by Lynda J. Cox
“Mr. Burlington was giving them away.” Saul handed the puppy to Jenny. “Don’t hold her too tight,” he cautioned. “He said this one was the runt of the litter and no one was going to take her. She’s a beagle-dog. Colt says they make good rabbit dogs.”
Amelia had to look at the floor to hide her smile. She controlled her features and lifted her gaze to Colt. “Thom Burlington tells everyone that. Every litter is full of runts that he says no one else will take.”
“It’s true, Amy.” Saul stroked the puppy’s domed head and let her floppy ears trail through his fingers. “She was the only one left and he said if no one wanted her, he was going to have to shoot her.”
Saul’s words brought back the memory of Colt’s bruised voice telling her he’d been forced to shoot his own dog. She snapped her gaze back to Colt’s face.
“Boy’s gotta have a dog to grow up with,” he repeated, holding her gaze.
For a long moment, Amelia kept her silence. It was another mouth to feed and things were precarious as it was. Then with a mental shrug of her own, she held her hands out to Jenny. Jenny handed her the wiggling, warm, chubby bundle. Amelia cradled the puppy, and smiled as it snuggled under her chin. “What was her name, Colt?”
“We haven’t named her yet,” Saul said. “Please say we can keep her, Amy. Please. She’s not going to be a big dog so she won’t eat much, and we can teach her to hunt rabbits so she’ll earn her own keep, and I promise I’ll take care of her.”
Amelia, not taking her gaze from Colt’s face, repeated, “What was her name?”
Colt’s expression softened. “Baby…she was the runt too.” His voice had a ragged edge to it.
Amelia slid the puppy’s warm, silken ears through her fingers. “Hello, Baby,” she murmured.
“I can keep her?”
Amelia glanced down into Saul’s eager, hopeful face and nodded. He let out a war whoop and danced around for a moment before he raced to the barn door. “Wait until you see what’s in the wagon, Amy.”
“Saul.” An undertone of warning growled in Colt’s voice.
The boy’s shoulders slumped. “It’s a surprise, for your birthday tomorrow. Well, part of it is, anyway.”
Amelia was startled now. “You remembered my birthday, Saul? How sweet of you.” She set the puppy down. Baby scampered around the barn, her nose to the ground.
“She will make a good rabbit dog,” Saul said. “Look at how she’s sniffing around.”
Baby squatted. Colt’s laughter rang and the horses jerked their heads up in surprise. “I think she was sniffing for another reason than looking for rabbits in the barn.” He dropped his hand onto Saul’s shoulder. “Let’s put the cows up for the night and get the other stuff out of the wagon. Miss Jenny, will you please catch the dog and bring her into the house?”
“A dog in the house?” Amelia tilted her head. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. Dogs should stay outside.”
“She’s too little to stay in the barn by herself for now,” Colt said.
Jenny caught Baby into her arms and marched proudly to the house.
Amelia watched as Saul and Colt worked under the tarp, keeping her birthday surprise a secret. Saul handed two cured hams out and Colt carried them to the smokehouse. Saul carried a bag of coffee into the house. He then ducked back under the tarp and pulled a fifty-pound bag of flour out. He struggled to lift it, and then smiled his thanks up to Colt when the man helped boost it to his young shoulders. Saul toted a hefty bag of cement mix to the barn. “So I can help Colt chink the house for the winter,” he announced, even though he staggered under the weight.
Lastly, Colt hefted a ten-pound bag of sugar and a flour sack of other items and carried them into the house. “Don’t know where you want all this stuff, but Saul and I figured you and Jenny could have fun putting it away.”
She stood in stunned silence as Colt set items on the table. Cork-topped glass bottles of cinnamon, paprika, black pepper, thyme, ginger, and allspice, bottles of vanilla, lemon and almond-oil extracts, hair ribbons, and several bars of french-milled soap. Colt picked up a pair of bright blue ribbons and compared them to Jenny’s dark hair. “That should do nicely,” he said.
Jenny took the ribbon from his fingers and tied them around her braids.
Amelia stared at the bounty on the table. She couldn’t keep track of the cost of everything he had brought into the house, and she had no idea how she was ever going to repay him for his generosity. “Colt, what is all this?”
