The Enchanted Land (39 page)

“Where are you going?” she murmured.

“To my room. Lupita seemed to think I need some sleep, too.”

“Stay with me. I need you.”

An incredible joy surged through him. “Yes,
mi querida
, I’ll stay with you … for as long as you want.”

Morgan immediately turned back onto her stomach and went to sleep. Seth took his time washing himself, and then he removed his clothes and climbed into the bed beside his wife. “Damn nightgown!” he murmured as he pulled her close. Their bodies fitted together with an old familiarity. Seth’s breath became slow and even and he, too, slept.

Adam didn’t know who held him or who forced the bad-tasting tea down his throat, but he knew the voice of command. It hurt terribly, but no matter how much
he complained, the cup was always there again. His body hurt and ached so much, yet someone kept lifting him, turning him, and putting hot cloths on him. He didn’t like this at all. He wanted to be outside. “Horse,” he whispered, but the word didn’t come to the surface.

Lupita forced several herb teas down Adam’s throat, each laced with powdered rose hips. She and Roselle wrapped his little feverish body again and again in hot, steamy towels. Toward dawn, the fever began to lessen, and Lupita collapsed on the little sofa. She hadn’t slept in nearly two days, and now that she knew there was nothing else she could do except wait, she fell asleep instantly. Roselle tiptoed from the room. No matter what happened now, there would be a need for food.

“Eat.” The word didn’t come out as loudly as he had planned. He tried again, but his mouth still didn’t work. He looked at the big woman asleep beside his bed. Who was she? He was wet all over his body and he was hungry and thirsty. Where was his mother? He’d go to her room. She’d get him something to eat.

He started to move but his body didn’t obey. It hurt, and his head hurt, too. “Mama.” he whispered, and the tears began to flow. He felt so awful and there was no one with him except this woman that he didn’t know.

Lupita opened her eyes to see Adam’s face screwed up and tears rolling down his cheeks. Her tears followed, because she knew the danger was over.

“Ah, little one. You will be safe now.” She immediately set about making the little boy comfortable. She changed his clothes and bed linens, talking to him soothingly all the while.

Adam decided he liked the woman. And he seemed to remember her voice from somewhere. But he was still hungry and he still wanted his mother. “Mama,” he whispered again.

“Yes, I’ll get your mama for you.”

Lupita tried two doors before she found Morgan’s
room. She paused a moment to stare at the sight of Morgan and Seth curled together in the big bed. She was glad they were together again. There was no need to wake both of them. “Morgan.” Seth stirred and rolled away from his sleeping wife. Lupita touched her shoulder. “Morgan, Adam is calling you.”

“Adam?” she murmured sleepily, eyes still closed. Then suddenly they were wide open.

“The fever is broken. He will be well. I will go back now. You come when you can.”

Morgan jumped from the bed and ran to her wardrobe. She snatched a dressing gown and rapidly thrust her arms through the sleeves and tied it.

Adam whimpered slightly when he saw his mother. She held him close and he was comforted by her presence. He looked tired and he’d lost weight, but for the first time in a long while, his eyes were clear and focusing.

Seth came into the room, his eyes riveted on his son. He held the boy’s hand and ruffled his hair. “I’m glad you’re going to get well, son.” Morgan saw the tears in his eyes. No matter how much she ever doubted Seth’s love for her, his love for his little son was never in question.

Seth came to Morgan’s side and took her in his arms. “I have to see to the ranch now. After four days without supervision, it’s probably near bankruptcy. I’ll try to get back for dinner, but if I can’t, I’ll send word.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you.” He released her and left the room.

She stared after him for a second, but she couldn’t worry about Seth now. Adam was still very sick and he needed her.

Morgan spent the entire day with Adam. She spoonfed him, read to him, and drew pictures on his little slate. Lupita slept most of the day and Roselle stayed downstairs except to bring food.

“Mrs. Colter, why don’t you go for a ride?” said Roselle next afternoon. “Adam is asleep, and I’ll be here if he wakens. You need some fresh air.”

“I know, Roselle, I guess I should. But I’m afraid he’ll wake up and need me. I’ll get over the feeling, but I came so close to losing him that right now I’m almost afraid to close my eyes.”

