d rather you lie back down again.”
Robin shook her head. Goodness, it hurt. “Not until I talk with Ty.”
“This a private talk?” Doc twirled his glasses in his hand.
“If you stop twirling those glasses you can stay.” Robin closed her eyes against a wave of dizziness. “I think Jacob knows the man who owns the dog, Ty. But he won’t tell me.”
Ty pried her fingers loose from the bed and wrapped them in his. “Sam and Rusty found the man, Robin. I’ve been talking to him. Turns out he’s Jacob’s grandfather, and he’s also Sam’s pa.”
Her stomach clenched and she gripped Ty’s hands. “Are they going to take Jacob away from me?” Her head throbbed. “Don’t let them take him. Please.”
“Robin, they’re his kin. I don’t know that we can keep them from claiming what is rightfully theirs.”
“He’s not property. He’s a little boy. He’s happy here.” How could she ever go on if she lost Jacob? Surely Ty wouldn’t let them take him. Ty loved him, too. Didn’t he?
“And that little boy didn’t hesitate a minute to throw his arms around his grandpa’s
neck. It’s obvious he loves the man, Robin. And is loved in return. He’d be happy with his grandpa, too. But they aren’t going anywhere soon. Sam promised me they wouldn’t leave. For now, you rest, so your head will heal.”
“Humph.” Doc bumped Ty out of the way and put his arm around her shoulders. “If you were wanting her to rest and heal you should have kept your mouth shut. Now, let’s get you back in that bed, little lady.”
“Please, can’t I sit for a bit? You said there wasn’t any fresh bleeding.”
Doc shook his head. “It’s nighttime. You need to sleep.”
“No, please. Everything spins, and it gets so dark when I close my eyes. It’s like something pulls me down, down, down.” She shuddered. “It’s so deep and frightening. So full of shadows, and I don’t know who’s behind them.”
“Could we sit her up in the chair so she doesn’t have to try to hold herself up, Doc? I can lift her into it.” Ty winked at her, then helped her put her arms around his neck and pressed her head to his shoulder before Doc could object. “Lean on me. I won’t drop you.”
Her head swirled as he lifted her and carried her to a chair by the window. She might be safely seated, but no matter what Ty said, she’d been dropped. He would marry Anna Blair, and Jacob would be taken away. She didn’t have the strength to fight, but she still had one choice. “Could I ask one more favor?” She pulled her hands from Ty’s grip.
Ty studied his empty hands before turning his gaze to hers. “I’ll do anything you ask.”
“Would you tell William I wish to talk to him, if it’s not too late?”
A muscle in Ty’s jaw twitched as he stood and crossed his arms. His eyes darkened, but didn’t leave hers. “The night’s still fairly young. I doubt he’s sleeping.”
She willed her voice to remain steady, though her throat tightened with unshed tears. “That’s not what I meant, Ty. If he’ll come, could we please be left alone?”
###
Ty reached for her hand. “Not until I talk with you first.” He’d come close to losing her, and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.
“You can’t be alone with either one of the hotheads, Robin. And that’s final.” Doc shook his finger at her. “It’s enough that this fella picked you up and moved you like I wasn’t even here.”
“Then the two of you will just have to stay and listen to what I have to say.” He certainly didn’t relish having an audience, but if that was the only way he could declare his love for her before she talked to William, then so be it. Ty dropped to one knee and gripped Robin’s hands. “I won’t have William talking you into going back to Chicago with him. Don’t leave.”
Robin frowned. “If I lose Jacob, I’ll have no reason to stay. William would provide a home for me, and my sisters would be secure. Uncle John could continue to live as he has for the past who knows how many years. It would solve a lot of problems.”
“But you do have a reason to stay, Robin. Stay for me. Give me a chance. Giveus a chance. Please.”
“We discussed this once before, Ty. You gave up your chances with me, or anyone else, when you gave that ring to Anna Blair.” She pulled at her hands. “Let me go. And please accept my apology for interrupting your engagement party.”
“I’ll turn loose of your hands. But I’ll not let you go.” He stood and wiped a hand across his brow. “Look.” He pulled the ring from his pocket and held it in the air. “You, too, Emma and Doc. Anna no longer has my ring. She gave it back the night you were injured, Robin.”
Robin lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry, Ty. I had no way of knowing. Is it . . . my fault?”
Ty bent again and cupped Robin’s chin in his hand. “Look at me. Yes, it’s your fault, but it’s nothing you did. You didn’t know my feelings because I never told you. I couldn’t. I was obligated to keep my word to Anna. But she released me from that promise, and we parted as friends.”
“And now, suddenly, you have feelings for me?”
“It isn’t sudden at all. I had feelings for you from the minute I first laid eyes on the dimple at the corner of your mouth.” A tiny hint of the dimple appeared, and he caressed it with the tip of his forefinger. “Those feelings only grew stronger when you sent me out to care for my friends after the twister, instead of staying with you. I’ve watched you with Jacob and with your Uncle John. Then those stupid blisters on your hands because you were too stubborn to quit.”
