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She knocked on the door. “The sheriff’s here.”
“I’ll be right there.”
He accompanied her back to the parlor and asked Lambert, “Is someone hurt?”
“No. Just got a wire from Judge Jinks. He’ll be here Monday to begin Rawl’s and Corman’s trial.” They were the outlaws from the attempted stagecoach robbery.
Regan asked, “Will I be allowed to testify?”
“Not sure, but you should be there just in case.”
In many places, Colored people were barred from testifying against those outside the race by laws instituted both before and after the Civil War. She supposed Mr. Denby could be called upon as a witness in her stead, but he’d been driving and hadn’t seen much.
Whit added, “Court will be held at nine in the morning.”
Colt asked, “Does Dun know?”
“Yes. I just left his place. He said he’ll be attending.”
Regan decided that even if she wasn’t allowed to testify, she’d have an opportunity to see his face.
Whit left shortly thereafter. Colt returned to his office and she went back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
After the meal, she and Anna went outside. They picked wildflowers, and later stretched out on an old quilt and searched out shapes in the clouds. They saw horses and bears and cats. Their time together helped distract Regan from the lingering hurt of Levi’s betrayal and gave her and Anna another way to have fun.
“I like having you for my mama, Miss Regan,” Anna said, lying beside her.
“I like having you for my daughter.”
“Are you and Papa mad at each other?”
Caught off guard, Regan took in the girl’s serious eyes. “Your papa and I just need to talk about some things.” Even if she didn’t know what the things might be.
“He isn’t smiling at you like he was when we were fishing.”
“I know. It’ll be fixed. Promise.”
“I don’t want you to go away.”
Regan hugged her close and placed a kiss on her forehead. “It’s too late to get rid of me now, honey. I’m here to stay.” Although she and Anna hadn’t been family very long, doing things together, like the dishes and working on the new bedroom, had given them a connection Regan enjoyed. She couldn’t imagine not having Anna in her life and looked forward to watching her grow up.
“Can I have a little sister? Livy’s mama is giving her one.”
Caught off guard again, Regan chuckled softly. “Let me talk to your papa.”
“She can share my room once it’s pretty.”
With the scandalous behavior she and Colt had been indulging in, a child was a likely possibility and she savored the idea of that. “What if it’s a little brother?”
Anna seemed to think it over. “I guess that would be okay as long as he’s not like Wallace Denby.”
Regan laughed. “I agree.”
Later, Colt joined her to put Anna to bed. “I asked Miss Regan to give me a baby sister. She said she’d speak to you about it. May I have one, please?”
He looked so stunned, it took all Regan had not to burst into laughter. He finally managed to reply, “Uhm. She and I will discuss it.”
“Promise?”
