Chapter 3 #3
Amelia felt Zach’s surprise at seeing the special connection between the young child and the older man.
Zach tipped his head to one side and gave a crooked grin.
It was a moment of sweet understanding.
She could do with more of those as she navigated this unexpectedly strange situation.
“What do you need me to do?” Pa asked.
Amelia shifted her attention back to the older man. “Would you play with her while I help Gil clean the kitchen?”
“Sure.” Hand in hand, the pair went into the living room. Pa found a basket of toys in the cupboard.
“You have toys?” Amelia couldn’t help her surprise.
“They used to be mine.” Kat shrugged.
“Do you mind her playing with them?”
“Nope. A cowboy ain’t got no use for playthings.”
Zach rolled his eyes and strode from the house.
“I best be going too.” Kat followed, her exaggerated swagger tickling Amelia’s funny bone.
Gil groaned. “That gal needs a mother.” He eyed Amelia. “Or someone like you to make her see sense.”
Amelia ignored him and watched the pair from the window.
They seemed to argue. Zach pointed to the house.
Kat shook her head. Zach went into the barn, Kat on his heels.
He emerged in a few minutes, leading a horse.
Kat followed, waving her arms and yelling, though Amelia couldn’t make out her words.
She wanted to intervene, to try and draw Kat back to the house. But it might make things worse, so she prayed for wisdom. What did the Bible say in Ecclesiastes? There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”
Was this a time to be silent?
“To everything there is a season…”
Was this a season of waiting for whatever God had planned for her?
The assurance that God was in control eased the knot in her stomach she’d been aware of since arriving at Golden Valley and learning she wasn’t expected.
Zach rode away, leaving Kat waving her arms and yelling. The girl stomped her feet and headed for the corrals.
Her heart in her throat, Amelia waited. Please don’t go near that mustang.
Kat climbed the fence and sat on the top rail. The horse raced to the far corner and wheeled to face her, tossing his head.
Amelia must have gasped, for Gil joined her at the window. “Crazy fool girl is trying to get herself killed.”
“She won’t really go near the horse, will she? Should I try to stop her?”
“I dunno. Seems to me the more attention she gets for acting badly, the more she does it.”
“Wise words. But what if something happens? Zach will blame me.”
“Guess if he wants to make sure she’s safe every minute of the day, he should take her with him.”
“Why doesn’t he?”
“That boy don’t need any more reason for the men to judge him unfairly. Taking a girl with him would give them plenty of reason to do so.”
At that new bit of information, Amelia rubbed the pinched space between her brows.
Zach’s letters only said he struggled to take over his pa’s role.
Her heart went out to the tall cowboy trying so hard to cope with his life challenges.
If only she could help him. But how? And would he let her?
Really, he couldn’t stop her while she was there.
Her determination renewed, she assisted with the kitchen chores. As she helped, she glanced out the window as often as she could. She didn’t breathe easy until Kat got down from the fence and wandered away.
The kitchen done, Amelia carried water and rags to scrub the living room. Judging from the layers of dust, it had needed it for a while.
Pa and Poppy gave her a pained look at the interference with their play and took the toys outside. She left the door open so she could hear them and keep an eye on them.
The dust on the bookshelf was thick enough to make her sneeze. She removed every object and cleaned everything thoroughly. Time to turn her attention to the plank floor and its coat of ground-in dirt. She went to the kitchen for a bucket of hot water.
Gil watched her. “The place hasn’t had proper cleaning since the missus passed away.”
No need to say she’d have guessed it.
On her hands and knees, she tackled the floor with a scrub brush.
“Mama.” Poppy leaned over Amelia’s back.
Amelia sat up and hugged the child. “Where’s Gampa?”
“Gone.”
“Gone? Gone where?” She was on her feet and out the door, Poppy in her arms. She looked to the right. No Pa. No Pa to the left either.
Where was Gil? Why wasn’t he watching Pa? That was his job.
“Kat,” she called. Waited. Called again. “Kat, I need you.”
Gil appeared around the side of the house. “What’s wrong?”
She bit back scolding words. “Pa’s missing.” When Gil didn’t offer to look for the man, she added, “I have to find him. I need Kat to watch Poppy.” She yelled again.
Kat sauntered around the side of the barn. “Ya hollered?”
“That girl needs something. I ain’t saying what, but my ma would’ve used a strap on her,” Gil muttered.
“Kat, have you seen your pa?”
“Last I saw, he was right there.” She pointed to the spot where Amelia had last seen him.
“Did you see him wander away?”
“Nope. I was busy.”
Amelia did her best to push back her impatience at the girl, but she was as much at fault as Kat. She should have been more attentive, especially when she knew Gil couldn’t be counted on.
“I’m going to look for him. I need you to watch Poppy. Don’t let her wander away.” Amelia shuddered at the idea of Poppy being lost. “Can you do that for me?” She wanted to add, “and no playing cowboy,” but that was best left unsaid.
“Sure.”
“I’ll watch them.” Gil’s words offered no assurance. She had to trust Kat. And God.
Remembering the dryness of her throat yesterday, she filled a canteen and hung it over her shoulder. “Do you have any idea where I should look?”
Kat spared her a glance. “Wish I did, but I don’t.”