Roselle agreed. Had her little girl lived, she would have felt the same way about leaving her.

When Lupita entered the room, Morgan ran to her and hugged her. “It seems I’m always saying thank you for all the things you do for me.”

“I did not save the boy for you … only maybe a little for you. If anything had happened to him, my Seth would not think so highly of me. I cannot have that.” She grinned at Morgan. “Also, remember, Adam is one of my children.”

Adam gave Lupita a tentative smile when he heard his name. The woman was becoming familiar to him very quickly.

Lupita caressed the hair by his temple. “Now you will grow as strong and as big as your daddy. I think I will go to the kitchen and see how this Roselle is feeding my children.”

“Her cooking is a lot different from yours.”

“Hmph! That is why the child was so sick. He needs more chili. I’ll see what I can make for supper.”

“Chili! That sounds marvelous. How about a green chili stew with potatoes and meat? The three of us could eat here, together.”

Lupita smiled at her. “Yes. The three of us together. That is nice.”

In a short time, the two of them were happily eating quantities of green chili stew and freshly made tortillas. Morgan fed Adam a beef broth flavored with green chili. He ate all of it, and drank some milk. Once he smiled at them, the first time Morgan had seen his
dimples in a long time. There was a milk mustache on his upper lip, and he said, “Eat.”

The women had laughed together. “Now I know for sure that he’s going to be all right,” Morgan declared.

“Food has to be interesting, or it is not good to eat. He would not eat before because the food had no taste.”

Adam put out a hand toward his mother’s tortilla and she broke off a piece for him.

Martin came into the room. “Mr. Colter said to tell his wife”—his eyes twinkled—“that the ranch is falling apart. He’ll be very late tonight, since he needs to put it together again.”

Morgan laughed. “Thank you, Martin. Who brought the message?”

“A young hand called Tim.”

“Well, take him to the kitchen and give him some green chili stew and tortillas. There’s enough, Lupita?”

“What you think—I cook only a little bit for the three of us?”

“And Martin, you and Roselle help yourselves.”

“We already have. The smells from Lupita’s cooking were irresistible.”

“Oh, Lupita,” she laughed when Martin was gone, “I spent an entire year training with a French cooking master, and none of my food ever gets the raves your food does.”

Morgan turned back to Adam. She felt slightly guilty because she hadn’t really thought about Seth all day. She was too concerned with Adam, always aware of how close she’d come to losing him. She put her hands on the small of her back and stretched.

“It is time for you to go to bed.”

“I’ll sleep in here, in case he wakes in the middle of the night and needs anything.”

“No. You will go to your own room and sleep. I will stay in here. If he needs you, I will call you.”

Morgan knew when she was attempting a losing battle.
She was asleep as soon as she snuggled under the covers.

It was late when Seth got back to the house and he stopped outside Morgan’s door, his hand on the knob. He smiled in anticipation because he knew they could not possibly sleep together in the same bed for the second night in a row without making love.

He looked down at himself. He was dirty and tired. And in the morning, Morgan would be running into Adam’s room. No, it would have to wait. When he made love to his wife for the first time in years, he wanted time to caress her and touch every part of the body he’d once known so well. With a sigh, he turned to his own room.

Morgan awoke early. She still wasn’t used to Adam not banging on her bedroom door. She threw on a dressing gown and went to her son’s room. Immediately she knew something was wrong. The room was a mess. There were towels on the floor, a tea kettle beside the bed. Both Adam and Lupita were asleep. She sat down heavily in a chair. It came back to her with renewed force that she had come very close to losing her son. Last night, while she slept, she had almost lost him again. If Lupita hadn’t been with him…

Morgan turned and saw Lupita’s eyes open. “What happened?” Her voice reflected her despair.

“Nothing happened. He was restless so I made him tea.”

“What about the towels?”

“I had them ready in case the fever returned, but it did not.”

“He had a relapse, didn’t he?”

“Morgan, no! I was just being cautious, but he needed no more treatments.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“You weren’t needed. Nothing happened. I—”

Seth entered the room and looked in puzzlement
from one woman to the other. “Is something wrong?”

