Herd to Handle

by Ginny Sterling

  As they came to the house, she was surprised to see Prudence simply walk beside it and continue on. In the distance, she saw Colton walking in a field with Jacob. The little boy was walking with his father and each time Colton dropped a seed, Jacob was exclaiming ‘uh oh!’ or ‘I got it!’ and mashing the seed down into the earth. The little boy’s arms were covered in dirt and he even had dirt in his blond hair.

  The duo looked to be quite happy working together but she knew if it was just Colton planting, it would have gone much faster. Each smooshed seed was a celebration and the boy’s smiling face lived for acknowledgement from his father – which Colton was giving his son in spades. The two had a bond between them brought on by not just the love of a father for his child, but a man that adored the very center of his universe. The love between the two was simply endearing and reminded her so much of her parents she’d lost.

  “Can you two gentlemen take a break for lunch?” Prudence announced in a singsong voice. Alice winced at the hesitation on Colton’s face and felt her heart sink in despair. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Jacob ran over and happily threw his dusty arms around Alice’s legs, trying to bite her kneecap through her layers of skirts. Alice giggled happily and picked him up, swinging him around. It was easy for her to enjoy the boy’s antics because he reminded her of herself. Sometimes she was outspoken, awfully enthusiastic, and other times she wanted to bite someone but held back with great restraint. Looking up at Colton, she realized he was watching them together and smiled shyly at him. Prudence beamed and waved at Alice for her to hand over the three-year old.

  “Come with me and let’s wash up. Colton, I will be right at the creek and within earshot, young man,” Prudence told him primly and took Jacob by the hand.

  “I’m surprised you came back,” Colton said suddenly, closing up the seed bag and removing it from over his head. He walked over to a tree and set it down on the ground with a faint thud. Alice joined him, unfolding a blanket that was atop the basket that Prudence had packed. She waved it in the breeze before letting it float down to the grass in the shade of the branches.

  “Did you want me to stay away?”

  “No, but this is a hard life.”

  “I noticed that,” Alice said bluntly. “That liniment you put on my hands worked wonders though. Thank you for that, Colton.”

  “I’ve had to use it myself several times over the years, even with these rough mitts,” Colton said lightly, outstretching his hand towards her politely. “Let me help you,” he offered. Alice put her hand in his and sat down primly on the blanket, glancing over towards Prudence in the distance.

  “Don’t worry- you are safe with me. Pru’s got ears like a hawk.”

  “I’m not worried,” Alice denied breathlessly as Colton sat down beside her. She realized just how close he was to her and was keenly aware of how masculine he was. His blue eyes met her brown ones and she found herself staring at his lips nervously.

  “I might be,” he admitted huskily, not looking away.

  “Why?”

  “What if you decide this isn’t for you?”

  “What?”

  “Us…this… the farm life or being married to a hardworking man.”

  Just then, Colton leaned towards her as if drawn like a magnet to a lodestone. Alice didn’t hesitate, but rather found herself leaning towards him in the same fashion. Just when she thought he was going to kiss her, Jacob slammed into the two of them – throwing his arms around both of their necks happily. A hesitant, tentative, sweet kiss became a gory, painful crunch as their teeth and noses came to a grinding halt into each other. There was no tender moment to be shared – it was more about saving herself from additional pain.

  “Ow!” Alice yelped and reared her head back, seeing a sloppy drool trail from her cheek to Jacob’s mouth. The three-year-old tried to kiss them both with gusto. It was adorable – but in a painful manner. Colton was wincing and wiping blood from a split lip.

  “If God’s not watching you two- your boy certainly is,” Prudence said lightly, her voice full of mirth as she took her seat near the basket. “Now, if you are finished for the moment? I believe there is enough food here to feed a small army of hungry troops. Colton, I made your favorite.”

  “Chicken?”

  “Chich-en! Chich-en!” Jacob crowed happily, jumping down beside Prudence.

