Linda Ford (12 page)

Miss Ward reached them first and churned past to watch the men working. “Just as I said. Shoddy workmanship. A building hastily constructed will soon be a public disgrace.”

Rebecca stiffened and opened her mouth to argue.

Colton touched her arm. “Don’t add fuel to the fire,” he murmured. “She’s fought this from the start, but she has little support. The majority of the town is behind the orphanage.”

Rebecca nodded and held her tongue, though her eyes were ablaze.

Curtis scanned the site. “It’s good to see that the supplies have finally arrived. Do you mind if I look around?”

No one raised an objection and he walked the perimeter of the building, went into the framed shell and paced out each room. Then he returned.

Pauline crossed her arms and studied the man. “What was that all about? This building is not part of the bank loan.”

“I know. I was only curious. Nothing more. No need to be alarmed.”

Colton thought the man could have easily substituted the word
suspicious
for
alarmed
.

“I’d say everything is going as well as can be expected.” Pauline gave a dismissive nod and headed away, Curtis at her side.

Miss Ward hurried after them. “You saw for yourself my concerns, didn’t you?” She addressed Curtis.

Colton couldn’t hear his response.

Rebecca waited until they were out of earshot, then grabbed Colton’s arms. “Miss Ward is trying to stop construction of the building. We have to get as much done as we can before she succeeds.” She picked up a hammer. “Show me what to do.”

He knew better than to laugh, though it tickled his insides to see her waving the hammer about. “Have you ever built anything?”

She shook her head, her eyes narrowed.

“You ever hammered a nail?”

“No, but I can learn.”

Would there be any point in trying to dissuade her? Every attempt so far had been futile. Besides, this might be fun. “Very well. Grab the end of that board.” He indicated one he had sawed that was ready to nail into place.

She pinched it with two fingertips.

“Help me carry it to the wall.” He managed to hide his amusement as he lifted his end, knowing full well that she couldn’t pick up her end without using both hands. She lifted the board a few inches before it fell. He glanced at her over his shoulder then hoisted the board and carried it to the wall.

She trotted after him. “You didn’t give me a chance.”

He held the board in place with his knee. “Nail that end in place.”

She took a nail from the sack, watched as he drove one into the board. Then she attempted to do the same.

First blow, the nail ricocheted away.

He handed her another nail.

She smiled sweetly, though the smile went no farther than her lips. “I can do this.”

He held up his hands in a gesture of defeat. “Never said you couldn’t.”

Second blow, the nail fell to the ground.

“Don’t you say a word.”

“No, ma’am.” But he made no attempt to keep the amusement out of his eyes as he handed her another nail.

Third blow, the nail tiptoed into the lumber.

“See,” she crowed.

“It actually needs to go through the board and into the stud to do any good.”

“I know that.” She tapped at the nail, missing it as often as she hit it. It ended up twisted and bent.

He handed her another nail.

“Do. Not. Say. Anything.” She ground out the words.

“My lips are sealed.” He knew the men were watching. Saw them exchange smiles. “Besides, I know you can do this.”

She tapped the nail into place, took the hammer with two hands and finally got the nail most of the way in. “There. I did it.”

The men nodded and grinned.

“What next?” she asked.

“Every board needs two nails at the studs—the uprights. And we keep going until the wall is finished.”

“Right.” She grabbed another nail and managed to hammer it into place.

If Miss Ward saw this, she would have a fit. Shoddy workmanship.

Rebecca moved on to another upright, obviously determined to continue helping.

He could have done the work twice as fast on his own, but remembering how she said she felt incompetent, he kept letting her drive in nails.

Ted Lang moved closer to Colton. “She’s got spunk. That’s for sure.”

Colton watched her driving in nails. “At least she tries.”

“She does better than try. Never expected to see a woman in fine clothes helping out.”

The other men nodded.

Colton had to agree. She was okay.

They paused to share the dinner they’d brought. He thought she might decide to leave. There were the children and a hundred other reasons to quit. He noticed her arms shook as she lifted a dipper of water to her mouth, but she tucked in her chin and followed him back to the orphanage.

A little later he glanced at the sky to judge the time. “Rebecca and I need to take the children home and take care of chores. Ted.” He leaned close to whisper to the man. “Could you pound in a nail or two?” He tipped his head to indicate the places where Rebecca had worked.

“Will do.”

He informed Rebecca that they needed to leave. She seemed eager to do so.

“Your arms are going to be sore,” he warned her.

“I’ll be okay.” She walked beside him. “Thank you for letting me help. Even though I didn’t do much, at least I contributed something.”

“You did your best and then some. No one can say you didn’t.”

“Thank you.”

