eleven

Buckford guided the team to a halt, and Sam looked up at the lighted windows of his brother’s townhouse. How would David and Karen react to him showing up with four extras in tow? He braced himself and jumped down. Only one way to find out.

“Come on, kids. We’ll have you warmed up in a minute. How does some hot chocolate sound?” He made his voice as jolly as he could, knowing he couldn’t make up for their being rejected again. None of the four had said a word during the ride, and he didn’t know what hurt worse, the dejection on Tick’s and Celeste’s faces or the resignation on Phin’s and Eldora’s.

He shouldered his way through the door, dropping the luggage on the floor by the hall tree. “Karen? David?” Dropping his hat on the newel post at the base of the stairs, he turned to Buckford. “Can you rouse the housekeeper for some hot chocolate?”

Karen appeared at the head of the staircase. “Sam, you’re back. I was afraid you might not make it before we left in the morning for Martin City.” Carefully, one hand on the rail and the other on the mound of her expectant motherhood, she descended. Before he could make introductions, she held out both hands to Eldora. “You must be Yvette. Welcome to the family.” Karen kissed a bewildered Eldora on the cheek. “And who are these young people?”

Sam’s innards squirmed. “Karen, I figured Aunt Tabitha would’ve wired you by now with the news. This is Eldora Carter, and these children are. . . I guess they’re her wards. They need a place to stay tonight. I hope you don’t mind. If it’s a problem, I can put them up in a hotel.” He tilted his head and gave a half grin. Weariness had set up an ache in his muscles, and he lost a moment thinking of how good it would feel to sink into a bed that wasn’t rocking and swaying.

A small furrow appeared between Karen’s brows. “Of course they’re welcome here. We’ll find beds for everyone. But where is Yvette?”

“Can we talk about that later? The kids are tired and hungry, and I’m worn clean through. Where’s David?”

He and Karen measured glances, and she patted his arm. “We’ll talk later. David is in the sitting room. Why don’t you take your guests in and make introductions, and I’ll see about some supper?”

When she’d disappeared, Eldora put her hand on his arm. “Are you sure about this? I feel terrible, crashing in without warning. Perhaps it would be best if we left.”

“Where would you go? Don’t worry. Karen and David will welcome you. They’re nice people. They’d never turn away three kids in need, especially when they hear what happened at the orphanage.”

Sam helped Eldora out of her coat and hung it beside his, then ushered everyone into the warm sitting room. A healthy fire glowed in the fireplace, and the smells of pine boughs and cider wrapped around them. David sat in a chair, his head back on the antimacassar, a heavy book open on his knees.

“Hello, David. I’m back.”

His brother sat up, scrabbling for the book before it hit the floor. “Sam? I’m afraid I dozed off. It seems like ages since Buckford went to get you. Welcome back.” David set the book on the table beside him, rose, and held out his hand.

Sam grasped it, taking in the content expression and wide smile. A year ago, he wouldn’t have given short odds on David’s future happiness, but after quite a struggle, it appeared that he and Karen were on a sure footing, at peace and much in love. “Thanks. It’s good to be back in Colorado.”

“And where is your lovely bride? Karen and I have been so anxious to meet Yvette ever since we got your letter about the engagement. I have to say, you’re a fast worker.”

Sam squelched a sigh. He should’ve cabled, but it wasn’t something he’d wanted to put in a telegram, and he’d figured Aunt Tabitha would’ve let folks know. “The wedding didn’t come off. But I did bring someone with me.”

“How come this book doesn’t have any words in it?” Tick turned the heavy cream page. “The paper’s all bumpy.”

David turned to the voice. “Who might you be?”

“David, these young folks are Tick, Phin, and Celeste. Also with them is Miss Eldora Carter, who is looking after them.”

“How do you do?” A hundred questions lingered in David’s voice, but he didn’t voice them. “And to the one who asked the question, the book has words, but you can’t see them. I read with my fingertips, not with my eyes.” He smiled. “I’m blind. The little bumps tell me what the words are.”

“You can’t see anything?” Phin’s eyebrows rose. Then he glanced about the room, as if appraising the décor. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away when Sam sent him a warning glare.

“I’m afraid not. But I try not to let that slow me down too much.” David indicated the chairs before the fireplace. “Miss Carter, won’t you sit down?”

Celeste appeared not to notice anything else, having dropped to her knees beside a low table. In the center of the table, a small crèche stood, surrounded by carved Nativity figurines. The little girl had her hands clasped beneath her scarf-wrapped chin, and her eyes were round as pennies.

