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“I’m exhausted,” Melody admitted. “Garrett, you’re never allowed to travel this far from home ever again.”
“Understood,” he replied, smiling.
Fannie noted that Spring hadn’t gotten a plate. “Are you not hungry, Spring?”
“I’ll eat later. If I have to help with one of the mustangs, it’s better if my stomach is empty.”
“Oh.”
Vernon glanced up from his plate. “You’re just pulling our leg about riding those bucking horses, right?”
“As Garrett said earlier, life here is different.”
Hiram asked, “Do other women do what you do?”
“I’m sure there are some in other places, but around here, I’m the only one.”
Spring turned to Garrett. “I see where you get all your question asking.”
He chuckled. “They’re just as impressed by you as I was when we met.”
Hiram said, “My son said in one of his letters that you met in a snowstorm?”
“Yes. Came across him in the middle of a blizzard.”
Garrett said, “The Lee family has kept me alive three times now. Her grandfather Ben found me in the road after I’d been shot, and took me to Dr. Lee’s office. I’m forever in their debt.”
Spring met the sincerity in his gaze and sawhis mother watching them for a moment before she returned to her plate of food.
A few moments later Spring noticed Colt coming their way across the grass. He was wearing the black suit he always favored and she realized it had been quite some time since she’d seen him in anything else. His legendary devotion to caring for people was honorable but she worried that he never seemed to rest. “Here comes my brother now.”
Hiram hastily wiped his mouth with his napkin. He’d removed his brown suitcoat earlier due to the warm day, but now put it back on. Watching him brushing himself off and straightening his vest as if he were about to meet royalty was amusing, but she was pleased by the show of respect.
Colt nodded Garrett’s way when he reached the table. “Odell said your folks were here. I wanted to come say hello.”
Garrett did the introductions.
“Pleased to meet you all,” Colt responded. “And Mr. McCray, it was an honor to be interviewed by Garrett for your newspaper.”
“People back East need to know about you, and I can’t thank you enough for saving his life.”
“You’re welcome. Things like that rarely happen here, but I’m glad to have helped.”
“Is he fit to travel? I’d like to return home as soon as possible. He’s enjoyed himself here, but his true place is back East.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened. Colt’s eyes glanced at Spring’s. She kept her face blank.
“He and I have discussed his options,” Colt replied. “He’s free to share them with you at his convenience.”
Spring noted how gracefully her brother avoided Hiram’s trap. Garrett was a grown man, yet his father acted as though his son had no say in his own future. Did the man always ride roughshod over the lives of his children? Did they object? Her thoughts were interrupted by her brother saying, “Spring. Odell had to leave. He’s asked if you could take Garrett’s visitors back to town when they’re ready. They’re staying at the boardinghouse.”
The request caught her off guard because she’d planned to help Ed with the mustangs all day, but she answered, “Of course.”
“Good. Thanks. You folks enjoy your stay. Nice meeting you.” With that, he departed.
Watching him walk away, Melody asked, “How many doctors are there here?”
“He’s the only one in Paradise,” Spring replied.
