Frontier Gift of Love (American Wilderness Series Romance Book 5) (31 page)

He and Bear scooted in, holding the pups behind their backs in case anyone was peeking. Polly peeked, of course, and she squealed a little.

“Little John and Artis,” Bear said.

“Aye,” Artis said.

“Yes,” Little John said.

Sam and Bear set the pups down in front of the two.

“Open your eyes!” Sam said.

Everyone opened their eyes and Little John started jumping up and down and clapping. Then he bent over, as Artis was doing, and picked up his puppy. A tiny pink tongue started licking Little John’s hands and face making his son giggle hysterically. Sam had never seen him so happy.

Artis was holding the pup’s head against her face and he was licking her tears of joy. “He’s black,” she said, “just like my old Wilson.”

“Aye,” Bear said. “I asked William to find a black one. And one that would grow big too.”

She reached up and kissed him, deeply, right there in front of the entire family. “Thank ye,” she said, when she finished.

Bear just stood there smiling from one ear to the other.

“Thank you, Pa,” Little John said. “This is one Christmas I will
never
forget.”

“What will you name him?” Sam asked.

Little John looked thoughtful. “Happy! Because I’m so happy right now.”

Chapter 31

Christmas Evening, 1799

C
atherine watched the children and Artis play with the puppies while the other women and Rory cleared the dining table and stored the food away for the evening. Rory had insisted that she stay off her feet and she readily complied. The big meal had her feeling a little off and she leaned back in her chair, relieved to be sitting down.

The other men finished their drinks outside around the bonfire, and then came back inside to play a game of Hot Cockles. Sam was the one now being blindfolded.

He put his hands behind his back, palms up. Each of the men would take a turn slapping Sam’s upturned hand and he would try to guess which of the other players just hit him. When he did so correctly, the caught player would have to take their turn in the center. They spun Sam around several times and then stopped him. Bear snuck up behind him and slapped both of Sam’s palms.

“It’s Bear!” Sam said.

“Bloody hell, he guessed on the first try,” Bear complained, “how could ye possibly know?”

“I could smell puppy on you,” Sam said.

The men roared with laughter.

Catherine wished the four brothers could always be this happy.

Then, her thoughts turned inward and she gasped. A rush of warm liquid came from deep inside of her and spread between her legs. “Sam!” Catherine called out. “My water just broke.”

Sam tore off the blindfold and raced to her side.

“Mrs. Wrigley, Rory, come quickly,” Sam called toward the kitchen.

“Any pains?” Rory asked as soon as he was by her side.

“Yes,” Catherine told him. “Worse than before and I believe my water just broke.”

“Are you ready to have that baby?” he asked kindly.

“My heart’s ready, but my mind is rather hesitant,” she answered truthfully. “I’m worried something will go wrong.”

“Everything will be fine,” Rory assured her in a calm voice.

Sam and Rory both helped her make her way to the bedroom.

Jane followed too. “I sent Kelly and Artis to help Miss Henk bring clean linens and warm water,” Jane said.

Mrs. Wrigley hurried in and Sam asked the cook and Jane to help Catherine out of her gown.

As the men turned to leave, Catherine grabbed her abdomen as another cramp seized her. “Oh golly,” she said. If it was this dreadful at the beginning, labor was going to be worse than she thought.

“Come and get me when she’s settled into the bed,” Rory said. “Come along Sam. There’s nothing for you to do but wait.”

“I’ve never been good at waiting,” Sam said.

“Who is watching the children?” Sam asked, suddenly wondering where Little John was.

“Miss Henk is,” Stephen answered. “She’s upstairs with them and the
puppies. They all have their new toys and books as well as two frisky pups. That should entertain them for a long while. Then she’ll put them to bed while we wait for your babe to arrive.”

And wait they did, for hours. Unfocused and troubled, Sam stared into the flames of the front room hearth.

“Sam,” Bear said, placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I just asked if Rory told ye how long this might take.”

