“PA DIDN’T LEAVE US.” — NATHAN FINALLY TOLD BEATRICE WHY THADDEUS NEVER CAME TO MEET HER
PART 1
“PA DIDN’T LEAVE US.” — NATHAN FINALLY TOLD BEATRICE WHY THADDEUS NEVER CAME TO MEET HER
Beatrice Holloway had barely stepped inside the Sweetwater Valley cabin when she understood something was terribly wrong.
Seven children.
A cold stove.
Almost nothing to eat.
And no Thaddeus.
Five-year-old Peter looked up at the woman who had traveled so far to meet his father.
“Are you going to be our new mama?”
Beatrice couldn’t answer that.
But she could answer an empty stomach.
“What did you have for breakfast?”
“Nothing yet,” Nathan admitted.
So Beatrice put down her carpet bag, rolled up her sleeves, and began making biscuits.
Nathan watched from across the kitchen. He had spent days caring for the younger children, sleeping little and pretending everything was under control.
Finally, he approached her.
“There’s something you need to know about Pa.”
Beatrice stopped kneading.
Nathan hesitated before saying the words he had been afraid to tell the younger children.
“Pa didn’t leave us. They took him.”
Three mornings earlier, two men had ridden to the cabin carrying papers bearing a territorial seal. They claimed Thaddeus owed a debt on the property and ordered him to accompany them to town.
But Nathan noticed something strange.
They never took Thaddeus toward town.
Their tracks went west—toward an abandoned mining road.
Before leaving, Thaddeus managed to whisper one instruction to Nathan:
“When Beatrice comes, look inside her bag.”
Beatrice immediately pulled her carpet bag closer.
“I packed this myself.”
Nathan nodded.
“I know.”
Together they emptied it.
Clothes. A brush. A small Bible.
Nothing unusual.
Then Nathan noticed the stitching along the bottom lining had been opened and sewn shut again.
Beatrice carefully tore the thread.
A folded document slipped onto the table.
Her face changed when she saw the name written across the top.
It wasn’t Thaddeus Holloway.
It was the name of the man who had arranged her journey west.
And underneath it was a description of the Holloway property followed by four chilling words:
“TRANSFER UPON OWNER’S DEATH.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Miss Beatrice… I don’t think Pa was supposed to come home.”
