A Time of Seasons

by Kay Edwards

Chapter Eight

  Dalton woke up to the sound of Rachel's cry he had almost forgotten where he was. Getting out of bed he made his way to Misty's room and knocked gently on the door before opening it. "Are you two ok?" he asked softly.

  Misty looked up at him with exhausted eyes. She had been awake for two hours now. Rachel did not seem to want to calm down. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "I'm so tired Dalton. I don't know why she won't sleep. She just ate but does not seem to want to sleep."

  Dalton walked over to the bed and took Rachel into his arms. "I'll walk with her. You go ahead and try to sleep."

  Misty looked up at him. "Am I doing something wrong? I fed her and changed her. Dalton I'm trying to be a good mom but…" Misty started sobbing into her hands.

  Dalton sat down on the bed beside Misty. "Misty, you are a good mom. Babies do this. I have her. You go to sleep and rest. I really do have her. When she needs you, I’ll bring her back." He reassured her again.

  Misty nodded as she got her emotions under control. Looking up at Dalton she whispered. "I will try to listen to you and sleep. Thank you, Dalton."

  Dalton touched her forehead and whispered. "You are welcome. Now sleep." When she pulled the covers up over herself, he got up and quietly left the room with Rachel. When he shut the door and turned around, he was surprised to see Chad.

  "I can hear this little miss causing trouble all the way down the hall," Chad said as he took his grandbaby into his arms.

  Dalton grinned at the man. "She seems to think it is time to wake up. Misty is exhausted."

  Chad chuckled. "I could hear how emotional she was. I didn't think it was the right time to tell her that she loved to stay awake at night when she was a baby."

  Dalton made a face. "I'm not sure there will be a good time to break that bit of news to her."

  Chad started down the hall. Looking over his shoulder, he asked. "Would you like some coffee? If Lil' Pea Jr is like her mom, we have at least two more hours before she wants to eat again and go back to sleep."

  Dalton looked at the older man. "Well, then I guess we better go get some caffeine in us."

  The two headed toward the kitchen. Chad handed Rachel back to Dalton as he started to putter around the kitchen. As he made the coffee, he chatted. "Misty tells me your folks live in Tennessee. How did you end up in Colorado for the holiday?"

  "I was really feeling disconnected from God. I have been working crazy hours at the hospital and just wanted to spend some time alone with Christ." Dalton explained as he kissed Rachel’s little cheek.

  Chad studied the younger man. It was refreshing to hear him talk about his desire to know Christ better. The way he was with Rachel also warmed his heart. Anyone looking could tell he loved her. "I hope your job slows down enough for you to get that connection back. I know it can be hard."

  Dalton was honest. "It really is. I know I should go to church more often, but after doing a third shift, I'm just beat. I don't allow that to stop me from my daily time alone with God, but it'd be good to get to church. I think I may need to work on making it a priority and leaning on God for my physical rest those days. It will also help that I'll be on the second shift when I go back."

  Chad nodded his head. "I know when I was a younger man I had the same issues. I love having a ranch, but there are days it really is a lot of hard work. Now that Wyatt can help more I let him, but a part of me is wondering if I'm robbing him of some time with Christ."

  Wyatt spoke from the doorway. "I still manage to get to church almost every Sunday. No need to worry."

  Dalton grinned at the man. He had not even heard him coming. "For your size, you sure are stealthy."

  Walking over to Dalton, Wyatt laughed as he took Rachel. "I have been told that a time or two."

  Wyatt nuzzled the baby's head and said softly. "She is a sweet little thing, isn't she? I could just love on her all day long."

  Dalton nodded. "She really is perfect. I'm going to miss her and her mommy when it is time for me to go."

  Chad looked at Dalton. He was very serious as he said. "We were told you were going to wear out your welcome. We expect you to give that a try. You have a room here now."

  Dalton laughed. "I'm not going to lie. I enjoy being around this family. I will give it an honest effort."

  Chad poured four cups of coffee. Looking at Dalton, he said. "It is only a matter of time before Brock wakes up. He can smell coffee a mile away."

  As if on cue Brock walked into the kitchen. The men watched him yawn and stretch. "I thought I heard voices. What are we talking about at one in the morning?"

  Chad answered him. "I'm making sure that Dalton here tries to wear his welcome out."

