“Yes to what?”
asked Duncan from the doorway.
Cassie looked up and smiled at the big man who was her friend and her best friend’s husband.
“I’ve asked Sam to come to work for me.”
“Well.
That was fast.
I was going to suggest it at dinner.
Of course, I hadn’t expected you two to meet in the kitchen.”
“So, Cassie wasn’t the only surprise you had in store for me tonight,” said Sam.
“Duncan!”
Catherine yelled from the parlor.
“Duncan!”
All three of them jumped up and ran to the parlor.
Cat was standing, a puddle at her feet, holding her swollen belly, clearly in pain.
“I knew it.
Cat, why didn’t you send someone for me sooner?
You’ve been in labor all day haven’t you?
I swear.
Did you even tell Duncan?
You didn’t, did you?”
“Please don’t yell at me Cassie.”
Catherine stretched as best she could, pushing her hand into her lower back to relieve some of the pain.
She let out a small sigh.
“I’ve had other things on my mind and Duncan couldn’t do anything anyway, and neither can you.
Besides, you’re here now and,” Cat panted with pain, “that’s…
owww
…what counts.”
Cassie took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Cat.
I don’t mean to yell.
I’m just worried about you.”
She turned to Duncan, “Please take your stubborn wife upstairs and help her out of those clothes.
Sam, if you could keep track of the children for a bit it’d be much appreciated.
The little ones are going to be curious and want to come in, but that’s not best.
Not just yet.
Hold them off and out of my way.
I’d be beholden.”
He chuckled.
“Not a problem.
I think there’s some new kittens in the barn.
That should keep them occupied for a while, then dinner and bed.
They’ll be fine.”
“Thanks.
If you need help with the girls, RJ and Ian are both very good with them.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.
Go on now.
Get.
Catherine needs you.”
Sam followed Cassie back to the kitchen.
He took the boiling water from the stove, filled the basin for her.
She loaded up a basket full of fresh towels, then set the basin on top of the towels in the basket.
It wouldn’t hurt if they got a little wet.
They were going to get much wetter before the day was done.
“Thank you, kindly.”
“Need help carrying this upstairs?”
She smiled, but shook her head and declined.
“You just handle the children.”
She turned her back and headed up the stairs toward her friend’s moans and cries.
This baby was coming soon.
*****
Sam herded the kids to the barn.
A momma cat had given birth a few weeks ago to a litter of eight kittens.
They were just getting steady on their feet, their eyes barely open.
Cassie’s little girl squealed with delight when she saw them and ran straight for the kittens.
Sam had to grab her up and hold her in his arms so she didn’t trample the little felines.
“Hold on there, Sweet.
You don’t want to hurt the baby kitties.
Let me help you.
What’s your name?”
“I’m Sarah.
Who you?
You got kids?
Huh, Mister?
You wanna marry my mommy?
You wanna be our daddy?
Huh, Mister?”
Sarah popped her thumb in her mouth.
“Sarah, hush up.
This man don’t want to hear all your rambling.”
RJ reached for his baby sister.
“I’ll take her.
And don’t pay her no mind.
We’re doing just fine, us and Mama.
Just fine.”
Sam recognized the possessiveness of the boy for his mother.
It pleased him.
He held out his hand to RJ.
“I’m Sam.
You must be RJ.
Ian has told me a great deal about you.
Right pleased to meet you.”
RJ narrowed his eyes and put Sarah down before he took Sam’s hand.
“You too.”
The boy raised his chin a notch.
“What you doing here, anyway?”
“I’m an old friend of Duncan’s and was passing through this way.”
“Oh, in that case, since you’re just passing through, nice to meet you.”
Sam almost laughed at the boy’s relief.
He wasn’t going to be pleased when his mother told him Sam would now be ramrodding for her.
Not until this moment had he decided fully to accept the position, but the children, the location, the work and the mother all were growing in fascination.
Yes.
This looked like a good job to say yes to.
The fierceness of the boy and the sweetness of the little girl pulled at his heartstrings.
A smile played at the corner of his mouth.
If he was smart, he’d run like hell.
He guessed he wasn’t that smart.
“So, young man.
Tell me about you and your sister.
How old are you?”
“I’m nine and Sarah is two.”
“Two half,” piped Sarah, taking her thumb from her mouth.
RJ rolled his eyes and looked at her, then said, “Fine.
