Promises Kept

by Scarlett Dunn

  The cook approached and put the steaks on the table. He glanced at Lucy and thought if he married Delilah he’d have to give up seeing other women. He liked Lucy, she was young and pretty, but she wasn’t Delilah. He wondered if Delilah was interested in marrying Wallace. It’d be hard to compete with a man with his kind of money; he could give her anything she wanted. He smiled to himself, thinking that problem might be solved if Wallace continued to give Hoyt Nelson grief.

  By the time they finished their steaks and the second bottle of whiskey was empty, Lucy had heard the details of Gage’s obsession with Delilah from Abilene. Once the dishes were removed, Gage’s head dropped to the table in a drunken stupor. Lucy finished the last of her whiskey as she thought about what he’d told her. There was no doubt in her mind he knew the woman. What man would spend that many years searching for a woman and not recognize her when he found her? The only thing that didn’t make sense to her was why Gage hadn’t told Wallace about the woman’s past. There had to be a way for her to use this information to her advantage. Her thoughts trailed to Colt McBride. She’d bet her Saturday night wages that he didn’t know the woman he’d had on his arm that day was a soiled dove from Abilene.

  Walking from the stable, Colt stopped when he saw the buckboard coming to a halt near the house. “Hello there,” he said to the group in the buckboard.

  “Hi, Colt,” Cody and Cade said together as they jumped from the back.

  “Colt, I hope you don’t mind us stopping by, but I need you to take a look at Bandit. He’s been really sick and we’re worried about him,” Bartholomew said as he helped Mrs. Wellington to the ground.

  Colt wondered why Victoria wasn’t with them, but he didn’t ask. “I don’t mind at all.” He walked over to the buckboard and saw the motionless Bandit on a blanket. Usually the dog was all over him, so something was definitely wrong. When he lifted Bandit from the wagon he let out a little moan. “Come on, buddy, let’s go to the house and I’ll have a look at you.” When Mrs. Wellington caught up to him, Colt asked, “How long has he been like this?”

  “He seemed fine this morning, but it wasn’t long after Victoria left to go to town with Mr. Wallace that Bandit became ill. He started pacing around and wouldn’t lie down. Then he started vomiting and the poor thing hasn’t been able to keep water down. After he vomited several times, he staggered and just tumbled over and wouldn’t move.”

  Colt placed Bandit on the kitchen table to examine him as everyone hovered around.

  “We said a prayer for him,” Cade said in a trembling voice. “And Mrs. Wellington said you was God’s helper.”

  “Is he gonna be okay?” Cody asked, his lower lip trembling.

  Colt smiled at them. “I’ll do my best.”

  Colt pulled the lids of Bandit’s eyes wide and peered into them. He wasn’t sure of anything. “I sure hope so. He’s my buddy, too.” He didn’t know who looked more frightened, the boys or Mrs. Wellington. “Mrs. Wellington, I think Helen made a cake last night, and I know there’s some ice tea. Maybe you could take the boys to the dining room and fix them up.”

  Grateful for something to do, Mrs. Wellington nodded. “Excellent idea.” She took the boys by the hand and led them away from the table. “Help me find that cake and some glasses for the tea.”

  “Bartholomew, would you get me a quilt from one of the bedrooms?” Colt asked.

  Bandit moaned again when Colt pressed on his stomach. “It’s okay, boy, we’re going to make you better.” Bandit licked his hand when Colt looked at his gums, the action bringing a large lump to his throat. Not only would the boys be heartbroken if Bandit died, but he’d seen the way Victoria doted on him. They would all be devastated, himself included.

  After she settled the boys, Mrs. Wellington came back to the kitchen. “Do you need assistance, Mr. McBride?”

  “Please call me Colt,” he told her. “What has Bandit eaten today?”

  “I gave him some leftover ham and eggs this morning. That’s his favorite. We all ate the same breakfast, so I don’t think it was bad.” She was quiet for a moment before saying, “Dear me, I had forgotten about the treat Mr. Wallace gave him. I thought it was nice of him since he generally seems fearful of Bandit. Perhaps it was spoiled meat.”

  Colt didn’t comment. Wallace didn’t strike him as the kind of man who would even think about a dog, much less bring him dinner. Bandit had all the signs of poisoning.

  “Can you help him? We are so fond of this animal. It’s the first dog the boys have had,” Mrs. Wellington said.

  Before Colt responded, Bartholomew returned with a quilt in hand. “Is this okay?”

  “Sure.” Colt lifted Bandit and Bartholomew placed the folded quilt underneath him. Pointing to a cabinet, Colt said, “Mrs. Wellington, there are some large bowls in that cabinet. Would you fill one up with some water? Can you tell me how many times he vomited? Do you think it was equal to the amount he ate?”

  “I think he vomited four times, and I remember thinking the poor thing couldn’t have much left in his stomach.”

  Mrs. Wellington placed the bowl of water next to Bandit. When the dog didn’t move, Colt dipped his fingers in the water and let it drip into Bandit’s mouth. “Come on, boy, you need to drink something.”

  Bandit looked at Colt, then at the water. Slowly he leaned over and stuck his tongue in the water.

