When they got back to the house, Mrs. Bowen went upstairs, and Becky sought out her mother, speaking in low tones of what had happened. Amos waited with the wagon for his mother to come back out to him. He wouldn’t carry her bags or help her at all. He was finished with the way she’d treated good people.
After her mother-in-law was gone, Becky allowed the tears to fall. “People in town are still talking about me. I had hoped they’d all stop when I married Amos.”
“Who was talking about you?”
Becky made a face. “Pastor Eugene and his viper-tongued wife. Rumor has it they married because they were caught in a compromising position, and he’s a pastor! But they still feel like they should drag me through the mud.” Becky looked down at her hands. “Mrs. Bowen called Belle a bastard.”
Her mother frowned at that. “No one is going to call my grandbaby that. You were married before she was born, and that means she’s technically not a bastard, no matter what anyone says.”
“I know that’s how Father feels. I was the apple of his eye, and then I got pregnant, and he hasn’t looked at me since. He was standing out front when we drove past on the way to Creede today, and I swear I felt his eyes looking right through me. Am I going to spend the rest of my life paying for one mistake with a man I was planning to marry just a few days later?”
Looking directly at her daughter, Minerva said, “You might. There’s really a very good chance that you will. You are a good mother, and I know you were very much in love with Cliff when you . . . got pregnant with Belle. But you have to understand that people will criticize you for your actions for the rest of your life. There’s no getting around it. Now most people will be understanding, and in a few years people might forget, but if you stay in Creede, where people have known you your whole life, you’re running the risk of being talked about.”
Becky sighed. “I love Creede. It’s my home. I love this house that Amos built with his own two hands. How could I want anything else in life than to stay here and be happy? I want my little girl to play in the same places that I played. Is that too much to ask?”
Her mother shook her head. “No, I really don’t think it is. But for some, it’s too much to ask that they not talk about your indiscretion.”
“All right. I guess I need to deal with that then, don’t I?”
“Yes, you probably do.”
* * *
Herbert Brown was doing what he did best. He was dealing with his cattle and doing spring round-up. He had his employees at his side—loyal men who would never go off and get pregnant or choose the side of someone who had over his.
Becky had always known that he would not accept any type of disloyalty. What had she thought would happen when she told them she was expecting two months after her fiancé was in the ground?
He rode harder than any of his men, though he was years older. He expected the same work ethic from everyone around him that he had himself. People called him hard, but he wasn’t. He just expected the same morals and standards from the people around him that he expected from himself. Was that too much to ask?
At the end of the day, he went into the house, wondering what he was going to make for his supper. He had never learned to cook because he had a wife to do it for him. Sometimes he ate with the ranch hands, but it was embarrassing when they all looked at him, wondering how he’d run his wife off. Why couldn’t anyone understand that he needed things a certain way, and he wouldn’t put up with anything less?
He stood in the kitchen, slicing off strips of bacon, standing in his bare feet because his wife had always hated it when he’d tracked mud into her house. He missed her every moment of every day, but he couldn’t bend enough to let her back in. His love for her had been stronger than his anger with her, and he’d almost told her she could stay, but he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. His wife had betrayed him by going to their daughter, and keeping that in his head was always for the best.
He made a particularly violent slicing motion with the knife and dropped it. It cut through his pant leg and into his calf, landing point down into his foot. He leaned down and pulled it out of his foot as he watched the blood flow freely from his wound onto the floor. He fell to the floor, wondering how he’d gotten himself into this position.
There was already a puddle of blood on the floor, and he knew there was no way anyone would find him before he bled out. He scooted along the floor to the table and pulled down the tablecloth, wrapping it around his leg. It was Minerva’s good tablecloth, and he knew she’d not be happy if she saw him bleeding all over it, but he couldn’t think of another way to stop the bleeding.
“You’re bleeding, and you can think of no one but the woman you love. Yet you kicked her out of your house? What is wrong with you?” There was a man standing across the kitchen from him, frowning down at him. Herbert had never seen the man before, but there was a glow behind him that told Herbert he was no ordinary man.
“Who are you?”
“What does it matter? You care about nothing more than your own rigid sense of justice. You lay there bleeding, and you think of the woman you love, but you don’t wish she was with you. You still think you did the right thing asking her to leave because she saved your daughter’s life. You have a good woman and a beautiful love. She’s stood beside you all these years when you wouldn’t allow her to be a midwife or anything but a wife and mother. She wanted so much more.”
“What do you know about anything?” Herbert growled angrily. Why was the man kicking him while he was already down?
“I know all about you and your type. You judge your daughter for making one mistake. Yes, it was a big mistake, and yes, everyone in town knew about it. She has almost died for that mistake. You have a granddaughter, you know. Her name is Anabelle, and she is the sweetest little girl on this earth. By denying your daughter, you are losing out on three generations of loving women. Your wife, your daughter, and your granddaughter.”
Herbert knew the man was right. He had no idea who he was, or how he knew all these things, but he was right about the fact that he was missing out. “If I could go back and do things over . . . I’d do it differently.” Of course, none of it mattered now. He was about to die, and there was no one left to mourn him. No one would care.
