A Contract Bride's Triple Surprise (23 page)

“Told you those rags were falling apart. Here.” Ross held out a bar of yellow soap. “I figured you had your mind on other things. We’ll eat after we’re clean.” He lifted a blue and green blanket off his shoulder and set it down. He shrugged out of his vest and set it aside.

Daniel quickly walked uphill as if searching for the right place to enter the creek. When Ross reached for his belt buckle, Daniel stepped closer to the trees. It was bad enough being walloped by a belt with clothes on. He was not going anywhere near the big man without them. He turned his head enough to see any flashes of movement. When Ross dropped his pants and walked into the water, Daniel turned his back and moved farther away.

“No one will touch you, boy,” said Ross calmly. “Not here.”

Daniel made sure he could see Ross out of the corner of his eye. The man sat in the middle of the stream and washed his arms. He kept his eyes on what he was doing.

“I expect it’ll take you a while to learn you’re safe. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I’ll head back to the house and let you wash up on your own.”

Daniel shuffled closer to the water. Ross tossed his head, flipping his hair to his back. He reached back and wrung it out with his fists. Muscles bulged. He had scars, lots of them. Was that why he carried so many knives, because someone had hurt him when he was smaller?

“You’re on MacDougal land now,” continued Ross. “We don’t hurt children, animals, or women. If you do something bad, we’ll thrash you to help you remember, but we don’t do it angry or drunk. Apart from that, no one touches anyone who doesn’t want to be touched.”

Daniel stared at Ross. With him sitting, Daniel was taller. He’d seen Ross move faster and more silently than the wind, but it would be hard for him to do it when sitting in the middle of a rushing stream.

“Either get in the water or tell me to get out. You can trust me or not, but make up your mind because this water is colder than a witch’s tit!”

This silent killer sat on his butt in cold mountain water, waiting while Daniel decided whether to trust him or not? Daniel laughed, his chest easing from a weight he’d always known. He quickly shucked off his pants and stepped into the creek. He sat down, gasping as the cold water pulled at him. Ross stood up and tossed him the soap. He managed to catch the slippery thing. Because he was so much shorter, he had to stand up to scrub at his arms and legs.

Ross kept his back turned as he sluiced off the water. He picked up the blanket, wrapped it around his waist, and belted it. Daniel scrubbed as best he could, but only the surface dirt came off. On the bank, Ross pulled on his pants and a deer hide vest. Daniel ran the bar of soap over his hair, rubbing hard. Ross held out a hand for the soap. Daniel tossed it and ducked underwater to rinse off, forcing his fingers through his wet hair.

When he came up for air, Ross hadn’t moved.

“You want me to cut it off?”

“My hair hides the mark of the devil.” Daniel pointed to his misshapen lip.

“That’s your old life talking. You can decide to hold your head high and look the world in the eye today.” He shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

“I get hit ’cause I’m ugly.”

“First, you’re not ugly. Yes, you’ve got something the matter with your lip. Nevin has claw marks across his chest. You can see my scars. Amelia, that’s Mrs. MacDougal to you, has burn marks all up one arm and over part of her face. None of us are ugly, and neither are you. We just had a bit of life happen to us. We’re still here, still alive. That’s what matters.”

Daniel found himself nodding agreement. He shuffled to the edge of the creek. Ross waded in, not caring that his pant legs got wet. He slid his hand under his vest and brought out the long, narrow knife he’d used to pick the sliver out of his hand. Daniel shivered in the cold water as Ross sliced away his protection. He watched his matted hair float down the stream like leaves in autumn. It took him a moment to realize Ross was back on the bank.

Daniel shook his head. He still had hair to his neck, but it stayed away from his face. He suddenly realized he was frozen.

“Take your time. I’ll see you back at the house,” said Ross.

“I didn’t know you could talk fancy.”

Ross turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “The people in town think I’m a dumb Indian. They expect less of me, and that gives me an advantage. You never know when something like that will save your life.”

