High Desert Haven (The Shepherd's Heart) (20 page)

“OW!” Bobby Jeffries whirled on his sister. “PA! May just bit me!”

“May Ann Jeffries! What have your mother and I been tellin’ ya ’bout bitin’?”

May hung her head, large tears forming in her blue eyes.

Eyes so much like her mother’s
. Rolf sighed. May tugged so at his heartstrings that he often had difficulty disciplining her like he knew he should. But this biting had gone on long enough. He cleared his throat pointedly, waiting for her reply.

She tucked a strand of straight white-blond hair behind her ear and mumbled, “No bitin’.”

Rolf scratched his bearded face, reminding himself not to smile, as she turned the full force of her blue eyes on him, using her tears to full advantage.

“He took my doll, Pa!” She tossed an angry glare at Bobby. “And he wouldn’t give it back!”

“No! I—” Bobby’s protest fell dead at the searing expression Rolf turned on him.

Satisfied to have their full attention, Rolf looked back to his daughter. “May, I don’t care what he did to ya; it’s never all right to bite. Ever. You’ve been told this afore and now I’m tellin’ ya again. No bitin’!”

Her lower lip trembled. “Yes, Pa.”

“Now you need to go say sorry to your brother.”

She sighed. “Yes, Pa.” Feet dragging and her doll dangling by one arm, May walked over to Bobby. “I’m sorry, Bobby. I shouldn’t a bit ya.”

Bobby folded his arms and looked at his father.

“Go on, son.”

“Fine. I forgive you. But it better not happen again!”

“Bobby!” Rolf dipped his chin, indicating his displeasure.

“Sorry,” Bobby mumbled.

“Right. Now you two go on and play nicely together.”

“Can we go back inside, Pa? I could read to May. An’ we could wrap up in the quilt.”

“Sure, just be careful that you don’t get too close to the stove. And no adding any more wood until I get in there. I don’t want you to get burnt.”

“Yes, Pa!” Both children ran for the door, their fight immediately forgotten.

Rolf watched them in wonder, shaking his head over the ease with which children forgave. “We could all learn a lot from the forgiveness of children, John,” he told his other son.

John nodded thoughtfully, watching his siblings as they raced across the yard to the house.

“Nicki, hello,” Brenda greeted as she dropped from the saddle, wrapping her mount’s reins around the top rail of the newly erected corral.

Diablo sniffed at the horse’s hooves, shying away with ears laid low when the horse stamped one foot.

“Brenda, it’s so good to see you,” Nicki responded warmly, truly meaning her words.

“I’m right sorry it’s taken me so long to make it over for that visit we talked about. I been meanin’ to get here for a couple o’ weeks now. I see you have a puppy. Bobby and May would just love to have one, but Rolf put his foot down.” She chuckled, “I have to say I was pretty thankful he did. The last thing I need is one more thing to take care of.”

Nicki stooped to scoop the puppy into her arms. “Yes, he was a gift to Sawyer from William.” She ruffled the pup’s ears roughly. “And he is a menace! We named him Diablo after he dug a hole through the wall of the soddy not once, but twice!”

“Oh, my.” Brenda reached out to pet the puppy on its head. “Be ye a little devil, mite?”

Diablo glanced up at Nicki and then swiped at her cheek with a long pink tongue.

Nicki chuckled as she dodged the doggy kiss. “Trust me when I say, yes, he is. Please come on in. I’m so glad you could come.”

Brenda looped her arm through the handle of her basket as the two women made their way indoors.

“My, it’s so nice and warm in here,” Brenda commented as Nicki set the puppy down and put water on the stove for tea. “Our house be so bloomin’ cold that the young-uns huddle right around the stove all day long. I can’t seem to get a thing done without steppin’ on one o’ them.”

Nicki knew how small Brenda’s place was. “I can’t imagine living in a house this size with
three
children. Some days I wonder if I won’t go crazy before spring gets here. And I only have one, plus a puppy.” She cast a teasing glare at Diablo, who’d flopped down in front of the stove. “A very devilish puppy.”

Brenda chuckled and set to pulling out her freshly baked gifts. She waved a hand in Nicki’s direction as she responded, “The size don’t bother me so much, but the
cold is
gettin’ to me. I feel for the children. We didn’t know ’twould get so cold in these parts. When we built, everybody we spoke to told us that winters here were fairly mild, so we built with that in mind and now....” She shrugged. “Well, winter’s almost over and come spring first thing after we plant our crops I’m gonna hold Rolf to his promise o’ soddin’ the outside o’ the house. Next winter we will be warm!”

Brenda’s enthusiasm tugged the corners of Nicki’s mouth upwards.
“Sí
. This winter has been uncharacteristically cold. I think we’ve all been surprised by it. Ron just told me yesterday that he hasn’t seen our cattle looking this poorly since he’s been working for us.”

Nicki picked up her darning as they continued to talk, and the rest of the afternoon passed in pleasant conversation. Nicki relaxed for the first time in several days, temporarily forgetting her worries about the ranch and Sawyer’s future.