  “Yes, Jacob. Chicken. Chic-ken,” Prudence enunciated and raised an eyebrow at Alice. It didn’t have to be said aloud what the woman was hinting at. This would be her responsibility as a parent to teach him and guide him as he grew. Seeing Jacob sit down next to the basket, Alice quickly perked up.

  “Jacob, why don’t you come sit by us?”

  There was nothing like the present to start finding a way to endear herself to the family if she was interested in a future with him. Yes, it was a hard life and there would be many days she would be run ragged- but what were her other options?

  It wasn’t like there were men knocking down the door. Did she dare settle for the first man that came along? As Jacob plopped down in her lap, happily munching on a drumstick – she saw Colton’s dark blue eyes watching her with interest. She caught her breath as she saw the hint of a smile touch his lips before he winced at where it was split, making her grin.

  Maybe settling for the first guy that came along wouldn’t be so bad?

  Chapter 7

  This was awful.

  Alice must be touched in the head.

  What on earth was she thinking, offering to take care of Jacob for the day so Colton could finish putting out the seed? Alice had thought that it was important to show she could take care of Colton’s son, that she could be trusted with the boy and would make a wonderful mother… because wasn’t that what every woman wanted to be someday?

  There was a reason no one discussed child-rearing with women until they were already with child! It was infuriating and wonderful all in the same breath. Abigail was with her chaperone today spending time with her potential groom, so she didn’t want to bother her. Prudence was attending one of the other auxiliary members who’d fallen ill, leaving her with little Jacob. She promised Alice to return in order to accompany her back to Colton’s house as to prevent her reputation from being compromised. What Prudence didn’t realize was that Jacob could be a holy terror with a cherubic smile.

  Alice had returned to Chance Redburn’s home with young Jacob- only to have the young boy lose his ever-lovin’ mind, in her opinion. Alice had been sitting in the kitchen with Beans and Violet, having a cup of tea, when a roaring wail sounded from underneath the table. She’d never seen anyone move so fast as the three of them, knocking over chairs as they leapt away from the horrific noise. Before Alice could look under the table, she heard it again and expected to see a creature of mythical proportions.

  Nope.

  Jacob.

  Biting a cat.

  Where the cat came from – Alice had no idea? But the three-year-old had obviously found his newest entertainment and chew toy in the form of a bedraggled feline. He had fur plastered all over his cheeks where he’d been drooling from chewing so much. The cat was scrambling to get away from his grubby hands and Beans was shouting at Violet.

  “That yer cat?”

  “CAT? What cat?”

  “Stop!”

  Alice yelped in horror as Jacob opened his mouth as wide as possible and immediately sunk his teeth into the poor cat’s back once again. He’d slipped from her sight for all of two minutes! How had he found a cat and why on earth would he think it was okay to bite it?

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Alice roared mortified, bringing the entire house to a complete standstill as she heard the piano melody off in the background suddenly stopped noisily in a nauseating chorus of off-key notes. The cat twisted out of Jacob’s hands and ran immediately under Violet’s skirt, making her shout in alarm as she slapped at the material of her dress.

  Alice picked up Jacob, setting him on her h
ip, and strode right out the front door. She wasn’t cut out to be a mother in her mind. Mother’s didn’t get upset or lose their temper. Her own mother was graceful and loving, something Alice did not feel at the moment as Jacob bit her shoulder. She needed help and wasn’t above asking for it from the sweetest people she knew in the area – her sister, Abigail, or Prudence.

  Abigail had always reminded her of her mother. Nothing got her upset or bothered her. Even when they were on the outs with each other, she was level headed… something Alice was not. Right now, Alice could barely see straight and was certain that her vision had a tinge of red to it. Was Colton worth any of this? Was any man worth this headache?

  She had to find Abigail – now!

  Marching down the center of the street with Jacob on her hip, Alice stomped right inside the local bar. Bypassing several shocked faces, she reached up and yanked her braid from Jacob’s hand as he’d found another source of entertainment.

