Texas Lawman Read online

  “Yeah.” Stephen breathed the word of acquiescence and then trembled. “I think I’m gonna tell Grandma and Grandpa when I see them. Will that be all right?” He paused, and then his forehead wrinkled in thought. “I’d like to tell Nicholas and Lin, too, when we see them. Can I?”

  “Of course you can,” Brace said, putting his talk with Joshua on the back burner, knowing that Stephen needed to feel included in this time of waiting for their child to be born.

  “Boy, oh, boy,” Stephen said, wiggling excitedly. “This is gonna be fun, Pa. I’ve never had a brother or sister. How long does it take before babies get old enough to play?”

  “A few months,” Sarah said quickly. “But this one won’t be born for a while yet. Babies have to be about a year old before they can walk and start to talk, and it will probably be a couple of years before we can turn him or her loose outdoors with you.”

  “I can play in the house with a brother, can’t I?” the boy asked hopefully. “I mean, we can sit on the carpet and look at books and play with toys and stuff.”

  “I think you’re going to have a wonderful time with this baby,” Brace told him. “In fact, I’ll bet you’re going to be the best big brother ever.”

  Stephen seemed to grow inches taller as he considered that prediction. “I’ll sure try to be a good brother,” he said finally. “I’ll look after the baby real good, Aunt Sarah, and make sure he doesn’t get hurt on anything and doesn’t fall down the stairs.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” Sarah said. “I knew you’d be pleased about this news.” She hesitated, and then looked at Brace for guidance. “Shall we talk about the other thing?” she asked.

  “I think so,” Brace said, searching for words that would not upset the boy. He cleared his throat and then spoke in a nonchalant voice. “Lester’s father died a little while back, Stephen. He was your grandfather, you know.”

  Stephen nodded, looking perplexed.

  “Well, we heard from a lawyer who is handling your grandfather’s will, and he wants to come here to meet you. He thinks you may have inherited some property.”

  “Inherited? Does that mean that I’d have to go live somewhere else if I get some property? ’Cause I don’t want to, Pa. I’m not moving anywhere away from you and Aunt Sarah.” His mouth turned down in a determined line and his eyes narrowed defensively.

  “You’ll never have to go anywhere else to live,” Brace told him. “Not unless you change your mind when you grow up and decide you want to have a place of your own. For now, you belong right here, and you might as well understand that fact. You’re not going anywhere.”

  To another child, the words might have sounded harsh, like a sentence given that would make the boy a prisoner, but to Stephen they seemed to be an affirmation of his need for family. “I’m glad, Pa,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “And I don’t mind if that man comes here to talk to me. I’ll just tell him that I don’t want to live anyplace else. Will that be all right?”

  “Perfectly all right,” Brace told him.

  “When is he coming?” Sarah asked. “Have you contacted him?”

  “Yeah. He’ll be here next week.”

  “When do you think your folks will come?” she asked. “I’m hoping they’ll make a trip to visit, and meet all of us. What do you think?”

  “Will they be my grandma and grandpa, too?” Stephen asked joyously, as if the prospect of more family members converging on them was something to celebrate.

  “Yes, they will,” Brace told him. “You’re my son, and that makes you their grandson.”

  “Legally?” Sarah asked.

  “We’ll face that when the judge shows up for his next visit,” Brace said. “I’ve been working out a plan.”

  “When is he coming?” Sarah asked.

  “In a couple of weeks. In fact, it sounds like we’ll have our hands full for a few days by the time we have the judge in town, the lawyer coming to visit and then, if we’re lucky, maybe even my folks making a trip here.” He reached for Stephen and tugged him back to sit in his lap.

  “The most important thing, though, is having the judge make a decision about Stephen. I want it all legal and aboveboard. He’ll be ours, and he’ll take my name. How would you like to be Stephen Caulfield?” he asked the boy who curled against him.

  “I’d like that,” Stephen said, nodding firmly. “I could tell the teacher when I go back to school that I have a new name, couldn’t I? And I’ll have to practice writing it, so I don’t forget.”

