Clara pushed harder to escape her dream. Then she remembered. She’d been by a river. Had wanted to get a drink. That was the last she could recall. “How did I get here?”
“Mr. Blue carried you.”
“Mr. Blue?” Were they imagining such a person? Clara thought the strong arms and comforting voice had been part of her dream.
“We talked to a stranger,” Libby said.
“You aren’t mad at us, are you?” Eleanor’s voice quivered.
“No. Not this time.” If she was to be angry at anyone, it would be herself. She should have made more of an effort to find food. Begged if necessary. Please, God, provide a way.
Clara collected her thoughts.
She had managed to get to Edendale only to learn the stagecoach wouldn’t be going north for at least a week. Maybe two. The stagecoach driver had been rather nonspecific in his answers to her questions. He had no set schedule for the hundred-mile trip to Fort Calgary and only went when it was necessary. Right now, he said, he had to make another run back to Fort Macleod. It was a pressing matter. After that, he’d take her north.
It had never crossed her mind that transportation would be so uncertain.
She needed to get to Fort Calgary. A newspaper story had said there was a shortage of women in the area. There’d even been an ad from a man wanting to hire a housekeeper to care for his three young children. She’d sent a letter saying she was willing to do so. Now she wondered if the letter still sat somewhere, waiting to be delivered. Just as she waited to get there.
Fort Calgary was in the middle of nowhere. Which suited her perfectly. No one would expect her to go to such a remote place, especially her father. He thought twenty-eight-year-old Clara was unable to take care of herself in a city full of conveniences, let alone look after herself and two little girls in the primitive west.
Edendale was equally as remote, but she had seen no opportunities for work in the little town. And she had to prove she could manage herself and her girls.
The girls sprang up. “He’s back.”
Clara closed her eyes. How was she to face a man who had carried her in his arms? Something else came to her thoughts. He’d called her by her Christian name. Highly improper, but she could hardly protest. Her name on his lips had pulled her back from the valley of darkness.
She heard the sound of boots clattering on the wooden floor. The smell of winter and leather grew closer. A movement of air signaled his nearness.
“Mrs. Weston?”
Oh, yes, she was Mrs. Weston now. She’d combined her married name of Westbury and her maiden name of Creighton in the hopes her father wouldn’t be able to find her. She reasoned that way she wasn’t really being deceitful by combing her maiden and married names. Hopefully, it was enough to put her father off her trail for a time, at least.
“Are you awake?” the man at her side asked.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked straight into gray ones that held her gaze so firmly she couldn’t blink. It was like looking into deep, still waters and finding herself reflected back from the depths. What a strange thought, she realized.
“You’re awake. Good.” He turned aside. “I brought food for us all.”
He twisted a lid from a jar, and the aroma of something savory—tomato and beef, if she didn’t miss her guess—made her empty stomach tighten like a fist.
Metal rang against glass. Was he serving soup into bowls?
“Thank you,” the girls chorused.
She imagined them eating eagerly, their complete attention on the food. She knew nothing but gratitude that their empty tummies would be warmed and filled, but she didn’t want to owe this man.
Although she already did.
The need to accept help and the desire to take care of herself warred for but a minute. She was not in a position to refuse this man’s kindness. As soon as she felt stronger, she would return to her plan.
Plan? For a moment, she couldn’t remember what the plan was. Oh, yes, take care of the girls. Keep them from Father and wait until the stagecoach driver saw fit to make the trip north, where I expect to find employment.
She tried to sort out the details of the past few hours. “You know my name.”
“Your girls told me. Allow me to introduce myself. Blue Lyons.”
“I believe you rescued me. Thank you.”
“Your girls are very persuasive.”
She didn’t know if those words should please her or alarm her. Before she could decide, Blue’s hand slipped around her shoulders, and he raised her head. She thought to protest the familiarity but couldn’t dredge up words.
“Eat this.” He held a spoon to her lips. Not even stubborn pride stopped her from opening up like a little bird. He tipped the spoonful of soup into her mouth. Her taste buds exploded at the succulent flavor. She couldn’t begin to describe the pure pleasure of hot food; she simply enjoyed the first decent meal she’d had in days. He held another spoonful to her lips and then another. She consumed it greedily.
The warmth filled her stomach and spread throughout her body.
She shifted so that she sat upright without his supporting arm. The fur around her shoulders slipped to her lap as she reached for the spoon. “I can feed myself.”
He yielded the spoon to her but continued to hold the bowl. She scooped out a bit of the mixture. When she tried to raise the spoon to her mouth, her hand shook so much she lost the contents.
He took the spoon back. “Think it might take a little longer for your strength to return.”
She didn’t want to feel helpless, but he was right. “I feel like a baby,” she murmured.
“’Cause Mr. Blue is feeding you?” Libby asked.
“Yes.”
“She’s not a baby, is she?” Libby demanded of Blue.
Clara darted a glance at him under the curtain of her eyelashes.
“Nope, she’s a mama.” Blue continued to feed her as if it were an everyday experience.
She looked directly at him, matching him look for look, silent assessment with silent assessment. “I perceive you’ve had practice at this. You must have children.”