She went to get the children ready to go home. He’d left the horse and buggy at the livery barn, but he detoured out of his way to go to the sheriff’s office to speak again to Mason. “Did you find out anything?” He’d told Mason about Gabriel, but the man had already heard the story from Holly.

“I’ve asked around discreetly, but the mother must have been someone passing through. After all, it’s a small town. If a woman was in the family way, someone would know.”

“How would a stranger get my grandmother’s quilt?”

“I can’t explain that.”

“You must have overlooked something.”

“I’ll keep poking around.”

“There’s something else.” He told the sheriff about the deliberate damage at the orphanage and about the rats. “Someone is sending a very strong warning. I’ve looked around for clues, but I haven’t seen anything I could use.”

Mason planted both feet on the floor with a thud. “I heard about the delays and damage, and thought Beatrice Ward might be guilty, but this is beyond her. I’ll see what I can uncover.”

Colton thanked the sheriff, got the buggy and went to pick up Rebecca and the children.

She had little to say on the ride home, but Heidi more than made up for it, telling them about playing with Sasha and Liam.

Gabriel fussed as they reached the ranch. Colton pulled up to the house and helped Rebecca down.

As he tended to his work, he knew a sense of contentment. He and Rebecca had worked as a team. He liked the feeling.

He turned from feeding the horse and saw the shovel in the corner of the barn where he’d put it only this morning after burying the rat.

A knot of anger replaced any pleasant feeling he’d been savoring. He would not be able to rest until the culprit was found. Until then, he would guard Rebecca and the children. No harm must come to them.

Chapter Eleven

T
hat evening Colton faced Rebecca. “I’ll keep the baby tonight.”

Rebecca shook her head. “I can do it.” In truth, she ached from head to toe and hammers pounded inside her head, but she meant to prove she was capable.

“We’re sharing the work, remember? That means I take a turn.”

She wanted to argue, wanted to prove she could do this, but the thought of being up most of the night held no appeal. “Fine, we’ll take turns. And thank you.”

He chuckled. “Don’t thank me for doing what I’m supposed to.”

Later, as she curled up in bed, she thought of his words as they had worked at the orphanage. Community. Working together. The concepts felt comforting.

The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes came from their room as Rebecca and Heidi stepped from theirs. The older couple shuffled toward the kitchen. They stopped a few steps into the room.

Rebecca and Heidi followed and stopped, too, staring at the same thing—

Colton was stretched out on the cot, asleep and breathing deeply, baby Gabriel asleep on his stomach. Colton’s arms were crossed over the baby, his fingers interlocked, holding the baby safe and sound.

The sight of the big man cradling the baby filled Rebecca with a thousand sweet thoughts, like butterflies around a cluster of pink flowers. He’d spoken of community—doing things for the sake of others. He exemplified community and family in Rebecca’s mind.

Mr. Hayes chuckled. “Now, there’s a sight to cheer a man. Mother, you’ll have to sit elsewhere for now.” He took his wife’s arm and led her to his rocker, pulled out a kitchen chair and sat beside her.

“I’ll make coffee and start breakfast,” Rebecca said, only she didn’t move as Colton stirred.

It took him several seconds to surface from his sleep, then he jerked upright, the baby in his arms, and rubbed his eyes. “I thought the little guy would cry all night. I didn’t want to disturb you—” he addressed his parents “—so I brought him out here.”

He lowered the sleeping infant to his basket. “Ma, how long does this crying at night go on?”

She chuckled.

Rebecca stared. The woman had a soft side.

“You cried at night until you were a year old. Then one day Pa said I was to go visit Grandmother and he would keep the baby.” She smiled at her husband. “I never asked what you did to break him of it. Guess I was afraid I might not approve.”

Mr. Hayes touched her arm gently. “I simply sat by his bed and patted his back, all the while telling him he wasn’t getting up. Our smart little boy finally figured out I meant it and went to sleep.”

Colton chuckled. “I don’t remember, but I do know that all my life I knew Pa couldn’t be wrong.”

The three of them shared a laugh.

Colton turned to Rebecca, his eyes alight with joy.

She drowned in his look.

“Sure glad it’s your turn to keep the baby tonight.”

She surfaced, forced her gaze away and scurried into the kitchen to start the meal.

Later that morning, they returned to town. Rebecca again left the children with Charlotte and went to the orphanage to help. She picked up a hammer, stifling a groan at the pain in her arms. “I’m ready.”

Colton smiled so approvingly she thought her heart would burst from her chest. “Let’s do it, then.”

She held boards for him as he sawed. She drove in nails. At least today she managed to hit the nail more often than she missed it, but oh, how her muscles protested.

Ted Lang sidled up to her. “Ma’am, you’re doing just fine.”

