Seth sighed. “How can you be sure the man and woman we found are your family? After all, I didn’t find anything in the wagon or on their bodies to tell me who they were.”
The younger of the two women stepped forward. “My sister had hair the color of dirty sand. Her eyes were blue and she had three dresses. A light blue solid one, a pink one with green leaves on it and a dark yellow one with white dots.”
Seth turned to the women. “The couple’s wagon is in the barn behind my house. Would you like to look in it to see if you recognize any of their belongings?”
“That would be very nice, Marshal,” the older woman said. The younger nodded her agreement.
As if he’d changed his mind, Mr. Reynolds shook his head. “Cora, Ruthann, you aren’t going to find anything in there. We should just be on our way.”
The older lady turned to face him. “Now, see here, Jack. My daughter is missing and I want to prove that that woman is holding my granddaughter.”
He shook his head. “I’ve already told you, Ruthann, even if she is, we are not taking the baby with us.”
Hope grew in Rebecca’s heart. Maybe Mr. Reynolds would drive these women out of her life and Janie would never have to leave her side.
“And I have already said that if she is, I say we are taking her with us.”
The two of them faced off. Cora, the younger woman, moved to stand between them. “Mom, Jack, let’s not do this here. I want to see if the wagon belongs to Ben and Sadie. If it does then we can talk about what to do next.”
So this was the voice of reason, Rebecca thought bitterly.
Her mother nodded at Cora. “Agreed, daughter.”
Jack nodded. “Agreed.”
The doctor stood up. “Seth, why don’t you and I lead the way in my buggy?”
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Rebecca didn’t want them looking in the wagon. Janie sniffled into her neck.
Seth pushed away from the table. “Much obliged, Doc.” He looked to Mr. Reynolds. “You’re all welcome to ride down with us.”
Mr. Reynolds nodded and walked away with the men.
The young woman turned to Rebecca with tear-filled eyes and called out, “I want her to go with us.” All three men turned to look at Rebecca.
Rebecca stood. “I’ll be happy to go.” She walked over and extended her hand. “My name is Rebecca Ramsey and this is Janie.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Ramsey. I’m Cora Reynolds and this is my mother, Ruthann Shepherd.” Both Cora and Ruthann shook her hand.
Janie shied away from the strangers.
“We’ll meet you at the house.” The doctor led the way while the other two men followed at a slower pace. Seth spoke in low tones to the newcomer.
Rebecca wished she could make out what he was saying, but since she couldn’t she turned to Eliza, who stood off to the side with Hannah. “Eliza, I’m going to take these ladies down to the marshal’s. Will you be so good as to let Mrs. Brown know where we’ve gone?”
Eliza nodded.
“Ladies, if you will walk this way we can go on down to the house.”
“Wait.” Cora looked over her shoulder at the wagon and stopped. Eight small faces peeked out the back. She motioned for them to come to her.
As the eight little children climbed from the wagon bed, the older ones helping the younger, Hannah stepped forward. “Mrs. Reynolds, I’m Miss Hannah Young, the schoolteacher here. Don’t worry about the children, I’ll take care of them and see that they get some lunch.”
The young woman’s eyes filled with tears once more. “Are you sure they won’t be a bother?”
“I’m sure.”
Rebecca marveled at the confidence in her friend’s voice. She smiled her thanks.
Cora waited until her children were standing in front of them and then made introductions. She started with the oldest and made her way down. “Miss Young, I’d like you to meet Mary, Martha, Abraham, Sari, Daniel, Samuel, Abigail and the baby is Naomi. Children, this is Miss Young. She is the schoolteacher here.”
Hannah smiled at them each in turn. “It’s nice to meet you, children.”
Cora continued, “You all behave yourself and do what Miss Young says. Ya hear?”
All eight little heads bobbed up and down.
“If they give you an ounce of trouble, you let me know.”
Mary looked up at her mother. “We’ll be good, Ma.”
The girl couldn’t be more than twelve. Rebecca couldn’t believe that this woman had eight children—she looked so young.
