“Studied in Boston, you say?” her father asked as he passed the big bowl of beans around the table.
Saffron glanced at Carol who was rapt with attention, studying everything around her, from the bowl of gravy on the table to each and every person there. It warmed her heart to see her having such a good time.
As Saffron glanced around the room, she stopped as her eyes met Adam’s across from her. Her belly fluttered at his gaze, his eyes not leaving hers. She broke her gaze from his and gasped as Andy reached for a bowl of peppers, quickly asking, “What’s this?” before taking a big bite of one.
She should have given the standard speech about the spiciness of Mexican food as she usually did when new guests attended Sunday supper, but she’d forgotten with Carol and all the commotion. All she could do was offer water and sympathy as she clapped Andy on the back, his coughing and sputtering stopping the conversation for a bit.
As she did, Adam stood and started to come around the table.
“He’ll be fine in a moment, Adam. It’s a chili, and I venture to guess a new experience,” her father said while Andy’s coughs subsided, his face red as a beet.
“Good grief, Andy, are you all right?”
His eyes as big as silver dollars as he gulped all the air he could, he said, “I wouldn’t have come if I knew you was gonna try to kill me.”
Adam laughed and apologized, warning the rest of his siblings against the peppers as Maria pushed through the swinging kitchen door. “I heard somebody coughing. Who was it?”
Andy raised his hand and she circled the table, setting a glass of milk in front of him. “Drink this. It’ll help. And stay away from the peppers,” she said as she headed back into the kitchen.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had authentic Mexican food,” Dr. Folsom said as he reached for a pepper of his own.
When the laughter subsided—including Andy’s—and they’d all returned to eating, Mr. Archer turned to Dr. Folsom and said, “Did you study anything in particular? What’s your favorite part of doctoring?”
Dr. Folsom smiled. “I like all kinds of doctoring, Mr. Archer. But I became especially interested in helping people recover after accidents or injuries. The number of men wounded in the Civil War brought about a new type of medicine, experiments and the like. Now, with what they’ve learned from helping with those types of injuries, we can help in many ways we didn’t know about before. But there wasn’t much Civil War activity out here.” He glanced at Sage, who Saffron noticed was following every word, her eyes wide. “But I don’t suppose you’re all interested in that.”
“I’m fascinated,” Carol said in a quiet voice. Then, a bit louder, she said, “In fact, I’d like to know all about it.”
Saffron thought she saw Adam squirm in his chair as the doctor proceeded to tell everyone about the exercises they’d developed for people with injuries and how in some cases, people were able to get around on their own with wooden or metal poles that helped them.
She turned to Carol and smiled as Carol peppered the doctor with questions.
“You’re quite interested in this for a young lady,” the doctor finally said. “I imagine I’m boring the rest of the guests.”
Mr. Archer smiled. “No, not at all. But the younger folk may be a little more interested in talking about the next big activity in town. The circus. Are you all going?”
Carol turned hopeful eyes to Adam. “I’d like to go very much, but I’m one of those people you’ve been trying to help, Dr. Folsom. You see, I can’t walk, and would have no way of getting around at the circus.”
The doctor’s eyes lit up. “Oh, it would be a perfect opportunity to experiment. I’ve brought with me a new chair with wheels that I’ve helped design. They’re still not simple or efficient to make. I’m hoping to find someone who can help, but I’ve brought one with me. I would be happy to have you try it, and the circus would be a perfect place to see how it does. We can see how it navigates the dirt as opposed to the smoother boardwalk.”
Adam gasped and the blood drained from his face as the doctor continued.
“And I would be happy to see you one day for an examination. There may be things we can try to strengthen your legs. There are all kinds of things to experiment with these days.”
Adam’s fingers tightened around his fork, his knuckles white as he looked from the doctor to Saffron. “I appreciate your offer on both counts, Dr. Folsom, but that’s not something that Carol will be doing. Nor will she be going to the circus.”
Carol looked quickly at Saffron, her eyes pleading.
