Distraction (6 page)

Libby leaned over her, and I glimpsed the tender
curve of the girl’s neck and shoulder, another image that was not
going to leave my mind any time soon.

“Now don’t you worry. Honey,” Libby said in that tone
that could soothe a man with a noose around his neck, “we’ll get
you home to Whistle or Ipsick or wherever you’re from just as soon
as you’re strong enough. Get some more rest.” Libby walked over and
pulled shut the curtains. “What is your name? Do you remember
it?”

“My name is Poppy,” she said quietly.

And now I had a sweet name to distract me as
well.

“Well, Poppy, you rest and Charlotte, here, will
bring you some lunch later.”

Charlotte lifted the tray of soup and walked toward
me.

“Charlotte,” Poppy said on a yawn, “she’s a wonderful
cow.”

Charlotte stopped so suddenly the bowl of soup nearly
slid from the tray. Her mouth twisted angrily. “Did she just call
me a cow?”

It was hard to hold back a smile. “Nah,” I said
confidently, “I think she was talking about a different cow.”

“Oh shut your trap, Cade. You bring us another mouth
to feed, and now you’re leaving. God knows when you’ll have had
your fill of whiskey, poker, and women to find your way home
again.”

“At this point, I don’t even think God can predict
when I’ll have my fill. Think he’s too busy to keep track.” I
tipped my hat at her, and she stormed past me with the tray. There
wasn’t always so much hatred between us. When Samuel was courting
her, she was pleasant enough and would even laugh if you caught her
at the right time, but once they’d married and Charlotte had moved
in with us, I realized there was a lot more to dislike about my
sister-in-law than to like. And she seemed to have come to the same
conclusion about me. Still, she’d been more than attentive to
Poppy, and I should have been more thankful to her for that.

Libby closed the door behind her. “Leave Charlotte
alone, Cade. She’s been real helpful in there.”

“Yeah, I know. How’s the girl doing?”

Libby wiped her hands on her apron and then reached
up to wipe dirt off my face. “Real good. Never seen anyone heal so
quickly.” I could see a glimpse of a smile in the dark hallway.
“One would almost think that Doc Walker performed some kind of
magic on her or something.” We headed to the kitchen. “You still
never explained where she came from.”

“Just found her near the bear. Like she dropped out
of nowhere,” I added.

She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to me. “She
was asking about some place called Salem.” She stopped and looked
at me. “Isn’t that in Massachusetts or somewhere back east?”

“Sounds about right. Maybe there’s another Salem here
in Montana that we don’t know about.”

She took a sip of her own coffee. “Maybe.” She turned
and straightened my neck scarf. “Hurry back, Cade. And try to come
back in one piece. One patient is enough around here.”

I put down my coffee and kissed her cheek. “I’ll try
to keep my bones intact.”

Jackson was just finishing saddling the horses when I
walked out with our bedrolls. He was moaning like an old man
getting out of his rocker as he finished tightening the cinch.

“Why the heck are you groaning like that, Jacks?”

He looked over the saddle at me. “Huh? Oh I was just
thinking aloud or I guess I should say moaning aloud as I was
remembering back to last spring when we were out breaking horses
for Trenton. The ground in his corrals is harder than a slab of
granite. My backside is still haunted with the memories of it
all.”

“Maybe you could tie a pillow to that haunted
backside of yours.” I finished securing the bedroll on the back of
the saddle as Samuel walked into the barn.
“Charlotte says you’re leaving,” Samuel said angrily. “Where the
hell do you think you’re going? There’s work to be done here. And
what about that homeless girl you left us with? You’re just gonna
up and leave?”

I looked at him. “Yep.”

“Who’s going to fix the south fence?”

“Did it yesterday.” I ran my hands down the backs of
River’s hocks to make sure there was no swelling. “Be back in a
week.”

“That’s just great,” Samuel sneered. He’d always
taken pride in being the older brother who could boss and order his
younger brother around, but two summers ago, right after my
seventeenth birthday, I’d grown three inches taller than him. Once
I’d learned to draw faster, fight harder, and ride better than him,
he’d had to come to the disappointing realization that his days as
boss were over.

