Big Sky Daddy

by Linda Ford

  “He might be okay if he didn’t work for the Caldwells.”

  Lilly smiled. Coming from Rose, that was a big sign of approval. Her sister had grown quiet and Lilly turned to a more comfortable position. Tomorrow was all she had, and she meant to use it wisely.

  The next morning, Lilly braided her hair more carefully than usual and considered winding the braids about her head like the girls in town often did. Then out of need to prove to herself she wasn’t doing it because they had company, she tossed the braids down her back, and as she left to do the morning chores, she pulled on the oldest, rattiest straw hat she could find.

  Rose, helping Ma prepare breakfast, stared at the hat and covered a giggle.

  “What?” Lilly demanded.

  “Did you have to fight the mice for that hat?”

  She tipped her nose and sniffed. “My cats keep the mice down.” Recalling Teddy’s amusement at how brave a mouse would have to be to live around here, she chuckled as she crossed the yard toward the barn.

  She drew abreast of the wagon and stopped. The wagon’s rocking indicated someone was inside, but she heard no voices.

  Then Teddy peeked out through the front opening.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t talk to Papa until he can make some coffee.”

  Lilly grinned. “Is he truly so cross before coffee?”

  Teddy nodded, eyes round. “Like an old bear.”

  “I can hear you, son.” Caleb’s growly voice came from the wagon.

  “Sorry, Papa.” Teddy mouthed the words, “I told ya.”

  Lilly’s grin widened and she raised her voice slightly. “Pa has coffee ready in the house if you care to join him.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Caleb picked up Teddy and jumped out the back. His expression was grim as he looked toward the house. He strode past her, carrying his son and the crutches as if waiting for Teddy to cross the yard under his own steam would take too much time.

  “Ma’s expecting you for breakfast, too.”

  Caleb didn’t slow a bit until he disappeared into the house.

  Lilly turned back to her chores, a smile upon her lips.

  And if she cared to notice and admit it, a song in her heart at seeing this amusing side of Caleb.

  She went first to Blossom to get her to drink. The dog was weak and limp. “Girl, don’t you dare die.” She examined the dog again. The cuts showed no sign of infection.

  She sat back on her heels. “You are in no shape to travel.” But that afternoon, Caleb would take the dog and leave. God, please don’t let Blossom die. Poor Teddy has had enough death and pain to deal with already.

  She fed the pigs and chickens, milked the cows and returned to the house.

  Caleb sat at the table with a cup of coffee between his palms, his back to her.

  Teddy turned to look at her as she stepped into the kitchen. “He’s okay now. You can talk to him.”

  She chuckled. “What happens if you run out of coffee?”

  Caleb shuddered. “Perish the thought.”

  “We did once. Remember that, Papa?”

  “Better’n I care to.”

  “What happened?” Lilly expected Teddy would be full of details.

  “Son, some things are just between you and me.”

  Teddy paid no heed. “Pa hitched the wagon up real quick and ran the horse all the way to the first farm we came to. He bought a few beans off the lady for a whole lot of money.”

  “She drove a hard bargain,” Caleb grumbled.

  Every one of the Bells laughed.

  Teddy grinned, pleased at the response he had gotten.

  Caleb grunted. “There is no such thing as a secret with a five-year-old watching everything I do.”

  “And that’s a good thing,” Pa said, filling Caleb’s cup again. “We learn to speak and act more wisely because of them.”

  Caleb nodded. “One thing I’ve learned...”

  Lilly stopped pouring milk into a jug to listen.

  He continued. “Always keep a good supply of coffee on hand.”

  His unexpected words brought another round of chuckles from the family.

  Lilly saw Pa give Caleb a look of approval and her insides felt warm and sweet.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Ma announced, and they gathered round the table.

  Teddy enjoyed breakfast with as much enthusiasm as he had his supper.

  “I never tasted such good food,” he managed to say between mouthfuls.

