New Beginnings (New Beginnings Series) (3 page)

“Hey, Toby,” Sam said. “How are you?”

“I help’n Eric brin’ ya home,” the boy drawled back.

“Good, let’s get going,” Sam said as he tried to stand with Eric’s help.

“Where lady?” Toby drooled, “Eric said lady care you. Where perdy lady?”

“She’s not here right now, Toby.” Sam rubbed the boy’s freshly washed head, “and we have to get home before dark.”

“I want see lady.”

Eric cuffed the lad’s ear, “We’ve got to go, Toby. You help Sam on the other side.”

Together the three made their way onto the porch before Sam rested a moment.

“You all right?” Eric asked.

“Yep,” Sam gave a slight nod, but the beads of sweat on his forehead showed his difficulty.

They were all taken by surprise to see the black horse tied to the back of the wagon. A rope halter held him in place, the saddle, saddle bags and bridle were thrown into the box. Sam looked around the yard to try to catch a glimpse of his rescuer and felt a touch of disappointment when she was nowhere to be seen.

Being a big man, Eric lifted Sam to the bench seat at the front of the wagon. He walked around the back, helped Toby up in place, and then climbed into the seat beside his boss. He took hold of the reins, flicked them and clucked at the horses. The team pulled ahead and followed the trail past a small grove of fruit trees. The few leaves that remained showed the red and gold colours of fall. Sam noticed for the first time where the barn once stood. Now all that could be seen was its charred remains, and he realized what a loss this could be to someone in Sara’s situation.

In the back of the wagon Toby became excited. With spit flying he exclaimed, “Fire! Big fire! Perdy fire?”

Eric turned and swung at him as he yelled at the boy to be quiet and sit down.

Toby slumped down on the wagon floor. He sulked and muttered to himself, “Perdy fire…”

Chapter Two

The ride back to town started quietly, the slight repetitive squeak of the wagon being the only sound. Toby lay down in the back and eventually went to sleep with the sway and the sound lulling him.

Although it was next to impossible, Eric kept the ride as smooth as possible. As they traveled north from the homestead, the team pulled the wagon over a single large hill. When they arrived at the top, Sam turned back to see the beauty of the land. The settlers claimed their land not far from a small lake with more rolling hills to the south.

“So, everything all right back in town?” Sam asked, trying to break the silence.

“Same as ya left it. Why do you think t’guy bushwhacked you t’other day? Think he knew ya were looking to do business in Plum Creek?”

“I don’t know, but I think you were right, the days of me traveling alone have ended. I’m glad Toby made it back to town safely. I sent him back as soon as I knew trouble was brewing.”

“Ya lucky ya got somewhere for help. Who was this woman anyway?”

“Sara.”

“Man, you’re lucky she didn’t leave ya to bleed to death, or maybe finish ya off herself.”

“Why? You know her?” Sam looked at Eric rather puzzled.

“Ya mean ya don’t?”

“Should I?”

“Must’a bin Sara Gardiner, William’s wife. Thought she’d left the farm last summer and headed back east.”

Sam sat in silence, wondering why Sara Gardiner would help, unless she didn’t recognize him. The rest of the ride back to Brandon went by quietly, both men thinking of the past.

Nearly two years earlier, William Gardiner began coming to Grand Valley almost daily. After being only an occasional customer he suddenly began to frequent the tavern. Sam wasn’t sure why, but knew the man had problems at home and a man wanting to drown his sorrows often proved to be profitable. William had a soft spot for the girls and especially one struck his fancy. The establishment moved to Brandon when Grand Valley started to decline and he followed with his business. Gradually the whiskey and poker games started to interest him more and more. Like most other men avoiding problems, when he was in the tavern he felt like the outside world disappeared. This certainly didn’t bother Sam. After all, the Gardiners held a bank loan to develop their farm. The more time William spent in the saloon, the less likely he would be farming his land and would probably not be able to pay back the money. The collateral being the farm, Sam saw dollar signs whenever the farmer entered his establishment.

