Chapter 6

In the end, they all went. The ride down the mountain was much worse than the trip up, and Emmylou wondered if the mule felt the burden of her heavy heart. She’d hoped Bear would go alone, leaving her and the girls at the cabin, fearing if they all went, it would be too easy for him to leave them in the city.

The train ride seemed endless, lurching down the track toward Denver. Bear sat hunched in his flannel jacket, one boot propped up on the seat opposite him, as if penning Emmylou and the girls into their seats. He had what Emmylou had heard described as a “thousand-yard stare” going that didn’t invite comment.

Miriam said nothing. Her little mouth was pinched and her eyes sad, looking much like she had the first time Emmylou had seen her, as if she’d seen too much of life and had no expectation that it would get better. They had told her and Deborah about their father and the lawyer’s letter and that they were going to Denver to see what was to be done. Bear had made no promises about fighting to keep the girls, no matter how much Emmylou wanted him to, and she hadn’t made any, either, since everything hinged on him. She couldn’t take the girls herself, not without some way to support them, and even if she could, the court wouldn’t let her, not with blood relatives in the picture.

Deborah wedged herself into the corner of the seat by the window, arms crossed, staring daggers at Bear and Emmylou. Anger and helplessness etched her features. She was such a fighter, but there was no one to fight, no way to gain even a measure of control over her life. Emmylou’s heart broke for Deborah, but when she tried to touch her, the child wriggled away and turned her face to the window.

Tabitha, keyed in on the tension, tucked her finger into her mouth and nestled into Emmylou’s arms. From time to time she popped upright and looked from one sister to the other then at Bear and Emmylou before snuggling once more. Emmylou wrapped her tight in her arms, lightly rubbing her chin across Tabitha’s russet curls, her heart aching at the thought of losing these precious girls.

The train lurched to a stop, and Bear roused. “Don’t straggle. There will be a lot of people here, and I don’t have time to hunt for you if you get lost.”

“Ain’t like we never been in a train station before.” Deborah’s mutter was just loud enough to be heard.

Bear took Tabitha from Emmylou and hoisted her onto his arm. “Then you know better than to wander, don’t you?”

Miriam slipped her hand into Emmylou’s, and they filed down the aisle and into the depot. Bear carried the girls’ valise, and Emmylou her own suitcase. Bear had told her to pack all the girls’ things, just in case, and with that in mind, she’d packed all her own belongings as well.

“We’d best head right to this lawyer’s office. There’s a westbound train at five, and I’d like to be back on it.” Bear shouldered his way through the depot door and tossed the girls’ bag into a waiting cab.

Their shoes sounded loud on the narrow staircase as they trudged up to the second-floor lawyer’s office. Emmylou’s heart throbbed, and she found herself taking deep breaths every few minutes, as if there wasn’t enough air in the building.

They filed into the office. An ordinary table, a single file cabinet, and four hard chairs filled the cramped space. A disheveled man with a soup-strainer moustache and wispy thinning hair hunched behind the paper-strewn table.

“What can I do for you?”

Bear handed Tabitha to Emmylou and dug in his pocket. He pulled out an envelope, frowned at it, and stuffed it back in, digging in the other pocket and producing a crumpled page. “We got this letter from you, and we’re here to talk about it.”

The man smoothed his rumpled lapels and swiped his hand across his sparse dome. “Let’s see here,” he said, picking up the paper and scanning it. “Ah, yes, I remember now. The matter of Oscar DeWitt’s children.” He eyed the girls as if examining scientific specimens. “Mr. DeWitt arrived last night and is most anxious to be reunited with his daughters. If you would like to leave them here in my care, I’ll be happy to turn them over.”

Tears burned Emmylou’s eyes, but she fought them back. She didn’t want the girls to see her cry. She had to be brave, for them.

Bear scowled, hands on his hips. It was hard not to be angry with him in spite of the fact that he hadn’t asked for any of this, not to have the girls dropped into his life, not to have to marry a stranger, and not to have his life disrupted by lawyers and train trips and all the rest. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to be rid of them.

“Just hold on a minute. I’m not leaving them here. I don’t even know you.”

The lawyer, Mr. Twigg according to the name on the door, tapped his chin with one long finger. “You want to deliver the children to the hotel where their father is staying?”

Bear loomed over the desk and planted his hands on the papers, making Mr. Twigg lean back, his eyes widening. “I don’t. I want to see this DeWitt fellow face-to-face. I want to hear why he abandoned his family. I want to know why he’s sashaying back into their lives now. That’s what I want.” He straightened. “You tell DeWitt we’ll meet with him at the Front Range Hotel tonight.”

Twigg fussed with his rumpled clothes and shook his head. “I can’t allow my client to converse with you regarding the children unless I am present.”

“Then I guess you’d better show up, too, huh?” Bear grabbed both suitcases, jerked his head at the door, and stalked out.