  “Miss! Miss! You can’t be coming in here with no kid!”

  “Abigail Bowen! Where is she?”

  “You gotta go with that boy now. It ain’t seemly to have a young’un here!”

  “Seemly?” Alice heaved with pent up frustration. “Seemly would be you pointing out where my sister is before you see me get UN-seemly.”

  “Alice Bowen! What in heaven’s name are you doing in here with a child?” her sister said in complete shock as she looked down from the bannister where she stood next to an older woman and a man. “Mason, please excuse me a moment.”

  Her sister descended the bar’s stairs like a queen descending her throne. Her sister always commanded respect by the graceful way she carried herself – a complete change from the way Alice felt right now. As she looked at her sister, she knew that if anyone could help her- it would be Abigail. She’d always had a way with their younger cousins, where Alice had been the mischievous one that got in trouble as a young girl playing pranks.

  “Why do you have a young boy on your hip?”

  “It’s Colton’s son. Colton Farmer.”

  “Does your Mr. Farmer know that you’ve brought his son into a place of ill repute?”

  “This isn’t that type of establishment, Miss Abigail. We serve alcohol and that’s it,” the man corrected from upstairs as he quickly looked at the chaperone that stood nearby.

  “Does Mr. Farmer know his son is in a bar with his fiancée?”

  “No,” Alice whispered, feeling like she’d made a colossal mistake. “Abigail, I need your help. I don’t know what to do with him and he’s into everything. Can you take him? Sister, he bit a cat and I just…”

  Her sister quickly covered her mouth with a gloved hand delicately as several men nearby snickered and laughed. Abigail’s eyes sparkled with mirth as she touched her face and smoothed her hair, playing it off nonchalantly.

  “Alice, I am not taking care of your soon-to-be child by marriage. You need to learn how to deal with your issues and develop a way to handle the challenges that befall you. I love you but the things that challenge us – make us stronger. Take the boy and go play with him somewhere that children are welcomed.”

  “Abigail…”

  “No. Sister, you need to handle this one on your own.”

  “Alice Bowen! You exit this place right now, young lady!” Prudence English commanded from the doorway in a horrified tone. “You both do not belong in this… this…”

  “Bar!” the man said, walking down the stairs. “It’s a bar. We serve alcohol and just about anything with a kick to it.”

  “Allll-keeey-haul,” a drunkard yodeled nearby, causing a flurry of laughter.

  “Mr. Stillwell, I apologize for the disruption of your business but we’ll be departing.”

  “Thank you, kindly,” he said with a smile.

  Alice looked between her sister’s sympathetic, smiling face- and Prudence’s stern one. With a heavy sigh, Alice walked towards the doors where her chaperone stood.

  “I can’t leave you alone for ten minutes without…”

  “I understand what you mean exactly,” Alice said with a heavy-hearted sigh, looking at the blond-haired boy that had laid his head on her shoulder.

  “Can we just take Jacob home?”

  “We shall be heading there posthaste. We need to inform Mr. Farmer what kind of scandal this has caused and the repercussions that will come with it,” Prudence scolded.

  “It’s a bar, lady, not Sodom and Gomorrah!” Mason Stillwell called out behind them as they left. The sound of laughter echoed in Alice’s ears that were bright red with embarrassment.

  Chapter 8

  Alice was mortified to have Prudence walk her directly back to Mr. Redburn’s home for another recap of her ‘sordid’ escapade the moment her chaperone turned her back. Prudence English believed in maintaining a strict modicum of décor- especially since her reputation would be impacted by Alice’s outlandish behavior.

  “What will people say when they find out that my charge was mingling about in a bar with a young, innocent child?”

  “I wasn’t mingling.”

  “I wasn’t speaking with you yet, young lady,” Prudence snapped, her tone icy cold. She quickly smoothed her dress and patted her hair in an effort to calm herself. “I simply cannot be her chaperone if her conduct continues along this line. I was going to have her explain to Mr. Farmer what a detriment she could be to his good name but I thought it better to have all of us present to come up with a solution.”

