Grace’s mouth twisted wryly. “The possibility has occurred to me.”
“Karl isn’t going to abandon you and Griffin, Grace.”
The girl shrugged again.
Hetty found Grace’s shrugs disquieting. The girl usually said exactly what was on her mind. For some reason she was shrugging instead of speaking. “Why are you so willing to believe the worst of Karl?”
Grace shrugged.
Hetty laid a hand on Grace’s arm. “Talk to me, Grace. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s bothering you.”
Grace jerked free and stood up facing Hetty. “What’s bothering me is you!”
Hetty rose from her rocker, wrapped her shawl more protectively around herself, and said, “Me? What have I done?”
“Maybe you won’t want us when the new baby comes,” Grace accused. “Maybe you’ll talk Karl into sending us away.”
“Oh, Grace. That’s never going to happen!”
“That’s what you say now,” Grace said in an anguished voice. “What’s going to happen to me and Griffin when you have a baby of your own to love?”
Grace turned to run, but Hetty caught her wrist before she could get away, then wrapped both arms around Grace to keep her from escaping. When Grace struggled to be free, Hetty said, “You might resent this baby, but I don’t think you want to hurt it.”
Grace froze. She kept her eyes lowered and said, “I don’t see how you could love us the same as a baby of your own.”
“You’re right,” Hetty said. “I won’t love you the same.”
Grace’s green eyes flashed up at her. “So I was right!”
Hetty brushed a flyaway red curl behind Grace’s ear. “You’re completely, totally wrong. I won’t love you the same, I’ll love you more. Because you’ll not only be my daughter, you’ll be the new baby’s sister.”
Grace frowned. “I never thought of that.”
“Tell me this, Grace. Do you think you can love the new baby? I mean, you already have a brother to love,” Hetty reminded her. “Do you think your heart can make room for one more? Another brother? Or perhaps a sister?”
Grace made a face. “I see what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
“You’re trying to show me that you can love more than one person at a time. But this isn’t the same!” Grace argued. “The baby will be yours. You just picked me and Griffin up along the trail.”
Hetty hugged Grace hard and let her go. “I’ll always love you and Griffin. That’s never going to change. No matter how many more children I have.”
“More children?”
Hetty whirled at the sound of Karl’s voice. “Where did you come from? Where’s Griffin?”
“He decided to spend a little more time in the barn grooming his pony.” His gaze swept from Hetty to Grace and back again.
“Am I missing something?”
Instead of answering him, Hetty said, “Aren’t you back early?”
“Bear scare.”
“What’s that?” Hetty asked.
“Grizzly out of hibernation,” Karl explained. “Dennis found tracks all around the area where we planned to start cutting this afternoon. It’s not safe to work there until we can hunt him down.”
“You’re going bear hunting?” Hetty said in disbelief.
“Bright and early tomorrow morning,” Karl confirmed.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Grace asked.
“We’ll have guns,” Karl said with a reassuring smile. “All the bear has is teeth and claws.”
“And stealth and cunning,” Hetty added.
“Aren’t grizzly bears huge?” Grace asked, her eyes wide with fright. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You’re not planning to take Griffin along on this hunt, are you?” Hetty asked.
“I was. Yes.”
“He’s just a boy!”
“A growing boy. Soon he’ll be a man. Besides, he wants to come.”
“He wants to do a lot of things he shouldn’t do,” Hetty shot back.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to him, Hetty.”
“What if that bear has different ideas?” Hetty realized her voice was rising, that she was overexcited, and that her stomach was starting to revolt. She put a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. She ran for the edge of the porch, bent over, and lost the contents of her stomach in the weeds.
“Grace, go get a damp cloth,” she heard Karl say.
She was still retching, although there was nothing left to come up, when she felt Karl’s hand on her shoulder.
“Hetty, what’s wrong? I’m sorry. If you’re so scared it makes you sick, I’ll leave Griffin home.”
Mercifully, the retching stopped. Grace arrived a moment later with a damp cloth, which Hetty used to wipe her face, and a glass of water, which she used to rinse her mouth.
“Tell him,” Grace said fiercely.
“Tell me what?” Karl demanded. “What the hell is going on here, Hetty?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Karl was shocked by Hetty’s announcement, but not surprised that she was pregnant. They made love every night. Sometimes twice a night. Pollinate a flower and it would bear fruit.
Hetty had whirled and run inside. Karl followed her all the way to their bedroom, where he found her sitting on the bed with her back to him. Her shoulders were slumped. Her head was down. She flinched when she heard the door click closed behind him.
Karl still felt a little stunned. He was going to be a father. Hetty was going to bear a child. For real this time.
That was the crux of the problem. Karl was afraid to trust his wife. She was willing to lie. And she was good at it. How could he build a relationship with someone he couldn’t trust? How could he share his innermost thoughts when she’d made it clear she didn’t love him? And now they were going to be the parents of yet another child.
Hetty kept her face turned away when she spoke. “I know I should have told you sooner, but I couldn’t quite believe it was true. When I did know for sure, I worried about what you would think, so I didn’t say anything. I was afraid.…”
Karl stayed by the door processing what she’d said. Apparently she’d known she was pregnant for some time. She’d kept the news to herself because…she was afraid?
