“So that we could live near the child.”
“Oh.” At least it did not sound as if they expected the boy to be handed over to them immediately. Mrs. Collins reached across the table to pat Abigail’s clenched hands. “We just want to be close at hand. The girl named you his guardian and we respect that. But we are his family and we should be close.”
The knots in her stomach started to unravel and Abigail relaxed. They were not here to take Jeremiah or fight to take him. Glancing at all the others, she decided the woman had a large enough family as it was then scolded herself for the thought.
She had tried not to get too attached to the child but her heart had its own plans and now it would be as if someone wanted to take her own flesh and blood. It was the same with Noah. She had the sudden pang over the fact that she had not yet quickened with Matthew’s child but shoved it aside.
“Do you know where you are going to be staying?” she asked.
“We do.” She smiled at her husband. “Tell them, John.”
“Well, we found an empty saloon. And the woman in the general store connected to it told us how to make an offer to the man who used to own it. We now do. He just wanted the place gone so the bargaining did not take long. I have no urge to run a drinking establishment but we figure we can make something of it and it has rooms for all of us.”
“Which will be thoroughly scrubbed,” muttered Mrs. Collins.
“So what do you think you will do with it?”
“Not really sure yet, but Molly and me did wonder about making it a place to gather but without the liquor. Not against a man having a drink, but don’t want to deal with all the trouble that often comes with a saloon,” said John.
“It could get rowdy,” agreed Matthew.
“All we want to do is to be part of his life,” said Mrs. Collins. “Get to know him and let him come to know us. It seems the children are all I have left of my sons. They are dead. Gavin’s wife died. We have Miriam and the children and we mean to stick together.” Miriam nodded as did the children.
Abigail listened to them talk about all the ideas they had for what used to be the saloon and bawdy house. She knew it would all depend on what sort of traffic there was through these hills now that the war was over. It would be good if a little life came back to the area.
“There is that lake a short walk away,” said Matthew. “And fishing is good in the rivers and lakes. Maybe some folk would like that.”
“It’s a thought. Not to worry. We will think of something.”
Matthew nodded and they all talked of what was in the area, what grew, what the weather was like, and other ordinary things. Abigail excused herself and walked up the stairs until she came to the small table in the hall. There was the picture of Robert and Julia. The little painting had gone to the Collinses but she now feared they might not have gotten it.
“Oh, she was very pretty. I can see what caught my Robert’s eye.”
Startled by the woman’s approach, Abigail had to take a deep breath before turning to face Mrs. Collins. “I had the same man who did the picture of the babe do one of this but I guess you never got it.”
“Or it came after we left. I will send a word to my neighbor and tell her to keep a watch for it. May I?” She nodded toward the picture.
“Of course.”
“I think John would like to see it. We talked often after we got your letter but could never decide what sort of girl the boy would have married.”
Abigail followed the woman back down the stairs and paused when the woman suddenly stopped at the bottom and turned to her. “We really have not come to take the child away from you. His mother chose you and we honor that. But I can see my Robert in him and I just want to be a part of his life.”
“Of course. I can understand that. He is too young to grasp what this all means but he is growing fast.”
“They always do.”
By the time the Collins family left, Abigail was exhausted. She knew it was mostly from fighting the fear that they would decide to argue over the boy. Meeting such a pleasant woman and knowing she had lost all her sons had been hard as well. There was a part of Abigail that thought she ought to let them have the child but she ignored it with an ease that bothered her.
“They were a very pleasant family,” said Matthew when they got ready for bed that night.
“They were but, oh, Matthew, she lost all her sons.”
“I ken it.” He crawled into bed and took her into his arms. “I dinnae want to even try and ken how that must feel, but it is something so many have suffered so many times over the centuries.”
She sighed and rested her cheek on his chest. “I know, but that doesn’t really make it any less sad.”
“They are not going to demand the baby, are they?”
“No. She said I was the mother’s choice and they honor that but want to be known to the child. I found myself wishing Jeremiah was older, a little more aware of who and what they were. I can understand why they are all together. Such a loss would be enough to pull them together.”
“We were verra lucky.”
“I think we were and so was your family.”
“Weel, some think poorly of us because we didnae want to choose sides, didnae want anything to do with it.”
“Smart.”
“But nay verra wise. But it is done so things should calm down.”
“I hope so.” She covered her mouth when she yawned. “Tired, and I didn’t even get to plant the lavender seeds.”
“Tomorrow. Get some sleep. It has been a hard day.”
“It made me think.”
“Mmmm. Of what?”
“Of the importance of making sure you have made it clear what you want done with your children if something happens to you.”
“We can sort that out in the morning.”
She could tell he was close to going to sleep. “Unless we die in our sleep.” She felt him jerk with surprise then squeaked when he slapped her on the backside. “Wretch.”
*
In the morning, Abigail woke with a need to rush into the washroom. She was heartily sick. By the time she cleaned up and went downstairs, the kitchen showed signs that Matthew had already fed the boys. It puzzled her that she was so tired, but she had been a lot lately.
Once she had eaten some toasted bread and had a cup of coffee she was feeling better so went out to plant her lavender seeds. When they grew, she would be sure to send Maude a picture even if she had to draw it herself. She stood up then staggered to the house and braced herself against it until the spinning in her head went away.