“Pa called you bad names, and you never said nothing back.”

Ross’s face seemed to turn to stone. Daniel wished he hadn’t spoken.

“Here’s a lesson, Daniel. You can’t teach people to see when they refuse to open their eyes. Your pa only sees evil because that’s what he believes in. I believe in good, but I kill evil when I see it.”

“Mr. MacDougal, sir?”

“Mr. Ross will do, Daniel.”

“Thanks for helping me see.”

Ross nodded in reply. “I left my tart for you. I figure you need it more than I do. See you at home.” He turned away, his long legs soon making him disappear.

His head had barely disappeared into the scrub when Daniel rose from the water and shivered his way to the shore. He huddled against a sun-warmed rock and sighed. After a moment, he flapped his hands to get the water off them. He took the tarts off his package of clothes and brought everything back to his rock. He ate the first tart quickly, letting the flavor burst in his mouth. He didn’t know anything could taste so sweet. The second tart he set aside until later.

He took his time undoing the knotted string. When he peeled back the heavy, brown paper, he saw a white shirt on top of pants. He moved it aside and discovered a blue and white cotton necker and suspenders underneath. He savored his second tart as he admired his clothes.
His
clothes. No one had ever worn them before. When he’d licked the last of the juice off his fingers, he washed them and came back to his clothes.

He ran his fingers over the soft cotton shirt. He quickly dressed, discovering everything was far too big to fit him. At first he was disappointed. Then he realized that Mr. Ross expected him to grow. Could he live here long enough to fit his new clothes? He rolled up the pant legs and folded back his cuffs. He combed his fingers through his hair and pushed it behind his ears. He hurried home. He hadn’t finished filling the wood box, and Mrs. MacDougal or the other two women might need more water for supper.

For decent clothes and food, he’d work from dark to dark for the rest of his life.

He’d do anything for a home.

Chapter Twenty-One

“You clean up pretty good,” said Nevin to the boy at the far end of the bench. He almost got a smile in return.

Auntie was in the bedroom with Tillie and the babies while the rest of them finished supper. Daniel kept his face turned while he ate, hiding his mouth with his left hand. The shirt he’d carefully folded back slid to his elbow whenever he lifted his arm. The kid was built like a damned scarecrow!

Nevin wished he could go up to the boy’s father and plant his fist squarely in his nose. Unfortunately, that could give away the secret of where the boy was. Before supper, Ross took him to the barn and told him about Daniel’s alarm at the stream, as well as the bruises and scars that marked his too-thin body. The remembered pain in Ross’s eyes made Nevin ache. He was too young to help Ross when their older brothers, Finan and Hugh, would set on him. While he missed Ross terribly whenever he was sent away, even then he knew Ma had to do it.

He remembered when Ross returned from living with the Bannock Tribe. On his annual winter visits before that, Ross had been wild and free. Ever since, he was haunted by something terrible, something so bad Nevin had never asked about it. Maybe taking Daniel in would knock a few rocks off Ross’s shoulders.

“Anything new in town?” Nevin looked to his left. “Other than the squirt being here.”

Amelia pushed back her chair and jumped up from the table. She picked up the cloth Auntie had been using and scrubbed furiously at a pot in the sink. She kept her back to them. Ross frowned but didn’t comment.

“There’s a new house going up. Frederick Smythe, the one who lost the Double Diamond Ranch, bought a parcel of land off Mayor Rivers. He wants to build something even fancier than Sophie’s hotel.”

“Orville actually sold land in town to someone?”

“I haven’t met the man, but I don’t trust him. He’s staying at Mrs. Emslow’s boarding house. Maybe the mayor was in town one night and cornered him on the way to the privy.”

“Why doesn’t he stay at the hotel? The food’s better, as well as the company.”

“Patsy thinks he tried something on Sophie and got the bum’s rush.”

“Serves him right,” said Nevin. “He’ll have to mind his Ps and Qs or Mrs. Emslow will toss him out.”

