by Reece Butler
“Ten, sir.” Both adults raised their eyebrows. “I’m small for my age. I don’t eat much.”
“You will now,” said Mrs. MacDougal.
She pointed to a wicker basket covered with a red-and-white-checked cloth. Mr. Ross opened it up and looked inside. He lifted out a white cloth, the corners tied over something inside, and handed it to Daniel. “Some hard-boiled eggs ought to keep you going until we get home.”
“Thank you sir. Ma’am.”
He stared at the clean cloth. His stomach growled at the potential of real food instead of scraps he had to fight for. He waited until the wagon was rolling again before he opened it up. Four beautiful, white eggs lay inside.
Four, all for him! He carefully cracked open the first egg, saving the shell in the cloth, and nibbled the top. Though he wanted to stuff all of them in his mouth at once, he would take his time. Not only would so much food bounce back, he wanted to enjoy it. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been promised something and gone without. While he slowly ate the eggs, he imagined what else was in that basket. He didn’t expect them to share the good stuff with him, but he could hope.
That was more than he’d had in a long, long time.
Chapter Twenty
“What do you think of your new helper?”
Amelia looked over her shoulder to see if the boy had heard.
“Don’t worry, he’s so tired from living rough that a bit of food in his belly and the rolling of the wagon will keep him out cold until we stop for dinner.”
“Speaking of stopping for dinner…”
She pursed her lips and blinked up at him like a coquette. He smirked.
“Too bad. No fun and games while we eat. I’ll have to make it up to you tonight.” He bent over and gave her a quick kiss. She grabbed his head and pulled him down to deepen it. He explored her mouth for a moment before pulling back. “Dammit, woman, now you’ve got me all hot and bothered!”
“Good,” she said. She settled on the bench. She moved her shoulders so that her breasts shifted under the cotton. His eyes followed. “Now, both of us are in the same shape. I’ve been looking forward to the trip home all day.”
She looked over her shoulder. She recognized the boy who’d filled her tub by his shoulder-length, matted hair. He lay curled on top of their bags, facedown. He’d outgrown his shirt long ago. The few buttons still left didn’t allow the thin fabric to hide his ribs. At first, she’d thought he was filthy, but he was clean under his rags. At least, as clean as a boy could be without soap or someone to care about him.
“I can see why you wanted to bring him home,” she continued. “The poor child needs a bath, a haircut, some new clothes, and lots of food and sleep.”
“That’s not the only reason why I hired him. Tillie will be leaving in a few weeks, and I want someone to help you with chores. When his father drinks, he likes to beat on him. Today might be the time he finally kills the boy.”
She remembered her father’s beatings, often for trivial things when he came home angry. While she was often well bruised, he was careful to not break a bone. He would have to bring in the doctor, and that would prove embarrassing to him socially.
Poor men who beat children and women didn’t care about social niceties. She’d seen so much brutality. After a few weeks to prove herself, the doctors let her take over the wee ones as the sight of a big man put terror into them.
Tanner’s Ford had a doctor, but she had yet to meet him. Beth said Dr. Henley seemed to know what he was about. Amelia would talk with him before letting him near anyone she cared about. Too many doctors were drunks who didn’t boil their instruments or wash their hands.
“Is it sheer meanness, or does he make up reasons to justify it?”
“He thinks he has a reason.”
“To beat a child to death?”
“The boy has a hare lip. His mother died birthing him, so his pa says he’s cursed by the devil. Every time the man gets drunk, he tries to beat that devil out of the kid. Somewhere in his mind, he might think he’s doing the right thing.”
“That’s preposterous!”
Ross stared straight ahead. “Some folks are superstitious and agree with him. When the boy’s older, he’ll grow a moustache to cover it, but he’ll never be able to kiss a pretty girl.”
“Oh, yes, he will!”
“Amelia, there’s nothing we can do about his split lip. He’ll manage.”
“If it’s only his lip, a good doctor can sew it together.”
“Is this one of your Eastern city things?
