Cowboy Father

by Linda Ford

  Her thoughts raced as she grabbed a sheet and a basin and carried them to Rocky’s bedside. Was Ethan another of Floyd’s partners? Momentarily, she wished she had paid more attention to the men who met Floyd in the barn behind their house. That way, she’d know who to be cautious around.

  Not that she needed that information to understand she had plenty of reason for being cautious with Ethan. First, she’d seen him at the funeral. Secondly, he’d been looking for something in the cupboard.

  “Pull that chair over here,” she told Ethan. “He’ll breathe easier if he’s sitting.” She poured the boiling water into the basin and added some camphor as Ethan helped Rocky to the chair. She tented the sheet over Rocky’s head. “Breathe in the steam,” she said.

  From outside came the sound of the children, still at peace, but they would soon start to fuss for their supper.

  Ethan must have sensed her worry. “I’ll stay with Rocky. You go tend to the meal.”

  She wanted to refuse. But she couldn’t. Whether or not Ethan was part of Floyd’s schemes, she desperately needed another pair of hands. “Very well.” She left the sick room, checked to make sure all the children were accounted for. On second thought, she scooped up Jake and took him to the kitchen with her.

  She couldn’t count on the other children to notice if he took it in his mind to wander off in his eagerness to explore.

  She gave him two wooden spoons to play with and returned to supper preparations. He marched around the table in his slightly rolling gait banging the spoons together and singing a wordless song. For a moment, she enjoyed watching him, and a hollow ache filled her head. Since the day Jake had been born, she’d longed for someone to share her joy in this child.

  She returned to getting supper ready. Now she had Ma and Pa to rejoice over her son, and for that, she was grateful.

  The sound of Jake’s humming shifted into a whine, and he clung to her legs.

  “Poor baby. I know you’re hungry.” She’d scrubbed the new potatoes and chopped them into small pieces so they would cook quickly. The meal was almost done. The meat was ready, and the tender little carrots would be cooked by the time she got the table set and the children washed. She scooped Jake into her arms and called the others in.

  Pa rode into the yard, stared at the strange horse in the pen, then took care of his own horse. By the time he came toward the house, the children had arrived. Susie rushed forward, trying to beat Donny inside. Seeing her intent, Donny pushed her aside.

  Pa rested his hand on Donny’s shoulder and steadied him. “Ladies first, young man.”

  “She’s a girl, not a lady.” Nevertheless, he let Susie pass, his scowl informing the world he didn’t like it.

  Pa followed the flock of children inside. “I’m gone a few hours and come back to an unfamiliar horse in the pen and, if I’m not mistaken, there are more little ones than when I left.” He patted Jake on the head, and Jake gave him a wide grin. Her son had loved Ma and Pa from the moment they arrived.

  She chuckled. “We have company.” Out of the hearing of the children, she explained how Ethan had ridden in with the two youngsters and how they were orphaned. “Rocky has taken a turn for the worse, and Ethan is steaming him.”

  “It looks like you have your hands full. How is your mother?”

  “She’s resting better. Stella seems to be improving.”

  “Good. This influenza had hit a lot of people. We don’t usually see outbreaks like this until well into the winter. I’ll check on your mother, then come back and help.” He scrubbed his hands before he went down the hall.

  “Time to wash up,” she said to the children. “Youngest to oldest.” It seemed the easiest way to avoid confrontations between Susie and Donny.

  Donny crossed his arms and scowled at her.

  Ignoring his displeasure, she made sure that each pair of hands was washed, each face wiped, and then sat the children around the table, careful to put Donny and Susie on opposite sides, their siblings beside them. She set Jake on the chair next to where she’d sit.

  Pa returned and took his place. “What about the young man out there?” He tipped his head toward the addition in case Adele didn’t understand he meant Ethan.

  “If you watch the children, I’ll go out there as soon as they are eating.” She put a small amount of potato on each plate.

  “I want more,” Donny said. “I’m not a baby.” Then, remembering his manners, he added. “May I, please.”