Saffron shook her head quickly at Carol, hoping to change the topic of conversation and talk about it in private later. She knew Adam was in no state to talk about it now, especially in front of so many people.
She reached under the table and squeezed her sister Rose’s knee and was relieved to find that Rose still remembered their secret signal, even though she’d married and moved out of the house.
Rose turned to Adam and said, “Medicine has changed a great deal recently, and very quickly. We received a new book about it at the library and it’s just fascinating. Papa, when are you going to visit the library? You’ll be so surprised at how much we’ve done already. Your gathering of donations has helped us put it together much more quickly than Mrs. Carter and the mayor thought we would be able to. In fact, we’re already looking for volunteers to help us when we open, which will be soon.”
Saffron was so grateful to her sister for changing the subject and she now was able to sit through the rest of the meal, grateful that by the end everyone was happily chatting about subjects not related to Carol, chairs with wheels or the circus. Even Adam.
Chapter 27
Adam’s shoulders slumped as he drove the buggy home after dinner at the Archers’. He’d felt awful when he had to tell the well-intentioned doctor that he couldn’t try any of those things out on Carol, but it just had to be done. After the accident, he’d taken Carol to several doctors who promised the same, and although she didn’t remember much of that time, he did.
His heart had been broken over and over, each time he heard from a new doctor that there was no hope for her to ever walk again, that the damage was permanent. And each time he heard it, he re-lived the entire accident, the horrible events before and after that he’d never been able to talk about with a single soul.
To say it weighed heavy on his heart was an understatement, and he did his best to put all that behind him. He knew nobody at the table understood—least of all his siblings—but he wasn’t willing to change his mind. Not with so much at stake. If Carol and Andy and Luke ever had to feel the grief and guilt he did, he’d never forgive himself, and he was determined that they never would.
“Adam,” Carol said quietly as he carried her to her room. He was a little surprised that any one of them wanted to speak to him at the moment—they certainly hadn’t said a word on the ride home. “Can I speak with you, please?”
“Carol, please don’t ask me about the circus again. Please.”
She lowered her eyes, then looked back up at him, the ice blue color of his own. Sometimes when he looked at her he saw his mother—or at least what he’d seen of her in an old photograph—and Carol was just as beautiful. He thought again of her future, wondering what it was she wanted. What she envisioned for herself.
“I won’t ask. I promise. I do appreciate all of your help looking after me,” she said quietly.
Adam patted Carol on the knee. “I love you, Carol, and it’s a pleasure.”
Carol’s lips pursed. “Adam, you’re very kind to say that, but I know it’s a lot of work. I am a lot of work.”
“Sssh. Just stop that now, will you? We’re family.”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you, Adam. About family.”
He sat back and met her gaze. “Oh?”
Carol fiddled with the sleeve of her new dress. “Tonight at the Archers’ was grand, wasn’t it? So much wonderful food, good compa
ny, laughter.”
“Yes,” he said slowly as his memory returned to the full table, the delicious meal—Saffron’s deep brown eyes lit by the flickering candles.
“Don’t you ever think you might want that? Get married, have a family of your own?”
Adam blinked, jerking himself out of his thoughts. “What? Why would you say that? I’m fine here-we’re fine. I told you, we already are a family.”
He kissed his sister on the forehead and headed into the kitchen, wondering if Carol really meant she might want that for herself.
Chapter 28
“Mija, this is not a good idea,” Maria had said when she’d asked her advice about her plans. Andy and Luke had come to the ranch and explained that Carol hadn’t been herself since Adam had said she couldn’t go to the circus—had even cried several times. Their eyes were red, too, and she couldn’t bear the thought of them all so disappointed.
Now, her heart thudded as she pulled up to the circus. Andy and Luke had helped her get Carol into the buggy and, although her conscience pulled at her, she’d driven them into town. She’d stopped to pick up the chair with wheels from the doctor’s office and looked away at his raised eyebrows. He’d smiled at Carol, her smile wide, and lifted it into the back of the buckboard anyway.
