by Bonnie Leon
“I won’t let that happen. I promise.”
“You shouldn’t be on your feet so much,” Daniel said, hurrying out of the stall and reappearing a few moments later with a wooden chair. He set it beside Rebecca. “Sit. I’ll have one of the roustabouts go for the doctor, and I’ll make sure Woodman is here to help with the foal.”
Gratefully Rebecca sank onto the chair, resting a hand on her stomach. “That’s much better.”
“I’ll tell Mum and Lily. They’ll see to you.”
“Please don’t. They’ll force me to bed.”
“You? I doubt they can force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” Daniel grinned.
“All right, then. Tell them. But I’m staying put as long as I can.”
“Right,” Daniel said, heading for the barn door. “I’ll be right back.”
Chavive’s labor continued, as did Rebecca’s. Woodman oversaw Chavive while Dr. Walker watched over Rebecca.
“It seems she should have produced a foal by now,” Rebecca said, trying to breathe through a contraction. She rested her forehead against Chavive’s side. When the pain relented, she straightened and looked at Woodman. “I think she ought to be checked. Something’s not right.”
“Ah, she’s probably fine, but I’ll check ’er if ya like.” Woodman removed his shirt and stepped next to the mare. He ran a hand along her side and felt as she contracted. “Good strong pains. This is her first one; it takes time with a first foal, mum.” He carefully reached inside the horse, his arm disappearing up to his shoulder.
As he felt for the foal, Rebecca held her breath. What if it wasn’t presenting right? What if Chavive was damaged the way Miss had been? “Is she all right?”
Woodman removed his arm and wiped it clean on a rag. Wearing a smile, he said, “Roight fine. We’ll ’ave a foal ’ere before long.”
Rebecca felt herself relax. “Oh, thank the Lord.” She sat on the chair and wondered if she’d make it to Chavive’s birth; her own contractions were becoming nearly unbearable.
Finally, with a little help from Daniel and Woodman and a strong, protracted grunt, Chavive pushed her foal from her body.
Daniel stepped in and removed the remaining bag of waters and cleared the foal’s nose. “It’s a colt!”
“He’s a beauty!” Rebecca said, momentarily forgetting her own circumstances.
Chavive turned and sniffed her new baby, then started licking him clean.
“He looks fine,” Daniel said. “The image of Noble.”
“He’s wonderful.” A contraction gripped Rebecca, and she was forced to pant through it.
Dr. Walker, who’d been standing by and observing Rebecca, stepped into the stall. “It’s time you tended to your own child,” he said.
“I believe you’re right.” Rebecca reached for Daniel’s hand.
He helped her stand, and he and the doctor assisted her to the house. The contractions were coming so often that Rebecca was forced to stop twice before making it indoors.
As she moved toward her bedroom, Willa, Lily, and Callie hovered. Another contraction stopped her at the door to her room, and water gushed from between her legs. “Oh dear. I’m sorry,” Rebecca said, overtaken by a powerful contraction. She leaned against Daniel, unable to speak.
“No trouble, mum,” Callie said. “I’ll take care of it.” She hurried toward the kitchen.
The pain built, and Rebecca forced down a scream. Finally, after an agonizing minute and a half, she took a deep breath. “I think my time is near, Doctor.”
“Well, let’s get you to bed, then, and see what we have.” He smiled kindly.
Lying on the bed did nothing to lessen Rebecca’s misery.
The pains came one on top of the other. With each Rebecca felt a gripping need to push. “I have to push.”
“Go ahead, then,” Dr. Walker said.
Lily appeared at the doorway with a bowl of water. Towels were draped over her shoulder. “I thought ya’d need these, eh?”
“Right. Just set them there next to the bed.” Dr. Walker rolled up his sleeves. “Let’s have a look.”
“Time for you to leave,” Willa told Daniel, ushering him out of the room.
“Wait a moment.” Daniel returned to Rebecca. He leaned over her, taking her hand. “I’ll be right outside, luv.”
Rebecca nodded.
Daniel pressed his lips to her forehead.
