Pioneer Dream: The O’Rourke Family Montana Saga

by Ramona Flightner

  A young boy shouted with a hint of a French accent, “I know you’ve kidnapped our mother! Give her back!”

  “You’re as stupid as you are ugly,” Eamon yelled. “We don’t have your mum and we don’t want her.”

  Seamus stepped into the room on silent feet, his gaze taking in the scene of his younger boys lined up against two boys who had the look of Mary about them and reminded him of Kevin when he was a boy. “Lads,” he said to his sons, “what’s going on?”

  “Finn caught these rascals skulking around outside,” Eamon said. “They claim we have kidnapped a woman, but I know we haven’t. We have no need of a woman in this house, except for Niamh.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, Eamon,” Seamus said with a wry smile as he clapped a hand on his shoulder, “but we are very much in need of a woman’s presence in this house.” He nodded to Ardan carrying an inconsolable Mary down the hallway to the stairs. He focused on the two unknown boys, his severe stare and impressive height stopping them from racing after their mother. “Why did you come here?”

  “Jacques said we were no longer welcome in his house,” the eldest said with a defiant tilt of his chin. “He told us where to look for her but said it was doubtful you would want her either. Or us.”

  Seamus stared at the two brothers. “What do you call yourselves?”

  “Lucien and Henri,” the eldest said, naming himself first. “We have no need of a pack of ruffians like you.”

  Smiling for a moment, Seamus chuckled as he said, “You may not need us, but these are your brothers.” He pointed to Eamon, Finn and Kevin who had joined him in the living room. “Your mum and I are married.”

  “How can she be married to you when she has been with us her whole life?” Henri asked. He had red gold hair and chocolate brown eyes.

  “All will become clear soon. For now, where is your sister? Maggie?” When they stared at him in mutinous silence, he said, “Margaret?”

  “She is with Jacques,” Lucien finally whispered. “He said she would be his price for the expense and disappointment we’d cause him.”

  “Price or prize?” Kevin, who had just reentered the room, asked as he listened to their accent.

  “Both,” Henri whispered. He stared at Seamus with wide eyes for a long moment but appeared to come to the conclusion that Seamus and the men facing him and his brother could be trusted. “He’s always coveted our sister.”

  “But he’s your father,” Finn said in confusion. “He should have treated her as his daughter.”

  Lucien made a derisive noise and shook his head. “Jacques is not our father. He’s our uncle. Father died a few years ago. Francois,” he said in an offhand manner. “And Francois was not Margaret’s father.”

  “Nay,” Seamus murmured. “I am.” He nodded as the two young men gaped at him. “Take us to his house. We must get her out of there at once.”

  Lucien shivered. “Henri should stay. Jacques is mean and he should not risk injury.”

  Kevin stepped forward. “No, I know where you lived. I’ll lead my father and brothers there. You should stay here too, eat some soup, drink tea and wait for us to return.”

  Lucien shook his head. “Margaret does not know she has brothers or a father. She will trust you if she sees you with me. I must go with you.”

  Seamus nodded. “Finn, you stay here with Eamon, Henri and your younger brothers. I expect you to care for your mother and protect her if needed.” He squeezed first Finn’s and then Eamon’s shoulders. He moved to the stairway and bellowed for Ardan. When Ardan joined him, he motioned for him to follow, explaining on the way why they were racing out into the rain again.

  Once outside, they moved with stealth and speed, Kevin in the lead with Ardan beside him, Seamus, Declan and Lucien on their heels. When they arrived at Jacques’s small house a few blocks from the O’Rourke home, Seamus paused. “I’ll go to the front door. Cause a distraction and see what I might be able to do. Kevin, Ardan, you walk around the house.”

  “Her room has a window,” Lucien whispered. “I’ll show you.” He slipped into the shadows with Kevin and Ardan close behind.

  Seamus stiffened his shoulders, approaching the door with a resolute purpose. After pounding on it, he waited for an answer. When none came, he slammed his fist on it again. Still no one answered.

  “What should we do, Da?” Declan asked.