  Caleb planted his hands on either side of his plate, a fork and knife clutched tight. He looked at Teddy with raised eyebrows. “The way you talk makes it sound like we eat poorly.”

  “You do the best you can,” Teddy said. “But we don’t eat anything like this.”

  Lilly pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh.

  Caleb favored her with a scowl, though she saw amusement in his eyes and realized he enjoyed his son’s comments as much as anyone. “What about Mama’s cooking? Didn’t you enjoy that?”

  Teddy’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. He looked thoughtful. “I guess it was okay, but only ’cause I hadn’t eaten food as good as Mrs. Bell’s.” He gave Ma an adoring look.

  Why, the little scamp was deliberately flattering her.

  Ma smiled. “Thank you, Teddy. That’s very generous of you. It’s easy to prepare nice meals if there is lots of good food, and we have that here on our farm.” She leaned closer as if speaking for Teddy’s ears only. “But no need to pour on the praise. I’ll feed you all you want as long as you and your papa care to stay.”

  “Well, young man,” Caleb said. “Does that teach you anything?”

  Teddy gave his papa a dismissive look. “Yes. Good cooks are generous and kind.”

  Caleb sent Lilly a look full of surprise and pleasure. “What am I supposed to do with him?”

  Did he mean the question for her? Or maybe Ma or Pa? But his gaze rested on her as if he wanted her opinion.

  “Seems to me you should keep doing whatever you’ve been doing. The results are rather pleasant,” Lilly said. She meant Teddy. Didn’t she? Though he and Caleb made a very nice package together.

  He smiled, relief, gratitude and something more in his eyes. “Thank you.”

  Rose made a soft sound as if to inform Lilly she’d seen something as well.

  Lilly ducked her head and wiped her plate clean with the last bite of her bread.

  “Thank you for another wonderful meal,” Caleb said, when they had all finished.

  Teddy rubbed his tummy. “Thank you very, very, very much. I shall enjoy the memory of this meal when we eat something cooked over an open fire.” He sounded so sad and regretful.

  “You’ll do just fine,” Caleb said. He brought his attention to Lilly. “Would you show me again how to make the poultice and do the exercises?”

  “Gladly.” She pushed away from the table.

  * * *

  Caleb had rehearsed every step during the night. Spread the stuff Mrs. Bell supplied, fold the paper, cover it with a warm, wet cloth. It was fairly simple. He cut a piece of paper.

  “It’s a little small,” Lilly said, peering over his shoulder. “But it will do.”

  He spread the mixture.

  Lilly stepped forward. “That much would burn his skin. Use a very thin layer.” She showed him. “There you go.” She moved aside and let him fold the paper. She’d made it look so easy, but his effort resulted in a lumpy mess.

  “Like this.” She flipped and rolled until the poultice was smooth and flat. She handed it to him.

  He realized she was waiting for him to take over and went toward the cot.

  “You’ll need a warm, wet
cloth.” She nodded toward the cloth sitting not more than four inches from where he’d been working.

  “I went over every step during the night,” he grumbled. “Now I can’t remember anything.”

  “It will come with practice.”

  He didn’t point out that there was little time for practice. He had to learn in a hurry.

  He dampened the cloth and let her test it.

  She nodded her approval. “You don’t want it too hot.”

  Caleb was beginning to think there was far more to this whole procedure than he had thought. It had seemed so simple when he’d watched her the night before.

  Teddy waited on the cot, his pant leg pulled up, and Caleb applied the poultice. Now to wait the half hour.

  “Today is Sunday,” Mr. Bell said. “We go to church in Bar Crossing.”

  Caleb hadn’t attended church since his arrival at the Caldwells’, and he thought longingly of sitting in a service with the likes of the Bell family. But perhaps they wouldn’t want to be seen in public with a man who worked for the people on the other side of the feud.

  “It would be nice if you came with us,” Mr. Bell said, eliminating that possibility and leaving Caleb with another. Would the Caldwells object to him attending with the Bells? He would not let their opinion sway him except for one reason—he needed the job.

