Page 11 of The Fault Between Us
“Would you like to hold her?” Claire said without thinking, wanting to offer what comfort she could.
She held out her arms and Claire set Jenny in them. Iris clutched her close. Jenny let out a squawk of complaint. Suddenly, the door opened wide and Mr. Henshaw loomed over Beth and Iris. He was a big man, bald with heavy dark brows and a fleshy face.
Beth shrank back a step, her eyes downcast.
“Mr. Henshaw,” Claire said quickly. “I’m Claire Wilder, and I—”
“I know who you are,” he interrupted with a growl. “You’re not welcome here.”
Claire took a half step backwards, the contempt she saw in Pete Henshaw’s gaze sparking a flicker of fear. She was only trying to be kind. She straightened her shoulders and leveled her gaze at him. “I came to see Beth,” she stated firmly. Claire held out the card to Beth, half expecting Pete to snatch it out of her hand. Beth took it with a murmur of thanks and slipped it into her dress pocket.
“Iris”—Pete Henshaw’s voice went from disdainful to gentle as he spoke to his wife—“give the baby back.”
Claire reached for Jenny, but Iris’s arms clenched, holding Jenny closer. “Dell is such a good baby,” she crooned.
Claire’s pulse sped up. Jenny stuttered a cry.
“Iris.” Pete Henshaw’s voice was soft as if he were talking to a child. “You aren’t thinking straight. This is Red Wilder’s baby.”
The woman loosened her hold and Claire snatched Jenny back, stepping out of Iris’s reach. Iris’s arms fell limply to her side and her face crumpled.
Pete Henshaw turned a furious gaze on Claire. “Can’t you seeyou’re just making it worse?” He crowded Beth and Iris out of the doorway. “Leave us be, Mrs. Wilder.”
Claire stepped back, more than ready to leave Pete Henshaw’s unjustified animosity, Iris with her vacant gaze and how she’d clutched Jenny so tightly. Now she saw what Tom Eagle had meant. She’d poked an angry bear.
The door slammed shut in her face.
Claire walked back down the steps, as dignified as she could manage with a baby squirming in her arms and beginning to wail. She settled Jenny in the seat and thanked the Lord she’d left the truck running. She’d hate to have to wrestle the carburetor in the Henshaws’ driveway.
As Claire pushed in the clutch and ground the gears into reverse, the front door opened and Beth slipped out. She looked over her shoulder as she hurried toward the truck. “Mrs. Wilder,” she said quickly. “I just wanted to—”
“Claire,” Claire said, as if that were important in this moment. “Please.”
Beth nodded and glanced back at the house. “Claire, I’m sorry about Pete. And, well...” She swallowed. “About what happened with Red and Dell.”
Was she talking about the falling-out Red mentioned?
Beth rushed on. “I told Dell he had to come clean, but he—”
Claire didn’t see Pete Henshaw come out of the house until he was right beside Beth. “Iris needs you, Beth.” His hand went under Beth’s elbow and he jerked her away from the truck.
Claire watched as the man practically dragged Beth back to the house and shut the door behind them. She sat for a moment, looking at the empty-eyed windows and the sagging porch. What was that about?
The truck wheels threw gravel as Claire backed out of the driveway. She drove through town and turned toward Riverside, her thoughts spinning as fast as the truck’s tires. What did Beth—and apparently everyone else in West Yellowstone—know about Red that Claire did not?
chapter 6:CLAIRE
It would serve Red right if Claire showed up at Sunnyslope Ranch, demanding answers.
She pulled up to their little house in Riverside instead, with Jenny asleep next to her. Careful not to wake her, she lifted her from the truck and carried her up the steps to the front door. The house sat on a small rise, close to the river and surrounded by buffalo grass and sagebrush. The outside might once have been yellow, but the paint had faded to the color of curdled milk. Three concrete steps led to the front door and the single picture window had a crack repaired with brown tape.
As Claire eased open the door, a business card fluttered to the floor. Claire settled Jenny in her crib and went back to retrieve it.
The card bore the National Park Service emblem and the wordsLem Garrison, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent. On the back side, a scrawled message.Red, call me.Odd. Red didn’t have any dealings with the superintendent. Claire put the card on the counter for Red to see and lit a burner to heat up the leftover coffee. After her disastrous visit to the Henshaws’, she needed a quiet moment to readBridget’s letter before starting on the rest of the day’s housework. She retrieved the mail from her purse and poured a cup of coffee. The two bills—one from the feed store and one from the electric company with a red stamp ofOverdue—went into the drawer to deal with later.
She slit Bridget’s letter open with a butter knife and pulled out the single sheet of heavy stationery. As her gaze fell on Bridget’s elegant cursive, she dropped the knife on the table with a clatter. She read the few sentences again.
Bridget was coming to Yellowstone.
