Pony Express Courtship. Rhonda Gibson

smile split the little girl’s mouth and brightened her eyes. “Did He?”

      Rebecca chuckled. “No, He did not.” She picked up her daughter’s dress and hung it in the closet. “He hasn’t said a word to me about it, but if the good Lord sees fit to tell me to change my mind, I will. Until then, you put the thought out of your head and get some sleep.” She leaned over and kissed Joy’s forehead.

      “I love you, Ma.” Joy’s soft whisper touched Rebecca deeply.

      “I love you, too, my Joy.” Rebecca blew out the candle and carried it from the room.

      Benjamin’s room was beside his sister’s. Rebecca opened the door a crack. “All tucked in, Benjamin?” she asked. A soft snore was her only answer. Rebecca tiptoed into his room and looked down at him. His hair fell over his small forehead. He was just a little boy.

      Memories of earlier in the day caused her heart to quicken in her chest. She’d about swallowed her tongue when she’d seen him leading the big black gelding about the yard. Benjamin looked so much smaller than the other boys and his horse appeared twice as big.

      She brushed the hair off his forehead and planted a soft kiss in its place. A smile twitched at his lips. Rebecca stood. Seth worked the little boy too hard—she’d have a word with him tonight. Rebecca blew the candle out beside Benjamin’s bed and left the room.

      Jacob leaned against the wall outside Benjamin’s bedroom. “How’s the little guy doing?”

      Rebecca smiled at her oldest son. “He’s plum tuckered out.”

      Pride filled his voice as he answered, “He put in a full day’s work.”

      “I know. I’m going to have a word with Mr. Armstrong about pushing him too hard. He’s just a little boy.” Rebecca set both of the candles on the table in the hall.

      “Ma, Seth didn’t drive Beni to work hard. The little guy is trying to prove that he can do anything us older boys can do.” Jacob pushed away from the wall. “Seth seems like a good man. I don’t think he’d do anything to harm Beni or any of the boys.”

      Rebecca studied Jacob. “You like him?” she asked, a little surprised. So far, Jacob seemed to buck every decision or action the station keeper suggested, but here he stood now, defending him.

      Jacob looked down at his boots. “He’s not Papa John but unless I’ve read him wrong, he is a good man.” He turned to enter his room. “’Night, Ma.”

      “Good night, Jacob.”

      Rebecca walked down the hall and into the living room. Seth Armstrong might be a good man but she still thought he might be a bit too hard on the younger boys. After all, the man wasn’t a parent, had never dealt with little legs that hurt in the night from cramps or muscle spasms.

      She’d seen how he’d pushed Noah hard all day while they worked on the barn. Noah wasn’t like the other boys. Building things and working with wood wasn’t something he enjoyed. Now, give the boy a rifle or a fishing pole and he’d do anything you asked with either of them and he’d do it joyfully. She’d have to explain that to Seth so he’d ease up on the boy. After all, it seemed as if that should be something he’d want to know.

      She walked to the kitchen and set the coffeepot onto the back warmer. Rebecca inhaled the hearty aroma and decided one more cup wouldn’t hurt her.

      Seth’s voice stilled her hand as she poured hot liquid into her favorite mug. “I’d like a cup of that, if you have plenty.”

      Rebecca turned and handed him her mug. “Here you go.” Then she reached for another cup.

      “You might want to grab your coat—it’s getting colder and colder out there,” Seth said, leading the way to the front porch.

      Rebecca grabbed her blue cloak off the hook by the front door and followed him. He walked to the porch swing and sat down.

      “I hope you don’t mind sharing the swing. I’m a mite tired.” Seth yawned as if to prove his point.

      Rebecca eased down beside him. “Not at all.” Her gaze moved out to the horse corral. Several horses could be seen, their hooves clopping against the hard ground. She noticed that one of the boys stood by the fence, but she couldn’t make out which of her sons it was.

      As if he could read her mind, Seth offered, “That’s Andrew—he pulled first watch.”

      She turned to look at him. “What do you mean ‘pulled first watch’?”

      “Until the barn is finished, the boys have to take turns keeping watch over the animals. Indians or bandits could attempt to steal them.” He took a cautious sip of his coffee.

      Rebecca frowned. “Why aren’t you guarding them? You are the station keeper after all.” She heard the accusation in her voice and flinched inwardly.

      As expected, he came back with a bit of harshness of his own. “Because I’ve assigned Andrew to do it.”

      “But he’s just a boy.” Rebecca wished she could take the spoken thought back as soon as it hit the night air.

      His voice softened. “No, he’s a man.” Seth blew into his cup to cool the coffee.

      Rebecca didn’t see him that way. She still remembered the day she and John had brought Andrew home with them. He was twelve and scared. Andrew had clung to John and didn’t want to let him go, even though it was way past bedtime. Andrew had reminded her so much of her brother, Mark, that she’d begged John to sleep in the little boy’s room. John had, leaving her to dwell on the past and her brother’s fear and eventual death.

      It was Mark’s death from exposure to the weather when he’d been forced to leave the orphanage at the age of twelve that had prompted Rebecca and John to adopt the boys on their twelfth birthdays. Rebecca wanted to save as many of the boys as she could.

      “Rebecca, you are going to have to let them grow up,” Seth said quietly.

      It was the first time he’d used her Christian name and she enjoyed the way it sounded. Rebecca looked at him. The light from the moon shone across his face. His eyes held hers. There was no anger in their depths and for that she was thankful.

      “You don’t know them like I do. They all have pasts, pasts that you will never understand,” Rebecca told him.

      Seth nodded. His eyes searched out Andrew as he said, “You are right there. But I do know he’s willing to protect you from all harm and that’s what he’s doing right now. He’s being a man and he’s protecting what he believes is his to protect.”

      Rebecca turned her attention to the corral also. Was Andrew really protecting her and not just the horses? “I still don’t know why he has to take the first watch.”

      “He asked for it,” Seth answered.

      “Why?” Rebecca turned her attention back to the station keeper.

      Seth laughed. “He said he’s less likely to fall asleep now than later in the night or early in the morning. Made sense to me, so I agreed.”

      “So all the boys have a time to watch?” she asked, not happy with the idea.

      “Yep, even Benjamin.”

      Did his shoulders just straighten? Was he anticipating her negative reaction? Well, she wasn’t about to disappoint him. “I won’t have Benjamin sitting out there in the cold alone while the rest of us sleep.” She turned on the seat to face him. “I can’t believe even you would do that to an eight-year-old boy.”

      “Well, that’s nice to know. And I didn’t say the boy would be alone.” Seth pushed up from the seat and went to stand by the porch rail.

      Rebecca felt heat fill her cheeks. She’d misjudged him. “Oh, good. I’m glad you are going to be with him.”

      “I didn’t say that, either.”