Karen nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Lyla bit back the first thing that came to mind and instead waited for Karen to answer.
“Yes, I’m so excited! Our wedding is in three months. Will you still be here? If so, I hope you’ll come.”
“I don’t think that I’ll still be here. But if I were, I wouldn’t miss it,” Lyla said politely. “Do you love him?” The question came out of her mouth before she could help it and, out of instinct, she rose her hand up to stop the words, but she was too late.
“Of course, I love him. I can’t imagine living a day without him, which is why I want to marry him.” Karen paused. “James told us you were going to get married in the city and that’s why you’re in a hurry to get back. I completely understand.”
“Understand what?” Lyla tried to hide her confusion.
“Well, why you are in such a hurry. If I were away from Merrick, I’d be going crazy. You must miss him something awful.”
“Miss who?” Lyla knew that she must sound absolutely clueless, but she wasn’t following this conversation well. She was still wondering why James had told them she was getting married in the first place.
“Your fiancé, of course. I don’t know how he let you come so far out west without him.”
Understanding dawned on Lyla and she forced herself to smile. “He certainly wasn’t happy about it.”
At least that much was true. Keith would have liked nothing better than to come with her himself, after he had realized she wouldn’t be hiring someone to go for her. He had almost insisted on sending a hired man to at least accompany her, but she had flatly refused.
She hadn’t let him come, either. This trip had been something she needed to do alone, no matter how Keith felt about it.
“I can imagine. I don’t think Merrick would let me out of his sight.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Again, Lyla felt as if she’d stepped over the line, but Karen didn’t seem to mind.
“Of course! If I’m being honest, I hate it whenever Merrick goes out of town. I always feel so worried something is going to happen to him.” Karen blushed. “I am so happy to finally be getting married. After all, we’ve been together for nearly a year.”
Lyla smiled a little more genuinely. “I’m happy for you. If you need any help while I’m here, just let me know.”
“You’re the sweetest thing ever. James was so right about you.”
Lyla tried to hide her interest. She really wasn’t sure why she cared what James had said about her, but she did. “What did James tell you about me?”
“Well, he said that you were very kind to Joey and that he hopes you’ll see what a great thing Joey has here, and maybe let him be a father to Joey if you decided not to take him to the city.” Karen glanced behind her, as if checking to see if anyone was listening. “He said that if you did decide to take Joey to the city because you couldn’t part with him, he’d understand, though.”
Lyla fought the feelings of guilt that threatened to overwhelm her. Why had James told his friends these things? She had not been loving to Joey. She had been cold at best.
“Joey is a great kid,” Karen continued. “I know if he were my nephew, I would never be able to part with him. And I know that James will be sad, but you have to do the right thing for your family.” Karen looked sad and also like she was glad she wasn’t in Lyla’s position.
Nodding, Lyla bit her lower lip. What was she doing here? What was she doing, accepting kindness from these people when she apparently was going to rip away the one thing they all had come to care for?
Her mind wandered to her uncle. When she had informed him of Joey’s need for a home, he had seemed almost irritated. She couldn’t imagine the older man taking Joey fishing or romping around with him with a dog in the yard.
She knew that James was probably right. Joey would go to a boarding school and get a great education, but was that as important as growing up with a loving family?
“We should probably get back to the others. I think everyone is probably starting to head home now,” Karen observed.
Lyla nodded in agreement and the two walked back to where James was saying goodbye to his deputies and friends.
After Lyla had said her own goodbyes to Karen and to the others, they all walked out to the wagon.
“I’ll ride in the back with you this time, so you won’t be alone,” Joey told Lyla with a grin.
Lyla looked uncertainly between James and Bonnie. On the way to church, Joey had ridden up front between Bonnie and James, leaving Lyla alone in the back of the wagon.
“Okay,” she finally managed.
It seemed that it wouldn’t have mattered what she said, since Joey was already situated in the wagon and patting the spot beside him.
Lyla looked at him uncertainly. Just the other night, he had seemed distant and angry at her, and now he was starting to act as if she were his best friend.
Lyla climbed up beside him, sitting against the side of the wagon with her back as rigid as a board.
Joey scooted a little closer as they pulled away from the church and headed off towards the ranch.