They all buzzed as they approached the tents just on the outskirts of Tombstone that had been the talk of the town when they’d arrived. “Is that a camel?” Andy said as he stood in the buckboard and pointed.
“Andy, sit down.” Saffron couldn’t believe that they’d convinced her to do this, but even she couldn’t help but look at the exotic animals in cages and the strange characters who had arrived with the circus. It was only one day, she told herself, and Adam had gone all the way to Fort Huachuca to service some of the horses at the army facility. And she was in her home town. All her sisters and brothers-in-law would be there. What harm could come of it?
None of them had been to a circus—including Saffron—and she’d been swayed by their pleading. Now, she pushed all doubt aside. If she’d gone to all this trouble and risked Adam’s anger, they may as well have a good time.
Carol beamed as her brothers lifted her from the buckboard and into the small chair with wheels they’d unloaded just before. Her pretty yellow bonnet waved in the breeze as they pulled her toward the tents.
Saffron set down her coins for tickets and waved at Sage and Maria at the front tent.
“Oh, no, Saffron, you did it,” Maria said as she smiled at Carol, Andy and Luke.
Saffron glared at Maria and Sage shrugged her shoulders as they entered the closest tent.
Saffron shook her head at Maria’s teasing as they followed Sage and Maria into the first tent.
Sage stopped short and Saffron bumped up against her as Luke and Andy stopped pulling Carol’s chair.
“What? Is it a tiger?” Saffron said, laughing.
“No. Worse. It’s Widow Samson,” Sage whispered.
Maria crossed her chest and looked up at the sky. “That woman. Can’t anyone convince her to move to Tucson? Or better yet, New York?”
Saffron peeked around Sage to see the Widow Samson and her friend, Mrs. Claiborne, glaring at Carol and the boys. She looked behind her—nothing was out of order, aside from the fact that they were pulling a chair with a young girl in it.
“Let’s go to the other side,” Sage said, grabbing Saffron’s hand and tugging her over to the display of Egyptian artifacts.
The children followed, pulling Carol and her chair along behind them.
The tiger in the cage growled and Saffron, although fascinated, couldn’t help but feel sorry for it. Living in a cage couldn’t be much fun.
They wandered from display to display, from the turtle shell from Madagascar to the painted egg from Russia. They stopped to buy exotic cAndy from China, and also to see the world’s tallest man.
Every time they stopped to linger, Saffron turned to see Mrs. Samson and her friend not far behind them. Mrs. Samson glared at Carol, but averted her gaze quickly when Saffron caught her staring. They’d then whisper to each other before pretending to be fascinated by whatever display was in front of them.
Saffron felt more and more uncomfortable as the Widow Samson and her friend grew closer at every stop along the way.
“Sage, do you think the Widow Samson is following us? Don’t look, but she always seems to be right behind us.”
“What? Why would she do that?” Sage said as she craned her neck to look behind her.
Saffron nudged her in the ribs.
“Ouch. What did you do that for?”
“I said don’t look. I don’t trust her.”
“Why not? Why would she care about us? She already tried to ruin Rose and Michael’s lives but didn’t get away with it.”
Saffron glanced out of the corner of her eye at the widow. “I don’t know, but Adam and I saw her at the Occidental a few nights ago and she was not happy that Papa was having dinner with Mrs. Allen.”
“What?” Sage and Maria said in unison.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I forgot to tell you.”
“You certainly did,” Maria said, her arms folded across her chest.
Saffron held her finger up to her lips. “I’ll tell you all about it later. But I do think she’s following us. I think she is interested in Papa. You don’t see her mourning broach with the lock of her husband’s hair, do you?”
Sage leaned backward and peered around Saffron, standing straight quickly.
“No. It’s gone. I hope you’re wrong. I truly do. She can’t be our stepmother.”
Saffron laughed. “I’m not afraid of that at all. Papa was embarrassed. But I am a bit suspicious of what she is up to.”