As Emmylou followed him out with Tabitha on her hip, she didn’t know whether to be grateful or crushed. Bear had put off turning the girls over for a few hours, but had he just prolonged the agony?

Bear strode along the boardwalk toward the Front Range Hotel.

Looks like the five o’clock train is out of the question.

Every time he looked at Emmylou she was blinking back tears and touching one of the girls, cuddling Tabitha or squeezing Miriam’s hand or smoothing Deborah’s hair. He could use a little comforting himself, not that he was getting any. She saved it all for the girls.

He stopped and turned. Where were they, anyway? Several yards behind, they trotted along. Deborah reached him first.

“You going to a fire?” She panted and tossed her braids over her shoulders. “Or are you just in that big a hurry to get rid of us?”

He took a deep, calming breath. She was always trying to twist his tail, but at least she was talking to him again. “Forgot your legs are shorter than mine.” He handed her the valise. “Here, you take this, and I’ll take Tabitha.” When Emmylou caught up, he reached for the little girl. “C’mere, punkin. You’re about too big for Emmylou to carry.”

Tabitha’s arms wrapped around his neck, and a dull pain hit his chest. She smelled like sunshine and little girl and Emmylou’s soap. He tightened his hold and entered the hotel.

An hour later, the dining room was crowded, and they had to wait for a table. As the harried waitress squeezed between the chairs, arms holding plates high, Bear could only be thankful he’d gotten Emmylou out of that job.

Nobody seemed to want the meals they ordered. Bear had just about decided to call it quits and head back to their room when Miriam stiffened as if someone had poked her with a stick. Her big eyes tracked to the doorway, and Bear turned in his chair.

A wiry man with a scraggly goatee and a checked suit stood there surveying the room. He stopped when he spied their table. His eyes glittered, and he grinned, advancing toward them.

“I thought I’d never find you.” He squatted beside Miriam’s chair, but when he moved to hug her, she backed away, off the chair and into Bear’s side.

Bear’s arm came around her. In a flash, Deborah was ducking up under his other arm. Tabitha, perhaps too young to remember her father, sat still, watching.

“Come here and say hello to your father.” The man straightened and frowned.

The girls remained where they were. Emmylou’s eyes clashed with Bear’s. Miriam trembled, and Bear’s senses went on alert.

“You DeWitt?”

“That’s right. These are my daughters.”

“Where’s your lawyer?”

“He’ll be along directly. I didn’t figure I needed him first thing.” He jammed his hands on his hips. “I gotta say, girls, this is a fine greeting. Your mother would be ashamed.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re lucky I don’t backhand you for being so rude.” His hand came up, and he made a slapping gesture. “I can’t abide an uppity kid.”

Miriam flinched. The muscles in Bear’s chest tightened.

“I can’t abide you,” Deborah muttered, her chin in her chest.

“Emmylou, maybe you’d best take the girls upstairs. I believe Mr. DeWitt and I have a few things to talk about.” Bear struggled to keep his voice even. His fists itched to grab DeWitt and shake him till his pea brains fell out. How dare he threaten these children?

Emmylou took Tabitha’s hand and directed the girls out of the room, throwing a pleading glance back over her shoulder as she went.

DeWitt didn’t try to stop them, instead turning Emmylou’s chair around and straddling it, crossing his arms along the back. “Good thinking, McCall. Get the womenfolk out of the way so they aren’t horning in where they ain’t wanted. Now we can talk man-to-man.”

Bear crossed his arms and waited, his teeth clenched. His pa had always said a fool can’t abide the sound of silence.

Sure enough, DeWitt started blathering. “A shame I couldn’t get home to Chicago before my wife dumped the girls on you. It’s all over town about how they landed on your doorstep and you had to marry that skinny redheaded spinster. Drastic step. Is she a good cook at least? ’Cuz she sure ain’t much to look at.” He grinned. “Still, there might be other compensations, if you know what I mean.” His leer nearly got his teeth shoved down his throat. “Anyway, my wife was dumber than a sack of hammers sometimes. Always ailing, always needing something. I’d plumb had it when she dropped another girl. Hope you have better luck than I did when it comes to kids. Three mouthy redheads like their mama. Course, you marrying a redhead don’t improve your chances much, but at least yours didn’t seem too gabbity. Uppity kids and gabbity women are the bane of a man’s existence, ain’t they? No wonder I had to clear out for a while.”

Bear flexed his fists and pressed his tongue hard against the back of his teeth.

“Anyway, I can take the brats off your hands tomorrow. We don’t need to involve the lawyer. I told him to stay away. I just needed his clout for the letter so’s you’d know it was all official-like. Just have the girls at the depot in the morning and you’ll be a free man.” He slapped his hands against the top of the chair and made to rise. “Bet you can’t wait to be shut of them. I can’t say I’m all that eager to get saddled with them again myself, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, I guess.”