During the next winter, William went deeply into debt to the saloon, which often bailed him out of poker losses. Near the end of March, Sam called in the loan the farmer had no means of paying off. They agreed he would bring Sam the team of beautiful Shire mares as payment on the last day of the month. The bar owner was gracious enough to give his loyal patron an additional twenty dollars credit.

Several days went by with no sign of the man or the team and no one was allowed to beat Sam Fielding. The weather was mild on the third day of April and he felt it had been long enough to wait for payment. Eric was sent out to the farm to retrieve the team and although it hadn’t been planned, Toby followed. Eric thought of sending him back to town, but really didn’t expect any trouble, so let the boy tag along.

When they arrived no one appeared to be at the Gardiner homestead. Eric went directly down to the barn, expecting the team to be in their stall, when he met William at the door, shotgun in hand.

“Hey, hold on.” Eric held his left hand up toward the farmer. “We don’t want any trouble, but Mr. Fielding wants t’team today.” Behind his back his right hand held the Frontier 44 he often tucked into the back of his jeans under his jacket.

William leveled his rifle toward the collector’s belly. “I need the team, or I can’t put in this year’s crop.”

“Hey, I’ve got no say in t’ matter. I have ta take ‘em today. Maybe you can rent ‘em back from Mr. Fielding.”

“I can’t let you take them,” he cocked the trigger.

But Eric was much more experienced at gun fighting and before William’s gun discharged, the bullet from the 44 hit the farmer in the chest. The man fell back against a small pile of hay and as he lay dying, Eric simply walked past him to find the horses.

Toby watched the commotion, getting so excited he jumped up and down and screamed wildly.

As he walked back past the boy leading the team, Eric suggestively told him a lantern hung in the barn. Several times Toby started fires in the town and everyone was well aware any flames needed to be watched closely. Fire fascinated him in a dangerous way. Eric told Toby to follow shortly and left the farm, leading the team behind his horse. As expected, soon flames could be seen a mile away, black smoke funneling toward the sky.

Eric was back to town before Toby caught up to him. He delivered the horses to the hotel’s stable when the boy, excited and flushed, rushed into the barn. Jumping up and down he tried to tell Eric something but between the mumbled words and lack of interest, the man couldn’t understand what the boy tried to say. He left Toby to brush his horse and went to tell his boss what happened.

Sam was only a little disappointed at the news. He lost one of the saloon’s best customers, but the prospects of a farm payment not being made this fall pleased him. He thought William had a wife, but he never mentioned any children. She certainly wouldn’t have anything to stay here for now and probably would go back home in the east.

When they arrived back in Brandon, Eric drove the team to the back of the saloon where Sam’s home was located. As soon as he pulled back on the reins and called “Whoa” to the horses, Toby sat up in the back, exaggeratedly rubbing his eyes.

“We here already,” he yawned, “we must’ a flied.”

“Yeah, right!” Eric turned to the boy, “Help me get Sam out of the wagon.”

It was about four feet to the ground from the seat and the ride was a long and painful one. Although he tried not to, a loud groan escaped Sam as he reached the ground. Eric tried to lift his boss to carry him, but was met with a demand not to, as no one was to see Sam Fielding not in control. They helped him up the six steps to the door, which suddenly opened and the housekeeper, Mary Benson, met them.

She took Toby’s place at Sam’s left side, sending the boy away. “Go and get Doc Brown. Tell him Mr. Fielding needs him right away.” She sent him scrambling, waving her hand at him.

Toby took off on the run, tripping over his feet, almost falling flat on the ground.

“Take it easy kid, get there in one piece!” Eric yelled.

As they stepped inside Eric hoisted Sam into his arms, refusing to listen to any protest, which was not quite as demanding this time. Mary led the men into the sitting room, adjoining the large entrance. The room was decorated to show off the owner’s wealth and the settee Eric was heading for came from France. Mary quickly covered it with a blanket as Mr. Fielding’s clothing was greatly soiled from the dusty ride home and the tragic activity of the day before. Sara had patched the trousers but they were still covered with blood and dirt.

