Staying Near Stanly [4 of 6]

The music was loud the heat oppressive from lanterns and fires. Laughter shouting and the music made talking loud too. He stomped his snow feet at the door and shook more snow from his shoulders. He thumped his staff on the wooden floor three times.
‘Where’s my wife?’ he bellowed.
Noise ceased as people looked to him. He had seen his dog and cow at the stables in a stall. He had known for certain then his wife was here somewhere.
‘Ma Crimpton.’ A feeble voice offered from up the back.
There was no other offer of direction so the man turned and left the saloon
He finally stopped at the door of Ma Crimpton and banged on it.
‘Have you my wife? I want her back!’ he bellowed.
A baby cried in fright and finally the door opened.
‘Hush now! Don’t scare the babe further with your roaring!’
The man looked at the tiny old woman then into the room. There on the bed was his Rosie, in her arm a baby turned to her breast. She turned large eyes to him. He didn’t remember her hair looking like syrup. He had never seen it around her shoulders like that, like a shawl, a shining syrup coloured shawl.
He looked further. On the floor was a man asleep on a pallet.
‘I’ve come to take her home.’ he said more gently.
‘Well she can’t go yet. She needs more rest.’
‘I have work to do she must be at home.’ he replied, his face showed his disbelief that it could be any other way.
‘I’ll come.’ she said softly resignedly from the bed
Laying the child aside she slipped her bare feet to the floor and stood. Then seemed to crumple. Like a shot the man on the floor stuck his hand out and caught her head before it hit the rough boards. He then sat up drawing the woman to lay her head and shoulders across his rug covered lap.
‘See she is too weak to go any where! She must rest. She lost a lot of blood in the birthing. She will be no good to you dead.’ The wise old woman warned.
‘As I said in my note to you, I shall bring her back when she is well and stay to help your work.’ The man on the floor told him.
‘This paper?’ Stan asked drawing the crumpled sheet from his pocket. He handed it to the little woman. ‘What’s it say? I can’t read.’
The woman squinted then looked at the man on the floor. ‘What he said; you have a daughter name of Emily and he brought them here because your wife lost too much blood in the birthing. He will bring them back when well and stay on to help with your work if’n you need him too. And it’s signed with his name, Ellard.’
‘Don’t need no help with my work I can manage well.’ He kicked his boot toe on the door stoop, thinking deciding, playing for time to cool his temper. ‘I’ll go back in the morning. I’ll take the cow and organise a horse for you. Bring the bitch and one of her pups. My thanks to you.’
And with that her husband left.

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mountain, life, hard, cabin, stranger, emerging, silent and reconnecting