The ride back to the ranch, with Charlotte behind him on Charlie, her arms wrapped around his waist, began with her

chattering a mile a minute. Not, Scott noticed, with any information about herself. Just more questions about the ranch, or Murdoch and Johnny, Teresa or Jelly.

"What's Teresa like?" she asked, leaning around a bit so that Scott could hear her over the wind that had picked up.

"She's real nice. Smart. She likes to play the piano."

After a few minutes of silence, Charlotte spoke up again, sounding less chatty, and more nervous.

"What if your family doesn't want me to stay?"

"They'll welcome you."

After that she was quiet, until they rode under the iron Lancer that proclaimed that they had arrived.

In front of the house, Scott offered her an arm and lowered her to the ground first, and then dismounted himself.

"It's big," Charlotte said.

"That it is," Scott agreed.

"There must be a hundred rooms."

Scott smiled a little. "Not quite that many."

He didn't miss the way that she was twisting her hands together.

"No need to be nervous," he said.

"I'm not," she denied stoutly.

Scott raised an eyebrow, and Charlotte shrugged. "Well, maybe a little."

"'Bout time you got yourself home," Jelly proclaimed, coming around the side of the house. "Johnny's fit to be tied."

"Jelly, this is Charlotte. Charlie," he corrected himself. "Charlie, this is Jelly."

"Howdy," Jelly said.

"Hello," Charlotte said.

"Johnny still out on the fence line?" Scott asked him.

"Nope. Inside now, havin' a drink with the boss."

"Alright." He held out the reins to Jelly. "Do you mind?"

"That's what I'm kept around here for," Jelly said, in a grumble, and took the reins, walking towards the barn.

"Let's go in," Scott said, seeing that she was still reluctant. He put a hand on the center of her back.

They could hear voices as soon as they stepped inside. Scott knew the kid was nervous, feeling shy and uncertain, but he

was still surprised when he felt her take his hand.

Recognizing her need for reassurance, he gave her hand a squeeze. "Come on," he prompted, and they went into

the library, where Teresa and Johnny were sitting on the sofa, and Murdoch was half-leaning on his desk.

Johnny got to his feet. "Well," he said, "Hello there, brother."

"You decided to come home, hmm?" Murdoch asked, before he saw the child standing behind Scott just a bit.

Murdoch set his drink glass on the desk, and came forward. "Well, who's this?" he asked, in a friendly way.

"Murdoch, this is Charlie. Charlie, this is my father," Scott said, giving the little girl a gentle tug, and sending Murdoch a wordless prompt for

understanding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie," Murdoch said, kindly, and he put out a hand.

Charlie took his hand and shook it. "Hello, Mr. Lancer," she said.

"And this is my brother. Johnny," Scott said then.

Johnny leaned down slightly so that he was on eye-level with her. "Hullo, Charlie," he said, and gave her a grin.

"Hi."

As he stood up, Johnny said, "You always find the prettiest girls when you go to town, brother," and winked at Charlie.

By now, Teresa was standing near, too, next to Johnny.

"My name's Teresa," she said to the child, with a smile.

"Hello."

Still conscious of the little girl's hand in his, Scott said, "Charlie's going to stay here with us for a few days, if that's alright

with everybody."

"Absolutely," Murdoch said, "We're glad to have you with us, young lady," he said, warmly.

"Thank you," Charlie said, softly.

"I'll take you up and show you your room," Scott told her, and then turned to look at his father. "And then I'll come back down

and talk to you, Murdoch."

"Alright, son," Murdoch said, aware that Scott meant to explain things to him.

Scott headed up the stairs, Charlie alongside of him. At the room across the hall from his own bedroom, Scott opened the door,

and went in. "This is our guest room," he said. "So since you're our guest, I think it will work, don't you?"

Charlie looked around the room, at the muted browns and warmth of the room.

"It's a nice room," she said.

Scott surveyed her for a moment. "I'm going to see if Teresa will get a bath ready for you."

"I can take my own bath," Charlie objected.

"I didn't say that you couldn't, did I?" Scott said mildly. "I said get it ready for you."

