The next morning Chris opened the door into the kitchen just as the family was sitting down to eat breakfast. "Ken'a!" Sam squealed.
Rae looked up and smiled. "I see you're back already."
"We took the night train," Chris said as Sam tackled Kendra.
Kendra squeaked in surprise. Pape, who was dropped when Kendra and Sam fell, quickly scampered down the hall.
Rae smiled. "Well, if you two would get off the floor, you could join us for breakfast."
"Get off me, Sammy," Kendra said, pushing the younger boy.
He stood up, grinning from ear to ear. "You home!"
"I'm hungry," she said, dragging him toward the table.
"Me too!" he exclaimed, clearly very glad she had returned.
"Eat up, darlings," Noelle said, placing plates on the table in front of them.
"Gramma Noelle!" Kendra exclaimed.
"Hello deary," Noelle said, dropping a kiss on Kendra's head.
"When did you come here?"
"About a week ago."
She smiled. "My mommy is getting married!"
"I know...Rae told me."
"I'm finally getting a Daddy!" she said excitedly and bounced in her seat.
Noelle smiled at her.
"Are you gonna go see them get married?"
"If Nick and I are still here..."
"I hope you can go!"
Noelle smiled and patted the girl's head. "Eat before your food gets cold."
"Okay!" And she devoured her breakfast.
"Marty, why don't you talk a walk down to the cabin with me and Kendra," Chris suggested after breakfast.
"Okay," she agreed with a little shrug.
He picked Kendra up and threw her over his shoulder. Kendra squealed delightedly. Marty followed them out the door.
"Wait for me!" Sam cried, scrambling after them.
"Hurry up, Sammy," Kendra called.
"I'm comin'!" He scrambled as fast as he could for the door.
"Careful, Sam!" Spot called.
Chris put Kendra down and watched as Sam and Kendra raced toward the cabin.
"They like ya a lot, don't they?" Maggie said with a small smile.
"I like them alot..." Chris said.
"Do ya like livin' here?"
"I sure do."
"I miss Brooklyn kinda... I mean.... it's real nice here... but... I've known Brooklyn all my life..."
"I know what you mean, Marty."
The cabin was in view within a few short minutes "Sam! Kendra! Stop and wait for me!" he yelled. They stopped and were dancing from one foot to the other, waiting for Chris and Marty to catch up. "Stay close to me," he said, unlocking the door.
"How come" Sam asked.
"Because I don't want you to get hurt...it's not finished yet."
"What can we do then?" Kendra asked.
"Just stick close to me while I show you around."
Kendra and Sam latched onto his coat and followed him, glancing around. "Are you an' Mommy gonna live here forever?"
"You too Short Stuff," he said. "Let's go upstairs, but be very careful."
"Which is my room?" Kendra asked as they explored the second floor.
"This one right here," he said, pushing open the door closest to the stairs.
She peeked in. "WOW! And it's gonna be just mine?"
"All yours."
She cheered happily.
~*~
Later that night as Chris was getting ready for bed there was a knock at his door. "Come in."
The door opened and Kendra stepped in, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?"
She sniffled. "I want Momma..."
"Oh, come here sweetheart." He sat down in a nearby chair and motioned for her to come over to sit on his lap.
She slowly walked over to him, clutching her baby doll.
"Did you want to talk about it?"
"I miss her..."
"Well... let's see.... is there anything she does for you before bed that maybe I could do? So you wouldn't be so sad?"
"She reads me a bedtime story..."
"I already read you two..."
"And she gives me a glass of milk and kisses me an' Pape goodnight..."
He smiled. "You've had a glass of milk...and so has Pape..."
"And she tucks us in real tight an' then she blows out the light." Which was a very different ritual than just turning the light off.
"Kendra..." he said, knowing that she was just stalling. "I've already tucked you in twice..."
"But you didn't blow out the light!"
"Yes I did."
She shook her head adamantly. "You blowed out the candle."
"Kendra..."
She pouted. "And she lays by me until I go to sleep..."
He sighed a little. "All right. Come on then." He set her to her feet and took her hand, leading her to her room. He knocked softly on the door.