  “What do you mean? Jacob, please don’t chew on the basket handle,” Alice asked softly, feeling about as tall as the three-year-old. This was her fault and she’d lost her temper the first time she’d had to handle a child on her own. Mr. Farmer would do so much better with another woman, someone kinder or more mature than she was.

  “I mean that I sent someone to fetch Mr. Farmer the moment I found out what had occurred. I cannot believe that you thought it was permitted to bring young Jacob into that inappropriate establishment. They drink all sorts of beverages there – and I assure you, young lady- none of them were milk for the boy.”

  “No, I know.”

  Alice felt horrible. She could see her future slipping right through her fingertips and any chance of possibly seeing Colton smile at her or perhaps kiss her would be gone in no time once he’d arrived. Prudence was in a true uproar, which meant that what she’d done was considered despicable to the town. She would be a pariah by the time word spread and no decent man would have her as a wife.

  Chance Redburn sat down heavily and didn’t say a word at first. He kept rubbing the back of his neck, in thought. After several moments, he finally spoke. His words echoed in the room heavily.

  “Do you think we ought to get her another chaperone?”

  “I’m not sure that a man will wed a woman who frequents a bar.”

  “I went to find my sister.”

  “Your sister was there?” Prudence said horrified, clutching at her chest.

  “With her chaperone since her intended owns the place,” Alice amended quickly. “Look, maybe I am not cut out to be the mother to someone’s child. Perhaps this was a bad match, Mr. Redburn.”

  “Maybe she could be paired with that barkeep?” Prudence said quickly. “Abigail could marry our Mr. Farmer instead. From Alice’s own mouth, her sister is much more suited for child-rearing.”

  Prudence’s idea at Abigail marrying her beau made her ill at the thought. She wanted to be the one he cared for- and had ruined her chances. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin Colton’s chances at having a successful match… just not with her sister. At Mr. Redburn’s confused and shocked expression, Alice realized he had absolutely no idea what Alice had meant by her words. Thinking for a moment, she snapped her fingers; she finally realized how to reach him.

  “Think of it this way, if you had a steer that put out spoiled milk – what would you do with it? Would you brand it before it was sold? Would you even sell it? Or would you give it in trade knowing that
its inferior?”

  “Alice?”

  Alice looked away from Mr. Redburn’s confused expression to see Colton was standing in the doorway of the drawing room. Her heart thumped nervously and she felt tears well up in her eyes knowing that this man was going to regret being matched up with her. She saw his eyes move from person to person, settling back on her.

  “Steers don’t put out milk, Alice,” Colton said carefully, pulling off his hat. “Cows do. Is there a problem with someone’s milk cow? What is going on?”

  “Colton, I just feel like we should come together and discuss an urgent matter that happened today…”

  “Is Jacob alright?” Colton interrupted immediately, the color draining from his face.

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  “Daddeeee!” Jacob hollered, running over to his father immediately. Colton ran his hands over his son’s blonde hair and looked him over carefully, dusting him off a bit.

  “I think you should know that the die has been cast and now we need to figure out how to handle this utter catastrophe,” Prudence said firmly, folding her hands over her stomach primly.

  “What is going on?”

  “Mr. Farmer, if you are wantin’ another match. I can see about…”

  “Enough,” Colton said flatly, picking up his son. “Can someone please tell me what happened today?”

  “Alice decided that a bar would be appropriate for a child to enter. She walked in there as a single, untouched maiden… oh dear…” Prudence said immediately, fanning herself and collapsing on the settee. “You are a maiden, aren’t you?”

  Horrified, Alice could only gape at her chaperone as her eyes rolled back in her head. Prudence looked to be on the verge of fainting unconscious. Things could not get any worse for Alice and if Colton had any doubts before about marrying her- this woman’s theatrical performance was enough to send anyone running.