Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5)

by Dorothy Wiley

  And now he was also the father of her son.

  With her heart beating rapidly, a mixture of excitement and trepidation swirling around it, she placed the babe’s mouth to her nipple. To her relief, he immediately latched on and started sucking quite hard.

  “That’s my boy,” Sam said. His smile broadened in approval.

  A tiny hand touched her breast above her heart and it made happiness surge through her heart. She exhaled a long sigh of contentment and peace.

  They both gloried briefly in the shared moment and then she asked, “What shall we name him?”

  Sam touched the fine dark wisps of hair on their babe’s head with the tip of his finger and warmly smiled down at her.

  “How about Rory?”

  Chapter 33

  Sam woke to the sound of…a baby crying. It took him a second to absorb the fact that it was his babe.

  “He’s just hungry,” Catherine said. “I’ll take care of him. Go back to sleep.”

  Sam doubted that he could fall back to sleep so he rolled toward her on his side. With his head propped on his elbow, he reached over and put his first finger in Rory’s fist. The strength of the babe’s grip astounded him. “How are you feeling this morning?” he asked her.

  “Sore, but well. I’ll be fine in a couple of days,” she said as she brought their son to a breast. He rooted around for a moment and then greedily sucked. Her face was alive with affection and delight.

  They both watched with fascination until he seemed to finish.

  “Shall we dress and go introduce our son to his uncles and cousins?” The excitement on her face was echoed in her voice.

  “Yes!” he said, excited himself. “If you feel up to it.”

  “I do. I feel like celebrating!”

  They both washed up, donned their clothing, and then dressed Rory for the first time.

  “He seems so tiny,” Sam said.

  “Tiny! He didn’t feel tiny coming out of me,” she protested. “He’s enormous.”

  “He is a rather long-legged fellow,” he said, smiling, “just like me.”

  “If he keeps eating like he just did, he’ll stay that way,” she said, laughing.

  “You look lovely,” he said, admiring Catherine from head to toe. She had tried on a number of her better gowns to find one that fit well. She selected a high-waisted gown that was one of his favorites. The rich blue silk and satin complemented her dark hair. And the lace-trimmed neckline showed off her full rounded breasts.

  “Thank you, husband,” she said, putting the finishing touches on her hair. “It will be a while before my waist is back to normal, but it’s nice to be able to see my feet again.”

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Ready. Will you please carry him out?”

  “How shall I carry him? In my arms or over my shoulder?”

  Catherine grinned and then patiently showed him.

  He picked the babe up cautiously. When Rory didn’t cry, Sam’s mouth curved into a smile. “I might just get the hang of this.”

  Catherine placed her hand on his forearm for support and they slowly made their way to the noisy front room. In addition to the puppies yapping, Sam heard Bear and Stephen arguing about who would win the horse race, Jane telling the children a story, and Mrs. Wrigley revealing to Artis and Kelly how she made the biscuits he could smell baking. The yeasty fragrance made his mouth water.

  “Would anyone here like to see the most handsome baby in all of Kentucky?” Sam asked above all the commotion.

  Everyone froze as the three entered the room and then the family rushed toward them.

  “Easy, wait, don’t crowd,” he cautioned. “Let Little John come up first.”

  They all moved aside as his oldest son made his way to the front, eyes wide as goose eggs. “I thought he would be bigger,” Little John said.

  “He soon will be,” Stephen said, “just look at Samuel here.” The smiling toddler sat on Stephen’s hip, his little legs already almost reaching Stephen’s knees.

  “I have a brother!” Little John said, proudly turning to tell everyone.

  “And he’s a braw one. ’Tis the longest new bairn I’ve ever seen,” Bear said, holding his palms about three feet apart.

  Artis laughed. “Ye’re exaggeratin’ again, Bear. He’s na that long! But the lad will surely grow to be as tall as Sam.”

  Rory peeked in over Kelly’s shoulder and then glanced up at Sam. “What’d you name him?”

