Chapter Seven

After a quiet dinner, Robert excused himself to the bedroom. "I'm afraid the trip here was quite tiring. If you don't mind, I'd like to turn in early."

"Of course, Robert. We've taken that trip in the snow. It can be quiet harrowing," said Shiloh.

"I'll go up with you," said Evelyn. As she gathered Robbie, she smiled at Adam and Shiloh. "Would you excuse me?"

Shiloh smiled while Adam winked, and when the Slaters had disappeared at the top of the stairs, Shiloh leaned into her husband.

"You know," said Adam, "we could turn in, too."

"I'm not sure I could do that without Etta and Rachel home. Besides, I want to talk to you about this afternoon…in town."

Adam raised one eyebrow. "Don't you trust your brother?"

"It's not that," said Shiloh with her eyes closed, snuggling under Adam's arm. "And you're avoiding something."

Adam gave short nod and pushed his bottom lip up. "Practicing for when our daughter is courted?" he asked with a impish grin.

Shiloh smirked. "You're actually going to let a boy court our daughter?"

"Well, no." He puckered his lips. "But I might let them sit on the front porch."

When the door squeaked, Shiloh sat up from Adam's shoulder. "You really need to fix that squeak," she whispered.

"Not a chance. I'll know when they come in."

"Have you forgotten, Mr. Cartwright? We don't have a daughter."

"No, but we do have Etta and Rachel," he said with his head cocked as he stood just in time for Micah, with Rachel sound asleep in his arms, and Etta to turn the corner.

"Adam," said Micah, "would you mind taking Rachel. The extra weight is hard on my feet."

Taking the little girl in his arms, Adam said, "I'll be right back."

"I'll go up with you, Mr. Cartwright," said Etta. "I need to change her into her nightgown." Turning to Micah, she asked, "Can you wait? I won't be long."

Micah nodded, and when Adam and Etta were on the stairs, his face twisted in pain as he staggered to the chair.

Shiloh reached for him to help, but he shrugged her off.

"I'm all right, Little Sister. I just need to take my next dose." Pulling a small bottle out of his jacket pocket, he pulled the cork, turned the bottle up and swallowed.

Slowly sitting on the sofa, Shiloh watched with a tormented look on her face. "Micah? How much laudanum are you taking?"

He blew a breath heavily through his nose as he gave her his best intimidating glare.

"Answer me!" she snapped.

"I take what I need for the pain, Shiloh."

Closing her eyes, she bowed her head and folded her lips into a line.

Adam watched from the stairs, and as he approached, he cocked his head to one side, already knowing the answer to the next question. "What's going on?"

Looking up at him, Shiloh's eyes were moist. "You knew about the laudanum, didn't you?"

Adam's eyebrows rose as he breathed deeply. "I suspected…until earlier today."

"And you kept it from me?"

"It wasn't his place to tell you. It was mine, and I chose not to," said Micah.

"Does Etta know?" asked Shiloh, walking to the fireplace and standing with her back to them.

To Micah, it seemed these two were quite fond of Etta. "She knows I take it," said Micah quietly. "She doesn't know how much."

Shiloh's shoulders relaxed at the thought there was nothing to be done about it. "Are you going to tell her?"

"If things go further, yes, I'll tell her. But there's no need at the moment," said Micah calmly.

All three heads turned toward a knock at the front door. Adam went to open it. "Joe?"

"Adam," Joe said with a quick nod. "I'd like to speak to Etta."

Bowing his head and pinching his upper lip, Adam took a deep breath. "Now isn't a good time."

"It's not that late."

"She just got in from town. She's putting Rachel to bed."

Stepping by Adam, Joe said, "I can wait."

"Joe!" Adam grabbed Joe's arm, but too late.

Micah had risen when he heard Joe's voice and stood at the entrance to the sitting room.

Flaring his nostrils, Joe said, "You say she just got in from town."

