His Heart's Home by Stephanie Sterling Page A

muttered darkly , and shocked him further with what he said next. “Is she going to have a baby? Is that why papa had to die?”
    “No! She’s not having a baby!” Duncan sputtered, happily too off-balance from the second part of the question to feel a pang for the fact he’d never have a child of his own. “And what do you mean? What does that have to do with your dad?”
    Avery shrugged his shoulders - but Duncan sensed there was something more.
    “Did you r mama die when she was having a baby?” he nudged gently.
    “When Ma was…” Avery said, confusing Duncan by the way he spoke as if “Ma” was one person and “Mama” was somebody else. It was explained a moment later, however. “When Ma was having Liam…Mama fell and died.”
    Surely he didn’t mean…
    “Your Mama died and then your Papa married Ciaran and-“
    “No,” Avery said, “It was when Ma was pregnant. Mama and Papa had a fight…and Mama fell down and died.”
    Duncan hadn’t thought anything else about Sean would shock him, not after the things he knew Ciaran had been through . Had he really murdered his own wife?
    “How old were you then, lad?” Duncan asked quietly.
    Avery shrugged. “Five, I guess.” He looked as if he was regretting the conversation, and Duncan decided not to push any more.  The boy had been so young he might not remember. No doubt events were muddled in his mind - besides, it could have been innocent. Lots of people were injured by falls. That was how his own mother had died.
    “Well, I’m sure that made you sad,” Duncan said at last. “I bet your Mama loved you a lot.”
    Avery nodded, looking very young again. “Yes but- but Ma is good to us too .”
    “I know,” Duncan said, pleased by the youngster’s loyalty. “She loves all of you too - and she’s going to need you a lot now that your papa’s gone. That’s why I think we should work as a team.”
    “ What do you want me to do?” Avery asked.
    “Well…looking after your brother’s mostly,” Duncan told him. “Aidan can’t go running off again , and you have to teach Ryan and Liam how to help.”
    “And I’ll have to shoot the gun if the Indians come back,” Avery said, very seriously, remembering his duty from the day before.
    “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
    “Er…not very well,” Avery admitted, embarrassed. “Pa only took me shooting once or twice.”
    “Well, we’ll have to remedy that, won’t we?” Duncan said, thinking that lessons might be a good way to bring the boys around. “You weren’t raised in the woods, were you? There’s a lot you’ve got to know.”
    Duncan spent the rest of breakfast chatting with Ciaran’s oldest son, veering away from personal topics and talking about plans for “lessons” instead. By the time the boy was called away, he had the sense that, while they weren’t exactly friends, Avery had taken the first step down a road that led to trust. There was something to build on, at least.
    Duncan rinsed his dish in the creek, stealing a glance at Ciaran as he did. She was still busily washing the clothes, oblivious to his gaze, how even the sight of her was enough to make him burn.
    When he returned to camp, the men were assembling. A few of them had shovels, and were preparing to start the grim task of burying the dead.
    It was grueling, gruesome work, but finally, it was done. They marked the graves with crosses made of sticks, and then returned to camp for dinner and to prepare to depart.
    The Munro ’s and the Claiber’s were leaving the following day, heading back the way they’d come. The entire wagon train had agreed to follow them back to the river, keeping them safe until they were out of Indian territory and back on their way, but then they were heading back to Carolina, a little wiser and worse for wear.
    Since they weren’t going to settle on the frontier, they didn’t need all of the supplies they’d brought and could move faster without the extra bulk. What they