“Afraid of what?” he said, leaning back against the door, his arms crossed.
She peeked over her shoulder at him, took a long look at his crossed arms and the muscle working in his jaw, and turned away again. “Of what you’re doing right now.”
Karl was irritated because she was pushing all the right buttons to make him feel guilty. He had a right to be wary of his secretive wife. He had a right to feel frustrated that she’d kept her pregnancy to herself instead of sharing it with her husband the moment she knew. It was something they should have celebrated together.
This was wonderful news. Or should have been.
“Exactly what am I doing?” he said at last.
She grabbed the bedpost and used it to pull herself upright before she turned to confront him. “Are you happy about this baby?”
Karl was startled by the question. “Of course!”
Her chin came up and her blue eyes sparked. “Then why are you standing over there with your arms crossed and your jaw clenched? Why aren’t you over here giving me a big hug and a kiss?”
Karl found himself captivated by her challenge. He crossed the room in three strides and stood looking down into her upturned face. Her absolutely beautiful face. Karl slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close, so he could feel the slight roundness of her belly, which held their child. His other hand captured her nape beneath her hair and angled her head for his kiss.
But he didn’t kiss her. He simply looked into her eyes, which were brilliant with tears.
“Love me, Karl,” she whispered.
He knew he should lift her into his arms and take her to bed and glorify the child growing inside her. But the bitternes
s won out. “I already tried that. It didn’t work.”
He watched the light die in her eyes.
He was on the verge of relenting when she thrust out her chin and said, “How long are you going to hold this grudge, Karl? I’d like to know. Till this child is three? Or six? Or till she’s Grace’s age?”
“How do you know it’s a girl?”
“All men want a son, and since all I ever do is spite you—at least, according to you—it’s sure to be a girl!” she spat.
Karl laughed and hugged her. And then kissed her, despite her struggle to get free. He felt the roundness of her belly and his heart faltered. He was happy about the child, but it wasn’t enough to fill his hurting heart. He wanted Hetty’s love.
He just didn’t think he’d ever get it.
So what if she never loved him? So what if he was the one doing all the loving? They were married for better or worse. Now they were going to have a child together. He could hide his empty heart from his wife. At least until her feelings softened toward him. If they ever did.
“Karl?” she said. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” He managed a smile. “More than fine. I’m going to be a father!”
Karl sat down on the bed and lifted Hetty into his lap. She draped her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder. He placed his hand on her belly and asked, “How far along are you?”
She blushed. “She must have been conceived on Christmas Eve.”
Karl counted the months. “So, September?”
She nodded.
“Tell me, Hetty, are you happy about this baby?”
“It’ll be wonderful to have a baby sister for Grace.”
“Or a baby brother for Griffin,” Karl said.
“It’s a girl,” Hetty said certainly.
“We’ll see.” Karl nuzzled her neck, and she leaned her head back to give him better access to her throat. Karl was quickly changing his mind about making love to his wife, when he heard a hard knock on the bedroom door.
Hetty would have leapt out of his lap, but he tightened his arms around her to keep her in place.
“Who is it?” he called, expecting it to be one of the children and intending to tell whichever one it was to go away.
“It’s me,” Dennis said. “It’s broad daylight, Karl. Leave your wife alone and come out here and talk to me. We’ve got a problem.”
Karl stood abruptly, set Hetty on her feet, and marched to the door. He was surprised to find Hetty standing right behind him when he stepped out of the bedroom to confront Dennis.
“What is it?” he said, hands on hips to let his friend know he didn’t appreciate being so rudely interrupted.
“It’s that kid from Texas, that Andy Peterson,” Dennis said.
Hetty stepped up beside Karl and asked, “What’s wrong? Is he hurt?”
Dennis frowned at Hetty, then said to Karl, “That blasted kid had the nerve to tell me he wasn’t going to take his oxen back up the mountain until we repaired the skid trail.”
“What’s wrong with the skid trail?” Karl asked.
“That Texan swears some of the timber we laid down to guide the logs downhill is coming loose in the spring melt. He’s demanding that we secure it better.”
“Have you checked it out?” Karl asked. “Is the platform loose?”
“Look, Karl, if we’re going to stay on schedule, we need the men to be cutting logs, not spending their days repairing a few loose timbers that only affect one kid and his cows.”
“Not cows,” Karl corrected. “Two very valuable oxen. Not to mention a pretty nice young man. If anything happens to the three of them, we won’t have a way to get logs off the mountain. Do the repair, Dennis.”
“I don’t think you understand the time we’ll lose—”
“Just do it,” Karl interrupted. “I understand precisely what’s at stake here. That boy and his bullocks are more important to me than meeting some quota my brother set. Are we clear?”
Dennis sneered. “That’s why your brother sent me here, Karl. Because you put people before profits. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from working with Jonas all these years, it’s that sacrifices have to be made.”
“I’ll be damned if I ever sacrifice a single person to the almighty dollar,” Karl retorted. “I want that skid trail fixed, and I want it done today.”