“You would? Would you accept your wife back if she stepped in this house? Would you allow your daughter to come back?”
“Yes, I would. I’ve been so lonely without them. What is the purpose behind living if you have no one to live for?” Herbert looked at the large pool of blood that was rapidly growing. The tablecloth may have slowed the bleeding, but it hadn’t slowed it very much. “I’m going to die, and they’ll never know I loved them.” He looked up at where the man had stood, but no one was there. “I’m lying here imagining I’m seeing people. What is wrong with me? Oh, that’s right. I’m dying.”
* * *
Amos was on the ladder working on the barn roof again. Thankfully his mother had said nothing to him on their way back to town the day before. He wasn’t sure if he could have controlled his temper if she had.
As he worked, he noticed the stranger, who he hadn’t seen since the morning Belle was born. He climbed down, looking the man in the eye. “What can I do for you today?”
“Your mother-in-law needs to go home, and she needs to do it fast. He’s going to die otherwise. You take her there, and you keep riding for the doctor.” The man disappeared before his eyes, which had always bothered, Amos, but he’d never been able to stop the strange behavior.
Amos knew the man wouldn’t lie, though, and he ran for the house. “Minerva!”
She came out of the kitchen, frowning at him. “The baby’s sleeping. What is your problem?”
“I need to get you to your house. He’s going to die otherwise.”
She frowned. “Who’s going to die? Herbert?”
“Yes! I don’t know what happened. I just know you need to be there immediately. I’m going to drop you off and t
hen head for the doctor.”
Minerva picked up her skirts and ran. “I’ll let Becky know I’m leaving. I think she’ll be just fine here alone, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I’ll saddle the horse!” He ran to the stable and quickly saddled his gelding.
Minerva ran to the stable just as he was mounting his horse. He reached down a hand for her, and she stepped on his foot and swung up behind him. “Hurry!”
The whole way to the ranch, she prayed constantly. She didn’t know why she believed the urgency of what had happened, but she did. When they reached the ranch, she ran inside and found Herbert lying in a pool of his own blood. His face was pale, and his eyes were closed. She knew that Amos had ridden on for the doctor, and she was glad because she wasn’t certain if she had the skills to keep her husband alive.
She unwrapped the tablecloth from around his leg and saw how bad the wound was. Running for her sewing basket, she carefully sewed the biggest gash closed. “Only you would use my best tablecloth to stop bleeding. That thing is never going to come clean.”
Herbert’s eyes opened slightly. “I knew you’d be mad.”
“Hush, you. I’m going to stop this bleeding, no matter what it takes. Amos is riding for the doctor.” She was determined to keep him alive, no matter what.
“You take care of me, Minerva. I don’t want no doctor charging me more than my ranch is worth to sew my leg.”
Minerva shook her head. “Only you would be worried about money at a time like this. You’re about to bleed to death.”
“I didn’t want to die without you and Becky knowing . . .”
“Knowing what? That you’ll never forgive us? I think we’ve figured that out. Now, shh . . . you need to save your strength. I’m not letting you die yet.” She started to work on his foot, noting that the knife had gone clean through it. How had he managed to do so much damage to himself?
Chapter Ten
Amos rode fast and hard to get to the doctor’s home for the second time in a month. When the doctor came to the door, his eyes widened. “Becky again?”
“No, her father. Hurry!” Amos waited while the doctor saddled his own horse, and the two of them rode toward the Brown Ranch together.
When they reached the house, Amos dismounted with the doctor, not sure what they’d find when they got into the house. He knocked once and then opened the door, praying that it wasn’t as bad as the stranger had made it seem.
On the floor in the kitchen, he spotted his mother- and father-in-law immediately. His father-in-law was as pale as Becky had been after Belle’s birth, and his mother-in-law knelt beside him. He could see where she’d stitched him up, but there was a whole lot of blood everywhere.
The doctor pushed him aside and knelt beside the injured man, his gaze taking in the stitches. “You did a good job on the stitches, Minerva. I know you used to be a midwife.”
“A nurse-midwife,” she said softly. “I’ve stitched up more people than I can count.”
“You’re very good at what you do.” The doctor looked at the foot. “I think there may be some tendon damage here, but we won’t really know until he starts trying to walk on it.”
“He thinks he’s going to die.”
“He would probably have bled out before I arrived if you hadn’t come to stitch him.” The doctor got to his feet. “Amos, would you help me get him into his bed?”
Amos nodded. “Yes, of course.”
With Minerva leading the way, the two men carried Herbert up the stairs and put him in his bed. Once he was settled, the doctor looked between the other two. “Someone’s going to have to stay with him.”
“That’s my job,” Minerva said softly.
“Are you sure?” Amos asked. “I can hire someone from town to stay with him.”
“I’m sure. He wants to see Becky and Belle, too.” Minerva had tears rolling down her cheeks as she told him about her husband’s change of heart. “He wants me to come back as well.”
