Chapter 8

Daxton

“Colton, you and Ella be careful going home now,” Daxton said as he and Josey stood on the porch, watching them leave.

“Don’t worry. I can’t go too fast with the little ones.” It was hard to believe, but the babies were already a year old now. Colton grinned. “Ella won’t let me.”

Ella smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

“Would you like Lillian to go with you to help out?” Daxton asked.

Colton looked over at Ella and she shook her head. “No, thank you. She’s been a big enough help already.”

Daxton sighed. “Colton, I’ll go in tomorrow.”

Colton looked between him and Josey. “Are you sure you don’t need to stay home… at least a few more days?”

“Would you mind?” Daxton asked.

“Pa, I’ll be glad to go with them to help out,” Lillian interjected, stepping out onto the porch.

“Are you sure you want to?” Daxton bent down to look in her eyes. “You don’t miss us too much?”

Lillian huffed. “Pa, it’s only been two days. Besides I’m saving up to buy Christmas presents.”

Daxton chuckled, proud of his daughter. “Well, if you’re sure.”

She smiled. “I am.”

Daxton nodded. “Colton, I’ll go ahead and take off tomorrow then, if you don’t mind. But I’ll be in on Thursday. Is that okay with you?”

Colton gave him a manly slap on the arm. “No problem at all, sheriff. Glad to do it.”

“Actually, James could probably handle it on his own tomorrow—”

“Stop right there.” Colton held up his hand. “Please, no. I’m begging you.”

One corner of Daxton’s lips curled into a smile. “Why? What has he done?”

Colton rolled his eyes. “What hasn’t he done?” Colton sighed. “Okay. I wasn’t going to tell you this, but he’s been driving the shop owners crazier than normal. I had to sit him down and have a talk with him, telling him to just walk by and not keep going into every store. Also, I had to actually tell him to sit in the rocking chair in front of the Sheriff’s Office and just keep an eye on the town that way.”

“And he didn’t?” Daxton asked, amused.

“Hell, no!” Colton turned to Ella and Josey. “Excuse me ladies.”

Ella and Josey both giggled, obviously enjoying the show.

Colton turned his attention back to Daxton and let out an exasperated breath. “He sat down for all of about ten minutes and then got up and started pacing again and going back to his usual ‘checking in.’ It’s one thing to be eager about your job, but he’s driving everyone crazy.”

Daxton chuckled. “Stay home tomorrow and I’ll go in.”

Colton laughed. “No, I can handle one more day.”

“Well, if you’re sure….” Normally, Daxton wouldn’t be taking off from work like this, but he wanted to make sure that Josey would be all right with the children before going back.

Colton chuckled. “Sheriff, don’t ask me again. I just might say yes.”

Daxton and the ladies laughed. He bent down and gave his little girl a big hug. “Come back home tomorrow night, all right? I miss you.” He was about to say that he missed his little girl, but he didn’t want to embarrass her in front of the other adults.

Lillian nodded. “Yes, Pa.”

Colton smiled. “I’ll bring her home.”

“Don’t worry. If I get to missing her too badly, I’ll come after her.”

“Pa!”

Daxton scooped his little girl up into his arms so that her feet dangled. “You may be growing up, but you’re not too grown up for me to do this.”

“I love you, Pa.”

“I love you, too, baby girl.”

Josey followed Ella to their buckboard and took her hand. “Ella, promise you’ll come back to visit soon.”

Ella smiled and gently squeezed her hand. “Only if you promise to come visit me, too.”

Then Josey bent down to Lillian now standing behind her beside the wagon. “It was a pleasure to meet you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Okay?”

A broad smile spread across Lillian’s face. “I’ll see you then.” She waved a last goodbye to her father and then climbed up onto the seat of the buckboard. Colton handed her Hannah, while Ella held Blake.

“I’m sorry that I’m chasing her from her home.” Josey folded her arms over her chest, standing beside Daxton.

He looked down, knowing she was talking about Lillian. “You aren’t. She’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“Why did you take off from work this week?” Josey looked up expectantly.

Daxton cocked his head to the side. “I think you know.”

Josey sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that. I mean… after I rested, you could have let me go.”

A crease formed between his eyes. “Not in your condition. The first day you were here, you were so sick I was ready to go get Doc Morgan for you, whether you wanted me to or not.”

She smiled, gently patting his arm. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

Josey was about to walk inside, but Daxton stopped her. “Josey, if you don’t mind, I want you to sleep in my bedroom and I’ll sleep on the sofa in the living room. But for tonight, I’ll sleep in Lillian’s bedroom, since she’s not here.”

“I can sleep in there—”

“If you like,” he conceded. “Usually, Andrew sleeps in the upper loft and then Lillian has the other bedroom downstairs. This way, they both have a room to themselves.”

