Pony Express Hero

by Rhonda Gibson

Willow stood in the sitting room rocking Gabe. The baby fought sleep. He’d doze off and then he’d shake himself awake and cry. “Babies can sense when something is wrong,” she told him.

  He nodded.

  “So can little girls,” Willow gently said. She looked down at her sleeping baby.

  Jacob sighed. Yes, he’d spoken too sharply to Daisy and needed to make amends. He walked to her room and knocked.

  Daisy opened the door and looked up at him. Her hair was down and tearstains marred her little face. Brown eyes the same color as his swam in fresh moisture that threatened to spill over once more.

  Jacob scooped her up and held her close. She placed her little head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mr. Jacob.”

  He walked to her bed and sat down with her on his lap. “No, I’m the one that’s sorry. I was upset that Asher got hurt and I didn’t want you to get hurt, too, so I spoke meaner than I meant to.”

  She patted his cheek. “It’s all right. I still love you.” Daisy pressed her face deeper into his neck.

  If he was going to tell the men he was Daisy’s brother, Jacob decided he needed to tell her first. “Let’s go see if Lilly has a cookie hidden in the kitchen somewhere.” He stood, keeping her in his arms.

  Daisy pulled back her head and looked at him with a smile. “I like cookies.”

  “Me, too.”

  Lilly looked up as they entered the room. She smiled. “Did you two make up?”

  Jacob lowered Daisy to the floor and she answered, “Yep, and we need a cookie to make us feel better.”

  “Oh, you do, do you?” Her pretty blue eyes met his.

  Daisy walked to the cookie jar. “Yep.”

  “Put some on a plate, Daisy, and bring them to the table.” Lilly nibbled at her lip, a sure indicator that she had something to say but didn’t know how to approach the subject.

  Jacob pulled out a chair and waited. He wasn’t disappointed. “Jacob, I’ve been praying and I think it’s time we tell Daisy and everyone.”

  He grinned. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  “Tell me what?” Daisy asked, sliding a plate of sugar cookies onto the table.

  “Do you want to tell her or want me to?” Jacob asked.

  Lilly pulled Daisy onto her lap. “I will.” She brushed the hair from Daisy’s face and smiled. “Daisy, how would you like to have a brother?”

  Daisy blinked. “I already have a brother.”

  She pulled back so that she could look into Daisy’s face. Jacob leaned forward. Fear traveled up his spine. Had someone told the little girl they were her brother? Is that how he was getting so close to her? “You do?” Jacob asked. “Who is he?”

  The little girl giggled. “You, silly.”

  Lilly looked at him. “How does she know that?” Then she turned Daisy around in her lap. “How do you know that?”

  “I heard you two talking. It’s a secret so I haven’t told nobody,” Daisy answered. She picked up a cookie and bit into it happily.

  Jacob looked to Lilly. “She knows.”

  “I heard that.”

  “Well, now that the family discussion is over. I’d like to talk about that young man in there,” the doctor said as he walked the rest of the way into kitchen. “Can a body get a cup of coffee?”

  “How is he?” Jacob asked.

  Lilly put Daisy into the closest chair. “I’ll get you that coffee.” She grabbed two cups, poured coffee into them and walked back to the table.

  “He’s going to be all right. Whoever thought to wash out the wound did a good job.” He took a sip from the cup Lilly handed him.

  Jacob took his cup also. “That would be Lilly.”

  “I’m not sure but I think at least one of those teeth must have had some type of poison on it. Thankfully you cleaned it up real good. We still need to keep a watch out and make sure that the rust doesn’t cause more infection to take place. I’d hate for the boy to lose that hand.” The doctor shook his head.

  “Would you like a cookie?” Daisy asked, pushing the plate toward the doctor.

  “Thank you, little miss.” He picked up a cookie.

  Lilly smiled as the doctor took a bite and winked at Daisy. “What do you want us to do for him?”

  “Is it possible for him to stay in the house tonight instead of that noisy bunkhouse?” the doctor asked.

