Shelter in Seattle (2 page)

Julianne heard Maggie mummer as she headed toward the cooks shack. “Wish I’d left her by the river.”

****

Caleb Hansen watched from the edge of the woods. He saw and heard the whole sorry event as it unfolded. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one with problems. The young woman looked and acted innocent of any wrong doings, but he’d met many women who could act and look innocent.

The baby in his arms whimpered. “What am I going to do about you?” He asked the little fellow. Terrible regrets assailed him. He’d had great plans for the sister he’d not seen in years. Those plans now lay in a grave on the edge of his property and he was left to raise her infant son alone. The swell of pain that filled his chest was beyond tears. His throat felt raw with unuttered shouts and protests. Why had he been robbed of time with his young sister? Why must this precious baby boy grow up without a mother? Why did she have to die? Why, why, why?

Holding his jaw rigged against the pain that made him want to crumble, Caleb made his way down the steep incline to the cooks shack. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by grief. Reality stared him in the face as soon as his eyes opened each morning and he struggled for courage, strength and determination to carry out the burdensome task the Lord had seen fit to place upon him.

For now, he’d have to ask Maggie to watch the little tyke so he could help fell trees today. Thanks to the commotion of a few minutes ago, the foreman had lost valuable sunlight. They would need every able bodied man to make up the time. And, in the logging business time was money.

Chapter 2

The savory smell of stew and cornbread permeated the cooks shack. Julianne watched the baby sleeping as Maggie stirred pots of meat and potatoes and checked her bread in the stove. Several cakes of cornpone already cooled on the long plank board that served as a table.

The baby’s little lips twitched into what appeared to be a smile. “He’s such a sweet little fellow. I wonder what happened to his mama.” Julianne smiled down into the baby’s sleeping face.

“Ain’t none of our business. If Caleb had wanted us to know, he’d have told us.” Maggie dropped another pan of cornbread on the make shift table. “Besides, we got other problems to think about.”

Julianne continued to watch the sleeping baby.
I wish I were still a baby at my mother’s knee.
The thought of her mother brought tears to her eyes.

Why did her parents have to die and leave her in
his
care? Fear that her Uncle would find her if she said his name aloud caused Julianne to clamp her lips even tighter. She didn’t even
think
his name.

“Can you wash clothes?”

Maggie’s question pulled Julianne from her troubled thoughts. She looked up into the older woman’s tired face. “Of course, I can.”

“Good. Maybe you could wash the men’s clothes for a price, and then pay Sloan back the money you owe him.” She stirred the first big pot of stew then moved on to the next.

Powerful relief filled Julianne’s heart as a glimmer of hope took root. “Maybe I can. Then, I wouldn’t become anyone’s property.”

Maggie laughed. “That was the idea.”

“But, where would I live? I’d need a place to stay and supplies to wash the clothes.” She chewed on the tip of her baby fingernail. “Do you think the store would give me credit?” Julianne stood to her feet and began pacing.

“You’re welcome to stay with me, but you’d have to sleep outside on the porch. There’s not enough room in my shack for a tick, much less a dog,” Maggie offered, pulling down bowls and plates for the men.

The analogy was not lost on Julianne. And the thought of sleeping out on the porch with those men lurking about wasn’t something she planned on entertaining, either. She’d worry about where she’d stay later.

“I’m not so sure about the credit, we’d have to ask Mr. Miller about that.”

“I’ll need a wash tub and a scrub board and some soap.” The baby awoke with a start and let out a weak cry.

Julianne frowned in the baby’s direction, but didn’t move. The cries grew in force ‘til it seemed like one long scream which caused Maggie to almost drop a pan of cornbread.

“Pick him up for heavens sake.” Maggie ordered righting the hot pan.

 “Don’t get used to this.” Julianne muttered to the baby as she slid her hands under his warm little body, lifting him up to her shoulder. He smelled of talcum powder and milk. She cuddled him close to her heart, swaying back and forth until he settled down.

Maggie came to stand beside her. “You sure are good with that baby.”

“I should be, I used to help my aunt with her children,” Julianne muttered, remembering the twin babies she’d practically raised in New York. Day in, day out, she’d bathed, fed and diapered her cousins ‘til she fell into bed exhausted at night. She’d been twelve years old when they were born and she’d cared for them ‘til she fled her Uncle’s home for Seattle. It had been much too heavy a load and she mourned her stolen youth.

The little guy’s eyes began to droop, but every now and then he’d jerk as if afraid he might fall. A tiny spark of empathy stirred in Julianne’s heart. She’d had the same feeling since she stepped off the ship.

Laughter and loud raucous voices sent Maggie rushing to the side door. She shushed the men as they stomped their boots and came in from a hard days work. Each one took a bowl of stew and a generous hunk of cornbread and made their way to a table.

Julianne felt uncomfortable under their stares. They talked in soft whispers as they ate; their eyes darting back and forth between Julianne and their plates.

As if the baby sensed her unease, it began to fret, stiffening his little body, a single cry of protest escaped. Maggie thrust a glass bottle with a sticky, rubber nipple into her hand and shoved her toward the back door.

Julianne walked outside and sank down on the back step. The baby snuggled against her as he drank from the bottle. He was such a tiny little thing. Helpless in the situation life had placed him. Same as Julianne. She brushed the fine blonde hair across his forehead. Deep blue eyes stared up at her as he ate. Julianne remembered a woman aboard the ship she’d traveled on. She’d had blonde hair and soft blue eyes, and had been with child. Had she been Caleb’s wife, and was this their child?