Rebecca wished he could stay. She needed him. Then another contraction swept over her, and all she knew was that she had to push.
Dr. Walker placed his stethoscope in his medical bag. “You’re just fine, Rebecca.” He snapped the bag shut.
“You don’t expect any trouble like last time?” Daniel asked.
“No. But be watchful. One never knows.” He leveled serious eyes on Rebecca. “I want you to stay in bed.”
“I’ll be happy to,” she said, feeling so worn out she craved sleep. She looked at the infant in her arms, and the weariness dissipated a bit. An ache of love squeezed her chest as the little girl scrunched up her face in an effort to look at her mother.
Willa leaned over Rebecca and gazed at the infant. “She’s beautiful. Looks just like you.”
“She does at that,” Daniel said, sitting on the bed beside Rebecca.
The doctor moved toward the doorway. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Daniel said, shaking the man’s hand. “You did right well.”
“I’d say it was Rebecca who did right well.” Dr. Walker smiled and opened the door.
“I’ll see you out,” Willa said, accompanying him into the hallway.
Rebecca turned her attention back to her daughter. The infant blinked and then studied her mother’s face through dark eyes. She pursed her lips.
“So it turned out just as you wanted,” Daniel said. “Chavive delivered a fine colt and you a daughter.”
Rebecca smiled and took a contented breath. “Yes. It’s a fine day.”
“I’d say.” Daniel touched the baby’s hand. She instinctively grasped his finger. “Ah, she’s a strong one.”
Rebecca lifted the little girl and kissed her cheek, delighting in the velvety softness and the perfume of new life. “Audry. That is your name.”
“It’s a grand name.”
“Father would be pleased, especially since she looks like my mother.” Rebecca felt the sting of tears. If only her father and mother could have been here to meet their granddaughter.
Willa stepped into the room with Joseph resting on her hip.
“You really think she looks like me?” Rebecca asked.
“She does, absolutely.” Willa shifted Joseph around in front of her. “There’s someone here who wants to meet his sister.” She set the little boy on the floor beside the bed.
Rebecca held the baby in such a way that Joseph could see her. “This is your little sister, Audry.”
Joseph laid his pudgy hand on the baby’s cheek. “Au . . . dy.” He touched her dark curls. “Soft.”
Joy swelled within Rebecca. “You’re such a big boy. You’ll have to look out for her, take good care of her.”
“Right,” Joseph said. “I’m big.” He grinned, his blue eyes lit with delight.
“Come on up ’ere, lad,” Daniel said, scooping up the little boy and setting him on the bed beside him. “Would you like to hold her?”
Joseph reached for the baby.
“You have to be gentle with her,” Rebecca said, carefully placing the infant in Joseph’s arms while keeping a protective hold on her.
Joseph cradled the baby, smiling at the little girl. “Sister, Au . . . dy.”
Fear unexpectedly jolted Rebecca as an image of the men who worked for Marshal penetrated her bubble of joy. They’d be back. Daniel still hadn’t paid what was owed. She caressed Joseph’s soft blond hair and kissed him, then gently took back the baby. “I think I need to rest.”
“Of course,” Willa said. “We’ll leave you alone.�
�
Rebecca didn’t want to be alone. She looked at Daniel. “Could you stay for a while?”
“Right.” Daniel smoothed back Rebecca’s dark hair. “You all right, luv?”
“I’m fine. Just tired.” She leaned against her pillows and closed her eyes. The baby burrowed close to her mother.
“Time for Mummy to rest,” Willa said, lifting Joseph off the bed. “Come along. Maybe Lily will let us help her with the baking.”
“Can we make cake?” Joseph asked, his words only partially distinguishable.
“I think that would be a fine idea.” Willa looked at Rebecca. “Can I get you anything, dear?”
Forcing her eyes open, Rebecca smiled at her mother-in-law. “No thank you. Nothing right now.”
“Right, then. We’ll be off.” Willa grasped Joseph’s hand and led him out of the room.
“Would you like me to put the baby in the cradle?” Daniel asked.
