Chapter Twenty-Seven
“But why can’t Amelia drive us?” Logan whined.
“She’s otherwise occupied,” Cody replied gruffly. He passed Logan his stack of books and his slate, all bundled together with a leather strap. “You have everything? Where’s your lunch?”
Sullenly, Logan indicated his small satchel without meeting Cody’s eye.
Cody resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Time was getting away from them; as it was, Arthur would have to work the horse to get them to school on time.
He would normally have depended on Amelia, but Ruby had detained her with a crisis of some sort.
“Ruby!” Cody called up the stairs. “Shake a leg!”
“I’m coming!” Ruby huffed, tromping down in a manner that clearly indicated her irritation.
“What on earth is keeping you?” Cody demanded as she flounced past.
“Nothing to concern you,” she snipped. She stopped only long enough to gather her things and headed out the door without another word.
At the same moment, Arthur appeared at the front door, his face as bright and cheerful as ever. “Good morning!” he sang as Ruby brushed past him. “Or maybe not,” he added.
Logan watched her go and cast a glance up at Cody. “I like it better when Amelia sees to us in the mornings,” he muttered.
Arthur clapped Logan on the shoulder, nearly knocking the boy off balance. “Oh, come now,” he said. “You all don’t get enough time with Uncle Arthur.”
Logan gave him a plaintive look that said, That’s a terrible excuse, as clearly as if he’d said it aloud.
Arthur, undeterred, ushered the boy out the door. “You and your sister go on and get situated, and I’ll be with you shortly.”
Cody scrubbed at his face with both hands, glad that the children were finally out the door.
Amelia had uncharacteristically taken to her bed, claiming to be unwell.
He’d resisted the urge to panic, as she insisted simply that she was overtired.
Cody, seeing her pale face, had sent her back to bed without question.
Arthur caught Cody’s eye. “Everything well?” he asked in a low voice.
“I’m not sure,” Cody replied honestly. “Amelia’s taken to her bed, but… I don’t think she’s ill.”
Arthur considered this. “Could just be a bit overwhelmed,” he suggested. “You can’t deny that she’s had rather a lot to contend with lately.”
“True,” Cody murmured in agreement. He shook his head to clear it. “Whatever the case, you’d best get going, or they’ll be late. Can’t thank you enough for taking them—I didn’t like leaving Amelia alone.”
Arthur waved his concerns away. “No trouble,” he said easily. “You know, I think of them like my own family. Besides, I don’t mind a jaunt over to the school; it’s a short enough drive.”
“You mean you don’t like a jaunt over to make eyes at Miss Monroe again,” Cody retorted.
Arthur just grinned and waggled his eyebrows before turning on his heel and heading out the door. Cody could hear him calling to the children, his mood entirely undampened by their surly air. Cody watched them depart up the drive from behind the closed screen door.
There was the sound of creaking behind him.
He turned and found that Amelia had crept down the stairs on silent bare feet.
She was dressed, but her hair was still in the plait that she slept in.
It swung down her back as she walked. Her arms were folded over herself as she came to stand next to Cody.
“They’re finally headed to school?” she asked quietly.
Cody nodded. “Took a couple tries, but we’ve managed it. It seems I’m out of practice with them.” Amelia didn’t move, but she gave a small laugh through her nose. “What was wrong with Ruby? She seemed especially out of sorts this morning.”
Amelia shifted her head side to side before answering Cody. “It’s nothing serious,” she reassured him. “She’s just in the throes of her first time noticing a boy.”
“A boy?” Cody repeated. His first instinct was to bristle at this information. “Who is it? Has he done anything untoward?”
Now Amelia did turn to him and gave him a condescending look.
“That is precisely why she didn’t want to talk to you,” she said with a gentle laugh.
“I promise, I will tell you if it seems like it’s getting too serious too fast. She’s a pretty girl; you have to be prepared for the fact that she’s going to have followers. ”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Cody grumbled under his breath for a moment. “Well, can I at least know who the boy is?”
Amelia bit her lip, fighting a grin. “I can tell you, but I doubt you’re going to like it.”
“Well, now you really have to tell me,” Cody insisted.
Looking straight at Cody, she slowly said, “It’s old Carter’s grandson.”
Cody stared at Amelia blankly, unsure if she was having him on. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He peered at Amelia, his eyes narrowing. “You’re kidding.”
“I am not,” Amelia said. “It seems he’s been walking to school with her.”
“You’re kidding,” Cody repeated. “That overstuffed suit is sniffing after Ruby?”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “He’s not so bad as all that.” She paused. “Ruby’s working up the courage to ask to invite him to have dinner with us,” she said with great relish.
Of all the things that had happened over the past couple of days, this might have been the hardest for Cody to comprehend. He just stood there in the living room for a moment, still unsure whether Amelia was in jest or not. She turned and went into the kitchen, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
“What’s he coming over for dinner for, anyway? Doesn’t that miserable old cur feed his grandson?” Cody called after her.
