by Linda Broday
Steepling his fingers, he took in her high cheekbones, straight nose, and chin that resembled his. They both had the same proud bearing. And perhaps her skin wasn’t as pale as he’d initially thought. They were more alike than he’d thought at first. “What happened to you? Were you taken to an orphanage also, Sarah?”
“No. I was seven years old when you were born. I hid when our grandfather came and took you away. After it was safe, Mother and I lived among her people, the Iroquois tribe.” Though Sarah’s face remained impassive, tears swam in her eyes.
“You remember it all, I suppose.”
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t.”
“Continue. Why did this grandfather hate us?” She appeared genuine, and if money was her motive for coming, she hadn’t asked for any yet.
She rose and went to the window to stare out as though seeing events and people from the past. “First you will have to know our father, Thomas Woodbridge III. He was English and quite wealthy. He was also an artist. He loved to draw and paint, especially the Native Americans. His wanderings took him to an Iroquois village, and he met the chief’s daughter. They fell in love. The chief performed a marriage ceremony, and I was born nine months later. This angered Thomas’s father.”
Sarah paused then turned away from the window. “Grandfather sent men to order Father to return to England, but he refused. One night, Father was walking along a high cliff in a driving rain. He must’ve stumbled and fell over the side. Mother found his broken body lying at the bottom. Grandfather arrived shortly after, accusing members of the tribe of pushing his son to his death. Tightly in the grips of raging fury, he destroyed the village.”
Brett rose and moved beside her. This woman who shared the same blood that flowed through him needed comfort, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, he awkwardly laid his hand on her shoulder and felt her tremble like a leaf in a summer storm. “I’m sorry. This is painful for you. It’s all right if you want to stop.”
Despite himself, he felt drawn to Sarah. Comfortable, almost. It was easy to be with her. Remarkable, really, since he felt this way only with his brothers and their families.
“No, I need to make you understand what happened.”
“Come and sit down then.” He led her to the settee and sat beside her.
“Mother had just given birth to you. Grandfather grabbed you out of the cradle Father had built and disappeared. We never knew where he’d taken you. He would’ve taken me too if I hadn’t hid. He terrified me.”
Thick emotion clogged Brett’s throat. “All this time I thought my parents had thrown me away.”
“They didn’t.” She laid her hand on his arm. “You were so loved. By them and by me.” She took a picture from the bag at her feet and handed it to him. “Our father painted this.”
The portrait was of Sarah holding an infant. He knew he had to be the raven-haired babe in her arms. He stared at it for a long minute, lightly running his finger across the babe’s face. This was how he must’ve looked when he arrived at the orphanage.
“I never stopped looking for you after our mother died of a broken heart,” Sarah went on. “Upon her death two years later, the tribe sent me to some missionaries, who gave me an education.”
“I wish I could’ve known our parents. Before today, I had no idea to which tribe I belonged.” Knowing he belonged somewhere eased the longing in his heart. “But tell me, Sarah, why do we look so different? Why do you appear white? And why am I and your son brown?”
“A doctor once told me that it’s not uncommon when there’s a mix of white and Indian blood. And as for Adam, the coloring that missed me came out in him. My husband refused to believe the doctor. Jonas Black took one look at Adam and walked out on us. He accused me of being unfaithful and promptly obtained a divorce.”
“I’m sorry. I guess that’s why you’re using the Woodbridge name.”
“It is. I gave Adam the choice of taking my name or his father’s, and he chose Black. I think he’s clinging to the hope that one day Jonas will want him.”
“Give the boy some time. He’s going through a difficult phase.”
Sarah gave a tremulous sigh. “I’m trying. I was hoping you might help. That is, if you’ll let us stay. I used every cent I had looking for you. Then when Tom Mason told me he’d found you, I sold everything I owned to come. Please tell me I haven’t made a fool’s journey.”
