The man didn't have to be so heavy-handed. It wasn't as though she was asking for charity with no work in return. If she were charging for her services—for round-the-clock care of such an injury—he'd pay more than the little bit of food she and Naomi would eat.
She forced herself to nod instead of speaking her mind. "I understand." Perhaps she should say thank you, but she couldn't bring herself to.
At least they had a place where Naomi could rest, no matter how crude the dwelling. She glanced at the log walls. The outside was rustic, though not unappealing. It was the inside that needed work. A good cleaning to start with. Then some sprucing up.
She wouldn't accomplish it all in a week, not with caring for Jonah and helping the children, but she could make a start. By then, Jericho would see how much better things looked with a woman's touch.
She turned toward the door. "Well then, I'd best tell my sister." Naomi would be crushed. Maybe Dinah had done wrong by allowing her to dream so much without injecting more warnings about all the ways this arrangement could go wrong.
Surely the two of them could manage on their own in this land. Once Dinah had her clinic set up, they would do just fine. All three of them, once the baby was born. They would live happy, independent lives.Right, Lord? That must be what You planned all along.
CHAPTER4
Jericho waited until Miss Wyatt retreated into the house and closed the door behind her before he turned back to Lillian and Sean. What was he going to do with these two?
He gave them his sternest look. "Are there any other women we can expect to show up on our doorstep hoping for a husband?"
Lillian shrugged, still trying to play the innocent child. She clearly wasn't as naive as she pretended. "We don't know. We didn't want there to be a lot of letter-writing back an' forth, since that would take too long. So we just told 'em to come if they thought the Almighty was nudgin' em."
That was another thing. The advertisement made him sound like a white-robed saint who sat around all day listening for the voice of God. He and the Lord hadn't talked since Lucy ran off. What these children had fabricated was nothing but lies. Every word of it.
He crumbled the paper in his hand and spun. He needed to release this anger somewhere it wouldn't hurt anyone. But he had to deal with the children first.
He turned back to them. "You two need to understand what you've done. You've wasted these women's time and resources. That one is apparently in the family way, and the trip was too much for her. What if the baby dies? What if the woman dies?" He stepped closer to them, making sure they felt the weight of his words. "And what if they learn about the strawberries?" He used their code word for the real purpose of this ranch, the sapphires they secretly mined. "We don't allow other people onto the ranch for a reason. Do you understand the consequences of your actions?"
The children nodded, their faces pale and scared.
He softened his tone slightly. "I know you thought you were helping. But this is serious business. You can't go around playing matchmaker like it's a game. And you can't invite strangers onto the property."
Lillian's eyes filled with tears. "We didn't mean to cause trouble, Uncle Jericho. We just wanted you to be happy again."
His chest ached at the sight of her tears, but he couldn't let her or Sean think this was all just a game. "You two need to apologize to Miss Wyatt and her sister. Then you're going to work."
He looked to Sampson. "Have them scoop out the barn and the corrals. Then oil all the leather."
His brother nodded in his usual quiet way.
Jericho turned and started toward the barn while Sampson herded the children inside. He'd grab Pinto and ride down to check the stock in the west pasture. But maybe he should stay around the house to make sure the women didn't cause trouble. His brothers were here though. And he desperately needed to clear his head.
He glanced back at Jude. "Keep an eye on things. Send Miles for me in the west pasture if you need anything."
Jude nodded. His expression looked a little too close to amused for Jericho's liking, but he ignored it. Jude would be careful. He always was.
Which was why it seemed so strange Jonah had been hurt as badly as he was with Jude in charge.
After slipping a halter on Pinto and swinging aboard, he urged the horse from the barn. The trail to the west pasture hadn’t been traveled as much since they’d moved the mares and foals down to the valley, and he allowed Pinto his head over the familiar terrain.
Those children… They'd placed the advertisement back when they lived with Lucy, so this didn't necessarily show they'd grown worse since coming to the ranch. But though they sometimes needed a stronger hand to remind them of the rules here, he'd not thought they were capable of such trickery.
Their joke had uprooted two women's lives and brought them thousands of miles. What should he do with these Wyatt women now? He owed them far more than a week's room and board after they’d tended Jonah—maybe saved his life—but at least setting that parameter gave him an out in case things turned bad with them on the property.
He'd have to help them get back to their home, but when would the one in the family way be able to travel again? Heat swept up his neck at the reminder of how he'd simply thought her plump. That just went to show how bad he was at anything related to women. He'd messed things up in the worst way with his sister. Who knew what he'd do to muddle things with these two strangers?
But Miss…er, Dr. Wyatt was right that Jonah needed someone who knew what they were doing with an injury like that broken bone. He’d never heard of a female doctor, but she did seem to know how to tend Jonah’s leg. Maybe she'd spent time as a doctor's assistant.
This coming week would allow him to learn more about her and her sister. He could only hope he wouldn't regret letting them stay even that long.
* * *
