Beth stared at Mr. Maddox, unable to comprehend what he just said. “What do you mean?”
He turned away and leaned on the porch railing. “As much as I want to, I can’t keep Annie. Her recent accident proves she isn’t safe with me. If she got hurt again …” His voice cracked, and he shook his head.
Full of compassion, Beth walked over and stood beside the big man, noticing the horse tied to the railing. Was Mr. Maddox going somewhere? Surely he hadn’t meant what he’d said about her taking Annie. She could see he was hurting, and somehow she had to find a way to show him that his feelings were normal. How many times had she comforted upset parents while her father tended their children?
She reached out and touched his arm, surprised at the hardened muscles even in his forearms. “Surely you realize that few children grow up without getting hurt or sick at some point. Why, my father is a doctor, and I fell once and hit my head, requiring sutures. See?” She lifted the hair off her temple, revealing the small scar she knew was there.
He stared at it then shook his head. “A blacksmith’s shop is no place for a little girl. I can’t take a chance on her getting burnt if she touched the forge when I’m not looking.”
“Surely you could hire a woman in town to watch her. There has to be someone.”
“There isn’t. Believe me, I’ve looked.” He turned and faced her, anguish etched in his expression. “Please, Miss Ruskin. Take Annie and find her a Christian home with a man and woman who’ll love her and care for her as she deserves.”
The pleading in his voice brought tears to her eyes. She’d already tried to place Lizzie, who was healthy—other than needing spectacles—but she had failed so far. How would she find someone willing to take in an injured child? Annie’s arm would take weeks to heal, and by then Beth and her father would be in Arizona. She had no idea what to expect there. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. There’s no guarantee I can find a home for her.”
He stepped back, blinking his eyes. “I’m not asking, Miss Ruskin. I’m a danger to Annie. She deserves better than me. Find her a new family.” He spun on his heel, ran down the stairs, and mounted his horse.
Beth followed him, her heart pounding. “No! Wait!”
“I’m sorry.” He stared down at her with sad eyes then reined the horse around and galloped away.
Beth stared after him, dumbfounded. The last thing she’d expected from the big, capable man was that he’d run away from a problem—not that Annie was a problem. She sympathized with his difficult situation and was sure there had to be another answer. Giving Annie away wasn’t an option, not as far as she was concerned.
She walked up the steps to the porch then turned and looked in the direction Cade had ridden. All she could see was the dust stirred up from his horse’s hooves. “Help him change his mind, Lord. Send him back.”
Annie needed him. She needed him. She didn’t get a chance to tell him that she had no authority to accept Annie. Her contract was to deliver the ten children in her care, and she’d done that—all except finding a home for Lizzie. Sadly, the couple who’d planned to take her changed their minds when they saw her glasses. Who would have guessed that the man’s brother was blind and he wasn’t willing to take on a child who might face a similar fate, as unreasonable as it had been?
Beth sighed. Poppa would not be happy about this unforeseen event.
For the next few days, they were stuck in Advent, but surely the railroad personnel would have the tracks cleared before long. She prayed that Cade came to his senses before that day arrived. His abandonment of his daughter and putting her in such a predicament angered her, yet she’d seen how the decision had devastated him. No matter how much it hurt him to give back his daughter, he’d done what he had for her safety, and Beth admired that.
She walked back in the house, her emotions swirling from anger to heartache for both father and child. Annie had gotten used to her and Lizzie, and Beth felt Annie would be all right for a few days without Cade, but she was bound to miss him.
And how did one explain to a three-year-old that her poppa could no longer keep her?
Three days later, Cade walked around the house he grew up in, surveying the work he’d done and making a list of what still needed fixing. He had neglected the old house since Nellie’s death, as he had worked hard to get over the pain of her loss, to take care of Annie, and to keep his business going in a town too small for an adequate influx of work. He ought to sell the small ranch, but he had wanted to have it to fall back on in case he didn’t make enough as a smithy to support him and his daughter.
He blinked and stared at the yellow winter grass in the distance. He had to remember that he no longer had a daughter.
Miss Ruskin had been surprised by his insistence that she find Annie a new set of parents, maybe even a bit angered at the inconvenience, but he had no doubt she would do the right thing. It was her job to find families for orphans.
Loneliness chased him like a coyote trailing a rabbit. He knew he’d miss Annie, but he hadn’t expected to feel such a sense of loss—of failure. It pained him to think of Annie calling for him and him not being there to comfort her. Had he made a mistake? Was he merely chickenhearted?