Ty kissed her hands, desperate to convince her. He didn’t know how to make himself any clearer. “Robin, please . . .”
“You’d better leave, Ty. She’s plumb worn out.” Doc motioned to the door. “It’s late and tomorrow’s another day.”
Ty shut the door behind him, and nearly stumbled over William sitting on his haunches outside Robin’s room. “Don’t even think about going in there, Benson. Doc told me tomorrow’s another day. That goes for you, too.”
###
Robin ran her hands along the arms of the chair. “Let me sit here for a bit, Emma. The breeze feels good coming in the window.”
Emma adjusted the blanket over Robin’s knees. “Oh, sweet girl. Did you listen to Ty at all? He was trying to tell you what you’ve wanted to hear all this time. And you sent him away.”
Robin swiped at her tears. “Three words, Emma. Why is it so hard for a man to say the three words that would make all the difference?”
Emma wiped Robin’s tears. “If you weren’t hurt so bad, sweet girl, I do believe I’d shake some sense into you right now. Those words are hard for a man, sometimes. You must learn to listen to what he’s saying to you without him ever opening his mouth.”
“Didn’t George ever say he loved you?”
Emma’s eyes clouded. “In a thousand different ways, and very few of them needed words.”
“But didn’t you want to hear him declare it?”
Emma blushed. “The first time I ever heard those words come out of George Ledbetter’s mouth was the night I became his wife. Believe me, Robin. They were worth waiting for. I don’t know, to this day, that I’d have believed him so much if he would’ve said them any sooner.”
“You mean you married him without him ever telling you?”
“I knew down deep in my soul that he loved me and that one day all those words would come a bubbling to the top. Ty’s a deep-hearted man. He has words he’s longing to say when there isn’t anyone to listen but you and him.”
Robin whispered, “Is Doc Mercer still here?”
Emma shook her head. “No, sweet girl. He followed Ty out. But he’ll be back. I doubt he’ll let you sit for long.”
No sooner had Emma uttered the words, than Doc entered the room and shuffled to her chair. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let’s get you laid down again, and I’ll be finding me a place to stretch out for the night.”
Robin laid a hand on Doc’s arm. “I’m so sorry you’ve been away from your office for so long.”
Doc winked at her. “Pshaw.I’ve only been here a couple of days. People know where to find me. Albert said he would post a note on my door, and I’m sure Henrietta will keep her eyes peeled for anyone who even comes close to the office. And you know, I spent more time than this a couple of years ago, waiting for a Henry babe to decide he’d make his appearance.” He turned to Emma. “I could use your help getting this little gal back to bed.”
Robin shook her head and tried to ignore the pain. “Please, let me stay here. Couldn’t I sleep here in the chair?”
Doc shook his head. “We can’t take a chance of you falling. Even the slightest bump could start that bleeding again. I want you back in bed, but I won’t make you take the laudanum right away.” He helped Emma get her settled then pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I’ll check on you in a couple of hours. If you’re still awake then I’ll listen to no more argument. Agreed?”
Emma huffed. “You go on to sleep, old man. I’m right here and will check on her myself.”
“Won’t argue with you. Wa
ke me up if she needs anything.”
“I will if it’s something I can’t take care of myself. Now, good night.” She shooed him away with a flick of the wrist.
Doc shuffled from the room, and Emma straightened the light blanket covering Robin.
Robin clutched at the older woman’s hand. “I know Doc wants me to sleep, but can we talk for a while?”
“Why, sure we can, child. Let me pull up a chair so I don’t get a crooked back from bending over, then you talk away. Mighty good to have you back with us again. Now, what’s troubling you?”
“I’m so afraid.”
“Of what, dear girl?”
“I don’t even know if I can put a name to it. When I close my eyes, I’m afraid of falling so deep into a pit I can’t get out, and no one will know where I am. But then I’m afraid to open my eyes. Afraid this bedroom will be my home forever. Afraid I’ll not be strong enough to care for Jacob, and afraid his grandfather will take him away. Afraid William will go back to Chicago without me, and afraid to hope that Ty wants me to stay.”
Emma slipped her other hand around Robin’s and a determined look lit her eyes. “I’m not the one you need to talk to.”
“I know, butTy’s the preacher. I can’t talk to him, Emma.”
The smile lines deepened around Emma’s mouth. “Well, I think we could even bypass the good preacher and go right to the One who’s in charge in the first place.” She groaned as she knelt by Robin’s bed. “You may have to holler at Doc to get me up again.”
“I’ve prayed, but God either doesn’t hear or doesn’t care to answer my prayers.”
“Oh, sweet girl. The Lord hears every prayer, even those not spoken. As for caring—why else would He let his only Son die for you? He cares all right. But I don’t mind doing the talking while you listen.”
Only the ticking of a clock and Emma’s rhythmic breathing broke through the silence that pervaded the room.Is she praying? How am I supposed to listen when she’s not saying anything? Should I worry about her? She did groan when she knelt.
As though she could read her thoughts, Emma patted her hands. “Father God, meet us here in this silence because You tell us to be silent and know that You are God.”
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