“From what I hear, she’s fawning all over him.” Ross frowned. “Either she wants some of his money or there’s something else going on.” He licked his spoon and used it to point. “Daniel, you know anyone interested in keeping his eyes and ears open and mouth shut?”

“Me?” Daniel flushed when he realized everyone was looking at him.

“Who can we trust to tell us what loose lips brag about?”

“Billy might do it fer a nickel.”

“Billy?”

“Billy O’Keefe was my friend. His pa don’t beat on him much, but he’s awful hungry since his pa had to sell his claim.”

“Can he be trusted to keep himself safe, as well as not tell?”

Daniel nodded. “He told me his pa was doin’ some building in town. They might git enough money to go back home. He showed me his pa’s saw. It’s real sharp.”

“If he has a decent saw,” said Ross, “he might know what he’s doing.” He turned to Daniel. “Would Billy be his pa’s helper? When you’re building, it’s good to have a boy to fetch and carry and to hold the other end of the board.”

“He was hopin’.”

Nevin looked at Ross. “If a man suggested that a fellow could find the full fare home by train, he might agree to keep his ears open.” He frowned, thinking. “Didn’t a Paddy O’Keefe sign over his claim to that Smythe character after swearing he’d never sell?”

“There’s been a few too many men doing the same,” said Ross. “They sell then disappear.”

“But do they go back East, to California, or end up in a dry gulch back of beyond?”

“I think it best that you approach Mr. O’Keefe, Nev.”

“If your belly is full, young man, you may clear the table,” said Amelia.

Ross and Nevin pushed back their benches and pushed each other out the door. Nevin headed for the barn while Ross went uphill.

* * * *

“Can you read, Daniel?”

“I kin spell my name. Ee, are, en…” He paused, frowning. “I’m gonna have to learn a new one now. Um, don’t it start with ‘dee’?”

Amelia sat on the bench beside him. “You, my boy, are going to learn to read.”

“But I’m stupid.”

“Who said that? Your father, who beat you and said ridiculous things?”

He nodded.

“Can your father read?”

Daniel shrugged. “Never mattered none.”

“I suspect no one has ever read you a story. Well, after we clean up, I’m going to show you why reading is a wonderful thing.”

“Ain’t it hard?”

“Yes, but it’s like anything else. What you get out of it is worth the work.” She gestured around the kitchen. “Building this big house was hard, but the MacDougal family will be safe and warm for generations. It was worth it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I ain’t never been in a place like this.” He looked around the kitchen. “If I’m still here, kin I sleep on the floor by the stove come winter?”

“I certainly hope you are still here when winter comes. But you won’t be sleeping on a floor. Did you see the cabin the men are building for Auntie?”

“It’s back in the woods a bit.”

“Yes. Auntie’s old and likes her quiet. But she also likes a bit of company. She won’t slow down. She’s a proud woman and doesn’t want anyone to fuss over her. But if you stayed with her, you’d make sure the wood box was full and the stove warm all night.”

“I could do that.”

“And you are going to learn to read and write and do sums. Plus you will sew on your own buttons, fix tears in your shirt and pants, and make biscuits and gravy.”

“Sewin’ and cookin’ is wimmen’s work.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How many men are there in Montana Territory? And how many women? Remember, Mr. Ross, Nevin, and Gillis lived alone here before my sister arrived. They took care of themselves. Real men not only love their biscuits with sausage gravy, they know how to make it themselves.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I saw some McGuffy’s readers in the parlor. That will do for tonight’s bedtime story. Tomorrow, I’ll go through my book trunk. I’m sure I brought something a boy would like to read.”

She smiled at Daniel. He blinked, his chin trembling.

“I don’t think anyone’s been nice to you in a long, long time,” she said quietly.

“Pa said I don’t deserve to be treated nice.”

“Why?”

“I—” he choked and looked away. “I kilt my ma when I got born.”