Chapter Fifteen #2
Travis swallowed hard and squatted to their level, wiping his hands on his pants. “Don’t think like that. Just pray for her, all right?”
He stepped through the door and pulled Ivy and the others into a tight embrace, kissing the tops of their heads as he held them close. He had to save Josie. The thought of putting his children through another loss was unbearable, a weight he couldn’t imagine forcing them to carry again.
“Go to your room,” Travis whispered hoarsely. As the children dashed off, Travis rubbed his face, trying to erase any trace of his tears. When he returned to the room, his heart ached as he saw Josie moving her head from side to side, moaning softly in pain.
Travis sat next to her, taking her hand in his.
Her palms were clammy, and her pulse raced beneath his fingers.
“They need you, Josie. Whatever this is, you have to fight it. Fight it for us.” He looked up to the ceiling, swallowing back his tears.
“Dear God, don’t take her. Think about my children, please.
You can have me any day. Just don’t take their new mother away. ”
Travis sat at the dining table, tapping his fingers on the surface while he waited to hear the doctor’s report.
Aunt Polly settled next to him, rubbing his back.
Josie was strong; Travis knew that when she first met the children, taking on the role of a mother despite her youth and inexperience.
Over the past two weeks, she had proved herself capable and resilient.
Whatever this affliction was, she could fight it.
His mind raced through possible reasons for her illness—exhaustion, a virus, some unknown disease?
Was it contagious? And why was she bleeding?
Perhaps it was just her monthly courses.
He remembered how Sophie had sometimes complained about cramping and nausea, but after taking Aunt Polly’s homemade remedies, she always felt better.
Maybe that was what Josie needed. Yet Aunt Polly had gone for the doctor—why would she seek help from a man she loathed when it came to something as personal as a woman’s cycle?
Surely Dr. Gordon had patients suffering from far worse conditions.
However, when the doctor arrived, he wasted no time, kicking Travis out of the room and instructing him to wait.
Aunt Polly patted Travis’s back. “Be calm. She’s going to be fine.”
“How do you know that?” Travis asked sharply. “I’ve never seen her act like that.” Aunt Polly didn’t answer him. He turned to her, his pulse racing in his ear. “What do you think is wrong with her?”
Aunt Polly stiffened. “I don’t know. That’s why the doctor is here.”
“But you don’t trust him. The only time you brought him here was when Sophie was giving birth.”
Aunt Polly bit her lip and folded her hands in her lap. “Truth is, Travis, I’m worried about Josie. I can give her different variations of herbs, but I want a second opinion before I jump to conclusions. Josie is the mother of your children now, and like you, I don’t want to risk any more loss.”
Travis’s nails dug into his palm. “And what do you believe is the cause of her affliction?”
The bedroom door closed, interrupting them. Dr. Gordon entered the main room, his expression notably less grave than it had been during Sophie’s ordeal. Travis shot up from his chair, tension coiling in his muscles.
“How is she, Doc? Is she going to be all right?”
“She should be fine,” the doctor answered, drying his hands with a rag. “Bleeding and cramping are quite common for a woman at this stage of her condition. With some rest, she should recover smoothly. Just make sure she doesn’t overexert herself—no working in the fields this year.”
Travis shriveled his gaze to Aunt Polly then back to the doctor. His heart punched his ribcage, cutting off his air. “Condition?”
The doctor raised his eyebrows. “She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Travis demanded. What could be wrong with Josie that he didn’t know?
She had seemed perfectly healthy, a hard worker dedicated to the harvest. He couldn’t imagine stopping her from contributing.
Whatever this was, it had to be fatigue; it couldn’t be anything more serious. If it were, Josie would have told him.
Dr. Gordon stepped closer and grinned—a grin Travis hadn’t seen on the man in months. He placed his hand on Travis’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Mr. Blythe. You’re going to be a father again.”
Travis’s eyes widened in disbelief. His breath hitched in his throat, nearly choking him as he took a step back, bracing his hand against the table to steady himself.
He had to have heard the doctor wrong. He should have insisted that Aunt Polly stay and prepare a healing element instead of relying on Dr. Gordon, a man he couldn’t trust. This was the same doctor who had failed to save Sophie, and now he was making vile accusations against Josie.
“What do you mean? My wife isn’t expecting. She can’t be.”
“If my calculations are correct, you should have a Christmas baby.” The doctor retrieved a bottle from his leather bag and handed it to Aunt Polly. “Here’s some laudanum. I know you won’t give it to her, but just in case. It will help with the discomfort she’s been feeling.”
Aunt Polly slid it into her pocket. “I’ll brew some yarrow from my garden. If she asks for the laudanum specifically, I’ll give it to her.”
The doctor patted her shoulder. “If you need any more assistance, let me know.”
Travis gripped the table, staring into nothingness. He wanted to demand another examination, but he stood, frozen in place, unable to speak. Suddenly, everything came together.
A beautiful woman came out west to marry a vulnerable widower.
Travis was an easy target, one so desperate for a wife he’d marry anyone.
Josie would be safe here, depending on him to care for her child.
And yet, that night she tried to seduce him made sense, too.
She wanted him to think the child was his, but he wouldn’t have her.
Who was the father? Who truly was this Josephine Callahan?
She fooled him, and now they were wed for life.