Janie had taken an interest in what was going on when she’d heard the kids arrive. She raised her head and twisted her hand into the neck of Rebecca’s dress. The baby studied the children and strange women and then stuck her thumb in her mouth and sucked.
“I think we’re ready now,” Cora said, pulling Rebecca from her musings.
She nodded and started back down the hill to Seth’s home. The doctor’s wagon already sat in front of the house. A chant began in Rebecca’s ears. Please don’t let the wagon be their family’s, please don’t let the wagon be their family’s, please don’t let the wagon be their family’s. Please let me keep Janie, Lord.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Seth sat on a bale of hay beside the open barn door. Normally the sweet scent of alfalfa grass and dust filled him with contentment, but not today. Rebecca’s world was being turned upside down and all he could do was sit by and watch. So far she’d put up a brave front, but when the women started crying again as they found Sadie’s dresses, Rebecca had hurried to the house to change Janie’s diaper.
“Marshal, I’d like to show you something,” Mr. Reynolds called from the wagon.
He pushed himself up and leaned against his cane. This day had about worn him out. Seth found himself taking smaller and smaller steps to get to Mr. Reynolds’s side. When he stood beside him, Mr. Reynolds pushed on a board on the side of the wagon. Seth heard a soft click and then a small panel opened.
“Well, I’ll be. I looked for a hidden compartment but couldn’t find it,” Seth declared for the whole barn to hear.
Mr. Reynolds pulled out several pieces of paper, a bag of money and a small case. “I think you will find my brother and sister-in-law’s marriage license in those papers.” He handed the papers to Seth. “I didn’t want to show them to you in front of your woman.”
Seth took the papers. “She’s not my woman.” No matter how badly he wished it, Rebecca would never be his woman.
He turned back to the wall of the wagon and shut the secret compartment. “I see.”
How much did he see? Could he tell that Rebecca Ramsey was slowly but surely taking over his heart? Seth sighed as he opened the papers. If only he hadn’t killed her fiancé…but he had and when Rebecca found out, she would hate him. He hated himself for it so didn’t expect any better from her.
One of the papers was the licenses just as Mr. Reynolds had predicted, another was a letter from Ruthann to her daughter and the last one was the receipt for the wagon and horses. Rebecca reentered the barn. Her eyes were red rimmed and Seth wanted to pull her into his arms and spare her the heartache that was soon to come.
Mr. Reynolds cleared his throat. “Since the papers prove this was Ben’s wagon and supplies, I’ll go get our wagon and pull it up here to transfer the things we want to take with us.”
Seth nodded. He folded the papers back up and sighed. How could he protect Rebecca and still do what was right? Janie belonged to Mrs. Shepherd and the Reynolds family.
Rebecca moved out of the big man’s way and hugged Janie to her. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. She came to stand in front of Seth. “They have proof that Janie is theirs?”
“I’m afraid so.” Seth leaned against a stable door. His leg hurt but not as much as his heart ached for Rebecca, Janie and himself. He’d grown to love the baby, too.
Mrs. Shepherd stepped down from the wagon. “May I hold her?”
Rebecca swal
lowed. “If she will go to you.”
He watched the older woman hold out her arms to Janie. The baby stared at Ruthann for several long moments. She smiled and then willingly went to her grandmother.
Ruthann buried her face in the baby’s neck. She closed her eyes, and tears slipped from between her lashes. “Thank You, Lord, for protecting Sadie’s baby.” She opened her eyes and smiled at Rebecca through her tears. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
Seth stood and put his arm around Rebecca’s shaking shoulders. She turned and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. The left one screamed in protest but Seth ignored the pain. Rebecca needed him. She was all that mattered at the moment.
Janie wiggled in Ruthann’s arms. She protested being held so tightly with a scream. Ruthann laughed. “I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to hold you so tight.”
“Ma, may I hold her now?”
“Of course.” Janie was passed to Cora.
“I can’t get over how much she looks like Sadie.” Cora cradled Janie in her arms.
