A Good Man for Katie (37 page)
The boy shrugged and sighed. His face retained its pinkish hue as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his trousers and fell into step beside Chase. Sarge ran ahead, his son racing along side him, to stop and smell every little thing that caught their interest. They watered a few trees as well.
“Good afternoon, Sheriff. Walter.” Francine Maitland stopped in the middle of the street outside Graham’s General Store, her arms loaded with paper-wrapped packages, the warm expression on her face conveying the fact she wasn’t opposed to chatting for a bit.
Chase stopped, but only for a moment as he acknowledged the greeting and her expression with a slight nod and a hastily spoken apology. “I’m sorry, Fran, but I gotta get home.”
The woman’s brow raised as her smile widened. “Everything all right? Did Kate have the baby?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned then squeezed Walter’s shoulder and pointed at the packages in Mrs. Maitland’s hands. “Help Mrs. Maitland home, please.”
“Yes, sir,” the boy responded and began to take the packages from the woman’s arms.
Francine, though she relinquished her burden, didn’t move. She eyed him with curiosity. “Well, what is it?”
“Don’t know, ma’am. I’m on my way to find out,” he said over his shoulder as started walking away at a quick pace.
“Give my best to Kate.”
Chase grinned. He couldn’t help it. So much had changed since the day he rode into Crystal Springs, holster slung low on his hips. Four years ago, Francine Maitland would have crossed the street to avoid him. And she wouldn’t have been the only one. Indeed, everyone, except for Kathryne and a few others, had done their best to let him know he wasn’t wanted.
Now, he couldn’t walk down the street without someone drawing him into conversation. Kathryne had brought about most of those changes with her unfailing belief in him as a good man. Arresting Townsend and Cassandra Kinsbrough for murder among other crimes hadn’t hurt, either.
He crossed the bridge, the dogs ahead of him and walked up the stone path to the front porch of his home. Pride swelled his chest, not only for the home he’d built with his own two hands, but for the friends and family gathered inside.
He peeked through the lace curtain in the parlor window. Too many people crowded the room. His parents as well as Kathryne’s and friends he’d come to love. Laurel, belly rounded with her second child, due any day, and her husband, Ty. Emy, cousin by marriage and friend by choice, just beginning to show the first blushes of her pregnancy, sat beside Prudence Barstow. Colonel Barstow, retired now, watched his wife with such love in his eyes, Chase sucked in his breath.
He knew that if he walked through the front door, they’d want to shake his hand or hug him or slap him on the back in congratulations when all he really wanted was to see Kathryne and the baby. He stepped off the front porch and walked around the back of the house. Except for Terrence washing up at the sink, the kitchen was empty. He let himself in to the smells of freshly brewed coffee and a roast in the oven.
“Chase! Congratulations, Papa!” Terrence wiped his hands on a towel then tossed the damp item onto the counter. “Sorry we had to ask you to leave earlier.”
“It’s all right. How is Katie?”
“She’s fine.” He adjusted the newly acquired glasses on his face. “Her labor progressed much as I expected. Easiest delivery I’ve had in a long time.”
“And the baby?”
The doctor grinned. “Ten fingers. Ten toes. Strong, healthy lungs. In short, perfect.”
The air wheezed out of Chase with relief.
“She’s waiting for you.”
Chase took the back stairs two at a time, ran down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Kathryne and just stood in the doorway. He couldn’t seem to get his legs to move any further into the room as his gaze settled on his wife and the bundle in her arms. She lay in their bed, propped up by a mountain of pillows behind her back. He studied her, committing to memory how she looked at this moment, her face alive with happiness, her eyes soft and filled with love as she smoothed her fingertips over the baby’s face.
He cleared his throat over the lump that threatened to choke him.
Kathryne’s smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen as she held out her hand.
“Chase,” she whispered, her voice sounding tired to his ears, but holding a note of pride just the same. “Come and meet your son.”
Oh, what those words did to his heart. “A son? We have a son?”
Tears misted his eyes and blurred his vision as he entered the room. He sat on the edge of the bed then clasped her hand in his, his heart taking flight as the love they shared filled him before he leaned over and touched her lips with the gentlest of kisses.
Pride, love, and happiness rocked him to his soul and his hand trembled as he pulled back the blanket swaddling the baby in her arms. “He’s beautiful.”
“Yes, he is. You can hold him.”
Chase shook his head. He’d never held a baby, at least not one this small. He might do something wrong.
Kathryne grinned, her smile lighting up her whole face. “He won’t break, Chase. He’s quite sturdy.” She placed the baby in his arms, not giving him any choice, but to accept the gift she offered.
Chase’s throat constricted as he gazed at his son. “Welcome to the world, Charles Galen.”
A word about the author...
Marie Patrick has always had a love affair with words and books but it wasn’t until a trip to Arizona, where she now makes her home with her husband and two furry, four-legged “girls,” that she became inspired to write about the sometimes desolate yet beautiful West. Her inspiration doesn’t just come from the wild west, though. It comes from history itself. She is fascinated with pirates and men in uniform and lawmen with shiny badges.
When not writing or researching her favorite topics, she can usually be found curled up with a good book. Marie loves to hear from her readers.
Drop her a note at:
or visit her website at:
www.mariepatrick.com.
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