“She should be fine,” the doctor answered, drying his hands with a rag. “Bleeding and cramping are quite common for a woman at this stage of her condition. With some rest, she should recover smoothly. Just make sure she doesn’t overexert herself—no working in the fields this year.”
Travis shriveled his gaze to Aunt Polly then back to the doctor. His heart punched his ribcage, cutting off his air. “Condition?”
The doctor raised his eyebrows. “She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Travis demanded. What could be wrong with Josie that he didn’t know? She had seemed perfectly healthy, a hard worker dedicated to the harvest. He couldn’t imagine stopping her from contributing. Whatever this was, it had to befatigue; it couldn’t be anything more serious. If it were, Josie would have told him.
Dr. Gordon stepped closer and grinned—a grin Travis hadn’t seen on the man in months. He placed his hand on Travis’s shoulder. “Congratulations, Mr. Blythe. You’re going to be a father again.”
Travis’s eyes widened in disbelief. His breath hitched in his throat, nearly choking him as he took a step back, bracing his hand against the table to steady himself. He had to have heard the doctor wrong. He should have insisted that Aunt Polly stay and prepare a healing element instead of relying on Dr. Gordon, a man he couldn’t trust. This was the same doctor who had failed to save Sophie, and now he was making vile accusations against Josie.
“What do you mean? My wife isn’texpecting.She can’t be.”
“If my calculations are correct, you should have a Christmas baby.” The doctor retrieved a bottle from his leather bag and handed it to Aunt Polly. “Here’s some laudanum. I know you won’t give it to her, but just in case. It will help with the discomfort she’s been feeling.”
Aunt Polly slid it into her pocket. “I’ll brew some yarrow from my garden. If she asks for the laudanum specifically, I’ll give it to her.”
The doctor patted her shoulder. “If you need any more assistance, let me know.”
Travis gripped the table, staring into nothingness. He wanted to demand another examination, but he stood, frozen in place, unable to speak. Suddenly, everything came together.
A beautiful woman came out west to marry a vulnerable widower. Travis was an easy target, one so desperate for a wife he’d marry anyone. Josie would be safe here, depending on him to care for her child. And yet, that night she tried to seduce himmade sense, too. She wanted him to think the child was his, but he wouldn’t have her.
Who was the father? Who truly was this Josephine Callahan? She fooled him, and now they were wed for life. His jaw hardened. Travis was married to a deceptive woman. If Josie hadn’t mentioned the major detail about her being pregnant, how could Travis trust anything else she said? Was that speech about coming here to have a family real? She had pulled his heartstrings, telling him all about her family dying, leaving her alone. And he believed her.
Every word.
He rubbed his chin and glared at Aunt Polly. “Did you know about this?”
Aunt Polly’s expression remained neutral. “I suspected. That’s why I asked the doctor here.”
Travis groaned, slamming the table with his fist. “She lied to me. She lied to us all. I let her care for my children! A deceiver lives under my roof!”
“Stop that,” Aunt Polly snapped, pointing in his face. “You can’t just assume things that you don’t have the answers to. There’s more to the story than what meets the eye.”
“Doesn’t this all make sense?” Travis gritted his teeth. “She’s a young, attractive woman who threw away so many opportunities to come here. Andwith child?”
“I agree, it does make sense. However, you shouldn’t judge her too harshly,” Aunt Polly said. “The important thing is she came here to mother your children when no one else would.”
Travis folded his arms. “And mistakenly forgot to mention she was expecting a baby?”
Aunt Polly gave him a blank stare. “And would you have married her?”
Travis grabbed his hat. He had to get out of the house. He had to be alone. No, he wouldn’t have married her, but that wasn’tthe point. Josie wasn’t honest with him, and he could never trust her again. He’d shared everything—his deepest, darkest demons that tormented him—and she’d deceived him. On their wedding night, she wasn’t a confused young bride. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Travis stormed out the door. He could never look at Josie the same, ever again.
Travis’s nails dug into the wooden fence as he steadied himself. He hadn’t stepped one foot in that house since Dr. Gordon diagnosed Josie. He couldn’t go in there. He couldn’t bear being caught in any more of her deceitful webs. How could he not see this coming? How could he make her his children’s mother?
Sophie would never do this. She would never defraud anyone. The woman couldn’t lie, for her poker face was a sham. Travis always sensed when Sophie was hiding something. He’d cock a brow, and she’d burst into laughter. Then Travis would tickle the truth out of her in less than five seconds.
Travis could never do that to Josie. It took all the strength he had to stand close to her. But Josie would tense each time he touched her, like the time he taught her to use a scythe. Perhaps she was worried he’d see through her or her baby, but those brown eyes held something more prevalent, more serious than a hidden pregnancy.
Looking into the setting horizon, Travis sighed as he watched the orange sun rays hit the wheat. The stalks swayed gently, dancing with the breeze. His eyes settled on the gaps in the field where they recently harvested that week, now standing out among the sea of grain.
Travis had returned to the fields with Ivy and Jonas while Josie rested. Ivy helped guide the wheelbarrow, and Jonasloaded the cut stalks that fell to the ground. Travis looked down, studying the dirt that clung to his hands and shirt, and his skin itched from the sticky stalks. His blistered hands stung as sweat mixed with the grit, but he ignored it, drawing in deep breaths, anxiously awaiting morning to come.
He longed to work again, all day in the hot sun just as his papa raised him to do. No setbacks—especially from Josie—would stop Travis now. He’d let down his family once before with Pa’s heart attack, and he’d never rest again. The harvest would be finished; there was another mouth to feed, and he’d make sure they had enough.
