The Cowboy's City Girl. Linda Ford

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СКАЧАТЬ is, isn’t it?” She’d hoped Levi would return with the parents but the reunion would have to take place at the ranch. “Let’s go to the house.”

      Dolly shrank back. “Maybe I’m bad.”

      Beatrice wondered if she had heard the agonized whisper correctly. “What makes you think you’re bad?”

      But Dolly didn’t answer as tears pooled in her eyes and she gathered Smokey into her arms.

      Beatrice waited but when it became obvious she wasn’t going to get any answers, she rose, took Dolly’s hand and turned them toward the trail.

      Dolly stood rooted to the spot.

      “It’s okay. It’s a very nice place.”

      “Is it your place?”

      She wished the child would stop whispering. “No, I’m just helping, but they are very nice people. Levi has helped me several times.” It was hard to believe she’d been there less than a day and found herself perilously close to trusting him. Remember Henry, she reminded herself. Remember what your father was prepared to do. Never give a man any right or opportunity to again hurt you.

      Dolly let out a long sigh. “Okay.”

      Hand in hand, they walked the trail back to the house. Dolly drew to a stop in the clearing.

      “It’s okay, little Dolly.”

      Dolly nodded and allowed Beatrice to lead her inside and there they ground to a halt. Beatrice was every bit as uncertain of what to do next as Dolly.

      “Would you like a bath so you’ll be nice and clean when your mama and papa get here?”

      The child had very expressive eyes that at the moment revealed a whole bunch of emotions—fear, hope, sadness and embarrassment. “I had an accident.”

      “That happens sometimes.” When Levi returned with the parents they would have clean clothes. In the meantime, a bath, a good hair brushing and scrubbing of the current outfit seemed in order.

      She listened for any sound from Maisie’s room but heard nothing. Perhaps she’d slept through the noise of them entering the kitchen. She didn’t have to worry about Dolly, who was so quiet it made Beatrice wonder what had happened to her.

      Moving as softly as possible, she put water on to heat and found a big laundry tub. As the water heated, she thought of what to feed the child. Like Levi said, there was always bread and jam and fresh milk.

      Dolly ate neatly but with enough vigor that Beatrice knew she was extremely hungry and wondered how long the child had been lost and alone.

      Her heart went out to the child. As an adult, being alone and lost in her new world was frightening enough. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like as a child.

      By the time Dolly had eaten enough that she refused any more, the water was ready and Dolly allowed Beatrice to help her out of her soiled clothes and into the tub of water. Beatrice scrubbed her from top to bottom.

      Dolly giggled as Beatrice cleaned between her toes. “That tickles,” she whispered.

      “It does, does it? You mean this?” She tickled the little girl’s feet, enjoying the muted giggles as Dolly pressed her hands to her mouth as if to drown out the sound.

      “There, you are all clean.” She lifted the child from the water and dried her off. With no clothes to wear, she wrapped her in a dry towel. “Now let’s get your hair pretty for when your mama and papa come.”

      Again a look of fear and sadness and guilt crossed through Dolly’s eyes.

      Beatrice turned Dolly to face her. “Why does doing your hair make you afraid?”

      “Not my hair,” she whispered.

      “Then what?”

      “He’ll never find them.”

      Beatrice understood that she meant she didn’t think Levi would find her parents. “Why do you say that?” She brushed Dolly’s hair as they talked. Long, baby-fine and so fair.

      “’Cause they’s gone.”

      Gone? Had they abandoned the child? She rebraided the hair and hung the long braids in loops on either side of Dolly’s head. The child was beautiful. Why would anyone want to abandon her? “Where are they gone?”

      Tears filled her eyes but Dolly blinked them away and didn’t answer.

      Smokey, who had watched the entire proceedings from beside the stove, where she enjoyed a dish of milk, had turned to grooming herself. Dolly scooped her up and held her close. “Smoky is all I got now.”

      A shiver crossed Beatrice’s shoulders at the finality of Dolly’s words. Lord God, the One who sees and knows, please guide Levi to this child’s parents that they might be reunited.

      The minutes ticked away. Several times Beatrice went to look out the window but there was no sign of Levi returning. Darkness descended. She found a lamp and lit it. She washed the little garments in the bathwater and hung them behind the stove to dry, then carried the water out to Maisie’s plants, though with the rain of earlier and the dishwater later, it seemed they might have had enough to drink. Instead, she poured the water around the pink rosebush and paused to smell the evening scent of the flowers before she returned inside.

      Poor little Dolly’s head fell to her chest and she jerked awake just in time to avoid falling off the chair.

      “Do you want to go to sleep in my bed?”

      Again, that look of fear.

      “Maybe in this nice big armchair.” She indicated the one Maisie had Levi bring from the other room.

      “You’re going to stay here?”

      “Until Levi gets back.”

      “Okay.” Wrapped in a big towel, Dolly curled up in the chair and fell asleep.

      Giving up any attempt to be calm about Levi’s absence, she stood at the window watching and praying.

      * * *

      Levi rode up to the barn. It was late. Likely past midnight.

      He’d found Dolly’s parents. He only wished he could have found them alive.

      He unsaddled Buck but before he tended to feeding him, he examined every corner of the barn. The troublemakers would have had plenty of time to do their mischief with Levi gone long past dark. He discovered nothing amiss. Charlie’s horse stood in the stall where Levi had left him. His cousin must be sleeping in the bunkhouse. Perhaps his presence had been a deterrent to those responsible for so many things in the last few days. He’d have a good look around outside before he went to the house.

      His throat tightened at the news he had to relay to Dolly. The poor child. She’d likely been with her parents when they passed on. What an awful thing for such a young one to deal with.

      He СКАЧАТЬ