The Rancher Inherits A Family. Cheryl St.John

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      He nodded.

      She drew herself up straight. “Let’s go find the mercantile and arrange for Mr. Halloway’s wagon to be found and his supplies delivered. We’ll figure out a meal.”

      A touch at her wrist drew her attention down. Little John found her hand and grasped it securely. His fingers were small and damp. She clasped them back. An arrow of distress pierced her conscience at his trust. What was she doing? How had she found herself exactly where she’d planned never to be? She was not going to develop an attachment to someone else’s children, no matter how deserving. She’d come to Cowboy Creek to start over, to distance herself from her past, from the losses and the hurt. She was determined to choose her own path for the future. She refused to have circumstances thrust upon her.

      Her uneasy conscience warred with self-preservation. It was her Christian duty to help these children. She owed Seth Halloway for rescuing them. Who knows how long they might have been trapped in that railcar if he hadn’t been persistent or intuitive, or led by the hand of God? A fire could have broken out. Anything might have happened. And he’d been injured in the process. The least she could do was help until they all got home. She took a deep breath and pushed back the sharp twinges of panic.

      She spotted Booker & Son and led the boys across the street, where several people conversed. “I wonder if I might trouble one of you for some help?”

      A short, stout woman separated herself from the group and hurried forward. “Land sakes, look at these little ones. And you. Are you one of the brides?”

      “I’m Marigold Brewster, ma’am. I’m the new schoolteacher.”

      The woman introduced herself as Aunt Mae and presented the others on the boardwalk. “We weren’t aware you were bringing children.”

      “No, no, I didn’t bring them. I met them on the train.” Briefly, Marigold explained the situation with Seth and what was needed.

      “I saw Russ leaving town on a train a day or two ago,” one of the younger men said. “I’ll watch for him to return and let him know Seth’s at Doc Mason’s.”

      “Seth’s wagon is at the livery, and his horses are cared for,” another explained. “I’ll go for the rig and we’ll get these supplies loaded.”

      The men had Seth’s supplies loaded quickly. A young cowboy with long jet-black hair and beadwork in the shape of Texas on the back of his vest tied his horse behind, tipped his hat to Marigold and headed out to let Seth’s mother know her son was all right.

      “Let’s not stand around here gabbing any longer. Come with me. That’s my place right there.” Aunt Mae pointed to a boardinghouse across the street. “I’ll get all of you something to eat. Afterward, these gentlemen will help you find your belongings.”

      Marigold had never met such helpful and warm people. As she led the Radner boys across the street, Little John took her hand once again, and she glanced down. His brown eyes were nothing like the hazel ones in her memory, but they lodged protective feelings in her heart all the same.

      Lord, help me guard my heart.

      * * *

      Living up to her name, Aunt Mae treated them like family. The motherly woman prepared them a satisfying meal. “Do you have any idea how many patients Doc Mason is seeing to?”

      “I’d say at least half a dozen are there right now,” Marigold replied. “But she spoke as though only Seth and one other were spending the night.”

      “They missed their noon meal. I’ll send trays for six.” Aunt Mae lowered her voice. “She’s a fine healer and a kinder person never lived, but she’s not much of a cook.”

      The boys had washed up at the dry sink on the back porch, and she suspected she looked as silly as they did with only a clean face and hands, and her hair dirty and disheveled. They boys ate ravenously, and Marigold exchanged a glance with the older woman. She carried a second pitcher of milk to the table and they held out their glasses for refills. She agreed the bath house would be their most efficient option, since her boardinghouse had only one tub.

      Thankfully, there was a knock on the front door and Aunt Mae returned minutes later to say her trunks and the boys’ bags had been left on her front porch.

      “I suppose they can sit there until we figure out where we’re going,” Marigold said. It was unsettling to be uncertain of where she’d be staying. “I’ll gather clean clothing for today.”

      At the bath house, they were assigned curtained-off chambers and provided with soap and towels. Tate insisted on bathing himself, but Aunt Mae and Marigold put Harper and Little John in one tub and shared the chore of scrubbing two little boys who didn’t want to be washed. They both had a few scrapes and bruises from the accident, so the women gently cleaned their injuries. Harper endured the washing, but Little John cried, and Marigold felt dreadful for his discomfort. These children had lost their mother and been shuffled across the country, ending up in a heap of train wreckage.

      “It’s going to be all right,” she said to him and used the corner of a towel to dry his reddened face and his watery dark eyes. “After we’re clean and dressed I’ll read you a story. Would you like that?”

      The toddler’s lower lip continued to tremble, but he lifted his wide trusting gaze to hers and nodded.

      “All right,” she said with an encouraging smile.

      “Do all of us get to hear the story?” Harper asked.

      “Yes, of course.”

      “Poor little lambs,” Aunt Mae said after they’d dried the boys and supervised their clean clothing and hair combing. She waited with them while Marigold took her own bath and washed her hair. Her chin hurt to the touch, and she had a bruise on her shoulder that ached, and another on her wrist she hadn’t noticed.

      Marigold thanked the woman for all of her help, but Aunt Mae just gave a shrug and hurried home to tend to her boarders.

      A deep orange sun hung low in the sky and cast long shadows in front of the four of them as they walked back to Dr. Mason’s office.

      Dr. Mason was ushering a cowboy with a bandage wrapped around his wrist from one of the examination rooms. He greeted Marigold with a crooked smile. Taking a hat from the rack near the door, he glanced back at her two more times, his gaze skittering away each time, before he finally exited the office.

      “Get used to it,” the doctor said with an amused grin. “There’s a shortage of young women in this town, and especially pretty ones like you. You’ll receive a lot of attention.” She reached for Marigold’s chin and tipped up her face to get a better look. “You have a bruise here I didn’t notice before.”

      “It was probably covered with dirt. I have some aches I didn’t notice at first.”

      “I’ll make you a poultice for it. It will take down the swelling.”

      Marigold admired the other woman’s efficiency, the way she moved about her offices with confidence. She liked the idea of working to support herself and of being indebted to no one. If she decided to marry one day, she would do the choosing.

      “Did you enjoy one of the meals СКАЧАТЬ