Chapter 14
The days after Thanksgiving slipped by and soon, Christmas was fast approaching. While the Barkley's hurried around preparing for their favorite holiday of the year, for Millie and Jarrod, time seemed to slip by ever so slowly as they both continued their recovery after their ordeal. After his close brush with death, Jarrod was finally well and truly on the mend and was gaining strength every day. By the time the first week of December had come to an end, the doctor granted him permission to begin returning to light duties though cautioned him strongly to not over-exert himself and not undertake more than he was able.
For Millie, the time recovering hadn't gone to waste. True to his word, Eugene had found his school books and had begun teaching her how to read. Though she was struggling, she was slowly beginning to get the hang of it much to her relief. Shortly after he had started teaching her however, Eugene had had to hand her lessons off to Jarrod, needing to use his time to get caught up on the studying that he hadn't completed since returning home.
Though Millie was disappointed that Eugene couldn't keep teaching her to read, she found Jarrod to be an equally good and patient teacher. Given that he was still under instruction not to over-do it and her hands were still recovering, with nothing to do but rest, the two invalids could be found spending the majority of their days together either in the living room or the library.
The more time Millie spent with Jarrod, the more trusting of him she grew and slowly, little by little, the walls that she had built up around herself began to crumble. She was still timid and shy to some extent but she was slowly beginning to come out of her shell. With Jarrod, given what they had gone through together, a bond between them was being formed. Slowly, she found herself beginning to think of him as the father she'd never had.
For Jarrod however, the closer he became with Millie, the more he realized that something was going to need to be done with her soon. Millie was becoming comfortable, perhaps too comfortable living with them and his mother shared the same concern with him. While they had offered her a job with them, they also knew that she needed a home; a real home.
Apart from the little that Millie had told him before Thanksgiving, they knew nothing else of her history. Though Millie was starting to come out of her shell, she still held everything about her past close to her, guarding it carefully. The inquiries that the doctor and town sheriff had made on their behalf had proved fruitless and with receiving no answers from them, Jarrod had consulted the Pinkertons to make some discrete digging into her past.
What they found though, surprised him.
According to them, after a thorough two week investigation, there was no record of a Millie Anders ever existing. The fact that the Pinkertons couldn't find anything on their house-guest didn't help to make matters easier either. There were only two possible conclusions; either she was lying about who she really was or there just weren't any records of her existing. Not even a birth certificate for her could be found.
With that, Jarrod found himself back at square one.
But yet, a decision about what they would do with her needed to be made about her sooner rather than later.
"How are they looking, doc?"
Doctor Merar smiled as he looked over Millie's hands. The blisters that had formed from the frostbite and the resulting wounds had finally healed, fresh pink skin covering the flesh that had once been exposed. "They are looking good, my dear."
Millie looked up at Nick who had taken her into town for her appointment with the doctor and smiled. He smiled back at her, squeezing her shoulder gently with the hand he had placed on it. She turned back to the doctor. "Can we leave the bandages off them now?"
Turning her hands over, he looked at them carefully and then finally after a long moment, he nodded. "I believe they are sufficiently healed to leave the bandages off-"
"Finally!" She interrupted with glee. "Oh I'm gonna be so glad to not have to wear them anymore.'
The old doctor chuckled at her enthusiasm as he patted her knee and stood. "I'm afraid that just because they're healed up enough to leave the bandages off doesn't mean they are completely healed yet. You are still going to need to exercise caution with them, young lady. Frostbite as serious as yours takes time to completely recover from. You will need to be careful not to subject them to either extreme heat or cold, both will affect the new skin that has formed. It's going to take a couple more months for them to heal up entirely and in the meantime, you are going to need to be very careful."
Millie nodded, only half listening to what the doctor said in her excitement that the bandages could be left off. "I'll be careful."
"We'll make sure she is doc." Nick affirmed, patting the girl on the shoulder. "All good to go now?"
Doctor Merar nodded. "I'll be out later in the week to check in on Jarrod. Goodbye Nick, Miss Anders."
Millie smiled at him as she stood. "Thank you for saving my hands, doctor." She said softly as the doctor walked them to the door. "I can't thank you enough."
"Just be careful with them though, or you'll undo all our good work." He replied with a wink and the girl continued on her way out the door. "Nick, a moment."
"Go wait in the buggy Millie, I'll be out in a minute. Just gotta speak with the doc."
"Okay."
Closing the door behind him again, the doctor turned to Nick. "How's she going?"
