As the week went by, Billy ended up spending quite a bit of the day with Maggie. The nurse assured Gabriel that the boy wasn't a problem. Billy was quite helpful when he needed to be, stayed off to the side reading when she had a patient, and it allowed her to work on limbering up the boy's wrist in between patients. She had one call that took her out of the infirmary and she said Billy had followed her instructions just fine. The one observation that she had made was that Billy still tended to retreat from men more than other people. Given what he knew of Billy's past, that bit of information didn't really surprise him.
Gabriel felt better being out on rounds knowing that Maggie was looking after Billy. It was good for the boy not to spend so much time alone in the cell. Knowing that he would eventually have to try trusting Billy not to run away during the night if he wasn't in the cell, Gabriel asked around for an extra mattress or cot that he could borrow. It was actually Tess who provided an extra twin mattress, sending it into town with Hank and another ranch hand on Wednesday evening.
"Where do you want this, Gabe?" Hank asked as he and his partner came into the office with the mattress.
Billy, who had been sitting in a chair near the stove reading, retreated for the cot in the cell at the sight of the two men. Not drawing attention to the action, Gabriel got to his feet and addressed Hank.
"If you don't mind taking it back to my room, I would appreciate it. Just put it against one of the walls where I won't trip over it," Gabriel requested.
"No problem," Hank replied.
Then two ranch hands walked through the office to the door that led to the back living quarters. Having been expecting the delivery, Gabriel had been expecting the delivery and had left the door open.
"What's that for?" Billy asked from his spot on the cot. He was sitting on the edge of it, his hands tucked under his thighs.
"A bed for you," Gabriel replied. "It doesn't seem right to keep having you sleep in a jail cell. I need your promise that you won't try running off though, Billy."
"I won't," Billy replied. "You have been nicer to me than anybody has since my parents passed," he said, looking over at Gabriel. The boy's gaze focused on the white bandage that still encircled Gabriel's hand.
Gabriel followed his gaze and then looked up at Billy. "The wound is healing well," he assured Billy. "The main reason the bandage is still there is to keep from knocking off the scab."
Billy nodded.
It wasn't much longer before the two men were returning from placing the mattress in the bedroom.
"Tess sent some extra bedding with us. She wasn't sure what extra you had on hand," Hank told Gabriel.
"Not a whole lot," Gabriel admitted.
"I'll bring it in," Hank told him.
Gabriel moved from his spot by the desk and followed the two men to the door. The ranch hands headed out to the wagon, Hank retrieved the bedding from the wagon and returned to the door with it.
"Thank Tess for me," Gabriel told Hank as he took the bedding for him.
"I will," Hank assured him.
Shutting the door, Gabriel turned and addressed Billy.
"Gather your things," Gabriel instructed. "Let's get you settled in the back."
Hesitantly, Billy went about gathering his few belongings. The cell had become comfortable and safe for Billy, and it was clear the lad was hesitant to leave it. Gabriel didn't rush him, instead waiting patiently at the door to the cell. Eventually, Billy moved toward Gabriel, his belongings gathered in his arms.
Gabriel nodded toward the door leading back to the living quarters. Billy went that way, moving slowly as he took in this new environment for him. Anticipating moving Billy back this afternoon, Gabriel had left the curtains open, letting light from the outside fill the rooms and making it hopefully a bit more inviting.
Billy moved slowly through the room, looking around as he did so. Gabriel pointed to the door leading back to the bedroom. He followed Billy to the room.
"We'll need to figure out something for your things but for now, place them on my bed," Gabriel instructed. "Then you can use this bedding to make up the mattress," he instructed, noting as he did so that Hank had placed the mattress along the wall that ran perpendicular to where his own bed was placed. By doing this, the mattress was near the stove that provided heat to the room which was located in the corner of the room at the foot of Gabriel's bed.
"Yes, sir," Billy replied, stepping forward and doing as he was told. Placing his belongings on Gabriel's bed, he turned and took the bedding from Gabriel.
"Eleanor dropped some of her biscuits off this afternoon. I'm going to make some stew to go with it so I'll be in the next room when you're done here."
"Yes, sir," Billy replied, moving toward the mattress with the borrowed bedding.
Wanting to give Billy some time alone to adjust to the changes, Gabriel slipped from the room. Removing his uniform jacket, Gabriel placed it over the back of the rocking chair before moving to the kitchen stove to get a fire started in it. He put a pot of water on to boil and then, using the table for the prep area, Gabriel went about getting the stew started.
Gabriel was about to go check on Billy, though the only other way out of the room would have been for him to climb through a window, when the boy finally made a tentative appearance.
"Thank-you for making a place in your home for me, sir," Billy said.