Her voice broke as she looked away. “If you can’t take me, will you take my son? He needs…”
Brett set his surprise aside. After a moment’s hesitation of again being unsure of how she would take his touch, he took her trembling hands in his. Her deep anguish, and embarrassment even, bruised something inside him. Her breaking voice told him how great the cost had been to ask the favor. He cleared his throat. “Of course you can stay. Both of you. I can’t find out I have a sister and nephew only to let you waltz out of my life.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure where I would go if you turned us away.”
“I may not be much help with Adam, but I’ll try.”
After all, they were family. Families stuck together and helped each other. He’d learned that from his brothers.
Suddenly, the front door opened and Rayna ran inside. “Come quick. It’s Adam.”
Nine
Brett’s mind raced as he strode to the door. He couldn’t imagine what trouble Adam might’ve gotten into this soon after his arrival. “What is it, Rayna? Is the boy hurt?”
A gentle breeze blew a russet curl across beautiful blue-green eyes that clouded with worry. “Tried to stop him.”
“From doing what? What happened?”
“He took your horse from back of the house where you’d staked it. Then he lit out, heading north.”
“I’m so sorry, Brett.” Sarah straightened her spine and sucked in a breath. “I have no excuse for him. He’ll get lost out there.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find him.” It would take time though. He had to locate another horse first. “Stay here, and don’t worry. We’ll figure this out after I bring him back…Sis.”
Brett stumbled over the word that had formed in his throat and curled around his tongue so strangely. It seemed odd that Sis seemed to have found a home inside his head this soon.
Dragging his thoughts back to the immediate problem, he tried to consider what he needed to do.
If Adam knew his way around this area, Brett would say leave him be and let him come home when he got hungry and cold. That would be the best thing for him. That strategy had always worked with his wild mustangs. Give them enough rope and time, and pretty soon they figured out he wasn’t going to hurt them, that he had their best interests at heart.
But his nephew wasn’t a mustang, and he’d never seen this part of the country before. Brett had better find him before he got into more trouble than he could wrestle out of.
Conscious of losing precious seconds, Brett sprinted to the livery and collected the mare Rayna had ridden from Steele’s Hollow. He galloped north, keeping his eyes peeled, trying to figure out where his nephew would go.
Maybe Brushy Lake. The glistening water would certainly tempt a normal boy into stopping to skip rocks if nothing else.
Hoping that’s where he’d find him, Brett slowed to a trot. He couldn’t afford to lose another horse. His heart still ached over the loss of Soldier.
Almost a mile out of town, he rounded a bend and spied the boy limping down the road. Both relief and concern filled him at once. Brett slowed the horse to a walk. Adam kept hobbling, refusing to look at him.
Since it appeared the rebellious young man wasn’t seriously hurt, Brett remained silent, riding the mare along beside him. They continued this way until Adam sat down to rest on a fallen log beside the road. At this rate, it would be dark before they got home, but still Brett would give the troubled youth as much time as he needed.
Brett finally dismounted and joined him. “Where’s my horse?” he asked quietly.
“Go away. I don’t want you. I don’t need you. I don’t want anybody. I shouldn’t have been born.”
He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew a cry for help when he heard one. “We all need someone.”
“Not me.”
Sadness washed over Brett. His sidelong glance caught a muscle working in Adam’s jaw as he tried to control his feelings. “I used to think I was unwanted, that my parents threw me away like a pair of holey socks.”
Adam glared. “Well, I ain’t you. My father did throw me away, and he made sure I knew it. If I was white, he’d have kept me. And sometimes I think my mother would be glad if she didn’t have to pretend to like me. I hate being a half-breed.”
Sadness colored Brett’s words. “There is nothing wrong with being who you are.”
His nephew glared. “Name one benefit.”
The boy had Brett there. He’d just escaped a hanging for being born. He suspected Adam already knew about that kind of hate. “I don’t have all the answers, but maybe we can figure this out together.”
“Well, I won’t be here long enough for that.”