Two and a half.”
“Little sisters can be exasperating now and then.”
Sam smiled sympathetically.
“I have three of my own.”
“Three!
I’d be crazy.
It’s bad enough with two,” said Ian.
Lizzie and Mary stuck their tongues out in unison and Sam couldn’t help his bark of laughter.
He felt a tug on his pant leg.
“What’s funny, Mister?” queried Sarah.
Sam shook his head.
“Nothing, Sweet.
Not a thing.”
Then he smiled at the boys who were now laughing.
Sarah remembered the kittens and squealed.
“Kitties!”
She, Lizzie and Mary tore off to see the kittens.
Once they’d again spied the small, helpless and furry little critters, everything and everyone else was ignored.
Sam wondered how long he’d have to keep the kids busy.
It had been a long time since he’d waited for a woman to give birth.
He hadn’t known Catherine was pregnant when he’d decided to stop by and see Duncan.
He and Duncan hadn’t spoken since just after Duncan had married.
Sam should have figured his friend would have a passel of children.
He’d been married himself at that time.
Jane and the girls were at home in Waco.
But he was a Ranger.
A warrant was out for bank robber Frank Borden.
His job was to bring him in.
It was part and parcel of being a Ranger.
It was during his chase after Borden that he’d visited with Duncan, resting and meeting Catherine, before having to leave again.
He’d finally caught Borden in the Arizona Territory, taken him back to Texas and jailed him in Waco to await trial.
That was the beginning of his nightmare.
A nightmare he lived every day.
If he hadn’t caught Borden, if he hadn’t taken him back to Waco, maybe his family would still be alive.
Borden wouldn’t have escaped and killed them all in an attempted kidnapping and an extortion gone bad.
Maybe.
Sam closed his eyes only to see bright orange flame seared in his memory.
He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose.
That was ten years ago.
The images of Jane and the girls were fading from his mind and he knew that soon he wouldn’t be able to see their sweet faces.
Wouldn’t hear their voices.
Time did that.
They said that time healed all wounds, what it really did was make you forget, so the wounds didn’t hurt so bad.
They never healed.
Not completely.
Sam liked Creede.
The little community was growing by leaps and bounds since silver was discovered.
People coming to make their fortunes in the mines or to at least make a living.
He was looking for a place to settle down, tired of moving around.
Tired of going from one cow town to another looking for Harry Borden, Franks younger brother.
It was time to take a stand and make a home again.
And there was no place better than Creede.
If he needed someone watching his back, there was no one he’d rather have than Duncan McKenzie.
And Cassie was spectacular.
The small woman had the silkiest blond hair he’d ever seen.
Sarah was a miniature of her mother.
Wide cornflower blue eyes, curly blond hair and the cutest little nose.
He was overwhelmed with longing for his own daughters
They’d been four and six when Frank Borden had brutally murdered them, setting Sam’s house on fire with Jane and the girls tied up inside.
Doc Stone had assured Sam they were dead from the smoke long before the flames had licked at their bodies.
It was the only thing that gave Sam any comfort.
Knowing they hadn’t died in pain.
He mentally shook himself and called the boys over.
“Ian, you and RJ watch the girls while I go check on your mother.
Be back shortly.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sam walked into the house in time to hear a baby’s cry.
He took the stairs two at a time, following the sound.
When he got to the bedroom he knocked before going in.
He didn’t want to embarrass anyone, mostly himself, by catching Catherine in a state of nudity.
“What variety of McKenzie do we have?” he asked from the doorway.
Duncan walked to the door, holding the new babe in his arms.
The baby looked so tiny being held by such a big man.
“Sam, meet Connor Samuel McKenzie.”
He opened the swaddling so Sam could see the baby.
Connor had lots of black hair like his daddy and the gray eyes of his mother.
He was going to give Ian and RJ a run for their money where girls were concerned.
Sam looked up at Duncan.
“He’s beautiful.
I’ll wait until later to congratulate Catherine.
You three need some time alone.”
“Thanks for watching the
youngun’s
.”
Sam turned just as little Connor started to cry and Duncan handed him to Catherine who immediately put him to her breast and covered them both with a dry cloth, hiding him from view.
The tender act brought back all the memories of his own children at their mother’s breast.
And it hurt.
The memories, though happy ones, hurt like hell.
Time to go.