“You going to tell me you don’t need these things?” Defensiveness shaded his voice and darkened his eyes, as if afraid she would reject all of the items.
He must know she couldn’t. “No, I’m not going to tell you that.”
He pulled a box of bullets from the bag and handed them to Saul. “These are yours.”
“Colt.” Amelia’s heart stuttered and fear snaked through the pit of her stomach.
Saul clutched the box to his chest, his gaze darting from Amelia to Colt.
A gun? In her house? No, she would not stand for that. Not after what those instruments had done to her family, had done to her and Jenny and Saul.
Colt turned to Saul. “Go on out to the wagon and bring the Winchester in. May as well get this over and done with.”
“Colt Evans.” Amelia bit his name out through clenched teeth. “I will not have that thing in my house.”
“For God’s sake, Amy, how can I teach him to hunt if he doesn’t have a rifle?” Colt rubbed the back of his neck, his expression as set as the granite slopes of the mountains towering in the western horizon. “Boy’s gotta have a rifle and a dog if he’s going to hunt rabbits.”
Saul came back in the house, a Winchester rifle in his hands. In the lamplight, the barrel glinted with bluing and the wooden stock gleamed with a rich, burnished glow. How could something so beautiful be such a thing of death? Amelia whirled around.
Jenny stood frozen in the middle of the room, her eyes wide. The color had vanished from her face and her mouth opened and closed as her breath came in terrified pants. Before Amelia could stop her, the girl shoved her way past Saul and ran out into the dark, damp night.
Amelia paused long enough to shoot her words at Colt. “This is why I don’t want any guns in my house.”
“Shit,” Colt breathed. “Stay here, Saul. I’m going to help your sister find Jenny.”
He ran out the door, shouting the girl’s name. After he shouted a second time, he shook his head. The kid wouldn’t talk. How could she answer him?
Amelia emerged from the henhouse. “She isn’t there. I’m going to try the barn.”
The barn door stood open to the night. Colt caught Amelia’s arm at the elbow.
“I’ll check the barn. This is my fault. I should have asked you before I bought the rifle for Saul.”
“Saul should have said something to you.” Her voice rose in worried frustration. “If he had, we wouldn’t be looking for a terrified seven-year-old now. And he knows how I feel about him picking up a gun.”
“He’s only twelve himself, Amy. He’s not going to turn shootist because he’s got a Winchester.” Colt forced himself to keep his voice even. “He probably also knew if he told me, I wouldn’t have bought it.” Colt trudged through the mud to the barn.
He lit a lantern and searched the warm, quiet building. He found Jenny in Angel’s stall, knees drawn to her chin, arms wrapped around her legs. She was shaking with silent sobs. He hung the lantern on a nail, and let himself into the horse’s stall.
Colt sank next to Jenny in the clean straw. She looked up at him, her eyes welling with frightened tears. He slipped his arm around her and she dropped her head to his side, her tears dampening his shirt. “Aw, Jenny, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
She sniffled, and wiped the back of hand across her nose. Angel nudged the girl, his warm breath rustling the bright blue ribbons. Colt pushed the gelding’s head away.
“Amy said you saw your mom
ma and daddy killed by some very bad people.” He stroked her back, trying to calm her hiccupping cries.
Jenny lifted her head and nodded, memories darkening her eyes. Her lower lip quivered and tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Jenny, not everyone who carries a gun is going to hurt you.” He caressed her slender arm. “Learning to hunt is something a lot of boys do. It’s part of growing up.”
She shook her head vehemently, and then buried her face against his side. Her arms snaked around him and hugged him tightly, her slender frame shuddering.
With a finger under her slender chin, Colt tilted her face up. “Do you think I would ever let anyone hurt you?”
Those huge brown eyes searched his face, and then, slowly, she shook her head.
He drew a deep breath. “Do you think I would give Saul a rifle if I thought he was going to hurt you or Amy with it?”
Again, she slowly shook her head.
He brushed her bangs from her forehead, and tugged slightly on one of her long pigtails. “You know, Miss Jenny, when I came here a few days ago, I was wearing a gun.”