Brett wanted to rest his hand on Adam’s shoulder but knew the boy wouldn’t welcome his touch. Not yet. He had to get the fourteen-year-old to trust him first. His nephew needed gentling as much as the wild mustangs did.
“Don’t know where I’ll go yet.” Adam stared down the road. “Just know I ain’t staying.”
“All right,” Brett said evenly. “Now again, where is my horse?”
“Don’t know. Something spooked the nag, and he reared up, leaving me in the dirt. Ran off down the road.”
Though the nag comment got under Brett’s skin, he overlooked it for now. “Were you hurt?”
“My leg. It’s not busted but hurts when I walk.”
“Want me to take a look at it?”
Adam shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Crouching in front of the sullen boy, Brett raised his trouser leg and ran his hand over the knee and ankle. “You have swelling. Probably sprained. We’ll have Doc Yates check it out when I get you back to town.”
“Ain’t asking for any favors.”
“Not giving any. You have to earn favors. I’m taking you to Doc for your mother’s sake. And besides, when you get ready to hit the trail, you won’t have to hobble. Wild animals attack those who can’t fight back. Keeping you from being eaten is the least I can do.”
His nephew glanced nervously around.
“This your first time out West, Adam?”
The short nod confirmed Brett’s suspicions. “Lived in New Orleans. Never been to Texas before. There’s so much…land. Sky.”
“I think you’ll like it here if you give yourself a chance.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
Brett wouldn’t, but he looked forward to building some trust between them.
After a few minutes in which the silence stretched like a line of white buttermilk clouds, Brett helped his nephew onto the mare and they headed back. Adam’s problem was much larger than he’d thought. Sarah did need help. Lots of it.
He couldn’t wait to start replacing some of that anger with a respect for the land and his cherished horses.
But that was the easiest part of his task. The other would take much more work, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to go about teaching something he hadn’t yet figured out for himself.
How could he teach Adam to embrace his Indian heritage when Brett struggled daily to try to fit into a world that saw the color of a man’s skin but not what was in his heart?
*
Rayna sat waiting with Sarah Woodbridge on Mabel’s porch, trying to sort everything out. Had she heard Brett right? Had he called Sarah “Sis”?
If so, that would make Adam his nephew.
The boy had angrily told her that they came to Battle Creek because they had nowhere else to go. That he’d rather die than to live as a half-breed.
Suddenly she wondered if Brett also carried resentment. It seemed possible. He definitely had good reason. Though she’d faced her share of people looking down their noses, no one had ever tried to hang her for being destitute. It must be horrible for Brett and Adam to live with such hate directed at them.
She took in Sarah’s beautiful skin that had just a hint of color, like she spent a lot of time outdoors without a hat.
How was it possible that Adam’s mother could be white and her son bronze? And if Sarah was indeed Brett’s sister, how could they be so different?
“I thought I heard Brett call you ‘Sis,’” Rayna remarked casually.
“Yes. He’s my brother.” Sarah shifted her gaze to Rayna. “I know what you think. It’s what everyone thinks when they look at me and Adam.” She explained how they could look so different.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing before,” Rayna said, thinking she would’ve counted it a curse to look like her drunken father. “Did it take a long time to find Brett?”
“Twenty-five years. We’ve been separated since he was a babe. I found him today only after the man I hired tracked him here.”
Rayna stopped rocking. “I’m glad you found him. I had a brother once. If someone told me he was suddenly alive, I’d be so happy.”
“I am. I never stopped looking for Brett. I promised my mother I’d find him, and I didn’t rest until I did.”
“Adam has Brett’s features. They’re both handsome men.”
“My son is fighting against having Iroquois blood. His father walked out on us when Adam was born because he refused to accept a wife or son bearing Indian stock.”
“I’m sorry.”
Deep sorrow in Sarah’s voice told Rayna it would be a good idea to change the subject. “Is Brett all you’d hoped?”
