Catching Kent (4 page)

As she approached Harriett, she
couldn’t help but wish her sister wasn’t so terribly shy. If she
joined in the fun and mingled about, Stan wouldn’t even know which
twin he was interested in.

Harriett looked up at her as she tied
a ribbon in Esther’s hair. “Is it time to go?”

“
Yes. Ma sent me to get
you,” Rose replied. “I like your braid, Esther.”

“
Harriett did it for me,”
she said.

Rose glanced at her sister. “Harriett
did a good job.”

“
Come along, Esther,” Rose
and Harriett’s oldest brother, Isaac, called out.

They waved as Esther headed over to
her father.

“
Can you believe Esther’s
going to be fourteen later this year?” Harriett asked as she and
Rose headed for their parents’ buckboard wagon. “One of my earliest
memories was the day Isaac and Emily brought her to our house. Ma
and Pa were so excited to see their first grandchild. Do you
remember that?”

“
A little. We were only
four at the time.”

“
I know, but I remember
thinking Esther was more fun to play with than a doll because she
moved and laughed and cried.”

“
You were a born mother, my
dear Harriett,” she teased. “I hope you have a house full of babies
because I don’t think you’ll be happy otherwise.”

“
I have to find the young
man to marry first. I’m not as fortunate as you to have my pick of
men.”

“
It does no good if the men
aren’t ones I care for.”

“
What’s wrong with
Stan?”

“
You noticed he was talking
to me?”

Despite her blush, Harriett
nodded.

“
I don’t want to encourage
him.” Rose sighed. “He was telling me his plans to get land and a
house. It struck me with considerable terror.”

“
You
exaggerate.”

“
I do not!” They climbed
into the wagon and settled into the back with Eli, giving their
parents plenty of room up front. She sat close to Harriett so she
wouldn’t have to speak loud enough for Eli to overhear. “It’s a
burden when men want to be with you but you don’t want to be with
them.”

Harriett snorted. “Some
burden.”

“
It is. Do you know how
hard it is to tell them you’re not interested? Stephen and
Nathaniel still won’t speak to me. They used to be good friends,
too. At school they would tell the funniest stories.”

“
Well, you’re not in school
anymore, so it’s not like you have to see them.”

“
Yes, you’re right.” She
shifted so that she could spread the bottom of her dress around
her. That was more comfortable. She leaned against her sister and
kept her voice low. “Do you think the stranger in our house will
wake up today? I prayed he would.”

“
You must be patient,” her
sister kindly admonished her. “He’ll wake up when he’s ready. He’s
lucky he hasn’t sustained worse injuries. From what Pa said, the
men were merciless to him. It makes you wonder what kind of world
we live in when people do such horrible things to
others.”

“
It does. The poor man.”
She glanced at Eli who had his back turned to them as he watched
the rolling hills in the distance. “Have you noticed how handsome
the man is?”

“
I don’t believe you. He’s
gone through an awful experience.”

“
I know, but it doesn’t
take away from how attractive he is.”

“
But Stephen and Nathaniel
were attractive too, and you weren’t interested in them. The same
is true for Stan.”

“
I never said they weren’t
good looking. There’s just something different about the man in our
house. He has a noble face, the kind of face that draws your
attention and makes you want to stare at him for hours.”

“
I have no such desire when
I look at him.”

“
Oh. Then maybe it’s just
me.”

Harriett sighed and brushed back a few
strands of blonde hair that fell from her bun. “I’ll never
understand you, Rose. You’ve had young men ask to court you and
another who wants to. But you’re interested in the one who hasn’t
said a single word to you.”

“
You don’t have to speak to
someone to know there’s something special about him. Sometimes you
just know.”

“
All you know about him is
what you imagined up there.” She tapped Rose’s head. “You must’ve
dreamt up some pretty good stories about him to be so enamored with
him.”

“
I’m not enamored with
him.”
Yet.
“I just
think it’s more than a coincidence that he’s here. There must be a
reason our pa happened to find him in the alley.”

“
Maybe it was to save his
life. Who knows if anyone else would have found him?”

“
See? It’s fate.” When
Harriett shook her head, she continued, “You know what your problem
is? You’re not romantic.”

“
What you mean is that I
don’t spend all my time daydreaming.”

“
I don’t believe romance
and daydreaming have to go together. Come on, Harriett. You can
have a romance of your very own.”

“
Not until a young man
takes interest in me.”

“
It’ll happen.”

“
Maybe.”

“
It will,” Rose assured
her, slipping her arm around her sister’s and smiling. “Your one
and only true love is out there somewhere and one day, your paths
will cross. It’ll be wonderful.”

“
It must be nice to have
your outlook on life, Rose. Nothing makes you sad.”

“
You have your happy
moments.”

“
Yes, but you are happy all
the time.”

Rose giggled and squeezed her sister’s
arm affectionately. “That’s because I’m trying to be happy for the
both of us.”

Her sister laughed and hugged her.
“You’re my dearest friend. You know that, don’t you?”

Smiling, she embraced her in return.
“That’s why you don’t mind it when I daydream.”

“
I suppose you’re
right.”

Through the rest of their trip home,
they enjoyed a comfortable silence.

Chapter Four

Images flashed in Kent’s mind as he
slept. A piano, a mansion, his uncle, the Statue of Liberty, a
train, two men and an alley… His eyes flew open and he tried to
jerk up, but his wounds made him settle back on the bed. He winced.
He knew he had bandages wrapped around his ribs and his right leg.
It was hard to move, but with the help of another man, he’d been
able to relieve his bladder and sip on some water when
thirsty.

He hadn’t stayed awake for more than a
few minutes. But this time was different. He felt more alert. As
long as he remained still, there was a blessed absence of pain. He
closed his eyes and released his breath. He tried to swallow, but
his mouth was too dry. The door creaked open and he turned his gaze
to the young woman who entered the room.

