Free Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot Page A

not pleased with being relegated to a box in the hallway when the two-legged members of the household were elsewhere.
    Ethan turned to his hostess. “It doesn’t sound as if your dog is too happy.”
    “Didn’t you hear?” Charlotte’s smile was brighter than Ethan had ever seen it, confirming the wisdom of Abigail’s seemingly impulsive action. “Whenever Puddles misbehaves, he’s Abigail’s dog.”
    As Abigail chuckled, Ethan gave her a smile. It wasn’t his imagination. The chilly atmosphere that had filled this room yesterday was gone, replaced by what appeared to be genuine happiness. “Then I guess he’s yours most of the time. Including right now.”
    Abigail shrugged. “He just wants someone to play with him. Think about it. We took him away from his littermates and the rest of the pack. Now he wants to join this pack.”
    Though Jeffrey appeared appalled by the description of his family as a pack, Ethan couldn’t disagree with Abigail’s assessment, especially since it dovetailed with the idea that had obsessed him since this morning.
    “Do you agree, Jeffrey?” he asked. “Do you think everyone needs to play?” Though Jeffrey had no way of knowing it, his answer was critical to Ethan’s plans.
    Jeffrey took a sip of cool tea before he replied. “I hadn’t really thought about it, but yes, I do believe everyone needs some play.” His lips tightened as the puppy’s barks turned to whimpers. “Not necessarily with a dog, though. So, Ethan, what did you have in mind? And don’t pretend you haven’t concocted some scheme. I can see it in your eyes.”
    Ethan had no intention of denying it. “I was thinking of a bat and ball, not a dog.” Abigail’s comments about boredom had haunted him, and when she’d spoken of the need for play, the idea had sprung into his mind. “I know some of the other forts have baseball teams,” he continued. “From what I’ve heard, they’re popular, probably because they give the men something to do with their free time.”
    Abigail’s eyes sparkled almost as much as they had when she’d rescued Puddles. “That might lessen your desertion rate.”
    Exactly. “I have to admit that was part of my motive. I wouldn’t want anyone at Fort Laramie to be bored.” Ethan stressed the final word and was pleased when Abigail laughed. She might have found the stagecoach ride and the countryside boring, but she showed no sign of ennui now.
    “Then Charlotte and I will have to watch the games, won’t we?” Abigail gave her sister a fond smile as she added, “Can’t you picture Puddles’s excitement?”
    When Charlotte nodded, Ethan’s spirits rose another notch. There was only one more person to convince. “What about you, Jeffrey? Would you be willing to be the captain of a team?” Though Ethan was confident his company would like the idea, they needed an opponent.
    Jeffrey’s grin was almost as wide as it had been this morning when he had announced his son’s impending arrival. “And have the opportunity to trounce you? You bet!”

     
    “Oh, my dear, you must tell us all about your ordeal.” Mrs. Montgomery, the taller of the two women who’d come to visit Charlotte, peered over the top of her spectacles. If she minded that her hostess had disappeared into the kitchen to order tea for them, she gave no signal, but addressed her conversation to Abigail. “I was simply appalled when I heard you’d ridden that stagecoach all alone.”
    “Now, Adele, she wasn’t alone,” the second woman, who’d been introduced as Mrs. Alcott, said. “Lieutenant Bowles was on the coach.” She gave Abigail a sly smile. “You couldn’t have asked for a better traveling companion. Why, Lieutenant Bowles is the most eligible bachelor at the fort.”
    Abigail nodded slowly as she chose her words. Whatever she said, she did not want to give these women, who appeared to devour gossip as Puddles had the dried ends of the roast, any misconceptions. It was true that