Though Ross was a reasonable man, she wasn’t yet comfortable telling him about helping at the clinic. If the town doctor found out, he might refuse to come if someone was sick. Though she knew how to sew and bandage cuts and wounds, she knew little about medicine.
“Yes, I heard about surgeons operating on children like this in England and Europe.”
“We won’t find one of those here or in Bannack City.”
“Then we’ll go to Virginia City if we have to, or even farther!” She pulled on his arm. “When you take on a child, you do whatever you can to help them. With food, teaching, and proper discipline, he could turn out to be a good man.”
Ross gazed down at her with a half smile. He shook his head and faced forward again. “You’re right. We’ll find some way to help the boy.”
* * * *
“Who’s this ragged set of bones?”
Daniel hesitated for a moment before continuing to fill the kindling box. He brushed off the chips of wood before he stood up and turned. The tall man, so like his brother but with brown eyes, leaned one bare shoulder against the kitchen wall.
“My name’s Daniel, Mr. MacDougal, er, Mr. Nevin.”
“Saw you in town. Thought you were Ernest Junior.”
“Not no more, sir.” He shook his head. “I left that behind.”
“Along with your pa?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Smart lad.” He sniffed and curled his lip. “You stink. No one comes into Mrs. MacDougal’s home who stinks. You need a bath.”
Shame heated Daniel’s face. Though he washed as best he could whenever possible, he had to put the same dirty clothes back on.
“Yes, sir, but I wanted to fill the water and wood box before Mrs. MacDougal came in. I don’t got nothing else to put on.”
Nevin looked up as Ross walked into the kitchen.
“I hired Daniel to help the women with chores,” said Ross.
“He’s pretty skinny.”
“Auntie’s cooking will soon put muscle on him.” Ross pointed to a package sitting on the table. “Take that and the soap to the creek.”
Daniel looked at the package. The crisp brown paper wasn’t wrinkled, and the string was long and clean. He’d seen people carrying packages like that out of the mercantile. He swallowed, keeping his hopes low.
“What is it, sir?”
“Mrs. MacDougal doesn’t hold with her men walking around bare assed,” said Nevin with a laugh.
“I’d never do that!”
“Those rags you’re wearing will rip if you bend over again. I got you pants and a shirt,” said Ross.
“They’re for me?” His throat was so tight he could barely whisper the words.
Nevin snorted. “Hell, boy, you’re so skinny those clothes won’t fit anyone else.”
“Pick ’em up, and let’s get going.”
Daniel’s belly growled, loud and long. When he first opened the kitchen door and smelled the tiny berry pies cooling on the table, he forced his hands to stay far away. They were the smallest pies he’d ever seen, the perfect size to pick up in your hand. Something he could not do and be allowed to live there. He picked up the package and turned away.
“You got a hand free. Might as well take one of those tarts with you,” said Nevin.
“Sir?”
“That belly of yours is so loud you’ll scare away my ravens.” Ross strolled to the table and picked up one
of the tiny pies. “Mrs. MacDougal expects a few of her berry tarts to disappear every time one of us comes near the house.”
“That’s why I stopped by,” said Nevin. He swung past the table, scooped one up, and left the kitchen.
“Don’t bite into it until you get outside. If you get crumbs on the floor, you’ll have to wash it. This is your home now, and you’ll treat it right.”
Home? As he followed Ross out the door, Daniel came closer to crying than he could ever remember. He blinked furiously, but a tear still slid out of his left eye. He shifted his package so he could wipe away the evidence before anyone saw it. Don’t get your hopes up. One time, a woman lived with them for almost a year. She was nice and cooked real good. But Pa beat her once too many times, and she walked out. She kissed him on the cheek before she left, though. Everything good ended, but he could enjoy it while it was there.
Since Ross didn’t bite into his pie, neither did Daniel. His belly should be full after the dinner they shared on the way to the MD ranch. When Mrs. MacDougal handed him a whole leg of roast chicken without dirt or anything on it, he thought he’d die happy, right there. Though he turned his back to eat, neither Mr. or Mrs. MacDougal said anything insulting because he couldn’t close his mouth.