“Adam was ill again last night,” said Morgan. “He isn’t over it at all. He’s still very sick.”

Lupita threw her hands into the air, mumbled something under her breath in Spanish, and then turned to Seth. “Adam is all right. Last night he was restless and I was afraid it was the sickness again, but it was not. Your son is getting well quickly and there is no more danger.”

Morgan looked skeptical. “I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“Well, I believe Lupita.” He kissed the woman’s forehead. “Let’s all go downstairs and eat breakfast. Carol is here and she can stay with Adam.”

“I’d rather stay with him myself.”

“Of course, you stay with Adam if you want. That way I’ll have Lupita all to myself.” He winked at the large woman. As he kissed his wife’s cheek, Seth was vaguely aware that Morgan wasn’t even looking at him. He frowned slightly when she turned away quickly.

Seth and Lupita sat at the breakfast table. “There really is nothing wrong, is there?”

“No, nothing. I am just an old mother hen and I wanted to be safe. I am sorry I did not clean up the mess before Morgan saw it. It is good to eat with you again, to see you again.”

“Lupita, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for Morgan, and Adam, and for me. I knew you’d come when we needed you.”

“Of course, I come. Is everything all right now, between you and the
señora
?”

“It’s coming along. It isn’t easy to forgive what I did to her.”

“She must see how much you love her.”

“No, I don’t think she does. Sometimes I think she does. Maybe she doesn’t trust me. I just try to wait and be patient.”

“Wait! You do not need to wait. You should not wait. She is your wife. Take her.”

Seth smiled indulgently. “It’s not like that. I’ve lost rights…”

“Rights! She is a woman and you are a man. And besides, you love each other.”

“I want Morgan to make up her own mind when she wants to come to me.”

“She can’t make up her own mind. I know Morgan very well. All her life she has had people tell her what to do. She has never had a chance to be her own self. At first, she spoke the words of her mother, and then she had an uncle to control her, and then she had you. Even in California, she was pushed and pulled by others.”

For some reason, Seth felt a need to defend his wife. “She made up her own mind when she asked me to marry her. That took courage.”

“Yes, I know all about that. Even then she bought someone to control her. I am sure she sensed that you were a strong man. Another woman might have told her problem to everyone. Then she would have had her choice of many men. But Morgan has always been too sheltered to make choices.”

Seth sipped his coffee. Lupita was right.

“Now she needs someone to help her.” She nodded her head toward the stairs. “She loves that little boy. But if someone does not help her, she will let him rule her life. She is a little girl herself.”

Seth sat silently for a moment. He had always been too involved with Morgan to look at her clearly, like Lupita did. Seth had always blamed Morgan’s mother, but he’d never realized that he filled the same place Mrs. Wakefield once had.

“I thought I might go home tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

“Yes. The boy is fine. He does not need me, but Jake and Paul do.”

“Lupita, I wish you’d stay. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, and you know what you’ve always meant to me.”

“I must go home. Soon, I hope the three of you will come home, too.”

“Yes,” Seth grinned. “I’d like that. It would be nice to be on my own place again. I hope we will go. Maybe when Gordon gets back, I can leave. I’ll bring my wife and son with me. Morgan hasn’t really … accepted me as a husband, yet.”

“Accepted! These modern men! In my day, women did not choose their husbands; their parents told them who their husbands would be. That is what should have happened here.”

“What if Morgan had gotten Jake instead of me? Then where would I be?”

She turned to snap at him and then saw his teasing eyes. “We are too long at this meal. We both have work to do. Let’s get started.”

Seth kissed her on the cheek as he left for a long day on the ranch.

Lupita again spent her day with Adam and Morgan, talking and quietly laughing together. Lupita didn’t like the worried look Morgan’s eyes always held when she looked at her little son. The older woman could not convince her that he was out of danger.

At dinner, Morgan again refused to leave Adam. Seth saw the alarm and fear in her eyes and he agreed. He, too, was not completely satisfied that Adam was really well.

Seth and Lupita ate dinner alone and enjoyed talking about the Colter ranch. Seth was entertained by the stories of Morgan’s pregnancy.