Sam had become numb to what was going on around him, and he didn’t even hear Bear’s question the first time his brother asked.

Never having had a child of his own, Bear seemed nearly as anxious as he was.

“He said it could be a few hours or take a very long time,” Sam answered.

“Did he say anything else?” William asked.

“He said her contractions may be strong and close, or mild and far apart. Even if they are close, they might slow down. Then, later, they start up again, and are worse,” he answered.

“’Tis clear as mud,” Bear complained.

Sam spun around toward his brothers. “I hate waiting out here. I should be in there!”

“No, there are four women in there to help her and the good doctor,” Stephen said firmly. “Your worried presence would just make her tense. Believe me, she’s better off with you out here.”

He gripped the edges of the mantel tightly in his hands to keep himself from leaving. Rory had asked him to wait here and he needed to do what the doctor said, for Catherine’s sake.

Sam’s heart pounded when he heard Rory walk into the room.

“Things are going well. Mrs. Wrigley is checking to see how much Catherine has dilated,” Rory reported.

Sam let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Rory. Please keep us updated. This waiting is taxing.” In truth, he’d never been this scared even during the worst battle he’d ever fought with Red Coats or Indians. But he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone, even himself. He needed to stay strong for Catherine.

But his resolve to remain a pillar of strength waned when he heard his wife cry out again.

“Sam,” Rory said, “Catherine will be fine. She’s young, strong, and built for having babies. And the babe is still in the correct position.”

“Could he turn again?” Sam asked.

“No, he’s too busy getting set to meet all of you,” Rory said with a big smile as he left.

The thought of meeting his son cheered Sam. He couldn’t help but grin. Then he heard Catherine let out an anguished cry and his mood plummeted. His long legs sprang toward their bedroom, but Bear and William held him back. “Let me go!” he roared.

“Sam,” Bear said, “Ye do na need to be in there.”

“He’s right,” Stephen confirmed. “You don’t want to see any of it.”

“But she needs me!” Sam protested.

“Nay, she only needs the women and the doctor now,” Bear said.

Sam forced himself to calm and took a step back as his brothers released him.

“Sam, why don’t you show us your new stallion?” Stephen suggested.

“Go look at him yourself,” he growled.

“I was just curious to see if your horse looked like he could hold up to my stallion in the Twelfth Day Horse Race,” Stephen said.

Stephen was obviously trying to distract Sam. His curiosity was sparked. “You’re entering the race?” he asked, surprised.

“Indeed, and I’m going to win,” Stephen said. It was no idle boast.
Stephen knew horses and if he thought he could win, he probably could.

“Nay, ‘tis Artis’ horse that will win,” Bear declared.

“You’re entering the race too? Sam asked, surprised again.

“Nay, Artis is,” Bear said. “When Jane told her about the race, she set her mind to enter it.”

“Artis!” Sam and Stephen both exclaimed.

“Aye, she can out ride all of us,” Bear said, pride lighting up his eyes.

“You can’t be serious,” Stephen said. “A woman can’t enter the race.”

“I dare ye to tell
her
that,” Bear said, lifting his bushy red brows significantly.

Stephen looked to William for support.

“I know better,” William said. “The lady lived with us for a while, before she married Bear. She can ride better than me, and if you tell her she can’t do something, she’ll likely do it just to prove you wrong.”

“Ye got it right, brother,” Bear said.

“But Bear, racing is dangerous, particularly with so many horses in the race. There could be dozens of entries coming from all over Kentucky and Virginia,” Sam said.

“Ye’ve na seen Artis ride,” Bear said.

Sam shook his head. “If you won’t do it, I guess I will have to try to persuade her not to race.”

“I wish you luck,” William said, with a smile in his eyes. “I don’t think she’s likely to change her mind. Kelly told me that Artis has her heart set on winning.”

“Frankly, so do I,” Stephen said. “I need the money to buy more cattle. Colonel Logan wants me to supply beef for both Fort Logan and Fort Harrod.”