He couldn’t remember ever eating a tiny fruit pie like the one in his hand. No, not a small pie. Ross called it a tart. Daniel decided he’d listen hard and learn all he could before they sent him away. He scrambled to keep up. The man had long legs and moved fast.
“Did you bring the soap?”
Daniel gasped in horror. He had his mind so full of tart and new clothes that he’d forgotten. He set his package on the bank of the stream and put his tart on top. He eyed the treat, expecting it to be gone by the time he got back. He hurried past Ross, but the man yanked the back of his shirt. It ripped, leaving Ross holding the collar as the rest slid to the ground.
“Told you those rags were falling apart. Here.” Ross held out a bar of yellow soap. “I figured you had your mind on other things. We’ll eat after we’re clean.” He lifted a blue and green blanket off his shoulder and set it down. He shrugged out of his vest and set it aside.
Daniel quickly walked uphill as if searching for the right place to enter the creek. When Ross reached for his belt buckle, Daniel stepped closer to the trees. It was bad enough being walloped by a belt with clothes on. He was not going anywhere near the big man without them. He turned his head enough to see any flashes of movement. When Ross dropped his pants and walked into the water, Daniel turned his back and moved farther away.
“No one will touch you, boy,” said Ross calmly. “Not here.”
Daniel made sure he could see Ross out of the corner of his eye. The man sat in the middle of the stream and washed his arms. He kept his eyes on what he was doing.
“I expect it’ll take you a while to learn you’re safe. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I’ll head back to the house and let you wash up on your own.”
Daniel shuffled closer to the water. Ross tossed his head, flipping his hair to his back. He reached back and wrung it out with his fists. Muscles bulged. He had scars, lots of them. Was that why he carried so many knives, because someone had hurt him when he was smaller?
“You’re on MacDougal land now,” continued Ross. “We don’t hurt children, animals, or women. If you do something bad, we’ll thrash you to help you remember, but we don’t do it angry or drunk. Apart from that, no one touches anyone who doesn’t want to be touched.”
Daniel stared at Ross. With him sitting, Daniel was taller. He’d seen Ross move faster and more silently than the wind, but it would be hard for him to do it when sitting in the middle of a rushing stream.
“Either get in the water or tell me to get out. You can trust me or not, but make up your mind because this water is colder than a witch’s tit!”
This silent killer sat on his butt in cold mountain water, waiting while Daniel decided whether to trust him or not? Daniel laughed, his chest easing from a weight he’d always known. He quickly shucked off his pants and stepped into the creek. He sat down, gasping as the cold water pulled at him. Ross stood up and tossed him the soap. He managed to catch the slippery thing. Because he was so much shorter, he had to stand up to scrub at his arms and legs.
Ross kept his back turned as he sluiced off the water. He picked up the blanket, wrapped it around his waist, and belted it. Daniel scrubbed as best he could, but only the surface dirt came off. On the bank, Ross pulled on his pants and a deer hide vest. Daniel ran the bar of soap over his hair, rubbing hard. Ross held out a hand for the soap. Daniel tossed it and ducked underwater to rinse off, forcing his fingers through his wet hair.
When he came up for air, Ross hadn’t moved.
“You want me to cut it off?”
“My hair hides the mark of the devil.” Daniel pointed to his misshapen lip.
“That’s your old life talking. You can decide to hold your head high and look the world in the eye today.” He shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
“I get hit ’cause I’m ugly.”
“First, you’re not ugly. Yes, you’ve got something the matter with your lip. Nevin has claw marks across his chest. You can see my scars. Amelia, that’s Mrs. MacDougal to you, has burn marks all up one arm and over part of her face. None of us are ugly, and neither are you. We just had a bit of life happen to us. We’re still here, still alive. That’s what matters.”