"Well, a jail cell wasn't a proper bedroom for a child," Gabriel replied. "Sorry there won't be a whole lot of privacy."
"There wasn't at the orphanages I was at either," Billy stated. "The mattress seems more comfortable than what I had at either place I stayed."
"I guess Tess Stewart likes to make sure her hands can get a good night sleep. She runs a ranch outside of town. I borrowed the mattress from her."
"Seems like people like to help each other around here," Billy commented.
"People around here try," Gabriel conceded. "None of us are perfect though."
"Can I help with dinner, sir?" the boy asked.
Gabriel looked around the gathered ingredients and then picked up the peeler. "How about you peel the carrots," he told the boy.
Billy came over and sat down in one of the chairs. Gabriel showed him how to use the peeler and then went back to peeling potatoes with a knife.
"We need to figure out what you are going to call me. Sir is too formal and I don't want to hear Constable Kinslow, day and night," Gabriel commented.
"I noticed Christian and Vincent call you Mountie Gabe," Billy ventured. "Could I?"
Gabriel nodded. "That would be fine," he told the boy.
With that settled, the two of them went back to their dinner preparations in silence.
It was just after noon the following day when Bill rode back into Brookfield. His three and a half days in Clearwater had been productive. As he was waiting for papers from the Children's Society officially releasing Ryan William Anders Jr. from the guardianship of Home of Mercy and granting him the authority to decide future guardianship of the kid, Bill had decided to return to Brookfield. The company was better as were the beds at the hotel, though there was no way he planned on letting Ronnie Stewart know that. The guy had a big enough head as it was.
Bill was brushing out his horse when Gabriel led Apollo in from rounds. He noticed a weariness in the Mountie's step as he led Apollo to his stall.
"Welcome back, Bill," Gabriel said.
"Thank-you," Bill replied.
"How did things go in Clearwater?" Gabriel asked, both men continuing to go about the task of caring for their horses.
"As it looks like you haven't eaten yet, how about I tell you my news over lunch," Bill suggested.
"Works for me," Gabriel agreed.
"Looks like you have had a rough day," Bill ventured.
"More like a sleepless night," Gabriel told him. "I decided to move Billy out of the jail cell. He hasn't given me any trouble since that first day, and he's been spending his days with Maggie at the infirmary since you've been gone."
"Glad to here he's comfortable with someone other than you," Bill remarked.
Gabriel nodded, as he removed Apollo's saddle. "I think it might have something to do with Maggie doing the therapy on his wrist. He seems to be using it more, and Maggie says it isn't as stiff."
Bill nodded. "That certainly could be it. Helping to ease someone's pain is a good way to gain their trust."
"So, I borrowed a mattress and moved Billy back into my living quarters yesterday afternoon. I ended up being so worried about him trying to run away during the night that I had a hard time sleeping."
"As you're here and not still out on Apollo, I assume the kid didn't try to run."
"From what I saw, Billy slept peacefully last night."
"Well, that is another hurdle crossed then," Bill replied, finishing with his horse. Stepping out of the stall, he closed it and headed over to Apollo's stall. "Just trust your instincts with him, Gabriel and you'll be fine."
"And if he runs the minute I let my guard down?" Gabriel asked, feeling that Bill was the only person he could really express that doubt too.
"Then I will be out there looking for the boy with you," Bill replied easily. "However, I saw Sunday the comfort that boy is drawing from you right now, even if he doesn't realize it. The reason he hasn't attempted to run is because of his connection with you. As long as you don't do anything to break Billy's trust, he isn't going anywhere."
"I think that might be a heavier burden than the fear of the kid running."
Bill reached out to place a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "You are doing fine. Just be mindful of the boy's fears and don't force him into an uncomfortable position."
Gabriel nodded, drawing comfort from Bill's praise as well as from the man's advice.
Bill waited while Gabriel finished with Apollo, and then the two men headed to the Royal Brookfield. Given the time of day, the diningroom was full. In the interest of privacy, Bill and Gabriel gave their order to Grace and asked for it to be brought up to Bill's room. The judge then led Gabriel upstairs to his room.
Bill and Gabriel sat in the chairs by the table, and Bill started telling Gabriel about what he had discovered while in Clearwater.
"The Mounties in Saskatoon were able to locate the great-grandmother, Virginia Merriweather," Bill began. "The lady is home bound. A neighbor took her in and cares for her. It's because of her that Billy's disappearance from the Home of Mercy was finally brought to authorities attention."
"You mean the home didn't report that he ran away?" Gabriel asked.