His jaw hardened. Travis was married to a deceptive woman.
If Josie hadn’t mentioned the major detail about her being pregnant, how could Travis trust anything else she said?
Was that speech about coming here to have a family real?
She had pulled his heartstrings, telling him all about her family dying, leaving her alone. And he believed her.
Every word.
He rubbed his chin and glared at Aunt Polly. “Did you know about this?”
Aunt Polly’s expression remained neutral. “I suspected. That’s why I asked the doctor here.”
Travis groaned, slamming the table with his fist. “She lied to me. She lied to us all. I let her care for my children! A deceiver lives under my roof!”
“Stop that,” Aunt Polly snapped, pointing in his face. “You can’t just assume things that you don’t have the answers to. There’s more to the story than what meets the eye.”
“Doesn’t this all make sense?” Travis gritted his teeth. “She’s a young, attractive woman who threw away so many opportunities to come here. And with child?”
“I agree, it does make sense. However, you shouldn’t judge her too harshly,” Aunt Polly said. “The important thing is she came here to mother your children when no one else would.”
Travis folded his arms. “And mistakenly forgot to mention she was expecting a baby?”
Aunt Polly gave him a blank stare. “And would you have married her?”
Travis grabbed his hat. He had to get out of the house.
He had to be alone. No, he wouldn’t have married her, but that wasn’t the point.
Josie wasn’t honest with him, and he could never trust her again.
He’d shared everything—his deepest, darkest demons that tormented him—and she’d deceived him.
On their wedding night, she wasn’t a confused young bride. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Travis stormed out the door. He could never look at Josie the same, ever again.
Travis’s nails dug into the wooden fence as he steadied himself.
He hadn’t stepped one foot in that house since Dr. Gordon diagnosed Josie.
He couldn’t go in there. He couldn’t bear being caught in any more of her deceitful webs.
How could he not see this coming? How could he make her his children’s mother?
Sophie would never do this. She would never defraud anyone. The woman couldn’t lie, for her poker face was a sham. Travis always sensed when Sophie was hiding something. He’d cock a brow, and she’d burst into laughter. Then Travis would tickle the truth out of her in less than five seconds.
Travis could never do that to Josie. It took all the strength he had to stand close to her.
But Josie would tense each time he touched her, like the time he taught her to use a scythe.
Perhaps she was worried he’d see through her or her baby, but those brown eyes held something more prevalent, more serious than a hidden pregnancy.
Looking into the setting horizon, Travis sighed as he watched the orange sun rays hit the wheat. The stalks swayed gently, dancing with the breeze. His eyes settled on the gaps in the field where they recently harvested that week, now standing out among the sea of grain.
Travis had returned to the fields with Ivy and Jonas while Josie rested.
Ivy helped guide the wheelbarrow, and Jonas loaded the cut stalks that fell to the ground.
Travis looked down, studying the dirt that clung to his hands and shirt, and his skin itched from the sticky stalks.
His blistered hands stung as sweat mixed with the grit, but he ignored it, drawing in deep breaths, anxiously awaiting morning to come.
He longed to work again, all day in the hot sun just as his papa raised him to do.
No setbacks—especially from Josie—would stop Travis now.
He’d let down his family once before with Pa’s heart attack, and he’d never rest again.
The harvest would be finished; there was another mouth to feed, and he’d make sure they had enough.
“I figured I’d find ya here.”
Travis turned, seeing Aunt Polly standing behind him. Her silver hair was pulled back by a blue bandana.
“Why’s that?” Travis asked.
“You didn’t come in for supper.”
Travis leaned his back into the fence, his palms flexing. “Wasn’t hungry.”
Aunt Polly stepped forward, her hand pressed against Travis’s forehead. “You ain’t warm, that’s for sure. It doesn’t sound like you’ve lost your appetite. You should eat and keep your strength up. We have a long day tomorrow.”
Travis removed her hand and turned back to the field. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” Aunt Polly pressed.
“I just can’t, all right!” Travis rubbed the crease between his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry, Aunt Polly. It’s been a day.”
Aunt Polly joined his side, her hands folded over the fence. “It’s been a difficult one for all of us.”
“She lied to us, Aunt Polly. I just . . . I know how much the children love her, and I would never turn Josie away . . . but I don’t know if I can ever trust her again.” Travis’s voice croaked, looking Aunt Polly in the eyes. “I can’t trust my own wife.”
Aunt Polly softly rubbed his sweat-coated back. “She’s still the Josie you knew.”
“Do you believe her? About her coming here for a family?”
Aunt Polly didn’t blink or move a muscle. “Yes, I do. And I also believe there’s another side to her story. You should ask her.”
Travis shut his eyes, letting out a soft groan. “How can I? How can I look at her again, knowing she’s a liar?”
“I’m not saying you have to trust her, but as I said this afternoon, think about her side of the story. You lost your papa at a young age. Could you blame her for wanting her child to grow up with a papa?”
Travis looked out over the horizon. Losing his father caused a large hole in his heart.
Mama never married again and believed no one could replace Papa.
That child Josie carried didn’t have a father, and who was Travis to cast it aside?
Whether he wanted another child or not, Josie’s baby was innocent.
Aunt Polly leaned in, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Travis needed to speak to Josie. He wouldn’t rest until he had his answers, whether he was afraid of the truth or not.