“Yes, but look at her, she’d probably sickly.”
“She’s just trying to feed her kittens,” Hester said standing and dusting her skirt. “Beverly, I think it would be best if she went straight out to the house though. I’m sure she would be much happier out of this crate, don’t you agree?”
“Yes, but how can we take her there now?” The girl sniffed again. “She’ll be all alone out there.”
“She can explore and find the best place for her kittens,” Hester pressed. “She can also hunt which will make her useful.”
Mrs. August crossed her arms turning to glare at Cecil. “Mr. Payton surely a child like Beverly should have a better cat than this.”
“I think Miss Johnson is right,” Cecil replied noting the housekeeper's narrowed eyes. “I’ll take her and the kittens out to the house tonight. I’m sure they will be much happier there.”
Beverly nodded as tears slipped from her eyes. “She won’t run away will she?”
“I’m sure she will love the dusty old place. It must be full of mice to eat.” Cecil assured his niece. “You’ll see her first thing tomorrow.”
The cat meowed softly sniffing Beverly’s fingers, looking for more of the chicken the girl had fed her only moments ago.
“Will you take some food for her in case there are no mice?”
“I will,” Cecil agreed.
Beverly nodded pushing into Hester’s side.
***
Cecil gazed up at the moon as the horse he had hired from the taciturn hostler ambled toward the old house. He never would have imagined riding out into the night with a cat strapped behind his saddle. He grinned knowing that the crate was secured with the cat and her brood safely ensconced.
“Cat,” he mused, “I think my life has been turned upside down. Only a few months ago I was riding out in these same hills chasing cows without a care in the world. Now look at me, I’m responsible for two children and three adults.”
The man shook his head letting his mind roll over the changes in his life. He had always had the wanderlust, never staying long in any place. He had come from a humble home, but his parents had been good and loving folks. His brother, Carver, had been the ambitious one. He had built a business, had a family, all of the things that Cecil had shunned.
Now everything was changed and he found his mind turning back to the young woman who had helped him see the light. Hester Johnson was all the things a woman should be. Not only was she pretty, she was intelligent, kind, and hard working. She had never shirked from a single job she had been given, and with her uncle as guardian, Cecil had gained not only and extra set of hands but someone to call friend. He and Hyke had worked well together, stripping boards from the windows and checking to make sure that the house was sound if musty.
“I hope you like your new home cat,” Cecil spoke again. “I already like it better than the fancy house my brother had back in the city. I’ve never been one for fussing, and all those people doing for me nearly rubbed me raw. Even if the place needs a passel of work, I’d rather be here. I’d rather be among people I can call friend and work with than have all those fancy things.”
The big house came into sight, a looming shadow in the moonlight and Cecil shivered. This house, tall, elegant, and well built, was nothing more than a shell. It had never been lived in, never developed a soul, and the cold exterior seemed almost forbidding in the darkness of night.
Pulling the horse to a stop, Cecil gazed around him at the forlorn home. Like him, it had never been settled and had sat lonely and alone in the far reaches of the west. Perhaps this was a chance for Cecil to find roots. To create a sense of permanence and security as the house became a home. An image of Hester Johnson swam before his eyes, but he pushed it away.
Swinging down from the saddle, Cecil untied the crate, lifting a growling cat from the back of his mount. “I know,” he said with a grin. “You don’t like being carted all over the place on a horse. Well this is the end of the line, for both of us. We’d better make the best of it. You’ll get a house full of mice to clear out and I’ll have a family.”
Pushing through the door into the silent house, Cecil wondered if he really was building a family. Yes, his niece and nephew were his responsibility, but he had no one to call his own. He was still the wanderer, the one who rode alone, and the realization made him cold. Hester’s warm hazel gaze floated before him and he felt his heart turn over. A woman like her as a wife, not a servant would be a start in building a family. Was he worthy of making a try for the young woman’s heart?
Cecil carried the crate into the empty house moving toward the kitchen. He had spent all day cleaning, dusting and moving furniture while they had explored the house.
The place was much bigger than he had expected it to be, and fully furnished right down to dishes in the cupboards. A chill washed over him as he sat the crate by the kitchen stove and gathered some kindling from a box before popping the lid off the cat’s crate.
“This is it,” he said, pulling the matches from his vest pocket and starting a fire in the cook stove. He could only hope that nothing had decided to nest in the chimney as the flame caught and light filled the room.
Settling on the hard floor, Cecil watched as the cat stuck her head out of the crate, whiskers wiggling