  “He doesn’t stay in the bunkhouse. Asher has a room of his own in the barn,” Jacob answered.

  “But he’s welcome to stay here, if he needs to,” Lilly quickly added.

  The doctor finished his cookie and drank more of his coffee. “Don’t matter where he stays as long as it’s quiet and someone can look in on him from time to time.”

  Jacob nodded. “We’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

  “In that case, I suppose I’ll be on my way. The Cooper baby should be arriving any time now. I was on my way to their place when young Caleb insisted I come here first.” He walked to the door and then turned to smile at Daisy. “Thanks for the cookie, it sure hit the spot.” He pulled his hat from the hat rack and stepped onto the porch.

  Jacob followed him out the door and shut it behind him. The doctor looked at all the worried faces and laughed. “You all sure are good people. Your friend is going to be fine.” He pulled himself up into his buggy and waved goodbye.

  Lilly hurried out the door. “Doc! What do we owe you?”

  He laughed. “A couple of frying hens would be nice or you could just have me out for dinner.”

  She laughed. “I’ll see that you get both.” Lilly waved at him and then turned to the men.

  Jacob laid a hand on her shoulder. “We have something we need to tell everyone. You want to do it out here or bring them inside?” he asked Lilly.

  Caleb yelped. “I knew it! You two are getting married.”

  * * *

  Lilly felt her face flush. “No, we are not getting married. We’re not even courting.” She spun on her heels and hurried into the house.

  Willow stood by the fireplace laughing. “Well, you can’t blame them for jumping to that conclusion the way Jacob announced that you have something to tell them.”

  Daisy stood beside Willow eating another cookie. “Daisy, no more cookies. You’re going to spoil your lunch.”

  “I didn’t get no lunch,” Daisy answered.

  Lilly realized the child was right and it was closer to dinnertime then lunch. She sighed. How had such a wonderful day gone so wrong?

  A thud sounded in the hallway. She turned to see Asher with his hand bandaged, leaning against the wall. “What are you doing out of bed?” she demanded.

  “Doc said I could get up,” he answered.

  Jacob entered the house with the other men behind him. He pushed Caleb toward her. “I beg your pardon, Miss Lilly.”

  She smiled. “Oh, that’s all right, Caleb. It’s Jacob that made the blunder, not you.”

  “How did I blunder? I didn’t announce we were getting married.” He motioned for the rest of the men to step inside. Then he caught sight of Asher. “What are you doing out of bed?” he demanded.

  Daisy hurried to Asher’s side. “Doc said he can get up. Stop being mean.”

  The men behind Jacob snickered. Asher put his left hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Thank you, Miss Daisy.” He leaned heavily on the wall. “Caleb, would you mind helping me to the sofa? I think I need to sit down.” His face went from white to almost translucent.

  Caleb hurried to his side. When the two men were seated, Jacob turned to everyone. “Now that we are all here there is something Daisy and I would like to tell you.”

  Lewis snickered in the back. “Don’t tell us he’s going to marry the little girl, now.”

  Jacob shot him a hard look. That
seemed to quiet him down. “Daisy is my half sister. We share the same mother.” He looked at all the dropped jaws.

  “Daisy, will you help me put Gabe down for his afternoon nap?” Willow asked.

  Daisy nodded. “I’m hungry, Willow.”

  Jacob smiled as they left the room. Then he turned to the men, and in a soft, dangerous voice he said, “Someone is trying to hurt or kill Daisy.”

  The room grew deadly silent. Lilly studied each man’s face. Anger shone from their eyes. Was it anger that someone would hurt the little girl? Or anger that one of them had been caught?

  She couldn’t believe that one of them was out to hurt Daisy. The only alternative was that it could have been Sam. Now that Sam was no longer welcome on the ranch, maybe the threat would pass.

  But why would Sam want to hurt Daisy? He wouldn’t. Regardless of his past actions, Lilly couldn’t bring herself to think that Sam would ever hurt her or Daisy.