Ruthann looked up at Seth. Compassion laced the other woman’s eyes as she watched Rebecca sob into his shirt. “We never meant to hurt you.” She laid her hand on Rebecca’s shoulder.
Rebecca took a deep breath, stood back a little from Seth and wiped her eyes. She turned to Ruthann. “I know you didn’t.”
Seth handed her his handkerchief.
“Thank you.” She wiped her eyes and face. “I’m sorry I fell apart like that.” Her sniffle tore at his already rended heart.
The sound of another wagon pulling up in front of the barn drew their attention. All eight of the children raced inside and circled their mother, who still held Janie. Seth listened as they asked questions and patted or touched the baby.
“Why do you suppose Aunt Sadie named her Janie?” Martha asked, touching one of Janie’s curls.
Cora shook her head. “I’m not sure. Last time she wrote, she’d planned on naming her Elizabeth.”
Seth remembered the day he and Rebecca had named the baby Jane Beatrix Ramsey. He looked to Rebecca and saw that she remembered, as well. “I named her Jane, but her full name is Jane Beatrix.” He left off Ramsey.
The women and children stared at him. Cora laughed. “Well, Jane Mayne will not do, but I do like the name Beatrix. We’ll call her Elizabeth Beatrix Mayne.”
Rebecca ran from the barn. Mr. Reynolds barely missed colliding with her. “Is she all right?” the man asked Seth.
Seth shook his head. “No, she isn’t.” He wanted to run after her, but his leg burned so badly now that all he could do was lean against the stall door and pray. And pray he did.
“Why is she upset?” Jack Reynolds asked.
Was the man dense? Didn’t he realize that by taking Janie they were ripping Rebecca’s heart out? Seth decided to let one of the ladies answer him. He was too tired. He shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the wood.
Cora cooed down at the baby before answering. “Because Janie is coming with us.”
“No, she isn’t.” Jack’s firm voice left no room for arguments.
Seth’s eyes popped open. Had he heard right?
The silent barn suddenly burst with noise. Cora and Ruthann were both talking at the same time and Jack was shaking his head.
“Enough!” The big man finally brought silence to the barn once more.
He turned to his children. “Kids, go outside and play. Mary, Martha, keep an eye on them and keep them away from this barn until I call you.”
“Yes, Papa.” The older girls herded the younger children from the barn.
Once they were gone he turned back to the two women. His voice was low but firm. “We will not be ripping this baby from the only home she’s known.”
“But, Jack, this is my niece. She’s all I have left of Sadie.” Cora hugged Janie too tightly once more and the baby cried out.
Ruthann took Janie from Cora. “And this is my granddaughter, Jack Reynolds. If you think for one moment I am leaving her, you have another think coming.”
The big man sat down on a bale of hay. Seth wished there was one close enough to him for him to ease onto, but there wasn’t. He’d learned a long time ago that if you remained still, people forgot you were in the room. This was one time he wanted to be forgotten, so Seth remained pressed against the stall door. He wanted to hear this out to the end.
Jack held up a hand. “Look, we already have eight children to feed, clothe and educate.”
Cora interrupted, “One more isn’t going to make a difference.”
Ruthann stood beside her daughter. Her gaze moved to Seth. Whatever she saw in his face seemed to have changed her mind. “Maybe not to you, Cora, but one is all that Miss Ramsey has. Isn’t that right, Marshal?”
So much for blending into the wood. Seth nodded. “Rebecca loves Janie with all her heart.”
Janie turned her head in Seth’s direction, gave a little squeal and tried to lunge out of Ruthann’s arms and into his. He jerked forward and felt his leg and shoulder protest the action. His side felt as if a white-hot poker had just been rammed into it.
Ruthann walked over to him and placed the baby in his arms. “Would you please take Janie inside to Rebecca, while we discuss this as a family?”
Seth shifted the baby into his right arm and then hobbled toward the barn door. Just before he stepped over the threshold he turned back to them. “Jane Beatrix Ramsey is her full name. Rebecca and I named her together on the day that Rebecca found her. Beatrix is Rebecca’s middle name.” He studied the three faces in front of him. Ruthann nodded her understanding, Cora’s mouth opened in shock and Jack grinned. “I just thought you should know.” As he hobbled toward the house, Seth prayed, “Lord, let Your will be done.”