Clamping a hand down on Joe's shoulder, Adam said, "Yes, that's what I said."

Joe shrugged him off. "You know, Adam, I just don't understand what she sees in a crippled ex-gunfighter."

While Shiloh's jaw dropped, Micah bowed his head and chuckled. "I guess she prefers a cripple to a cheater. Go home, runt. The lady's with me tonight."

Stepping in front of Micah, Shiloh said, "The only reason you are welcome here is because your older brother thinks there's something redeeming in you. Still, I don't understand how you could possibly expect Etta to bother with you. I will not have her upset after she's almost over how badly you treated her. You need to leave. Now."

Joe looked at Adam, who turned him around with a hand on his arm. "She's right, Joe. Now is not the time. Go home."

"More like never is the time," said Shiloh, crossing her arms and patting her foot.

Adam gave Shiloh a severe look before he showed Joe to the door, nodding outward. "Go home," he said quietly.

Just as the door closed, Etta stepped down from the bottom step. "Did I miss something?"

Without turning, Micah looked back. "It was Joe. Maybe I shouldn't have presumed you wouldn't want to speak to him." Now turning so he could see her eyes, he asked, "Do you?"

Her mouth opened, not quite a frown, not quite a scowl. "No," she mouthed.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Micah said, "I should probably head back to the ranch." His smile, so charming and bright, could always lighten Etta's mood.

"I'll walk you out," Etta said as she accompanied him to the door.

Shiloh and Adam returned to the sitting room. "I'm going on up to check on Abel," whispered Shiloh. "I assume you're staying down here until Etta comes back in…Pa?"

Adam answered only with a smile and raised brows.

As she went up the stairs, Shiloh said over her shoulder, "And when you come up, we can talk about what happened this afternoon in town."

xxxxxxxx

Shiloh calmly, slowly and methodically went through her morning routine, mumbling under her breath between her endearments to her son.

Adam had changed the subject at every turn each time she questioned what happened in town until finally, he gave her something else to think about until she couldn't keep her eyes open. When she woke up, he was right there encouraging her to forget about it once more. She didn't wake up again until just before he left the room when he sat on the side of the bed, kissed her solidly to wake her up, then left the room chuckling.

Through a door no one else had ever noticed was a staircase that led up and up into the lofty confines of the Lake House's cavernous attic. No one else had ever taken much notice because everyone supposed it was a closet even though it was kept locked. Only Shiloh and Adam knew about the staircase, and this morning, Shiloh took the key from her jewelry box, unlocked the door and ascending those stairs to find two boxes. The boxes weren't very heavy though they were bulky enough that she had to carry them back down the stairs one at a time. Still, no one in the house was the wiser because Adam had paid special attention to the cut of the lumber he used to build them so they wouldn't squeak and either scare little children by the sounds coming from behind the wall or let them know where their parent's hiding place was.

Before Shiloh brought the boxes down, she walked around the mostly empty expanse. Adam had installed a ceiling and walls to help insulate the space from the cold. He had built headers in the outer walls to accommodate windows if he ever had a mind to put window gables on the roof, and he had installed the beginnings of fireplaces, the fire boxes and the chase for the chimneys, though at the moment, they were closed up and roofed over. The only reason they thought the space might be needed for anything other than storage would be if they had more children than bedrooms. In that case, the older children might like the relative solitude and quiet of attic rooms. She gave the attic one more look, then turned back to her boxes.

As she came down the hallway, Evelyn stopped her. "Shiloh, let me help you," she said, taking the box Shiloh balanced on top of the other. "What's all this?"

Shiloh smiled. "I don't know if I should tell you now or surprise you later. Or maybe recruit you."

"Recruit me for what?"

Leaning forward, Shiloh looked around her first, then whispered, "Decorating." She laughed at Evelyn's wide eyes. "Before we do that, we need to go to the kitchen. We have spiced cider and eggnog to make along with all the other Christmas goodies."