She swallowed and nodded.
“Do you think I’d ever hurt you?”
There wasn’t a second of hesitation before she shook her head. Colt folded her into his side again. “I promise, Miss Jenny, so long as I’m here, no one will hurt you or Saul or Amy. I swear that to you.”
Her thin arms tightened around his waist and Colt’s throat clenched. He sat with her for a long moment, the weight of her head against his ribs filling him with a protectiveness he hadn’t felt in a long time. He slipped her long braid through his fingers.
“You know what, Jenny?”
She shook her head against his side, her tiny hand catching his in the sling. Her fingers tightened around his palm.
“A man could get real used to living in a place like this with a couple of kids like you and Saul. That used to be something I dreamed of having…a couple of great kids, a beautiful wife like your sister, a small ranch with a few head of cattle. I used to dream about it so much, I had the floor plan for the house all laid out in my head. I could almost feel the sun on me as I watched it sinking behind a mountain range in those dreams.”
Jenny pushed back from him, and her brows lifted in silent query.
“I don’t know what happened to those dreams.” He smiled and brushed the last of her tears from her cheeks. “I guess, somewhere along the line, I realized someone like me will never be able to settle down and have those dreams come true.”
She shook her head.
“No, what? No, I’ll never be able to settle down…”
She shook her head again. The blue ribbons danced and shimmered in the lantern light. Rain falling from the roof pattered to the ground in a soothing rhythm. The horses shuffled in the stalls and the cows contentedly munched hay.
“I should see to making those dreams come true.” Here, he silently added.
She bobbed her head and a smile darted over her tear-streaked face.
“Wish I could, Jenny.” Colt eased a deep breath in. He dropped his head to the wall behind him. “But that gun I wore isn’t going to let me.”
Her brows lowered.
“I’ve done some really bad things. I will always be looking over my shoulder. And if I stayed here to try to make those dreams come true, you and Saul and Amy could be hurt because of the things I have done. I’ve done some really bad things,” he repeated.
She shook her head again.
“Yeah, Jenny, I have.” He drew another deep breath. “I’d better get you into the house and take the tongue lashing I know is coming.” Colt stood, holding his hand down to Jenny. When he straightened, he realized Amelia stood silently a few feet away. Tears glistened in her eyes.
Colt brushed a hand over Jenny’s head. “Go on into the house. And tell Saul to give that puppy a bowl of water.”
He waited until Jenny left the barn before he said, “Well, go on. Have your say. I should have asked you before I bought Saul a rifle, and I should have warned Jenny before she saw it. This is all my fault, and I overstepped my bounds as a guest in your home.”
“Yes, you should have asked me first.” Her heart was breaking for the wistful tone she had heard in his voice when he told Jenny of his dreams. Hidden beneath his harsh exterior was a man who just wanted what every other man wanted, a home, children, a place he knew he could be safe. And he had said she was beautiful. “Colt, I didn’t know…”
“How much of that did you hear?” Ice formed in the air with his tone of voice.
“All of it. I came into the barn when I heard you tell Jenny you were sorry, that you didn’t know.” She took a step closer. “I heard all of it, Colt.”
“Yeah, well, don’t dwell too much on it. They’re just dreams. I won’t be staying too much longer.” He walked to the door.
“Colt.” He stopped, his back still to her. Amelia plunged on, before she lost her resolve. “You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. There have been others who walked away from the life of a shootist.”
“I told you, they’re just dreams, Amy. Something we all have to learn is that part of being a grown-up means we realize dreams are only that—dreams.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I grew up a long time ago. And walking away doesn’t work. Sooner or later, no matter how much he hides, a shootist’s past finds him.” He strode out of the barn without a backward glance.
“You gave those dreams up only because you didn’t have a choice,” Amelia murmured. She looked at Angel and shook her head. “How do I convince him he has a choice, now? Daddy had the same choice to make and he walked toward those dreams he had.”
****
Saul stood in the kitchen, his face set in stubborn lines. Jenny was clinging to Baby, and Colt leaned against the kitchen counter, nursing a steaming cup of coffee.
“She’s my puppy. Colt, tell her Baby is my puppy!”
