Whispering Pines

by Scarlett Dunn

  Like Claire, Addie couldn’t seem to force her eyes from the sheriff’s face. She was definitely wrong about him, he was very handsome when he smiled. She held her arms out to take Claire from him, but her eyes remained on Jack’s mind-numbing smile.

  Claire ignored Addie, shaking her head from side to side, silently conveying she was happy where she was. Jack just grinned at the child’s refusal to leave his arms, leaving Addie speechless.

  Claire placed her small hands on Jack’s cheeks, turning his head until he was nose to nose with her. She studied his face, seriously appraising his every feature. “Are you my new papa?”

  Jack was taken aback by her question. He didn’t know what to say to the sweet little girl. He glanced Morgan’s way, hoping his friend might help him out, but Morgan looked as flummoxed as he was.

  Claire’s question drew Addie’s focus from Jack’s smile.

  Granny realized no one knew what to say to the child, so she spoke up. “Children, you can call me Granny if you like.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Davey and Jane said in unison.

  Addie breathed a sigh of relief when Claire turned to stare at the older woman. “Granny?”

  “Yes, Claire, you can call her Granny,” Addie said, unable to read what was on Claire’s mind. She had a sinking feeling the child had already decided she now had a father and a grandmother.

  Davey’s eyes were bouncing from Jack to Morgan. The two men definitely fit his definition of cowboys: big and tall, wearing pistols and cowboy hats. He’d never seen men like them and he was enamored.

  Morgan saw Davey gaping at him and stuck his hand out. “Davey, nice to meet you.”

  Davey shook Morgan’s hand and said, “Do you have horses?”

  “Yes, I do. You’ll be welcome to ride anytime on the ranch.”

  “I’ve never ridden a horse,” Davey admitted.

  Jack extended his hand to the young man. “We’ll change that.”

  “Are you really the sheriff?” Davey asked when he took Jack’s hand.

  Jack pointed to the badge on his shirt. “Yes, I am.”

  “Are you really a cowboy?” Jane asked Morgan.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Morgan said.

  “Can I ride a horse?” Claire asked Jack.

  “You can ride in front of me until you are just a bit taller,” Jack said.

  That seemed to appease Claire. “Okay.” She was running her small palm over Jack’s cheek, feeling his afternoon stubble. “What’s that?”

  “That’s my beard,” Jack answered.

  Adelaide was surprised by the sheriff’s patience with Claire. She held her hands out again to Claire, saying, “Honey, we need to let the sheriff get back to work.”

  “But he’s my new papa.” Claire wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, hugging him as tightly as she could.

  Addie had never seen Claire so taken with a man. She couldn’t recall another man even holding Claire before, certainly not Prescott, nor the superintendent of the orphanage. She hated to disappoint Claire, but she couldn’t allow her to think she had a new father and later have her hopes dashed. “No, honey, the sheriff isn’t your papa, but you will see him often since he’s the sheriff.”

  Jack’s gut clenched when he saw tears welling in Claire’s eyes. “I tell you what, honey, I’m riding to Granny’s farm to do some work, so how would you like to ride on my horse with me?” He glanced at Addie and read the worried look on her face, and realized that he may have overstepped his bounds. “That is, if Miss Adelaide says it’s okay.”

  Claire’s lower lip started quivering, but she nodded before she buried her face in Jack’s neck and sniffled.

  “Are you sure it’s not an imposition, Sheriff?” Addie asked. The sheriff hadn’t given her much of a choice, lest she break Claire’s heart the second time in a matter of minutes.

  “No problem at all,” Jack said.

  “Addie, Jack is helping Morgan rebuild the farmhouse and there’s more work to be done, so you will be staying at the ranch for a few days,” Rose said.

  Seeing the confused look on Addie’s face, Granny took her hand. “We have a lot to tell you. We’ll explain everything later. We are having lunch at the ranch before Morgan and Jack leave for the farm.” Granny hated to give Addie the sad news of her brother’s death upon her return, but it wasn’t something that could be avoided. Addie had already departed Boston when Stevie was killed in the fire at the farmhouse, and they’d had no way of contacting her.

  Not wanting to be an imposition on Rose and her new husband, Addie said, “Perhaps it would be better if we stayed at the hotel. Adding four more to a household can certainly be daunting.”

  “We have the room, and we want you to stay with us,” Morgan said. He picked up the valises that George had placed beside them. “Let’s get to the buckboard.”

  The women followed the men to the buckboard, and Addie approached the sheriff as he untied the reins of his horse. “Are you sure you will be okay with Claire?”

  “We’ll be fine.” Jack couldn’t stand the thought of the little girl crying, but he figured Addie was worried about Claire being on a horse for the first time. “We’ll ride right beside you all the way.”

  “Claire, you listen to Sheriff Roper and do what he tells you,” Addie said.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Jack mounted his horse with Claire in his arms and situated her in front of him, telling her to hold on to the saddle horn. He wrapped his arms around her and backed his horse from the hitching rail.

  “I gotta go,” Claire said softly.

  Jack chuckled, thinking she was anxious to be on her way. “We’re pulling out, honey.”

  “I gotta goooo,” Claire repeated, twisting around nervously.

  When he understood what she was saying, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off his saddle, holding her in the air to the side of his horse. He held her at arm’s length like a rock loaded in a slingshot seeking his intended target—Addie. “Miss Addie,” he said in a serious tone.

  The women were chatting and not paying attention, but when they heard Morgan laughing they all turned to see what was so funny. Seeing Morgan’s eyes were on Jack, Addie glanced his way. Jack was holding Claire away from him as if he’d just discovered she had the plague. Thinking he’d changed his mind about Claire riding in front of him, she arched her brows at him. “What is it?”

  Panic was written all over Jack’s face. “She’s got to go!”