Sawyer had long since awakened and was playing with his few toys in front of the stove when Brenda glanced out the window and gasped. “Oh my, look at how late it is. Why, it be most dark. I must hurry home, Nicki. If the poor children have to eat somethin’ that Rolf cooked, I’ll have a mutiny on my hands.”

Nicki rose to hug her friend. “It’s been so good to visit with you. I didn’t notice how late it was, either. I need to get Sawyer some dinner, although,” she chuckled, “you brought enough food with you to feed the whole town, so I won’t have to fix much.”

Brenda smiled, waving a hand, indicating it had been her pleasure, and headed for the door.

“Brenda, wait.” Nicki hurried to pull a large quilt from under her bed. “I want you to have this. It isn’t much, but maybe you could hang it on the wall and it would help keep the house a little warmer. I wish there was more I could do.”

Tears pooled in Brenda’s eyes. “Thank you,” was all she choked out, but Nicki knew that a mere thanks did not accurately express what was in the woman’s heart. She would feel the same if Sawyer was cold all the time, and someone had done something similar for her.

“De nada.”
Nicki blinked back her own tears as she hugged her friend once more. “Come again when you can.”

“Ya can count on that. It’s been so nice to visit with another woman.”

At that moment Nicki realized just how good she had it with Tilly coming every day. She waved as she watched Brenda mount up and ride out of the yard, thankful for the woman’s friendship.

William had just finished dowsing the back wall and a portion of the roof with kerosene when the door to the house squeaked on its hinges as someone entered the little cabin. He froze and suppressed a groan of aggravation as he glanced in both directions. There was no cover here. If someone should come around the side of the house there would be no place for him to hide. Yet there was nothing they would need back here and he could tell by the expanse of untouched snow that no one had been behind here since the last snow, which had been several days ago. It wasn’t likely he would be found if he just stayed put.

He debated what to do. If he just did it quickly, surely whoever had entered the cabin would be able to get out. Yet with them this close, he would have less chance of escape. Everyone around these parts knew everyone else, and it wouldn’t suit for him to have to explain why one of the Jeffries thought they had seen him running away from their house right before it burned to the ground.

He glanced again at his escape route. He had to run a hundred feet before he would have any cover at all, and even then he would need to make it to the road before he would be safe, for in the snow his trail would be clearly visible. Anyone who came to the back of the house would be able to see it and follow him. And not until he got to the road, where many people and carriages passed every day and his footprints blended into the slush, would he feel safe.

Sinking down to wait for whoever was inside to go back to the barn, he sighed. It wouldn’t do for him to get caught. He had come too far for that. His neck itched, and he scratched at it, trying not to imagine the prickly feel of a noose.

He sat for a long time. Standing up every now and then he paced quietly, rejuvenating circulation to his numbing extremities, his patience wearing thin.

It was getting dark when he heard a horse trot into the yard. He decided that he was tired of waiting. Maybe in the chaos of the new arrival and surprise of it all, he would be able to get away. Besides, it was almost totally dark now and that would help to hide his trail.

He struck a match, tossing it up onto the roof, and hesitated only a fraction of a second to watch as the flames licked greedily at the dry wood and kerosene. Then he vanished into the night.

Brenda pulled her horse to a stop and slid to the ground, leading it into the barn. Rolf glanced up from where he was mending a harness, and Brenda smiled. “Hello, Love.”

He stood and gave her a quick kiss. “Did ya have a nice visit?”

“Wonderful.”

Taking the reins from her, he led the horse into a stall.

“Where are Bobby and May?” she asked John, who sat mending a separate harness.

“May bit Bobby and they fought. Then Pa made them ’pologize. Then they got cold and wanted to go read in the house and Pa said they could, so long as they din’t mess with the stove none.”

Brenda turned to Rolf, who busied himself with checking her horse’s hooves. “Did you spank her this time?”

Rolf looked sheepish. “It’s those eyes o’ hers, Bren. I can’t hardly take it when she looks at me the way she does. I tell you I’m gonna have to get me a buffalo gun when the girl comes to age. The boys won’t be able to keep away!”

Brenda winked at him. “Well, first we have to stop her from bitin’ every boy that upsets her, or none will be wishin’ to court her ’tall.”

Rolf chuckled, a slow rumble that started in his chest and worked its way into a full-blown laugh. He paused, wiping his eyes, as he glanced out the barn doors toward the house. His face transformed into a mask of horror. “Dear Lord, have mercy!”

Brenda’s heart seized in fear at Rolf’s cry of terror.

He lurched out of the stall and sprinted toward the house. She spun around.

Dancing eerily on the snow outside was the orange-yellow glow of fire! “Lord God Almighty, help us!” She clutched at her throat, her words coming out in a choked exclamation.

“Brenda! Buckets! Water!” Rolf was already halfway across the yard before Brenda could make her feet move. But as she launched into action, her mind was frozen on one thought alone:
My little ones! Jesus! My little ones is in there!

Rolf plunged through the door of the house. Smoke billowed out in a thick cloud, and vivid orange sparks painted streaks against the black velvet sky.

Her heart stuttered, then resumed in quadruple time. “Dear God, help him!” she prayed as she snatched up the watering buckets that hung by the door.