Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5) (19 page)

Bear turned to leave. “I’ll get the wagon team hitched up and meet ye in front.”

Catherine rushed in, followed by Artis. Both women must have dressed hastily and their long hair was still braided.

“Stephen!” Catherine squealed as soon as she caught sight of him.

His wife had always been fond of Sam’s brothers. They went through a lot together—good times and bad—and it made them all close.

“Hello Catherine. You’re looking as elegant as ever,” Stephen said, clasping her outstretched hands and giving her an affectionate hug.

Catherine smiled at the compliment. “I look like one of your heifers about to drop a calf. Nevertheless, thank you. Is everything all right? Where are Jane and the children?”

“Yes, we’re all fine, but it was cold enough last night that your milk cow will probably only give you icicles this morning.”

Leave it to Stephen to relate everything, even the weather, to cows.

“He broke a wagon wheel,” Sam explained, as he put several logs on the smoldering coals in the hearth. “His family is stranded, but our men are guarding them. Bear is going back with him in our wagon to retrieve them all.”

Stephen removed the scarf and tricorne from his head and took a few steps toward Artis. “You must be Artis. I’m Stephen. You’re just as lovely as Bear described in his letter. I thought he was exaggerating, as he is inclined to do sometimes, but he wasn’t.”

Artis glanced at Bear with a smile and he winked back at her. “I’m pleased to finally make yer acquaintance,” she replied, extending her hand to Stephen.

Stephen ignored her hand and embraced her warmly. “Welcome to our family.”

When he released her, Artis gazed up at Stephen’s face, flushed by the cold. “Oh my, yer cheeks are like blocks of ice. Ye need some hot coffee.”

Catherine immediately turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll go pour him a cup and ask Mrs. Wrigley to pack some food for his family too. Sam, pour him a brandy. Are you going with them?” she asked.

“Nay, Sam needs to stay with ye,” Bear answered. “Stephen and I can take care of everythin’.”

“I’ll go!” Artis said. “Perhaps I can help with yer wee bairns.”

“Nay Artis, there will na be enough room in the wagon with Stephen’s large family, their travelin’ bags, and the wagon wheel. Please stay with Catherine. She may need ye more,” Bear said.

“Aye, ye’re right. Of course, I’ll stay,” Artis kindly agreed, looking over at Catherine. “Let’s go get Stephen’s coffee.”

Sam noticed Stephen shivering and rubbing his arms trying to warm
up. He poured a generous amount of brandy knowing it would warm Stephen’s insides faster than anything else would, and handed the mug to his brother.

Stephen removed his gloves and took the cup, his hands trembling, and downed it in one gulp. “Thanks, I truly needed that. Once you start quivering with cold, it’s hard to stop.”

Bear finished buttoning his coat and started for the barn to hitch up the wagon and retrieve a new wheel. Since he’d lived here until a few months ago, Bear knew his way around the place. He glanced back at Stephen when he reached the door. “It will take me a few moments to gather up the wagon team and get them ready. Ye stay by the fire and drink a cup of coffee for a few minutes. Will ye need a fresh mount too?”

“No, I’ll tie George onto the back of the wagon so we can both have a rest from riding. I rode him hard getting here, but he’ll only have to keep up with the wagon on the way there, and I’d rather have my horse in case I need him. I’d be grateful though if you could be sure he gets some water and a few bites of hay.”

“Aye, I’ll take the big fellow to the barn with me.” The door slammed loudly behind him, as it always did. Bear often forgot his own strength.

“Are Jane and the children doing well?” Sam asked, concerned, as he stoked the fire. It had been an extremely cold night.

“Lord, I hope so. At least they seemed so when I left. I hated that they had to spend so many hours in the cold. It can’t be good for them. Especially Samuel,” Stephen said. “He’s still a little fellow.”

Sam could hear the heart-wrenching worry in his brother’s voice.

“How is Catherine doing?” Stephen asked. “She seems very far along.”

“She is nearing her time. The midwife is worried that the babe may be breech,” Sam said.

Sam saw alarm register in Stephen’s eyes. His brother cleared his throat and then said, “I’m sure all will be fine.”

“We are praying that it will be,” Sam said.

“As will I,” Stephen said. “Where is my nephew?”

“He was outside playing with his pet rabbit earlier, but I think I just heard the back door slam. He’s probably in the kitchen. The boy is
always
hungry. Little John, come here,” Sam called to the boy. “Your Uncle Stephen has arrived.”

