Westward Holiday

by Linda Bridey

  “I’ll say,” Rebecca said. “I’m a little nervous about meeting your father tomorrow.”

  “Aw, don’t be. He’s gonna love you,” Jake said.

  “I hope so. Meeting parents is very important in a relationship,” Rebecca said.

  Jake nodded as he poured a beer and handed it off. “True, but there’s nothing to be worried about.”

  Jake was right. Calvin instantly adored Rebecca and when she went to freshen up at one point, he grabbed Jake by the shirt collar and said, “If you don’t marry that gorgeous creature and make me a grandbaby, I’ll slap you silly, boy. Don’t you let her get away.” He’d released Jake then and said, “I see what you mean about that accent. I could listen to her all day.”

  Jake laughed and said, “I told you so.”

  “You listen to me about her, son. My gut is tellin’ me that she’s the one for you,” Calvin said.

  Jake didn’t say anything, but in his mind, he agreed with his father.

  As they drove back to town, Jake said, “Pa really likes you.”

  “I like him, too. I see where you get your charm from,” Rebecca said as she bumped his shoulder.

  Jake laughed. “Yeah, he’s full of charm when he wants to be.”

  “I liked looking at those photographs of your mother and hearing stories about her. She was a beautiful woman and passed along those looks to you,” Rebecca said. She laid a hand on his arm and said, “I hope he does come to the saloon one night.”

  “Yeah. Probably a Monday when I can close early would be good,” Jake said.

  “Yes. There won’t be as much excitement on that night,” Rebecca said. “I would like to play for him.”

  “He’ll love it,” Jake said. “You know, you could take tonight off if you wanted. Give yourself a break.”

  “Perhaps I will. We’ll see. Then I would be fresh for the weekend,” Rebecca said.

  “There you go. Then we can dance more,” Jake said.

  Rebecca’s eyes shined at him. “I think that’s a fine idea.”

  And dance they did. Jake got her out on the floor every opportunity he could. She was wearing a new shorter dress and when she spun around, he got to see her shapely legs. Rebecca cut loose a little and had more to drink than normal. Jake had imbibed more than his usual amount, too, but was still in control.

  At the end of the night, Jake decided to walk Rebecca home before cleaning up because she needed to go to bed to sleep it off. As they walked, she giggled about this and that and Jake laughed with her. She was a little unsteady on her feet so Jake walked her up to her room. It took them a long time to kiss goodnight and Jake almost gave in to his strong physical urges. In the end, he saw her inside and left.

  Jack went home that night drunk again. Dean was waiting for him on the porch. Jack had put his horse away and walked over to the house. He wasn’t feeling any pain and didn’t see his pa sitting on the porch swing.

  “Jack, come here,” Dean said.

  Jack started and said, “Damn it, Pa. You scared me.”

  Dean chuckled. “Sorry. Come here and sit down.”

  “I just wanna go to bed, Pa,” Jack said.

  “Sit down now, Jack,” Dean said in his no-nonsense tone.

  Jack sat down and said, “What?”

  “When were you gonna tell me about Sparrow?” Dean asked.

  “When I felt like it,” Jack said in a surly manner.

  It earned him a hard slap on the back of his head. “Ow!”

  “Don’t talk to me like that. Why didn’t you tell me?” Dean said.

  Jack said, “Because I figured you’d be happy she was gone.”

  Dean frowned. “Why would I be happy about that?”

  “Because she’s Lakota.”

  “You’re not making sense, Jack. What’s that got to do with anything?” Dean said.

  Jack let out a sarcastic laugh. “It’s no secret that you’re not big on them, Pa.”

  “Listen, just because I don’t always get along with Black Fox or He Who Runs doesn’t mean I have any problem with Sparrow. She’s a sweet girl and I would have been happy to have her in the family, Jack. I’m not happy that she left, especially because I know how much pain you’re in right now. I never want to see any of my children hurt, Jack. Just because you’re a grown man now doesn’t mean that I don’t want to protect you from getting hurt, you know,” Dean said.

