Dearly Beloved

Chapter 16

Jamie and Kid laid Adam out on the bed in the room he'd shared with Beth during the brief time they'd lived at the ranch. One of the hands was sent for the marshal, for all the good it would do. Jamie reported dully that he had also found Jim Michaels in his outhouse, shot in the head. Whoever had killed Adam had done for him as well.

When Kid and Lou told the other children they were shocked and distraught. Charlie ran down to the stables, screaming at Dan Lawson to go home when he tried to comfort her, and would not come back to the house. Ethan and Jake were in their room, quiet and withdrawn, as the rest of the household came to terms with what had happened.

"Where's Beth?" Jamie asked his father as they stood alone in the quiet parlor.

"She's in there with him," said Kid, after clearing his throat.

"And Ma?"

"Upstairs."

Jamie looked around the deserted downstairs area. "What do we do now?"

"There's nothin' we can do. I asked Ray to find Doc Browne when he's in town. Guess I should have asked him to tell Father Sean, too." Kid sat down tiredly, his unfocused eyes staring off into space. "In the mornin' we need to send some telegrams, let people know… They'll want to know."

A heavy silence fell, during which Jamie paced the floor.

"Are we just gonna let her sit in there with him?" Jamie asked wretchedly, taking a few steps towards the back bedroom.

"Let her be." Kid shut his eyes. "Why don't you go find your sister?"

Jamie nodded, grateful for something to do. "What about Ma?"

"I'll see to her," Kid murmured, but he made no move to go upstairs. Lou had not shed a single tear but he knew how devastated she was. It was going to take all of his strength to help her get through it, and at that moment Kid had none to give.

He finally entered their room, after ensuring Jake and Ethan were tucked in for an early night, to find her curled up on the bed. He sat down beside her, gently so as not to disturb her, but Lou's eyes were open and dry. Kid propped his arm up behind her, and caressed her cheek with his other hand.

"Lou?"

She didn't respond and Kid wondered if she even heard him. "We should make sure Beth's all right."

Still there was no response.

"You know she's not well. This… this might be too much for her. We have to think of her and the baby."

Lou slowly turned over and faced the other direction, turning her back on him. She pulled her arm over her ear to block him out. Kid sighed wearily. He wasn't surprised that she shut him out, he knew his wife well enough to understand that she wanted to be alone. But neither of them had lost a child before, and he needed her now. After a few more minutes of silence he leaned down slowly and left a kiss on her shoulder, then went back downstairs to check on his daughter-in-law.


There were visitors at the ranch from first light. The marshal arrived with half a dozen men on horseback. He informed Kid that there were reports that Tucker Boyd's gang had been seen in the next town two days earlier, and that a deputy there thought he'd managed to shoot him. They were riding after them to try and hunt them down, though Kid knew there was little chance of finding the gang. Jamie knew the truth too, but it didn't stop him saddling up and leaving with the posse.

Soon after Melanie arrived and immediately went to sit with Lou. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Greig, took charge of the younger boys and saw that they were fed and playing quietly in their room. Kid shook hands with the minister when he came and showed him into the room where Beth was still sitting with Adam. It was only then that he managed to convince her to leave the room so she could rest properly, having sat up with him all night.

"I didn't want him to be alone," she whispered, before half-collapsing in Kid's arms from exhaustion.

Dr. Browne finally arrived, having spent the night at the McClusky's instead of returning to town. Distressed at what had happened to his young protégé, he mumbled his condolences but was too stunned to say much else. He checked on Beth and assured Kid that she just needed to sleep – both she and the baby were all right. Then he examined Adam and, after cleaning and preparing the body, informed Kid that his death would have been quick, as the bullet had pierced his heart. Kid knew that somewhere deep down he should be grateful for that small mercy, but he was having difficulty being grateful for anything.

Friends and neighbors called throughout the morning, as the news spread like wildfire throughout the town and the surrounding area. Though he had not been their doctor long, Adam was born and raised in Sweetwater and loved by many. The whole community was shocked at the senseless murder and plans for additional riders to try and track down his killer were made.

In the end they were not needed. That night Jamie returned to the ranch, bone tired, having had no sleep. But they'd found their man – Tucker Boyd was lying dead by the side of the trail half a day's ride from the Michaels farm. His leg had bled profusely despite the fresh stitches and bandages that had been applied, and he'd just been left there, unburied. There was no sign of the rest of the gang.

Charlie hugged Jamie and then left to make him a plate of food from the multitude of offerings that their neighbors had brought. The news of Boyd's death did little to comfort the Morgan family. Lou barely acknowledged it, although she had finally risen from her bed and held Jake as he cried for his brother. But when he asked her why it had happened, why God had allowed Adam to be taken from them, she had no answers.


The funeral was held the next day. Kid wondered if they should wait as Beth had asked that her brother and grandfather be notified of Adam's passing. But she insisted that it go ahead. Apart from their neighbors and friends in town, only Rachel was able to make it from Denver in time to be there too. She quietly took control of the house in Lou's stead and made arrangements for the wake to be held there afterwards.

The funeral itself was short. Adam was buried in the small family plot by the creek, his final resting place next to Teaspoon. Only the minister spoke, intoning a solemn prayer, after which the family then friends each dropped a handful of dirt into the open grave. Lou received the condolences of her friends with a detached blankness that worried Kid and Rachel. Melanie had not been able to get through to her either.

But it was Beth who everyone was most concerned about. Tears streamed down her face throughout the funeral, her face deathly pale against her black dress. Jamie took her by the arm and led her away as the procession slowly made its way back to the house. Ethan held her other hand, having not left her side all day.

It wasn't until they returned to the house that people began to reminisce about Adam and sharing stories about his childhood. Ben Ashmore recalled a time when he and his wife first arrived in Sweetwater and Adam had thrown up at their feet, having just won a berry eating contest over his big brother. Others remembered the shy, sensitive boy who had befriended just about every stray dog in town, or who stared in wide-eyed wonder through the window at the dentist as he pulled teeth. Each of them had fond memories of Adam which pleased the family, and even Lou managed to smile at the way he was remembered.

As the afternoon wore on most people began to leave. Beth, having grown tired of the concerned looks and sympathetic smiles, slipped quietly from the house and made her way back towards the gravesite. Though she knew they meant well, she just wanted peace and quiet. As she approached the shady spot by the creek she was surprised to see a lone figure standing by the freshly filled plot.

She walked almost silently so he did not hear her until she was upon him. Jamie turned his head abruptly and stared at her through reddened eyes, his cheeks wet. He looked back, not wanting her to see him cry. But now he had started he could not stop. Jamie's shoulders slumped as the sobs shook his broad frame. Beth stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek on his back. After a moment he turned around and held her as he continued to cry. Beth's own tears soaked into his jacket as she hushed him. She knew how close Adam and Jamie had been, and wished he had not been the one to find him like he did.

"I'm sorry," Jamie said eventually, pulling away from her and wiping his hands across his eyes and cheeks.

"Don't be."

"I thought I was okay, but hearin' everyone talk about him…"

"I know." Beth smiled bitterly. "If I hear one more person tell me how lucky I am that at least I'll have his baby…"

She broke off as emotion overwhelmed her and she wept again. "As if that makes up for losing him."

Jamie took her hand in his.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked mournfully, her eyes pleading with him to provide the answer. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I know," Jamie whispered as he drew her to him once more. He held her tightly. "I know."