It was already past dusk, and the moon was coming out. Lyla could make out nearly everything outside the wagon as if it were daytime. It was a strange kind of light; it seemed like it was just a dimmed down day.
“Let’s play a game,” Joey’s voice brought her wandering mind back to the little boy sitting beside her with an eager look on his face.
“Um, okay.” Lyla wasn’t sure about this whole thing. The last thing she needed was to get to close to Joey. She was fairly certain that Keith didn’t want children and she didn’t, either.
She had decided a long time ago that bringing children into the world was for other women, not for her. She wasn’t the type of person to know what to do with a child all day.
“Okay, so basically, I’ll ask you a question and then you ask me one, okay?” James looked up at her with a grin on his face that allowed her to see his two rows of perfect little white teeth.
She couldn’t help but smile, “Okay, I suppose. Are you sure James didn’t put you up to this? He likes to ask questions.”
The remark earned a hearty chuckle from both James and Bonnie.
“What does that mean?” Joey seemed puzzled.
“It means that I’m asking if James asked you to play this game with me.”
Joey shook his head. “Why would James ask me to play with you?”
Lyla giggled. “Never mind. Do you want to go first, or should I?”
“Me, I’ll go first.” Joey adjusted himself and leaned back against the wagon, staring up at the sky as if he were deciding what to ask.
“Okay, why is the moon white?” Joey looked at her with excitement.
“Um…I don’t know. What happens if I don’t know the answer?” Lyla glanced between Joey and James.
“You have to know the answer!” Joey laughed. “That’s part of the game.”
Lyla wasn’t sure if she exactly understood how that was supposed to work. She looked up at the moon and thought about it.
“Well, the reason the moon is white is because it’s very, very old, and when people get old, their hair turns white. And the same thing happens to the moon.”
Joey giggled and gripped his sides as if it hurt to laugh so hard. “You’re funny,” he managed to squeeze out at last.
Lyla found herself laughing along with him. “Okay, so my question for you is, why do little boys have so much energy when grown-ups are always tired?”
Lyla smirked as Joey tried to think of a reason. If he managed to find a good reason, she would be sure to inform everyone she knew. After all, it was a question that grown-ups had been asking for ages.
Lyla hugged herself against the chilly night air while she waited for Joey to answer.
Maybe it was wrong to enjoy herself and not feel heartbroken to get back to Keith, like Karen would if she were separated from Merrick. But, right now, w
rong had never felt so right.
Chapter 16
James watched Lyla and Joey sleeping in the back of the wagon. Joey had leaned up against Lyla’s arm and his head had dropped against her shoulder, where he had ultimately fallen asleep.
Lyla was resting her head on the little blond head on her shoulder and had also fallen asleep.
He and Bonnie couldn’t have enjoyed themselves more hearing Joey and Lyla laugh and play the entire way back home.
James had even begun to feel some hope, but also some sadness. On one hand, he thought that if Lyla got to know Joey a little, she might change her mind and not take him back to the city.
She might want the boy to have a happier life here with James and his mother. But then, on the other hand, what if Lyla decided that she wanted to raise Joey herself?
At least it would be better than her uncle. Maybe Joey would at least be happy that way. He had certainly taken a liking to Lyla, and that surprised James more than anything.
Realizing that he had indulged in watching them a little too long already, he reached out and gently shook Lyla’s shoulder.
She jumped away, catching herself just in time to not move her arm and wake Joey.
Bonnie had come back out from the house and was waiting patiently when James slipped a sleeping Joey into her arms. He then turned and offered his hand to Lyla to help her down from the wagon.
“May I walk you to your cabin?” he asked with a grin.
She nodded silently and rubbed at her eyes, as if she still hadn’t left all the sleep behind.
“I don’t know what happened. We were talking one minute and the next you were waking me up.” Lyla shook her head in disbelief.
“It happens. You must have been more tired than you thought.” James took his hand away from hers once she had gotten her bearings. He couldn’t help but notice that when he did, his hand felt cold and empty.
“What were you thinking about in church? You may have fooled everyone else with your quick-witted replies, but I could tell that your mind was somewhere else,” James stated. He wasn’t disappointed that she hadn’t been really listening to the message. He was more curious than anything.