  “You got your hands full with Mikey and the twins. Don’t worry about me, Pa. I’ll be just fine,” Jack said. He made a move to stand up, but Dean held him down.

  “Jack, you’re my son no matter how old you get and I’ll always try to be here for you. I know your heart is broken right now, but you gotta stop this drinking before it gets out of hand. You didn’t go to work today and here you are drunk again. Mitch isn’t gonna put up with that real long, son. You gotta get it together.”

  “I don’t know what else to do, Pa. I miss her so much. And it’s not like before when I knew she’d be back, you know. I’m never gonna see her again. Is that how it was when Ma died, Pa?” Jack asked. He didn’t remember much about Dean’s first wife, Sarah, but he still loved her.

  “Yeah, Jack. I didn’t really get to say goodbye, either. She was just gone. The baby, too. I didn’t know how to get along for a little while and it kills me that you’re going through the same sort of thing,” Dean said. “I know how much it hurts, but you’ve got an important job in Dawson so just concentrate on that and lean on your family and friends. That’s what I did. It wasn’t easy, but bit by bit, it got better.”

  Jack sniffed and tried to keep from crying.

  Dean rubbed Jack’s back and said, “It’s ok, son. Let it out. It’s ok.”

  As Jack’s grief poured forth, Dean pulled him over to lean against him and tried to comfort his boy. Dean held Jack and remembered when his son was little and he could pick him up to hold him. It was so hard for him to believe that Jack was almost twenty.

  When Jack’s tears were spent he moved away from Dean and wiped his eyes.

  “C’mon, Jack. Let’s go to bed,” Dean said and guided Jack inside.

  Jake got up around dawn to answer nature’s call and as he was going back to bed, he saw a strange light out the parlor window. It wasn’t the sun, Jake knew. When he looked out, he saw flames reaching high into the early morning sky.

  “House fire,” he whispered to himself and ran to put on his pants and a shirt. He stuffed his feet into his boots and raced down the stairs and out of the back door. Jake ran up the street towards the flames, and then veered off towards the sheriff’s house. He vaulted up onto the porch and started pounding on the front door and hollering for Mitch or Sammi.

  Mitch opened the door and said, “Yeah, we saw it. Sammi, c’mon!”

  “I’m right here. Stop yellin’,” she said and slipped out the door ahead of him. She held a couple of buckets.

  The three of them ran towards the house. As they neared it, they saw a teenage girl run from the structure pushing two younger children ahead of her.

  “Stay here!” she shouted at them and turned back to the house.

  Mitch caught her and said, “No! You can’t go back in there.”

  Tears ran down her sooty face. “Sheriff, my parents are in there! I have to get them out!”

  Mitch kept a tight grip on her shoulders and said, “We’ll get them. You mind your brothers. I mean it, Rachel.” Mitch recognized the girl as Gary and Wanda Crispin’s daughter. He knew the family and liked all of them.

  Sammi took Rachel from Mitch and said, ‘C’mon over here with me. Mitch is right. You can’t go in there.”

  Mitch and Jake ran for the house. They stepped through the front door and Mitch couldn’t believe that the kids had gotten out. The whole interior was ablaze and the heat was unbearable. They couldn’t even get to the staircase to go upstairs and when the boards started groaning, Mitch and Jake got out.

  As they hurried from the building, beams and boards began falling
where they had just stood. Rachel began screaming and Sammi had to hold her back. Mitch made sure that Sammi had Rachel under control before helping to organize a water line so that they could keep other houses from catching fire.

  Sammi gathered the children to her and took them to the sheriff’s office to get them out of the cold. She wrapped blankets around them and started getting the stove going so she could make them some hot chocolate. She was thankful that Jack kept all kinds of supplies like that around.

  When it was ready, she sat in front of them. The boys, Shawn and Mason, started drinking theirs, but Rachel didn’t touch hers. She just sat staring blankly at the wall with tears running down her face. Sammi put her hand on Rachel’s arm and said, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

  There was no response from the fifteen year old girl. Shawn, who was eight said, “Where’s Ma and Pa?”

  Rachel looked at Shawn and said, “They’re dead, Shawn. They’re dead.”

