“Are you in some sort of trouble?” she asked.
Adam shook his head, dislodging droplets of melting snow from his woolen cap. “No, ma’am,” he said. “But we know someone who is.”
Her eyebrow arched and she sank slowly onto a worn davenport. “Sit and tell me what’s going on.”
He waited for Rebecca to sit before he took a chair opposite Anna. “There are two boys hiding out in our greenhouse. Leo, the older boy, is taking care of his little brother Benny. I think Leo is older than me. I don’t know how old Benny is, but he can’t talk yet. They’re alone and are cold and hungry. I think they need a place to live.”
There. He’d blurted the whole story and now it was up to the adults to take care of the boys. With that, he exhaled and leaned back in his chair. Now all he had to do was keep Rebecca away from the greenhouse until Leo and his brother were long gone.
“Oh, my...” Anna pressed her fingers to her chest. “Are they truly alone? Are you certain they are without a parent or guardian of some sort?”
He nodded. “I’m pretty sure. I thought maybe they could stay here.”
Her hand sank to her lap. “I take in women who need a safe place to stay until they can get a home of their own. It’s not for boys who need a family to take care of them.”
“But you’ve had children here,” he said. “I’ve seen them.”
“Yes, Adam, but those children came with their mother and they left with their mother.”
“But I thought you might like having a baby. Benny seems sweet, and Leo could help out around here.”
Her eyes grew dark and her shoulders seemed to melt. “I’d love to have children, but this isn’t a place for them. It’s always possible that one of my guest’s husbands could track them here and... well, that situation could become terribly dangerous.”
He knew how dangerous it could become. He’d seen the results of Anna’s husband’s brutal hands. Just thinking about Leo and little Benny in that situation made his stomach sick. He couldn’t do that to them no matter how much he didn’t want them in his home.
“You need to tell your father about this,” Anna said. “He and Faith will be able to help those boys better than I.”
He nodded, knowing that he should have done that from the start. The longer he sat here being selfish the longer Benny and Leo were going hungry. “Thank you,” he said, standing. “We’ll head home so we can get the boys some food.”
Anna stood and pulled him into a hug and drew Rebecca in with her other arm. “You two are such beautiful children.”
In that moment Adam understood that the word love encompassed very different feelings. He loved Anna Levens as deeply as he loved his aunts. He loved Rebecca Grayson, his cousin by marriage but not by blood, like he loved no other.
Heat scorched his face as he slipped from Anna’s arms. “We should go now.”
Anna straightened his hat with a gentle tug that made his ears burn hotter. “Let me send you off with a basket of food for those hungry boys.”
“Thank you, but Faith made a pot full of stew for supper. She’ll have plenty to fill the boys’ stomachs.”
“All right then. I’ll stop by tomorrow to see if I can help. Give my best to your families,” she said.
The frosty air cooled his hot face as he and Rebecca dashed out the door and headed down Main Street.
With a laugh, she tugged on his hand. “I’m going to run out of my boots if you don’t slow down!”
“Sorry.” He slowed to a walk beside the girl he would someday marry. He loved her laugh and her willingness to bolt headlong into any adventure. He liked that she skipped stones better than he did and that she enjoyed being surprised by their spontaneous kisses. He hadn’t kissed her in a long time, and had never kissed her the way he wanted to, but he would someday. When they were older, a brief peck on her sweet lips would not be enough. When he and Rebecca were old enough to court he would kiss her and make her as eager to get married as he was.
As they neared the greenhouse his thoughts crashed back to Leo and Benny and their dire situation. Shame burned through him for being so selfish. He was thinking about kissing Rebecca and keeping his home to himself while Leo must be wondering how he and Benny would survive the night.
This was not how a Grayson man would think. Duke and his brothers would set aside their own concerns and do whatever necessary to make sure Leo and Benny were sheltered in a warm, safe home.
That’s what Adam needed to do. He needed to be a better man than the boy who had lived behind the brothel.
