The Baby Compromise. Linda Ford

back.

      And then they were on their way, north past the town square. They drew abreast of Miss Ward’s damaged house and he stopped the horse.

      “That’s what’s left of that woman’s house.”

      They stared. The roof had been badly smashed.

      “I know,” Rebecca said. “Holly showed me.”

      “The businesses and homes near the creek took water damage in the flood. But this house is beyond where the water came. Nope. This is wind damage. If disasters are a sign from God, I wonder what message He was trying to send her.”

      “Do you believe that?”

      He couldn’t tell from her guarded tone which opinion she held. So he gave his answer careful consideration. After a moment, he spoke. “I think we too often decide that a man’s neglect or meanness is God’s hand. I don’t believe it is.”

      “Exactly. The delays at the orphanage are being caused by men. Not God. And I get mighty weary of Miss Ward suggesting otherwise.” Her shoulders rose and fell in a way that made him wonder if she grew tired of her struggles. He wanted to assure her that he would take care of vandals and delays, Miss Ward and her interference.

      But he didn’t want to prompt a reaction from her, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

      On second thought, it was kind of fun to see her get all huffy. But before he could speak, Heidi leaned forward to whisper in Rebecca’s ear.

      “She wants to know what a hooligan is,” Rebecca said.

      He guessed she was trying to keep the emotion from her voice, but she failed. She sounded ready to explode. He’d spare her the pain of explaining the word to Heidi.

      “A hooligan is a person who does bad things to hurt others.”

      Heidi hung her head. “She doesn’t like me.”

      “Do you hurt people?” he asked softly, turning toward the child.

      “I try not to.”

      “Then you’re not a hooligan.”

      She tipped her head, hiding her face behind the curtain of her hair. “It’s ’cause I’m ugly.”

      He scooped the hair aside and studied her scars. “You are not ugly. Ugly is something that happens on the inside. Not on the outside.”

      Slowly, Heidi lifted her face to him and glimmers of trust dawned in her eyes. “I don’t want to be ugly on the inside.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Like Miss Ward.”

      Rebecca faced the girl. “Heidi, we should not speak ill of others.” But her voice bore no trace of scolding and she favored Colton with a smile full of gratitude.

      Now, if she could be this pleasant all the time, life at the ranch would be as easy as pie.

      He urged the horse onward. They traveled north for another mile, then turned east.

      “I should tell you about my parents. Ma’s heart isn’t as good as it used to be. She doesn’t get around much anymore. And Pa had an accident three years ago.” He hated to even talk about it. He hero-worshipped his big father. Never saw him as old. Never expected to see him laid up and in pain. “He’s pretty crippled.”

      Heidi leaned forward and whispered in Rebecca’s ear. He heard enough to guess she’d asked about Pa.

      “I’m right here. You can ask me.” He lifted his arms and looked at them. “Unless I’ve become invisible.” He grabbed Rebecca’s hand in mock alarm. “I’m not, am I?”

      Heidi giggled.

      Rebecca’s eyes rounded and her mouth formed a rosebud.

      He jerked his hand away. “Sorry.” He hadn’t meant to touch her, but despite the embarrassment between them, he didn’t regret it. He liked discovering the cool silk of her skin. “It’s just I got so scared thinking I’d disappeared.”

      Heidi muffled another giggle. “You’re still here.”

      “Oh, good. Then you can talk to me.”

      She met his gaze, her brown eyes measuring him.

      He let her look, hoped she saw that he liked her and didn’t think she was ugly.

      “What happened to your pa?”

      “You mean his accident?”

      She nodded.

      He snapped the reins and gave far more attention to the road than it required as he sorted his emotions from the facts. When he’d achieved a reasonable amount of success, he spoke. The emotions didn’t leave entirely, tightening his throat so his words sounded strangled. Perhaps the others wouldn’t notice.

      “We were driving cattle and something spooked them.” That something had been Colton calling out a greeting to the neighbors passing by, including the family’s pretty daughter, who had caught his eye on more than one occasion. So he’d waved his hat and whooped loudly. At the same moment a deer bolted from the brush. Together, it was enough to send the herd of cows racing for the wide-open spaces. Pa had tried to turn them. Colton closed his eyes as he saw it all in slow motion, felt every agonizing heartbeat. Pa’s horse had fallen, tossing the man into the midst of the thundering hooves. By the time Colton got to him, he was barely alive. And wishing he wasn’t. “Pa got trampled in the stampede. He’s never recovered.”

      Pa didn’t complain, but ever since then he could hardly walk and had never again ridden a horse. The man who had lived to ride. And every day Colton faced the reminder of his own stupidity. He had been no green kid. He had been twenty-five at the time. Old enough to have a few smarts stored up.

      He felt Heidi and Rebecca watching him and pushed aside his regrets.

      “Maybe they would like someone to help them.” Heidi sounded as if she might like to be the one to do so.

      Colton could think of nothing better, but he was never certain how Ma would react, and with Pa...well, it kind of depended on how much pain he was in. But he didn’t know how to explain those details to Heidi, or Rebecca. “We have a fairly big house.”

      He studied Rebecca. “Probably not what you’d think of as large, but there’ll be room for us all.”

      She spent a few seconds studying the landscape, then looked at Colton. He saw the doubt in her eyes and wondered at the cause. But he didn’t have long to wonder.

      “Will I have a private bedroom?”

      Some perverse part of his brain made him answer, “You and Heidi could share with Ma. Her bed is... Well, I’m sure you’ll manage. She don’t snore too loud. I can barely hear her two rooms away.” It was all true.

      Her eyes filled with horror.

      “Pa can bunk with me if necessary. Though I might decide to sleep on the floor, rather than risk bumping him and causing him pain. But don’t worry. I’ve slept on the ground lots of times when I’m out with the herd. Or even just for fun. I’ll be fine. Just fine.” Again, still true.

      Rebecca stared at him. She swallowed loudly and looked away. Her fingers plucked at a fold in her skirt. Faster and faster. She swallowed again and pushed her shoulder back, then faced him, determination branded on each of her features.

      “Mr. Hayes, I fear I have misunderstood you. I don’t believe this arrangement will work.”

      He laughed. He hooted. He tried to control his merriment, but every time he started to speak, chuckles rolled up and could not be contained.

      She considered him. At first she was surprised, then confused. Then she grew concerned, no doubt wondering about the state of his mind. As he continued to laugh, she grew annoyed. “I fail to see what’s so funny.”

      He held up a hand, signaling her to wait. “I’m trying—”