“Then you can do it yourself.” Dennis turned and stomped out of the house.
Karl huffed out a breath and shoved an irritated hand through his hair. A moment later he felt Hetty’s arms come around him from behind and hug him tight. He glanced over his shoulder. “What’s all this?”
“You’re right, Karl,” she said fiercely. “And Dennis is wrong.”
He loosened her hands and turned so he could take her in his arms. “He’s right that we’re going to lose time and get behind schedule.”
“People are more important than schedules.”
He sighed. “I agree. But my brother’s going to end up disappointed in me.”
She looked up at him and said, “I’m proud of you, Karl. I think you did the right thing.”
Karl’s throat ached. He hadn’t realized how much her approval would matter.
“And not just because Grace is sweet on Andy Peterson,” she continued.
Karl was jolted by the thought of that rowdy Texan with sweet, innocent Grace. All those questions Andy had drawn him aside to ask as they walked up the mountain, about how to woo a girl, suddenly made sense. “What did you say? Grace and Andy? I’ll kill that son of a bitch!”
Hetty grabbed him hard around the waist to keep him from suiting word to deed. She laughed at him and said, “Whoa! They’ve done nothing but talk, and I’m taking care of the matter. I never leave them alone together.”
“Maybe I better have a talk with him anyway,” Karl said, eyes narrowed.
“You’ll only make him more determined to spend time with Grace than I think he already is.”
“He’s not good enough for her.”
Hetty grinned at him. “You just told Dennis he was a pretty nice young man.”
“That was before I knew he was stalking Grace.”
Hetty laughed. “Karl, I had no idea you were going to be such a protective father.” She put a hand to her belly and said, “I can’t wait to see what a merry chase this little one leads you on.”
Karl laid his hand atop hers, looked into her shining eyes, and said, “Neither can I.”
“I forbid you to go on that stupid bear hunt!” Grace yelled as she entered the barn.
“You’re scaring Star,” Griffin replied as he stepped out of the stall where he’d been grooming his pony, closing the stall door behind him and wafting the pungent odor of fresh manure in her direction.
“You can’t go, Griffin,” Grace said. “I won’t allow it!”
“I don’t need your permission,” Griffin said as he turned his back on her and walked to the other end of the barn.
“Don’t walk away from me,” Grace said, hurrying after him.
He set the curry comb and brush back where they belonged, then swiped his hands on his trousers and set them defiantly on his hips. “Karl said I can go, so I’m going.”
“You might get killed. You might get eaten by a bear!”
Griffin laughed in her face. “Listen to yourself. Me and Karl and Dennis are going to be tracking that bear holding brand-new ’73 Winchesters. Nobody’s going to get hurt except that bear.”
“You don’t own a rifle.”
Griffin crossed to his saddle, which was perched on a saddle tree near the supply chest, and pulled a Winchester from a brand-new leather boot attached to it.
“Put that down!” Grace shrieked. “Where did you get that?”
Griffin held the rifle in both hands, the bore aimed at the ceiling. “Karl gave it to me today. He said I need to be able to protect myself if we get separated tomorrow.”
“Put it away! You have no idea how to
load a rifle like that, let alone fire it,” Grace scoffed. “You’re more likely to shoot yourself than some bear.”
Griffin shook his head. “You’re wrong about that, Grace.”
“Oh, really?” She crossed her arms over her chest to maintain some semblance of control, because everything Griffin said sounded preposterous and outrageous. “Where did you get all this experience with a Winchester?”
“Joe taught me how to shoot last summer,” Griffin said as he returned the rifle to the leather boot.
“Joe? The bartender at the saloon? Why would he do that?”
Griffin leaned a hand on the horn of his saddle. “In case there was ever any trouble. He figured no one would suspect a kid like me could shoot. He kept an extra rifle under the bar.” He puffed out his chest. “I was his backup in case he got into trouble.”
Grace stared at her brother in disbelief. “You were only nine years old. What was he thinking?”
“I turned out to be a pretty good shot, if I do say so myself.”
“This is crazy. You’re just a little boy. You can’t—”
Griffin squared his shoulders and said, “We haven’t even been in the Bitterroot six months, and I’ve already grown an inch. I’m ten years old now, Grace. I have to learn how to be a man sometime.”
“But—”
“Karl won’t let anything happen to me.” His lips twisted wryly as he added, “Ma would give him too hard a time if he did.”
“I’ll make a scene,” she threatened. “I’ll cry till my face is red. I’ll beg Mom to make Karl leave you behind.”
“If you love Karl, you won’t do that, Grace.”
Grace caught her breath. “Why not?”
“I’m not goin’ on that bear hunt to hunt bear,” he said. “I’m goin’ on that hunt to protect Karl from Dennis.”
“What?” Grace was so shocked that her rubbery knees gave up the ghost, and she plopped down onto a scratchy bale of hay. “You really think Dennis will try to kill Karl on the hunt?”
“It’s too good an opportunity for him to pass up,” Griffin said. “He can shoot Karl by ‘accident’ and blame it on the hunt. Or just not back him up if that bear attacks.”
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