LITMIR.BIZ

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The Eberly girls were like sisters to his brothers and him. Of course, the Colonel always wanted at least one marriage between the two families. Maybe he should marry this little gal. Then the Eberly family would turn out to welcome him home next time he traveled.

      “Good morning, Tolley.” Laurie offered no smile, and her eyes held a guarded look as she approached him.

      “Morning, Laurie.” Tolley smiled, which only made her wince. “If you’re meeting somebody, I’m afraid they didn’t arrive or went off before you got here.” He should’ve talked to more of his fellow passengers to see if they knew any of his friends. But he’d spent most of his travel time talking about himself to anyone who’d listen. Another failure on his part.

      “I came to meet you.” Laurie touched his arm, and a spark shot clear up to his shoulder, raising gooseflesh on his neck. “Nate asked me.”

      He had no time to examine his response to her or his bitter disappointment. Before anger could take hold of him over his family’s careless neglect, tears shone in her eyes, and fear crowded into his heart. “What is it? Mother?” Three years ago, Mother and the Colonel went to Italy for her health. Did her heart finally give out?

      Laurie shook her head, and her sunny red curls bounced around her face. “It’s your father, Tolley.” She gripped his arm more firmly. “Doc says it’s apoplexy.”

      For countless moments, Tolley couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Finally, he managed, “I-is he—?”

      “No, he’s not gone.” The words not yet hung in the air between them.

      Laurie stared away for a moment, then gazed up at him with sweet compassion. “Your family is with him now. I know your mother will be glad to see you.” She waved a hand toward a box wagon he recognized from the many times he’d visited the Eberly place while growing up, the ranch next to his own family’s spread. “Maybe we can find someone to help load your trunks.” She glanced around the area.

      “I can get them. Just drive the wagon over here. No, wait. I’ll get it.” In the past, the Eberly girls would’ve considered his gentlemanly offer offensive, being capable cowhands themselves.

      This new Laurie simply smiled. “Thank you.”

      Tolley quickly loaded his trunks and took the reins. As he drove, he and Laurie didn’t speak. His mind disoriented, he couldn’t even think of what to ask about his father’s illness.

      The familiar sights of Esperanza, along with the newer buildings, filtered past his numbness. Mrs. Winsted’s mercantile. Williams’s Café. The barber shop. Across the street sat the bank, the sheriff’s office and two empty buildings. At the corner where they turned south, the Esperanza Arms, his sister’s hotel, loomed over the town with its three towering stories, shops lining the south side and a narrow portico on the east.

      Tolley guided the team of horses around the corner headed south and urged them to a brisk trot. Down one side street, he spied Mrs. Foster’s boardinghouse. On another street stood the high school Tolley helped to build. Would anyone remember that good deed?

      The more important question? Would he see the Colonel before he died?

      * * *

      Laurie clung to the side of the driver’s bench, sure she’d tumble to the ground if they hit a bump. Tolley drove with understandable urgency, but he also skirted around the worst of the ruts and dips in the road. He obviously hadn’t lost his driving skill while in Boston. Aching sympathy rose up within her, accompanied by a pinch of shame over her poor attitude about coming to town to fetch him home.

      While she couldn’t say for sure, it appeared Tolley had changed. Even before she delivered the bad news about the Colonel, Tolley’s gaze in her direction appeared softer, gentler than before. His countenance exuded some quality she couldn’t name. What she’d first regarded as belligerence in his posture now appeared to be vulnerability, especially in light of his father’s condition.

      “What happened?” His question startled her out of her reverie.

      “Nate said they found him unconscious in the barn last evening. I didn’t press him for details because he needed to get back to the ranch.”

      Tolley kept his eyes on the road and gave her a curt nod. “Doc’s with him?”

      “Yes.” Her brother-in-law, Doc Henshaw, was the most capable doctor in the San Luis Valley.

      “If anyone could help the Colonel, it’s Doc.” Tolley smiled, and Laurie’s heart warmed at his attempt at problem-solving. But then, he’d always been that way, from trying to fix her broken corncob doll to trying to figure out how to build a bridge over Cat Creek. Once again, shame pinched at her conscience for assuming the worst about him. Since Tolley’s childhood, his father had heaped condemnation on him, sometimes warranted, sometimes not. Laurie needn’t add her own disapproval.

      Four Stones Ranch lay about six miles south of Esperanza. Even at a brisk trot, it took over twenty minutes to traverse the distance. Tolley turned down Four Stones Lane and drove into the barnyard at the back of the house. His brother Rand, an older version of Tolley and second oldest of the four Northam children, came out to meet them just as Tolley jumped down from the wagon.

      “Tolley!” Rand shook his brother’s hand and slapped him on the back as if nothing was wrong. “Good to see you. Welcome home.”

      Tolley gave him a shaky grin. “I wish it could be under better circumstances.”

      “Rand, is there anything I can do?” Laurie remained on the driver’s bench, knowing what his answer would be but still needing to offer. Her pa had come over here once they got the news of his old friend’s illness, but he must’ve left already, for his horse wasn’t tied to the back hitching rail.

      “Thanks, Laurie, but no. The whole family’s inside. You’ve been a big help by bringing this maverick home.”

      Did he even notice Tolley’s wince at his teasing? Probably not. His own face bore a worried look. The two men unloaded the trunks and said their goodbyes.

      “We’ll be praying for you all.” Laurie took up the reins and guided the team toward the lane. A glance back toward the house revealed two dejected brothers heading inside, shoulders slumped with sorrow.

      Tolley had changed. She just knew it. And even if no one else noticed the difference in him, she’d try her best to help him find his place in the community. “It’ll have to be pretty fast, Lord.” She glanced up at the clear blue sky. “I’m going back to Denver in September, so please help me be the friend Tolley needs until then.”

      As always when she discussed the subject of returning to Denver with the Lord, an uneasy feeling crept into her chest. She dismissed it, as always. Of course the Lord wanted her to return to that lovely, growing city. As the daughter of a successful cattle rancher, she’d fit into Denver society like a hand in a glove, and she could hardly wait to begin her teaching career at the conservatory.

      * * *

      Leaving his hat on a peg in the mudroom, Tolley moved through the house in a daze. Familiar smells met his senses: fresh-baked bread, leather, Mother’s roses. His seven-year-old niece, Lizzie, grabbed him around the waist and cried out a weepy welcome. He bent down to return her hug. The other children were nowhere in sight, but they wouldn’t know him anyway. His oldest brother, Nate, came downstairs and shook Tolley’s hand. Their sister, Rosamond, embraced him and sobbed briefly on his shoulder. His two sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law each greeted him. From their warm if subdued responses, he thought he’d said the right thing to each one.

      He climbed the front staircase on wooden legs, fearing what he’d find at the end of the second-floor hallway. Gathering courage, he nudged the door open.

      Mother rose to greet him. “Tolley.” She spoke his name as if he’d only come in from milking the cows, at the same time moving between him and the four-poster bed where the Colonel lay. But Mother was too short to hide Tolley’s

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