Cutty (Prairie Grooms Book 8) (16 page)

Colin stepped onto the porch, Belle right behind him. “What a horrible way to go,” she murmured. “To die alone like that. I’m angry with him, but I want to hug him at the same time. He saved us from that fire and has done a lot since then.”

“People can change,” Imogene commented as she stepped onto the porch. “If you’d known who he was all this time, would you have given him a second chance?”

Colin blew out a breath. “Probably not.”

“The good Lord would’ve – and did,” Imogene said. “Isn’t Cutty lucky that the Almighty loved him even as Thackary Holmes?”

“Have you been spending a lot of time with Preacher Jo?” Colin asked. “You could write his next sermon.”

“It’s common sense,” she said, frowning at Colin. “Everyone deserves a second chance, especially after they’ve already proven themselves.”

Cutty slowly approached the porch and held a hand out to Sadie. She stared at it as her mouth formed a firm line. “Take it,” he urged.

“Why?” she asked.

He took a few steps closer. “Take it, please, Mrs. Cooke.”

The English accent suddenly broke through her rage. “Oh my heavens … it
is
you!”

He stood in front of her now, his hand still extended. “My dear lady, I apologize for all the harm and anguish I’ve caused you and your family. I’m asking you to forgive me. Will you?”

Sadie swallowed hard and looked at his hand again. She closed her eyes, opened them, then took it. “I … forgive you … Thackary.”

“And now,
Thackary
Holmes can be laid to rest,” Cutty said, his lower lip trembling. “I, for one, would be content never to hear that name again.”

“Hear, hear,” Harrison added quietly.

“Thank you, Mrs. Cooke, Mr. Cooke,” Cutty continued. “You don’t know how much your forgiveness means to not just me, but Imogene. We could not marry until all this was settled between us.”

Sadie’s eyes softened. “You may have been a low-down varmint once … but you risked your life to save me and the others. I can’t argue with the good Lord’s gift of redemption, and I’m not going to try.” She glanced over her shoulder at Harrison. “I guess the only thing to say at this point is …” She turned back to Cutty. “… welcome to the family.”

Cutty’s eyes filled with tears and he choked back a sob. “Thank you, all of you. It’s …” He couldn’t continue, only let the tears flow.

Imogene threw her arms around his neck. “I knew you could do it! And you didn’t suffer a scratch!”

“Only because Sadie missed,” Colin riposted, and got an elbow in the ribs from Belle for his trouble.

“Sorry about that,” Sadie said as she spied the stew pot several yards away. “Now where did the coffee pot go? I can’t have flung it that far …”

Cutty pulled Imogene into his arms and held her close. “I love you, Imogene. I love you so much!”

Jefferson and Edith came down the hall. They’d been in the kitchen when Cutty made his announcement, but neither had said a word. They just sat and stared at one another. “I see he’s still alive,” Jefferson remarked. “So, no one’s gonna shoot him or nothing?”

“No, I think we’ve all come to an agreement on the matter,” Colin said. He went to Cutty and Imogene and tapped Cutty on the shoulder.

Cutty turned to him. “Colin,” he simply said.

“I’d like to offer you my forgiveness and, once again, my thanks. If it weren’t for you, I’d not have Belle nor our unborn child. You really have become a new man, and I’m glad of it.”

Cutty bit his lower lip and shook Colin’s hand. “That means a lot to me, Colin.”

Jefferson stepped forward. “Well, if anyone can appreciate being given a second chance, it’s me.”

Cutty offered his hand to Jefferson, but was pulled into a fierce hug instead. He grunted as the older man held him in a vise-like grip. “Thnk yuh … Jffersn …”

Jefferson let go. “You’re welcome,” he said and slapped him on the back. “And like Sadie said earlier, welcome to the family!”

“And that goes for me too,” Edith added.

“Well, I think that takes care of all of us,” Harrison declared. “I’m afraid I can’t predict anyone else’s reaction to the news. You’ve still got quite a few people to tell.”

Cutty nodded his agreement. “Indeed. I’m less worried about Penelope, Fina, Lena, Apple and Constance. Irene Dunnigan, however …”

Everyone paled. “Oh dear,” Colin said. “I’d quite forgotten about her involvement.”