  Colt rubbed his ears. “Good boy!” He looked at Mrs. Wellington and Bartholomew. “We need to keep some water in him, but I think since he vomited so much, he got most of it out of his system. I’ll get some bromide from the stable. That should help him rest easier.”

  “I’ll get it, Colt,” Bartholomew offered, hurrying out the back door.

  “Do you think he will be okay?” Mrs. Wellington asked nervously.

  “I think so. He just needs to drink and get some rest. The bromide will help with that.”

  “I’ll go tell the boys. They will be so relieved,” she said, hurrying from the room.

  When she was out of earshot, Colt leaned over and looked in Bandit’s eyes. “Now, don’t you make a liar out of me. And from now on don’t take any food from that son of a—” He stopped what he was going to say and looked around to see if the boys had slipped into the room. Seeing he was alone, he lifted Bandit’s ear and whispered to him, “You know who I’m talking about.”

  Bandit moaned in response.

  After Bandit fell asleep, Colt moved him to his bedroom and placed him on his bed so he could rest without being disturbed. Returning to the kitchen, Bartholomew handed him a cup of coffee. “Thanks. Why don’t you all stay and have dinner here? I think Bandit needs to rest for a while.”

  “Thank you, but I must insist on preparing dinner,” Mrs. Wellington told him.

  Colt winked at her. “Why do you think I asked? Helen is not coming tonight, and I didn’t want to eat my own cooking.”

  Mrs. Wellington laughed. “It would be my pleasure after what you’ve done for Bandit. I should tell you, though, my cooking isn’t as good as Victoria’s.” She turned to Bartholomew. “I think you should—”

  “I was just going to say the same thing,” Bartholomew responded.

  Colt looked from one to the other. “What?” He thought the two of them had become fast friends. They were already acting like an old married couple, finishing each other’s sentences. His mother and father had done the same thing.

  “Victoria should be back soon, and if you don’t mind including her in your invitation, Bartholomew will bring her back. I really don’t want her staying there alone, especially with Mr. Wall—” She glanced at the boys and decided not to finish her sentence.

  Seems like Mrs. Wellington has the same feelings about Wallace as I do, Colt thought. “Of course she’s invited.” He glanced at the boys. “I have some chores to do. Why don’t you boys come help me?”

  “Sure thing!” They were so excited they raced to the door.

  “Mrs. Wellington, I’ll send Tate in from time to
time to check on Bandit and to see if you need anything.”

  “That’s fine. Now you boys mind what Colt says,” she instructed. It brought tears to her eyes watching the two boys hanging on to Colt as they made their way to the stable. They adored the man, and she hoped she wasn’t wrong in her estimation of his feelings for them and Victoria. Those boys would be devastated if she married Wallace.

  Having kept the twins busy to keep them from worrying about Bandit, Colt thought they would be worn out just trying to keep up with him. Their short legs worked hard trying to keep pace with his long strides. Over three hours later they were still going strong and chattering away. Colt was checking on a sick pony and the boys were sitting outside the stall watching his every move.

  “How do you know so much about horses?” Cody asked.

  “I learned from my pa. He owned this ranch before me and taught me and my brothers everything he knew.”

  “Your pa sure knew a lot of stuff,” Cade said.

  “Yep.”

  “Where are your brothers?”

  “One is in Texas, and I’m not sure where the other one is right now.”

  “Do they ever come home?”

  “They haven’t been home in a long time.”

  “Do you miss them?”

  “I sure do.”

  “Are you twins?” Cody asked.

  “They can’t be twins ’cause he has two brothers,” Cade told his brother. “That’s . . . uh . . . what’s that called?”

  “Oh yeah,” Cody agreed. “What are they?”

  “That would be triplets. No, but we all look alike. You can tell we’re brothers,” Colt told them.

  “Your name starts with a C, and our names start with a C,” Cody said.

  “That’s right.” Colt smiled, unaware where this conversation was going.

  “Maybe that means you’re our pa,” Cade remarked.

  That pulled him up short. He stopped what he was doing and placed his arm over the railing and looked at them. “Don’t you know who your pa is?”

  “No.”

  Colt was puzzled why Victoria wouldn’t tell the boys who their pa was. He figured every boy had a right to know who sired him. “Did you ever ask your mother?”

  “We don’t know our ma.”

  At first Colt thought they were teasing him, but they weren’t smiling. “What do you mean?”

  “We can’t remember our ma,” Cade said solemnly.

  “Cade,” Cody said in a warning tone.

  “Colt’s our friend, we can tell him,” Cade replied, his small face turning serious.

  Colt watched as the two boys communicated with each other without words. “Victoria isn’t your ma?”

  That made the boys laugh. “No!”

  “Well, if she’s not your ma, who is she?”

  Colt watched as the boys stared at each other.

  “She’s our . . . sister,” Cade answered.

  “Cade!” Cody shouted.

  He didn’t believe for a minute that she was their sister. There was more to the story than the boys were telling, and Cody wasn’t happy Cade was sharing the information. When he thought about it, Victoria had never actually said she was their mother. She referred to them as my boys, and he’d just assumed she was their mother. “I just thought she was your ma.”