His simple praise filled her with satisfaction.

Colton waited until he moved away. “He’s right, you know.”

She waited for him to explain.

“You’re doing just fine.”

His smile filled her with warmth to the center of her soul. She turned and pounded in another nail, keeping her face averted lest he see her reaction.

By the end of the day, they had made significant progress on the building. And her arms hurt so badly they felt as if they would fall off.

She gratefully accepted Colton’s help into the buggy and let him lift Gabriel to her, hoping he would see it as as a form of cooperation, not a response to pain.

Back at the ranch Colton helped them down. “I might have time to show a little girl some kittens before I do chores.”

Heidi jumped up and down. “How big are they?”

“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” The pair headed for the barn.

Rebecca buried her physical pain, stepped into the house and smiled at Colton’s parents.

“How was your day?” Mr. Hayes asked.

She told him about all the men who were helping. “It’s so nice to know people are willing and ready to assist.”

Mr. Hayes sighed. “’Twas a time I’d have been there, too. But at least Colton can help.”

Mrs. Hayes shook her finger at her husband. “Louis, you have done your share in the past. Besides, what would I do if you went to town, too? The day is long enough.”

The older man chuckled. “I know you get bored of my company. But for now we have Rebecca and the children to relieve our boredom.”

Rebecca decided then and there she would do more to make the days enjoyable for them. Gabriel started to fuss. “Mrs. Hayes, would you like to feed him while I make supper?”

At first the woman looked as if she would refuse, then she reached for him. “As long as you prepare the bottle.”

Rebecca put the baby into her arms and got the bottle ready.

Mrs. Hayes rocked Gabriel and murmured to him.

Mr. Hayes caught Rebecca’s hand. “Thank you,” he murmured, tipping his head toward his wife.

Rebecca smiled. Sometimes all it took was thinking about the needs of others. Like community. She pushed herself through meal preparations, grateful that nothing she did hurt the way driving in nails did.

Heidi rushed into the room. “I brought a kitten for you.” She went to Mr. Hayes’s side, holding the calico kitten. “Colton let me name them all. I called the two black ones Midnight and Storm. The black-and-white one I called Cloud. But this is my favorite.” She lifted it to her cheek.

Heidi had forgotten to hide her scars. She was so happy here, with this family who accepted her for who she was. Rebecca contemplated the older couple. They’d benefit from a child like Heidi to help them and it would give the child a safe and loving home.

Why did it hurt to think of this arrangement? A pain that made the ache in her arms insignificant by comparison. It would be best for Heidi. Better than taking her back to New York. Far better than leaving her in the orphanage.

Her heart beat sluggishly and her limbs were wooden stumps. She didn’t want to leave Heidi with anyone.

She wasn’t even sure she wanted to go back to New York.

She’d found something here she’d never known before, and it was more than community. But her father and her life were in New York. It was where she belonged. Her whole life she’d been groomed for her role in society. It left her unsuited for life in Evans Grove.

Heidi gave the kitten to Mr. Hayes. “I need help naming her.”

Mr. Hayes had a good look at the kitten. “She’s a good one. I can tell by the way she watches me. Have a look, Mother.”

Rebecca put the sleeping Gabriel into his basket so Mrs. Hayes could take the kitten.

Mrs. Hayes stroked the soft fur. “She’s purring. I always wanted a house cat, but you didn’t approve.” The look she gave her husband silently pleaded.

“Maybe it’s time.”

Mrs. Hayes smiled and lowered her face to the kitten’s fur. “She’ll make a good pet.”

“But what will we call her?” Heidi asked.

“What do you think when you look at her?” Colton’s ma asked.

Heidi pulled a footstool to the woman’s knees and studied the kitten. “I think how happy I am.”

“Then why don’t you call her Happy?”

“Oh, yes. That’s perfect.”

Rebecca watched the interaction and thought about how perfect the whole picture seemed. Home. Family. Heidi. A baby. Everything she wanted. But she didn’t belong in this family or this town. She was just a rich, city girl. She never forgot that, and even if she did, she could well imagine what her father would say to the idea of her staying here.

Colton entered the house.

She couldn’t face him. Not until she had her warring emotions carefully hidden. She swallowed hard and hoped no one could hear the rapid beating of her heart. Then she pasted a smile on her face. “Supper will be ready in a few minutes.”

Colton regarded her with an amused expression. His gaze slid to Heidi and his parents and back to her. Did he have the same thought as she did? That Heidi seemed to belong here?

Sooner or later she would have to confront that possibility.

But for now she shoved it aside.

* * *

Colton wondered at the coolness in Rebecca’s gaze. It was as if she didn’t want to let him see her feelings. Or maybe she simply hurt all over. He knew her muscles must be protesting at the work she’d done, even though she hid the pain admirably.