After making Mr. Fielding comfortable, Mary went to his bedroom to get a robe. She was a smaller woman, a touch on the heavy side, but she moved quickly up the stairs. After returning with it, she dismissed herself to go prepare a pot of tea for after the doctor’s visit. Eric helped Sam change, throwing the soiled clothes in a pile for the trash.

Doc Brown arrived within a short time, as Sam was probably one of the most influential men in the town and demanded prompt service when needed. Besides, he was the owner of the office the doctor rented and that was reason enough to provide quick aid.

After he removed the dressings and saw the previous care, Doc remarked at the excellent care to the wound. “You were lucky to find someone with medical experience so quickly after the shooting,” he said, surprised the wound was already starting to heal. “If it hadn’t been so well taken care of, no doubt the damage done would have been much more extensive. If infection set in you could have lost your leg, but from what I see here it looks like it will mend back to normal. It will take several months but that is much better than amputation.”

Sam was quite relieved to hear his rescuer did such a good job and wondered what would have happened if she recognized who he was. “She seemed to know a lot about medicine, said she was a nurse in the American War when she was back east.”

“Where were you so lucky to end up? I am sure your horse must have chosen where you went,” the doctor said as he rewrapped the wound.

“She called herself Sara. Eric says I was at the Gardiner home.”

“Sara?” The doctor glanced up at his patient, a questioning look on his face. “Are you sure? I thought she went back home to New Brunswick after her husband died.”

Sam shrugged back at the man. He could only tell him what he was told.

“I know she has the medical experience to do this. I have asked her several times to work with me, but she had so many problems at home. After William died, I invited her to move into the back of my office, but she said her plans were to go back to her family.”

“What kind of problems did she have?” Sam asked. He was starting to wonder about someone else, a very new experience.

“I’d have to tell you about that another time. It is a long story and Mrs. Kent went into labour this afternoon. I promised the midwife I’ll check in on them later today.” Doc Brown mixed a liquid in a glass of water and gave it to Sam. “This laudanum will relieve the pain, and help you have a good night’s sleep.” He handed his patient the glass, then packed up his bag with the medical supplies. “I’ll stop back tomorrow to check on you.”

After the doctor left, Eric carried Sam up the stairs to the bedroom, the housekeeper following close behind with a pot of tea and a plate of toast. The hired-hand placed his boss on the bed and Mary carefully adjusted the pillows and tucked the bedcovers around him and he was settled for the night. The medicine worked quickly and made him very tired. Without drinking the tea or eating his toast, he fell asleep. The two left the room, discussing how fortunate Mr. Fielding was to have found Sara.

“Sara used to come to the Sunday Services in Grand Valley and after the Reverend Roddick moved to the Brandon Hills and gave services at Lake McPherson she never missed a Sunday. But no one has seen her since a short time after William died,” Mary said to Eric, “Do you think it was really her?”

“Doc Brown thought t‘was her work on Sam’s leg.”

“I can’t imagine why she would stay and never come into town anymore. I have heard some odd rumours about her though.”

They both shrugged their shoulders, realizing Sara was probably the only person who knew the answers to their questions.

Sam slept soundly for several hours, until suddenly he sat upright in the bed, his face covered in sweat. Mary was using the guest room with a connecting door to the master bedroom so she would be close by if Mr. Fielding needed her during the night. She slept lightly and went quickly into his room when he stirred. Thinking it was the pain from his wound, she mixed him another glass of the medicine, which he accepted graciously. What he didn’t tell his housekeeper was the dream he was having. In the nightmare it was he who shot William, stepping directly over the dying man to retrieve the horses and Sara watching from the porch, crying. He lay awake in his bed wondering about her until the medicine finally took effect and he fell asleep.