Dalton goes still. I stiffen, looking over. He says, very softly, “I tried to get back to my parents. To my family.”
“Exactly,” Cypher says, blithely missing Dalton’s body language. “You were better off here, but you still wanted to return to your folks out there.”
Dalton’s storm-gray eyes fix on Cypher. “Better off?”
Cypher waves away Dalton’s words—he’s ready to move on. I’m trying to decide what to do when I hear myself saying, “Why did you think that?”
Dalton’s gone still again, his nostrils flaring as if he’s struggling to breathe. I could withdraw the question. Maybe I should. I don’t.
“Why do you think Eric was better off in Rockton?” I press. “Was something wrong with him? Was he sick? Malnourished?”
“Nothing like that. I’m sure his folks were decent kids. But they were already leaving him to fend for himself. That ain’t right.”
“What?” Dalton says, his face screwing up.
“Your daddy—Gene Dalton—saw you a few times out there, all by yourself. Hunting and fishing. You told him your parents had gone off to trade, and you were old enough to look after yourself. They must have taken Jakey with them. Gone for weeks, they were, leaving you alone.”
“That … no, that never…” Dalton struggles for words. “That did not happen. Yes, I was old enough to go hunting or fishing. But for a morning or an afternoon. If my parents went trading, we all went. I never spoke to anyone from Rockton before Gene Dalton captured me.”
Cypher frowns. “Maybe you’ve forgotten. Anyway, I don’t know the details, and I might not have had much use for Gene Dalton, but your momma was a good woman. She wouldn’t have kept you if there wasn’t a problem with your folks. I wouldn’t have let them keep you either.”
There’s a set to Cypher’s jaw, one that says he’s not trying to convince Dalton; he’s trying to convince himself. He believed whatever tale Gene Dalton spun, and he cannot afford to second-guess now.
“Eric?” I say. “Maybe you want to take Abby home for a nap. You could check on Maryanne, too.”
His lips tighten, and my gut seizes. I shouldn’t have asked about his parents. I should have respected Dalton’s wishes and kept out of it until he was ready. When he sees my face, he squeezes my hand and leans over to whisper, “Nothing I didn’t already suspect.”
Before I can react, he says, “Let me take Abby and Storm for a walk. I should check on Maryanne. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
When Dalton’s gone, I say to Cypher, “May I ask you a favor?”
“Sure, kitten. What is it?”
“Don’t mention his family—either one, really. He has good memories of his birth parents, and what the Daltons did is confusing. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but I’d be very happy if it didn’t arise in conversation again.”
He looks toward the door Dalton exited. “He’s upset.”
I could almost laugh at his genuine surprise. He really did miss the clues, even as they’d flashed neon-bright. I remember who I’m talking to and limit my response to, “He’s angry about what happened back then.”
Cypher looks at me. “You can say he’s upset, Casey. I’m not one of those assholes who’ll give a guy flak for showing a bit of emotion. If it bothers him, I won’t bring it up.”
“Thank you. Now, about finding this baby’s family…”
“Yeah, that was the topic of conversation, wasn’t it?” He eyes me. “As for giving the baby back, Edwin’s right. Those traders went on a long supply run.” He stretches his legs. “Could be spring before they get back.”
“Damn. So I guess we’ll just need to adopt her.”
“Seems like it. I know you and Eric are busy with your jobs, but you’ve got a town full of folks who’ll help babysit, and you’d make good parents.”
“People keep telling me that,” I murmur. “So this family, they must have left in the last few days. You don’t think we could catch up with them?”
“They move fast.”
“Huh. Weird, though, don’t you think? That they’d decide to do a supply run at this time of year. You said yourself that you wouldn’t travel to Dawson in winter. Too hard going.”
He shrugs. “That’s me.”
“Yet they not only chose to leave as soon as the weather got bad … but they’ll be away all winter, when people would be most in need of trade goods, willing to pay dearly for food and ammo.”