* * *
Rebecca’s head hurt. Her eyes burned and she felt like a complete and utter fool. She’d allowed her emotions to get the better of her. How could she have done that? She hadn’t cried this hard since her mother’s funeral. How was she going to face those people? How was she going to be able to watch them ride away with her baby? If she’d had any more tears to shed, they would have been flowing again, but Rebecca was spent.
She heard the front door open and close.
“Rebecca, I need help.”
Seth never asked for help, and for him to do so now meant he was desperate. She jerked the bedroom door open and hurried into the sitting room. He leaned against the door with his eyes shut and Janie clutched in his good arm.
She hurried to his side and took the baby. “Oh, Seth, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have left like that. Stay here.” Rebecca hurried back to the bedroom and put Janie down. She handed the baby a cloth book to chew on and rushed back to Seth.
His white face and gritted teeth told her he was in a lot of pain. “Seth, what happened?” She moved under his right arm and pulled him against her. “Lean on me and we’ll get you into bed.”
Even his voice sounded weak. “No, just get me to the couch.”
Rebecca felt his weight against her side and shoulders. “You need to lie down,” she argued even as she lowered him onto the couch.
“I will as soon as the Reynoldses come to a decision.”
Decision? Rebecca hurried to his bedroom and pulled the pillow off his bed. She forced herself to walk back to Seth. “What decision?” she asked, pushing the pillow behind his back.
“Jack said the baby isn’t going with them. Cora said she is, and I think Ruthann is on your side.” Seth closed his eyes. “Do we have any of those powders left that Doc gave me?”
Rebecca sank onto the couch beside him. “I might get to keep Janie?”
“They are discussing that right now, out in the barn.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. Why didn’t Jack want Janie? She was the sweetest baby alive. “What do you mean Ruthann is on my side?”
“Maybe a little of the powder might take the edge off this pain,” Seth hinted.
Rebecca stared at him as if he’d grown two horns. “What?”
He sighed. “My leg, shoulder and side hurt.”
“Oh!” She leaped from the couch and headed to the kitchen. Within a few minutes she came back with medicine for him. “Here, I’m sorry. My mind is wrapped up in Janie.”
Seth took the medicine. “Ruthann seemed to be leaning toward letting you keep the baby.”
“Why would she do that?”
His voice sounded tired. “I don’t know. What does it matter why?”
Rebecca chewed the inside of her lower lip. Did it matter? If they left without Janie, it didn’t matter in the least. But, if Ruthann was trying to trick her, it meant a lot. She needed to hold her baby. Rebecca went to the bedroom and scooped up Janie. Cuddling her close, she returned to the sitting room. “I wonder, why doesn’t Jack want Janie?”
“He says they already have eight children to take care of.” While she was gone he’d laid his head back on the pillow.
Janie pushed away from her. Rebecca sighed and set the baby on the floor. She placed several toys around her. “That’s true. But one more wouldn’t make that big of a difference.”
“That was Cora’s argument, too.”
“What did Jack say?”
Seth grunted. “After that, the family pretty much kicked me out of my own barn.” A frown marred his handsome face.
A knock sounded at the kitchen door. Rebecca stood. “Can you keep an eye on Janie for a few minutes?”
He opened one eye and smiled. “Can do.”
Rebecca headed for the kitchen as a second, more insistent knock sounded. “Very funny, Seth Billings.”
She listened to him talk to Janie. “I thought so. Don’t you agree, Janie girl?” Rebecca shook her head. It felt good to talk to Seth like a friend again. She took a deep breath before opening the door. The thought that it might be Cora Reynolds waiting to take Janie, on the other side stilled her hand.
“Maybe we should go to the front door,” Rebecca heard Eliza say through the wood.
The sound of Mrs. Brown’s huff came next with the words, “Nonsense. You two step over so I can open the door. I live here now, too, you know.”
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