Little John came scurrying into the front room from the kitchen carrying a hunk of buttered bread. “Where is he?” he nearly shouted. When he caught sight of Stephen, he ran toward him. “Uncle Stephen!” Little John leapt into Stephen’s outstretched arms. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“My new pet rabbit Peter had babies!”

Stephen chuckled. “Well then, that’s good news, but I suggest that you may want to change his or rather her name.”

“I will. Where are Martha and Polly? They can help me pick out a girl name.”

“Our wagon broke and Bear is going to help me bring a new one to them. We should all be back by mid-day,” Stephen told his nephew.

“Will you hurry please?” Little John asked, finishing his bread.

“Better yet, why don’t you come along with Bear and I? You can ride on the wagon seat between us on the way there and on the way back, I’ll put you in front of me on George.”

Little John turned to him. “Father may I? Pleeeeze.”

Sam knew Martha and Polly were more like sisters to him than cousins. The three spent months together on their journey to Kentucky. “Yes, son. It will be fun for you to go greet your cousins,” Sam told him. “Go get dressed in your warmest clothing. Put your wool socks on and you’ll need a hat and scarf.”

Little John jumped down from Stephen’s arms and dashed to his room.

Sam turned back to face Stephen. “You’ve come early for your Christmas visit.”

“We did. I decided to leave as soon as I heard from Colonel Logan about the suspicious men from New Hampshire. We went to the fort for supplies and to buy the girls Christmas presents. I ran into him there. He told me he didn’t have a good feeling about the three men’s intentions. If you needed me, I wanted to be here sooner rather than later.”

Sam chuckled. “I suppose William will be arriving any minute too. My brothers must be thinking I’m getting too old to handle a few pesky land speculators.”

A corner of Stephen’s mouth turned up in a half smile. “No, far from it. You’ll never be too old to handle anything, I think. You’ll be ninety and I’ll be eighty and you’ll still be looking out for me.”

Sam grinned. He couldn’t deny the truth in Stephen’s words. As the oldest of his siblings, he always felt a certain responsibility for them. It was something he would never outgrow. “I hope we both live to see such a ripe old age and we can sit on the porch bragging about our grandkids,” Sam said, taking his chair.

“So, what about those strangers?” Stephen asked. He remained standing by the fire, his hands clasped behind him. “Were they the prisoners I saw?”

“The bastards kidnapped Little John, but my men and I got him back.”

“Kidnapped? Good Lord, why?”

“They were trying to force me to sell our family’s mountain back in New Hampshire. I suspect they discovered gold on the mountain and some company promised those two a fortune if they could bring back the signed deed. It’s a rather long story, but it ended well. We got Little John back unharmed. Bear can tell you all about those three swine on your way,” Sam said.

“Three? I only saw two.”

“One of them wanted to talk with his pistol instead of his mouth. Now
he can do neither,” Sam said matter of factly.

“Here’s yer coffee,” Artis said, joining them with a steaming cup. “I made a fresh batch, but I let it cool a wee bit.”

“I’m grateful,” Stephen told her. “I believe I’ll enjoy this more than any cup I’ve ever had.” He blew on the hot brew and then risked a small sip.

Catherine came in carrying a basket of food. “Mrs. Wrigley helped us pack this up for you,” Catherine said. Between the three of us, I think we packed a hearty meal for your family.”

“Catherine, you should have let me or Artis carry that basket,” Sam admonished.

“Oh, it’s not that heavy,” she answered, dismissively.

“Jane and the children will be grateful,” Stephen said. “We only packed enough food for our trip, thinking we would arrive much sooner.”

“Do you need anything else?” Sam asked.

“I just need to get going,” Stephen answered, the urgency returning to his voice. He swallowed several large gulps of the coffee. “Bear should be nearly through hitching up the team by now. I’ll go check on George.” Taking the last of the coffee in one big swallow, he sat the cup down and tugged his gloves on his now steady hands.

Sam turned to Catherine. “Little John will be tagging along with his uncles. He’s dressing now.”

“I’ll go be sure he wears his warm clothes,” Catherine said, heading toward their son’s room.

“I figure with the repair work on the wheel, we should expect you back around noon,” Sam said. “I know I don’t have to say it, but take good care of Little John for me. I know they’re tied up, but don’t let him get anywhere near Dixon or Crowell.”

“I’ll guard him well,” Stephen promised, and then he bid goodbye to Artis and Catherine as soon as she rejoined them with Little John readied.