His hand paused midair. He stared into the distance, then shifted his attention back to her. “I once did. Once had a wife, too.”
Once? He spoke as if they were gone now. It could mean nothing else, and her insides wrenched with the thought of his loss. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s the past.” The words came out flat, as if he felt nothing.
A shiver crossed her shoulders. She knew it wasn’t something that left a person immune.
He mistook her shiver. “You’re still cold.” He tossed the last of the gathered wood into the fire.
“I’m not cold.” Any more than you aren’t sorrowful. She shifted again and reached for the bowl and spoon. She managed to eat the rest of the soup without spilling it. He handed out biscuits, and the girls sighed blissfully as they bit into them.
Clara couldn’t blame them. The biscuits tasted fine and went a long way toward filling the emptiness in her stomach. Though she’d fed the children whatever food she’d found the past two days, she’d no doubt they were still hungry. She watched as they ate with glee.
Blue sat cross-legged facing her. “Ma’am, if you tell me where you’re going, I’ll see you get there.”
She studied the half-eaten biscuit in her fingers. Felt his waiting and the watchfulness of the girls. She had to say something and settled on a portion of the truth. “I’m waiting for a ride from someone.”
When he didn’t say a thing, she looked at him. She wished she hadn’t when she saw the way his expression grew hard. He glanced at the girls, then back at her. He leaned in. “This person is going to come today?” He was so close his breath brushed her cheeks.
“I’m not certain when to expect him.” Petey, the stagecoach driver, had made only one thing clear about his return.
“Ye’ll know when I’m back in town,” he’d said. “Won’t likely stop lo
ng with winter weather to contend with. So be here and be ready if you want a ride. ’Twill be the last trip I make north for the winter.”
“So you’re stranded until this person shows up?” Blue asked. “What if he doesn’t?”
She sat up straight and tipped her chin. She had no intention of telling this man her plans. “I’m trusting God to take care of us. He will provide.”
He sat back. “Exactly how long are you planning to wait for that to happen?”
“As long as it takes.” It sounded foolish, simplistic, even childish, but she had no one else to turn to but God, nor did she trust anyone else. Anyone could reveal her whereabouts to a seemingly concerned person asking after her, and that bit of information could be relayed to her father. She managed to control the shiver racing through her. If Father found them…
“In the meantime, are you planning to sleep in empty buildings? Faint from hunger and cold? What about—” His gaze darted to the girls and back.
This was not a conversation she wanted her daughters to hear. “Girls, you can go play quietly.”
“Where, Mama?” Libby’s surprise was expected. Where could they go but to a different corner of the big room?
Eleanor took her sister’s hand. “Come on, Lib. They want to argue, and we’re not supposed to hear.”
“We aren’t going to argue,” Clara called as they marched away. She faced Blue squarely. “I can take care of the girls with God’s help.”
His eyes never flickered. His expression never changed. “It’s none of my business, but seems to me you need a better plan than sitting around waiting for something to fall from the sky.”
“I trust God.” She knew she sounded as stubborn as Libby often did, but she clung to her faith.
“Well, that makes it easy.”
She waited, wondering if he believed what he said or mocked her. When he didn’t say anything more, she got her feet under her and stood. “Thank you for the food. I will pay you back someday.” She would continue to trust Him even though her plans had fallen through. Not fallen through, she amended. Only delayed.
“Mrs. Weston, I don’t want repayment. The only reason I helped was because of your girls. I lost two children who would be about their age now.” He turned away as he spoke, and his voice again grew flat, emotionless. He was hiding, she knew, hiding emotions so deep and raw that he didn’t know how to face them. “I could do nothing to save them, but helping your girls was something I could do.”
“And I thank you for that.”
Libby and Eleanor chased each other up and down the length of the building, laughing and squealing.
She smiled. Her heart overflowed with love. They trusted her to take care of them.
How was she to do that? It was too cold to sleep outside and not safe, but there was no hotel in this little town even if she could afford a room. If she had a warm place to spend the night, then she could devote time to finding a way to feed them. But where? She glanced about. The church would make good shelter. Her gaze settled on the bedroll upon which she had so recently lain.
Blue obviously spent the nights here.
That eliminated the only option she’d been able to discover in this tiny pioneer town. There had to be something somewhere.
God could not fail her now.
She set her feet going toward the door.
“Wait a minute.”
At his words she paused without turning around.
“I can take you someplace safe and warm.”
Why had he used the word safe? Did he suspect she was running from someone?
Chapter Two
Blue analyzed everything she’d said and wondered if there truly was someone coming for her. And if so, when? One thing was certain. He couldn’t let a woman and two little ones manage on their own in winter weather without any sign of shelter or home. Never mind that it triggered memories he had sworn to bury and never resurrect. He could forget them again. He was good at forgetting.
“I could maybe send a messenger to let your party know you’ve arrived. Or take you there myself.”
“Thank you, but that’s not necessary. Come on, girls.” She signaled them.
The pair had been racing around the room and now skidded to her side.