  “I wish I’d thought to bring a pistol,” Seamus muttered.

  “You hate weapons,” Declan sputtered.

  “Aye, I do, but at times like this, they are useful.” He motioned for Declan to quiet as a woman’s shriek was heard and then a slamming of a door. “Maggie,” he rasped. He tried to open the door. “Feck,” he swore when he found it locked. The screaming began again inside and his panic rose with each moment evidencing his daughter’s distress.

  He and Declan took turns ramming their bodies against the door, but whoever built the shack had used formidable timber for the door and its frame as it did not budge under their attack. “Open this door,” he bellowed as an eerie quiet emanated from inside.

  “Are we too late?” Declan asked in a panic laced voice, both their gazes focused on the door as though wishing they could see what was occurring inside.

  Mary forced herself from the comfortable cocoon of soft covers Ardan had rested her under, emerging with a clean, dry shift and a blanket tugged around her. She crept out of the small room, down the upper floor hallway and down the stairs. When she reached a door opening into a living area, she peered inside, intent on determining if she was truly welcome or not.

  Her breath caught at the sight of her two youngest sons by Seamus, pacing around the room with pent up energy. They asked rapid-fire questions to her youngest, Henri, who stared at them in awed befuddlement. She waited to see how they would react at Henri refusing to answer the majority of their questions, and when they groaned and discussed preparing tea and biscuits, she sniffed. Her boys were fine men. Seamus had done a good job raising them.

  She froze when Finn stared directly at her, his eyes widening with shock at the sight of her. “Mum,” he breathed.

  “Finn,” she said in a soft voice. “I hope my presence here is not unwelcome.”

  He shook his head, his gaze roving over her as Eamon moved to stand beside him. “I barely remember you.” He frowned as he saw her breath catch at his words. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  “No, there’s nothing to be done about it.” She swiped at her cheeks. “I’ve been gone for nearly eighteen years.” Her gaze moved over her sons. “I never thought to see you again.”

  Eamon stood tall, crossing his arms across his chest. “I’m certain you were disappointed to see us here in this town. It must have interrupted your plans.”

  “No,” she breathed, moving forward to grip her son’s arm. “I never thought to see you again. Never dreamed I’d see what handsome, good men you’ve grown into.” She battled tears as she saw a flash of deep emotions in their eyes at her words.

  “Why’d you leave us?” Finn asked. “We would have been better if you’d asked.”

  Mary lost her battled with tears and they coursed down her cheeks. “I could never have asked for better lads,” she said in a tear-choked voice. “I have no idea how or why we were separated, but I hope you believe me when I say I always wanted you. I always loved you.”

  Eamon nodded while Finn squeezed his mother’s hand.

  Mary gasped as three younger boys traipsed into the living room. The oldest of the three appeared to be close to Lucien’s sixteen years of age while the youngest closer to Henri’s eleven. They looked like a mixture of Seamus but nothing like her. “Who are you?” she blurted out.

  The tallest stood with shoulders back and stared at her with blatant curiosity. “O’Rourkes. Who are you?”

  Mary paled and looked around the room as though expecting someone else to enter. After a moment, she asked in a low voice, “And your mother?”

  When the three boys r
emained mutinously quiet, Eamon spoke up. “Colleen died several years ago. Before we came to Fort Benton.”

  Mary let out a gasp of breath and sank onto a settee. “So your father is …”

  Finn grinned with a smile she realized must be his customary mischievous one and nodded. “Aye. Da’s not married. And from what Henri and Luc said, you aren’t either.”

  Mary shook her head and rubbed at her temple.

  “Who are you?” the tallest of Seamus’s boys with Colleen demanded.

  “I’m Mary. His first wife.” She watched as shock and disbelief entered their gazes before it was quickly hidden.

  Eamon motioned for his brothers to go to the kitchen. “Prepare towels and tea for our brothers and Da. They will be back soon.” He looked at his mother, pale and shivering on the couch. “Come, Mum. You should be in bed. Da will be upset if you become ill.” He helped his mother to rise, slipping an arm under her back. He shared a long look with Finn when she gasped in pain at the touch of his arm on her back. “You’re with us again, Mum. You’re safe.”