  Mason, her six-year-old brother said, “Dead?”

  “Yeah. They’re not coming back. You don’t come back when you’re dead,” Rachel said and fresh tears coursed down her face.

  Shawn looked at Sammi for corroboration. She stroked his cute little face, nodded, and said, “I’m so sorry.”

  Mason began to cry and then Shawn joined in. Sammi knelt down and pulled the boys against her as they wept.

  Mitch came in their front door and headed quietly up the stairs. Sammi had brought the children to their house. A few neighbors had given them some clothing that would fit the three youngsters since they no longer had any possessions to their names. Sammi wanted to get them cleaned up and feed them if they would eat.

  Mitch found her in their room. “Hi,” he said. “How are they?”

  Sammi looked at him with tears in her eyes. “The boys are sleeping in the room across the hall and Rachel is bathing. We need to talk, Mitch.” She patted the bed next to her.

  Mitch closed their door and sat down. “What is it?”

  Sammi wiped at her tears, but more kept coming. “They have no one, Mitch. Wanda’s sister is the only other family they have and she lives in Canada. They’re estranged so there’s no way she’s gonna take on those kids.”

  Mitch sighed. “Damn. Poor kids.”

  Sammi put a hand on his forearm and squeezed it. “Mitch, they’re not going to an orphanage. I can’t do that to them. We can take them.”

  “Us?” Mitch asked. “How are we gonna take them, Sammi?”

  “I’ll quit being deputy. You’ll have to hire someone to replace me. I can still work at Jake’s because you’ll be home with them in the evenings. Plus, we’ll still need the money. We have plenty of room in this place for them. I can get them off to school and be here when they come home. I don’t have to be at the bar until like seven at night so we can have dinner together. They need some kind of stability,” Sammi said. “I mean it, Mitch. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them out of an orphanage. Please just think about it.”

  Mitch looked at his wife for long moments. Everything she said made sense. Knowing what Sammi had endured growing up in an orphanage, Mitch could see why she was adamant about keeping the Crispin kids. The boys had a pretty good chance of being adopted, but with Rachel being older it would be harder to find someone to take her.

  He also knew that Sammi was thinking about when she’d been raped at the age of sixteen and Rachel was only a year younger than when that had happened to Sammi. Mitch couldn’t see putting Rachel somewhere where that would possibly happen. Then he thought about the schedule Sammi had already worked out and saw that it could work. The truth was that keeping the kids together was important in the face of the loss of their parents and right now, they were the kids’ best chance of making sure that they were well cared for and not split up.

  Mitch put an arm around Sammi’s shoulder and said, “Ok. Let’s give it shot.”

  When Rachel was dressed, she came downstairs because she smelled something cooking and though her grief was raw and tears still came to her eyes off and on, she found that she was actually hungry.

  She came into the kitchen and found Sammi flipping flapjacks. Sammi looked over at her and smiled. “Hey, Rachel. Have a seat. Are you hungry?”

  Rachel sat down and said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  Sammi put the pancakes and some sausage on a plate and sat it in front of the girl. Then she poured some milk in a cup and gave it to her.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Rachel said as she picked up her silverware.

  Sammi sat down with her and regarded the pretty girl for a few moments. Rachel’s light brown hair was slightly damp and had started curling a little. Her dark brown eyes looked down at her plate.

  Sammi said, “Rachel, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about your folks. I can’t imagine what you’re goin’ through, but you’re not alone and you’re not going to be alone. You and the boys are gonna stay with Mitch and me. For good.”

  Rachel stopped eating and swallowed her food quickly as she looked at Sammi. “Did you just say for good?”

  “I did. You told me you don’t have any other family and I’ll be damned if you’ll go to an orphanage. I grew up in one and there’s no way Mitch and I are gonna send you three to one,” Sammi said firmly. “So you’re gonna live with us. Ok?”

  “The sheriff is ok with that?” Rachel said. She had always liked Mitch but was a little intimidated by him simply because of his status in the community.

  “Absolutely. We already started working things out. There’s gonna be rules,” Sammi said.

  “Sure. I can clean and cook and I always help take care of the boys for Ma and Pa,” Rachel broke down at the mention of her parents.