Josey nodded. “A girl needs her own bedroom.”

“But when she comes back, you can have my bedroom, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Josey turned away, and raised her chin toward the moonlight, her blonde hair bathed in a blue hue. “I don’t want to put you out.”

Daxton never wanted to hold a woman so badly in his life, but she was married. Also, he couldn’t let himself get involved with this woman. Even if she didn’t go back to her husband, who was to say that she wouldn’t leave like Priscilla did? No, he couldn’t go through that again.

He placed his hands gently on her shoulders. “You’re not putting me out at all.” Then his lips curled into a smile. “Let’s go inside.”

She nodded and looked down.

Daxton sighed. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out. When you’re up to it, I’ll take you into town—”

“No, please. I can’t go into town.” She bit her lower lip, looking away.

“Hey.” He placed a finger under her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Don’t worry. He won’t hurt you. I’ll make sure of it.”

She turned away. “Let’s go inside.”

Daxton nodded, sensing there was more that she wasn’t telling him, but he decided not to push it. She would tell him in her own time… when she was ready.

He opened the door and stood back. “After you.”

When they walked inside, Andrew had a chess board set up on a small side table in the living room. “Pa, how about a game?”

Daxton smiled as he shook his head. “Maybe later. Let’s play a game of cards.” He turned to Josey. “Would you like to play?”

“Sure.” A broad smile spread across her face. “Would you like to ante or shall I? Do you have any matchsticks? Or we can play just straight Poker, Five Card Stud. Or we can play Spit in the Ocean or Follow the Queen, if you like.”

Andrew’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Josey and Daxton. “Sure!”

Daxton laughed. “Maybe later. I was thinking maybe Euchre, but we’d need four people, unless we play two-handed, but then we all wouldn’t be able to play. How about Rummy?”

Josey looked away crestfallen, as if realizing that she had made a faux pas.

“Pa, can we play Poker please? I’ve been wanting to learn—”

“You don’t know how to play?” Josey looked at him surprised. “Why, I learned how to play Poker as a child. It’s really a lot of fun. We don’t have to play for matchsticks either, if you don’t want to, but every young man should know how to play.”

Daxton laughed. Here he was the sheriff, and he was about to show his young son how to play Poker. He sighed as one corner of his lips curled into a smile. “Okay. We’ll show you how to play regular straight Poker.” But then he pointed a finger at his son. “But I never want to see you in the saloon or playing against your friends for money, got it?”

A broad smile spread across Andrew’s face. “Okay, Pa! But maybe when I’m older?”

Daxton shook his head, giving him a stern look. “Many a man has lost a whole week’s wages or more on one bad hand of Poker.”

Andrew’s smile faded. “Okay.” Then he sat at the table. “How do you play?”

Daxton shuffled the cards, then stretched them out like an accordion and back again.

His son’s eyes widened in obvious disbelief, his mouth forming a perfect O. Daxton had his son’s attention.

“Now,” Daxton began. “First, the dealer deals out five cards to each player. You have to make sure to control your expression and not give away what you have in your hand. Many a good hand was lost by someone getting excited over being dealt good cards.”

“Poker’s not all about having the winning hand,” Josey interjected. “It’s about strategy… but having good cards doesn’t hurt.” She smiled at Daxton, indicating for him to continue.

As he taught his son the fine points of playing Poker, Daxton noticed that this was the first time that Josey had truly gotten excited over anything since he found her hiding in his barn a few days before. She was so knowledgeable about Poker that he wondered what her previous life had been like. And when he had mentioned playing a game of cards, the first thing she had thought of was Poker, an unusual game for a woman to know. Most women didn’t even want a man near a Poker table, let alone help a man teach his son how to play. And from what he could tell, she was an expert.

“Ha!” she said as she spread her cards across the table. “I won!”

“Yeah, the only reason is because everyone else folded.” Daxton gathered the cards and began to shuffle them, smirking. “I can’t believe you won with that hand.”

“Well, you have to be willing to take a chance.” Josey shrugged. “I had nothing to lose.” Then her smile faded. It was as if she had been about to say something, but then stopped short.

“Pa, can we play again?” Andrew bounced excitedly in his seat.

“Okay, one more hand. But it’s getting late, and you have chores to do in the morning.”

“Oh, Pa!”

Josey shuffled the deck, spreading them out across the table, gathering them again, and then shuffled and spread them out across the table again. Then she took two cards, flipped one end over and then back again. She ran her hand over the deck, gathering the cards, shuffled again, and then stretched them out like an accordion in midair, but caught them. Finally satisfied, she divided the cards into three sections, restacked the sections with one hand, and dealt.

“Wow!” Andrew exclaimed, his eyes wide. “Could you show me how to do that?”