"Come in," Annie called sleepily.
"Hope you don't mind me in here... Kendra won't go to sleep any other way."
"I don't mind...just be quiet," she said, looking at Marty, who was sleeping.
He smiled. "I will be."
He picked Kendra up and tucked her in once again. And, before she could protest, he scooped up Pape and gave her the kitten as well. "All set?"
She nodded and patted the bed beside her. "You have to lay down."
He smiled and crawled up next to her. "All right. But this better work missy, or you're going to sleep with the triplets," he teased.
She wrinkled her nose at him.
He kissed the top of her head. "Sweet dreams, Kendra."
"Night Daddy," she said, snuggling up against him.
"Night Kendra."
She smiled contentedly. And he sat there with her, gently stroking her hair until she fell into a deep sleep. Sighing he stood and quietly left the room.
Spot was passing as he left. "Problems?"
"Kendra didn't want to go to sleep..." Chris said, leaning against the wall.
Spot smiled. "She'll get used to being back here soon enough."
"Is it always like this?"
"Sometimes. But you'll get used to it too." He said with a smile.
Chris sighed. "Goodnight, Spot."
"Good night Chris."
~*~
When Chris woke up the next morning, he discovered Kendra in the bed beside him.
He sighed and shook his head a bit. The little imp. He should have expected something like this. Smiling, he rolled off the bed only to step on Pape. The kitten squalled and shot under the bed.
Kendra sat straight up. "What's wrong with Pape?"
"I stepped on her on accident... And what are you doing in here young lady?"
She hung her head. "I got scared..."
"Scared of what?"
"The ligh'en'..."
"Aw, it's not going to come in and get you, kiddo." He sat next to her and gave her a hug.
She crawled into his lap. "It's mean..." she said, wrinkling her nose.
He smiled. "How is it mean?
"It doesn't talk nice...Uncle Sippi said so..."
"It doesn't talk nice?"
"Mr. Ligh'en' and Mr. Thunder always talk nasty..."
Chris tried not to laugh. "Well, I don't think they'll come in and talk to you."
"They is still mean," she said, crossing her arms.
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "You scamper back to your room and get dressed," he said, setting on the floor.
"Okay."
She dropped to her knees and peeked under the bed. "Pape..."
Pape mewed but very clearly was not intending to come out from under the bed for quite some time.
"Go on, Short Stuff. Pape will come out when she's ready."
She frowned a bit but finally nodded and scampered from the room.
~*~
"Where's Daddy?" Kendra asked Marty for the hundredth time in less than twenty minutes. The family had already eaten dinner and the kitchen was clean.
"For the billionth time, he's at the cabin!" Marty said, slightly exasperated.
"But he didn't come to dinner..."
"He'll come back when he's ready."
Kendra pouted. "It's almost bedtime..."
"Well, go ask Rae or Spot to take you to the cabin to get him then."
She stalked down the hall to the study and walked in without knocking. "Spot..."
He looked up, a bit startled. "Yes? What is it Kendra?"
"Daddy isn't back yet...and it's almost bedtime..."
He set aside his book. "All right... did you want me to go look for him for you?"
"Yes," she said with a nod.
"All right." He stood up. "Let me just go let Rae know."
"Can I go with you? Please?"
After a moment, he nodded. "But hurry up and get ready. And you'll have to stay close to me."
"Yes, sir," she said, scampering to get her coat.
"Rae?" he called out.
"Yes?" she asked, walking out of the bedroom.
"Kendra is fretting about Chris, so I'm going to go check up on him."
"I ready," Kendra said, running back into the hall.
"Be careful, you two," Rae said.
"We will," Spot said, as he and Kendra left the house. Kendra gripped Spot's hand tightly as they headed down the dirt path towards the cabin. As they neared the cabin Spot thought it odd that he did not hear the sound of the hammer or saw.
"Daaaaddyyyy!" Kendra called out.
"Shh! Listen," Spot said. They heard a soft moan. "Stay here, Kendra," he ordered, running toward the cabin.
"But.... I wanna go!"
