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“No peppermints today,” Edgar said sternly. He always rewarded them with peppermints for good behavior. They looked crestfallen.
Rhine said, “See what happens to pranksters? Let’s hope you’ve learned your lesson this time.”
Edgar shook his head. “Be glad you don’t belong to me, because if you did, you’d have to get your haircuts standing up.” He held out the cloth bib that would be fastened around their necks. “Who’s first?”
On the ride back to the orphanage they were uncharacteristically silent. Rhine wondered if they were thinking about the error of their ways. Micah, who had a small scar over his nose that allowed Rhine to tell them apart, asked, “Do you think if we stop playing pranks we could get a new pa?”
For a few moments Rhine assessed him silently. Turning back to his driving, he said, “I don’t know, Micah.”
“We really miss our old one,” Christian said.
Rhine’s heart twisted. Their mother died giving them life, leaving their father to raise them alone. So far the only kin Mary had been able to find was an aunt in Reno who had five children of her own and couldn’t or wouldn’t take in her nephews. The aunt said there was a brother living somewhere near St.Louis, but he’d yet to be located. Rhine was reminded of his own futile search for his sister Sable. He also knew how it felt to want a new father because he’d desperately wanted someone other than Carson Fontaine his entire life. “I’m sure Mary will find someone. You just have to give it time.” He had no idea if his response would ease their worries but he didn’t know what else to say.
Upon arriving at Mary’s, he watched as they climbed the steps to the porch. Before going inside they waved. He waved back, noting how quiet and empty the Rockaway seemed now that they were gone. Am I growing too attached to them? Once the door closed behind them, he thought maybe he was, but knowing there was no way for him to be anything other than a visitor in their lives, he headed to the saloon, and Eddy Carmichael immediately filled his mind. He wondered how she’d spent the afternoon but quickly pushed the question away. In a little over an hour he’d be meeting his fiancée Natalie and her parents at their home for dinner. Afterwards he’d drive them to Piper’s Opera House for an evening of entertainment. Natalie was the woman he was supposed to be thinking about, not the one draped in his dressing gown and lying in his bed.