“Be nice—the young people just want to get to know each other,” Amelia yelled back. Cody could hear her beginning to stack dishes to put in the sink, the plates and silverware clinking against each other.
Cody mulled this over for a moment. “Can I bring a gun to the table?”
“No!”
***
The day passed quietly, and before Cody knew it, it was time for the children to be fetched from school. Arthur, naturally, was all too pleased to volunteer for this particular errand. Cody stood on the porch, watching him drive off, a glass of lemonade in his hand.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent the whole of the day at the house.
He’d worked every day of his life, barring illness or injury, from the time he could remember.
He lingered around today, concerned about Amelia.
However, he’d discovered something quite nice about being in the house during the day: Amelia was inclined to give him little snacks and good things to drink.
She’d managed to take some wild violets and turn them into a light icing for some tiny cookies, which Cody enjoyed immensely. It was the strangest thing—he’d just be sitting and reading, and suddenly there were cookies on a plate at his elbow.
And just now, as he stood on the porch, Amelia had wordlessly handed him a glass of lemonade. He took a drink gratefully, unable to keep from smacking his lips appreciatively. It was hard to imagine that anything could be amiss on a day so well spent in domestic bliss.
It’s almost as if having a wife isn’t a bad thing, a sardonic quarter of his brain said.
“I hope everything went well today,” Amelia murmured. Her arms were folded over herself again. Anxious little lines appeared at the corners of her eyes and in between her brows.
“Arthur will take good care of them,” Cody reassured her. “Now, whether he gave them any sensible conversation is another matter entirely.”
Amelia smiled briefly, but her face quickly returned to worry. She leaned forward, putting her hands on the railing of the porch, and peered into the distance. “There they are!”
Sure enough, the trap was coming down the road, with Arthur at the reins, Logan squeezed next to him in the driver’s box, and Ruby perched on the side. Cody raised his hand in greeting, and Amelia went forward to greet the children. Cody slowly followed her, his hands in his pockets.
Arthur came down the driveway at a merry clip, then circled the horse in front of the house so that the trap was placed directly before the porch. “Last stop: Walker Ranch!” Arthur called merrily. “All passengers depart. Mind your step as you exit.”
Logan giggled slightly as he climbed down, but Ruby rolled her eyes in the manner of all long-suffering teenage girls.
Cody offered his hand to help her down, which she briefly took, then jumped down and brushed the dust off her pinafore.
When she was down on the ground, Cody caught Arthur’s eye, and his friend gave him a significant look. Cody’s stomach clenched in response.
“Welcome home,” Amelia said warmly, oblivious to the concern. She held her arm out, and Logan immediately snuggled right up to her. She gently pushed his hair back from his forehead. “Go and get washed up, the pair of you, and see to your chores. When you’re done, there are cookies on the table.”
“Cookies, alright!” Logan cried, dashing toward the house, with Ruby following afterward with decidedly less enthusiasm.
“Chores first, young man!” Amelia called after him. Before she could follow the children into the house, Cody caught her gently by the sleeve, stopping her.
Perplexed, Amelia remained behind, then looked from Cody to Arthur. Her expression shifted to match theirs, one of grim uncertainty.
“I didn’t want to worry the children,” Arthur said, pitching his voice low, “but Miss Monroe pulled me aside to tell me about a strange encounter they had during the lunch break today. A strange man came to the fence and started asking about you.” He nodded to Amelia, who blanched.
Instinctively, Cody shifted so that he was closer to her. He didn’t necessarily touch her; he just let her feel his reassuring presence. She responded in kind, leaning ever so slightly into him so that their shoulders touched. It was good to feel her accepting his support.
“What did he look like?” Amelia asked tightly. Her face looked as if she already knew the answer.
“Tall, kind of gaunt face, blue or gray eyes. She said he might have been handsome except he made her skin crawl, like a snake on the path,” Arthur said.
Amelia nodded grimly. “That’s Dean.”
Arthur returned her nod. “Well, at least Miss Monroe knows what he looks like now. She’s decided to end school for the season a couple of days early, which I assume won’t provoke any objection from the children.”
“Likely not,” Cody agreed. “What will she tell the other parents?”
“Something about the school needing repairs. That much is true; I told her I could help take a hammer to the roof once all this is settled,” Arthur said.
Amelia didn’t look like she was listening. She had bitten her lip again and was staring off into the distance. Cody reached out to touch her arm again, but she turned and walked away, back into the house.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Cody murmured.
“It does not,” Arthur agreed. “But don’t forget that you have friends.”
Cody nodded as Arthur climbed back up into the trap to take it down to the barn. He knew that Arthur spoke the truth; he just hoped it would be enough.