  Sam and Catherine glanced at each other and then they both looked back at the smiling doctor and said, “Rory.”

  Rory’s face paled. Then his eyes widened and his voice quavered as he asked, “You named him after me?”

  “We did,” Catherine said. “If not for you, he might not be alive. And I most certainly wouldn’t be. We owe you so much.”

  “Are you pleased?” Sam asked.

  Though he didn’t answer straightaway, Rory’s face spoke for him. He looked at the babe wistfully, his eyes misty. “I…” he tried, but stopped, then peered at Sam and then at Catherine. “I am honored,” he finally said.

  Kelly kissed her father’s cheek. “I’m proud of you Papa.”

  “And since my own father is departed, I would be grateful if you would agree to be his honorary grandfather,” Sam said.

  Again, Rory appeared taken back but enormously pleased. “Thank you,” was all he could manage.

  “Well then,” William said, “we will have to think of a nickname for either the bairn or Dr. McGuffin.”

  “Oh no, I’m too old to start responding to a new name,” Rory protested.

  “We can’t have two Rorys in the same house,” Kelly said. “We will just have to come up with a nickname for the babe.”

  “Let’s have a contest,” Martha suggested. “The person who comes up with the best nickname by popular vote wins.”

  “What will the prize be?” Polly asked.

  “No contests and no prizes,” Sam said. “We will just call the good doctor, Dr. McGuffin. That’s more respectful anyway.”

  “You can just call me Doc,” Rory said.

  “Would you like some breakfast?” Mrs. Wrigley asked them.

  “Yes, indeed,” Catherine answered. “I am ravenous.”

  The rest of the morning, sitting at the dining table, they all ate, and talked, drank coffee, and talked some more. Catherine soon grew tired and went back to bed, and Jane and Kelly went along to help her with the babe and then a soothing bath. The children and Artis bundled up in warm clothing and went outside to play with the puppies. Mrs. Wrigley was in the kitchen cleaning up and Dr. McGuffin, not surprisingly, volunteered to help her. Miss Henk was upstairs cleaning up the guest rooms.

  Sam and his brothers decided to go outside and stretch their legs.

  “You must be incredibly proud,” William told Sam as they walked. “You haven’t stopped smiling all morning.”

  “I have been blessed beyond my wildest dreams,” Sam said. “This has been the best Christmas of my life.”

  “Except for that nastiness with the bloody bastards,” Stephen said, “I think we would all agree.”

  “William, we know ye got the prisoners safely delivered to the jail. But whatever happened when ye questioned them? Did ye learn anythin’ new?” Bear asked.

  “Getting them to the jail went smoothly, although they smelled worse than a dead skunk by the time we arrived,” William said. “Not wanting to spoil our holiday together and the joy of your son’s arrival, Sam, I’ve been waiting until an appropriate time to bring them up. I know it is a rather vexing subject. Since we have some privacy here in the woods, I did learn some things that will both interest and concern you.”

  “Such as?” Sam asked, stopping and looking intently at William.

  “A wealthy man from Boston hired Dixon and the other two men. He owns a number of companies in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. But evidently some of them are not doing well. Looking for other more profitable business
ventures, and hoping to secure a lucrative government contract, this businessman hired geologists to inspect and take samples from all the mountains in New Hampshire. He was hoping to find gold.”

  “What did they find?” Stephen asked.

  “They did find gold—in several mountains,” William answered.

  “And in Wiley Mountain?” Sam asked.

  “Lots of it. And lesser deposits of silver ore and other minerals.”

  “Sweet heavens!” Bear said. “Now Catherine is na the only one who is wealthy.”

  “It’s our family’s mountain,” Sam said. “I just inherited it. If there’s wealth there, it will be shared wealth for all of us.”

  “There’s more,” William said.

  A cool breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby trees as Sam waited to hear the rest.

  “This loathsome businessman promised Dixon twenty percent of all sales of gold and silver mined from your mountain, and ten percent to the other two men. What’s more, Crowell told me, when I questioned him by himself, that Dixon is a charlatan and a fraud who lives well above his means with his wife in Boston. He said Dixon would do anything to support his life of luxury.”