  Mary leaned against her son as she allowed him to lead her back to the bedroom. Before she gave into the exhaustion overcoming her, she gripped Eamon’s hand. “You’re a good boy, Eamon. Thank you.”

  “Welcome home, Mum,” he whispered.

  Kevin followed Lucien around the side of the house and then motioned for him to wait in the shadows. “It’s best if your uncle doesn’t know you brought us here. He sounds like a vindictive man and I wouldn’t want him to take aim at you or Henri.” He saw Lucien nod his understanding and then crawled up to the window where bright light seeped out into the rainy night.

  The glass in the panes caused everything inside to appear wavy and as though he were in the midst of a dream. He focused, swearing as he saw a woman pushing a bureau against a door with all her might, screaming as it toppled toward her while a man battered against the door, roaring his anger at her. She rose again, pushing on the bureau with her hands and then standing with her back against it to better push it against the door, but he could see her shaking and knew it was only a matter of minutes before she lost her battle against the man determined to enter her room.

  He saw Ardan try the window, and sighed with relief as his eldest brother eased it open. He spoke in a voice barely above a breath. “Maggie,” he called out, holding out a hand to keep her calm as her eyes flared in panic that she was under attack from two fronts.

  “No, Maggie, you’re my sister,” he whispered. “We’re here to help you.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Lucien brought us here.” He smiled as Lucien made a whistling noise that seemed to calm Maggie. Arden’s expression tightened as she yelped as the man on the other side rammed into the door and she screamed again.

  “You will let me in, Maggie and you will be mine,” the man roared.

  “Never!” she yelled back. She looked at Kevin beseechingly, terror in her gaze as she groaned with the exertion to keep the bureau in place.

  He held a hand out and smiled at her encouragingly. “Next time he hits the door. Push against it and then run to me. We’ll have you away from here before he can get to you.”

  She took a deep breath, braced against the door, and yelped as Jacques battered the door with even more force. The bureau nearly toppled onto her, but she pushed it back against the door. When it was in place, she raced toward Kevin, stumbling when she arrived at the window.

  Kevin and Ardan reached in, each grabbing an arm and tugged her outside. She landed with a thud in a puddle, knocking Ardan and Kevin over. They recovered quickly, with Ardan picking her up and racing away from the house. Lucien got into step behind them as they hustled around the side of the house. Just as they turned the corner, they heard the man inside roar with rage.

  Kevin raced ahead, bellowing, “Da! Run!” He saw Seamus and Declan turn from the door and then sprint after them. Kevin prayed the irate man would not catch them before they reached home.

  Chapter 7

  Aileen traipsed after her aunt as she clung to the shadows of the building in an attempt to stay dry during their short foray from the hotel to the nearby café. A fierce early summer storm pummeled Fort Benton, turning the roads into a morass of mud. When they burst into the café, she shook out her skirts and then winced as she inadvertently splattered mud and water on those sitting near the door.

  After taking off her sodden cloak and hanging it near the potbellied stove to dry a little before they ventured forth again after their meal, Aileen sat with her aunt near the stove. She stuck her feet out, hoping to dry her shoes too. When her aunt scowled at her, she tucked her feet under her chair. After ordering the day’s special of buffalo stew, she sipped at a cup of coffee as her aunt prattled on about the indignity of living in such a place.

  Aileen tuned her out, nodding every time her aunt paused in an attempt to act as though she paid attention. In reality, she thought about Kevin. About his large, bustling family and the loyalty he would feel for his brother. She wished she would be worthy of the same loyalty he showed his brother.

  “Aileen, are you listening to me?” her aunt demanded.

  “Of course, Aunt,” Aileen murmured, focusing on her aunt a moment. However, she listened to the chatter around her, hearing the name “O’Rourke” repeated over and over. When Mr. Hunt delivered their food, she asked, “Mr. Hunt, why are the townsfolk interested in the O’Rourkes this evening?”