“While her being kidnapped wasn’t my fault … directly, she may not see it that way,” Cutty agreed. “Though I think she rather enjoyed herself. The way she handled them outlaws with that ladle made her a hero.”

“Quite right on that score,” Colin affirmed. “She’s been reveling in it ever since.”

“Don’t worry – we’ll be there if you want,” Sadie offered.

Cutty gave her a small nod. “Just make sure she doesn’t grab that ladle when I tell her. Then maybe I’ll survive.”

Everyone laughed as Harrison and Colin put their arms around Cutty and ushered them all inside. Only Imogene remained on the porch. She sighed, looked up at the sky and whispered, “Thank you.”

Sixteen

Cutty Holmes – no longer Thackary except legally, and no longer Cutty the drifter – joined the Cookes for dinner and for the first time experienced them all for what they were. Family.

Harrison, Colin, Jefferson and their wives hesitated at first, but then began to barrage him with questions: where did he grow up? Where was he educated? Did his parents know Harrison and Colin’s? And on it went well into the night, even after Amon, Nettie and the others left. By the time they were done, Cutty was spent, and collapsed onto the settee in the parlor. “Have you an extra blanket?” he asked Colin. “I can bed down in the barn.”

Harrison studied him, then smiled. “You’ll do no such thing. You can share the nursery with Honoria, that is, if you don’t mind.”

Cutty’s jaw dropped. “You want me to share a room … with your little girl?”

“She won’t bite. And if it bothers you, she can always sleep in our bed tonight. I’ve a cot I can set up – it won’t take me a moment.”

“Thank you, Harrison. That’s very kind.” Cutty felt so overwhelmed, he couldn’t even raise his voice, let alone summon the cantankerous drawl he’d been using. But now he didn’t need to do either. Soft-spoken, humble … that suited him much better now.

“Think nothing of it. Now, let’s get you taken care off. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

“I know,” he said and hung his head. “I hope I’m up to it.”

“As I said before, the worst is over … well, almost.”

“Not hardly,” Cutty muttered.

“What do you mean? As soon as we disarm Mrs. Dunnigan, you can tell her who you are.”

Cutty shook his head. “I meant Newton. That won’t be over until … until he decides it is.”

Harrison sobered. “Oh yes, that. Don’t worry – he’ll come around in time. If my brother and I can find it in our hearts to forgive you, I’m sure your son can too.”

Cutty stared at him and prayed it was true. “He does like those Indians.”

“What tribe is it? Umatilla?”

Cutty’s brow furrowed. “You know, I don’t recall. It’s no tribe I’ve ever heard of before, I do know that.”

“That makes sense as you’re not from this country. I know of a few. Was there anything distinctive about them that you recall?”

Cutty thought about it, then slowly nodded. “They were very tall. Some of them as tall if not taller than Andel Berg.”

Harrison’s eyes went wide. “You don’t say? Well, that’s … strange. I’ll have to remember to ask Amon in the morning. He was out there with you – he would remember.”

“He’s got a better memory than I do,” Cutty remarked. “Now I’d best get some shut-eye.”

“Right. Follow me.” Harrison led him up stairs to Duncan’s old room. It had been turned into a nursery for their daughter and Belle’s child once it came along. As promised, Harrison set up a cot, gave Cutty a pillow and some blankets and bid him goodnight. Honoria was with Sadie, she having the same idea as Harrison about bringing the tyke to bed with them and letting Cutty have a sounder sleep.

Cutty made up his cot, lay down and stared out the window. A crescent moon shone down, and the stars were brilliant. He wondered what Duncan and Cozette were doing at that moment, and wondered how to tell them. Write a letter? Let Harrison and Colin write something with him? What?

He let his mind wander to this and that and tried not to think about tomorrow when he returned to Clear Creek and spoke with some of the townspeople. Eventually his mind found its way to thoughts of Newton. Where was he? Had he made it safely to the Indian village? Would he ever come back?

A tear trickled down the side of his face. Cutty wiped it away, closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Jefferson and the women loaded themselves into the wagon while Cutty, Colin and Harrison each mounted horses. Logan had come by that morning, heard the news and gawked accordingly. He kept gawking every time he set eyes on Cutty, then hustled out the door to start his day.
So far, so good,
Cutty thought.

