Chapter 17

17

“There it is.” Calvin pointed through the trees to a small cabin in a clearing about a quarter mile away. “Mama’s gonna blister my britches for being so late.”

Letty gave the boy in her lap a little squeeze of encouragement with the side of her arm. “I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Having never been around children before, she’d found the half hour following Dennis’s rescue quite wonderful. Calvin sat in front of her on Shadow while his brother rode with Philip, and without even trying, the boys utterly captured her heart. Two adventurous spirits, loyal to each other, and brave in the face of adversity. They awoke something maternal inside her, something that urged her to look past the massive boulders of her uncle’s threat and her family’s expectations to imagine a future that stretched beyond them, one that might include a husband and children of her own.

Calvin leaned back against her. “Maybe. But I’m gonna have to tell her it’s my fault that Dennis got hurt.” His voice drooped.

“You were playing, and the ground gave out beneath your brother’s feet. That was an accident.”

“But it was my fault Dennis was so close to the edge. We were stick fighting, and I jabbed him in the belly when he wasn’t looking. The surprise made him jump back. He slipped and fell over the side.”

Tension radiated through his small body, and Letty’s heart throbbed in response. “You didn’t intend for your brother to get hurt. Dennis knows that. Your mother will, too.” She shifted in the saddle to sit up a little straighter. “But something else happened today that was definitely your fault.”

Calvin swiveled his head, his forehead scrunched. “What?”

She smiled. “Dennis’s rescue.”

His nose decided to get in on the scrunchy action, wrinkling at the bridge. “But you and Mr. Carmichael did all the rescuin’. Not me.”

“We never would have been there if you hadn’t called for help. That makes you the hero.” She tapped the end of his nose.

He didn’t look convinced, but some of the tension leaked out of him as he faced forward again.

Letty glanced at Philip, riding a few feet away, and blushed when she caught the half smile on his face. She hadn’t given thought to who else might be listening. Shifting in the saddle, she tried in vain to subdue the overzealous dragonfly that decided to clamor about in her belly the moment she realized her escort was paying attention.

Navigating her gaze away from the dragonfly instigator, Letty dropped her gaze to the boy sitting in front of the compelling Pinkerton. “How are you holding up, Dennis?”

They’d repurposed the blanket strips to fashion a sling for his arm to make the journey a bit easier, but weariness had etched itself upon Dennis’s face.

“I’m fine, ma’am.”

He was far from fine, but she pretended not to notice. Both to spare his pride and Calvin’s guilt.

“You’re a tough young man,” she praised. “Your parents are going to be very proud of you. Of both of you.”

His chin lifted at her words, and a bit of a spark returned to eyes that had gone rather dull during their ride.

As they passed through the tree line into the clearing, Letty spotted a man leading a saddled horse out of a barn. A man wearing a gun belt.

Her gaze immediately sought out her wolf. “Rusty. Heel.”

The red wolf turned his head toward her, a questioning whine echoing in his throat.

She patted her thigh. “Come.”

Rusty trotted toward her, then stayed beside her right stirrup as they approached the cabin.

The man by the barn turned in their direction and stared for a long moment. “Dennis? That you, boy? Calvin?”

“It’s us, Pa!” Calvin lifted an arm and waved it in an arc wide enough to sway his whole body.

Their father dropped his horse’s lead line and jogged toward the cabin. “Susanne! It’s the boys. They’re back.”

A heartbeat later, the cabin door swung inward, and a thin woman emerged, dish towel in hand. “God be praised!”

She darted around her husband and ran out to meet her children, dish towel flopping unheeded at her side. Her husband followed at a more measured pace, but he stretched his walking stride to its limits.

When she caught sight of Rusty, however, she pulled up short. “Good heavens. Is that a wolf?”

“He’s tame,” Letty called out. “I raised him from a pup. He won’t hurt you.” She reined her horse to a halt, then turned to her pet. “Rusty, sit.”