Bill shook his head. "It's not the first time, nor I doubt it will be the last. There are multiple reasons an orphanage might not report a run away, the most obvious being of course that they are afraid of getting investigated themselves. In some cases, the kids are habitual runners and people are just tired of going after them. In some cases it is as innocent as the people running the orphanages are just overwhelmed and the incident slips through the cracks."
Gabriel shook his head. Children, especially ones who had already suffered so much loss, deserved better.
"Any way, Billy's great-grandmother still wrote to Billy despite not being able to take him in. When two of her letters to Billy went unanswered, she asked her preacher to get someone to check on Billy. The preacher went himself and was told by the director of the orphanage that Billy had run away three months prior. The preacher reported Billy missing to the regional Mountie for the area. Given the delay, they did not have much to go on. The Mountie who took the report talked to workers and children at the orphanage in the hopes that Billy had said something to someone or someone had seen Billy when he ran."
"I'm guessing the interviews didn't reveal any information," Gabriel commented thinking that Billy had probably been quiet about his plans and careful when he left. After all, he had spent the night here in Brookfield in Ben Mendelson's storage shed without anyone seeing him.
"No. Either no one knew anything or they were too scared to talk. Missing person posters were printed and posted in the surrounding area but they did not get any response to them. Those posters never made it this far. The assumption was that he would head back toward the Saskatoon area as that was where he grew up."
"A valid assumption I guess with nothing to go on," Gabriel stated, knowing that he had no right to get upset with his fellow Mounties. The three-month delay would have made tracking down one run away kid a nearly impossible task and Brookfield was quite a distance from Rosetown. "I guess Brookfield is quite a distance for a ten-year-old boy to travel on his own," he consented.
"It is," Bill agreed. "I did speak with Constable Sloane who started the investigation. He was surprised by how far Billy managed to get and I think a little surprised and relived to find out the kid was in relatively good health. I think after a year of no news the man was expecting bad news. I know the great-grandmother was," Bill told him. "She was crying when she took my call. They had told her that her great-grandson had been found, but she was under the assumption that he hadn't been found alive."
Gabriel sighed. "The poor woman."
"It took me a good ten minutes to convince her that her grandson was alive and safe. I told her she was staying with you but I didn't mention he was staying in a jail cell. I think the woman had enough of a shock as it was."
"Which isn't the case any longer any way," Gabriel pointed out.
"True," Bill consented. There was a knock on the door which prompted Bill to get to his feet. "She wanted to talk to Billy on the phone, but I told her it wasn't feasible right now," he continued as he walked. "I gave her the contact information and she said she was going to send Billy a letter."
Gabriel smiled. "That will be something positive for him at least," the Mountie commented as Bill opened the room door, to reveal Grace standing there with a tray laden with food.
"Let me take that," Bill said, reaching out to take the laden down tray she was holding.
"Thank-you," Grace said, relinquishing the tray. "Is there anything else I can get the two of you?" she asked politely.
"No, this will do," Bill told her. "I will make sure I find you for the check afterwards."
Grace smiled. "That's fine. I hardly think a judge and the town's Mountie are going to try to skip out on the check. That would not look very good."
"No, it wouldn't," Gabriel chimed in, having gotten to his feet as well. "And don't worry, about tomorrow. I'm still taking Lillian to Pearl's tomorrow afternoon for a cup of coffee. We just might have a third person with us," he added, still not sure how things would work out with Billy. If the boy wasn't comfortable being a part of tomorrow's festivities, he was hoping Maggie would watch him.
"Well, Billy is welcome to come to the party if you can convince him," Grace told Gabriel.
"I appreciate that," Gabriel told her.
Grace looked toward Bill. "As you are back in town, I hope you will be at Lillian's party tomorrow as well."
"I wouldn't miss it," Bill assured her.
Grace smiled. "I should get back downstairs. Enjoy your lunch."
With that Grace disappeared down the hall. Turning, Bill found Gabriel behind him. Passing off the tray to the other man, Bill closed the door to the room. Walking back to the table, the two men sat down. Their conversation continued as they ate their meal.
They had finished eating, when Bill noticed Gabriel trying to hide a yawn.
"You really didn't get much sleep last night, did you?"
Gabriel shook his head. "No," he replied, knowing it was pointless to try dismissing the subject with Bill.
"Tell you what," Bill said, gathering the empty dishes onto the tray. "Why don't I hang out at the Mountie office while you get a few hours of sleep while Billy is with Maggie? I can do my paper work there, just as well as here and if something urgent comes up I will let you know."
Gabriel hesitated for a moment. As another yawn came over him though, he relented. Bill's suggestion was probably a good one.
"I think I will take you up on that offer, Bill," Gabriel told him, getting to his feet and picking up the tray of dishes.
Together the two men headed back downstairs to take care of the check and head across the road to the Mounted Police Office.