CHAPTER SIX
MILLIE TRIED TO understand what was going on. James had left his other horses at the ranger station, and they rode away from the main street through dark roads hemmed in by cold, windowless buildings. The brick walls formed a canyon without beauty. James held her tightly in front of him as the ranger trailed behind. He talked but she did not listen. All that he’d told her in the café whirled around in her mind. Her father was dead. Her little brother might be alive, but it meant James was leaving her. Sorrow, joy and fear were at war in her mind.
“I swear I’ll be back,” James whispered against her ear. “I’ll leave you somewhere safe, I promise. If this boy at Fort Richardson is your brother, I’ll bring him back.”
Pressing her cheek against his chest, she fought tears. He had never lied to her.
His hand brushed over her shoulder. “You’ll have family again, Millie. You’ll have Andy back.”
She nodded slightly. That world she had been ripped from long ago seemed more a dream than real. Her life was with James now, even if he did not see it or speak of any future.
All too soon they reached the edge of town where a cottage sat in a forest of fruit trees. A round little woman with sunshine in her smile greeted them. Millie liked her right away. The kind woman spoke slowly and waited for Millie to answer or nod before she moved on.
Millie understood she had to stay at this place, but when James stood to leave, she could not seem to turn loose of his hand. “Take me, James. Take me with you.”
Mrs. Harris was a kind old woman, but Millie wanted to go with him. She had to stay with him. Nowhere else in the world was safe.
He knelt beside her chair in a house filled with so many things she could not look at them all. “Millie, listen to me. I’m coming back.”
She shook her head. In her experience people never came back.
“I want you to rest here. Do what Mrs. Harris tells you. The rangers will check on you. If I can, I’ll let them know what I find at the fort.” Slowly, he pulled his hand from hers. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way back with Andrew.”
Turning his back to Millie, James handed Mrs. Harris a pouch. “Take what you need from this for her keep. Buy her clothes and anything else she needs.”
Millie closed her eyes. James was not trading her away. He was paying someone to take care of her. He’d told her many times at the camp that all he wanted was to start a ranch. His dreams were in the money pouch, he’d said. Now he was giving part of what he had saved away to pay for her care.
“Millie, listen to me.” He surprised her when she opened her eyes and found him close. “I’ll be back in a few days and when I do I expect you to have learned to make an apple pie as good as the one we just ate. Mrs. Harris will teach you.”
She tried not to listen, but he was too close to ignore.
James smiled at her. “If you could make a pie like that, you’d be just about perfect, Millie.”
She remembered all the nights he had wished for a dessert. She had not remembered desserts, but James would rhyme off all the things he loved. Apple pie was always the first on his list.
Moving closer, Mrs. Harris smiled at Millie but spoke to James. “I’ll be happy to teach her, Mr. Kirkland. She can sleep and eat all she wants, but if she wants me to teach her to cook, I’d be tickled.”
Millie followed him to the door as he said goodbye to the others. On the porch, he pulled her against him and kissed her. “I’m coming back for you, Millie. I swear. No matter how long it takes, a few days or a month, I’m coming back.”
Nodding, she straightened. This man had never lied to her. She would believe him now.
He smiled down at her and said, “Stay here. Learn what you can.” For once the words seem to come hard for him. “You hold my heart, Millie O’Grady.”
Then, as if he had said too much, he was gone.
* * *
MILLIE STOOD STARING into the night, wishing she could see one more glimpse of him, but the brick-and-wood canyon of the town gobbled him up. She fought to keep from trembling. He had said she would be safe. He had to go find Andrew. She had no choice but to stay and wait.
The porch door creaked and Mrs. Harris stepped outside. “This is a place of peace, child. You’ll like it here.”
Millie turned to the little, round woman. “Thank you.” For the first time since the day she’d seen her mother die, she trusted someone quickly. James would be back. Until then, she had Mrs. Harris.
“I want to learn everything.” Millie straightened her back.
“Then we’ll have long days,” Mrs. Harris said. “And some fun talking.”
Millie kept to her promise. She learned all she could each day, but during the nights, she cried for her canyon man.