I straightened and turned to him with a sigh. “First
of all, Libby said she’d look after the girl. She’ll probably be
back with her family before I even get home.” I wasn’t sure if that
thought comforted me or bothered me. “Secondly, old man Trenton
pays good money to break those mustangs and we need the cash. We
lost half our herd to the drought and let’s face it, Samuel, we’ll
lose the rest if this dry spell doesn’t break soon. This ranch was
Dad’s legacy. It’s all we’ve got, and I’m not willing to let it
slip away just yet.” I put my hand on his shoulder, more to
irritate him than for any other reason, and the expression on his
face assured me it worked. “I’ll be back in a week with a pocket of
cash and possibly a few broken bones.”

Samuel snarled as he turned to leave. “You’ll
probably lose it all at poker before you even get home.”

“You’re thinking of
your
poker playing skills,
Sam,” I called to him. “I always win.”

Jackson and I mounted up and headed out.

Jackson shook his head and laughed. “Sometimes I
wonder if it’s being married to Charlotte that always has your
brother in such a fit or if he’s just getting grumpier with
age.”

“He’s only twenty-four. I think it’s Charlotte. She’s
got him wrapped tightly in her fist. Poor guy can’t even take a sip
of whiskey without her blathering on to him about the sin of
drinking.”

“I don’t know if any woman is worth giving up
everything that’s sinful, unless the woman herself is full of sin,”
Jackson laughed. “Speaking of women— how’s your wingless
angel?”

“She’s on the mend. I’m sure she’ll be ready to go
home soon. Wherever home is.”

“You mean she’ll be up and gone before we get
back?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.” And that’s when it struck me.
I’d tried to convince myself that she’d be gone and that would be
the end of it, but the thought of never seeing her again left a
bitter taste in my throat. Jackson fired another question at me,
but I had no idea what he’d asked.

I tamped my hat down on my head and glanced at him. A
grin plumped his already round face.

“What are you staring at?” I asked.

“Oh nothing. It’s just when I mentioned the girl, you
seemed to drift off into your own little world there for a moment.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think—”

“Don’t think, you fool. You need all your energy for
breaking colts.” I kicked River into a run and headed for Grimly’s
Ridge. Six days of getting thrown ten feet in the air and having
the wind knocked out of me would definitely help bounce the girl
from my mind.

The cavernous kitchen smelled richly of cinnamon and
cloves. It reminded me of the gingerbread I’d eaten on that day,
that terrible fateful day of rosy skies.

Libby pulled a pie out of the odd looking iron box
which she had fed armfuls of wood and kindling before feeding it
the pie. But the pie was spit back out, only now it was cooked to a
perfectly golden crust.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like that iron box,”
I said. My voice was nearly lost in the large kitchen.

Libby looked over her shoulder at me. Her smooth pink
cheeks nearly covered her blue eyes when she smiled. She was a
tall, robust woman who looked stronger than most men I knew, but
she had the gentle demeanor of a grandmother. I’d grown quite fond
of her during my convalescence. I had no idea how Nonni and I would
ever repay her for her kindness.

“This old thing? I call her Bessie.” Libby patted the
side of the iron box. “She’s an antique, but she still produces a
fine pie crust. Still, I’ve been saving my pennies hoping to buy a
beauty of a coal burner I saw over at the merchant shop.” She had
lowered her voice as if she thought Bessie might hear and
understand. “I’ll bet you’ve seen some of those fancy new gas
burning stoves when you were back east.”

She referred to back east a lot, but I had no idea
what she meant. I was someplace called Montana, but I didn’t know
where it was in relation to Salem. “We just had a kettle and fire
back home.”

Libby’s blue eyes opened wide. “A kettle and fire? I
wouldn’t think anyone lived like that out there anymore. Especially
being so close to Boston and all.”

“Boston? I’ve never been there but I hear it’s a fine
little town.”

Libby’s laugh echoed through the room. “Little town?
It’s hardly little.”

“Libby, is it possible for me to walk to Salem from
here?”

She laughed again but then seemed to notice my
distress and stopped. “I’m sorry, Honey, but you could walk for
days and never reach the end of Montana, let alone the east coast.
I’m afraid the only way to get to Salem would be by train. And that
costs a pretty penny. I’d lend you the money if I had it to
lend.”