  Brock laughed. "Misty said you were going to try. I know I want you to try too. You just seem to fit in here."

  Dalton smiled. “Thanks. I feel at home here.”

  Chad handed Dalton his cup of coffee and asked. "Are you ready to tell Misty 'no' tomorrow?"

  Dalton looked at him confused. "I'm not following you. Why would I tell her no?"

  Brock laughed and looked at the other two men. "She has all intentions of trying to go horseback riding after her doctor's appointment. I know for a fact she will not even bring it up at the appointment."

  Dalton looked at the men. Were they serious? "There is no way she should be getting on a horse yet. You are joking, right? Please tell me you are joking."

  Wyatt laughed at the look on Dalton’s face. He looked back down at Rachel and asked. "So, does that mean you are going to tell her 'no'?"

  Dalton looked at the men's faces. They were all grinning. He realized they were not joking. He sighed as he said. "I have a feeling Misty, and I are about to have our first fight tomorrow. She is going to be difficult, isn't she?"

  Chad laughed. "She is going to be very difficult. Terry told me what she planned on doing, and the fact is you are the only one we think she may listen to."

  Dalton had seen a bit of the stubborn streak they were talking about. "Are you sure she won't listen to you? I don’t like the idea of telling her she can’t do something."

  Chad laughed. "She won't ask me. That is how she works. As soon as my back is turned, she will head out to the barn and saddle up a horse. She will be a mile away from the house before we even realize she is gone."

  Dalton thought a moment. "It will have to be harder than that. She will need to ask someone to watch Rachel."

  Brock chuckled. "She will make sure Rachel is fed and in someone's arms. Dalton, it is time we let you in on a little secret about Misty. She is a Texas-sized handful. She knows how to do what she wants without drawing attention to herself."

  Dalton thought for a moment this was not the Misty he knew. He was trying to figure out a way to take the heat directly off of himself. He had an idea and asked. "Would she ignore her doctor's orders?"

  Chad thought for a moment. "I don't believe so."

  Dalton had the answer. "I'm not telling her 'no' tomorrow. Her doctor is. I'm going to that appointment. I mean don't you all think I should explain to him why she needs to have fishing line taken care of?"

  Wyatt busted out laughing. He had to give it to Dalton the man was smart. "That is brilliant. She can't even argue with it."

  Brock had to agree with Wyatt. "She will not even have a clue that you're going to make sure she knows her limits. Well played Dalton."

  Chad looked at Dalton. "I think Misty may have met her match the moment you picked her up and carried her to your cabin. I agree with Brock. Well played."

  Wyatt looked down at Rachel. Her eyes were trying to focus and look around. Looking up at Dalton he asked. "When do babies start to actually see us clearly? She looks like she is trying to see me."

  Dalton smiled as he went over and got close to Rachel's face. "She can see me right now. I just need to be close."

  B
rock looked confused. "I thought babies had trouble seeing. I figured it took them a bit more time to see us."

  "They are just very near sited. When you are close enough, they can see you just fine." Dalton said as he watched Rachel's eyes focus on him. He gently touched her cheek and then walked back over to the counter.

  Wyatt put his face a little closer to his niece's face. "Uncle Wyatt can get this close but don't worry. I won't let Uncle Brock get so close. I don’t want him to scare you."

  Chad laughed as Rachel kicked her legs. It was evident she was thrilled with her surroundings right now. "She really is a sweet little thing."

  Brock walked over to Wyatt. "It's my turn to hold her. You have been brainwashing her enough."

  Dalton watched Wyatt give his niece a little kiss and then hand her over to Brock. "Brent may be gone, but she will have a great male influence." He said softly.

  Chad looked at Dalton a bit surprised. Misty didn’t outright talk to any of them about Brent. She would say things here and there but nothing too deep. "She spoke to you about him?"

  Dalton felt his eyes mist as he remembered Rachel's first day of life. He relayed the story to the men. The picture of Misty telling Rachel how much her daddy would have loved her would stay with him forever.

  Wyatt wiped a tear from his eye. He chuckled as he remembered the man fondly. "Brent was a good man. He had a devil of a time keeping Misty out of trouble, but he loved her to the moon and back."

  Brock smiled as he remembered too. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack the first time he saw her standing on a horse's back. He never yelled, but man you could tell he wanted to."