  “You won’t forget,” Sarah told him, laughing softly as she heard his plan of action. “It didn’t take me long at all to get used to my name when I married Brace. I used to be Sarah Murphy, and now I’m Sarah Caulfield.”

  “Mrs. Brace Caulfield,” her husband said quietly, correcting her with a voice that cherished the name he spoke. “I like knowing that you bear my name, Sarah. And I’ll feel pleased as punch when Stephen is mine, legally and officially.”

  Stephen’s plan to speak with his grandparents came about sooner than any of them expected. Early morning brought the older couple to the back door, and without any persuasion at all they were involved in eating breakfast.

  “Aunt Sarah made biscuits and gravy,” Stephen announced when his grandparents appeared at the door. “There’s plenty for all of us,” he said, tugging his grandmother into the kitchen.

  “We don’t want to intrude,” Colleen said, bending to kiss Stephen and then embracing Sarah with a new tenderness. “You all right?” she asked quietly. And at Sarah’s nod, she aimed a long glance at Brace. “And how about you? Are you surviving this ordeal?”

  “I’m loving it,” Brace said. “We’re both excited, and aside from some stomach upset and being tired, Sarah’s doing fine.”

  “I got something to tell you, Grandma,” Stephen said, so excited he could barely stand still. He tugged on his grandfather’s hand and drew him into the circle, then looked at Brace. “Can I tell them now?” he asked.

  “Sure, son. Go ahead,” Brace told him, noting the smile Colleen and Joshua exchanged over the boy’s head.

  “Come sit down,” Stephen said to his grandparents, leading them to the table, where he assigned chairs. “This is very important,” he said, his chest seeming to expand with each word. He waited, aware that all eyes were upon him, and then spoke the words that burned to be said.

  “We’re gonna have a baby. Me and my new pa and Aunt Sarah are gonna have either a boy or a girl, Grandpa. But I don’t care which one it is. How do you like that news, Grandma?” His eyes shone with excitement, and his face was aglow with the importance of his news.

  No matter, Brace thought, that the older couple was already aware of the news—they acted appropriately surprised and stunned by Stephen’s announcement. “How wonderful,” Colleen said, looking up at Stephen and grasping his hand. “Won’t we have a good time with a new baby in the family?”

  “We sure will,” Joshua said quickly, as if he would not be left out of the celebration. “And I’m with you, boy. I don’t care if it’s a boy or girl. I’m a little partial to both, to tell the truth. We couldn’t have a grandchild we love more than you, Stephen, so another boy would fit right in. And if we have a baby girl, we’ll all have to think about girly things, like fluffy dresses, petticoats and dolls and that sort of thing.”

  “I’m gonna teach her how to play catch with me and Bear,” Stephen said stubbornly. “It won’t matter if it’s a girl. She can still do stuff with me.”

  “You’re right, son,” Brace said, quick to reassure him. “We’re all willing to accept whatever kind of baby God sends our way.”

  “What does He have to do with it?” Stephen asked, truly perplexed by the statement.

  Sarah looked helplessly at her mother, and Colleen rose to the occasion. “Come here, Stephen,” she said, and waited until the boy stood beside her before she continued.

  “Your pa and aunt Sarah are the ones who will be the mother and father of the ne
w baby, but God is the one who forms us all and allows babies to be given to parents. We’ll read in the Bible if you like, where it tells how God made man in His own image.”

  “Can we do that?” he asked eagerly. “And will the preacher at church know how God decides who’s supposed to have babies?”

  “Well, now,” Colleen said, apparently at a loss for words.

  “Men and women who love each other and make a home together are usually the ones who have babies,” Brace said quietly, gaining Stephen’s attention. “People like your aunt Sarah and me, who plan to spend the rest of their lives together, taking care of their family. Sometimes babies are born in bad situations, but it’s not God’s fault when that happens. It just means that some folks aren’t as good at raising children as others. Sometimes parents don’t care for their children the way they should, but most of the time it all works out well.”