He shifted his attention back to Heidi. She’d been bubbly and excited since he’d shown her the kittens. Her enthusiasm had grown by leaps and bounds when Pa said Happy could be a house cat as soon as she was big enough to leave the mama cat.

That temporarily robbed Heidi of her joy. “She has to be an orphan?”

Mr. Hayes squeezed the child’s shoulder. “No, honey, not an orphan. She can see her mama whenever she wants. But the mama cat won’t want to be a house cat. She’s used to the barn.”

Heidi seemed satisfied with that explanation. “How long before Happy can come to the house?”

“Colton?”

He wished he could say immediately, but the kitten had to be able to eat on its own. “A few days yet.”

Heidi slumped into a ball of disappointment.

“But you can go visit her in the barn.”

“Okay.”

“You can take her back to her mama now.”

Colton watched out the window. He’d checked the barn and surroundings when they got home and seen nothing to alarm him, nothing to indicate that anyone lurked nearby with another dead-rat warning. Nevertheless, he kept his eyes on Heidi as she inched her way across the yard. “Might take her a week to make it there.”

Pa laughed. “It’s nice to see her opening up. She’s a sweet thing.”

“Louis—” Ma sounded angry “—I know what you’re thinking, but we’re too old.”

Colton realized what Pa wanted—to take Heidi into their home. He shifted his gaze to Rebecca. In her eyes he saw the same acknowledgment but something else, too. Pain she tried to mask. He wondered if her arms were the only source of the hurt.

Did she regret that his parents were too old to take in a child?

If only he could give her a home. Heidi and Rebecca—and Gabriel, too.

He shook his head. At some point, between town and home, he seemed to have lost his mind. He wheeled around to look out the window again.

Heidi trotted toward the house.

A little later, they shared another meal prepared by Rebecca. Pa read from the Bible and prayed. He and Rebecca and Heidi cleaned up. When he saw Ma pull out her knitting, he could only stare. She hadn’t touched the craft since— Well, a long time ago. And if he wasn’t mistaken, this was a completely new project. “What are you making?”

“Just a little something.” She shot Colton a warning look. So it was a surprise. For whom? He studied the knitting. Red-and-white stripes. An afghan? For—

He shifted his gaze to Heidi. His parents enjoyed the child’s presence. He understood how they felt. For him, having Rebecca in the house made him resent every minute he had to be outside doing chores.

He studied his parents. Both of them smiled at Heidi as she sat at Pa’s knees chattering about the kittens.

The child had brought new life into the home.

He considered the idea at length, but his thoughts went round and round in useless circles. What would be the best thing for Heidi? For his parents?

For him?

He wheeled around to stare out the window, but he barely noted the lowering sun. Ma had warned him to guard his heart. He’d tried.

And failed.

He knew one way to get his thoughts sorted out. He thought how his foolish behavior had resulted in Pa’s injuries. His resolve restored, he turned back to the others.

Before long, Pa pushed to his feet. “I think I’ll turn in.” He almost reached the door before Colton jolted into action.

“I’m coming, Pa.” Every day since the accident, he’d helped his father get ready for bed.

Ma trundled after them.

A few minutes later, Colton returned to find Rebecca preparing to leave the room. He knew her arms hurt and offered to keep Gabriel a second night, but she refused. “It’s my turn. I do my share.”

“And then some.”

She shot him a disbelieving look before she took the baby.

He had to let her go, though he longed for her to stay. His longing had nothing to do with helping to care for Gabriel.

He waited until she left the room to thump himself on the forehead. Maybe if he left right now and retraced his journey from town, he could get his mind back on track before his thoughts went even further awry. He simply had to remember that he and Rebecca were from different worlds. And even if they weren’t, he wasn’t free to think of anything but his parents.

* * *

They worked together in town for two more days.

“I never realized how much work it took to construct a building,” Rebecca said as she studied the progress.

Colton refrained from saying it would go faster if all the men who agreed to work would show up, but the help had trickled down to Ted Lang and his sidekick. He’d seen Beatrice Ward talking to the other men, overheard her dire comments and predictions at the store, and guessed she had convinced the others not to help. Or perhaps they were simply consumed with rebuilding their own lives after the flood.

“We made good progress,” Ted said as Rebecca and the men prepared to leave later in the afternoon.

She thanked the men again and let Colton help her into the buggy. “I’ll have to see to getting bedding and curtains made and ordering dishes and kitchen equipment.” She rattled on as Colton stepped into the buggy and sat beside her. She continued to talk nonstop as they went to pick up the children. She kept up her chatter until Heidi sat behind her and began to tell them about her day.