Daniel found himself nodding agreement. He shuffled to the edge of the creek. Ross waded in, not caring that his pant legs got wet. He slid his hand under his vest and brought out the long, narrow knife he’d used to pick the sliver out of his hand. Daniel shivered in the cold water as Ross sliced away his protection. He watched his matted hair float down the stream like leaves in autumn. It took him a moment to realize Ross was back on the bank.
Daniel shook his head. He still had hair to his neck, but it stayed away from his face. He suddenly realized he was frozen.
“Take your time. I’ll see you back at the house,” said Ross.
“I didn’t know you could talk fancy.”
Ross turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “The people in town think I’m a dumb Indian. They expect less of me, and that gives me an advantage. You never know when something like that will save your life.”
“Pa called you bad names, and you never said nothing back.”
Ross’s face seemed to turn to stone. Daniel wished he hadn’t spoken.
“Here’s a lesson, Daniel. You can’t teach people to see when they refuse to open their eyes. Your pa only sees evil because that’s what he believes in. I believe in good, but I kill evil when I see it.”
“Mr. MacDougal, sir?”
“Mr. Ross will do, Daniel.”
“Thanks for helping me see.”
Ross nodded in reply. “I left my tart for you. I figure you need it more than I do. See you at home.” He turned away, his long legs soon making him disappear.
His head had barely disappeared into the scrub when Daniel rose from the water and shivered his way to the shore. He huddled against a sun-warmed rock and sighed. After a moment, he flapped his hands to get the water off them. He took the tarts off his package of clothes and brought everything back to his rock. He ate the first tart quickly, letting the flavor burst in his mouth. He didn’t know anything could taste so sweet. The second tart he set aside until later.
He took his time undoing the knotted string. When he peeled back the heavy, brown paper, he saw a white shirt on top of pants. He moved it aside and discovered a blue and white cotton necker and suspenders underneath. He savored his second tart as he admired his clothes. His clothes. No one had ever worn them before. When he’d licked the last of the juice off his fingers, he washed them and came back to his clothes.
He ran his fingers over the soft cotton shirt. He quickly dressed, discovering everything was far too big to fit him. At first he was disappointed. Then he realized that Mr. Ross expected him
to grow. Could he live here long enough to fit his new clothes? He rolled up the pant legs and folded back his cuffs. He combed his fingers through his hair and pushed it behind his ears. He hurried home. He hadn’t finished filling the wood box, and Mrs. MacDougal or the other two women might need more water for supper.
For decent clothes and food, he’d work from dark to dark for the rest of his life.
He’d do anything for a home.
Chapter Twenty-One
“You clean up pretty good,” said Nevin to the boy at the far end of the bench. He almost got a smile in return.
Auntie was in the bedroom with Tillie and the babies while the rest of them finished supper. Daniel kept his face turned while he ate, hiding his mouth with his left hand. The shirt he’d carefully folded back slid to his elbow whenever he lifted his arm. The kid was built like a damned scarecrow!
Nevin wished he could go up to the boy’s father and plant his fist squarely in his nose. Unfortunately, that could give away the secret of where the boy was. Before supper, Ross took him to the barn and told him about Daniel’s alarm at the stream, as well as the bruises and scars that marked his too-thin body. The remembered pain in Ross’s eyes made Nevin ache. He was too young to help Ross when their older brothers, Finan and Hugh, would set on him. While he missed Ross terribly whenever he was sent away, even then he knew Ma had to do it.
He remembered when Ross returned from living with the Bannock Tribe. On his annual winter visits before that, Ross had been wild and free. Ever since, he was haunted by something terrible, something so bad Nevin had never asked about it. Maybe taking Daniel in would knock a few rocks off Ross’s shoulders.
“Anything new in town?” Nevin looked to his left. “Other than the squirt being here.”
Amelia pushed back her chair and jumped up from the table. She picked up the cloth Auntie had been using and scrubbed furiously at a pot in the sink. She kept her back to them. Ross frowned but didn’t comment.