  Lilly motioned for them to move closer to the couch so that she could speak softly. “We are not accusing anyone here of wanting to hurt Daisy. We are asking you to help us protect her.” She looked to Asher. He’d regained a little color in his face.

  The young man surprised her by raising his injured hand. “This was no accident. If I hadn’t been cleaning out from under the rosebush, this could have been that little girl in there.”

  Lewis stepped to the front of the men. “Let’s go to the sheriff. He’ll find the low-down dog that is trying to hurt one of ours.”

  Lilly’s heart swelled at the words one of ours. She smiled at him. “And tell him what?”

  Edward spoke up for the first time. He was normally very quiet and kept his thoughts to himself. “That someone stole her from her bed and then sent a stampede of cattle after her.”

  “Who? We have no proof that’s what happened,” Jacob said just as softly.

  This time Lewis stepped forward. “Well, we know that trap didn’t set itself and none of us set it.”

  “Again, we don’t know who did set it.” Lilly also spoke softly. “Jacob and I have been over this several times, we just have nothing solid to tell the sheriff. It’s up to us to keep her safe.”

  The men nodded. Each saying with his eyes that he’d protect her no matter what.

  “Caleb, I’m feeling a little sleepy from the medicine that Doc gave me. Would you mind walking with me to my room?” Asher asked, pushing himself up from the sofa.

  “Sure.” Caleb helped him stand.

  The other men followed them out, each promising to keep an eye on Daisy. When the last one left, Jacob ran his hand over his face. “That went well.”

  “How about a sandwich?” Lilly walked toward the kitchen.

  “Sounds good.”

  “I want a sandwich, too,” Daisy announced, running up behind them.

  Willow’s laugh filled Lilly’s ears. “I think we could all use a sandwich.”

  The two women worked together. Willow sliced the bread and meat. Lilly sliced cheese and then opened a jar of pickles. Jacob and Daisy talked at the table.

  “Are you going to move into the house now?” Daisy asked.

  Lilly kept her back to the two of them. She felt Willow’s eyes upon her, but ignored her, too.

  “No, I have to stay in the barn with the Pony Express horses,” Jacob answered.

  “Oh.” Daisy played with the hem of her doll’s dress. Her little face looked sad.

  Lilly carried the plate of cheese and pickles to the table. “Here we go.” She returned to the sideboard for the dinner plates. Maybe she could distract her sister with another subject. “Jacob, would you mind helping me bring a couple more shrubs to the house?”

  Willow carried the bread and meat to the table. “I didn’t know you were going to add more. Maybe Daisy and I can help plant them this time.”

  Lilly smiled her thanks. “I think that would be wonderful.”

  “When did you want to do this?” Jacob asked as he put together a sandwich.

  “In the morning.” Lilly continued standing as she made up four sandwiches.

  Jacob watched her with a frown. “Hungry?”

  She smiled. “A little. But these aren’t for me. They’re for Asher and Caleb.” Lilly added a few pickles to the plate while Willow took her seat at the table.

  He pushed back his chair. “I’ll take them out to them.”

  “No, you stay put. I want to make sure Asher is keeping that arm up.” She picked up the plate. “Go ahead and say the blessing.”

  Jacob did as she asked.

  As soon as he was finished, Lilly picked up the plate and headed out the door. She needed space from him. He’d shown today that he cared and loved Daisy. His warmth and strength put a new beat in her heart.

  For the first time Lilly wished that a man—Jacob—would show her the kind of love that he showed to their sister. His eyes had softened, his voice had taken on a loving tone. What would it be like to have him look and talk to her like that?

  She knocked on Asher’s door. Lilly told herself to put such thoughts out of her mind. Jacob had made it clear he didn’t trust women and right now, Lilly knew that included her. Her heart wanted someone to love her. Not just anyone, but Jacob.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jacob propped both hands over the shovel handle and grinned at the woman staring back at him in disbelief. “Are you telling the truth?” Lilly’s voice held a note of surprise.

  “I most certainly am.”