Nick let out a long sigh as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, watching as Millie climbed into the wagon through the window. "She seems to be gettin' along alright. She's taken a real shine to Jarrod. He's been teachin' her to read. Audra and her are thick as thieves, my lil sis has enjoyed havin' her around."
"Has your family given any thought to what you are going to do with her?"
"We have. We don't know yet what we're going to do with her." He replied honestly. "I mean, Millie's still holdin' her cards close to her chest; 'part from what she's told Jarrod, we don't know anythin' else 'bout her past."
"Now she's healed up Nick, you know your family is going to make a decision about her sooner rather than later. I have some contacts in a few orphanages who specialize in placing older children. I could get in touch with them if you wish."
"No." Nick replied firmly, shaking his head. "We'll figure out what to be doin' with her in our own time and our own way."
"Of course. The offer still stands if and when you want to accept it. Just think about it, talk it over with your family. They'd be able to find her a real fine home Nick."
He took a moment to clear his throat as he looked at the little girl sitting in the buggy. "I'm sure they would doc." Starting for the door he stopped and turned back to the doctor. "Square up what we owe you 'nd bring the bill when you come by next; we'll pay it up then."
Doctor Merar nodded. "And Nick-" He added as the rancher opened the door. "I didn't mean to offend you by my offer. I just want to help."
"Right."
Nick closed the door to the doctors examination room and headed out through the waiting room, passing by a few other people waiting to see the doctor. Though he knew the doctor meant well, the thought of sending that sweet girl to an orphanage churned his stomach. Millie deserved better than that and he knew, given her age, the chance of her ending up in a loving home that didn't exploit her was slim to none.
And what if she was placed into a worse situation then the one she'd escaped from?
Nick didn't think he could live with that on his conscience.
"What'd the doc say?" Millie questioned, pulling Nick from his thoughts as he joined her at the buggy.
"Oh, just cautionin' me to keep a close eye on you." He replied, tweaking her nose and she giggled softly. "Warnin' me to keep you outta trouble."
"And have I been any trouble since staying with you folks?"
"Well…. There was that one time…" Nick teased playfully, the girl chuckling again. "Not at all, lil one. I reckon you're a darn good kid." He patted her shoulder. "Well, while we're here, might as well give you the grand tour of Stockton, if you're feelin' up to it, that is."
"Sure." Millie nodded in agreement. "Why not? After being cooped up for so long, I don't mind having a chance to get out."
Offering her his hand, Nick helped Millie down from the buggy and the two of them started up the boardwalk. Passing by stores, Nick explained what each was and what they sold. Walking past the saloons, Millie didn't need him to explain what they were and a shiver ran down her spine as they went by. Though what she had said to Nick about liking the chance to be out was true, the other half of her screamed for her to take care. What if by some slim cruel twist of fate Cade just happened to have come to the city?
They continued on, Nick taking his role of tour guide seriously and Millie doing her best to quell the anxiety within her and pay attention to what he was saying. Stockton was a huge town, from where she stood on the main street it stretched out as far as she could see and Millie had never seen so many shops or people at the same time. To her, this town felt like a city. It was massive and being here, amongst so many people in a town she didn't know, Millie was beginning to feel very small and frightened.
"Ah, here we are." Nick finally announced when they came to the store that was going to be their destination. "Two very good friends of ours run this store. Bert and Elanie Jason." He motioned up to the sign above their head. "Jarrod tells me you're doin' well with your readin'. What's the rest of the sign say?"
Millie hesitated for a moment, trying to make sense of the letters. The first one was easy, the rest, a little harder than anything she'd attempted yet. "The St-sto-st."
"Spell it out, might make it easier."
She nodded. She knew the individual letters of the alphabet by heart now, it was just putting them together to make words that still wasn't proving easy. "S-t-o-c-k-t-o-n. Stockton."
"Good. Very good. Now the next."
"M-e-r-c-a-n-t-i-l-e. Mer-can-tile. Mercantile." She looked up at Nick and he nodded. "Last one. E-m-p-o-r-i-u-m. Em-pori-um. Emporium. The sign says "The Stockton Mercantile Emporium."
With a smile Nick patted her on the shoulder. "That's exactly what it says. Well done lil one."
Millie grinned at his praise. "I'm getting better at reading."
"That you are. That you are. Well, come on. There's a few things I need to do here." Together they headed up the stairs and Nick opened the door, allowing Millie to walk in first.