"Please, be a good girl and don't move." She pouted. He kissed her forehead and ran into the cabin. Chris lay on the floor he bloodied leg laying inches from the saw, which was covered in blood. "Chris!" Spot exclaimed, crouching next to him.
"Bout time...you got here," Chris whispered.
"What happened?
"Fell..." he said, pointing toward the roof.
Spot ran to get a blanket. "Don't move an inch. I'll get the doctor."
"Daddy..." Kendra whispered from the doorway.
"Come on Kendra, we're going to get your daddy some help."
She nodded with her finger in her mouth.
He picked her up and hurried back to the house to hook up the horse. "Go tell Rae that I need her to come out here," he told Kendra.
Kendra nodded and raced into the house.
She dashed into the bedroom where Rae was feeding Robert. "Rae..."
"What is it?"
"Daddy's hurt...and Spot is going to get the doctor...and he needs you in the barn..."
Rae nodded quickly. She bundled up Robert and headed out the door to the barn. "What is it? What's wrong with Chris?"
"He fell from the second floor...and cut his leg on the saw...I have no clue how long he's been laying there."
Rae bit her lip. "What do you need me to do?"
"I think he'll be alright until I get back...but I'm worried about Kendra...she walked in and saw him..."
Rae frowned a little. "I'll take care of her."
"Thanks," he said, giving her a quick kiss.
"Be careful."
"Will do, sweetheart," he said, climbing up onto the wagon.
She watched him drive off before heading back into the house. "Kendra?"
"Yes ma'am?" she asked quietly.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" she crouched in front of her.
"Daddy's hurt," she said with a sniffle.
She took Kendra in her arms and kissed her forehead. "Spot's taking him to the doctor right now."
Kendra cuddled up against her. "There was blood...all over..."
Rae gently stroked her hair. "Shh, he'll be okay."
"Do I have to go to bed now?"
"No, not yet I suppose. We can wait for Spot and your Daddy to come home."
~*~
Rae was standing at the window when Spot drove back into the yard several hours later. She was surprised when Spot drove straight to the barn instead of stopping at the house. Grabbing her coat, she rushed to the barn. She entered the barn as he was unhitching the horse. "Is everything all right?"
"His leg was pretty torn up...Doc says he's got a long recovery ahead of him..."
"Will he be all right?"
"He'll most likely walk with a limp for the rest of his life...and he may need a cane..."
"But he'll live?"
Spot nodded. "He'll live."
She breathed a sigh of relief."
"Doc wants to keep him in town overnight...he'll decide tomorrow whether or not Chris can come home."
"All right. Kendra has been worried all night... She just fell asleep about half an hour ago."
"I think we should keep her downstairs with us tonight..."
"Sounds like a good idea," Rae agreed.
"Where is she?"
"On the couch."
They headed back into the house. Spot went to move Kendra while Rae made a pallet on the floor.
"Daddy?" Kendra asked sleepily when Spot picked her up.
"No, sorry honey. The doctor wanted him to stay with him."
"Is he gonna be alright?"
"Yes," Spot said. "He might limp, but he'll be fine."
"Did you tell Momma?" she asked sleepily.
"Not yet. It's too late tonight."
She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. He carried her to their room and set her in her bed. "Sweet dreams."
"Goodnight," she whispered as she fell asleep again.
Rae smiled a little. "Well, she fell asleep faster than I thought she would."
He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
"How was Chris?"
"In a lot of pain...but Doc gave him something...because he had to do surgery on that leg..."
Rae winced a little.
"He'll be off his feet for a while..."
She nodded. "I'll imagine so."
He kissed her forehead. "I'll wire Molly in the morning...and I'll wire Trent and tell him that we won't be coming for a while..."
She nodded. "All right... Molly's going to be so worried."
"She'll most likely catch the first train here."
"Knowing Molly..."
He led her over to the bed. "Get some rest, sweetheart."
She climbed into bed. "Now I'm going to be worrying about this..."
He sat next to her. "Try not to..."
"It's hard..."
"I know," he said, tucking the quilts around her shoulders. She looked up at him. He stretched out next to her and took her in his arms. "Go to sleep."
She sighed. "I'll try."
"Just close your eyes...and rest then..."
Finally, she obliged.