Westward Moon (6 page)

              Jack had always done almost anything he was told to, even if he didn’t like it.  But they did
tell
him to do what they wanted done.  Tessa saw what Ben was driving at, but she wasn’t sure how she was going to explain it to people.  “Are you saying this is a psychological disorder?”

              “I think there’s a certain amount of depression involved, but I think it’s being brought on by the inner turmoil he’s experiencing.  When he comes to see me tomorrow, I’m going to explain it to him.  I want to see him alone, Tessa,” Ben said.  “He may be embarrassed if you're present.  I don’t want him to feel like what’s happening with him is a reason for embarrassment.  In the meantime, you need to talk to your family and have them make adjustments to how they’re dealing with him.  He’s asking for one thing consistently; being called Mike now.  I’d give him what he’s asking for.  My family used to call me ‘Benny’ when I was younger and I hated it once I was his age.”

              Tessa smiled.  “I can’t ever imagine calling you ‘Benny’.”

              Ben laughed.  “I’m glad I outgrew it.”

              “Thank you so much for your help, Ben,” Tessa said as she rose.

              “You’re welcome.  It’s my pleasure,” Ben said. 

              Tessa began trying out Ben’s advice as soon as she went out to the waiting room. 

              “Mike.  Will you please run to Elliot’s for some nutmeg?” she asked.  Elliot Bradbury owned the general store in Dawson.

              “Sure, Mama.  Are you feeling better?” he asked as she gave him money.

              “Yes, thank you,” Tessa said.

              They walked outside and Mikey said, “This book Ben gave me to read is great.  I already finished the part he wanted me to read, so I started at the beginning of it.”

              “And you understand what you read?” Tessa asked.

              “Yeah.  Everyone says you have to be so smart to be a doctor, but this stuff isn’t all that hard if you think about it,” Mikey said.  “Are you waiting for me or am I coming home on my own?”

              “Would you come home with me and bring in some wood for the fireplaces?  You might need to chop some,” Tessa said and prepared for the worst.

              “Ok.  I’ll meet you at the wagon,” Mikey said and ran off to the store. 

              Tessa was ready to weep with joy and had to stop walking for a moment to get her composure in place.  Their son was a genius.  She started laughing suddenly and couldn’t stop.  People around her gave her curious glances, but Tessa couldn’t help her reaction to the relief that coursed through her.  “Oh, wait until I tell Dean.”  That thought set her off on another fit of giggling as she made her way to the wagon.

              When they finally crossed the town line of Dawson the next day, Jack held his hands up to the sky and shouted, “Hallelujah!  Home at last!”

              Sparrow laughed at his impulsive reaction and said, “Yes.  Home at last.”  She was exhausted but so very happy.

              Jack took notice of her fatigue and knew how she felt.  “I say we eat and then sleep for a week,” he said as he rode closer to her.  “How’s that sound?”

              “You eat, I’ll sleep,” she said with a smile.

              “Aww.  C’mon.  You don’t want me to cook something for you?” Jack asked.

              Sparrow pretended to consider it.  She knew how much Jack liked to cook for people so she acted like she wasn’t crazy about the idea.  “I don’t know.  What would you make?”

              Jack said, “Whatever you want.”

              “Buffalo stew,” Sparrow said keeping a straight face.

              “We don’t have any buffalo at home and stew is going to take a while.  How about steak?  That’s close to buffalo and it’ll be quicker,” Jack said.

              “But it’s not what I want,” Sparrow said.  “You said whatever I wanted.”

              Jack smiled.  “Ok.  Whatever you want that doesn’t take half a day to make and that isn’t something I have to go to camp for or that doesn’t take something from camp to make.”

              “Ok.  Steak is fine,” she said with a smile.

              “Yeah.  Steak sounds good, Jack,” Dean said.  “You know how I like mine.”

              “I said I would make Sparrow a steak.  I didn’t say anything about you.  And I’ll make one for Sasha, too,” Jack said.

              “Don’t leave your old man out in the cold, Jack,” Dean said. 

              “Fine,” Jack said dramatically.

              “Pa!  Pa!  Stop!”

              Dean smiled as he stopped Twister and waited.  He felt Twister shift as Mikey vaulted onto the horse from behind and landed behind the saddle.  Mikey put his arms around Dean and hugged him tight.

              “I’m so glad to see you, Pa!  Are you ok?  You’re not hurt or anything?” Mikey asked.

              Dean put an arm across Mikey’s hands and patted the boy’s thigh.  “Yeah, I’m fine, buddy.  Tired, but fine.  How’re your Mama and everyone?”

              “Worried about all of you.  Hi, Jack,” Mikey said and started talking to Sparrow in Lakota.  He was happy to have her back home, too.