  On the other hand, Ebner had not attended church since Caleb had started work and somehow Caleb didn’t think it was something the man practiced. And Mr. Caldwell and his wife were away. Didn’t seem as if there’d be anyone to object.

  “I’d like that.”

  Teddy grabbed his hand. “We’re going to church? Like we used to?”

  “Yes, son.” How many times had he deprived the boy of things he enjoyed or accepted as part of normal family life simply because he was on the move, or tired, or discouraged?

  “Last time we went to church was for Mama’s—what do you call it?”

  “Her funeral.” Caleb forced the words past the restriction in his throat.

  Teddy nodded. “Mama would be glad we are going.”

  “Yes, she would be.” Amanda had been rigid in her church attendance.

  “Do you think God will talk to me?” Teddy asked, delivering a shock to Caleb’s midsection. He didn’t know how to answer the boy.

  “What do you want to hear?” he asked.

  Teddy glanced around the table and whispered, “I can’t say.”

  Mrs. Bell took Teddy’s hands and looked deep into his eyes. “Teddy, I believe God will tell you what you need to know.”

  Teddy held her gaze for a moment and then nodded.

  Caleb’s heart was so tight he didn’t dare look at Lilly for fear it would burst open, but he heard her sigh and guessed she’d been as moved by the exchange as he.

  Mr. Bell cleared his throat. “We leave in forty-five minutes.”

  “That’s plenty of time to do Teddy’s exercises,” Lilly said. “We’ll give the poultice a few more minutes.” They waited a bit then she let him remove it. “Let’s see how well you remember them.”

  “Not very well, I’m afraid.”

  “We’ll do them together.” She guided his hands. His arm cradled hers in many of the movements as he followed her lead. Would he ever remember how to do all these without her guidance? He must, of course. But her sure, steady hands and her calm words reached into his heart and strengthened him in a way he hadn’t known since...he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt so confident.

  He tightened his jaw muscles. Had he forgotten his many failures? His hand faltered. She steadied it and smiled, thinking perhaps he had forgotten what he was doing.

  But he’d remembered. Don’t let people get close to you. They’ll get hurt.

  “That’s enough for this morning,” she said, and stepped back.

  Little did she know how true her words were.

  “Papa, can we go see Blossom now?”

  “I tended her this morning,” Lilly said.

  Teddy grabbed his crutches. “Is she all better?”

  “Not yet, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh.” The word dripped with disappointment. Then Teddy brightened. “Good thing we’re going to church. I can ask God to make her better.”

  “You can, indeed,” Mr. Bell said. “But you don’t need to wait for church. You can talk to God anytime.”

  Teddy nodded. “But it’s better in church.”

  No one argued with his five-year-old wisdom as he headed out the door, Caleb and Lilly on his heels.

  Lilly hung back and indicated she wanted to talk to Caleb.

  He fell in at her side.

  “I didn’t see any improvement in her this morning. I’m sorry.”

  “Are you saying—” He couldn’t imagine how Teddy would respond if the dog died. “I thought...I hoped.” He stopped talking. What was there to say? She could only do so much. Isn’t that what a dozen doctors had said to him about Teddy? Such futile, hopeless words.

  She touched his elbow. “Don’t give up hope. I haven’t.”

  He nodded. Easy for her to say. It wasn’t her son, her life. He shook away the troubling thoughts. She was doing her best. A person couldn’t ask for more.

  They followed Teddy into the barn. The dog lay limp and motionless until Teddy called her.

  Then her head came up and her tail wagged.

  “Look at that,” Lilly said, her voice round with surprise. “It’s like she’d been waiting for him.”

  Caleb grinned at the pleasure in Teddy’s face. He only hoped Blossom wasn’t saving the last of her strength for Teddy as a goodbye gesture.

  But Blossom drank some water, ate the gruel Lilly had prepared and took the drops. She licked Teddy’s hand then closed her eyes and went to sleep.

