Page 82 of The Enchanted Land

“Here, let me help you with that.” Someone took her hand baggage and she turned to meet a pair of familiar eyes.

“Frank!” she cried, the weariness of her body making her vision blurred.

“Morgan!” Frank picked her up and swung her around. “Last time I saw you, them outlaws had carried you off.”

Her eyes clouded. “An awful lot’s happened since then.” She turned away, frowning. If he thought of her as Seth did, he’d hate her, too.

“Hey, little gall” He squeezed her again and set her down. “Don’t you go lookin’ like that. I heard every word of the story from Jake. I don’t know your side of it, but I sure don’t believe you left Seth for Joaquín.”

“You don’t?”

“Hell, no. Anybody could see the way you two followed one another around. I never saw two people so stubborn as you two. Both of you head over heels in love and neither of you admitting it.”

“Oh, Frank! Thank you.”

“Let’s get you out of here. I bet you want to clean up. I’ll take you to the hotel, and then tomorrow, after you’ve rested, we can go to the ranch.”

“No, I can’t go to the Colter ranch.”

“Just hush now and I’ll take care of you. I won’t put up with your bullheadedness. Tomorrow you go to the ranch. It’s where you belong, especially with that young ’un you’re carryin’.”

Her eyes flew to his, open wide.

Frank laughed. “Always have had an eye for the ladies. Only thing that’s changed about you is that curvy little belly. And with six kids of my own, I sure know what causes that.”

Morgan was grateful to Frank for taking care of her. She was content to stand back and let him order her a bath and dinner in her room. Once alone, she scoured herself in the hot water and ate greedily. It was still only about six in the evening when she fell into the soft bed.

Late the next morning, Frank came for her with a buckboard. She had rested and she felt strong enough to protest about going to Seth’s ranch, but Frank refused to listen.

“That’s your home. Of course you’re going there.”

“But, Frank, I need to go to Albuquerque and see my father’s lawyer.”

“All right, you can visit there later, but first you go home. Lupita will be waiting with open arms and hot tortillas. You couldn’t ask for more.”

Morgan was grim. “What about Jake? And Paul? Will they greet me with open arms? The woman who ran off with another man? You don’t even know for sure that the baby I carry is Seth’s.”

Frank grinned. “You’re even more stubborn than I remember. I know that that little one you’re carryin’ is yours. That’s good enough for me. If Seth Colter and you been in the same town for the last few months and he ain’t the father, then there’s something wrong with him, not with you. Now, if you’ve finished your lunch, we’d better be on our way.”

As they made the long trip to the Colter ranch, Morgan tried not to think of what would greet her there. They talked of Frank’s family, whom Morgan had never met, and of life in general in New Mexico. Morgan told Frank about the hundreds of people pouring into San Francisco each week. She talked about Theron and the work they’d done, making him laugh over her stories of the people and the wealth they didn’t know how to handle.

Lupita heard the wagon long before she saw it. She walked slowly out to meet them. Since Seth and Morgan had both gone, a change had come over the place. There was no laughter anymore. Jake and she ate their meals in the big kitchen while Paul took his outside. Paul didn’t like the gloom of the inside.

She recognized Frank instantly, and thought he’d brought his oldest daughter with him. But something about the smallness of the form next to Frank made her start. “It couldn’t be,” she whispered. And then she began running toward the wagon.

“Señora Colter! You’ve come home!” The large woman practically lifted Morgan out of the wagon. She clasped her tightly in her arms, Morgan returning the hug.

“Lupita, you better be careful how you handle our little mother-to-be.”

Lupita gasped, held Morgan at arm’s length, and then hugged her again.

Chapter Seventeen

“FRANK, you must stay to help us celebrate Señora Colter’s return.”

“Please, Frank, I need your help. I need someone here who believes in me.”

Both women looked up at Frank, their eyes imploring.

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