CHAPTER11
According to Two Stones, they were almost to the ranch. Traveling hadn’t been as bad as Grace expected. Not that it’d been easy, but the journey without Two Stones would have been much harder. He’d anticipated almost everything she would need, each step of the way.
He'd made a sling to carry Ruby on his chest most of the time they rode, and the baby seemed content with that arrangement. When she grew hungry, he always stopped so Grace could feed and change her. They’d even spent the night in the same cabin she and Sampson had stayed in. Though she hadn’t felt nearly as safe with the Indian, knowing Sampson had sent him helped her to relax in his presence.
As the trail maneuvered beside a rocky outcropping, she peered ahead to where it looked like the trees thinned. Two Stones said they would reach the main house soon. Maybe this was it. And was that the scent of wood smoke?
The trail opened into a wide clearing set on a hillside. A cabin sat in the middle with a barn down the slope. Smoke curled from the chimney of each building.
At the sight, Two Stones let out a low whistle.
Almost at the same instant, the cabin door opened and two men stepped out. Another emerged from the barn. They were all too far away for her to see what they looked like, but all held rifles.
Two Stones raised a hand, and that seemed to be a signal. The pair at the house started toward them, rifles lowering to their sides. So did the man from the barn. Then more from the house and another from around the back of the barn. Some of the people streaming from the buildings were women.
As the first few met them, her eyes couldn’t find the right place to land. All the men bore a resemblance to Sampson—most of them anyway. That dark hair and those piercing brown eyes. The broad shoulders.
One of the men in front looked to Two Stones, his expression guarded. "Good to see you, friend. We've been worried. You brought company." His gaze slid to Grace. “Jericho and Dinah not with you?”
Two Stones shook his head. “Sampson asked me to go on to Missoula to bring his wife and babe ahead to the ranch.” He turned to Grace, as though he’d not just poured kerosine into a fire. "This is Grace.” He motioned to the child strapped to his chest. “And Ruby."
She forced herself to look up to see their reactions. Surprise for sure. But not anger. Not at first glimpse anyway.
The man who’d first spoken turned to her. “Welcome to the Coulter ranch, Grace. You’re a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.” He took a step back and motioned them forward. “Come to the house and let’s get you settled.”
That was it? Surely not the only explanation she’d need to give, but the family’s first reaction was so much kinder than she’d expected. Of course, they were Sampson’s kin. Maybe she should have expected them to be like him.
She hated to imagine her father’s reaction to such a surprise.
Her horse followed behind Two Stones’s as it had all the hours on the trail. When they stopped at the house, people gathered around, including a man at the mare’s head and two women at Grace’s side. Another fellow reached up to help her down.
The kindness in his eyes reminded her of Sampson. She allowed him to assist her as she dismounted, her legs stiff from the long ride.
Two Stones dismounted, too, and carefully unwrapped Ruby from the sling. Grace stepped close to take the babe. She needed the familiar warmth of this child in her arms.
“She’s adorable.”
Grace glanced over to see a young woman around her own age peering at Ruby’s sleepy expression. The woman’s gaze shifted to meet Grace’s, and a shyness settled in her eyes. “I’m Jess. I have my own little one coming soon.” She glanced down at the swell she cradled with one hand.
“Congratulations.” Grace managed a smile. A baby was wonderful news, but Grace was so weary. And all these people… She needed a quiet place to gather herself.
And change Ruby’s clothing. Keeping her clean had been hard on the trail. She needed a wet cloth and a new gown posthaste.
"Let's get you inside where it's warm." Another woman spoke, touching Grace’s shoulder.
She allowed herself to be guided up a couple of steps toward the door, her legs unsteady after so many hours in the saddle.
Grace stepped in to the warm and inviting cabin, holding Ruby close to her chest. A fire crackled in the hearth to the left, and chairs were grouped in a homey scene before it. On the far right sat a cookstove and a massive dining table. The scent of something savory made her stomach rumble.
The whole place had been decorated with garland and bows.
Realization slammed into her. Was today Christmas? Or yesterday? She’d lost track of the days with so much happening.
“You must be hungry and cold.” A kind-faced woman with red hair stood before her. “Do you want to sit by the fire, and I’ll bring you a bowl of soup?”
She couldn’t worry about the holiday right now. She glanced at Ruby, then back to the woman. “I… Is there a place I can change her? And maybe some warm water?”
“Of course.” Another woman stepped into view, this one with dark blonde hair. “Come back to one of the bed chambers and we’ll get her settled.”