Little John carried his rifle. His shot pouch and powder horn hung from his shoulder. Sam was glad his son thought about preparing for danger. Living in the wild necessitated that way of thinking.

“I see I’ll have an extra man to protect my daughters,” Stephen said.

“It was my birthday present,” Little John said holding the rifle up. He straightened his back and stood a bit taller.

It won’t be long, Sam thought, before he’s as tall as I am.

He peered down at his son, and made his voice firm. “Remember the number one rule. Don’t put your finger on the trigger until you are certain you’re aiming at something you want to kill. Rifles don’t kill. You do.”

“I’ll remember. Until I know what I’m aiming at, I’ll keep my trigger finger pointed straight out, like this,” Little John said, showing him exactly the way Sam had taught him. “And I’ll never touch the trigger until I see inside of my head what’s in my rifle’s sights.”

“And?” Stephen asked. “The number two rule.” Stephen knew what it was because Sam was the one who taught him.

“I will never be afraid or reluctant to defend myself or my family,” Little John said.

“You make me proud son,” Sam said. He grabbed the basket of food and walked them out to the porch.

Bear pulled the wagon up with a new wheel loaded in the back and George tied behind.

Stephen helped Little John jump up onto the wagon seat. Bear and Stephen moved him in between them and covered him with a blanket before taking off.

“Tell Garvin I said to keep a hawk’s eye on those two snakes,” Sam called after them.

Chapter 19

T
he forest seemed eerily pure to Bear, covered in its mantle of white, as he and Stephen hurried toward the broken down wagon. The crisp air smelled clean and the sun’s rays beamed through the trees like shafts of long delicate crystals.

It wasn’t long before Little John fell asleep on Stephen’s lap.

“The lad must still be tired from his ordeal,” he told Stephen.

“What happened exactly?” Stephen asked.

Bear recounted the terrible events from start to finish.

“I can’t believe those men abducted a child,” Stephen said. “We’d best pick up the pace. I don’t want my children around men like that any longer than necessary.”

“Aye,” Bear agreed, giving the reins a quick snap. “I’m sure Dixon could tell from the look on Sam’s face, when they talked to him, that they would have to do somethin’ drastic to get Sam to sign. Sam is na a man to waver or sit on the fence. Once he’s made up his mind, it’s decided.”

“Agreed. And, I think Sam is right. Gold must have been their motivation. Gold has made men do stupid things for thousands of years.”

“In tryin’ to gain the world, some men lose their souls,” Bear said.

“When Garvin and his men came by, I assumed the two men were the
strangers trying to buy Wyllie Mountain. I was in such a rush to get help for my family, I didn’t even ask Garvin why they were prisoners. The fact that Sam wanted them sent to jail was all I needed to know.”

“Aye, they’re the same snakes,” Bear said.

“If I’d known what they did to Little John, I would have given them a taste of a Wyllie fist in their viperous mouths,” Stephen said. “They may still get a taste of my fist. How dare they frighten our nephew like that?”

“Aye, they place no value on common decency. I found it hard to restrain myself around the two. Judgin’ from the looks of Crowell, he got more than one taste of Sam’s fists. But Sam held me back when I wanted to break Dixon’s fingers to get the wretched arse to tell us where Little John was. As usual, Sam kept his head and it paid off.”

“Frankly, I’m a little surprised he didn’t dispatch the two to hell once he recovered Little John. Sam has never put up with men like that,” Stephen said.

“Aye, but he’s a father to Little John now and soon goin’ to have a babe of his own.”

“Perhaps Catherine has calmed the warrior inside him,” Stephen suggested.

“Nay, the warrior is still there. He just has more to live for.”

“Indeed, he does,” Stephen agreed.

“Speakin’ of more to live for, what did ye think of Artis?”

“She’s a jewel, Bear. A lovely Scottish gem. Tell me about her and how you met her. Even more important, how did you convince her to marry a big ox like you?”

Bear briefly relayed how Artis grew up in the Highlands, close to the village where Bear’s parents lived. “She was forced to leave her home during the Highland clearances, when the Countess of Sutherland wanted her land cleared to make room for profitable sheep farming. Artis became an indentured servant on a Virginia plantation and then received land in
Kentucky, located near William and Kelly’s place, as her freedom dues.” Then he told Stephen how they met and fell in love. He described their wedding in considerable detail and the home he built for her that they named Highland.