When they reached his house, he and Rebecca shucked their boots at the door and hurried to the parlor where Faith was showing Cora how to work knitting needles.
“A boy and a baby are in the greenhouse and they need our help,” he blurted before his selfish side could convince him to just sneak into the kitchen and take some food to the boys. “Can you please fix them something to eat while I get a blanket for Benny?”
“Adam, stop right there,” Faith said, in her serious I-mean-it voice.
He sighed and jammed his fists into his coat pockets. “The boys are in trouble, Faith. They need help like we did when we first came here.”
“We will help anyone, Adam. You know that. But slow down and tell me what’s going on.”
Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs above him. “Where are you rushing off to, son?”
Adam turned toward his sister’s husband, his new father, hoping that Duke Grayson would always want him for his son no matter how many boys he and Faith had or acquired. “I was going to my room to get a blanket for the baby in our greenhouse.”
His Dad’s dark eyebrows seemed to lift an inch as he descended the stairs. “There’s a baby in our greenhouse?”
“Yes, sir. I saw the door ajar, and when I went in to investigate I found a baby in there with his big brother. They’re cold and hungry, Dad, and I’d wager my boots they don’t have any place to go.”
His father stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his tall, powerful body dwarfing Adam. “Then we had better bring them home,” he said, giving Adam’s neck an affectionate fatherly squeeze. “After they’re settled, we’ll talk about why you went in the greenhouse alone when it would have been wiser to come get me.” With that he swept Rebecca into a bear hug. “My pretty little niece looks like a snowman all bundled up.”
Rebecca giggled and kissed his cheek. Adam’s new dad was Rebecca’s uncle. Their family connections were all messed up, but Adam and Rebecca were not related by blood and agreed they were not cousins. They were secret sweethearts who would court as soon as they were old enough.
“Let’s go see about those boys,” his dad said, shooing them toward the door.
“Yes, sir.” Adam knew he’d done a good thing even if Leo was going to pound him for telling. A Grayson man would willingly put himself in danger to protect his family. Adam would accept the risk of getting punched to make sure the boys got help. But there were bigger consequences that scared him to death because if Duke and Faith wanted to keep the boys, his perfect home would be ruined.
Faith set Cora beside her then stood and straightened the gathered skirt of her day dress. Adam knew nothing about women’s clothing, but Faith was proud of the organ pleating and burgundy piping she’d added to her newest creation. The dress looked nice, but his sister looked pretty in everything she wore.
She walked into the foyer and retrieved a homespun wool blanket from a decorative trunk. She handed the blanket to Adam. “I’ll warm some stew while you get the boys.” She kissed Duke’s cheek. “Be careful.”
“I can handle a couple of boys,” he said, wearing a tolerant grin.
Duke could handle a couple of men, but as they had all learned last year, a gun in the wrong hands can change everything. But Leo didn’t have a gun. He didn’t have anything.
As his dad shrugged on his heavy jacket, Adam crammed the thick blanket under one arm and pulled on his boots. At the door, he faced his father.
“Leo isn’t going to like you showing up. I told him I’d bring food and blankets for him and Benny.”
“We’ll make Leo understand that it’s too dangerous for him and his brother to sleep in the greenhouse.”
Adam nodded, but he wondered how Duke would get the hardheaded, distrustful Leo to come home with them. Whatever his dad did, he hoped it wouldn’t make Leo mad because the boy could beat him up pretty bad, if he wanted to. And it would be awful if he did it in front of Rebecca.
Even if Leo didn’t punch him tonight he could do it in the morning when Duke went to work at the sawmill he owned with his three brothers. Until Adam headed to school he would be alone with Leo. Faith couldn’t stop a boy that size if he was mad enough.
But Leo could do worse than beat him up. He could try to steal Rebecca away. Her interest in Leo might be more than curiosity, and Adam didn’t like it one bit. That was all the more reason to find the boys another place to live.
“Maybe I should walk you home now,” he said to Rebecca as they headed outside. That way they would both be out of the way when his dad fetched the boys.