  “She knew our ma,” Cade told him.

  “Where does your ma live?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “Doesn’t Victoria know where your ma lives?” This story was getting stranger and stranger.

  “No.”

  “But Victoria is like our ma. We just need a pa. She said she was going to keep us forever, so we need a pa.” Both boys nodded their heads like they were connected.

  “Do you think you could be our pa?”

  There was a hopeful note in Cade’s question that wasn’t lost on Colt. He wanted to say the right thing. He wasn’t inclined to make their pa look like a no-account in case the man ever showed up, but he wanted to be honest with them. “Any man would be proud to be your pa. But if I was your pa, I would have been with you since you were born. I would never have left you.” He smiled at them. “Look how dark I am. I have black hair and you two are blond.”

  “You would be a good pa ’cause you know a lot of things. Do you think you would ever want some boys?” Cody asked.

  Bartholomew walked into the stable, interrupting the conversation. “Mrs. Wellington said to tell you men that dinner is almost ready. She wanted to know if you are at a stopping place, or if she should keep it warm.”

  “I didn’t know you were back,” Colt told him. He was relieved that Bartholomew walked in when he did. He needed to have a talk with Victoria so he would know what to say to the boys.

  “Victoria was already at the farm when I got there, so we’ve been here for an hour,” Bartholomew replied.

  Leaving the stall, Colt lifted a boy under each arm, carrying them like sacks of potatoes. “We’ve worked up quite an appetite, haven’t we?”

  “Yep!” the boys chimed in, trying to sound like Colt.

  “Victoria made a special dessert for you,” Bartholomew told them.

  The boys made a game of guessing what they would be having for dessert as they washed up outside.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  After dinner the boys quickly fell asleep, and Bartholomew and Mrs. Wellington insisted on cleaning the kitchen. They pushed Colt and Victoria to the front porch. Colt had a feeling this was a prearranged plan between the pair in an effort to leave him alone with Victoria.

  “Thank you for taking care of Bandit. Are you sure he will be okay?” Victoria asked.

  “Yes, he will be fine in a day or two. I’d like him to stay here so I can keep an eye on him.” He pulled a cigar from his pocket and held it in front of her. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all,” Victoria responded. “I like the smell of a cigar.”

  “You are an unusual woman. I thought most women just tolerated a man’s cigar.” His eyes remained on her as he lit his cigar. She always looked beautiful and tonight was no different. No matter how many times he told himself he was going to stay away from her, circumstances kept throwing them together. They chatted for a while before he decided it was time for some truth. “The boys told me they don’t know their father.”

  Her head snapped around to face him. She was stunned the boys had been so open with him. “No, they don’t.”

  “Do you have a reason for not telling them?”

  “I don’t know who he is,” she said honestly.

  “I thought you were their mother.” She hesitated so long Colt thought she might not answer. He waited.

  For whatever reason, she knew she couldn’t lie to him and she wanted to stop all of her lies. “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re not their sister.” He made the statement as a fact, not a question.

  “No.”

  “Do you know their mother?”

  “Yes, I do.” She had spent so many years afraid to tell anyone the truth for fear of losing the boys that it was a relief to finally be honest.

  Colt noticed her hands were tightly clasped in her lap, a habit of hers when she was nervous. “Why do you have them?”

  She raised her eyes to meet his. “Why are you so interested?”

  Taking a long pull on his cigar, Colt considered what he wanted to say. “Victoria, it seems to me you wanted me to think you were their mother, and I admit I did at first, but a lot of things didn’t add up. For one, you don’t look old enough to have boys that age. Then there’s the fact that they call you Victoria. And of course, they look nothing like you.” When she didn’t respond, he continued. “You are a woman with a lot of secrets and for some reason you think you can’t confide in anyone. I doubt even Mrs. Wellington knows what you’re hiding. I’m interested because I think you need a friend.”

  Tears welled in her eyes, threatening her fragile composure. She wondered if he really knew how much she wanted a fri
end, how much she needed a friend. She’d come to Promise hoping to find a friend in Mr. Barlow. It was tempting to confess her whole past to Colt, but how could he possibly understand her life? She didn’t want to be judged for her past, she wanted a fresh start. Just thinking about telling him the truth made her want to run away again.

  “Does Mrs. Wellington know you aren’t their mother?”

  “She thinks I’m their sister.”

  Colt turned his chair so he was facing her and leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs. “I’ve told you before you can trust me. I know you are not telling me everything. I also know that you have met Gage Hardy before.”

  That statement drained the color from her cheeks. By the look on her face, he no longer questioned that Gage Hardy knew her true identity. “Am I right about that?” He waited a beat and still she didn’t respond. “Well, you need to tell someone your secrets. If not me, why not tell Mrs. Wellington? She cares for you and the boys, and I’d say she deserves the truth.” Seeing she had no intention of opening up, he leaned back in his chair. “Well then, why don’t you tell Wallace? You’re spending enough time with him, he should know the truth if things are serious between you two.”

  “Things are not serious between us.”

  “The way I see it, you are making two mistakes. Number one, you should know by now you can trust me. I really don’t know what else I can do to make you see that.”