  “Kinda like it worked out that you and Aunt Sarah got me, instead of my dad?” Stephen asked. “I think you’re about the best pa anyone could have,” he said earnestly, “and I’m sure glad I’m part of your family. And I’m extra glad that we’ll be having an even bigger family. Wow! Just think. We’ll have my grandma and grandpa and all of us. That’ll be a big bunch of folks, won’t it?”

  “Yes, it will,” Sarah said. “And if Brace’s mother and father come to visit, we’ll have even more in our family. They’ll be so pleased that Brace has a son like you, Stephen.”

  “When are they comin’?” he asked, wide-eyed at the news.

  “We don’t know for sure,” Brace said. “But I’ve sent a letter to them, inviting them, and we should be hearing back soon.”

  “Do Grandma and Grandpa know about the lawyer man?” Stephen asked. And then he turned to convey the news. “There’s a man who is taking care of my other grandfather’s stuff. Did you know my other grandfather died?” he asked suddenly, and watched as both Colleen and Joshua nodded, encouraging him to continue.

  “Well, anyway, this man is coming to see us, and he wants to be sure I’m really who I am, so I can maybe—” He looked up at Brace as he searched for the correct word.

  “Inherit,” Brace told him. “So you can inherit your grandfather’s estate.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I meant,” the boy said. “Inherit,” he repeated, trying the word out. “Anyway, what it means is that the ranch where Lester and the other two guys were gonna take me might be mine someday.”

  “And how do you feel about that?” Joshua asked.

  Stephen shrugged as if it were of little account. “I guess it’s okay, but I’m not gonna move there. I like it here just fine.”

  “We’ll see about hiring a manager,” Brace told Joshua. “When the lawyer gets here we’ll have to discuss it thoroughly.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m Edward Lawrence,” the distinguished-looking man said, holding out his hand for Brace to shake. “I hope this isn’t an inconvenience to you and your family, but I think establishing young Stephen’s claim is of utmost importance.”

  Brace nodded. “I go along with that. It seems fitting that the boy should end up with some sort of recompense for the miserable life he led with Lester Clark.”

  “I haven’t heard much of anything good about the Clark boys, Lester in particular,” Mr. Lawrence said. “The father was an old reprobate himself, and managed to get on the wrong side of the law more than once. I’m not here as his friend, you understand,” he said firmly. “Only as a representative of the estate. Personally, I thought the whole clan was teetering on the very edge of trouble for years. But I’ll say one thing for Lester’s father. He was loyal to his family, scamps that they were. He made sure that his property would remain in the direct line of descendants. The boy, Stephen, seems to be the most likely prospect to inherit the whole she-bang.”

  “Well, if you’d like to take care of this today, you’re welcome to come out to the house at your convenience,” Brace told him. “I’ve reserved a room at the hotel for you, and we can take your things there first if you like.”

  “I’m thinking I’d like to talk to Stephen without him knowing who I am,” Mr. Lawrence said. “I want to hear what his memories of his childhood are. My first job is to establish his identity, and he may be able to settle that for me without going into it any deeper.”

  “Well then, I’ll drop you off at the hotel and send a horse for you to use from the livery stable. They can deliver it to the hotel and you can ride out at your convenience.” And then, as if another thought had intruded, Brace asked a pertinent question. “You do ride, don’t you?”

  Mr. Lawrence laughed and nodded. “I’m from Texas, born and bred,” he said. “And riding a horse was one of the first things I did as a child. Your plan is sound. Give me instructions for finding your place and I’ll be there soon.”

  The stop at the hotel took but a few minutes, and Brace drew a rough map directing the man to the big house on the edge of town. Then, once the lawyer was established, Brace’s buggy made its way to the livery stable. “Amos,” he called out, waiting till the husky blacksmith came from the dimly lit barn. As his friend appeared in the open doorway, Brace got down from his buggy and approached him.