She gave him an odd look. “My father is walking me home when he finishes at the harness shop, remember?”
He remembered. He’d been hoping she wouldn’t.
“Quit lollygagging, son.” His dad hooked his arm around Adam’s shoulders and walked him across the street to the greenhouse. “It’s best to meet a challenge head on.”
This challenge might get him killed.
When they entered the bathhouse Leo was too tired to kill anyone. He was holding a fussy Benny and fighting to stay awake. When he saw Duke, his eyes filled with suspicion.
“Rest easy, son. I’m here to help. I have delicious stew to fill your bellies and a warm bed where you can both rest. I used to be the sheriff in this town and I can guarantee you’ll be safe in my home, son. That’s a promise.”
That was the second time Duke had called Leo son and each time had gouged a hole in Adam’s heart. Seeing Rebecca watching the boys with compassion and intense interest gouged another hole.
But as Leo struggled to his feet and staggered with Benny’s slight weight in his arms, shame filled Adam. These boys were in real trouble.
For some reason his dad didn’t offer to carry the baby, so Adam held back as well.
As they left the greenhouse, Leo wrapped his thin jacket around his little brother. An icy blast of snow hit them in the face. Benny whimpered and burrowed deeper into Leo’s arms.
Adam lunged forward and draped the blanket around the baby. He tossed the rest over Leo’s big shoulders.
Leo gaped in surprise, but Adam looked right back without flinching. Too bad if the hardhead didn’t want help. It was obvious they were both cold and miserable, and he wasn’t going to stand by and do nothing.
Dropping back, he followed his father and the boys in silence, glad Rebecca was at his side. As they tromped up the front porch steps behind the others, he wondered if it would be the last time he entered his perfect home as an eldest son.
Chapter Two
The house was dark and silent when Adam woke, but he could smell coffee, so he knew his dad and Faith were up. He hoped Leo wasn’t.
“Good morning, Scout,” he whispered to his beagle. The dog slept on his bed every night, often curled against his side. He scratched the dog’s head and whispered, “You stay here and don’t make a sound.”
The dog yawned and lowered his nose back to his paws, in no obvious hurry to leave the warm bed.
Chilly oak floorboards assaulted Adam’s bare feet as he crept across his bedroom, careful to avoid the creaky spot near his chest-of-drawers. His past life as a prostitute’s child had taught him how to slip through houses and neighborhoods unseen.
The hall was warm from the woodstove in the downstairs parlor. Early each morning his dad built a roaring fire to take the chill out of the house. Adam still couldn’t believe he was waking up in a warm home with the smell of breakfast wafting up from the kitchen and the whole day waiting to be filled with all the things normal families did. He wondered if Leo and Benny had ever experienced this sort of home.
He hoped they had. But that might be worse because then Leo would know what he had lost. Until becoming a Grayson, Adam could only wonder what this kind of life would be like, and his imagination hadn’t come close. To lose all this would be the worst thing in the world.
The boys were sleeping in the room next to his. He placed his ear against the cool wood panel of the closed door and listened. Not a sound came from inside. No fussing. No talking. No snoring.
What if they had snuck out during the night? Could Leo be that stupid?
Slowly, Adam lifted the cold metal latch then eased the door open enough to peer inside.
Benny sprawled sideways across the bed with one chubby leg lying across Leo’s chest, and his arms flopped out to his sides. His puckered lips and wild hair made Adam smile. It had felt nice holding the little guy and listening to his gibberish. It might be all right to keep him around.
But that would mean keeping his big brother around because Leo had made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere without Benny.
Sneaking through the house intruding on people’s privacy was a lowbrow activity, but Adam was too fascinated with the boys to leave. Leo didn’t look as big and mean when he was sleeping. Benny was so sweet it made Adam’s chest ache to think the little boy was without his mother.
Adam’s own mother was dead. His sister, Faith, had taken care of him for as long as he could remember and was more like a mother than a sister to him. His family was far from normal, but seeing the ragged boys sleeping in the guestroom made him feel like the luckiest boy in the world.
