LITMIR.BIZ

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would go up whether she liked it or not. A sigh of resignation escaped Daisy as she finally relented and stepped aside, allowing him to take the stairs two at a time. All she could do was pray that he would control himself in dealing with Bass Parker. He was already injured enough.

      * * *

      Any thought of dozing fled from Bass as a giant of a man barreled into the bedroom and dropped baggage on the floor without ceremony. If the stranger meant him any harm all he’d have to do was pull off the covers. Bass would have died of pure embarrassment being caught in a pair of pantaloons to defend himself. The giant didn’t need to offer any introduction. Clearly this must be one of Knox’s brothers. The resemblance to Knox was jarring.

      “You Parker?” A scowl hardened his features into stoned angles as he towered over the side of the bed.

      Bass tried to clear his head from the tea-laced medicine he’d drunk to make him sleep. Though at a disadvantage since he was unable to stand in Trumbo’s presence, Bass leaned forward, offered a hand and answered the question. “I am and you must be one of the Trumbos.”

      To his surprise, the man accepted and returned the handshake. Not knowing how the brothers felt toward him and his role in Knox’s conscription, he half expected to be flipped out of the bed and his skull crushed.

      “Maddox,” the giant introduced himself. “Oldest. Grissom and Jonas will be up here in a minute.”

      “I see the resemblance.” Knox’s facial features had served him long whereas this brother’s had obviously been adjusted occasionally, yet there was no denying the kinship. Bass could sense someone standing behind Maddox and noticed the black hem of Daisy’s skirt, but the breadth of her in-law consumed the space and didn’t allow a better view of her.

      “Heard what you done for Ollie and Daisy. Much obliged for that but don’t much care for you staying here. We want you gone once the crowd clears.”

      Silence ticked by as Bass studied Maddox’s fixed gaze and knew the man would tolerate no compromise on the subject.

      Bass nodded. “I hear you. I’ll get a room elsewhere as soon as one opens up. And so that you know, my sister and I will be no burden while we’re here. I’ll pay our board and keep.”

      “If Knox hadn’t took money to stand in for you, you’d be six feet under by now for getting him killed,” Maddox assured him, “but fighting’s in our blood and he always wore restless boots. He was headed to war anyway. Just happened to be your thousand dollars that got him there.”

      “I’d like to offer more than that if Daisy or you and your brothers would let me.”

      Quickly explaining his purpose for being in High Plains, Bass hoped Maddox might see reason where Daisy had not concerning the memorial.

      “Just how much money we talking about?” Maddox swung around to eye his sister-in-law before turning back to Bass.

      When Bass told him, Maddox shot around quickly, his voice thundering across the room at Daisy. “You mean you had that kinda money all this time and done nothing but plant a few flowers around my brother’s grave? Taken up all that fancy footracing and shoemaking to prove you can feed my niece a decent meal? Let her run around in clothes not fit to use for tote sacks? Done all that so people won’t know how much you don’t need Knox and probably never did? He deserves to be remembered, Daisy, no matter his failings, and Ollie needs more.”

      Regret filled Bass. He hadn’t meant to break open an old wound between Daisy and her brother-in-law.

      Though her face paled, Daisy’s gaze dared to lift to Maddox’s as she defended herself. “I see to it Ollie and her clothes, which she loves to wear, by the way, are clean and warm. That she’s fed before any of us eat. I don’t give her everything she wants, but she gets all she needs. No, I’ve never touched a penny of Mr. Parker’s money. If it’s still in the bank then he kept it there, not me. I’ve never even seen it. Check with Sam Cardwell if you don’t believe me.”

      “Plan to first thing tomorrow if he’s up to it.”

      “But if you think that I didn’t accept or use it because I wanted to dishonor Knox in any way,” Daisy responded, anger darkening her eyes to burnished gold, “you’re sadly mistaken. I wish every day since he died that he could be here to watch Ollie grow up. That I could have been enough to keep him settled in one place. I’ll go to my grave making sure Knox is held in honor by this town, but I’m not going to take anyone’s blood money to do it with.”

      Knox may have been the one who’d gone to war, but Daisy Trumbo apparently had waged her own here. Bass decided she could be a formidable opponent and he definitely needed to tread cautiously about his plans to honor Knox or help her any other way.

      She took a deep breath and continued, “And, if there’s any way I can stop that money from being used, Maddox, neither will you or your brothers.”

      Her anger focused on Bass, including him into her vow. “What you all don’t understand is that this is Ollie’s and my right, not yours, to see that he’s remembered well. Until Ollie is old enough to truly understand the sacrifice her father gave, it’s going to be our decision when and how we honor him. Can I make that any clearer?”

      Bass knew he’d been sorely put in his place, but silence claimed the Trumbos as if battle lines were being drawn again. The two headstrong people had challenged each other’s will before. He remembered Daisy had feared openly that her in-laws might take Ollie from her upon their arrival, but here she was standing her ground with the giant of a man.

      Admiration for her grew and Bass sensed that she was holding herself together as best she could on what she felt was right.

      She needed a friend. Someone to support her decision. Maybe she would accept his friendship and that, in turn, would eventually help her accept the money. He’d already separated Ollie from her father. Bass didn’t want to cause a rift among the in-laws.

      “How about if I just leave the funds in Ollie’s name and she does with it what she wants when she reaches the point you think best?” Bass suggested, trying to ease the tension and let her know he was on her side.

      “The money is not the real issue here, Mr. Parker,” Daisy insisted. “My brother-in-law doesn’t think I’m capable of caring for my own child. I’ve done just fine without anyone else’s help and I’ll continue to do that until I have no further breath in my body.”

      An undercurrent of words were being spoken and Bass realized Maddox resented that Daisy had proven herself worthy so far of being both mother and father to Ollie. What lay behind such resentment?

      “She’s a handful, that’s for certain,” Bass defended Daisy again, feeling that the scamp would be a challenge for anyone to handle. A whole room of men and women had failed miserably earlier this morning.

      “Hey, Uncle Maddox! Uncle Jonas said you want to see me.” Ollie came running into the room and skidded to a halt, interrupting the adults’ serious discussion.

      Maddox’s palm shot out and ruffled Ollie’s hair setting the braids to bouncing. He swept her up into his arms and let her straddle his right shoulder. “You being good?”

      Ollie seemed to weigh her answer carefully. “Uh, good as I get most times.”

      Maddox chuckled and Bass was grateful the child’s words cooled the tempers that had been simmering moments ago.

      “You got plenty to eat?” Maddox’s gaze swept over her as if examining her for good measure.

      “Yep. Too much sometimes. Mama always says to clean my plate and not waste stuff, but I get Butler to help me if I can’t.”

      “Butler?” Maddox frowned. “You still keeping that goat in the house?”

      “Not since he ate Myrtle’s darnin’. She made me turn him loose in the barn a couple of days back. Says he needs to butt heads with somebody else but her. All he does

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