  “That comes as no surprise,” Sam said.

  “The wealthy man told Dixon and Crowell, who is also married, that under no circumstances were they to return without the deed. If they did, they would not live to regret it,” William told them.

  “That explains why they were willing to commit kidnapping and abduction of a woman to get it,” Stephen said.

  William turned to Stephen. “Dixon confessed, bragged even, that he planned to take Jane to Bardstown or Harrodsburg and hide her in an inn there. He would have written to you and Sam, demanding that the deed be delivered to him at another location. Once he received it, and if he wasn’t followed, he said he would have released Jane and let her find her own way back.”

  “The bloody bugger,” Stephen swore. “It’s fortunate for him that you intercepted him first. I would have killed the man.”

  “’Twas a half-cocked plan he had,” Bear swore. “I say again, he’s an idjit.”

  “How did you get the two to reveal so much?” Sam asked.

  “The judge promised to not hang them in exchange for truthfully answering all of my questions,” William explained. “At first they refused to talk, but when they heard the ring of hammers as men started building a gallows inside the fort’s enclosure, they quickly made the deal. I’ve found, in the past, that the haunting sound of gallows rising can be quite persuasive. As I expected, it worked to make them talk.”

  “But they should have been hung!” Stephen avowed.

  “If we hung them, we would never have gotten information out of them. It was more important to learn who sent them, and why, than it was to see them at the end of a rope,” William insisted.

  Sam had to agree, although he didn’t like the idea of Dixon evading capital punishment.

  “If they won’t be hung, what punishment will they get?” Stephen demanded.

  “Men like those two should be locked up, but as yet, we have no prisons in Kentucky. Our jails are used only for pre-trial and sentencing detention of criminal defendants. They will likely be put in the stocks for a time, receive a fine, whipping, and hand branding,” William answered. “The judge agreed that Dixon should be punished more severely than Crowell.”

  “Then what happens to them?” Bear asked.

  “They will be let go and sent back to Massachusetts,” William said.

  “Did they ever reveal the name of the man in Boston who sent them?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, but before I tell you that, you should know that this wealthy man told Dixon to do anything necessary to get the deed. Even kill you.”

  “Good Lord!” Bear said, running his big hand through his hair.

  William continued. “In fact, he encouraged Dixon and his men to murder you after they got the signed deed. If they did, Dixon and the others would receive a healthy bonus.”

  That explained why the man Sam shot had wielded his weapon so freely, Sam thought. Whoever this man in Boston was, he would likely send others to do what Dixon failed to do. Taking it all in, Sam drove his fist into the palm of his hand. “This mess is far from over.”

  William wasn’t through and held up a forefinger. “Dixon received one other strange directive. Under no circumstances was he to harm Catherine. How did this man in Boston know your wife’s name?” William asked.

  Sam’s brows drew together and his hand clutched the hilt of his long knife. “Who sent him? His name?” he demanded.

  “Remington Forbes.”

  Sam stopped breathing for a moment.

  It was Catherine’s father’s name.

  Chapter 34

  Sam decided not to tell Catherine that it was her father who sent the three men. He would keep the name to himself until later in the New Year. For now, he couldn’t bear the thought of spoiling her joy. She was so happy. He also didn’t want to ruin the Christmas celebrations for the entire family. There was nothing to be gained by divulging the name right away. But soon, he would have to tell her.

  Tell her that her father wanted him dead.

  He had asked his brothers not to bring up the kidnappers, or the wealthy man who sent them, again until he did, saying he wanted them all to focus on enjoying the holiday. They’d all readily agreed, but William said he wanted to discuss the matter further before he returned to Boonesborough.

