Brides of Idaho (11 page)

Inside came the sound of one of the women—likely Joanna—in the kitchen, rattling pots on the stove. And men started to surface from their sleep.

Two men passed him, muttering about how their night had been so disturbed.

Jack came out and sat by Levi. “She was scared being with so many strangers.”

“I know.”

He felt Emmy stir, knew she wakened. But she seemed content to remain curled in his arms. And he was too weary to move.

One by one, or in pairs, the men left the room to allow breakfast to be set out. Not a one had a kind word about Emmy’s upset. All they seemed to care about was their disturbed sleep.

“I’m hungry,” Jack said.

“Did you roll up your bedding?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Bring your things and mine out to the porch then wash up.”

Emmy sighed, sat up, and rubbed her eyes.

Levi took her to wash.

“Breakfast is ready,” Glory called and stepped aside to allow the men to reenter. Joanna waited to take their coins.

The crude man from the night before stepped forward. “I don’t intend to pay for a night when I wasn’t allowed to sleep. I want my money back.”

Others crowded about him, and their discontent rumbled.

Glory pressed to Joanna’s side. She gave Levi a look full of accusation.

He didn’t need her to silently inform him this was his fault. He already knew it and intended to make it right. He pushed his way to the front. “I’ll pay for everyone’s breakfast to make up for last night.” He counted heads then dropped the appropriate amount into Joanna’s palm. It made a dent in his funds, but it couldn’t be helped.

Joanna turned to the waiting men. “Is that acceptable?”

Seems they were agreeable, and they trooped inside.

Levi took the children in, well aware Emmy squirmed in discomfort. This arrangement wasn’t going to work. He’d have to figure out something else.

The others left before Emmy finished. In fact, she didn’t start eating until they departed.

Joanna stood in the kitchen doorway. “Levi, can we talk to you?”

He knew what she wanted. “I’m sorry about last night.”

The three women faced him. Even Glory looked regretful. For one second only, he allowed himself to look into her pale brown eyes and believe he saw understanding.

Of course he did. For the children. And what more did he want or expect? Nothing more. Nothing at all.

“I’m sorry,” Joanna said, as the spokeswoman for the trio. “But if we let you stay here, we’ll ruin our business.”

“I know. I’ll find something else.”

“Where?” Mandy demanded. “I don’t know of any empty place in town.”

“Except—” Joanna turned to stare at Glory.

“Of course.” Mandy gave Glory her attention as well.

“Your room behind the shop,” they said in unison. “It’s furnished and everything.”

“No. It just wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?” Again the pair spoke at once.

“She’s right,” Levi said, but they didn’t hear him. He did not intend to move into her shop. See her at work every day. Be aware of her comings and goings. Be tempted to watch her. Speak to her. Wonder if she would perhaps drop in for a cup of coffee and a visit. How could he keep his mind on his task under such circumstances? “She’s right,” he said again, louder, more insistent.

All three stared at him.

“She is not.” Mandy seemed shocked he would agree.

“Yes, I am.” Glory’s expression was rife with anger. He’d agreed with her, hadn’t he? No reason she should be upset about it.

Joanna looked from Glory to Levi and back again. “You two fighting about something?”

“No, ma’am.” Levi was firm in his denial.

Joanna turned to Glory and waited for her answer. When it wasn’t forthcoming, she planted her hands on her hips. “Don’t tell me. You’ve done something so outrageous you offended him.”

“I did not.” She glowered at Levi.

He couldn’t help but grin. No, she hadn’t. But he had. He’d kissed her. Told her he was sorry. But was he? Not completely.

Joanna saw his grin. “Something is going on between you two. I can tell.”

Levi shrugged, and Glory glowered, but neither offered an explanation.

Joanna sighed. “If that’s the way you’re going to be… Then what are you going to do with the children?”

“I’m not sure. Nothing seems ideal. But then anything is better than sitting alone at the side of the road.” The thought cheered him. “We’ll manage.”

Only one option presented itself. He’d throw himself and his charges on Mr. Phelps’s mercy. His house was tiny, but they could squeeze in.