The trip to Clear Creek was peaceful and he wondered what people would think when they saw the entire Cooke family in town, and he with them. Maybe they’d think that he and Imogene were going to announce their wedding. Just as well. Maybe then the good people of Clear Creek would be in a better mood when they heard what he really had to say.

But then, he wasn’t there to address the entire populace like some touring politician. No, Belle and Sadie had helped him make a list at breakfast of people who had to be told. Doc and Grandma Waller, and Doc and Elsie Drake – they’d done their fair share of tending him when he was down. The Mulligans. Sheriff Hughes and his deputy Bran O’Hare. Chase Adams. Levi Stone. The Van Cleets. And of course, the Dunnigans.

And the list only included the folks Sadie figured would be in town. That still left the five more distant relatives – Constance, Penelope, Lena, Fina and Apple – plus their husbands, all of whom might want nothing more to do with him. He might catch a few of those today …

“Nervous?” Colin asked as he rode beside him.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Cutty said.

“Of course. In fact, I’d be worried about you if you weren’t.”

“Thanks. It’s not as bad as it was yesterday. I dreaded telling you and your brother as much as I did Newton and Nettie.”

“Really? Why is that, other than the obvious?”

“Because you’re family. A man needs family and I wasn’t looking forward to losing any before I even had the chance to enjoy them.”

Colin smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, Cutty.” He kicked his horse into a canter to catch up to Harrison, who rode ahead in case they ran into anyone on The List.

Cutty licked his lips as they got closer to town. They passed the trail that led down to the oak the Cookes dubbed “His Majesty,” where the town’s annual picnic was held. Oddly, Cutty had never gone to see it himself. He wondered why not – it wasn’t like he’d been too busy.

Maybe he could attend the picnic next summer as himself, with nothing between him and his relations nor anyone else. Now that he’d confessed who he was, or rather had been, he craved the sense of freedom it brought. Soon everyone would know, and then he could be just plain, humble (or humbled) Cutty Holmes. Provided Irene Dunnigan didn’t kill him first.

They reached town and Jefferson parked the wagon in front of the livery stable. Cutty and the others dismounted and tethered their horses to a nearby hitching post. “So what’s the plan, Mrs. Cooke?” Cutty asked.

Sadie reached up and took Honoria from Edith who still stood in the back of the wagon. “Call me Sadie. And since we’re next to the livery, why don’t we start with Chase?”

Cutty swallowed hard and glanced at the wide double doors. They were open. “Right.”

“Might it be better if we gathered a few together?” Harrison asked. “Poor Cutty doesn’t want to have to repeat himself too many times, I imagine.”

“Actually, I have an idea!” Belle piped up. “Why don’t we just tell Fanny Fig? Then the whole town will know before sundown!”

The group was evenly divided between those laughing and those aiming dirty looks – at Colin. Colin just looked at Belle. “Clearly I’ve been a bad influence on you.”

Belle didn’t say anything, just winked at him.

Sadie rolled her eyes. “Harrison, why don’t you and Colin round up the Dunnigans, Sheriff Hughes, Doc and Grandma, and anyone else you can find and meet us in the saloon?”

“Right you are!” Harrison said enthusiastically. He slapped Cutty on the back and headed down the street.

“Why is he so … happy?” Cutty asked.

“I think he wants to get it over with as much as you do,” Sadie said. “Harrison likes his life to run smoothly. With this done, he hopes he can get things back to normal.”

“I see,” Cutty mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Belle said as she watched Colin disappear into the livery. “He’s not making this about him. Nor will Colin – they’re just trying to help. Besides, it will be easier on you if you don’t have to drag out the day with telling people.”

Cutty nodded and took Imogene by the hand. “Might as well get to it, then.” He pulled Imogene along beside him and headed for Mulligan’s Saloon.

It didn’t take long for the place to fill with people. Not only had Harrison and Colin gathered the Dunnigans, Wallers and Sheriff Hughes, but also the Drakes, the Van Cleets, Lucy White (who happened to be in town), Tom Turner and his parents and Levi Stone. Patrick and Mary Mulligan, of course, were already in attendance.