“More.” A smile spread across Sarah’s face and briefly lit her eyes. “He’s much taller than I thought he’d be. He carries himself like our father. He has such kindness and compassion about him too. I’m so proud of the man he became. He’s the brother I always dreamed of finding.”
A thought hit Rayna and made her chin quiver. Now that Brett had real family, he surely wouldn’t want her. She glanced down at her new high-top boots. They laced up, were made of the softest kid leather, and fit like a glove.
She’d give anything to fit into Brett’s world as easily as her feet had slid into the boots. But it seemed her life now was full of firsts.
First new dress.
First new shoes.
And first time she’d saved a man only to lose him.
*
As the afternoon waned, Rayna helped Mabel fix some hot tea and took it out to the porch where Sarah kept a vigil.
“Thank you, Rayna.” Sarah settled back into the chair with a full cup. “This is nice.”
“My mama loved hot tea, but she didn’t get any except once in a blue moon.” Rayna poured some for herself and got comfortable.
Lord, how she missed her mama. One of these days, if she ever saw her papa again—which she wouldn’t if she had anything to say about it—she was going to insist he tell her the truth about what happened to Elna Harper.
Not knowing sat like a boulder on Rayna’s chest.
Full of melancholy, she took a sip and glanced at Brett’s sister. She liked Sarah. The woman wasn’t one to show the turmoil that must be twisting and turning inside her. No tears, no hysterics. Only serene acceptance for whatever came.
A lady like Sarah would never be one to carry a carved wooden heart and acorn in her pocket, much less a slingshot. If Rayna stayed, maybe Sarah could teach her how to be a lady, someone Brett would be proud to claim.
She could learn. She’d try real hard.
In Steele’s Hollow, she’d secretly watched the ladies who walked down the street in their fancy clothes. They had fine manners, always knowing what to say and how to act.
No one ever called them names; they wouldn’t dare. She always told herself that one day she’d be a lady. But she was born to bone-pickers, and one day ha
d never come.
With a sigh, she turned back toward the road.
They both must’ve seen Brett and Adam at the same time, but it was Rayna who breathed the words, “They’re here.”
She followed Sarah down the steps as they raced to meet the pair, her heart pounding at the sight of Brett. But when she reached them, she hung back, unsure of what to do or say.
Brett dismounted and gave Adam a hand down. Sarah hugged her son despite his efforts to push her away.
Rayna felt the boy’s indecision. She saw the yearning on his face to throw himself into his mother’s arms despite his best efforts to hide the urge behind cold, sullen features. He was left with pretending that he didn’t love his mother and her attention. Rayna saw through the pretense and sensed the truth.
Adam was just as lost as she was.
Brett moved to Rayna and stood with his shoulder barely brushing hers. “I see you’re still wearing the new shoes. I figured you’d yank them off and put those god-awful brogans on the minute I turned my back.”
“Since you paid good money for them, the least I can do is wear them.” She glanced at Sarah and her son. “Other than the limp, Adam looks okay.”
“When Sarah gets through hugging on the boy, I’ll take him over to Doc’s office. I think his knee is just sprained, but need to make sure that’s all that’s wrong.”
“Wouldn’t hurt to get Doc’s opinion. You didn’t find your horse?”
“Nope. I just hope the animal remembers the way home. Instead, my nephew and I had a long talk, the first of many, I suspect.”
“If anyone can get through to him, you can.”
He gave a short laugh. “Thanks for the confidence.”
“I can let you have the lucky heart for good measure.”
“You mean the one that doesn’t work? No thanks.”
Rayna frowned and said softly, “It might’ve if you’d believed.”
His dark eyes twinkled. “I decided I’d leave that to you. I’m much more the facts type. We escaped from that jail because of Cooper and Rand.”
“We can believe what we want.” And she chose to credit Brett’s near miss with the hangman to the magical kisses. Just like Hershel said. Her brother knew about such things. He had experience.