  “There’s a fella at the hotel, Edward Lawrence, a lawyer from the other side of the state, who’ll be coming out to our place right shortly. Can you deliver a horse to him? Sure would save him a lot of walking.”

  “Has he got a soft hand on the reins?” Amos asked, obviously unwilling to let one of his animals go to a man without finesse.

  “Seems to be aboveboard to me, and he says he’s been riding since he was just a little tad.”

  Amos nodded agreeably. “I’ll take a horse over and let Simms know who it’s for.”

  That issue settled easily, Brace stopped at the jailhouse and notified Jamie as to his whereabouts. The deputy, already privy to the news of Stephen’s possible inheritance, was willing to take charge of things until Brace should return.

  “If there’s any trouble, I’ll run over and get you,” the younger man said.

  Once Brace arrived home, he put his buggy neatly beneath the lean-to and gave his mare her freedom in the pasture before he went into the house. “Sarah?” He called her name upon opening the back door, and was once more struck by the difference in his household with a woman in charge.

  She came hastily from the front of the house and he waited for her to come to him. He was not disappointed, for she reached upward as her skirts brushed against his trousers, and she was caught up in his embrace.

  “You’re an easy one to snatch hold of, young lady,” Brace said with a laugh. “You make it more than worthwhile for me to come in at odd hours, what with the sort of welcome I get.”

  “Silly man,” Sarah said, swatting at his arm, laughing with the pure joy of living, Brace thought. She was confident, holding no secrets from him, keeping nothing of herself inviolate, and yet he perceived that there were mysteries buried deep inside the woman he had yet to discover.

  She knew more about him and his past than any other human being, yet loved him without any apparent reserve. He thought of the day they’d met, when she’d been so intent on shooting Lester, and his smile beamed down on her.

  “What?” she asked. “What are you laughing at? Do I have dust on my nose?”

  “No,” he told her. “I was just thinking of you and your gun and knife and your plans to shoot Lester the first time I saw you.”

  “Do you think I wouldn’t have done it?” she asked sharply.

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to get on your bad side, sweetheart. Old Lester was a fool in more ways than one, to think he could pull that kind of a stunt on you and get away with it. It’s obvious that you and your sister might have been twins, but you got all the gumption in the family.”

  “She was nicer than I,” Sarah said quietly. “And look what that got her.”

  She shifted in his arms. “I thought you were bringing the lawyer home with you.
I’ve sent Stephen out to feed the animals.”

  Brace turned with her, looking out the window over the sink, where Stephen could be seen leaving the barn and heading for the house. The boy halted in his tracks, his gaze on something just out of Brace’s line of vision, and then Stephen walked quickly toward the side of the house.

  “I think our lawyer friend has arrived,” Brace said. “Unless I miss my guess, Stephen is greeting him now. Probably taking a good look at the horse Amos let the fella use.”

  His words proved to be true, for in a few seconds a rap at the back door announced the visitor, and in the yard, Brace saw Stephen leading the livery-stable mount toward the new pasture. The boy looped the horse’s reins over the top rail of the fence and busied himself taking the saddle off. It slid more rapidly than Stephen had expected, and almost took him to the ground with it.

  Brace laughed, and Mr. Lawrence turned to watch the proceedings. Stephen opened the gate and ushered the animal into the pasture and then removed the bit and bridle so the animal could graze unhindered.

  “Hope we can get him back into that bridle when it’s time for me to leave,” Mr. Lawrence said. “I doubt the animal has been faced with such an abundance of grass and a place to run free in a month of Sundays.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Brace said. “I can use a rope if we need to. In my earlier days I was quite a hand at it.”

  “A cowhand, were you?”

  “Yeah. I came to Texas when I was barely dry behind the ears, and made my way up the ladder by roping horses and rounding up cattle.”

  “A self-made man, I’d say,” Mr. Lawrence commented, then looked inquisitively at Sarah, who watched the two men quietly. “And this must be your wife, Sheriff. How do you do, ma’am?” he asked cordially, nodding and removing his hat.