No. He’d done what had to be done—to keep her safe.
Then why was it all so hard? Why didn’t God comfort him for the sacrifice he’d made?
Ed Duffy trotted his bay up the road to the house. Cade waved and walked toward the neighbor who rented the ranch land for his cattle.
The man reined to a stop and nodded. “Been a long time since you was out this way, Cade.”
“Yep. Been busy.”
“You thinkin’ on sellin’ the place?”
Cade shrugged. “I can’t decide. Part of me thinks I should unload it and be done with it, and another part thinks I should keep it in case things in Advent don’t work out.”
“How’s business up there?”
“Pretty good. I stay busy for the most part.”
Ed dismounted and ground-tied his horse. “I’m still interested in the ranch if you do decide to part with it. I know it’s gotta be hard since you was raised here.”
“Yeah.” Cade lifted his gaze to the tree on the hill and the rickety fence that surrounded the graves of his parents and his two little sisters who drowned the day when they tried to swim in the pond alone. His heart clenched. His ma never recovered and followed them in death a month later. Then it was just him and his pa for years.
“Where’s that little charmer of yours? She takin’ a nap?”
Cade felt as if the butt end of a rifle had rammed him in the chest. He hadn’t considered that he’d have to explain what he’d done over and over. “She uh … got hurt … and is stayin’ in town with the doctor’s daughter.”
Ed jerked his head toward Cade. “There’s a doctor in Advent now?”
“Just temporarily. Did you hear the bridge got washed out in last week’s storm?”
Nodding, Ed swatted at a fly. “Yep. Myrtle’s brother came to visit and mentioned it. Heard tell there was a bunch of train passengers that got stranded.”
“Yep.” Especially one very pretty Orphan Train agent.
“Guess they got the tracks fixed, ’cause I heard the whistle as it went over Boyd’s Gulch this morning.”
Cade stared at the man. “You heard the train?”
“Saw the smoke, too. It was going away from town, so I imagine them stranded folk are happy to get on the move again.”
Cade turned away and closed his eyes. So that was it. Annie was gone. Miss Ruskin was gone. Lizzie. Why did the thought of them leaving hurt so bad?
“Well, guess I’ll getta move on. Saw your smoke this morning and wanted to be sure it was you here and not squatters.”
“I appreciate that.” Cade held out his hand, and Ed shook it.
“You remember if you decide to sell the ranch that I asked about it first.”
“I will. I need to make up my mind one way or the other.”
Cade watched his longtime neighbor mount and walk his horse down the road, but his thoughts were on Beth Ruskin and her two wards. Did she hate him for what he’d done?
She couldn’t abhor him any more than he despised himself. God had given him a precious blessing, and he’d thrown her away.
He climbed the ladder that leaned against the house. Now that the train was gone, he no longer had to hide out here. He’d finish repairs on the roof then ride back to town to begin the rest of his lonely life. Cade climbed onto the roof, laid down his hammer, then reached for a shake he’d made yesterday. His foot hit the hammer, sending it sliding. Cade pivoted, hoping to catch it before it slid off. His knee buckled, and he found himself sailing through the air. The ground rushed up to meet him. He collided hard, and everything went black.
Beth sat on the porch of the boardinghouse with Annie and Lizzie on the swing beside her. She’d taken up this spot partly because the girls loved the porch swing and partly because it gave her a clear view of Main Street. If Cade returned—and she was certain he would since he had a business to run and a home waiting for him—she wanted to be the first one to greet him and to give him a piece of her mind.
She had no doubt that he loved Annie, and she didn’t truly believe he was a coward. He was scared. She’d seen the fear in his eyes when he’d whispered the comment about Annie getting burned. He was making a sacrifice that cost him something very precious—and rather than despise him, she admired him, even though she disagreed with his choice.
A pair of horses rushed around the far end of Main Street, pulling a wagon with a saddled horse trotting behind it, stirring up a cloud of dust. The driver looked right and left then hauled back on the reins. “Where’s the doctor?” he yelled.
She jumped up, steadied the swing, then rushed to the railing. She waved her hands in the air. “Here! The doctor’s here!”
She wasn’t certain if the man had heard her, but another man on the sidewalk pointed toward the boardinghouse. Beth picked up Annie and helped Lizzie off the swing. “Come along. We have to let Poppa know he’s needed.”
