by Linda Ford
“I guess that makes me uncle.” Levi said.
“No, it doesn’t.” The words growled from Jake’s throat. “What is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with you?” Levi’s fists curled.
“Now, boys. Settle down. You don’t want to upset Megan, do you?” At Audrey’s words, Jake looked at his coffee cup. The sooner he got Connie and the baby back to town, the better for everyone. He didn’t need to go to the window to know it was still raining, but he went anyway.
“Dog has the window all smeared so you can hardly see out.”
“Bowser, get back to the door. That dog is so spoiled.” Audrey waited until Bowser had obeyed before she filled serving dishes and carried them to the table. “Supper’s ready. Everyone up to the table.”
Levi sat across from Jake, next to Cash. Blaze sat at one end, Audrey at the other. That left the only empty place for Connie, next to Jake.
He managed to corral his groan.
Blaze waited until everyone was seated. “I’ll ask the blessing.”
Jake slowly bowed his head even though he wasn’t feeling particularly grateful at the moment.
“Amen.”
He hadn’t heard a word of Blaze’s prayer.
“You didn’t say thanks for guests.” Levi had obviously paid closer attention to Blaze’s words than Jake had.
“Guess it goes without saying.” Blaze reached for the potatoes and handed them to Connie. “Help yourself.”
Connie held Megan on one knee. Realizing how awkward it was to have only one hand, Jake held the bowl as she put food on her own plate and into a dish for the child.
“Thank you,” she said. Her gaze held his in a silent, challenging, condemning stare.
He did not blink or turn away. He had nothing to hide. Nothing to feel guilty about. No reason for her judgment.
It was Megan leaning forward, begging for food, that broke the spell.
Jake took a serving of potatoes and passed the bowl on. He held other bowls for Connie, carefully avoiding meeting her gaze and pretending he wasn’t aware of the interest of the others.
For a moment, they ate in silence.
“I’m curious,” Cash said. “Connie, how did you come to be in charge of Megan? I thought Celia had gone back east.”
The words fell from Jake’s mouth before he could stop them. “How do we know she’s Celia’s daughter?”
“What are you suggesting?” Cash asked.
“Seems to me it’s pretty obvious what I mean.” Jake turned to Connie, prepared for the anger he would see there. He congratulated himself on not flinching. “What proof do you have that Celia is the mother?” The situation would be so much easier to deal with if Megan wasn’t Celia’s daughter.
3
Connie jerked to her feet, ignoring Megan’s cries, just as Audrey ignored the way Levi slipped food to the dog. “Proof? You want proof?” Her voice rose in intensity. She stopped and forced herself to calm down. “An honorable man would accept his responsibilities rather than shift accusations to another.”
“Yeah, Jake. That’s true.”
Connie sent Levi a grateful glance. It was nice to have one supporter in the house.
“If it’s proof you want, I have it.” She marched toward the bedroom where her things were and unlocked the trunk holding Celia and Megan’s belongings. On the upper tray, she opened an envelope. The first document was Celia’s death certificate. Pain grabbed at her throat. She swallowed it down. She set the paper aside and picked up Megan’s birth certificate. “This should be evidence enough,” she said to Megan and headed back to the kitchen with the paper in hand.
She handed it to Jake. “Have a look.” She’d have had to be asleep not to feel the tension around the table.
He took his time studying the paper. She knew it by heart. Especially Name of Father: Hooper, Jake.
“Can I see?” Blaze held out his hand.
Jake handed the paper to him. Blaze read it, nodded, then handed it to Audrey.
“Rather conclusive.”
“Except it’s lies.” Jake jerked to his feet. “Lies.” He glowered down at Connie. “Did you put her up to this?”
“Me? If I was going to falsify the document, I wouldn’t choose you. But I wasn’t even there.”
“Where were you?”
“Shouldn’t you ask where she was?”
Audrey rose. “Give me the baby, and you two go to the living room and discuss this in private.” She didn’t give Connie a chance to agree or disagree but took Megan, returned to her seat, and began to feed the baby. “Go!”
Jake led the way to the other room and slid the pocket doors shut. “Not that that will keep them from hearing everything.”
“Especially if you shout.” She sat in one of the chairs, folded her hands together, and waited for Jake to sit.
He chose to pace the floor and scrub at his hair until it looked seriously disarrayed.
She waited.
Finally, he plunked into a chair across from her. “I don’t understand this. Why would she put my name of the birth certificate?”
“I think the answer to that is rather obvious.”
“I swear by everything I value that I am not the father.” He growled out each word.
She said nothing. If he wasn’t the father…
He continued, the words coming out in low tones. “She said life was too dull and boring in Broadstone. Said she was going to visit her grandmother in Ontario. But from what you say, she must have already known Megan was on the way.” He paused. “You two were very close. You must have known if she was seeing someone else.”
“I didn’t. She was out almost every night, but I thought she was with you. She led me to believe you had rejected her and she was going east to mend her heart.” She studied her hands. “I blamed you for making her leave.”