  Dalton choked on his coffee. He kept his voice calm as he asked. "I’m sorry. Did I hear you say she was standing on her horse’s back?”

  Wyatt laughed at the look on Dalton's face and answered. "She was trying to get something off the roof of the one shed. We keep some of our tools up there under the overhang. When she couldn't reach it, she stood up on Ginger's back to get it. We all knew Ginger was used to Misty doing that kind of stuff Brent was not. He stayed calm, but man you could see he wanted to yell."

  Chad still remembered the look on Brent's face. "He was even less happy when she said she wouldn't do it when he was around. That man wanted a promise that she would never do it again. Misty had no intention of making that vow."

  Brock grinned. "It didn't take her long to sweet talk him into forgetting how upset he was at her. She had him wrapped around her little finger."

  Chad smiled. "That is exactly where he wanted to be. My girl isn't afraid of anything."

  Dalton spoke softly. "She is terrified of being abandoned."

  Wyatt looked at Dalton. He couldn’t believe it. "She told you that?"

  Dalton remembered the look in Misty's eyes every time she asked if he would stay. "She didn't have to. She couldn't go to sleep without making sure I wouldn't leave her. Misty is afraid I won't come back which is one of the reasons I plan on coming back. Brent's death has affected her more than you know. I told her she needed to talk to someone about it. She told me she was going to. I hope she does."

  Brock tried to picture his sister anything but confident. He looked at Dalton and knew the man was speaking the truth. "How do we help her?"

  "You encourage her to find a grief counselor. She needs to work through all of the feelings she has." Dalton answered.

  Chad knew Dalton was holding something back. "What else is there?"

  "She blames herself for his death," Dalton said grimly.

  Wyatt couldn't believe it. "How could she think that?"

  Dalton remembered how Misty had opened up to him. "She was proud to be the wife of a soldier. When they would talk about him getting out Misty would encourage him to do what he wanted to do. She blames herself for not telling him to leave the military. Your sister is in more pain than you see."

  Chad was heartbroken to think of the struggles his daughter was facing. "Thanks for telling us. I would never have guessed she felt that way. I'm glad she opened up to you. She doesn’t go that deep with us."

  Dalton smiled at the men. "I'm not going to lie. I think I need Misty's friendship just as much as she needs mine. We are just comfortable with each other."

  Brock looked at Dalton. "I hope you consider us friends too. If you ever need an ear, I would listen."

  Dalton grinned. "I will do that if you do the same."

  Wyatt noticed Rachel's feet starting to move. He looked at Brock. "It looks like you are going to have to give her up soon. She is getting hungry."

  Chad laughed as Rachel's feet seemed to become more frantic. "I guess we should get this little lady back to her mom."

  Brock walked over to Dalton and handed him the baby. "She seems a bit shy with us. Why don't you go ahead and take Rachel back to her?"

  Dalton held the baby gently as he went to Misty's room. He knocked lightly and opened the door. Misty stretched and smiled up at him. "Your girl is ready to eat. Are you rested?" He asked softly.

  Misty allowed Dalton to help her get comfortable. "I am rested. Thank you. I was so tired."

  Dalton sat on the side of the bed. He touched her cheek gently. "It is ok to ask for help. Your dad and brothers were up with me. They will help you when you need it."

  Misty looked up at Dalton. "I just don't like asking them. With you, it is just different."

  Dalton smiled at her. "If you don't need me I'll head back to my room."

  Misty suddenly wanted to panic. "Don't leave me just yet. Dalton…"

  Dalton heard the fear in her voice. He propped a pillow behind his back and got comfortable. When she leaned into him, he put his arm around her. "I'll wait until Rachel is fed and you are asleep."

  Misty's voice was soft as she asked. "You will be here in the morning, right? You won’t leave the house?"

  Dalton answered gently. "I will be here in the morning. I won’t leave you."

  Misty started to cry. “Dalton I’m afraid again. I don’t want to be cold again.”

  Dalton put his arm around her. He could feel her trembling. “Misty I promise. I won’t leave. The cold is behind you. It will be ok.”

  The three men standing out in the hallway looked at each other. Not one of them had ever witnessed this side of Misty. Chad had tears in his eyes as he heard the fear in his daughter's voice. They each sought their beds with a prayerful heart. That night the three would each approach the throne of God on her behalf.