Beth rushed inside to the first-floor suite her father had rented after the train passengers left town. He’d been away, delivering a baby at the time, so they hadn’t been able to leave. Her father had been so busy with patients that he hadn’t fussed about missing the train. She knocked on his bedroom door, hating to disturb him since he’d only been in bed a few hours. “Poppa. Someone’s asking for you.”
“All right. I’ll be out in a moment.”
“Lizzie, stay here for a minute. I’ll be right back.” The girl nodded, and Beth hurried back outside, carrying Annie on her hip. The man in the wagon pulled to a stop, his horses panting and lathered. He must have driven hard and fast for a long ways. Beth noticed another man lying in the back. Her heart lurched at the size of the patient and the dark hair that hung over the bandage surrounding his head. No! Please, Lord. Not Cade.
The driver untied the saddled horse and slapped its reins around the hitching post in front of the boardinghouse. He jogged back to the wagon, lowered the gate, and yanked off a blanket that had partially covered the man’s face. Beth’s heart dropped. It was Cade. Trembling, she turned so that Annie couldn’t see her father. The girl had just stopped asking for him. What could have happened? Had he been attacked? His head wound was the only injury she could see other than some scratches on his knuckles.
Several men ran across the street and offered to help carry Cade inside. Beth pushed the door open, slid the iron pig-shaped stop in front of it with her foot, then opened the door to the suite. They’d have to put Cade on her father’s bed because the room she and the girls shared would be too small for her father to work on a patient. Poppa pulled open his door and strode out.
“They’re bringing him in now. It’s Mr. Maddox,” she whispered. She peered at Annie. “I need to get her out of here before she sees him.”
“Go—and take that other child with you.”
She took Lizzie’s hand. “Come along, sweetie. Let’s go see if Mrs. Reinhardt has any treats.”
“Cake!” Annie bounced in Beth’s arm and smacked her lips.
“Perhaps.” Beth smiled at her, glad that each day she was more active and her arm hurt less. Annie didn’t care for the sling Poppa had fashioned to keep her arm immobile, but once they’d stuck her doll in it, too, Annie had accepted it.
Beth quickened her steps to get the girls past the front door and into the other side of the boardinghouse, which included the parlor, dining room, and kitchen. Mrs. Reinhardt walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.
“Miss Ruskin, what is that commotion? Do we have new guests?”
“Some men are bringing a patient in to Poppa.”
Mrs. Reinhardt lifted her hands to her lips. “I did not expect he would attend patients here. I hope the person isn’t sick with something contagious.”
“No, ma’am. He has a head wound.”
Lizzie pulled out a chair at the table and crawled into it.
“Me sit.” Annie pointed at the table.
Beth’s cheeks heated. “I was wondering if you might be able to watch the girls and perhaps give them a treat while I assist Poppa.”
The older woman smiled. “You know I love these two cherubs. I’d be happy to, as long as it doesn’t take too much time. I’ve already started preparations for supper.”
“I don’t think it should.”
“Good. Just let me fix a quick treat.” She spun around and, in less than a minute, returned with two plates, each containing a cookie almost as big as the dish.
Beth set Annie in the high chair and pushed it up to the table. “You two be good and obey Mrs. Reinhardt.”
“We will,” Lizzie said.
Beth rushed back to their quarters. All the men except for the wagon driver were gone.
“Thank you, Mr. Duffy. I’ll take good care of Mr. Maddox,” her father said.
“I’m obliged. His folks were good neighbors.” Mr. Duffy nodded. “I’ll see to Cade’s horse.”
Beth rushed past the two men and into her father’s room. She gasped at the sight of Cade, limp and pale.
“Don’t just stand there staring, Beth.”
She spun into motion, emptying out the instruments her poppa would need. “What happened?”
“Mr. Duffy said he fell off a roof.”
Beth blinked, confused. “But where was he when the accident happened? Not at his house.”
“He also owns a ranch next to Mr. Duffy’s.” He cut the bandage off and examined the gash on Cade’s head. “This doesn’t look too bad. I’m concerned that he hasn’t come to though. Mr. Duffy said he fell several hours ago.”
Beth clutched her hands to her chest, suddenly realizing she cared for Cade. When had that happened? What if he never woke up? She knew that sometimes occurred with head injuries.
“I need some clean water.”
Beth hurried to do the task, thankful to be able to help. She didn’t have time to examine her feelings now, but examine them she would. How was it Cade Maddox had slipped into her heart so quickly?
“Please, Lord, let Cade wake up and be all right.”