“Is that what you want?” Amos asked. He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to move back in with a man like his father-in-law, but if that was her desire, then he wouldn’t question it.
She nodded, her eyes shining happily. “He says he understands what he’s done wrong, and he’s willing to forgive. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life alone without us in it.”
“How can I help you before I go home to Becky?” he asked. He was starting to get worried at the sheer amount of time his wife had been home alone with the baby. He knew she was doing better, but what if something had happened?
“Nothing. I’ll take care of him. Thank you so much, Amos. You’ve saved my daughter and now my husband. I don’t know how we’ll ever thank you.” Minerva walked to him and drew him down, kissing his cheek. “You’re a good son-in-law to me.”
Amos smiled. “Why don’t I bring the baby and Becky over to see you both tomorrow? If you need any supplies, make me a list before we come, and we’ll make a trip into town to get them.”
“Thank you, Amos. I’ll do just that.”
The doctor smiled. “I’m glad to see everything ending up so well here. Amos, would you mind if I rode with you to see Becky? I was going to come out tomorrow anyway, and I’ll just save myself from making the trip twice.”
“That would be great. Thanks, Doc.”
Together the two men rode at a much slower pace to the house he shared with his wife. When he walked in with the doctor, she raced to Amos. “My father? Is he all right?”
Amos nodded. “He cut himself pretty badly, but your mother stitched him up. He’s in bed resting, and he wants to see you and Belle tomorrow. Are you up for that?”
“He wants to see us?” Tears rushed down Becky’s cheeks. “Are you sure?”
“Your mother was very sure. He said he didn’t want to die alone, and he needed to see you and the baby.”
She wrapped her arms around Amos and wept, so happy to hear that her father no longer blamed her for ruining him and for her mother leaving. “Are he and Mama going to be all right?”
“Yes, they seemed to be just fine. Your father was still unconscious, but Minerva said they’d worked everything out.”
“I’m so glad.” She sniffled and wiped her tears with her apron. “What must you think of me, Dr. JT?”
The doctor laughed. “I think you’re a woman who just had a baby.” He patted her arm. “You have a right to be emotional. Would you mind if I examined you tonight instead of tomorrow? It will save me the ride out here.”
“Of course not.”
Twenty minutes later, the doctor was on his way. “Are you sure you won’t stay for supper?” Becky asked. She’d made enough to feed three people, and her mother was obviously not coming back that night.
“No, thank you. Nora will have supper waiting for me. I need to get home to my wife and children.” JT smiled when he mentioned his family, and Amos certainly understood why. The man was as in love with his new wife as Amos was with his own.
After supper that evening, Amos led Becky into the parlor. “It seems strange for it to be just us and the baby. Your mother has been with us since she was born.”
Becky nodded, settling onto the sofa with him, her head on his shoulder. “I really appreciate all the help she’s given us, but I’m so glad she’s back home where she belongs. With my father!”
“So am I. I’m ready for it to just be our family. Me, my wife, and our beautiful daughter.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for the way you stuck up for me with your mother. The things she said hurt a great deal, and you didn’t let her keep saying them. Thank you.”
“I meant every word I said to her. She cannot talk that way about my wife and daughter. I love you both so very much that I can’t imagine what I would do without the two of you at my side.”
“I thought you’d just said that to your mother to try to get her to leave me alone.” Becky looked at him with love shining from her own eyes. “I think I k
new I loved you before your mother ever came to stay the first time. You’re an awfully special man, Amos Bowen.”
His eyes widened, and a slow grin crossed his face. “You mean it? You really love me?”
“I really love you!” She leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. “I guess that means that we can have a real marriage as soon as the doctor tells us it’s all right.”
“When will that be?” He was already anxious for the time he could hold her and be one with her.
“Another three weeks, most likely. He may stretch it out a little longer than that, but he says I’m getting stronger every day, and he knows I’m going to be just fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that!” Amos leaned down and kissed her, lingering over it. “I love you so much. I knew from the moment I set eyes on you in that boarding house that you were meant to be mine.”
She laughed. “You thought I was married to someone else!”
“I was going to take him out, so you’d be mine.”
“You’re crazy, Amos, but I love you that way!”
* * *
Becky was nervous as she got herself and Belle ready to go to her parents’ the following morning. She hadn’t spoken to her father since the day she’d told him she was expecting, and he’d made it very clear he had no intention of speaking with her again.
When she was finally ready, she dressed the baby in her new gown that she’d just finished the night before. Her mother had made most of the baby’s clothes, but she was proud to bring her child in something she herself had made.
Amos hitched up the team and hurried back inside to escort his wife and daughter to the wagon. He carried Belle, not wanting Becky to overtax herself on their outing. “Are you nervous?”
She nodded. “I’m so afraid that he’ll have changed his mind by the time we get there. He’s always been very rigid, but I was his little girl, and he made it clear that he loved me more than anything. I want my father back.”
“I understand. He seemed very unbending when I met him, but perhaps he really did have a change of heart. I hope so.” He handed Becky up into the wagon before giving her the baby. “We’ll know in a few minutes.”
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