“Is it all right if I leave him here?” He gestured with his head toward Teddy.
She looked at his son and her mouth curved into a smile as warm as the morning sun on the horizon.
His breath caught partway up his throat at her gentle, sweet regard for his boy, who had been hurt so badly. He closed his eyes against the rushing memories. The boy was without a mother because Caleb had been unable to save Amanda. He’d been away from home when the cowboys had entered, set on punishing him for interfering after he’d caught them tormenting the young man running his father’s store. If Caleb hadn’t come along, the pair would have helped themselves to whatever they liked from the shelves without paying. In hindsight, he should have known they were the sort who would want revenge, but he thought the incident was over with when he rode away. Later he’d arrived home and come face-to-face with their blazing guns. He’d shot the two men in self-defense after they’d murdered his wife, and he lived with the agony that he might have been the one who shot the bullet that injured Teddy. His hope, his prayer, was that he could make up for it by getting Teddy the best of care. God, let this doctor be one who can really help.
He strode out to get water. He pumped with such vigor the water splashed out of the bucket, and he realized he was angry. What was the use of anger anyway? His energies would be better spent getting help for Teddy. And if that meant working for the Caldwells while seeking Lilly Bell’s care for the dog that Teddy had claimed as his own, well, so be it.
He wouldn’t let a feud that meant nothing to him stand in the way.
* * *
Lilly smoothed the dog’s fur across the top of her head, which was about the only place that wasn’t soiled with dirt and blood. “Poor puppy. You’ll be okay now.” She’d do her best to make sure that was true.
Teddy scooted closer and leaned over to put his face close to the dog’s. “You’re my dog and you ain’t gonna die. You hear?”
The dog stuck out her tongue. It touched the tip of Teddy’s nose and the little boy laughed.
Lilly wanted to pull both of them close and shelter them in her arms. Seemed life had been unfair and cruel to the pair. “I’ll do my best to make sure she gets better.”
Teddy studied her so intently her lips twitched with a smile.
“The man in town said you had a special way with sick animals. Do you?”
She laughed. “If taking care of them means I do, then yes.”
“But nothing special?”
She studied him carefully. He was such a sweet-looking child. What had happened to his leg? She’d ask his father the first chance she got. If she or Ma could do anything to help... “I just use the skills my Ma taught me.”
Caleb returned and set the bucket down. He squatted next to his son.
She turned from the pair, dipped a rag in the cold water and began to sponge away the dirt and blood from the pup.
“Can I help wash her?” Teddy asked.
“If it’s okay with your papa.”
After a moment of consideration, Caleb gently said, “It’s okay.”
She handed Teddy a wet rag and showed him a place where it appeared only dirt had smudged the fur.
“After all,” Teddy said as he dabbed at the spot, “she’s my dog. I should take care of her.” Teddy sounded so serious she ducked to hide her smile.
“Teddy.” Caleb’s voice held warning. “You just found her. And she’s in pretty bad shape.”
“But Miss Lilly can fix her. Can’t you? That man in town said you could.”
She caught his hands and held them until he met her eyes. “Teddy, we will do our very best. Sometimes the best thing we can do is love our friend.”
“I love her.”
She felt the depth of his yearning in the pit of her stomach. He needed this dog. She prayed the injuries weren’t too bad and she’d survive. God, give me hands to heal and words to strengthen. She meant both the dog and his young owner.
Grub padded in at that moment. The silly dog never noticed people coming, and usually barked a warning upon their going. But the big, clumsy, lop-eared dog was dearly loved by the entire family. Grub saw Caleb and Teddy and gave a halfhearted woof. He noticed the injured dog and ambled over to smell it. He then sat two feet away and watched.
“This is Grub. He’s our dog.” She’d never tell a stranger how useless he was.
Caleb snorted. “Johnny-come-lately, I’d say.”
Lilly let the comment pass. “What’s your dog’s name?” she asked Teddy.
“She’s a girl, right?”
“Yes.”
“A girl might not like being with two boys.”
“Two boys?” Was there another one hiding in the wagon?
“Me and Papa.”
Caleb made a noise like he was holding back a laugh.
Lilly dared not look at him for fear of revealing her own amusement and offending Teddy. “Oh, I see. I don’t think a girl dog will mind.”
“That’s good. You know any good girls’ names?”
“Well, let me think.” She continued to wash the dog as she talked, thankful she’d discovered nothing but cuts so far, though some of them were deep enough to make infection a real possibility. “My sisters are named Cora and Rose, but those aren’t very good names for a dog. The girls I know have names like Nancy and Katie. I know a little girl called Blossom.”
Teddy nodded and smiled. “I like Blossom. It sounds like a pretty flower and my dog is as pretty as a flower. You like it, Papa?”
“I like it fine.” He knelt beside Teddy and patted Blossom’s head gently, earning him a grateful swipe of the dog’s tongue.
Lilly studied the man. He had dark brown hair, curly and tangled like it hadn’t seen a brush in several days. His dark brown eyes set off a face full of determination. She felt a flash of sympathy. No doubt he worried about his son. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask where Teddy’s mother was, but it didn’t matter to her except where it concerned the boy.
Caleb met her gaze. “Blossom is a fine name for a dog who looks to be half collie and half bulldog, or something equally—”
Afraid he’d say “ugly,” she quickly inserted her own word. “Strong.”
He nodded and grinned.
She blinked. My, how his eyes did darken and flood with warmth when he smiled. His whole face underwent such a transformation she was almost tempted to say he was handsome. Which had been her first thought when she’d seen him at the store. Good thing Rose hadn’t been there to take note of the way her cheeks had warmed as he brushed past with an apology.
She thought about how strong and kind he had been when he’d helped her calm the horse. Her feelings had been struck again with awareness of tenderness and strength when he took his son on his knee and drove from town.
Despite all those wonderful virtues, he had so much working against him. He was obviously married, even if she’d seen no evidence of a wife. He worked for the Caldwells, which put a barrier as big as the Rocky Mountains between them. Not that any of that mattered, because she had no intention of ever again getting close to anyone outside her family.
If you get close to people, you will just suffer more losses down the road.
She’d help the dog. She’d even help Teddy if Caleb let her and if she could. But she would not