Amelia shut the door on the cool, damp night. “What is going on in here?”
“Jenny wants to take Baby to bed with her.” Saul’s voice rose into a wail. “She’s my puppy, Amy.”
Amelia shot a glare at Colt. “Why haven’t you said something?”
“Do I look like I want in the middle of this?” He set the cup down. “I tried to work out a compromise with both of them, but neither one is budging.”
Amelia sighed. It was as if their conversation in the barn had never taken place. “Saul, Jenny goes to bed a full hour before you do. Let her take Baby to bed with her and when you go to bed, I’ll get Baby for you and you can have her.”
Jenny shook her head, her blue ribbons gleaming in the lamplight. She clutched the puppy to her chest, forcing a grunt from Baby.
“Jenny, we are not going to argue this,” Amelia said. “Baby is your brother’s dog. You can take her to bed with you. But when Saul goes to bed, I will get Baby and he can have her for the rest of the night.”
Jenny shook her head and cast a pleading gaze to Colt. He threw his hands up into the air, raising the one in the sling as high as he could. “Don’t get me in the middle of this, Miss Jenny. You had your chance for a compromise.”
Amelia hissed, “Coward.”
“Amy, she’s my puppy, not Jen—” Saul’s wail ended mid-word when Amelia rounded on him. “Okay. Jenny can take her to bed with her. But I get her when I go to bed. She’s my puppy, Jenny.”
Jenny set her mouth in a stubborn line and again shook her head. Too well, Amelia knew that glint in her eyes. She had her mind set and neither heaven nor hell was going to budge her.
Amelia glared at Colt. “You solve this. You created this problem when you brought that puppy here.”
His brows lowered. “Me?”
“Yes, you, Colt. I am going to wash the dishes. It’s your problem to resolve.” Amelia turned her back on the three of them.
While the water heated, Amelia watched Colt with Saul and Jenny. Jenny sat on his knee, the puppy in her arms. Saul stroked the
puppy’s head, nodding at whatever Colt was murmuring in a low voice.
Amelia dropped the dishes into the heated water and scrubbed them clean. Colt announced, “We’ve got it all worked out, Amy. Jenny will take Baby to bed with her tonight, and tomorrow, Saul can have her.” He sounded pleased with himself. “Of course, Saul and I have to go back into town and find Jenny her own puppy.”
“What?” Amelia shot a startled glance at him. “Another puppy? Another mouth to feed?”
“Or a kitten if we can’t find a puppy, which might be a better pet for a young lady anyway,” Colt said. “You don’t have to feed a cat, because they earn their keep by mousing and ratting.”
“Oh, I give up,” Amelia muttered, sinking her hands into the hot water.
“If you can have a damn pet rooster named Captain, Jenny can have a puppy or a kitten.”
She had to admit he did have a point about cats catching small varmints. And she had made a pet of a rooster. She felt, though, that she should protest at least one last time. “I swear all three of you were in cahoots about this the whole time, Colt.”
“Girl’s gotta have a kitten, that’s all there is to it,” Colt said it as if it were etched in stone somewhere, never to be altered or defied.
****
Amelia whistled softly for Baby. Saul was sprawled on his bed but Baby was nowhere in sight. She peeked into Jenny’s room. Like Saul, Jenny was sound asleep, her features relaxed and peaceful. Yet there was still no sign of Baby. Where had that puppy gotten to?
Baby had to go outside once more before Amelia could go to bed for the night. On a hunch, she eased the door open to her room.
Colt was sound asleep, flat on his back. A small red and white bundle snuggled into his side, safe within the protective curve of his arm. Colt’s upper arm pillowed Baby’s head.
The puppy’s tail thumped on the mattress and Colt’s arm tightened, pulling her closer into the safety of his side. Baby’s tail thumped faster and harder on the mattress. In his sleep, Colt drew a hand slowly down the puppy’s back.
Amelia crossed her arms over her breast and leaned her head against the doorjamb, smiling. Her heart seemed to swell and a soul-deep warmth washed over her. Not for all the money in the world would she have stepped into the room and taken that puppy from the safety of Colt’s arm. She tiptoed to the bed and pulled a blanket up over them.
