Page 83 of The Ranger
“I am.”
“What exactly are you afraid of?”
He looked at her. “That she will see me as nothing more than a beast. One too wild for her to tame.”
“But child, don’t you see?” Grandma said. “She’s already taming you.Ican see it.”
He arched an eyebrow in disbelief.
“It’s true. In time you’ll see it. Now let me get these folks respectable for bed.”
He drew in a deep breath and stood. He didn’t want to leave. Especially not after Kwaku told him about more strangers arriving in town. Were they all together, or two separate groups?
He’d check them out and make sure none were a threat. The men in the saloon didn’t give him a second glance. By the time he and Maida had finished helping with inventory and left the mercantile, their horses were no longer in front of the saloon. He’d busied himself hitching up the Wallers’ buggy after that, and they’d left for the Triple-C. Now here he was, leaving Maida’s house after exposing a piece of his inner heart to her father and grandfather, terrifying them. He could only imagine what could have happened had Zara and Kwaku not intervened when they did. If either Harrison or Major had a gun, they’d have shot him for sure. Not that it would have done them any good. He was a fast self-healer. Now that his inner heart was waking, he would heal even faster.
He left the house, looked up at Maida’s room, then with a sigh, walked to Colin and Belle’s. He hoped they hadn’t gone to bed yet. He needed some company. Something he wasn’t used to. As a ranger, he had to go long periods of time being alone. But those days were over. And he was glad for it.
* * *
Maida awokethe next day with a sense of foreboding. She didn’t know why it was there, only that she didn’t have it when she went to bed the night before.
She sat up and looked at the window. Sun streamed through the lace curtains, and she knew she’d overslept. The question was, why didn’t anyone wake her up? It must be almost eight o’clock.
She got out of bed, dressed, then went through the rest of her morning routine and hurried downstairs. Grandma Sadie stood in front of the stove, making a pot of coffee.
“Grandma? Did you just get up?” She joined her at the stove. Breakfast hadn’t even been started yet.
“Yes, I… overslept. Your grandfather is up. But I don’t know when he left to do the morning chores.” She shut her eyes a few moments, then opened them. “I don’t even remember going to bed.”
That made two of them, but Maida was afraid to admit it. “Where’s Mama?”
“I don’t know. I woke up, got dressed and came down here. You should check her room.”
Maida nodded and ran upstairs. When she reached her parents’ room she knocked.
“Come in.”
She entered to find her mother sitting on the edge of her bed, still in her n night clothes. “Mama?”
She looked at Maida, then rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I must be coming down with something. I could hardly get up.”
Maida noticed her father was gone. “When did Pa leave?”
Mama shook her head. “I don’t know, love. Is Grandma downstairs?”
Maida joined her on the bed. “Yes. Seems we all overslept.”
“All of us? How can that be?”
Maida tried to think but when she did, her brain was foggy at best, and it was hard to get a coherent thought together. “I don’t know.” She rubbed her eyes. She was still sleepy. “I…” she stopped, one clear thought popping into her head. “Markhel…” she whispered.
“What?”
“Nothing.” She left the bed. “I’d better go help Grandma Sadie with breakfast.”
Mama nodded. “Tell her I’ll be down in a moment.”
“Take your time,” she advised then left the room. She hurried downstairs and went out the front door. There was no sign of Doc and Grandma’s buggy or Kwaku and Zara’s wagon. Of course, there wouldn’t be. Still, part of her hoped.