Eldora perched on the edge of her seat as if she expected someone to yank it out from under her. “I’m so sorry for barging in like this. Sam said you wouldn’t mind, but I realize what an imposition it is.”

David resumed his seat with a chuckle. “We’re used to the unexpected where Sam is concerned. Tell me, how did you two meet?”

Before she could answer, Karen came in with Buckford. The butler smiled at Celeste and winked at Tick. Karen eased down onto the arm of David’s chair and took his hand. “Buckford is going to take the children into the kitchen to eat. That way we can visit without interruption.”

When the children had followed Buckford out of the room, Sam leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “To answer your question, Dave, Eldora and I met at the orphanage in St. Louis. I was there to pick up Aunt Tabitha. Eldora was put in charge of these kids, getting them to Denver, and Tabitha asked me to look out for all of them. You know she’s recently joined the board of the children’s home in St. Louis? Anyway, due to one thing and another, we got delayed halfway across Kansas for a few days, but we finally made it into town tonight. When we showed up at the Denver orphanage, they wouldn’t take the kids. So I brought them here.”

Eldora’s eyes were bright in the firelight. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Mackenzie. As I told your husband, I realize what an imposition this is. I begged the superintendent to take us in, but he was adamant. They didn’t have the room or the money to feed any more children.”

Karen nodded her understanding. “Don’t worry. Sam did the right thing bringing you here. They just built that new orphanage, and it’s already full to bursting. There’s talk of adding two new wings come spring. With all the consumptives pouring into the state, and most of them not getting well, the orphanages are filling up quickly.” She glanced over at Sam. “Your mother has been approached about starting an orphanage in Martin City. With the central location, it would be ideal for the mining communities. You know how quickly disaster can strike up there.”

“That sounds perfect for Mother. You know how she likes organizing people.”

Eldora stood. “Mrs. Mackenzie, I should go supervise the children. I don’t like leaving them alone. You never know what mischief they might get up to”—she grimaced—“though they are biddable children for the most part. Will you please excuse me? And thank you for taking us into your home tonight. I’ll do my best to find a place for us tomorrow.” She bobbed her head like a servant.

Sam stood, but his good manners went unnoticed, for she hurried out of the room without a backward glance. He eased down, at a loss to explain her sudden departure.

“Sam, what happened with Yvette?” Karen took Eldora’s vacant seat. “We thought you’d be bringing us a bride, and you’ve brought us three children and a caretaker instead.”

A sigh built in his lungs, and he pushed it out. “Yvette turned out to be a beautiful gold digger. She wanted the Mackenzie name and money and didn’t care a nickel about me. I was a sucker, fell for her in a big way, and I made a lucky escape, finding out what kind of girl she was before we walked down the aisle.” He smiled, trying to make light of it, but it stung like salt in a wound.

David shook his head. “That’s too bad. Your letters were—” He stopped, as if not knowing how to say it without making Sam feel worse, and spread his hands, palms up.

“I know. I let myself go on about her, but when I found out what she was really like, all that outer beauty soured. All I could see was the grasping, money-grubbing dollar signs in her eyes. At that, I don’t know who was worse, her or her mother. Hortense Adelman makes a squanderer look like a skinflint. As it is, they weren’t just after the money. Yvette came to me at the train station and made one last plea. She’s—” His collar tightened, and he grimaced. A bad taste entered his mouth, talking about her this way, but it had to be told. The family deserved to know why the wedding had been called off. If only there was some way to tell it without making him seem such a thickhead. He sighed again. “She’s in the family way. The baby isn’t mine, I assure you. The father of the child refused to marry her.”

The indignant expression on Karen’s face gratified him. “You sure made a lucky escape. Imagine if you’d married her.” Her scowl softened. “But I have it in me to be sorry for her, too. What will happen to her now?”

“I left her in the care of Aunt Tabitha. If anyone can sort things out, it’s her. I imagine she’s tracking down the previous suitor, and she’ll make him do right by Yvette. Hortense will be appalled, but”—he shrugged—“she’s no one to blame but herself, really, raising her daughter to be so acquisitive.”

“And how are you taking it? You sound right enough, but it had to hurt.” David rubbed his finger along his jaw.

A chuckle escaped Sam’s lips. “Truth be told, I’ve hardly had time to think on it much. Tabitha pitchforked me into looking out for Eldora and the kids, and it seems to have been one crisis after another. There’re issues with all of the kids that make them less than ideal for adopting, and all of them came to the fore on the trip.”