Rebecca looked at her daughter and then offered her to Daniel. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m suddenly exhausted.”
Daniel settled Audry in her cradle, then sat in the chair beside the bed. “You sure you want me here? I don’t want to be a bother.”
Rebecca reached for Daniel’s hand. “No. Never. I need you. I’m . . . I’m frightened.”
“What is it? Are you unwell?”
“No. It’s not that.” She glanced at the window curtain suddenly set to dancing by a breeze. “It’s those men. What are we going to do if they return?”
“We’ll stand up to them, that’s what. But they may leave us alone. I sold off some bullocks and paid some of what I owe. I figure it’ll hold Marshal off for a while.”
“Daniel, I’m frightened. What if they were to take one of the children?”
“It’ll work out. Right now you need to take care of you and the baby. That’s all you need to think about.” He offered a tender smile.
“Yes, but she and Joseph . . .” Rebecca couldn’t even bring herself to say the words.
“They’ll be fine. Marshal won’t touch them. He wouldn’t dare.”
Rebecca closed her eyes and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. Still, her mind wouldn’t rest as images of the three despicable and heartless men who’d shown up in her classroom pressed down on her. “What if he does dare, Daniel?”
Rebecca watched Daniel ride off and then turned to Willa. “I need to go into town. Could you teach the class for me this morning?”
“Of course. But do you think you’re up to a trip into town?”
“It’s been nearly three weeks since Audry was born. And I’m feeling quite robust.”
“What is it you intend to do?”
“The school needs supplies.”
“Daniel could have done that for you.”
“Yes, I know, but I hate to ask him, and I’d like to get out for a bit.”
“Do you think it’s safe for you to travel about on your own?”
Rebecca felt a spike of the old fear but refused to accept it. “It’s been weeks since the trouble. Perhaps Daniel’s partial payment has satisfied Mr. Marshal for now. And as you said yourself, we can’t hide indoors forever.”
“Perhaps you ought to have Woodman go for you.”
“No. I’d like to go. I’ve been inactive too long.” Rebecca offered what she hoped was a confident smile. “Callie said she’d accompany me. I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Rebecca’s eyes went to Lily, who was patting out a batch of bread dough. “I’ll need someone to watch Audry and Joseph though. I really don’t want to take them with me. Lily, would you watch the children?”
Lily rested her hands on the plump dough. “Be happy ta.”
“Thank you. I just fed Audry, so she should be fine until I get home. She’s sleeping right now.”
Joseph dropped his spoon in the middle of his mush. “I want to go.”
Rebecca moved to her son and planted a kiss on the only clean spot on his face. “Not today. You stay with Lily.”
Joseph pouted, but only for a moment. “Bye,” he said and returned to eating his cereal.
Rebecca glanced out the window at the new schoolroom. “The children are already arriving for school.”
“Oh dear. I better hurry, then,” Willa said. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you.” Rebecca hurriedly left the house. Lifting her skirts out of the dirt, she walked toward the temporary schoolhouse. The idea of getting out on the flats again and enjoying the unrestricted feeling of freedom offered by the grasslands was exhilarating.
She stopped at the corral where Chavive and her new foal were confined. The colt dashed across the enclosure, kicking and bucking. Rebecca chuckled. “So you’re already letting the world know you intend to challenge it.”
Chavive stretched her neck over the fence, and Rebecca rested a hand on the mare’s forehead and caressed the front of her face. “You did well. I’m proud of you.” With a final pat to Chavive’s neck, Rebecca hurried on toward the school.
Callie stood just inside the doorway. Koora stood beside her. The two of them looked a bit uncomfortable.
“Good morning,” Rebecca said.
“G’day.” Koora flashed a smile.
“G’day, mum,” Callie said. “We goin’ inta town?”
“Yes. Willa will be out shortly to see to the children.”
“Roight.” Callie glanced at Koora. “Maybe ya can help Mrs. Thornton, eh?”
“I’d like that fine. She’s a nice lydie.” His gaze lingered on Callie, who in spite of her serene exterior, was unable to conceal a flush. She was obviously fond of the young man.
