Fairest in the West- Chapter Nine:

The boys’ mouths all fell open, offering a clear view of their half-chewed food. Aaron’s eyes went wide with fear and it was Jacob who whispered the words they were all thinking. “She tried to kill you?”

“She did.” Her voice was soft, quiet. “Twice. That’s why I ran away from home. That’s why I want to stay here.”

Hawk, who had spent most of the conversation focused on his food, nodded in understanding, attention still on the plate before him. “I ran away ‘cause Pa liked to work me over with his belt. Once Ma died there just weren’t no reason to stay.”

Dalton stared at him. For the last three years he’d clammed up at the merest mention of his past. Now, one word from this girl and he talked about it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied. “Losing a mother’s not easy.”

He shook his head, a serious frown on his face. “How old were you when you lost yours?”

“I was just a baby,” she said. “I don’t even remember her. It must be nice for you, having memories.”

He shrugged. “There’s a lot of bad ones ‘cause Pa’s mixed up in them.”

“That’s how I feel about my memories with my father. I have a lot of good ones, but Delilah’s always in them.”

Every one of the boys was leaning in toward her and between their sympathy for her and her amazing meal, she somehow became the boys’ best friend; Dalton couldn’t help thinking it was too bad she was out of her head and would have to go home soon.

He stood and took his plate over to the sink, realizing he didn’t have to wash it. He didn’t have to wash any of the dishes and he didn’t have to hound any of the boys to get them done. They would get done- and well!- without any effort on his part.

He shook that thought away as he motioned to Hawk to follow him outside. The two stepped onto the back porch and Dalton leaned in close to speak to the boy, even though the others were all still inside and making enough of a din to ensure there was no chance they’d be overheard.

“I want you to ride over to the Crown W and let Mr. White know that his daughter’s here,” he said.

Hawk frowned at him, not looking pleased with the words. Dalton anticipated this would happen, though he had hoped that the oldest of his boys would be the one to understand. No such luck. “You heard what she said, her stepma wants to kill her! You can’t send her back there. Don’t you like her? Why can’t she stay here?”

The man frowned. He had rather mixed feelings on the subject. “Of course I like her. It’s nice having a clean house and you boys have all taken to her something fierce. I’m not saying she ain’t handy to have around. But she doesn’t belong to us. She’s got a pa who cares about her and we can’t go taking her away from him just because we took a shine to her after a couple hours.”

“But she don’t want to go back.” The boy’s jaw was set in a firm line and Dalton realized this was going to take more than he hoped it would.

“She doesn’t rightly know what she wants,” he told the boy. “She’s a little confused and I don’t blame her for that. But it’s not right if we take advantage of that just because we want her to stay. She and her pa deserve the chance to sit down and talk things through and make their own decisions. And then if she still doesn’t want to go back-”

“-she can stay here,” Hawk finished.

Dalton sighed. “No. That’s not how it works.”

“Why can’t she stay and be our ma?” the boy demanded.

Dalton prayed that the good Lord would give him the words to explain it. “It’s not proper. She’s a single woman and I’m a single man and her reputation would be in ruins.”

“Reputations be hanged!” Hawk said, his voice rising in anger. It wobbled and cracked and he thought the boy might cry.

Dalton sucked in a breath. “Fine. Then I’ll just go myself. But you need to get ahold of yourself because you’re the oldest and that puts you in charge- you hear me?”

The boy frowned at him, obviously none-too-pleased with the comment about needing to get himself together- exactly what Dalton was going for. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He tweaked the boy’s nose. “I’ll be home by sundown.”