“What issues?”

“The little boy has heart trouble, which reminds me, we need to get to a drugstore first thing in the morning for more medicine. The little girl—David, she wears a scarf over her mouth all the time because she’s got a harelip. It’s bad enough that you can’t help but be startled by it, but I spoke with a doctor in Kansas who said it was operable. The thing is nobody will adopt kids with problems like that. That’s why the director in St. Louis was shipping them out. Seems he was looking for a quick way to get rid of all of them.”

“What about the older boy?” Karen rubbed her stomach with her fingertips, a light in her eyes that bespoke maternal feelings.

“Phin. He has a tendency to swipe things that don’t belong to him. He’s good at it, but not as good as he thinks he is. He gets caught often.”

“And Eldora?” A smile played at the corners of Karen’s mouth. “She seems nice, and a bit awestruck, if you don’t mind my saying so. She never took her eyes off you. Is there something between you two?”

Sam pondered her words. Was it true? Did Eldora watch him? Would he mind if there was something between them? The warmth around his heart mocked him. Though he could easily fall for someone like Eldora, he wasn’t minded to play the fool again. And Karen’s matchmaking gleam chafed. If he was to court another woman, he wanted to do it himself, not be pushed into it like he’d been shoved around by Yvette and Hortense. Better to disabuse Karen’s mind. “There’s nothing between us. Yvette cured me of that nonsense by trying to marry me for my money. If I marry someone, it will have to be a girl who is as rich as an empress. Then I’ll be sure of her motives. I have no plans to be duped like that again.”

A gasp caught his attention, and he looked up from his hands and right into Eldora’s big, brown eyes.

❧

It wasn’t supposed to hurt this badly. Especially since she’d warned herself not to fall for him, not to cherish any hopes. She assumed her “institution mask” and stepped into the room, determined that he would never know of her foolishness.

“Have the children finished their meal already?” Karen Mackenzie levered herself out of her chair. At Eldora’s nod, she approached and took Eldora’s arm. “I’ll show you upstairs. I can imagine you’re tired out after all your travels and troubles. Sam has been sharing with us some of your adventures.”

“It’s been a long trip.” The tiredness wasn’t just of the body but of her spirit, which threatened to collapse altogether under the weight of responsibility and disillusionment. She kept her voice neutral and didn’t look in Sam’s direction. It mortified her to think that in only a few minutes Sam’s sister-in-law had tumbled to Eldora’s affection for him. Did Sam know? Was his comment to his family his way of warning Eldora off?

They gathered the children, and Karen showed them upstairs. “You and Celeste can share this room, and the boys can have the room across the hall. Sam will have to bed down on the sofa in the office.”

Eldora winced. “I don’t want to put him out of a bed. Perhaps Celeste can have the sofa in the office, and I could bed down on the floor?”

“Nonsense. Sam wouldn’t hear of it, and neither will I. Believe me, Sam’s slept rougher than this.” Karen set her lamp on the table beside the door. “The washroom is across the hall next to the boys’ room. Why don’t we run the kids through there first; then you can have a nice, hot bath.”

Phin made short work of his washing up, and Tick followed suit. While Celeste had her turn, Eldora gave Tick his last dose of medicine. Where would she get more for him? If she’d heard correctly, the Mackenzies were all leaving in the morning for the family home in the mountains. Where did that leave her and the children? She’d have to find someplace for them first thing tomorrow.

Tick swallowed down the last drop and swiped his hand across his lips. Even in a few short days, the difference in the little fellow was remarkable. Pink tinged his cheeks, and he didn’t stop to rest nearly as often. His eyes sparkled, bright as a bluebird’s. He still needed to gain some weight and muscle, but he was making progress. How quickly would that reverse now that they were out of medicine?

“Scamper into bed now, before you catch a chill.”

Lying side by side, freshly scrubbed and in warm nightshirts, Phin and Tick snuggled down against real feather pillows for the first time in their lives. “This sure is nice, ain’t it?” Tick lifted his chin for Eldora to tuck another blanket in. “What’re we going to do in the morning?”

Phin’s dark eyes echoed the question, and having had more experience of the trials of life than Tick, those same eyes were clouded with doubts and worry.

Eldora swallowed. “Let me listen to your prayers, and don’t worry about tomorrow. The Lord’s been taking care of us so far. I don’t imagine He’ll quit now. Something will turn up.” She hoped she sounded surer than she felt. Then guilt pounced on her. Who was she to doubt the Lord’s provision?