  “But...” She held two strings together, ready to tie them around the stakes Jacob positioned in the ground close to the new plants. “I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like green beans. My dad would turn over in his grave.”

  Jacob’s great knell of laughter rippled through the air. Lilly reached out and smacked his arm. “You let me feed you green beans time after time and never said a word.”

  He quickly caught her hand and carried it to his lips. His eyes clung to hers, analyzing her reaction. Her expression stilled and grew serious. Expecting her to shy away, his confidence soared when she moved closer and lifted her hand to his cheek. The mere touch of her fingers sent a warming shiver through him.

  “You’re a nice man, Jacob Young. You make me feel...”

  His voice came out throaty and low. “How, Lilly? How do I make you feel?”

  She cast her eyes downward but he wasn’t having that. He needed to gauge her feelings and to do that he had to look into those beautiful blue eyes. He gently tipped up her chin. A vague shift of the earth passed between them. He knew by the widening of her eyes she felt it, too. He squeezed her hand. “Tell me, please, Lilly?”

  Her breath quickened and a slight flush crept into her cheeks. But her voice was calm and her gaze steady when she replied. “You make me feel as if I matter.”

  She thought she didn’t matter? How could that be? “You do matter. You’re important to a lot of people.”

  “And to you, Jacob? Am I important to you?”

  His heart sang with delight. This felt right. He decided to jump in with both feet. “Being near you, working side by side, brings great peace and satisfaction to me.” He swallowed and forced the butterflies to settle down. “I’m not sure what is happening—this is new to me—but I do know you’re more important to me than any other woman alive.”

  They studied each other; the urge to take her in his arms battled with his desire to kiss her. What amazed him even more was his satisfaction at just being with her. Contentment wrapped around them like a warm blanket.

  Lilly laughed gently. “Even when I feed you green beans?”

  In spite of himself he chuckled. “I’ve staked them for you, haven’t I?”

  Lilly pulled her hand from his face and heaved a sigh. “That you have.” She bent down and p
icked up the strings that dropped when she caressed the side of his face. She tied them into a double knot then brushed dirt from her hands. “Four rows worth that you will have to eat at least two times a week all winter long.” Her laugh was infectious and he chuckled as he followed her to the tool shed.

  A whistle split the air and Willow stepped onto the porch. She held a tray with two glasses and something cold to drink if the dew on the glass was anything to go by. Jacob appreciated the gesture. He suddenly felt parched.

  “Now that’s shaping into a great-looking garden.” Willow handed them each a glass of blackberry tea, which she’d kept cold in the mouth of the spring.

  “And it’s because all of us have worked on it and stayed above the weeds, bugs and animals.” Lilly always shared the praise with others and Jacob loved that about her.

  “Are y’all bringing up any more fruit vines or shrubs?” Willow seemed to have something on her mind but was reluctant to say it.

  “We can, Willow. Was there something you wanted?”

  Willow sat beside them on the step and rubbed her hands down the front of her dress. She hadn’t adopted Lilly’s habit of wearing pants, but she didn’t seem averse to it, either. “Well, I know that the three blackberry vines you replanted have taken root and will most likely produce next year, but Gabe will be a toddler so I won’t get far from the house. I just thought if more vines were planted with the others out back of the tool shed, I could do the berry picking and keep an eye on him and Daisy here in the yard at the same time.”

  Willow cleared her throat loudly, startling Jacob. She raised her head with a cool stare in Lilly’s and his direction. “Unless you don’t want me here next year.”

  Lilly placed both hands on her hips, stood and faced Willow and Jacob. He could barely keep from laughing out loud, but failed to hide the grin he felt curling the sides of his mouth.

  “Now, Willow, don’t go upsetting the applecart after painting such a pretty picture. You just made me feel like I had a family and I looked forward to the future more than I have in a very long time.” She reached for Willow and Willow stepped into arms opened wide for a tight hug.

  “Aw, Lilly. You’re going to make me cry. It’s been a long time for me, too.”