Page 91 of The Enchanted Land

She didn’t move, but stared ahead.

“I know something’s wrong here. No one mentions Seth’s name, yet I feel he’s still alive.”

“Yes, he is,” Morgan whispered.

“Whatever’s happened is your business. I don’t need to know, but I do know that your father would have wanted you to come to the ranch. I know I’d like for you to come. I’m a bachelor. My father’s people are in the East. My mother’s people are Comanches and, in spite of my games, I know little about them.

“There are too many memories for you here, Morgan. Come back with me. I’ll make a home for you and Adam.” He stroked the hair of the sleeping child.

“I don’t know, Gordon. I really don’t know you. But what you say about there being too many memories here is correct. Let me think about it and give you an answer soon. Right now, I need to put my son to bed.”

She walked ahead as Gordon followed with the dozing Adam. “Do you know that I’ve loved your mother since she was twenty minutes old? I don’t care where your father is, because I plan to move heaven and earth to become your new daddy. Would you like that, son?” He kissed the dimpled cheek of the boy. “We’ll go to the ranch. And inside of a year, I’ll be your pa.”

It took Gordon two days to persuade Morgan to go with him to the Three Crowns. The major opposition came from Jake; he couldn’t stand the idea of Adam’s leaving.

“I have to, Jake. What if Seth returns? I can’t be here then. I don’t want to see him.”

Gordon could hardly control his elation as he loaded the wagon with Morgan’s and Adam’s clothes. “I’ll send a hand back to return the wagon, and he’ll let you know that we got there safely.”

The goodbyes were tearful. “Send us letters. Tell us about yourself and the boy. The house will be sad without you,” Lupita cried. Paul gave Adam two more carved wooden horses for his ranch house. Jake took it the worst, almost refusing to see them off.

Adam waved to them for a long time, enjoying the unusual pleasure of riding in a wagon. By the time they reached Santa Fe, he was fretful and Morgan was glad to stop. She wanted to purchase fabric for some new clothes for him. The days were getting longer and the afternoons hotter. Gordon had told her it was much warmer farther down the mountains toward Albuquerque.

Gordon had taken Adam with him and promised to meet Morgan by the wagon in an hour. Morgan’s last stop took her to a new shop, one she’d never seen. It carried imported silks and velvets, handmade laces, as well as the sturdy cottons she needed for Adam. She didn’t hear the footsteps behind her.

“Well, Mrs. Colter, it is such a surprise to see you here again.”

“Miss Wilson.” Marilyn Wilson was the last person Morgan wanted to see. “How have you been? Is this your shop?”

“I’ve been quite well, thank you, and yes, my father bought this shop for me about six months ago. I hear you came back alone from San Francisco.”

Morgan clenched her hands into fists.

“Tell me, how is Joaquín Montoya? Wasn’t it strange how he and his sister packed up and left for Spain that way, just a few days after their party?”

Before Morgan could answer, Marilyn continued, “All of Santa Fe thought it was strange how you and Joaquín rode off together right in the middle of the party. Of course, as I mentioned to Seth, you two had spent a great deal of time together already.”

“You…”

Neither of the women heard the shop door open.

“Then, of course, all of Santa Fe knew Seth spent the winter alone on the Colter ranch.”

“Ahem.” Both women turned to see Gordon and Adam. Adam let go of Gordon’s hand and ran to his mother to show her the little wooden trees Gordon had bought him.

Morgan picked her son up. “Pretty, aren’t they? They’ll go with the rest of your ranch. Oh—Miss Wilson”—Morgan acted as if she had just remembered the woman’s presence—“let me introduce my son to you. Adam, this is Miss Wilson.” Adam looked at the woman for only a second and then began jabbering to his mother about his trees. He smiled, showing dimples so like Seth’s.

Gordon took Adam. “I guess it’s time we left Santa Fe.” He didn’t like the lightning atmosphere between the two women.

As they got to the door, Morgan turned back. “I guess all of Santa Fe doesn’t know about my son. I think you’ll agree there’s no doubt who his father is. Goodbye, Miss Wilson.”

In the wagon, Morgan was quiet at first. Then, a few miles outside of Santa Fe, the tears began to flow. Gordon pulled the wagon over under some large cottonwoods. Without a word, he set Adam on the ground and then lifted Morgan from the wagon. He held her in his strong arms and let her cry. He sat under a tree and rocked her gently. Adam heard his mother and came to investigate. When he realized she was crying, he began to cry, too. Gordon tried to keep one arm around each of them, but the more one cried, the more the other cried.

It took him a few minutes to realize that Morgan was laughing. “What’s so blasted funny?”

“You. The look on your face. Two people crying in your arms and you trying to comfort both of them. I never saw such frustration.”

Gordon grinned at her. “I’ll have to remember the look for the next time you cry, so I can make you laugh. Anyway, it was worth it for a chance to hold you.”

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