Thankfully, he was in a mood to oblige.

“Stay.”

She nudged Shadow a few steps forward, leaving Rusty behind.

“He’s just like any old dog, Mama.” Calvin squirmed, obviously eager to get down. Letty halted her mare and lowered the boy to the ground so he could run to his mother. And run he did. Calvin collided with his mama at such a rate of speed, he nearly bowled her over as he threw his arms around her waist and squeezed her tight. After staggering back a step, Susanne found her balance and embraced her son with enthusiasm. Calvin didn’t linger in the hug, though. Pulling out of their embrace, he immediately started gesturing to the company on horseback behind him.

“Dennis fell into the ravine. It was an accident, so you shouldn’t be mad at us, but it all worked out ’cause I yelled for help, and Rusty, the wolf, heard me and fetched his people.” The words spilled out so fast, his mama’s eyes took on a slightly glazed appearance. “Mr. Carmichael hauled me off the ledge, then climbed down into the ravine to fetch Dennis.

“He busted his arm when he fell, but Mr. Carmichael set it for him, then carried him on his back all the way up the cliff. I helped Mrs. Carmichael tie strips of blanket together to make an extra rope that we tied to the gray horse so he could pull them up over the steepest part.”

Mrs. Carmichael? Oh dear. That wasn’t right. But how was she to correct the erroneous assumption without blackening her reputation in the process? Not that she could get a word in edgewise even if she wanted to. Calvin was still spewing his story at full steam.

The boy grabbed his mother’s hand and tugged her toward Philip, who reined in his mount in front of the pair. Susanne cast a wary glance toward Rusty as she moved forward, but the wolf remained stationary, offering enough reassurance that she turned her attention to her injured child.

“We gotta be extra careful with his arm,” Calvin instructed. “Mr. Carmichael says he still needs to see a real doctor, ’cause he ain’t one, but that he’s sure Dennis will be fine.” He looked up to Philip, adoration shining in his eyes. “Ain’t that right?”

“Yep.” Philip smiled and tipped his hat to Susanne, not that she noticed. She focused her full attention on Dennis, reaching out to touch her boy’s leg.

“Dennis?” Tears thickened the woman’s voice.

Her husband finally reached her side and placed a hand to her back. “Are you all right, son?”

Dennis, brave soul, nodded to his father. “Yessir. It hurts some, but it’s better now than it was.”

“Oh, my sweet boy.” Susanne turned to her husband. “Lincoln, you best ride for the doctor.”

Lincoln patted his wife’s shoulder in a conciliatory fashion, making no move to run for his horse. “Let’s get him inside first. I’ll take a look at him. If the arm’s set and he’s got movement in his fingers, I can fetch the doc first thing in the morning. It’ll be dark in an hour, and it’ll take twice that long to get all the way to Longview. You know Doc Peabody will only leave his bed if someone’s dying or birthin’ a baby.”

“What about that druggist in Kilgore? He might be able—”

A small shake of Lincoln’s head cut off his wife’s proposition. “He ain’t qualified to do anything but mix medicine, and half of what he offers in his shop is pure snake oil. I’ll take care of it, Susanne. Why don’t you see to our guests?” His gaze snagged on Rusty momentarily, then shifted to Letty and Philip. He scraped the hat from his head and dipped his chin toward them. “I’m mighty obliged to you folks.” He tugged Calvin into a rough embrace and ruffled his hair.

Philip nodded to the man. “Glad we could help.”

Lincoln unwound his arm from Calvin’s shoulders and stepped forward, arms raised. “I’ll take him from you now.”

Susanne backed up a pace to give her husband room. Philip set his reins aside and drew his arms away from his passenger to allow the boy’s father full access. Dennis raised his injured arm as his father locked onto his waist and lifted him down to stand beside him. Susanne brushed the hair from Dennis’s eyes and dropped a kiss on the top of his head, her love for her son evident in the strain etched upon her face.