Tick folded his hands under his chin and closed his eyes. “Dear Lord, thanks for bringing us to such a fine place and for the food we got to eat and for this nice soft bed. Bless Sam and his family for being so nice to us. Watch over us while we sleep, and when we wake up, too. Amen.”

Eldora opened her eyes and looked at Phin without raising her chin.

He scowled back and made a big show of dragging his arms from beneath the covers and lacing his fingers. “What Tick said, I guess. Amen.”

She shook her head, her lips pressed together, and then rose and tucked the covers around them once more. “Good night, boys. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Karen met her in the hall with an armload of fluffy towels and her valise. “I’ll just set these in the washroom, and then I want to show you something.” Her eyes sparkled. She took Eldora’s arm and led her to the bedroom door. Karen put her finger to her lip and peeked around the doorframe.

Eldora peeked too, mystified.

Celeste lay in the high bed, surrounded by a mound of pillows, and in a chair beside her sat David Mackenzie, a book open on his lap, his fingers inching across the pages. “The princess pricked her finger on the spindle, and she dropped into a deep, deep sleep.”

Eldora swallowed the lump in her throat. The blind man reading a fairy tale to the little girl was reason enough to choke up, but the tears burning Eldora’s eyes were because Celeste’s face was bare. The scarf lay folded neatly on the bedside table, and a look of such contentment and joy rested on the child’s face as to minimize the shock of her upper lip.

Withdrawing as quietly as she could, Eldora groped for her handkerchief. Karen dabbed at her eyes as well. “Isn’t it amazing? Sam said she never takes that scarf off.”

“And she never warms up to strangers, but both Buckford and now David have somehow put her at ease. It’s uncanny. She didn’t unbend for Sam, no matter what he tried, the entire train trip, but here she is completely comfortable with David in only a few minutes.”

“It must be because of his blindness. Maybe she feels that because he can’t see her face, she’s safe to let him get to know her.”

Eldora pondered this. “I think you’re right. She tries so hard not to be seen, it must be a relief for her to be with David. Maybe she feels he can see the real her instead of being put off by her appearance.”

Karen sniffed and dabbed her eyes again. “It’s so wonderful to see David like this. One thing he worried about when we first married was what kind of father he would make. Not that he’s not thrilled and excited about this baby.” She caressed her stomach. “But he’s been a little apprehensive. Such a positive response from Celeste will give him confidence.” She laughed. “Here I am blathering on, and you must be ready to drop. Have a good soak in the tub and relax a little.”

Parting from Karen at the washroom door, Eldora closed herself in the small room and leaned against the door with her eyes closed. Steam rose from the large bathtub, and the smell of roses filled the air. A bottle of bath salts sat on a shelf behind the tub, pink blossoms painted on the label. Bath salts, for an orphan girl?

Bemused, Eldora tied up her hair and slipped into the steaming water of the tub. Immediately, the hot water soothed her tired muscles and leeched some of the tension from her shoulders. A sigh eased from her throat and rippled the water. Never in her whole life had she felt such luxury. Baths at the orphanage were sketchy affairs with tepid water and not much time to wash properly. This was positively decadent—hot scented water up to her chin, room enough to stretch out in the claw-footed tub, a pile of towels waiting.

“Lord, I echo Tick’s prayer.” She kept her voice to a whisper. “Thank You for keeping watch over us thus far. I admit I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but thank You for a warm place for the children to sleep tonight.” A cold stone of heaviness sat just over her heart. “Thank You, too, for opening my eyes to my folly where Sam is concerned. He’s made it clear he wants to marry a rich woman and that he would never be interested in someone like me. I knew this with my head, but my heart wanted things to be different. Help me remember to seek Your will and to be content with You. Guard me against the danger of seeking love and approval in the wrong places. Light up the path where I’m supposed to go, and keep me off the paths You know aren’t good for me.”

Though the prayer was painful, she forced herself to pray it. If only Sam’s heart wasn’t the wrong place to seek love and approval. She loved everything about him—his smile, his laugh, his protectiveness. The way he treated the children, the way he stood up for them. The memory of his comforting arms around her was something she would treasure always. Realizing she was in danger of turning right back where she had been, she bolted up, sloshing water over the rim of the tub.

Eventually slipping into bed beside the slumbering Celeste, Eldora rolled onto her side and punched up the strangely soft pillows. Wake up early, girl. You need to find somewhere for you and the kids first thing in the morning.