Cutty looked over the crowd and shook right down to his toes. Still, his nerves weren’t as bad as when he’d finally told Nettie. His eyes found Irene Dunnigan, and noted her hands were empty of potential weapons, thank the Lord.

“I suppose you’re all wondering why we’ve asked you to gather here,” Harrison announced. “Well, it’s because Cutty and Imogene have something to share with you …”

“About time!” Sheriff Hughes called out.

“We need to celebrate!” Mr. Mulligan shouted, hands in the air.

“No, no, not yet,” Harrison said as he stood on a chair. “Now please listen. This man has something to tell you, and for most of you it may come as a shock. But I speak for my entire family when I say, give the man a chance to do something that any one of us in the same spot would want to be able to do. The question is, would we
have the same courage to do it?” He jumped off the chair and motioned for Cutty to take the floor.

Cutty took off his hat, made his way to the bar and stood in front of it so he could face everyone. “Thank you, Harrison,” he began.

Whispers went through the assembly, all of them saying some form of
why is Cutty suddenly talking like one of the Cookes?

“Well,” he said and swallowed again. “First of all, as has been rumored, Imogene and I are planning to wed …”

A cheer went up.

“Now, wait, wait,” he said, waving his hands to quiet them. Everyone settled down to listen. He saw Preacher Jo and Annie slip into the saloon, and it bolstered his courage. “But before we can marry, I have a problem that needs sorting out. You see … I can’t marry her unless I use my legal name. As you may be guessing by my accent, I have been living here recently under … shall we say, false pretenses …” He took a moment to stare at the floor.

“So?” remarked Patrick Mulligan. “How bad can it be?” He glanced at Harrison and Colin. “How bad
can
it be?”

Sheriff Hughes stepped forward. “What is this all about, Cutty? And what’s with the funny voice?”

Cutty looked at Imogene, who gave him a tiny nod, then at Sheriff Hughes. “This is about the man I used to be – before I met the fine people of this town.” He cleared his throat. Time to face the music. “My legal name … is Thackary Cuthbert Holmes.”

The people went stock still and gawked as Logan had. Then …

“Land sakes!”

“Great Scott!

“I don’t believe it!”

“Merciful heavens, is it true?”

“Wilfred, do something! Never mind,
I
will!”

Cutty instinctively crouched. Unfortunately, that made it impossible to see if Irene had grabbed a cudgel with which to do him in …

“Settle down, all of you!” Colin called over the crowd.

Harrison jumped onto a chair again. “That remains, this man is part of our family.”

That got everyone’s attention. The crowd quieted.

“Thank you,” Harrison said. “Now, we know some of you aren’t overly fond of Thackary Holmes, and with justification. But we, the Cookes, are the ones he’s done his worst to. And we have every reason to believe that he is a changed man, and we have given him our forgiveness. If we can, I believe all of you can, too.”

Sheriff Hughes stepped forward. “That’s a tall order, Harrison. Family or no, this man has to answer to the law.”

“You’re really Thackary Holmes?” Cyrus Van Cleet asked. “But … you rescued Harrison’s wife, and Colin’s.”

“And mine,” Seth added. “Haven’t you ever done something and regretted it? Have you ever lived a life you wished you hadn’t. This man has. And I can honestly say he’s sorry for it.”

Cutty felt tears sting the back of his eyes. He’d never cried so much in his life as these last weeks in Clear Creek. “Thank you, Seth.”

“How come you’re talking all fancy now?” Levi Stone asked. “If you’re really this Thackary Holmes – whom I’ve heard nothing but bad reports about, I might add – then why this pretense?”

“I’m afraid that the rasping drawl was the pretense,” Cutty explained. “This is my natural voice – for good or ill. I no longer want to be the man I was before I came here … but I also no longer wish to live a lie.” His voice began to quaver, and he frowned. He didn’t want to let his emotions get the best of him. He wasn’t through yet.

“You!” Irene Dunnigan said and pushed her way through the crowd. “I almost got killed because of you!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and bowed his head. “But I had nothing to do with that gang’s idea to kidnap you or the rest of the women. That was never my intention.”