“That’s marvelous news. You know you can always borrow…” Sam started to say.

“No,” Stephen stopped him. “I appreciate your generosity, but I want to buy these cattle entirely on my own. The race purse will allow me to do that,” Stephen said. “It will also allow me to add on to our home. We’ll need another room soon. Jane isn’t sure yet, but she thinks she may be with child again.”

Sam decided right then and there that he wouldn’t enter the race after all. He wasn’t going to race against Stephen when winning meant so much to his brother.

“Is your stallion ready to race?” Sam asked.

“I think so,” Stephen said. “He shows every sign of being at least as great a horse as his sire.”

“And the first George was some horse,” Sam said. “The best I’ve ever known.”

“As soon as Catherine has the babe, and you’ve had a chance to rest,” Stephen said, “you can help me get the stallion ready. He needs to be raced against other horses. He’s never done that.”

“I’d be happy to,” Sam said, “but if I can’t talk Artis out of entering the race, she might object to my helping you.”

“Nay, she’s an excellent trainer herself,” Bear explained. “Trainin’ horses was one of her duties at the Virginia plantation she worked on for seven years. She raced Glasgow many times around the plantation’s track.”

Perplexed, Sam stared questioningly at Bear.

“’Tis a long story. Sit down and I’ll explain it to you,” Bear said.

They all took seats and Bear explained how Artis’ wound up in Kentucky. He started with her mother’s murder and her village in the Highlands being burned. Homeless and alone, she was forced to indenture herself in the colonies. Sam was amazed to learn that when Bear met Artis, she had just finished serving her seven year indentured servitude where she worked as a trainer in the plantation’s horse barn. She helped break in the yearlings and then started getting on the young horses at the farm’s track. From there she learned to gallop and fell in love with horses and racing
them. “But her indenture was just the beginning of her troubles,” Bear continued. “Glasgow was stolen by a man obsessed with pursuing her. Later, when we recovered the horse in Kentucky, William wrote to her former employer who wrote back that Artis should keep the stallion for all she’d done for the plantation.”

Bear seemed to sense Sam’s restlessness and gave them only a few details about her pursuer, saying it was another long story he’d save for another time.

He was restless, and wanted to hear the rest of Artis’ story. For now, though, he was just glad that Bear had been there to help her.

The discussion about the race and listening to Bear tell them about Artis’ life had served as a welcome distraction, but all the while, Sam’s insides continued to churn. By the time Bear finished, his stomach was turning cartwheels and his heart couldn’t seem to beat in a regular pattern. Nervous energy forced him stand and start pacing. Then he stopped suddenly. “Do you think Catherine is all right? Why hasn’t Rory given us an update?” he demanded, wringing his hands and eyeballing his brothers.

“He’s probably busy,” William suggested.

“Busy with what? Catherine has to do all the work!” Sam swore.

He wondered again what was happening.

Until he heard the cry of a new voice in the world.

Chapter 32

C
atherine’s eyes blurred with tears of overwhelming happiness. She swiped her knuckle across her lashes to clear them as Rory held her son up for her to see for the first time. Joy bubbled out of her as he cried, evidence that he was breathing and well. For a moment, the sight of him seemed to give her a glimpse of heaven. The sound of his first cry took her breath away and made her laugh and cry, a wonderful mix of love infused emotions.

A Christmas miracle!

The babe’s cries made her reach out for her son.

“Wait just a moment while I tie off the cord,” Rory told her. He placed the babe on a clean towel near her and he and Mrs. Wrigley took care of the cord.

Then Mrs. Wrigley washed Catherine and removed the soiled sheets, while Jane bathed the babe with a small wet cloth and a bowl of warm water, removing the thick, pasty, whitish coating, which they all said was normal, from his skin.

“Let me examine him, when you’re through Jane,” Rory said. Understandably, he sounded tired. He’d been awake for hours. He washed his hands, put away his supplies, and took a seat by the hearth. Then she he heard him let out a long sigh.