Walker.
Tamping down his frustration at the interruption, he worked on his attitude. Anna wanted to give Julian grace. On top of that, the big manhadgranted the Lakemans permission to dig on his land and was helping Anna with the garden.
Besides, she’d declared her love for Joshua, so what was he upset about?
She sent Joshua an intimate look and then turned and waved at the wagon. “I thought you were bringing everything tomorrow?”
Perhaps she didn’t appreciate the interruption either. The thought made him grin.
Walker pulled the horses to a stop. “I was going to, but I had a feeling Joshua might be here and figured he’d want to see what I found.” He lifted a thin blanket off the mound at his feet.
The mound moved, and a dirt-covered face blinked at him.
“Caleb!” Joshua surged toward the wagon, his heart pounding. “Caleb? Where have you been? Are you all right?” What was he doing in Walker’s wagon?
The boy whimpered and lowered his head.
Filth covered him from head to toe and he was skin and bones.
Joshua looked up to Walker, fire in his belly. What had he done?
“I found him hopping off the train in Green River. Recognized him right away from all the search posters. So I offered him a ride back home.” Walker shrugged. Looked uncomfortable. “I gave him some water, bread, and ham I brought with me. After he ate it, he fell asleep on the floor.”
Joshua lifted his nephew out of the wagon. Doubts filled his mind about the man in front of him, but he could deal with that later.Thank You, God. His gaze went back to Walker. “Thanks for bringing him back.” He cradled the boy against his chest. Kissed the top of his head.
The big man sat back down on the wagon seat. “I’ll take all these flowers back to my place and water them real good. Then tomorrow we can talk about planting everything.” Walker nodded at Anna and then put his horses back in motion.
“Thank you, Julian!” she called out after him.
Joshua held Caleb close until the wagon was a good distance away. He set his nephew down and crouched in front of him. “Did that man do anything to you?”
“Joshua!”Anna’s reprimand echoed.
He clenched his jaw. “I need to know the truth.”
Caleb shook his head.
“Are you sure?”
The boy nodded.
Joshua wasn’t sure he believed it. “Where have you been?”
Tears pooled in Caleb’s eyes. “I ran away.”
“What?” He jolted back as if he’d been slapped. “Why?”
“I got mad at Mama so I snuck into Gilbert’s wagon when he was headin’ to Green River, then jumped on the train. I made it as far as Cheyenne and realized maybe my idea wasn’t as smart as I thought.”
“Oh, kid. Where have you been staying?”
“Nowhere.” He sniffed and wiped at his nose with his sleeve. “Which ain’t fun, that’s for sure. Especially when there’s no food.” The tears started in earnest now. “I stole food, Uncle Josh. And I had to sleep in people’s barns or up in a tree so critters wouldn’t get to me. It wasawful.” Caleb dove back into his arms.
Anna leaned down. “I’ll go get him something to eat and drink. He probably needs more nourishment before you take him home.”
She walked away and Joshua tugged on Caleb’s shoulders and pulled him back so he could look him in the eyes. “You tell us who you stole from, and we’ll pay them back. The only thing that matters is that you’re all right.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Anna was inside. “Are you certain that man didn’t have anything to do with this?”
“Who? Mr. Walker?” Caleb scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Nuh-uh. But I sure am glad he found me at the train station. At first I thought I was in big trouble ’cause he looked real serious, but bein’ in trouble is better than starving. I don’t care what punishment Mama and Daddy give me. I just wanna go home.”