Millie looked around in awe, not even noticing when Nick took hold of her hand and led her through the crowd of customers browsing the store. Pine boughs hung from the ceilings, mixed with green and red paper chains and strings of popcorn. Wreaths and big red ribbon bows decorated the counter, and beside a nativity scene that was there were a collection of different sized candles, all burning brightly. That was before she even took notice of the other things they were selling for the Christmas season, toys and goods of all kinds. Her eyes took it all in, the girl looking around in childish awe. She'd never seen such a nicely decorated store.
"Nick, lovely to see you." Elaine greeted as she wrapped up an item for another customer. "Just give me one moment and I'll be right with you."
"That's quite alright Elaine, you take your time." Nick replied as he stopped at the counter. "We're in no rush."
Nodding, Elaine picked up the wrapped parcel and disappeared into the crowd.
Millie looked up at Nick. "Is it always like this around Christmas time? Is it usually so busy?"
"Stockton's a growin' town, it's always busy, just right now it's busier than usual. Everyone's come into town to get their Christmas shoppin' done." He looked around for Elaine but didn't spot her amongst the other customers. "Well, Elaine might take some time, want to take a look around?"
Still holding onto Nick's hand, Millie led him over to a less crowded section of the store and began looking at the books on the shelf. One of the book titles caught her eye and she looked up at Nick. "Am I allowed to take a book off the shelf to look at it?"
He nodded. "You're allowed to pick things up to look at them in stores, you just have to be careful with them. Why'd you ask?"
"I thought you always had to get the store clerk to get something for you if you were interested in something. I've never been allowed to touch things in stores before." She said softly as she took the book down. On the hardcover was the engraving of a horse head and she ran her fingers over the image for a moment before opening the book. There were illustrations inside depicting a horse in different scenarios and as Millie flicked through it, she wished she could read better so she could read it. "My folks hardly took me to stores anyway, we didn't have much money to buy anything apart from supplies. There was no money for anything else." She paused for a moment. She really wanted the book but she had no money and she knew she couldn't ask Nick for it. After a moment she closed the book up and placed it back onto the shelf, turning to Nick. "Have you got your Christmas shopping done yet?"
"Almost." It hadn't escaped him how the girl had been looking at the book and he made a mental note to add it to the list. "What are you hopin' Santa will bring you this year?"
"Nick, Santa isn't real. All I'm hoping for is still having a roof over my head and food in my stomach." She replied as they started browsing through the store again. "I can't ask for more."
"Well, if you could ask, what would you be askin for? What would you want for Christmas?"
What she really wanted, Millie didn't dare voice. Again she reminded herself that this was only going to be temporary. In a few months, once she'd made enough money, she'd be moving on. No. Heath might have found his place with the Barkley's but she knew she wouldn't nearly be so lucky. She didn't belong with the Barkley's, as much as she might wished to. "Well, I guess I'd like some nice brushes for Tomahawk." She said after thinking over Nick's question for a moment. "I try to take care of him the best I can but I've got no brushes for him."
Nick was taken by surprise by her answer, having expected for her to ask for something for herself rather than her horse. "Brushes for Tomahawk hey? Didn't see that one comin'."
Millie giggled as she stopped to look at a dress hanging on a rack beside them. "I was taught you always look after your horse better than you do yourself. After all, they're the one carrying you, so you'd better give them the care they deserve. Otherwise, you might end up walking. You could be drop dead, bone weary tired, but the horse comes first."
"Well, the logic's there. You've got it right lookin' after your horse well. " Unbeknownst to her, Millie had just earned a little more respect with him. "Anything else?"
Biting her lip as she thought, Millie continued looking on through the store. There was so much that she did need (and the last thing she wanted was to have to go back to stealing) but if she could ask for anything, what did she really want? "I guess a really warm coat would be nice." She finally decided after thinking it over. "This one is alright but it's not very warm. Maybe my own clothes too, I mean, Audra's been nice to lend me her clothes but I really should have my own. As soon as I can start work and have made some money, that's the first thing I'll be buying. I can't be relying on the Barkley charity anymore then I already have."
Nick was about to reply when Elaine returned. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting." She apologized as she joined them. "I've been fairly run off my feet with Bert in San Francisco this week, organizing more suppliers. Now, what can I help you with?"
"I was hopin' those orders I placed might have come in by now. Do you know if they have?"
"Not off the top of my head but let's go take a look." Going back through the crowd of customers with Nick and the girl with him behind her, Elaine came to the counter and pulled out the order book from beneath, laying it open on top. Wetting a finger she flicked through the pages until she came to the right one. "Yes, it looks like it's all come in." She informed him after a moment. "It'll be out back. Would you like to pick it up now?"