He gathered up the children and their belongings and headed out. He’d check on Widow Kish first.

As he approached the house, he saw the door open. But as he drew closer, he saw the door was not just open. It was missing. Something was wrong. “Stay here,” he told the children and dropped to the ground to ease forward.

A big sign had been nailed to the side of the shack. No T
RESPASSING
. Who would want to trespass, and who would care? But someone obviously did.

He stepped inside. “Mrs. Kish? Are you here?” The place felt as empty as a licked-out tin can, but he investigated every corner and searched the clearing around the shack. Nothing. Nobody. What happened to the widow? All sorts of scenes raced to his mind. Someone had hurt her. She’d fallen somewhere and hurt herself. But none explained the absence of her belongings. Had she suddenly decided to move? But she said she had no family.

He mounted his horse again and turned back to town.

“Where’s the lady we was supposed to see?” Emmy demanded.

“She’s gone.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know.”

“You gonna find her?”

Jack spoke from behind Levi. “Emmy, you ask too many questions.”

“Well, if he’s gonna find our pa, maybe he can find the lady, too.”

They turned off at Mr. Phelps’s house.

“Who lives here?” Emmy asked.

“A friend of mine.”

“Will I like him?” She twisted around to look at Levi, forcing him to grab the back of her dress to keep her from falling.

“She talks too much,” Jack muttered.

“Do not.”

“Yes, you do. Even Pa said so.”

Emmy’s face grew instantly sad, and tears filled her big eyes. “Is that why he left?”

Jack relented of his scolding. “Course not, silly. He had something to do. Remember?”

Levi wanted to find their father and demand an explanation. Why would he leave his children even for a moment? But right now he had to do something to restore Emmy’s cheerfulness. “Probably right now he’s wishing he could hear your voice.” And if he wasn’t, the man didn’t deserve to be a father. Forbidden, his thoughts went to Glory. Seems her father didn’t deserve the privilege either.

He took the children with him to the door, knocked, and went inside at Mr. Phelps’s call to enter. He went into the kitchen and blinked. Widow Kish sat across the table from Mr. Phelps, and they were both drinking tea.

“Join us,” Mr. Phelps called. “Though the children will have to share a chair.”

Levi pulled out a chair for the children and sat on the fourth, all the while trying to make sense of this situation. He turned to the widow. “I was at your place. It looks deserted.”

“It is. The man who owns the land came by yesterday and said I had one hour to vacate his property. And let me tell you, he wasn’t prepared to listen to reason. So I gathered up my things under his eagle eye and marched out without so much as a backward look.” She gave a laugh, half-bitter, half-grateful. “I stopped to say good-bye to Mr. Phelps.”

“I said I could use a housekeeper if she was interested.”

“So here I am.”

“It’s good to know you’re safe and sound. I had all sorts of thoughts about what happened to you.”

“I’m sure I shall enjoy it here. Like the good Lord says, ‘The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.’”

“I’m most grateful to have someone care for my home,” Mr. Phelps said. He cleared his throat and looked embarrassed. “We’re hoping you’ll agree to marry us.”

Levi grinned. “It would be an honor.” His first wedding in Bonners Ferry. “Why don’t we meet at the lawyer’s office in a couple of hours?” It was indeed good news… for the widow and lonely Mr. Phelps. But it left Levi with no place to shelter the children. There would not be room for them here now.

But—he cheered up—if the Lord could provide for a widow woman, He could certainly provide for two abandoned children.

They visited awhile then Levi headed back to town.

He slowed his horse as he neared Glory’s shop. The door was open, a man and four horses in the pen. Glory glanced up from her work, saw him, and straightened to study him. Her gaze darted to the children then back to him. Then she turned to her work.

But had he seen regret in her gaze? Was she thinking of the sparsely furnished room at the back of her shop? It sounded mighty appealing just now. But he knew what would happen to his vow of service if he moved into it. He would not be able to keep his thoughts focused on working for the Lord. He’d think far too much about how he could show he cared for Glory.

Because, despite taking the words back, he cared.