“Mama, where we going?” Eleanor asked, her joy of a moment ago swallowed up in worry. “Back to Grandfather?”
Clara’s shoulders stiffened enough for Blue to understand she didn’t care for the notion. “Certainly not.”
Libby’s expression grew stubborn. “But it’s warm here.”
“We’re going.” Clara hitched one bag over her shoulder and tucked another under her arm and marched for the door.
Blue watched. Did they plan to return to the river? They’d freeze to death. He groaned. He couldn’t allow it even if every minute increasingly threatened the fortress he’d erected around his heart.
“You need to reconsider. My boss at Eden Valley Ranch is Eddie Gardiner. His wife, Linette, often has people staying there.” Linette would soon have a baby, and Eddie had imposed limits on how many people she could take in. Still, Blue allowed himself a tiny smile. He couldn’t see Linette turning anyone away if she saw a need, even if Eddie didn’t approve. “It’s twenty minutes’ drive away,” he added. “You’d be most welcome.”
“Thanks, but no. We need to wait here.”
He strode across the room to stand perilously close to the trio. The girls looked up at him, their expressions full of hope, silently begging him to help them.
Clara, on the other hand, kept her back to him, her shoulders rigid.
He scrubbed his fist over his chin. “Ma’am, you can’t wander around in the cold.”
She shrugged.
Whether it meant defeat or resistance, he couldn’t say. “If God is looking after you, surely He means for you to accept help.”
She spun around to face him, her eyes flashing. “We’ve already accepted your help.”
The girls sighed as if realizing she meant to say no.
He couldn’t allow it.
“Ma’am, don’t let your pride be the cause of putting your children in the way of danger.” He hoped his words would make Clara rethink her decision without alarming her daughters.
“It’s not pride.” Then she clamped her mouth shut.
“You need help. Why not admit it and accept it?”
He watched a war wage behind her eyes. For some reason she hesitated to accept help. Why? If not pride, was it independence? Fear? He guessed he saw flickers of all three in her struggle. And it brought a rush of emotions to his heart. He appreciated a person’s need to take care of herself, but of what or whom was she afraid?
Resignation filled her expression. “I must stay in town.”
He wished he knew why, but it seemed futile to ask her. She kept her reasons to herself.
“Then stay with someone in town.”
Hope flared in her eyes. “Do you know of someone needing help for a few days? I could work for food and lodging.”
He considered everyone in town. None needed help this time of year. If it had been summer, the Mortons could have used someone to assist with meals.
That gave him an idea. The Mortons had a shack on their property, one where Cassie had lived before she married the ranch foreman, Roper Jones. It was better than sleeping in the open and at least there was a stove. “I have an idea. Stay here while I check it out.” Blue didn’t wait for her agreement or otherwise. He grabbed his coat and rushed out the door and across the space between the church and the Mortons’ place.
He swallowed hard and slowed his breathing before he stepped inside.
Bonnie chuckled. “Back so soon? Wanting more food?”
“Not food this time.” Again he twisted his hat. “Would you be willing to let someone use your little shack?”
She gaped at him, then shrugged. “Guess it would depend who needs it. You? I thought you meant to stay at the church.”
How to explain h
is predicament? “Not me. I’ll be fine at the church. Closer to my work.” He saw Bonnie’s confusion. “It’s for this lady and her two girls. Mrs. Weston. Her girls are Eleanor and Libby. They’re seven and eight.”
Bonnie leaned back on her heels and grinned. “A woman and two girls. Where did you find them?”
“They’re waiting for someone.”
“I see. Who are they waiting for?”
He curled his fingers around the brim of his hat. “They didn’t say. I offered to take her to the ranch, but she says she has to stay in town and wait.”
Bonnie chuckled. “Why, Blue Lyons, how did you manage to get yourself involved with a woman and two children? I’ve always thought of you as a loner. Someone who avoids people.”
“Yes, ma’am.” That was him all right. “I just happened to be the one who stumbled upon them. That’s all.”
She nodded, but judging by the way her mouth tipped upward in amusement he guessed she wasn’t agreeing.
“About that shack?”
Bonnie shook her head. “We’ve been storing things there.”
“So they can’t use it.” Now what? He reached for the door handle. Maybe… No, it wouldn’t be proper to stay in Macpherson’s store or the livery barn. Blue was out of suggestions.
“Wait.” Bonnie stopped him. “How long would they need the place?”
“I can’t rightly say.” Clara had been unwilling to reveal any details.
“I suppose we could fit them in. They would be crowded, but if they don’t mind…”
“I’ll bring them over.” He hurried back to the church.
Clara stood where he’d left her.
Eleanor and Libby sat on their bags, their elbows resting on their knees and their chins in the palms of their upturned hands. Their expressions were dejected until they looked up and saw him. Then they smiled, so trustingly, as if convinced he would solve their problems. He hesitated. He didn’t want anyone trusting him to take care of them. Didn’t want the concern and fear that came with it.
He shifted his gaze to their mother. “I found a place for you.”
She didn’t move. “I will only go where I can take care of our needs myself. I won’t accept charity.”
Love Inspired Historical October 2015 Box Set Page 69