“And now you blame me for fathering a child. Which I did not do.”
“The evidence is against you. I think it would hold up in a court of law.” She wasn’t at all certain, but maybe it would convince him.
“Were you with her?”
She wasn’t sure what he meant. “I was with her when she died. She sent for me, and I went. She and another unwed mother were living in a tiny room. They’d been taking in sewing. Celia said her grandmother had sent her to a home for unwed mothers, but she didn’t stay because they had to give their babies up as soon as they were born, so she and her friend went out on their own. I can’t imagine how difficult it was. I wish she had contacted me sooner. I would have helped her.”
“What about her parents?”
She told him how they and her own parents refused to have anything to do with either Celia or Connie if they kept the baby. “By the time I arrived, it was obvious Celia wasn’t going to live. I promised I would take Megan to her father. And now here I am.” Only the trip had been wasted. “I might as well have saved the cost of my trip and used it to find some place to live.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“I’ll reimburse you your expenses.”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t let pride get in the way of your need.”
She gave him a look of pure disbelief.
“I tell you what. I’ll see you back to Fort Macleod and make sure you’re settled before I leave.”
Acid burned up her throat. “How generous of you.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Either the man was oblivious to her tone of voice or, now that he had things sorted out in his mind, he was prepared to be civil. But like he said, she couldn’t afford to turn away any help.
He rose. “I’m glad that’s settled.”
“What do you mean?” She rose too so she didn’t have to tip her head so far back to talk to him.
“We are agreed that I am not the father and that I will help you get to Fort Macleod. Just as soon as the weather improves.”
She felt like folding down over herself. She hadn’t agreed to any of that, but i
t seemed she really didn’t have a choice to do otherwise. Apart from the birth record that Celia had filled out, she had no way of proving he was Megan’s father and worse, no way of making him accept the responsibility. Besides, he was pretty convincing. And convinced. “I’m sorry, Celia. I did the best I could.”
“What did you say?”
“Talking to myself.”
He pushed the doors open. “Are you coming?”
Her feet so weary they felt like she wore iron shoes, she followed him into the kitchen. Levi held Megan and the dog pressed to his knee. Megan giggled.
I’m sorry, little girl. I did the best I could.
She would go to the fort and build a life for the two of them.
“Did you get things settled?” Blaze asked.
“Yup. I’ll escort Connie back to Fort Macleod and help her find a house.”
Levi shook his head. “You’re making a mistake.”
“We are agreed.” Jake joined the men. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence then, while the men talked ranch business, Connie dried the dishes as Audrey washed.
“How long will the rain last?” Connie asked her.
“You’re anxious to be on your way?”
Connie shrugged. “No point in delaying.”
“I’m afraid I can’t predict when the rain will stop. Even when it does, expect a few days for the trail to dry enough a wagon can travel.”
Connie pushed back a deadly dose of discouragement. She had failed.
The dishes were done. “Let’s go to the other room,” Audrey said. “We can visit.” She looked at the men. “Levi, get that dog away from the table.”
Levi grinned at his sister. “Megan likes him.”
Audrey sighed. “The things I put up with.”
Connie followed Audrey to the living room. If only Jake would show as much interest in Megan as Levi did.
Audrey pulled out a basket and threaded yarn through a needle. She began to darn a sock. “Tell me what’s new back in Broadstone.”
Connie pulled her thoughts into submission. There was no point in worrying about what might have been. “I haven’t spent much time there in the past few weeks.”
“I haven’t been there for a year, so you will know more than I do.”
Connie told of the new preacher at the church, of the literary society meetings, of the new items her father and uncle had brought into the store. All the while she felt like she had stepped into the pages of Ecclesiastes. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. All of this was so meaningless. She couldn’t even think what to pray. So many times in the past days, her prayers had gone unanswered. This was just another instance.
Audrey set aside her darning. “I understand things have not gone as you hoped they would.”
Connie acknowledged the truth of those words with a tip of her head.
“May I offer you a word of advice? Something my second mother said to me.”
Connie could hardly refuse even though she wasn’t in the mood for friendly exhortation. “By all means.” She wondered if Audrey heard the lack of enthusiasm in her voice.
“She said God has a perfect plan for us. He never does it all at once, and sometimes the journey is over a rough path, but He wants us to learn to walk by faith and not by sight.” Audrey smiled so gently as she spoke that Connie stared.
“I suppose that’s easy to say and believe when things are going as we hoped.”
“That’s where faith comes in.” Audrey continued, a warm smile on her lips. “My first mother died when I was four. The boys’ mother—my second mother—died ten years ago. She spoke those words to me when she knew she was dying. She would be leaving behind four boys, all under eleven. We both knew that I would be in charge of them. She wanted to reassure me that God would never leave me, and I could trust His ways.”
Connie could hardly argue with Audrey’s assurance and surprisingly, didn’t want to. “It’s hard to trust when everything is going wrong.”
“But to trust only when things are going well seems rather shallow, doesn’t it?”