They moved on to the next tent, their eyes wide at the bearded lady.
Saffron stiffened and the hair on the back of her neck stood up when she felt a tap on her shoulder coupled with a grating voice in her ear.
“Young lady, have you no decency?”
Saffron frowned and spun on her heel, meeting Widow Samson’s eyes.
“Hello, Mrs. Samson.”
“Good day, Miss Archer. I’ll repeat, have you no decency?”
“I beg your pardon?” Saffron felt her hands clench at her sides as Mrs. Samson nodded toward Carol who was gleefully watching the monkeys climb in their cage along with her brothers.
Sage stepped to her side, shoulder to shoulder with Saffron. “Whatever do you mean, Mrs. Samson? Surely you aren’t referring to the fact that our father is courting the beautiful and charming Mrs. Allen.”
Saffron’s heart lurched and she did all she could to stop her smile—but she couldn’t.
Mrs. Samson gasped and took a step back, her eyes narrowed at Saffron. She glanced at Maria who smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“Oh. You two are incorrigible. If Mr. Archer wants to cavort with that hussy, that is none of my concern.”
The small hunched woman in black who stood a step behind her nodded.
“I’m more concerned about this indecency,” Mrs. Samson said as she pointed to Carol. “People in this condition should stay at home. Where they can’t be seen. It’s indecent.”
Saffron felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown at her. Her chest tightened as she looked from Mrs. Samson over to her darling Carol, her eyes rapt with attention at the tiger pacing in the cage in front of her.
“Mrs. Samson, I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself. Carol has as much right to be here as you have. How else could she see the wonders of the world, especially in her condition, than here at the circus? And you would deny her that?” Saffron’s face flushed and heat coursed through her veins.
Mrs. Samson took a step back, her eyes narrowed. She looked from Saffron to Sage to Maria and took yet another step back.
“That may be true. But honestly, she should be inside the tents with the displays of other oddities rather than out here with normal people. And you should tell her so.”
>
Saffron turned around, glancing at the circus, wondering how Mrs. Samson could possibly have meant what she said. Even the people in the circus enjoyed what they were doing, laughing along with the visitors and enjoying their interest.
“Fine. If you won’t tell her, I will,” she said and moved toward the chair with wheels.
Luke turned from the tiger cage, his smile wide. He saw Mrs. Samson moving toward them and tapped Andy on the shoulder. Andy turned and they exchanged glances as the dowager in the black dress and black plumed hat charged toward them. They backed up toward the chair with wheels and Saffron gasped as they bumped into the side of it.
She closed her eyes and tried not to scream as the chair with wheels swayed then toppled, throwing Carol out into the side of the tiger cage.
Chapter 29
Adam stopped in at the mercantile on his way home from Fort Huachuca, dusty and tired. He knew Saffron had planned to spend the afternoon with Carol and secretly, he was looking forward to seeing what was for supper.
When he approached the counter to ask Suzanne for a pie, hoping to surprise them with dessert, he took a step back when she looked up from her books and said, “Oh, Adam, I’m so very sorry.”
Sorry? What could she possibly be sorry about. He hadn’t been in town for a few days and he hadn’t visited any of their horses.
“What? I don’t know what you could be talking about” He removed his hat and held it in front of him as his chest tightened.
“Oh, dear. You haven’t been home yet, have you?” Suzanne wrung her hands as she came out from behind the counter.
“No, I haven’t. Is everything all right?”
Suzanne sighed and rested her hand on Adam’s arm, her eyes brimming with tears. “I suppose all right. Nobody hurt—well, not too badly anyway. Maybe a bruised heart or two.”
He forgot all about the pie and swung the door of the mercantile open, oblivious to the crash it made as it hit the wall, and making it to his horse in two long strides. His farrier tools flopped in the saddlebags as he urged the horse faster, his mind racing with images of what could have happened to Carol, to the boys. To Saffron.
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