With a large yawn, Leo knuckled his nose and opened his eyes.
Adam tensed, ready to bolt for his own bedroom where he could barricade the door from inside if caught spying.
Leo rocked onto his elbow, glanced at Benny then stared at the partially open door with a dark frown.
Running would have been the smart thing to do, but Adam swung the door open and stepped inside. It’s best to meet a challenge head on. He just hoped it wouldn’t result in a broken nose.
“Do we have to leave now?” Leo asked, his voice gravelly from sleeping.
“What?” Adam’s own voice had changed in the last year, but it never sounded this deep or manly. “No,” he said, wondering why he always had to come up short when comparing himself to other boys. “I was just checking to see if you skipped out last night.”
Leo looked at him as if he were stupid. “Why would I do that?”
“You said you didn’t want to come to my house when I asked. I thought you were mad that I told my dad about you and Benny.”
“I was.” Leo raked his hair back and sat up. He tucked the blankets around Benny then planted his big bare feet on the floor and stood.
Gulping, Adam prepared himself for the thumping he was about to get.
In two strides Leo was within swinging distance.
Fear rooted Adam to the floorboards.
“This is the fullest our bellies have been in a long time. Thank you,” Leo said, extending his hand.
Speechless, Adam shook hands, barely daring to believe the boy wasn’t pounding him to pulp.
“I thought if it was warm enough in the greenhouse for plants it would be warm enough for us.” Leo glanced at the bed where Benny was sound asleep in a pile of warm blankets. A sick look washed across his face. “I didn’t know it could be dangerous for Benny.”
“It was dangerous for both of you. But it was smart of you to know it would be warm in there.”
An awkward silence filled the room.
Leo sighed and hung his head. “I’m sorry I trespassed, but we don’t have any place to go. I had to get Benny out of the weather.”
“I would have done the same thing,” Adam said, knowing too well the panicky gut-grip of desperation. He and his brothel family had spent years barely surviving
. They had been hungry. Desperate. Afraid. Most of all, alone. Having nowhere to turn for help was the worst feeling ever. That was in his past now, but that same sick fear was all over Leo’s face.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Always,” Leo answered with a nod.
“My sister makes a mountain of eggs and pancakes for breakfast. There’s hot running water in the watercloset. After you wash up, head downstairs and Faith will feed you until your seams burst.”
“Thank you,” he said.
“How old are you, Leo?”
“Fifteen last month.”
Fifteen? With those big shoulders and man muscles he was only six stinking months older than Adam? Disgusted, Adam stepped into the hall. “I got to get ready for school.”
“Wait! I just... do you know where I might find a job?”
With all that muscle? He knew exactly where Leo could work. “I’ll talk to my dad tonight about hiring you at his sawmill.”
Leo’s eyes lit up. “You will?”
“I can’t promise anything,” he said, wishing he had talked with his father before giving Leo hope. His dad would want Leo in school, not working all day at the mill. But he’d probably let him work some evenings and weekends like Adam did.
“I understand. Just tell him... tell him I’ll work real hard. Okay?”
“At the mill everyone works hard. But I’ll tell him,” he said.
His first order of business, though, was to find a place for Leo and his little brother to live. The longer the boys stayed here the more likely Faith would fall in love with them and want to make them a permanent part of their home.
***
On his way to school, Adam told Rebecca about his plan to find the boys a permanent home. Her two younger brothers ran ahead of them, scooping up snow and throwing snowballs at each other.
“Maybe my mother and father would take them,” she said, keeping pace with him as they walked out Liberty Street.
In a million years that thought wouldn’t have crossed Adam’s mind and it stunned him that it was the first suggestion out of her mouth. She already had a sister and two brothers, and it was very likely her parents would add a few more to their family. It would be an added burden to take in two more boys. But Rebecca obviously considered it an option.
Sleigh of Hope Page 2