“I’d be glad to.” She smiled, leaning in conspiratorially. “But it takes practice.”

“I’ll practice,” Andrew agreed, nodding vigorously.

Daxton let out a deep breath. “Okay, I think that’s enough Poker for one day. Time for bed.”

“Oh, Pa!”

“No, your father’s right,” Josey interjected, setting the cards in a stack in front of Daxton. “I could show you some other time….” She looked over at Daxton. “That is, if it’s okay with your father.”

Daxton gave her a small smile. “Well, we can talk about that later.” Then he turned back to his son. “But now, it’s time for you to go to bed.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Just one more game?”

Daxton sighed. “Okay, just one more game. But after that, it’s off to bed.”

A broad smile spread across Andrew’s face. “Deal.”

Daxton laughed.

Andrew pushed the cards over to him. “No, I mean deal… deal the cards.”

Daxton smiled as he picked up the cards. “The game is Five Card Stud, lady and gentleman.” Josey and Andrew laughed as he dealt the cards.

Andrew picked up his cards one by one, but his expression was unreadable as he studied them.

Daxton looked at his cards as Josey studied hers, her expression unreadable, as well. He had three aces and a pair of tens. “Well, son? How about it?”

Andrew laid two cards face down onto the table. “I’ll take two.”

He slid two cards face down to his son across the table. Andrew picked them up and looked at them, his expression, again, unreadable.In the short time that they had been playing, his son’s Poker face was getting better.

One corner of Daxton’s lips curled into a smile. “And for the lady?”

She arched an eyebrow as she laid one card down onto the table face down. “One, please.”

He dealt her a single card. She picked it up and added it to her hand.

“I’ll stick.” Daxton looked over at his son. “Well, what do you say, son?”

“I call.”

Daxton laughed. “You already sound like a gambler. What have I done?”

Andrew laughed. “I can’t wait to show Shawn how to play!”

“And Mrs. Nash will have my hide when you both go back to school.”

Josey shrugged. “It’s a way he can win some money.”

“Not from the other children.” Daxton smiled. “I can see it now: The sheriff’s son, winning all of the other children’s pennies.” They all laughed. He glanced over at Josey. “What do you say?”

“I call,” Josey replied with a straight face.One thing was certain: Josey had a good Poker face.

Daxton smiled. “You’re not going to get me this time. I call, too.” He spread his cards across the table. “Full house, aces high.”

Josey spread out her cards and there was an eight, seven, six, five, and a four of hearts. “A straight flush.” She smiled in victory and sat back, but Andrew stopped her.

“Wait.” A broad smile spread across Andrew’s face as he laid down an ace, king, queen, jack, and a ten. “I believe this is called a Royal Flush.”

Daxton and Josey looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

“It’s your fault,” Daxton teased Josey, gathering the cards. “You’re the one who wanted to play Poker.”

“Yes, I did.” Josey rose from her seat. “I’m sorry.”

But Daxton caught her hand as she passed. “Josey, come and sit back down. I was only joking. I meant no offense.”

Josey nodded. “It’s okay. It’s time for bed anyway.” She pulled back her hand. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Daxton smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.” Josey glanced over at Andrew and smiled. “You play very well.”

A smile lit the boy’s lips. “I had a good teacher.”

Josey’s smile broadened. “But promise me that you won’t take too much of the children’s money.”

Andrew laughed. “I’ll play for matchsticks.”

“See that you do.” She chuckled as her eyes met Daxton’s. “Good night.”

He smiled, glad to see that she was somewhat herself again. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

She gave him a small smile as she nodded, and then headed off to Lillian’s bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“Well, so, it’s off to bed with you, too. Goodnight, son.” Daxton gathered the cards, placed them in a wooden box, and set it on the mantle above the fireplace.

“I’ll put away the chessboard.” Andrew headed into the living room, but Daxton stopped him.

“Just a minute, son.” Daxton crossed the room to the table where the chess set rested and lit the candle. “Want to play a game before you go to bed?”

Andrew’s face lit up. “Really, Pa?”

Daxton smiled. “Yes.” He sat down in one of the wooden chairs beside the table and motioned toward the other. “Son, I’m sorry that I haven’t had much time to play with you lately.”

Andrew smiled as he sat down. “It’s okay, Pa.” He shrugged. “As the sheriff, you’re a busy man.”

Daxton sighed. “Maybe I should step down and take up farming… or ranching, like Colton.”

Andrew shook his head. “No, Pa. I’m very proud of you. You keep the town safe. The town needs you.”

“But you and your sister need me more.” And it was true. In taking his duties as sheriff so seriously, he had come to ignore his children. If not ignore, then let them raise themselves. “You’re growing up so fast and I don’t want to miss any of it.”