              Mikey gripped Dean tighter and shook him a little.  “Guess what, Pa?”

              Dean grunted and laughed.  “What, Mikey?”

              Mikey let the use of his nickname alone for the moment.  “Ben says I’m a genius!  Isn’t that great?”

              Jack laughed.  “What did you do that was so smart, little brother?”

              “No, I’m serious.  I went to see him today to tell him about what I read in a medical book he lent me and he sat me down and told me that I’m a genius.  Like Aunt Claire,” Mikey said.

              “Mikey, what are you talkin’ about?” Dean asked as he exchanged looks with Jack.

              “Pa?”

              “Yeah?”

              “I’m asking you nicely to please call me ‘Mike’ and not ‘Mikey’.  Can you please do that?  I’m not a kid anymore and it makes me feel like I’m a kid when you do,” Mikey said.

              Dean was stunned into silence by his son’s respectful request.  Jack shrugged when Dean looked at him again.  “Uh, sure, um, Mike.  Now bear with your pa on that because I’ve been calling you that since you were born, ok?  I’ll try to remember, but don’t get mad if I don’t always.  Ok?”

              “Jack?  You, too?” the boy asked his brother.

              Jack nodded.  “Ok, but I’m still gonna call you ‘little brother’.  That’s my right as an older brother, ok?”

              “Ok.  Thanks, guys.”

              Dean looked over at Sasha who was smiling.  “Sasha, this is my son, Mike.  Mike, this is Sasha McCall, a friend of Sparrow’s who came home with us to visit.”

              Mike stretched out a hand to her and said, “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

              She shook his hand and said, “The pleasure is mine, Mike.  What a handsome young man you are.”

              “Thanks.  I look like Mama,” Mike told her.  “I’m really glad to see you, Sparrow.  You’ll be safe now.”

              Sparrow smiled.  “I am so glad to be back home.  Yes, I know I am safe,” she said as she looked at Jack.  He was her savior and the love of her life.  Sparrow knew that she would never love anyone but Jack.

              His expression turned fierce as he said, “No one is ever going to hurt you again.”

              Sasha liked that Jack was so protective of her friend.  She felt that when she went back to Nebraska, she would be leaving Sparrow in good hands.

              As they rode through town, various people greeted them.  They kept going and Dean increased the pace.  He was anxious to get home to his wife and other children.  Exhaustion weighed on all of them and they were in great need of rest.  Right after they crossed the town line on the way out of Dawson, the new Watering Hole saloon that had been finished two years prior came into view.  It was bigger than the old place that had been converted into the medical clinic that Marcus and Ben ran.

              This Watering Hole was a stylish establishment that boasted singing, dancing, and gambling, and a new kind of entertainment.  Once a month they had a fighting match that drew a tremendous crowd.  Dean had gone to a couple matches out of curiosity and found them entertaining.  The place was decorated for Christmas and looked very festive.

              Jack smiled as he thought about Sammi Taylor being back to work as a bouncer again now that she wasn’t pregnant any longer.  She and her husband, Mitch had welcomed a little girl into their family about three years ago.  Skye Renee Taylor was a piece of work even at two and half, Jack mused.  He could only imagine what she was going to be like as a grown up. 

Reckless left them at this point because he wanted to let his boss, Jake Henderson, know that he would be back to work as a bouncer the next night. Jake and Dawson’s mayor, Joe Dwyer had gone into business together in building the new Watering Hole.

The others wasted no time in moving on again.  They didn’t want to get stopped by anyone and moved their mounts into a fast trot.

Tessa kept watching out the windows for her loved ones.  She missed them tremendously and became increasingly nervous about them.  The twins played outside and were attempting to build a fort.  Tessa smiled as she watched them.  Katie’s disposition was much like Dean’s and she tended to be bossy with her twin.   D.J. didn’t seem to mind and usually went along with whatever Katie wanted to do.

Suddenly she saw Katie and D.J. stand up and look up the lane.  Then they ran from the yard in the direction of the road.  Tessa didn’t bother with a shawl or coat.  She flew out the door to see where the children were going.  Tessa recognized Twister and gave a loud cry of joy as she raced after the twins.

Dean saw his little ones coming and jumped down from Twister.  When they reached him he knelt and hugged both of them at once.  He kissed each of them and said, “I swear you grew a foot while I was gone!  I missed you!”

They laughed and kissed him back.  “We missed you, too, Pa,” they said in almost perfect unison.  They did that often along with finishing each other’s sentences.

Dean laughed and then saw Tessa running up the lane.  His face broke out in a huge grin and he ran to meet her.  He picked her up and planted a hard kiss on her mouth that she returned fervently. 

When they parted, Dean saw that Tessa had tears in her eyes.  “Everything’s ok, honey.  We’re all safe and sound.”