Rebecca liked Koora. He was eager to learn and never missed an opportunity to be at school, which might explain his quick grasp of the basics in reading and math.
“I got ta go now,” Callie said, shyly leaning toward Koora.
He put his hand on her arm. “See ya later, then?”
“Roight.” Callie looked at Rebecca. “Will we be gone long?”
“No. I just need a few things from the mercantile.” Rebecca studied the couple. They love each other, she thought, warming at the idea.
She remembered the days when she and Daniel had fallen in love. It hadn’t happened before they married nor soon after; not until months later did she recognize her devotion. Those days had been a mix of confusion and fear as well as joy.
Rebecca stepped inside the tent and faced the students who were already seated on the benches. “Children, the senior Mrs. Thornton will be your teacher today. She’ll be here in a few minutes. You mind Koora until she arrives.”
The children bobbed their heads in assent.
With a smile, Rebecca moved outside and hurried toward the carriage house. Callie walked beside her. “Can’t afford to dawdle,” Rebecca said. “We must return before Audry gets hungry.”
“Roight, mum.”
Rebecca stepped inside the carriage house, and Woodman looked up from a piece of harness he was working on. “G’day.”
“Good day,” Rebecca said. “We’ll need the surrey. We’ve errands to run in town.”
Woodman knit his brows. “Daniel know?”
“No. But I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Just wondered, with the—”
“Yes. I know. But if we’re to continue educating the children, we must replenish supplies.”
Woodman clamped his mouth shut.
“The Lord will see to us,” Rebecca said. “He always has.”
Woodman set down the harness. “Figured he might take care of Dusty too, eh?”
Rebecca felt as if she’d had the wind knocked out of her. She said nothing more. She had no answer to Woodman’s challenge. Why had God allowed such an atrocity?
Standing in front of a row of shelves containing school supplies, Rebecca thought over what she needed. She glanced at Patrick O’Brien, who leaned on the mercantile counter studying a ledger.
Mr. O’Brien looked up and smiled from beneath a per
fectly trimmed mustache. Brushing aside a thatch of red hair from his forehead, he asked, “Anything I can do for you, Mrs. Thornton?”
“I just need a few supplies . . . for the school.”
“That’s coming along all right, then?”
“Yes. Splendidly in fact.”
He nodded. “How’s that new baby of yours?”
“She’s quite well.”
“Good. Tell your husband I heard ’bout his predicament. I’ll be happy to help out, if he needs me.”
“Help out?”
“Right. Word is he’s thinking of taking a stand against Marshal.”
Rebecca’s stomach did a queer flip. “Oh yes. Of course. I’ll tell him.”
Trembling inside, she picked up pencils and chalk. Rebecca didn’t want Daniel to stand up to Marshal. She was afraid for him.
“I just need a few items,” she said, selecting two more pieces of chalk along with some drawing paper. “These ought to do nicely.” She set the items in a basket she carried on her arm.
Trying to act nonchalant, Rebecca asked, “Just what would you like to do to help Daniel?” She moved on to pens and ink.
“Well, whatever he needs. I’m a pretty good shot.” He straightened his short frame and set back his broad shoulders.
“Oh, I pray it won’t come to that.” She selected three pens and two bottles of ink.
“Never know with a man like Marshal. There’s a number of blokes in the district who’ve had a difference of opinion with that man. Might feel good to get off a round or two.” He grinned.
Rebecca felt sick inside. She added a slate to her basket. Approaching the front of the store, she stopped momentarily to admire a bolt of yellow linen. “This is lovely.”
“Would you like me to take some down to Elle’s?”
“No. Not today. Although I would like an excuse to visit her. It’s so nice having her back in town.”
“Right you are. And she’s been keepin’ busy I hear tell.”
With a sigh, Rebecca set the yellow linen down. There would be no new dresses while they were in debt to Marshal. She set the supplies on the counter in front of Mr. O’Brien. She smiled at the man and couldn’t imagine him shooting anyone.