Bear leaned forward and braced his forearms on the edge of the table. “We’re not through here. I’m not just dropping the girls off tomorrow. If we’re going to do this thing, it needs to be legal. You drag your lawyer to the courthouse tomorrow, and we’ll go before a judge and get this all straightened out.”

DeWitt’s shoulders sagged, and then he shrugged. “If that’s the way you want it. I suppose I can stay another day. But the only one who will profit will be my lawyer, ’cuz he’ll charge me a fee for appearing in court.”

Bear followed him out of the hotel, headed for the telegraph station in the depot. Then he hurried to a neighborhood south of the downtown area and, after a brief visit with a friend, returned to the hotel.

He tapped on the door and Emmylou opened it a crack, then, seeing him, she slipped out, closing the door behind her. She had a tight-drawn look, and she twisted her fingers at her waist.

“The girls are in bed, but Miriam and Deborah aren’t asleep yet.” She kept her voice low, drawing him toward the window at the end of the hall, the same place where he’d laid out his proposal the night he’d met her. The moonlight picked out the fiery highlights in her hair and gave extra luster to her eyes. The curve of her cheek was so satiny-perfect, he wanted to brush it with his fingertips.

“Bear, what are we going to do? The girls are afraid of that man. I can’t stand the thought of turning them over to him. He doesn’t love them, you can tell. He won’t care for them properly. I know you’re tired of us, I know you don’t want us invading your life, and I know you were looking forward to getting free from this burden, but please …” She gripped his arm. Her voice shook, and her lashes fell. “Please don’t do anything hasty. I don’t trust Oscar DeWitt, not after the way the girls shied away from him. Miriam told me he slapped them around when he got angry, and Deborah said he was meaner than second skimmings, never giving her mother enough money to run the house, or buy food or clothes for the girls. Please, give me a few days to figure something out. Maybe I can find a way to take care of the girls myself here in Denver. Don’t abandon us yet.”

He covered her hand with his, ducking to force her to look him in the eye. “What are you talking about? Who said I was abandoning you?”

She slipped her hand from his grasp. “You. You said you wished you’d never taken us up the mountain in the first place, that you should’ve sent us right back where we came from. And then the letter came and you bundled us up with all our things and hustled us down the mountain. I know you want to be rid of us, but I’m asking for just a few more days so I can try to find a way to keep the girls.”

He stepped closer, backing her up. “Emmylou McCall, what on earth are you talking about? I don’t have any intention of abandoning you.” Placing his hands on the wall on either side of her, he penned her in. “What kind of man do you take me for? I just traipsed all over town sending telegrams and consulting my lawyer. Tomorrow morning we meet him at the courthouse and fight this thing.”

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and he sucked in a breath. “But you said …” She stared up at him, the pulse beating in her throat. “I thought …”

Leaning down, he pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent—flowery soap, sunshine, and woman. “Emmylou, I’m sorry. I never should’ve shouted at you. I was just so scared. I saw how close I came to losing you and Deborah, and I realized how deep you were imbedded in my life and in my heart. I’ve been alone for so long, and I didn’t even know how lonely I was. Then you girls busted in on my life, scattering everything every which way, bringing noise and chatter and joy.” His hands went to her shoulders then down her back, bringing her into his arms. He rested his chin on her hair, savoring the feel of her against him. “I couldn’t stand the thought of not having you in my life, you and the girls.” His embrace tightened. “I’m so sorry for hollering at you. I wanted to take it all back the minute I said it.”

Her arms came around him, and she pressed herself further into his hold. His throat grew thick, and he knew this was as close to heaven as he was going to get this side of glory. Then she leaned back, her eyes searching his face, and he bent his head to brush her lips with his, sending his heart soaring to new heights.

Slowly, softly, he explored her lips, cupping her cheeks, letting the tendrils of her hair curl around his fingers, reveling in the texture of her skin. Like a starving man, he longed to snatch her up and devour her, but he held himself in restraint, not wanting to scare her, aware that they stood in a hotel hallway with three little girls nearby. Easing back, he searched her eyes, trying to gauge what she was thinking about this turn of events. Had he scared her? Had he crossed a line? She hadn’t resisted, but …

“Emmylou?”

She sucked in a quick breath, her eyes full of wonder and her cheeks flushed. “Bear …” Her fingertips brushed her lips then rose to touch his, as if she couldn’t quite take things in. He knew just how she felt.

He took her hand and pressed it to his thundering heart. “I know this isn’t the time or the place, but we’re going to talk. For now …” He kissed her fingertips. “I don’t want you to worry. My lawyer will meet us at the courthouse in the morning. We’re going to fight DeWitt. There’s no way he’s getting the girls.”

The girls.

Miriam, Deborah, little Tabitha.

His girls.

His and Emmylou’s.