"Might as well while we're here, if it's not too much trouble."
"No, no, it's no trouble at all. I'll have Josh get it ready for you to pick up out back. Josh. Josh?"
A young boy, no older than thirteen, appeared from the back room. "Yes, Mrs. Jason?"
"Josh, please see that Mister Barkely's order is ready to pick up. Here's a list-" She hastily finished writing down a list of items. "and would you like that all wrapped up Nick?"
He nodded. "Please. If I know my sister and little brother, between the two of them they're both gonna be trying to figure out what these parcels are when they see them."
"Have them wrapped up too please Josh."
"Of course ma'am."
Josh scurried away and after writing down that Nick's order had been collected, she closed the book again and turned her attention back to the rancher. "Is there anything else today Nick?"
"Actually, there is. I'd like to look at some gloves please. Ladies gloves."
"Alright, this way." Again Elaine led them through the store, stopping at the ladies section. "Here we are, these are the gloves we have at the moment." She motioned to two shelves in the wall. "If they aren't what you are after then can I suggest Miller's General Store? I heard they've just got some new stock delivered yesterday, they might have some gloves also."
Nick nodded as he chose a pair and began looking them over. "Thank you Elaine. We'll have a look."
"Of course. If you'll excuse me-" She noticed a customer at the counter waiting to be served. "coming Mrs. Edmon."
"Well,' He looked down at Millie after looking over the gloves for a moment. They were well made, a pair of light, brown leather gloves made out of the softest kid-skins. "what do you think Millie? Do you like these?"
"They are nice."
"Try them on." Giving them to her, he waited until she'd put them on. "How do they feel?"
Millie thought for a moment, adjusting the fit a little here and there. "They seem to fit me alright. But Nick, what would I be needing gloves for?"
"One thing no one tells you about frostbite is that once you've had it, you always seem to feel the cold more." He adjusted his own gloves he was wearing. "Back when I was fightin' in the war, my fingers got frostbitten. That's why you see me wearin' gloves all the time. It helps with the cold. Even though my hands have long healed up, when they get cold, they hurt. Keepin' gloves on stops that. Your hands are still healin' up, they're gonna need the extra protection for a while."
Millie nodded. "That makes sense but I've got no money to pay for them-"
"I'll be payin' for them. And don't go arguin' with me." He interrupted her. "If you want to work for us, we need you workin' at your best. You can't do that if your hands get hurt again."
Swallowing back her pride, she looked down at her hands. "Yes sir."
"We'll grab those then and you choose a few more pairs. You're gonna need work gloves and ones for around the house. I need to go talk to Elaine, once you've chosen the gloves you like, come up to the counter with them and we'll buy them."
Millie nodded and Nick left her to look at the selection, stopping a moment to have a look at the coats available for sale. After looking at them he decided it would be best to let his mother and sister decide Millie's wardrobe and continued on to the counter.
"Something else Nick?" Elaine questioned, having just finished with another customer as he returned to the counter.
He nodded. "While Millie is distracted for a moment, I was hoping I could have a look at the catalog. If I place another order now, will it arrive by Christmas?"
"You're leaving it a little late but it should arrive in time. Which catalog would you be looking to order from?"
"The horse gear one."
Elaine nodded and bent down behind the counter, finding the correct catalog after a moment. "What's the story with the girl?" She questioned as she handed him the catalog, pencil and paper for the order. "Where'd she come from?"
"She's been staying with us the past few weeks. Jarrod got himself stuck in that blizzard we had last month in one of our line cabins with her. When he got sick, she brought him home and we've been caring for her since."
"She seems like a nice little thing. Timid though."
"She is until she gets to know you. We're makin' progress with her but." He flipped through the catalog until he found the section he was looking for and began writing down his order.
"What happened to her folks?"
"Dead, it seems."
"Poor dear." Elaine replied sadly, watching Millie as the girl seemed to be deciding which pair of gloves she liked better. "What will you folks do with her?"
"Haven't decided yet. She's good with horses so for now, she's got a job on the ranch till we figure out what to do." Finished with his order he closed the catalog and handed it back to her along with his order sheet. "One last thing, Millie was lookin' over one of your books earlier, Black Beauty? Would you mind puttin' a copy aside for me once we leave? I'd like it to be a surprise for her."
Elaine smiled as the girl came to join them. "Sure. You found something you like, sweetheart?"
Millie nodded as she placed the pairs of gloves she liked on the counter. "Are these okay Nick? I tried not to get too many. I didn't pick too many, did I?"
"No, no. What you've picked is perfect."