  He smiled at her as he wiped his hands on his white apron, the hint of a Southern accent present. “Seems there was a bit of a commotion at the Bordello. Seamus’s son, Kevin, barged inside and dragged his father out. Now everyone knows better than to interrupt a man once he’s entered such a place.” He flushed as Mrs. Davies gave him a black look. “They ran off faster than a pair of bloodhounds that had caught the scent, racing to their warehouse. And were seen later carrying a woman to their house. Makes us all curious about what’s going on with the O’Rourkes.”

  “Fascinating,” Aileen said, ignoring her aunt nudging her with the toe of her shoe. “They are an upstanding family, are they not?”

  Mr. Hunt rocked back on his heels, his fingers slung into the straps of his suspenders. “The finest Fort Benton has to offer.” He ignored Mrs. Davies’s snort as though to say that meant little. “Any woman would be fortunate to marry one of the sons.”

  Aileen flushed. “Of course I’m certain you are correct.” She watched as he gave them an absentminded wave as he rushed off to tend to another patron.

  “Cease ferreting out gossip. You’re bound to him, and you will marry him.” Her aunt glared at her.

  “Aunt, what would happen if I didn’t?” Aileen whispered.

  “You’d find what it meant to be alone, destitute, and unwanted,” her aunt snapped. “You’d end up at the Bordello within the hour of your defiance, and you’d be miserable within the next.”

  Aileen paled, her gaze focused on the congealing stew in front of her, as she considered her aunt’s dire prediction.

  The O’Rourke men burst into the back door of their house, swarming into the kitchen and drenching the floor. Mud soon splattered the floor, but their focus was on the young woman in Ardan’s arms.

  “Is she hurt?” Seamus asked, panting. His intense gaze was focused on his youngest daughter he thought had been lost to him nearly eighteen years ago. He stared at her with a sense of wonder.

  “I don’t know,” Kevin gasped. “We might have hurt her as we yanked her from the room.”

  “As long as she’s free of that man,” Seamus said, his gaze on Ardan as he moved to the large chair Seamus usually sat in. Ardan gently set Maggie into it, and then moved away to divest his soaked outerwear. He nodded his thanks as Finn brought towels and Eamon set a pot of tea on the table.

  “Lass,” Seamus murmured as he shared a worried glance with his sons. She sat with her head bowed, shaking and shivering in place, her auburn hair matted to her head and covering her face. “You’re safe here. No one will ever
harm you here.”

  “How can you promise that?” she asked in a quivering voice as she accepted a towel and held it to her head, further obscuring her face from these men who were strangers to her. “My mother and I are not worth your concern.”

  Seamus took her hand, holding it between his two larger ones as it was freezing cold and he wanted to warm it up. “Nay, my lass, that is where you are wrong. You and your mother are one of my greatest concerns. An’ I will always worry about you.”

  She shook her head, peering at him through her hair. “I don’t understand,” she whispered. She froze as a loud pounding started on the back door. “No, don’t send me back,” she begged, terror filling her gaze. “I’ll do whatever you want. Please.” She pushed her hair away from her face, revealing swelling on one cheek and redness around her left eye.

  “Did he strike you?” Seamus asked as he raised a shaking hand to trace her face. He stared into eyes that looked just like his, except for their trepidation and fear.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “He thought it would bend me to his will.”

  Ardan and Kevin growled and she shrank back against the chair. “No, Maggie,” Kevin said. “We aren’t upset with you.” At another vicious round of pounding on the door, Kevin glared at it. “We have business that must be settled.”

  Kevin motioned for his brothers to follow him, and Ardan, Declan, Finn and Eamon trooped behind him to the back door. Although the irate man’s voice was heard one more time, he was soon drowned out by the shouts of the men who had gone outside.

  “I don’t understand,” she rasped as she stared at Seamus staring at her with fondness and a bright light in his eyes. “Why would they care how I’ve been treated?”

  “You are one of us, Maggie,” Seamus said, frowning as he saw her flinch at the use of that name. “And your brothers have never liked a bully.”