  Sammi slid her chair over and took the girl in her arms as tears filled her own eyes. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry, but we’re here for you.” Sammi held her and murmured comforting words to Rachel. “Don’t you worry about any of that other stuff right now. Just know that you all have a home.”

  A while later, Sammi was surprised to hear a knock at the front door. She opened it to find a grim-faced Joe Dwyer on the porch.

  “Hey, Joe. Come on in,” she said.

  Joe took off his hat and entered the foyer. “Hi, Sammi. How’re they doing?”

  “As well as can be expected, I guess. The boys are young and don’t quite understand, but Rachel is heartbroken, of course,” Sammi replied. “They’re all out in the backyard. Rachel’s watchin’ them.”

  Joe shook his head. “What a damn shame and we’re comin’ into the holiday season, too. Mitch says ya’ll are keepin’ them.”

  “That’s right,” Sammi said. “Hell will freeze over before they’ll go to an orphanage.”

  Joe smiled at her strong words. “I’m glad to hear you say that. Look, a bunch of people took up a collection for them around town and I came to give it to you. You and Mitch ain’t rich and with three more mouths to feed, it’ll be a little rough. Especially since you’re quitting your deputy job. I admire what you’re doin’, Sammi, but we’re gonna miss you as a deputy.”

  Sammi smiled. “Thanks, Joe.”

  Joe pulled out a wad of money and handed it to Sammi. Then he reached into his suit jacket and extracted a check from it. He held it up and firmly said, “Don’t argue with me, Sammi,” before handing it to her.

  There was a couple hundred dollars in cash and the amount of Joe’s check astounded her. “Joe!”

  Joe got angry. “Damn it, Sammi! I told ya’ll not to argue. Ya’ll have all new clothes to buy for those poor kids, not to mention toys and whatnot. It ain’t gonna be cheap. We’ve got it and I can’t think of anything better to spend it on than those children out back. So you take that money and use it as you see fit. Ya hear?”

  Sammi saw that Joe was near tears and just nodded. Joe turned and left the house.

  That night at the bar, Jake pounded on the piano before the night got started off. When the crowd quieted, he said, “Folks, by now you all know about t
he fire that took Wanda and Gary Crispin from us. They were good people and they’re gonna be missed, especially by their three children. Mitch and Sammi Taylor have taken them in and are to be commended for their compassion and generosity. They could use some help, though. I put a pot over on that table there for donations. Please give something, even if it means that you don’t buy as many drinks tonight. I don’t care. It’s times like these when we really have to stick together. I’d rather see it go to those kids than me. Thank you.”

  It was one time when Jake was happy to see that profits were down. At the end of the night, the donation pot was filled and it did his heart good to see it. Rebecca watched as he put it in his safe in the office. He would give it to Mitch or Sammi the next day. Her heart swelled with sudden love for the handsome, generous man that stood before her. She thought about the three children and felt very sad for them.

  At one point that evening, Dean showed up and asked to talk privately to Jake. They went to the office and Jake motioned for Dean to sit.

  “What’s on your mind, as if I don’t know,” Jake said with a smile.

  Dean said, “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t let Jack get drunk like he’s been.”

  Jake said, “He’s a grown man now, Dean. But, the only reason I did that was because I knew you’d take matters in hand with him. I know you and you don’t put up with that kind of behavior. He wasn’t gonna listen to me about the drinking, but I knew that he’d listen to you. You’re the one he needed to talk to about things. You two have always been close and if anyone could get through to him, it would be you.”

  Dean laughed and sat forward a little. “You’re a good man, Jake. Here I was all set for an argument with you if need be, too. You cheated me out of that so that means I get a beer on the house.”

  “I can handle that,” Jake said.

  Once the bar closed, Jake sat down heavily in his desk chair and put his head in his hands for a few moments. He was tired and depressed. The bar had been subdued that night and he was glad because Sammi understandably hadn’t come to work. Jake was in just the right mood to shoot whoever might have caused trouble. He had served drinks with a solemnity that befitted the tragedy that had struck their town.