  That morning, Sam took a ride to have a moment alone to think. After giving the matter some thought, he decided Forbes must be desperate to have Catherine back in Boston. If he had her husband killed, she would have no reason to stay in Kentucky. When Forbes or his lawyers were researching the mountain’s ownership records, he must have discovered Sam’s name and recognized it from Catherine’s letters. She had sent several letters to her father after they’d married and told him that she now lived in Kentucky and was exceedingly happy, but he never replied back. She received only a short terse note from her mother saying Catherine should return home and have her marriage to Sam annulled.

  It disappointed Catherine greatly. She concluded that her father must be angry with her for marrying without his permission. And for marrying a man without means. In Boston high society, heiresses married heirs. Marriages served as a means to economic advancement.

  If Forbes could get the deed, he could potentially make a fortune on the mountain’s gold himself and keep Sam from becoming a wealthy man. But why would Forbes want to do that?

  Then he knew.

  If the man got his daughter back, he could get his hands on the sizable inheritance she received from her maternal grandfather, including her large estate in England. Sam had never been there, but the description of Brympton House sounded nothing short of spectacular. The estate was also highly productive and yielded a sizable annual income.

  He took a deep steadying breath and turned his horse back toward the house. But the fresh pine and cedar scented air did little to settle his unease. If his conclusions were correct, he would have to set Forbes straight, once and for all. Threats to his family had to be met with serious ramifications. There was nothing to stop Forbes from sending more men. The man could not be ignored. The next time, someone Sam loved might be hurt or killed.

  He would have to travel to Boston. If Forbes wanted a fight, he would give him one.

  But he refused to leave Catherine and the babe and he couldn’t expect them to travel for some months. Perhaps by late spring or early summer they would both be strong enough to make the journey.

  Furthermore, he needed to determine for himself just how much gold his mountain held.

  Perhaps he would ask Bear and Artis to come with them. It would be safer to have Bear along. It would also be a lot more amusing. And Artis could help Catherine with the babe. Or perhaps he should just have Mrs. Wrigley accompany them. He had plenty of time to decide.

  Until then, he resolved to be even more vigilant than n
ormal.

  “Are you ready to race me?” Stephen yelled to him as Sam returned and rode Alex up to the barn.

  “Absolutely. Warm your stallion up. I’ll put Alex up and get my new stallion saddled,” Sam replied.

  After a few laps in the round pen to warm up the two huge stallions, he and Stephen took their horses to the start of the trail that led away from Cumberland Falls Horse Farm.

  He glanced over at his youngest brother. Stephen’s eager competitiveness lit up his face and his black horse gleamed in the late morning light. Sam admired the horse’s fine proportions, muscular build, deep chest, short back, and strong haunches. George would be tough to beat even though Sam was riding his best stallion, an exceptionally tall young gray he’d purchased earlier in the year.

  Bear and William watched from the porch.

  “Try not to humiliate him, Stephen,” William called. “My money’s on you.”

  “’Tis only a wee pony Stephen rides,” Bear yelled. “Sam will no doubt beat him on that tall gray. I’ll wager ye a dollar, William.”

  “Take off on my count of three,” William called. “One, two…three!”

  Both horses lunged forward, their big powerful hips propelling them like cannonballs. Within a few seconds, Stephen’s mount pulled well ahead of Sam’s.

  It made Sam glad he had previously decided not to enter the Twelfth Day Race. And from the looks of it, Stephen stood a good chance of winning.

  Sam finally slowed when continuing would have been just too humiliating.

  Stephen slowed too and turned back toward him. “Had enough?” he called.

  “You were already halfway to town,” Sam said. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a winner there. And Bear lost a dollar.”

  “He’ll likely lose at least another when he bets on Artis’ horse at the race,” Stephen predicted, smiling broadly.

  Except for a few short naps for herself and the babe, Catherine kept Rory in her arms nearly all week. The ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the other women and Martha and Polly, kept the babe and herself entertained. After pleading for their help, Jane and Kelly had agreed to make clothes for the babe over the last few days. During the week, from time to time, Artis joined the men to train George and Glasgow for the upcoming race. In between, she continued her cooking lessons with Mrs. Wrigley.