She smiled a little at him then turned to Elaine. "Can you wrap them up for me please? Except these ones." She pointed to the ones Nick had chosen earlier. "I'd like to wear these out."
"Of course." She quickly added up what the bill would be. "That'll be seven dollars and eighteen cents."
Nick withdrew his wallet from his pocket. "Guess we'd better be puttin' your skills to use sooner rather than later lil one, you're costin' me a small fortune." He pulled out a couple of bills and some coins. "Here you are Elaine."
"Thank you." She deposited the money into the register and handed the gloves Millie had requested kept out back to her. "It'll just take a moment to have the rest wrapped up."
Millie nodded as she slipped the gloves back on her hands. "I-I'm sorry Nick, for it costing so much for my gloves."
"Oh it's alright Millie, I was only teasin' ya." He patted her shoulder. "It's fine, believe me."
"But I will pay you back for them, I promise. Just as soon as I start working, I will. I won't be beholden to anyone."
"Of course. I wouldn't expect any less."
"Alright, all done." Elaine stated as she finished wrapping up the gloves. "It was lovely to meet you Millie."
"You too ma'am." Millie replied as she took the parcel. "Thank you."
"Nick, I'll have that order sent in later this morning."
"Appreciate that."
"Enjoy your day."
Together the two of them made their way out of the store, Nick with his arm around Milie's shoulders. "Well, what did you think? Are you liking Stockton so far?"
"Yeah! I've never seen so many pretty things. And the Christmas decorations? I've never seen anything so pretty."
He chuckled. "If you think that's somethin', just you wait till we get the house all done up for Christmas. We'll start decorating later this week and with your hands healed up, you can help if you want to."
"Great."
"Not getting too tired or cold yet?"
"Nope."
"I take it then we'll continue our little tour of town then?"
Millie grinned as she nodded, holding tight to her wrapped up parcel. "Let's go."
"Well, well, well." Jarrod exclaimed, folding his newspaper as Nick and Millie returned home. "You're back. I was beginning to think that maybe you two had gotten lost."
"Hardly." Nick replied, helping the girl take off her winter garments. "I could hardly drag this one away from the Christmas display at Mrs. Ashton's."
"You should have seen it, Jarrod." She continued, leaving Nick to hang up her coat, hat and muffler as she joined him in the living room. "There were all tiny little displays, she'd made an entire village. And she had a toy train that actually ran on miniature tracks!"
"Did she now? Sounds like it was really something to see."
"It was."
"It was good enough to hold her attention for half an hour." Nick added. "Only managed to drag her away from it when I threatened to leave her behind."
Millie pulled a pouting face at him. "Big meanie."
Jarrod laughed and shook his head. "Sounds like you two had fun."
"We did."
"How are you feelin' Jarrod? Doc said he'll come by in a couple days to check on you."
"I'm feeling fine Nick. Better than I have all week actually."
"Good. Good. Well, I'm off to go check on how Heath's coming along fixin' that fence. See you at supper."
As Nick left, Jarrod patted the cushion on the sofa next to him. "Why don't you tell me all about your trip into town?"
Millie nodded and sat down beside him. "Well, we went to see Doctor Merar first and look-" Carefully she removed the gloves she was wearing and showed him her hands. "they're all healed up now. I can stop having the bandages on them now."
"Oh that's great news Millie."
"The doc says I've still got to be careful with them though so I've got to take it easy with them for a while but I'm just happy to have the bandages finally off." She said, putting her gloves on again. "Nick took me shopping and bought me some gloves then we went for a walk around Stockton. It's so big! I've never seen a town as big as it before. There were so many people and things to look at and-"
As Millie relayed to Jarrod what she had seen in town, Victoria stood in the doorway watching them. Millie seemed happy, really happy and it was the first time that she could remember ever seeing the girl so cheerful and talkative. She was fairly bubbling over with excitement at what she had seen in town and it was heartening to see her starting to come out of her shell. The young woman had been closed off and timid for so long and they were finally starting to get past that.
Leaving them to their conversation, Victoria returned to her own work. With Millie healed up now, and the doctor having said that she was well, now they really had to decide what they were going to do with her. Though they had been trying to find out about her past, Millie still refused to share anymore than she already had and they were going to be forced to make a decision soon. She couldn't stay, that much was clear. While it was nice to have her around and she wasn't a trouble at all, they had no claim over her. If she had family out there somewhere, that was where she should be. If she didn't, well, they still had to decide on something.
All Victoria knew was that the closer they all got to the young woman, it would make it all the harder when she had to leave.