  She put two more of the small potatoes on his plate and put a dab of butter on the potatoes on each plate. Then added the chopped meat and carrots.

  “I’ll ask the blessing while the food cools,” Pa said, and bowed his head.

  Adele caught Jake’s hands and pressed them together. “Close your eyes.”

  Georgie’s big eyes watched her.

  Wondering if he wanted the same treatment, she held his hands and whispered, “Close your eyes.”

  He favored her with a wide smile.

  For the first time, she really looked at him. He was a beautiful child with big brown eyes and dark blond hair. Her throat tightened. How it must have pained his parents when they realized they would be leaving their children to the mercy of others.

  Thank God, He had brought them here, to a place of shelter and love.

  The three older children bowed their heads as Pa said a short prayer of thanks. Pa wasn’t known for his brevity in praying, but he must have realized these children were hungry and remembered that hungry children could be difficult.

  As soon as he said, “Amen,” Adele put a spoon in Jake’s hands. He wasn’t the neatest eater on his own, but she had to check on Rocky.

  And Ethan. Being alone in the sickroom would give him plenty of opportunity to poke through things. Not that he’d find anything, but she didn’t care for a stranger searching where he wasn’t invited. Besides, she knew Cal would talk freely about what he knew. Not that there was anything he could reveal.

  Still, it bothered her, and it bothered her even more to be so full of suspicion. If only she could confide in Pa.

  Pa studied her a moment. “Should I have concerns about our visitor?”

  Adele paused halfway to the door. Had Pa seen something in her expression that alerted him to her worries? She stilled her face to calmness. “I’ve barely met him, so I can’t say. I’ll send him in right away and let you judge that for yourself.” And with those hurried words she went to the sickroom.

  Ethan had pulled a chair close and sat talking to Rocky.

  She stopped to listen.

  “Texas is nice, but what I see here in Montana Territory is inviting. The mountains and rolling hills are covered with grass up to a horse’s knees. Can’t think of better ranching country.”

  Cal sat up on one elbow. “Makes me long to be able to ride my horse again.” He shifted and saw Adele in the doorway. “Mrs. Roberts, I’m feeling tons better. Think I’m ready to ride out of here. Not that I don’t appreciate your hospitality and all.”

  “Glad to hear you’re ready to leave, but Ma said to wait forty-eight hours to make sure there isn’t a relapse.”

  “Aww.”

  Before Cal could argue, Adele added, “Ma says if the symptoms return, it’s even worse.”

  Cal fell back against his pillow and shifted his attention toward Rocky. “Guess I wouldn’t want that.”

  “Rocky, I’m going to lift the sheet.” Adele slowly folded the fabric back. “Feeling any better?”

  He nodded. “I can breathe again.”

  From the airy way he spoke, she knew he was still congested.

  “Can I go to bed?”

  She nodded. Ethan helped the man back to the cot.

  “Supper is ready,” Adele told Ethan. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll make sure Rocky is okay.”

  “I’m fine. You go have supper.”

  Rocky sighed and sank into a much-needed sleep.

  “Do I get to eat?” Cal sounded worried.

 
; “I’ll bring you something as soon as the children have eaten.” She hung the sheet over the chair to dry and emptied the basin of water.

  Ethan waited at the door.

  She delayed by tidying Rocky’s bed and then straightening the covers on Cal’s. Ethan remained in the doorway. Accepting that he meant to accompany her—whether out of courtesy or to make sure she couldn’t hide something—she joined him, and they went to the house.

  He stopped inside the door.

  “Pa, this is Mr. Ethan Sandburg, the man I told you about. Ethan, this is my father, Preacher Jacob Kinsley.” She emphasized the word Preacher in the hopes of informing Ethan there would be no illegal activities with her father around.

  Pa looked Ethan up and down, then rose to shake his hand. “Welcome.”

  As easy as that, Adele knew Ethan had passed some sort of silent test with her pa.

  She was not as ready to give the same approval.

  “He founded us,” Susie said with a great deal of importance.

  “Kade found us,” Donny said.