“
Oh good! You’re awake.”
She ran over to him and sat next to the bed. “I’ve been so curious
about you. Who you are, where you’re from, where you’re going. My
pa found you in the alley. He brought you here, and we’ve been
doing everything we can to help you heal. I’m Rose Larson. I have
six brothers and sisters. Well, actually it’s two sisters and four
brothers, but only four of us live in this house. The rest have
married and are living in their own homes. My sister Harriett is
eighteen. Then there’s Adam who’s twenty-five and Eli who’s
thirteen. We live on a farm just outside of Omaha. That’s where you
arrived when those men attacked you. I hope you don’t think we’re
all like them. We’re not, I assure you. My family and I want you to
get better. I promise you that you’re safe here.” She took a deep
breath and smiled. “Now, tell me all about yourself.”

He blinked several times as he
struggled to process everything she’d just told him. For the most
part, her words came out as a jumbled mess.

“
Rose, I told you not to
come in here,” an older woman said as she carried a pitcher of
water into the room. When her gaze settled on Kent, she offered an
apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to forgive my daughter.
She’s been eager to talk to you all week. But,” she looked at Rose,
“there’ll be time for that later. I’m sure the young man needs some
water, maybe some pain medicine, and to tend to other
things.”

Though she sighed, Rose stood up. “I’m
sorry, Ma.” Glancing at Kent, she said, “I’m sorry, Mr… What’s your
name?”

“
Rose!” her mother called
out, exasperated.

“
I was only trying to
apologize to him.”

“
You can wait to find out
his name when he’s good and ready to tell us. Right now he needs to
rest. Go get Adam to help him.”

“
Yes, Ma.” With one last
look at him, she added, “I’m glad you’re going to be alright.”
Then, before her mother could say anything else, she hurried out of
the room.

Her mother shook her head but
chuckled. “My daughter is a little eager to get to know you. She’s
been talking nonstop about who you are. Anyway, I bet you could use
something to drink.”

He nodded and tried to sit up, but
even though he was careful, he still couldn’t manage it.

She set the pitcher on the table and
rushed over to him. “Don’t push yourself. You’ve been through a
lot. Here. Let me help.” She placed the pillow against the head of
the bed and helped him sit up.

He settled his back on the pillow,
aware of how sore his muscles were, partly from having been
assaulted and partly from lying down so much. Accepting the cup of
water she offered, he drank all of it in one large gulp.

“
You poor thing,” she said
as she quickly poured him another cup. “If I’d known you were that
thirsty, I would have had Adam give you more this
morning.”

After he drank the water from the
second cup, he coughed and waited until she gave him more to drink
before he cleared his throat. “I just woke up. I haven’t been
thirsty for long,” he said, ignoring his sore jaw as he smiled.
“Thank you.”

She poured more water in the cup until
the pitcher was empty. “I’ll get more water and bring it up. Are
you in any pain?”

“
A little but it’s not
bad.”

“
Well, there’s no reason
why it should get worse.” She grabbed a bottle of medicine from the
table and handed him a spoonful of it. “My brother-in-law’s a
doctor. He’ll be coming out tomorrow to see how you’re doing.”
After he swallowed the medicine, she took the spoon and set it on
the small table by his bed. She set the medicine beside it and a
pocket watch. “You’re allowed to take one spoonful every four to
six hours, depending on how you feel. I’ll make sure you have a
glass of water within reach at all times. Are you
hungry?”

“
Not yet.” He smiled again.
“Thank you. For everything.” He’d hate to think of what shape he’d
be in right now if this kind woman and her family hadn’t been
taking care of him. “How long have I been here?”

“
Six days.”

He released his breath and leaned the
back of his head on the headboard. “Are any of my things
here?”

“
Just the clothes you came
with. You’re wearing Adam’s clothes right now. He’s about your
height.” She paused. “The clothes you were in were damaged beyond
repair. I couldn’t do anything to save them.”

“
That’s fine.” He had more
than enough money to replace the ones he lost except for one item.
“You didn’t find a pocket watch in my clothes, did you?”

“
No.”

So the one tangible thing he had from
his uncle was gone. He swallowed and lowered his gaze, noting the
extent of his injuries. His uncle would rather have him be alive
than have the pocket watch, but even so, tears stung his eyes.
After all the things his uncle did for him, he had nothing else to
remember him by except for his inheritance. But money was an empty
consolation.

A young man came into the room and
Kent looked up. The woman gestured to him. “This is Adam. You two
will be seeing a lot of each other while you heal up.” She turned
to leave but stopped and chuckled. “I forgot to introduce myself.
I’m Mary Larson. If you need anything, just ask.”

“
I’m Kent. Kent
Ashton.”

“
Despite the circumstances,
we’re glad to have you here.”

He thanked her again before she left
then turned his attention to Adam who wiped the sweat from his
forehead with a bandana. He glanced at the open window. Though he
couldn’t get a good view of the land outside, he saw he was out of
town. “We’re on a farm?” he asked Adam.

Adam tucked his bandana into his back
pocket. “Yep. Do you remember coming to Nebraska?”

“
Yes. I got off the train
and,” he shrugged, “thought I was going to help someone but ended
up getting robbed and beaten.” And all for what? A gold pocket
watch, a suitcase full of clothes, and just enough money to see him
to California? Was it really worth those men beating him up over?
He grunted. What people wouldn’t do for money. He returned his
attention to Adam. “I don’t think the men who did this,” he
motioned to his body, “realized how little I had on me.” His uncle
suggested he keep his money in a bank, and Kent knew better than to
ignore his uncle’s advice. But he wished he had his uncle’s pocket
watch.