“I know, but we’ve all missed you so much and I kept imaging all sorts of terrible things happening to you,” Tessa said.

Dean laughed.  “There goes that writer’s imagination of yours again.”

Jack came over and said, “My turn.”

“Oh, Jack!  Are you all right?” she asked as she embraced him.

“I’m fine, Mama.  Listen to, Pa.  We’re all ok,” he said.

Tessa saw Sparrow and rushed to hug her.  “I’m so glad you were able to get away so they could get you home.  Everything will be fine now.”

Sparrow hugged Tessa back.  She was very fond of Tessa and Tessa’s kindness meant so much to her.  “Thank you.  I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Tessa said as she caught sight of another woman whom she didn’t know.

“Tessa, this is Sasha McCall.  She’s the one responsible for getting Sparrow away from
them.
  We didn’t want her travelling back to Nebraska alone since the weather’s been so bad, so we brought her home with us for the holidays.  Sasha, this is my wife, Tessa.”

The two women shook hands and Tessa smiled at the pretty blonde.  “How nice to meet you, Sasha.  You are a brave woman for helping Sparrow the way you did.”

Sasha said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.  They’ve been telling me so many good things about you.”  She smiled at Tessa.

Dean said, “And these two little rascals are our twins; Katie and D.J.  Say hello to, Sasha.”

“Hi, Sasha,” they said together.

“Hello.  You are precious.  You look like your father,” Sasha said referring to their blue eyes and blonde hair.

              Dean noticed Tessa shivering and said, “Tessa!  You don’t have a coat on.  You best get in the house before you catch a cold.  You ladies and children go on in and Jack and I will take care of the horses.”

              All right,” Tessa said.  “Come with me, Sasha, Sparrow.  Sasha, we’ll get you settled in Jack’s old room.”

              Dean said, “Where’s Sparrow going to stay?”

              “I just assumed she would be staying with Jack,” Tessa said as the women walked away from them.

              Jack was able to hold in his laughter until they had gone in the house and then it came out in a great shout of amusement.  He took his and Sparrow’s horse and went into the barn.  Dean could hear his laughter echo inside the structure.  Dean’s anger simmered as he followed suit with the other two horses.

              A half hour later, Dean and Tessa entered their bedroom.  Dean smiled as Tessa shut and locked the door.  When she turned around to him, Dean embraced her, but Tessa pushed him away.

              “What’s the matter?” Dean asked. 

              “How dare you bring a strange, single woman home with you?” Tessa asked.  Her eyes had darkened with anger and her brows were drawn down.

              Dean gave Tessa an irritated look.  “I told you; it wasn’t safe for her to travel on her own.”

              “She could have stayed at a hotel until the weather cleared,” Tessa said.

              “No, she couldn’t.  She’s not rich.  She was going to run out of money before it was safe to travel.  Besides, she’s a widow and has no one back in Nebraska.  It’s not right that anyone be alone at Christmastime, Tessa.  There’s been nothing inappropriate going on.  Ask Jack or Sparrow.  Don’t you trust me anymore?” Dean asked.

              Tessa saw that she’d hurt Dean.  She knew how he felt about cheating and as far as she knew, he’d never been attracted to another woman but her.

              She put a hand to her forehead and said, “I’m so sorry, Dean. Of course I trust you.  I always have.  You’ve never given me reason not to.”

              “You’re damn right I haven’t,” Dean said sharply.  “And as far as being worried about me being around a single woman?  What about Sparrow staying with Jack?  I don’t think that’s appropriate and yet you think it’s ok.  Can you explain that to me?”

              Tessa said, “Dean, they’ve been apart for so long.  Is it any surprise that they would want to be together?  I trust them, Dean.  You and I have been apart for over two weeks and I could not imagine parting from you again now that you’re home.  They’ve been apart for three years, so it’s infinitely worse for them, Dean.”

              Dean took a deep breath and said, “I understand that, Tessa.  But there’s another reason I’m worried about them being at Jack’s place alone.”

              “What is that reason?”

              “Safety.  We don’t know if they’re coming after Sparrow or not.  If they find the two of them down there alone without anyone else to help them, it’s going to be bad, Tessa,” Dean said.  “I don’t even want Jack staying down there by himself.  I’m scared.  I agree that we had to get Sparrow away from them, but I don’t want any trouble here, either.”

              Tessa’s anger drained away at his words.  She went to him and hugged his waist.  “Do you really think they’ll come here?”

              Dean put his arms around his wife and rested his cheek on her head.  “It’s a good possibility, but I hope not.  I was actually going to suggest that they stay in Seth’s bunkhouse temporarily.  I’m sure Cam won’t mind bunking in with Marty for a little bit.  Just until we make sure things are safe.”