  Adele pointed Ethan toward a chair across the table from her and next to little Georgie. It was at Pa’s left side. She realized she hoped Pa would measure him a little more carefully.“The food has been blessed, so help yourself,” Pa said.

  Adele took food for her plate.

  Ethan glanced about. “Kade?”

  “My brother-in-law,” she said, with no intention of adding more, but Pa grinned widely.

  “We have been blessed with six adopted daughters. Adele is the oldest. She came to us as a baby, a sister for our son, Josh, who was almost three at the time.” Pa’s smile flattened. “We haven’t heard from Josh in almost two years.”

  “Six girls. One boy.” Ethan shuddered. “Poor Josh.”

  “It isn’t why he disappeared,” Adele said with some heat. “He enjoyed being the big brother to his adoring sisters.”

  Pa gave Adele a look she was familiar with, and knew he wondered why she was being so defensive. He shifted his attention back to Ethan, freeing her from having to try and explain that her response had little to do with the statement Poor Josh and a whole lot to do with the feeling that the safety of her world was threatened by this man’s presence, and perhaps resentment that he reminded her of the pain and disappointment she’d experienced when she’d learned the truth about who and what Floyd was.

  Pa asked Ethan, “How about you? Where do you hail from? Do you have family? A wife? Parents or brothers and sisters?”

  A wife? Adele hadn’t even considered the possibility. But why not? Having a wife hadn’t made Floyd turn away from a life of crime. In fact, it suited him to be seen as a respectable married man.

  “I work for a rancher in Texas. My parents are still living, and I have a sister who is eight years younger than me.” He grinned and shook his head. “I guess she’s about grown up now at seventeen. Ma says she’s being courted by a nice young man.” He shifted his focus to Adele. “So I know a little bit about being a big brother.”

  Adele held his gaze without letting her questions come to the surface. Montana Territory was a long distance from Texas. She would never convince herself it was purely accidental that a man she’d seen at Floyd’s funeral would show up on her doorstep.

  “I’m a good big brother,” Donny said.

  “You are indeed. And I’m grateful for your help.” Adele shifted her attention to Susie, hoping to stop a heated response. “And Susie is a good big sister to Georgie. Your parents would be pleased with both of you.” The two children beamed, and Adele let out a tiny sigh. She’d succeeded in making both Susie and Donny happy for the moment, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think the conflict between them would disappear that easily.

  She finished feeding Jake, then quickly ate her own meal. “I need to take food to those who are sick.”

  Ethan swallowed the last mouthful of his food and pushed away from the table. “Seems you’ll need a few more hands to do that. I’ll take care of the two men. You tend to the ladies.”

  “And I’ll stay here and enjoy these young ones.” Pa smiled at each of them. Even Susie relaxed under Pa’s gentle manner.

  If only there was a way Adele could refuse Ethan’s help. Not because he didn’t seem capable. And certainly not because she didn’t need the extra pair of hands. But every kind deed he performed made her feel like he wriggled closer to her and her family. For what purpose? Kindness? Concern? She couldn’t believe either was given without a hidden agenda.

  She returned to the stove and filled a bowl with the beef broth she’d prepared. “See if Rocky can take this.” She was about to fill a plate for Cal when Ethan took the dish.

  “I’ll do up something for Cal.” He indicated the potatoes and meat.

  She hesitated, then let him serve food for Cal while she got bowls for Ma and Stella. It would be easier to see Ethan as one of Floyd’s law-breaking friends if he wasn’t so helpful. So good with the children, she added. And if he didn’t pray like an honest, believing man.

  But she knew a man would pretend all sorts of things when it suited him to do so. She’d not only learned it firsthand with Floyd, she’d seen him do it over and over to others. It still galled her that she hadn’t been able to warn those others.

  Ethan bumped the door open with his hip and left to take food to the sick men.

  Adele took a bowl of soup to Stella first.

  Stella sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She yawned. “You should have called me for supper. I’m feeling well enough to be up.”

  Adele told her what she’d told Cal. “Forty-eight hours, and if you’re still feeling good you can get up, but mind you take it easy. You will need time to recover.” She pulled a little table close to the bed and set the bowl on it.