  Caleb watched, praying the dog wouldn’t die. Blossom’s chest rose and fell in regular rhythm and the tension eased from Caleb’s body.

  “She’s doing fine,” Lilly said, brushing his arm. “Now I must get ready for church.”

  He realized he could do with some cleaning up, too, as could Teddy, and they headed for the wagon.

  They each had one good set of clothes and he pulled Teddy’s from his trunk first. His shirt and trousers needed to have a flatiron applied, but Caleb didn’t have the means to do so.

  “You bought me these for Mama’s funeral,” Teddy said as he donned his nearly new clothes. “Look, my pants are almost too short.” Teddy grinned, smoothing his trouser legs.

  “Why, I believe you’ve grown three inches this summer. Guess the food I serve you can’t be so bad after all.”

  Teddy’s hands stilled. He looked up. “I didn’t mean it was bad.”

  Caleb chucked him under the chin and laughed. “I know you didn’t. Now, if you want to wait outside and give me room to change, that would be nice.”

  Teddy lowered himself to the ground and leaned on his crutches. “You gonna wear the suit you bought for Mama’s funeral?”

  He looked at the items in his trunk. “It’s the only good clothing I have.”

  “You looked very handsome in it.”

  “Did I, now?” He’d have thought Teddy would be so consumed by shock and pain that he wouldn’t notice or remember any details from that day. “I’m surprised you noticed.”

  “Well, I didn’t,” he mumbled, studying the ground at his toes. “But I heard some ladies talking and they said you were handsome.”

  “Hmm.”

  “One of them said something really strange.”

  “Really?” He couldn’t imagine what.

  “She said you were a good catch. Papa, what does that mean? I thought you caught fish. You’re not a fish.” He giggled.

  Caleb pulled out his newish shirt and slipped int
o it. He removed his well-worn denim pants and pulled on the black trousers. For the last occasion he’d donned this outfit, he’d worn a Western bow tie with tails that hung down several inches. Now he chose it again and pulled on his black suit jacket. He brushed his hair back and took a clean black cowboy hat from the hatbox where he had stored it. He brushed the dust from it and planted it on his head. He grabbed a damp rag to clean his boots with and then jumped down to face Teddy.

  “What do you think?”

  Teddy studied him with narrowed eyes. “I guess you look handsome.”

  Caleb chuckled. “So do you.”

  Mr. Bell came out to hitch the horse to their wagon.

  “I better get our horse, too,” he said, but Mr. Bell heard him.

  “No need to take two wagons to town. You can ride with us.”

  Caleb hesitated. Not that he minded riding with the Bells, but he didn’t want for him and Teddy to become a nuisance. Besides, there was this feud with the Caldwells. Apart from his job at the Caldwells’, though, this disagreement between neighbors had nothing to do with him, so why should he let it influence him? He realized he wanted to ride with the Bells, be part of the family, observe Lilly with her sister.... He cut the rambling, traitorous thoughts short. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “Jump aboard.”

  At Mr. Bell’s command, Caleb lifted Teddy to the back of the wagon and climbed in beside him. The elder man drove to the door.

  Mrs. Bell came out wearing a dark blue dress and matching bonnet with a black shawl pulled around her shoulders.

  Rose came next, her red hair coiled back and covered with a pale gray bonnet. Then Lilly stepped out and Caleb was glad he’d worn his suit. Lilly looked like a lovely flower in a cornflower-blue dress, her hair a golden halo framing her face, her eyes bright as the Montana sky.

  Rose looked at him and then nudged Lilly.

  He hoped it meant he had passed inspection. He had only Teddy’s word that he looked his finest.

  He assisted the girls into the back of the wagon, where they sat on quilts their father had put on the box to protect their clothing.

  They arrived at the church and Caleb jumped down to help the ladies. But when he reached for Teddy, the boy held back. “Pa, will people laugh at me ’cause I use a crutch?”