Trains and pretty pennies, once again her words
confused me, but I didn’t let on that I had no idea what she was
talking about. I was ashamed at my ignorance. Obviously two hundred
years had brought on a lot of changes, but I couldn’t explain to
her that I was years from home. So I just nodded in agreement.

The strange conversation had left me feeling
desperately homesick. I fought back tears and concentrated on my
needlework. The oversized dress slipped off my shoulder again, and
I adjusted it before pushing the needle through the fabric. Libby
leaned over my shoulder to glance at my work.

“Who taught you to sew a fine sampler like that,
Poppy?”

“My grandmother,” I said and placed the sampler on my
lap. It had been a week since I’d last seen Nonni, and the sadness
was overwhelming.

“Is that who Nonni is?”

I looked up at her with wide eyes. “Yes, have you
seen her?”

“No, I haven’t seen her, but you must have called her
name out a hundred times when you were suffering that terrible
fever.” Libby sat down on the chair across from me. It was rare to
see her with a grave expression on her face. “Poppy, of course
you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I’m still
confused about how you got here to Montana. Did your grandmother
travel with you?”

The question caused a terrible ache in my throat. I
stared down at the sampler in my lap not completely sure how to
answer. “She was supposed to travel behind me,” I said after a long
pause. My eyes were blurry with tears now as I looked up at Libby.
“I think I may have gotten lost, and I just hope she can find me.”
I thought about the crystal being ripped from my fingers and the
dreadful thought that if I used my magic it might lead Nonni to me,
but Angus would be close behind.

Libby pulled a handkerchief from her apron pocket and
handed it to me. “Well, I’ve just had a brilliant idea. First of
all, you need a dress that fits you. My friend, Susan, is the best
dressmaker around. She has a nice little shop in town. You could
help me bake a few more pies, and we’ll take them into town to
trade for a dress or two. I’m sure she can dig up something that
fits a tiny little thing like you. Then we’ll go over to the
telegraph office and find out how much it would cost to send a
telegraph to Salem. Maybe they can get word to your Nonni.”

She’d lost me completely, and she seemed to sense my
confusion. “Pardon my ignorance, Libby, but what is a
telegraph?”

Her mouth hung open for a moment but she recovered
quickly. “A kettle and fire? No telegraph? You must have lived in a
really remote part of Salem. A telegraph—” she began but then she
looked as confused as I felt. She seemed to be looking for the
right words then shrugged. “I don’t really know how the thing
works, but we can get a message over to Salem to let them know your
whereabouts. Maybe someone can find your grandma.”

I was completely baffled by the whole thing, but I
wasn’t sure if it was wise. If the whole of Salem were to discover
where I was then Angus could find me too. “Libby, thank you, but my
grandmother won’t need a message. She’ll be able to find me without
it. And I don’t want you to spend any of your hard earned money to
pay for a message. If you don’t mind I would like to stay here
until she comes for me. I think it will be easier for her to find
me if I stay in one place. I can help around here. I know how to
cook and wash. I’m quite skilled at milking a cow.”

Libby reached forward and took hold of both my hands.
Her fingers were calloused and rough like Nonni’s. “Of course you
can stay as long as you like, Honey. And I can always use a hand
around here. Especially if you don’t mind milking.” She reached to
her back. “My back has been in a twist these last few years, and I
would be truly grateful not to have to bend down beneath those cows
anymore.” She squeezed my fingers in hers. “I know you’ve healed up
way faster than I could have imagined, but do you think you’re up
to making pies today?”

I smiled. “Absolutely. What shall I do first?” I
looked forward to occupying my mind and hands with pie baking. It
would help pass time while I waited for Nonni and Mari. Certainly
my grandmother’s supernatural instincts would lead her to me
soon.

Libby and I sipped tea while we baked. I peeled tart
green apples, and Libby rolled out the crust. I gazed out the
window as I worked. The land around the house was immense and
somewhat desolate. A large red barn stood a healthy walk from the
house, and I could see a few pigs in a pen. Aside from a handful of
chickens pecking at the barren dirt in front of the barn, there
were few other signs of life.