  “Are the children behaving?”

  Adele chuckled. “Donny and Susie are trying to establish who will be boss.” She provided a few details.

  “Send Donny in, and I’ll have a talk with him.”

  “Stella, it’s not necessary. Pa is with them. I think he can handle them.”

  “I guess so. But I hate being such a nuisance.”

  Adele patted Stella’s shoulder. “You aren’t.” Ethan was the one who was a nuisance, but to be honest, she wasn’t sure how she’d get through the rest of the day without his help. Acknowledging the truth only made her insides twitch. She could not let her need or his willingness to help make her forget that he was here for his own reasons.

  She left and got a bowl of soup for Ma. As she arranged the pillows behind her mother, she did her best to hide the knowledge that her fever had gone up.

  “I’ll help you eat.” She pulled a chair close and spoon-fed the soup. The fact that Ma didn’t protest increased Adele’s concern.

  Ma ate four or five mouthfuls then refused more.

  “Ma, I’m going to sponge you. It will make you more comfortable. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  Pa had taken the children outside, and Ethan hadn’t returned. Was Rocky worse? She didn’t have time to check. The children would soon need to be put to bed. Where was she going to put everyone? She glanced at the table still covered with dirty dishes. Georgie hadn’t eaten anything. Was he sick, or mourning? She needed more hands and more time to take care of everyone and clean the kitchen.

  First things first, and Ma came first. She returned to her mother’s room with a basin of tepid water.

  “Is everything going well out there?” Ma asked.

  Adele could have said things were fine, but Ma would want more details. “Rocky is struggling.” She related how she’d treated the young man. “Georgie and Susie are upset, of course.” She gave a few details as she sponged her mother’s face.

  Ma sighed. “They will need lots of patience.”

  “I’ll see they get it.” If they would let her. But that would mean they stayed. Did it also mean Ethan would stay? So many things were uncertain at the moment except the need to keep moving and ge
t things done.

  “Ma, I’ll let you rest and check on you again in a bit.”

  “Thank you.” Her eyelids were already closed.

  Please God, don’t let her get as sick as Rocky.

  She rushed through the kitchen and out to the addition to check on the young man. She came up short as she almost ran into Ethan returning with the soiled dishes.

  “Rocky was able to eat all his soup,” he said. “He is breathing easier.”

  “Thank goodness.” She edged past him and checked on both patients. Cal was contentedly reading a book. “Good to see you on the mend.” She touched Rocky’s forehead. He was still fevered, and his chest still rattled. He needed to be steamed. Maybe he could sweat out the fever.

  She hurried back to get the kettle she kept simmering on the back of the stove. Pa sat beside the house with the children gathered round him, Jake and Georgie on his knees. She knew he would be telling them stories and reciting little poems for them.

  Just as he had for Adele and her sisters. And Josh. How could Josh disappear and not contact his parents? The only explanation that made sense was that something dreadful had happened to him despite her parents continued belief that they would find him. They even had a private detective searching for him. But so far, not a single clue.

  She stepped into the kitchen and ground to a halt. Ethan had cleared the table and stood with his hands in soapy dishwater. She swallowed hard. Who was this man? What did he want? She couldn’t deny that she felt vulnerable at all the kindnesses he was showing.

  Was he intentionally trying to convince her that he was a good man, willing to help, willing to do whatever needed to be done?

  She could not forget her hard-learned lessons, nor her suspicions.

  Ethan did not miss the look of caution and warning in Adele’s eyes. Though he could not guess as to the reason or reasons behind it. Of course, she was wary with him being a stranger and all. But did it go beyond that? Was she hiding something like a guilty secret? Like a purse heavy with money?

  That’s what he’d come to discover.

  Circumstances had worked out to give him an excuse to hang around. She had far too much to do to manage on her own, or even with her father’s help. Even if he didn’t welcome the excuse to stay nearby and learn a bit more about her for the purpose of discovering where his boss’s money had disappeared to, he wouldn’t leave her to manage on her own in this situation. Though he had to wonder how much of his help she would accept.