“I-it brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. My father was a very strict man. He used to sit my sister and me down and ask us a pile of questions about his message to make sure we had been listening.” Lyla smirked a little and her eyes looked a bit lost.
“What would happen if you hadn’t been paying attention?”
“Not anything good. Let’s just say that we only didn’t pay attention once or twice, and that was enough for us.” Lyla gave a soft chuckle.
“Well, here we are.” James stopped at Lyla’s door. She opened it and stepped inside, pausing to look back for a moment.
“Thank you for walking me here and thank for a lovely afternoon and evening.” She looked up at him with those mysterious eyes of hers that seemed full of sadness.
“You’re most certainly welcome. Everyone here seems to enjoy having you around. Maybe you should consider staying longer,” James said softly.
“I’ve only been here a couple days and I still have the better part of a month to be here. I am sure that by the time that stagecoach comes around, you’ll all be more eager than ever to see me go.”
James opened his mouth to protest but Lyla interrupted him, “And leave Joey behind, of course.”
“Do you think we are just being nice to you because we want to keep Joey?” James felt guilt rush over him. While his initial invitation might have been because of Joey, he had never meant to make Lyla feel that way.
“Maybe. I suppose it feels that way a little. I never meant to impose on anyone. My first plan was to leave the same day I came, or at most the next morning.”
“You’re not imposing on anyone, and every bit of hospitality is genuine. If, in the end, you decide that you think Joey will be better off in the city, then I will accept your decision with no ill will.”
Lyla seemed surprised, then nodded slowly. “Thank you. It makes me feel better to know that. You and your mother have been very kind to me.”
“Goodnight, Lyla. Sleep well,” James said. With a tip of his hat, he turned and headed back to the main house. When he slipped inside, Bonnie was waiting for him in the parlor with a big cup of hot cocoa.
She was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs with a cup of cocoa for herself and a book spread out across her knees.
“How is she?” Bonnie asked, a sparkle of motherly concern in her eyes.
“She’s okay. I think she enjoyed going to church with us.” James sighed as he sank down into a chair opposite his mother and picked up his mug.
The cocoa was warm and just right. The tendrils of pleasure seemed to go from the cup to his stomach and then to his limbs, making them feel heavy. He yawned deeply and sighed again.
“I told her earlier that we would go see her sister’s grave tomorrow.”
Bonnie nodded and closed her book. “That would be good. I’m sure she needs some closure.” Bonnie took a deep breath. “One thing that helped me when your father died was going to his funeral and seeing him be buried. I suppose it was kind of seeing the end. Now, for Lyla, she won’t be able to have that with her sister, but seeing her grave could help immensely.”
“I don’t want to see her all sad again. It was bad enough this afternoon.” James shook his head, “It was nice to hear her playing with Joey, though. The two of them did have fun.”
“It’s hard not to have fun with Joey. He’s one special boy.”
James nodded in agreement. He had never met another child that had made him feel the way that Joey had.
“What’s going to happen if she takes him back to the city?” James wrapped his hands around his hot mug and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.
“Well, I’m sure we will all mourn him for a few days, and then we will have to get back to our lives, whether we like it or not.” Bonnie shook her head, as if she were imagining such a thing. “You know, I hoped so much that whoever he belonged to would just not come.”
“I know you did, Mother. I suppose I started hoping that, too, and then I began to believe it.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have encouraged false hope.” Bonnie stood up and took off her apron. “I should be getting to bed, and so should you. I’m sure tomorrow will be another long day and we all need our rest.”
“I’ll be going in a minute. Goodnight, Ma.”
“Goodnight, James.”
James watched his mother walk off and into her room. He was left alone in the empty parlor, staring at the crackling orange flames and wondering what would happen tomorrow.
He leaned his head back against the head rest of the chair. The dilemma of Lyla falling for Joey filled his head.
Maybe, if she wanted to raise him, he could convince her to stay here in Wheatberry. Maybe they could share Joey.
The thought made him smile. Having Lyla around long-term did not seem like such a bad thing.
---*---
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Joey was bouncing on James’ bed, pulling at his blankets.
A Treasure Brought by Fate: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 12