Connie studied her fingers in her lap. She believed what Audrey said but had, momentarily, lost sight. “You have a way of coming directly to the heart of things, don’t you?”
Audrey chuckled. “I raised those four out there. Believe me, subtlety does not work well with them.” She continued to look at the men who had tipped their chairs back and were talking to each other. Megan perched on Levi’s knee, leaning close to the dog then jerking back, giggling at the little game she played.
The men all stopped talking at the sound of her amusement and looked at her.
Maybe they would all learn how much fun it was to have a baby around. Or it could be Connie was desperately seeking some way of staying here. Not that it was ideal, but it was much better than the alternative. Here she would be surrounded by people who were kind and would surely offer support.
But that was not to be.
How could she take care of Megan on her own?
Was there any hope she could make Jake and his brothers want her? Maybe she needed to convince Audrey. Her thoughts whirled. What could she do? It wasn’t as if Audrey needed help running the house. One glance around revealed she managed fine on her own. The meal she’d recently served bore out the fact. As to proving herself valuable to the men—she had nothing to offer. She didn’t ride horse. Knew nothing about cows. She’d helped her father in the store—waiting on customers and entering items in Father’s ledger. There hardly seemed a call for that kind of work here. Though it might serve her well in Fort Macleod. And she could sew a fine seam. She studied the men and her situation.
Megan giggled again. This time her voice went up, ending on a sharp note.
Knowing what would happen next, Connie sprang to her feet. “I need to prepare her for bed.” The last thing she wanted was for Megan to reveal her unhappy side again.
She took Megan from Levi and hurried down the hall. “Shh. Shh. I’ll soon get you settled.” A cup of warm milk would help but it wasn’t available. She handed Megan her comfort blanket as she changed her into a dry diaper and warm nightgown. Balancing the fussing baby on one hip, she rearranged the furniture to create a little pen where Megan could sleep without worry about her wandering around and getting herself into trouble. She put Megan down and rubbed her back, singing softly. Within minutes the baby slept.
Now what was she to do? Stay cooped up in the room? Return to the kitchen? No one had invited her to rejoin them.
She stood tall and went to the door. No reason she should feel like a prisoner.
Her steps faltered when she heard her name spoken.
“Connie isn’t to blame for what happened between you and Celia.”
* * *
Jake’s brothers had barely waited for Connie and Megan to reach the bedroom before they started on him.
“Your name is on the birth records.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“You could show a little more concern for their well-being.”
It went on and on. Jake did his best to ignore it.
“You know having your name on the birth certificate gives you the right to claim her as yours.” Blaze spoke calmly as if the idea had only just occurred to him. Jake knew otherwise. His brother had simply been waiting for the right time to speak. “If you care to do so.”
Claim her? Take on the role of father? “I guess I’m not ready for that.”
Blaze shook his head, disappointed with Jake’s reply.
“But if you want to take her in….” He let the words trail off, knowing a touch of satisfaction when Blaze grew pale. “I thought not.”
Levi looked around the table. “You guys done?”
They all stopped talking to look at their younger brother.
“Good.” He crossed his arms on the table and leaned toward Jake. “Why don’t you pay attention to little Megan? She’s sweet. What’s the matter? You afraid you might find out you like her?”
Jake scowled at Levi. He was closer to the truth than he knew. “What’s the point? She isn’t staying, so why let myself care?” He knew he’d revealed more than he meant to when all four feet of three chairs thudded to the floor.
“So that’s it.” Cash nodded as if something had become clear. “Celia hurt you when she left. I always blamed you.”
“Of course, you did.”
“Connie isn’t to blame for what happened between you and Celia.” Blaze spoke in his slow, quiet way. Anyone listening might think Blaze was soft, a pushover. Jake knew otherwise.
“Never said she was. Besides, what difference does that make?”
“Here she comes.” Blaze sent Jake a warning look. As if he needed to. Did he think Jake would continue to discuss Connie with her present?”
“Megan is sleeping,” Connie said.
“Let’s move into the other room where it’s more comfortable.” Blaze led the way. Jake stood back and let Connie go before him.
“I’m sorry you’re caught in this mess,” he murmured, hoping his brothers couldn’t hear him.
“I suppose it’s not your fault.”
At her doubtful tone, he wanted to defend himself but without giving him a chance, she sat down on a chair close to Audrey.
She looked around the circle of men. “You all left shortly after your father’s passing.”
Jake jumped in with a reply before the others could answer. “Pa had always wanted to move west and ranch. He had started making plans before he got sick. He made us promise we would fulfill his dream.”
Connie smiled. A real genuine, happy smile if he was to guess, and it completely changed her from dour into an appealing young lady.
Oh, sure. Just the sort of thing he should be thinking.
“From what I’ve seen and, mind you, that isn’t much, I think your father would be pleased with what you’ve done.”
Jake looked at his brothers. They all had their gazes averted. So that’s how it was to be. They meant to make him be the one to talk to her. Very well. “We’ve done our best to follow his instructions, though there weren’t many. This house was his design though.”
“It’s larger than I thought at first glance. Six bedrooms.”