“We’ll make it little fellow. Just hang in there.” She whispered the words of encouragement with a slight smile of defiance. They weren’t beaten yet.

“He seems to like you.”

Startled by the voice, Julianne glanced around uneasily.

Caleb stepped out of the shadows.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” He offered, easing down to sit beside her on the wooden porch.

She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. The only sound in the evening air was the mewing the baby made as he ate. She sought for a topic of conversation to fill the silence but found nothing of interest. Only her problems were uttermost in her mind.

“He’s a greedy little fella, isn’t he?” Caleb leaned forward and touched the baby’s soft cheek.

Expecting the offensive odor of sweat, Julianne was surprised when the clean scent of lye reached her sensitive nose.

Earlier in the day, when he had brought the baby in and passed him off to Maggie, Julianne had been so wrapped up in her own problems that she hadn’t paid much attention to the man.

Now with him sitting inches away from her, he was the only thing she could focus on. Light brown hair touched his collar. It curled on the ends making her wonder if it were as soft as it looked. His profile was sharp and confident, his skin bronzed by the wind and sun. His firm mouth curled as if always on the edge of a smile. The fingers that stroked the baby’s cheek were calloused, tapered and strong.

But the thing that drew her attention most was his eyes. They looked moist as he studied the baby in her arms. They were an unusual color of green, polished jade, and she detected a touch of sorrow in their depths. As if too much heartbreak had entered his life.

Again she wondered about the baby’s mother.

As if he could read her mind, Caleb answered. “His mother is dead. She didn’t even have time to name him.”

Julianne heard the heartache in his voice and felt the urge to comfort him. “I’m sorry,” was all she could get out of her tight throat.

He raised his head and studied her face. Julianne felt like a bug under glass. She knew she was no beauty. Her aunt had told her she had hair the color of dirty coal and that her lips were too big for her face.

Not that it mattered; the last thing she wanted was for a man with a baby to find her attractive. The baby squirmed as if in protest to her thoughts. She gently transferred him into Caleb’s arms.

Caleb put a diaper over his shoulder and then rested the baby over the cloth. He gently patted the baby on the back until a loud burp reached their ears. When he eased him from his shoulder, a small dribble of milk escaped the corner of the baby’s mouth. She watched him wipe the edge of the baby’s lips with the diaper.

Settling the baby in the crook of his arm, he stood. “Thank you for watching him.”

For reasons she didn’t understand, Julianne didn’t want him to go. “Have you eaten?” He mounted the horse with the baby in one arm, emphasizing the force of his thighs and the powerful, well-muscled arms.

“Not yet, but I’m heading home. I’ve got food at the cabin. Thanks again for taking care of the little one.” He turned the horse to go.

Julianne watched Caleb and the baby until they could no longer be seen through the trees. Then she turned wearily to help Maggie with the massive clean up of the kitchen. She tried to maintain a positive outlook, but tomorrow loomed like a giant thundercloud, much like the ones hovering over the sawmill camp right now. In fact, in the hours since she’d arrived she’d only caught an occasional glimpse of the sun.

That sat slightly at odds with her nature.

****

The next morning, Caleb tramped through the logging camp. Young and old men alike practiced for the upcoming contest.

Caleb stopped beside the man who had started the whole mess.

Sloan glanced over at him and gave a brief nod. “Did you come to compete too, Hansen?” His gaze moved to Julianne. “If I’d known how beautiful she was, I might have waited on marrying Susan.”

The foreman joined the two men. “You could put a stop to this now, Sloan. I could change the prize to a day off with pay and the men wouldn’t argue too much.”

“She owes me.” Sloan spit on the ground and stomped away.

Caleb watched him leave. What caused a man to turn so bitter? He pulled his attention from the young man and turned it on the foreman. “You going to join the competition, boss?”

“Nah, I have to keep everyone in line. How about you?”

“I’m not sure.” He’d ask himself the same question last night. The baby needed someone to take care of him, and with the cabin already up, Julianne could have a home. Caleb refused to explore the attraction he felt every time he saw the black haired beauty, but long after darkness settled over the evening before, he’d remembered her beautiful, clear blue eyes and the determined expression on her face as she’d stood her ground with Sloan.

 Both men looked straight ahead. The foreman focused on the trees that would be felled in the days that would follow. Caleb’s attention focused solely on Julianne.

He watched Maggie come up and place the baby in Julianne’s arms. A frown marred her pretty features as she looked down at the infant. He wondered what she was thinking. Didn’t she like babies? He thought all women had a built in love for a motherless child, yet that definitely was not motherly love on her face.

Questions swirled through his mind. Had she taken the money as she was accused of doing? Could she be trusted to watch the baby? Which brought up another question: Exactly what did he know about her?

Absolutely nothing.

“If you compete, there isn’t another man around here that could beat you. That baby needs a mother, and the woman needs a place to stay. It would be a good trade off for both of you.” The foreman walked away before Caleb could protest or comment.

He continued to stroll through the camp. Pieces of conversations met his ears. Each man boasted of what was to become of the lovely Miss Julianne once he won the contest.

“I’ll have her bedded before sundown, if I win.” Ben bragged, as he flung his ax at a make believe target.

His buddy laughed. “Yeah, me too, but after that, she could get started on my laundry. I’ve worn these clothes for over a week.”

Caleb moved on, fighting the urge to smash Ben in the mouth for his filthy words. As he passed Marcus Harvey and another logger, he heard Marcus crow.

“She’s a pretty little thing. I’m looking forward to making her pay for that fare she stole.” Marcus was a big burly man who enjoyed acting like a tough guy. Rumor had it he’d killed a man, but it was only rumor and had never been proven.