And it could not be. He thought of Matt the last time he’d seen him, in leg irons and chains, a mask of toughness almost hiding the hurt and fear beneath. Perhaps only Levi saw it, but it was enough to convince him to help his brother. And he knew how. Serve God wholly and exclusively. Trust God to soften Matt’s heart.

He hadn’t changed his mind.

He rode on. Unless something else turned up in the next few hours, he would be making camp for the three of them among the trees. In fact, there was no point in delaying the inevitable. First, he needed to meet Mr. Phelps and Widow Kish at the lawyer’s office.

A little later, having duly married them, he headed for the store and some much-needed food supplies. Then he followed a little trail leading up the hillside.

“Where we going?” Emmy demanded.

“Would you like a picnic?”

“Yes.”

He found a grassy clearing large enough to allow the sun to warm the air early in the morning. Trees surrounded them at a distance, and the blue mountains filled the horizon. “This will do.” He set the children on the ground.

Free from the presence of strangers, Emmy let out a deep sigh and with a shriek of delight started to run around the clearing.

Jack started after her then grew serious. “She’s just little.” He turned, somewhat reluctantly Levi thought, and reached out to take the gunnysack as Levi removed it from the back of the horse.

“I’m going to need some help building a shelter.”

“This isn’t just a picnic, is it?”

“It’s where we’ll sleep until I find something else.”

“Or find our pa.”

“I’ll get at that right away.” He would give the ferry man a message to hand off to someone he considered trustworthy enough to deliver to the North-West Mounted Police across the border.

He cut branches, and Jack helped him fashion a shelter. They found more branches to create a bed for them. The nights would cool off, but with a fire in front of the open side, they should be fine. And if it rained? Well… he hung a roll of canvas on the open side just in case.

He wasn’t much of a cook, but they enjoyed pieces of cheese and biscuits, both of which he’d been able to purchase at the store. They remained there all afternoon, the children playing so happily he couldn’t bear to take them away to return to town and check on… things. Mostly he thought of Glory and warned himself to remember his vow. Later, he fried up some salt pork for supper. If he felt comfortable leaving the children, he’d hunt some fresh meat. But he was reluctant to leave them.

The next morning, they had more biscuits and some canned peaches. The children ate heartily without complaint.

“I need to do some things today,” he informed them after they’d eaten and cleaned up. “You’ll have to come with me.”

Emmy stuck out her chin, prepared to argue.

Jack grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

“I don’t want to. I’m having fun.”

Jack faced her and grew very serious. “Emmy, you must not make him regret taking care of us.”

“We was doing fine by ourselves, weren’t we?”

“You were scared.”

“Only at night.”

“And when you saw people coming.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “I was only hoping it was Pa.”

Levi decided it was time to intervene and clear up any fears triggered by the suggestion Jack had made. “I’ll never regret helping you two, but I need to send a message about your pa. You want to come with me?”

That brought an eager response from them both.

Their first stop was the ferry where Levi wrote the message on a piece of paper. The ferry man promised to see it into safe hands.

F
or two days Glory watched Levi ride through town with the children. If she thought it would make him change his mind, she would track him down and insist he move into the little room adjoining her shop. It galled her to think of the children camping out, though they no doubt considered it an adventure.

Joanna had learned they had a rough camp up the hill. “That’s no place to have children. Glory, you should persuade Levi to move into your room.”

“You heard him. He doesn’t want to.” She managed to keep the bitterness from her voice. He made it clear he regretted stealing a kiss, saying he cared. Even living in a room she owned was too much. As if he couldn’t abide a hint of her presence.

“Did you two argue about something? Did he say something when he stopped your horses?”

Joanna could be so dense sometimes.

“Of course he said something. Told me I was foolish.”

Joanna chuckled. “You’re certainly foolhardy. Even you can’t deny that.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

“Exactly. And Levi is a preacher. I expect he does care what people think. He must be circumspect.”

“Or real good at fooling people.”

Joanna jerked about to face her. “Glory, you don’t believe that.” Her eyes narrowed. “I suppose you accused Levi of being false. No wonder he avoids you.”