As her husband and son moved past, she swiped the back of her hand across her cheek, gave a sniff, then straightened her posture. Her gaze met Philip’s first, then slid sideways to include Letty.

“You must stay for supper.” She made the pronouncement with such authority Letty couldn’t imagine anyone arguing.

Philip apparently had a more active imagination.

“Thank you for the offer, ma’am, but we really must be going. We’re on a tight schedule. Not to mention that I left my pack mule on the trail a fair piece from here. I need to retrieve him.”

“Well, retrieve him, then bring him here.” She shook a finger at him. “I ain’t takin’ no for an answer.” She planted hands on hips and jabbed a scolding scowl at Philip. “You saved my boys today, and I aim to thank you good and proper.” She tipped her head toward Letty. “Besides, I ain’t had a woman’s company in near a month. You menfolk can ride a trail for days on end without a care to the fact that you got dirt in all your crevices and you stink to high heaven, but I bet that wife of yours would appreciate a warm bath and a straw-tick mattress to sleep on.”

Letty’s eyes widened. “Oh, I don’t—”

“Nonsense.” She turned to her son. “Calvin? Take the lady’s horse to the barn and see to its care. Mrs. Carmichael and I are going to have a nice chat while I finish up supper. Aren’t we?”

Letty dodged a glance at Philip. What was she supposed to do? It would be an insult to refuse the woman’s hospitality, wouldn’t it? On the other hand, Philip had made it clear that they were to do all they could to avoid interaction with other people on their journey. Yet surely they had nothing to fear from this family. It wasn’t as if her uncle would send men to such a remote homestead to quiz them over any stranger they encountered.

A home-cooked meal really would be delightful. And a hot bath? Heavenly! And to sleep with something thicker than a folded blanket between her and the ground would feel like the veriest luxury.

A thought struck her. They no longer had blankets. If they left, they’d be sleeping on nothing more than oilskins.

As if he had been privy to her internal rambling, Philip’s gaze zeroed in on hers. What was he trying to convey through that intense stare? Letty spent a couple of precious seconds trying to decipher the hidden meaning but failed. She lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. His shoulders sagged in response. A heartbeat later, he gave a nod of assent.

“Excellent! We’re settled, then.” Susanne gestured for Letty to dismount and follow her. “Come on up to the house. I’ll meet you in the kitchen as soon as I check on Dennis.” She darted another look toward Rusty, one eyebrow lifting. “That wolf of yours won’t bother my chickens, will he?”

Letty shook her head. “No, ma’am. We have chickens at our place, too. He’s been trained to leave them alone.” A training he remembered most of the time.

“Good.” As if the matter were settled to her satisfaction, she pivoted and headed for the house. “The kettle’s on,” she called over her shoulder. “Help yourself to tea.”

“Thank you, Mrs....?”

She turned, but her feet kept moving. “Bullock. But just call me Susanne.”

“I’m Letty.” She left it at that. “I’ll be up in a moment.” Letty dismounted and handed her reins to Calvin as his mother hurried toward the house.

He held his hand out for Shadow to nuzzle, then glanced at Letty. “I’ll take good care of her.”

Letty smiled. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

With a grin, he set off for the barn.

Leather creaked as Philip adjusted his seat. “Letty.”

She peered up at him. “Yes?”

“Watch what you say to Mrs. Bullock. She can’t know who you are or that you aren’t actually my wife.”

Wife. Goodness. Hearing him say it settled on her so much differently than when Calvin or Susanne had mentioned it. Her belly did a strange little flip, and her head grew light enough to float.

“I’m aware.” She forced her mind back to the matter at hand. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

He opened his mouth as if he wished to say something more, then shut it and offered a tight nod instead.

Without another word, he reined Steele around and nudged the gray into a trot.

Letty patted her leg, and Rusty rushed to her side. She bent down to give him a thorough rub as a reward for his good behavior, but her eyes tracked Philip as he rode off.

Letty Carmichael. Could be an idea worth pondering.