"Oh," Charlie said, looking embarrassed.

"A hot bath would be good, don't you think?" he asked.

The little girl nodded.

"Alright. And then we'll see what we can find for you to wear," Scott said.

Charlie looked down at her clothes dubiously. "I guess these are pretty dirty," she admitted.

"Dirty," Scott agreed. "And too big. And not for a little girl."

For a moment, Charlie looked at him in near horror. "You mean I can't wear pants while I stay here?"

"I didn't say that. Let's just get you bathed, and in some clean clothes for right now, alright?"

"Okay," Charlie said.

"Well, get out of those clothes, and I'll send Teresa up," Scott told her. "And then I'll see you downstairs when you're done."

"Alright, Scott," she said, sounding unsure.

Scott paused beside her, and lifted her chin with his hand so that she was looking at him.

"They're all good people," he said. "Every one of them. They're kind, and understanding. You'll be treated well."

Charlie nodded, and Scott went out, and downstairs, going first to find Teresa, and asking her to help Charlie. Then, he returned

to the library, and approached the bottle of bourbon that sat on the desk.

He poured a glass of the amber liquid, and tossed it back, before turning to see his father and brother watching him with varied expressions.

Murdoch looked pensive. Concerned. Johnny, on the other hand, looked amused.

Murdoch swirled the drink in his glass. "What goes on, son?" he asked.

Scott gave a brief explanation of how the whole thing with the child had come about.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do, Murdoch," he said.

"How old is she?" Murdoch asked.

"She says she's twelve."

"Small for twelve," Murdoch observed. "Val's going to send a telegram to the orphanage, you say?"

"That's right."

Scott went to pour himself another drink, and turned to look into the laughing eyes of his brother.

"You have something to say, I take it?" he asked.

"Not a thing," Johnny denied. "What's with the 'Charlie' for a name?"

"Charlotte," Scott said, taking a long drink. "It's short for Charlotte."

Murdoch put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "We'll make her welcome."

Scott nodded. "I knew you would."

*L*

When Charlie came back downstairs, accompanied by Teresa, she was scrubbed clean, and her hair was shiny, and tied back with a

green ribbon. She was dressed in a pair of overalls that Teresa had hunted down from one of the closets.

"Were those yours?" Johnny asked Teresa, giving her a teasing nudge.

"I think they were," Teresa said, and gave him a shove back. "What about it?"

"Nothing. Nothing," Johnny said, holding up a hand. "I'm sure you looked just as pretty in them as Charlie does."

"We're about to have our dinner," Murdoch told the little girl. "Do you like salmon, or have you ever had it?"

"I like it."

"I don't know how much Charlie and I will eat," Scott cautioned. "We both just had a big meal a couple of hours ago."

A short time later, he was struck nearly in awe, by the fact that Charlie managed to eat an entire serving of salmon,

with carrots, and two of Maria's large homemade rolls.

"That was really good," she said, as everybody was getting up, and pushing in their chairs..

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Murdoch said.

Without being asked, Charlie helped Teresa clear the table, and take the dishes to the kitchen.

Murdoch raised an eyebrow in approval.

After they headed back to the library for the evening's relaxation, Teresa and Charlie came into the room.

"Charlie has made an ally for life," Teresa said. "She thanked Maria for the food, and told her how good it was."

"I'm sure Maria appreciated hearing that," Murdoch said, smiling at the little girl.

Charlie smiled back, a little shyly, and when everybody had found a place to sit, she positioned herself next to Scott.

During the conversation, she was mostly quiet, until Scott noticed that she was sitting very still, her head resting against his arm.

"Charlie," he said, "time for bed."

The little girl sat up, exhaustion evident on her face.

"Did you find something for her to sleep in?" Scott asked Teresa, and at her nod, he looked at the child.

"Go on up and get into your nightclothes," he said.

As she stood up, there was a chorus of goodnights to her, and 'see you at breakfast'.

"Goodnight," she said, looking at all of them. She paused a little, looking at Scott hesitantly.

Without her speaking a word, he knew what she wanted. "I'll come up in a few minutes to say goodnight," he told her, and

she nodded, going up the stairs.

