Louise Gouge - Cowboy Homecoming

He quickly donned his suit jacket, mainly to look good for his always well-dressed English brother-in-law, and started for the door. On a whim, he grabbed the sketches. Maybe Garrick could give him some advice about adapting the room.

Halfway down the stairs, another thought struck him. Had they come with news of the Colonel? Had his father died?

“Tolley!” Rosamond rushed into his arms and held him fast.

As he enfolded her in a firm embrace, his sketches fluttered to the floor.

Over her shoulder Garrick wore an unreadable expression. But then, he was English, so most of his expressions were unreadable.

Tolley squeezed his sister before moving her back to arm’s length. “I-it’s good to see you, sis. What brings you here?” He stilled his racing heart, preparing for bad news.

“Tolley, we’ve all been so taken up with Father’s illness.” She wiped away tears. “He’s doing as well as can be expected. But this morning as we were getting ready to move back to the hotel, I realized how we’d barely acknowledged your homecoming.” She hugged him again. “I’m so sorry. I’ve missed you terribly. We all have, especially Mother. She sends her love.”

He patted her back and swallowed the unexpected riot of emotions her words caused. So the Colonel still lived, thank the Lord. And Mother hadn’t entirely forgotten Tolley. “Thanks. Did the family get word about Mrs. Foster’s fall?” He needed to move to a safer topic so he wouldn’t break down in front of Garrick. Or Laurie, who stood nearby. He didn’t mind her being here, but a man had his pride when it came to emotional matters, especially in front of other people.

“Yes, Doc told us.” Rosamond moved to Garrick’s side. “We’d like to see her, if she’s well enough.”

Doubt crowded out his growing joy. They’d come to visit Mrs. Foster, not him.

“I’ll go check.” Laurie skipped up the stairs, her light footfalls as dainty as any Boston belle’s.

At least Tolley could count on her friendship, even if he did have to put up with her prickliness.

“I say, old man.” Garrick clapped him on the shoulder. “What’ve you done with yourself these past few days?” He picked up the sketches and gave them a cursory glance before handing them to Tolley. “Building something?”

“Yes. An upstairs bathroom.” As much as he wanted to feign indifference, Tolley couldn’t keep the eagerness from his voice.

“Absolutely brilliant.” Garrick inspected the pages.

Rosamond moved to Tolley’s other side and did the same. “How exciting. Tell us all about it.”

“Laurie and I—” he paused, savoring for a moment the partnership they’d formed to take care of the elderly lady “—we think it’s ridiculous for our Mrs. Foster to carry water upstairs any longer, so we decided to turn the smallest bedroom into a bathroom.”

“Oh, Tolley.” Rosamond’s eyes filled with tears, and she gripped his arm and gazed up at him with sisterly admiration that brought a homesick ache to his heart. “How good of you.”

He gulped. “I have to do something to fill my time before my law practice picks up.”

“Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” Garrick continued to study the drawings. “Where did you plan to get the fixtures?”

“Mrs. Winsted’s Montgomery Ward catalogue has tubs and sinks for sale. Not sure about the commode.”

Rosamond grinned at Garrick, and he nodded.

“Well, old boy, you don’t want to wait for a delivery from Chicago. We have the items you need in our hotel storeroom.”

“Do you mean it?” Tolley laughed in surprise. “Why, we can have the whole thing installed within weeks.”

“That’s very generous.” Smiling, Laurie descended the staircase. “I know Mrs. Foster will be pleased. By the way, she’s waiting for you both to visit.”

“Very good.” Rosamond’s voice held a hint of her husband’s English accent. “Let’s go.”

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