Andrew reached over and squeezed his father’s hand. “You won’t.” He let his hand go and smiled. “Pa, we’ll still grow up, whether you want us to or not, but you’ve been a good father.”

Daxton smiled, touched beyond words as a lump formed in his throat. “Son, I’m very proud of you, too.”

“So, how about that game?”

Daxton nodded. “Okay. But just one.”

A mischievous smile lit Andrew’s lips. “Don’t worry, Pa. I’ll try not to beat you too badly.”

Daxton scoffed. “That’ll be the day. Son, you may be growing up, but you’re not grown up yet.”

As they played into the night, he was amazed at how skilled his son had become in the game. He was growing up too quickly, both he and Lillian. And Daxton didn’t want to miss one minute of it.

“Check mate!” Andrew announced proudly, bringing the game to an end.

“Good game, son,” Daxton conceded.

Andrew began setting the chessboard back up again. “Another game, Pa?”

Daxton shook his head. “No, but leave it set up so we can play again soon.”

Andrew looked up at his father, surprise coloring his eyes. “Really, Pa?”

Daxton smiled. “Really.” Andrew threw his arms around his father and Daxton stood and pulled him in for a hug. “Now, off to bed. We’ll play again tomorrow.”

Andrew looked at his father and a devilish grin lit his lips. “You mean, when I’ll beat you again.”

Daxton laughed as he kissed the top of his son’s head. “You can try.”

Andrew pulled back. “Hey, I did it once, and I’ll do it again.” Then he ran off up the stairwell but turned around halfway up. “I love you, Pa.”

“I love you, too, son.” Daxton smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay, Pa.” With that, Andrew hurried up the stairwell.

“Bright and early!” Daxton called after him.

“Yes, Pa!” Andrew hollered down from the loft.

Daxton smiled to himself as he placed a log in the fireplace and some kindling, and then lit it. Within minutes, orange, red, and yellow tongues lapped hungrily at the log, illuminating the room. Daxton made some coffee and then sat in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace, waiting for it to brew. It was nice being a true family again. Of course, they had always been a family, but today it seemed as if they were a true family, playing together, enjoying each other’s company… something he hadn’t made time for in a while.

As he rose from his seat and poured a cup of coffee, he vowed to change that. He had a wonderful family, and he didn’t want to waste one moment not being with them.

“Eahh!” A blood-curdling scream came from Lillian’s bedroom.

“Josey?” Daxton hurried to grab his gun from its holster hanging from a high peg by the door and then burst into the room. Josey was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide. “Shh…. Josey, it’s me, Daxton.” He sat down on the edge of the bed. “You had a nightmare.”

She looked over at him, trying to catch her breath. When she realized it was him, she flung her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. “Oh… Daxton… I’m so sorry. I was dreaming about….” Her voice trailed off.

Daxton stroked her hair, holding her to him. Reassuring her that she was now safe. “Shh… I’m here. I’ll protect you.” He couldn’t imagine the horrors that this woman had endured. It must have been a lot to make her run like she did, for her to prefer to live off the land instead of staying with him. How any man could treat his wife like that was beyond his understanding. If he had a woman like her, he would protect and cherish her to his dying breath. But he had to remind himself that she wasn’t his and she would soon be on her way, leaving him and his family behind to pick up the pieces. No, he couldn’t put his family through that. It was hard enough when Priscilla left years ago. Daxton didn’t know if he could go through it again.

When she had settled down, he pulled back and brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face. “Now, get some sleep. I’ll be right in the next room.” He started to get up, but she caught his hand.

“Please, don’t go. Don’t leave.” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

Daxton looked into her eyes for a long while and then smiled. “Okay. I’ll sleep on the chair—”

“No… please.” She slid over to the edge of the bed, leaving a lot of space on his side. “Please.”

He let out a deep breath and then took off his boots, smoothed the blankets over her, and then laid on top. “Come here.” Daxton extended his strong arm, and she curled up to him just as she had done before and laid her head in the crook of his arm. He couldn’t help but notice how perfectly she fit there beside him… and how much he had missed holding a woman while she slept.

“Thank you.” Josey nuzzled onto his chest.

He turned his head and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. She had a floral scent… like wildflowers on a soft, spring day. But he forced the thought from his mind. “Shh….” He nuzzled the top of her head, inhaling her scent and committing it to memory. “Get some sleep.” Soon, she started to relax in his arms. “Josey?”

“Um?”

“You can talk to me about anything,” he whispered, looking down at her. “I hope you know that.”

She nodded as she nuzzled onto his chest.

Daxton ran his fingers over her hair in gentle strokes. “Good night.”

Josey nodded against his chest. “Good night.”

As his eyes began to close, one thought ran through his mind: God help the man if and when he ever came for her.