A few minutes later, Scott went upstairs, pausing at the bedroom door to knock.

"Come in," Charlie called.

He opened the door to see Charlie sitting cross-legged on the bed, wearing a too-large white nightgown that most likely belonged to

Teresa.

"Ready for bed?" he asked.

When she nodded, he held up the book in his hand. "I thought I'd read for a few minutes. If you want me to."

At her eager nod, he went to sit beside her on the bed, opening the worn, brown volume.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Ivanhoe. It belonged to my grandfather."

"I've never heard of it," Charlie said, sounding unsure.

"Well, let's try it. If you don't like it, then we won't keep on with it."

As he began to read, Scott sensed a change in the little girl. She leaned nearly on his arm, seemingly relaxed, and was listening carefully, obviously enthralled

in the story.

After he'd read five or six pages, he paused, marking the page with a bookmark.

"Well?" he asked her. "What do you think?"

"I like it very much."

"So, should we continue with this one tomorrow night, or find another book?" Scott asked.

Large, shining brown eyes turned to look up at him. "You mean you'll read like that with me, every night?" she asked, sounding

incredulous.

"If you'd like me to."

"Yes. I would," she said.

"So we continue with Ivanhoe?" Scott asked.

"Yes!" she said with enthusiasm.

Scott laid the book on the night table, and lifted the quilts. "Hop down under there," he told her, and she scrambled to get under

the blankets.

He tucked them up around her, and then paused. "Now, my room is the one right across the hall, alright? If you get frightened, or you

need something."

She nodded.

"Alright. Goodnight," Scott said.

"Goodnight."

He turned down the lamp, and was at the door when she said, "Scott?" softly. Hesitantly.

He turned back to look towards the bed. "What?"

"How long does it take for a telegram to get somewhere?"

"Not long. The same day. Why?"

"I just wondered," Charlie said, and Scott heard all the words that she left unspoken. He decided to wait it out.

"Goodnight, Charlie," he said again.

*L*

The next morning, Scott was sitting on the edge of his bed, pulling on his boots, when there was a light tap on his

door.

"Come in," he said, and Charlie opened the door, standing there for a moment. She was wearing the overalls from the

evening before, and her hair was loose.

"Good morning, Scott," she greeted him, looking a little hesitant.

"Good morning," Scott answered, as he began tugging on his second boot. "How did you sleep?"

"Good. That bed is really comfortable."

"Well, I'm glad you slept well," Scott said. As the child stood there, in the doorway, he said, "You can come in if you like."

Charlie came into the room, taking everything in as she looked around. She came to stand beside the bed.

"Are you going to be doing work outside today?" she asked him.

"Uh huh."

"Can I be with you? I'll help with whatever you're doing."

Scott finished with his second boot, and looked at her. "I thought you might want to stay here. I'm sure there's some

things that Teresa might like you to help her with. We've got a long ride up to where we need to check fence."

The child looked conflicted, and subsided into silence.

Scott looked at her perceptively. "What, Charlie?" he asked her.

"I'd just like to go with you," she said. "I promise I'll help Teresa later."

"It's a long ride to-" Scott began, repeating his previous warning.

"I'm a good rider. I like to ride," she said, her cheeks high with color.

Scott hesitated, trying to choose his words.

"It's going to be real hot out there," he said next.

"I'll wear my hat."

Scott regarded her seriously, contemplating.

"I won't complain about being hot or tired, or anything. Not even once, I won't," Charlie promised. And then, her brown

eyes pleading, "Please, Scott?"

"Alright," Scott said, giving permission, and Charlie's face lit up with a smile that showed those dimples.

"Go and find your hat. You might have to ask Teresa what she did with it. And put your hair up in a braid," he ordered.

"Yes. Okay," she said, with excitement.

"And then hustle down to breakfast. We're not going to wait on you if you're not ready to go."

Obviously knowing his threat to be an idle one, Charlie gave him a mock salute. "Yes, sir!" she said, still smiling, and ran

from the room.

Scott sat there for a full minute, feeling his heart constrict with emotion.

*L*