by S. E. Smith
Earl tightened his hold on Gladys and smiled, “I think they have finally met their match. I just hope they are smart enough not to throw her away.”
Chapter 3
It took almost an hour to get to the ranch house. Lily looked out the window of the truck studying the white landscape dotted with evergreens. She loved the winter as much as she loved the other seasons. Each one had something special about it. In the spring the earth just seemed to come alive with new growth and new life. The summer was a time of sunshine and warmth, while the fall had all the colors of the earth mixed together. The winter though, it was special in its own right. The snow glistened like millions of diamonds scattered about and swirled with hidden colors only the sun could bring out. It was a time of warm fires, hot chocolate, and families being together. Sighing she turned when Maggie started telling her about the ranch. Lily listened carefully as Maggie explained how the ranch had been in the family for the past five generations with the first Cunnings coming out to settle the west by wagon train. They had stopped in Wyoming and settled. Since then, the ranch had grown and prospered over the years to encompass over a hundred thousand acres of wood, pasture, and cattle land. The ranch had passed to the boys when their parents had passed away in a plane crash ten years before. Ethan had only been twenty-three but he took over the reins of both the ranch and his younger brothers. Maggie was their aunt on their fathers’ side and had never married. A few years after she had moved to Florida and the warmer climate she had met a widower named Albert who she ‘dated’.
“Now, child, tell me a little about you.” Maggie asked.
“There’s really not much to tell. My parents died a few years back and I have moved around working as a housekeeper. I never leave until I’m no longer needed, so you don’t have to worry. One family I worked for just needed help until the mother had recovered from an illness. Another needed help with their young child. My last family needed help dealing with the death of one of the parents. Once the father remarried, I was no longer needed.”
“How could they say you were no longer needed? Didn’t they care about you? What about what you needed?” Maggie asked curiously.
“It’s alright. I knew I wouldn’t be in any of the homes for very long. A few months to a year is usually all it takes to get things back on track. I guess you can say I just stay until the family has healed. It’s for the best. I like meeting new people and this gives me the opportunity to travel and explore the world.” Lily replied calmly. She didn’t need Maggie to know how much it hurt to leave the children she had grown attached to or to see the love develop between the couples she had help to find their way. No, she accepted her time with each family as a precious gift. For just a little while, she would be a part of a family again. That was enough.
“Well, we’re here. Now, don’t mind Allen. He has a surly mouth on him but he’s all bark. You remember that.” Maggie said as she pulled in front of the large two-story house.
Lily’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the beautiful home. It had a huge wrap-around porch and a double door leading into the home. On the porch were several rocking chairs and small tables. The front of the house had a large window overlooking the drive. There was a large, red barn over to the far left. Following Maggie as she got out of the truck, Lily grabbed her canvas bag and held it to her chest. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she followed Maggie up the steps and into the house. Pausing in the doorway, she looked around the foyer. The house was an open design with a staircase curving up to the second floor. There was a balcony leading along the second floor that looked down into the spacious living room. On one wall was a huge fireplace but no fire in it. The back wall was nothing but windows looking out over the mountains.
Maggie removed her coat and gloves, hanging it on the jacket rack inside the door. “Upstairs are the main bedrooms. There are four upstairs and two downstairs. Ethan and Caleb each have a room upstairs. Allen’s was upstairs but since he came back he has been using the downstairs guest room. There is also the master bedroom but no one uses it yet. The other bedroom is off the kitchen and is for the housekeeper. That will be your room. I’ve been using it while I was here since I can’t get up those stairs the way I used too. I’ll throw the sheets in the washer before I go. There are more in the linen closet off the bathroom. There is a third floor but it is just an open attic used for storage. The house has seven bathrooms. Guess they figured with all the boys they needed a bathroom for each one and plus extras for any guests. Each room has its own bathroom so be prepared. I never did like cleaning the damn things. Downstairs there is the main living room, a family room off the kitchen on the east end of the house and the bedroom and office on the west side. There is also a den-slash-library. The basement access is through the kitchen, which also has a servant’s entrance for upstairs. You’ll find the washing machine and dryer down there as well as a sauna. Don’t worry about having to lug everything up and down those stairs; luckily they have a laundry chute and dumb waiter to haul stuff up and down. The boys were forever getting in trouble when they were younger. Once Allen and Caleb got mad at Ethan for bossing them around and put him down the laundry chute. They had locked the end though and he couldn't get out. His mama found him an hour later. Thought she was gonna rip the hide off those two younger boys. Next day, Ethan stuffed both boys in the dumb waiter and wouldn’t let them out.”
Lily laughed at the idea of the mischief the boys had gotten into. She could just imagine them horsing around. She couldn’t wait to meet all three of them and wondered if they still had some of that mischievous behavior left in them.
“Let me show you around. The kitchen is this way.” Lily followed Maggie around for the next hour learning where everything was and how everything was set up. Maggie told her the boys usually ate breakfast around five thirty every morning and she would pack a lunch for them if they weren’t able to make it back during the day. Dinner was usually around six o’clock. Allen hadn’t been eating much since he came home and Maggie was concerned about his health.
“Allen was in the military. He was in South America on some mission and it went bad. He was captured and tortured. By the time they got him out he was almost dead. He’s been home for six months now and hardly ever leaves the downstairs bedroom. All his meals are taken to him and left.”
“Why hasn’t he left his room?” Lily asked curiously her heart going out to a man she hadn’t even met yet.
“His legs were broken pretty bad. The doc’s were able to patch him back up and he can walk now but it wasn’t always easy for him, especially when he was tired. He refused to work with the physical therapist so it has been a little harder on him. He’s better now physically but mentally. Now that’s another story.”
“Why did he refuse the help from the physical therapist?” Lily asked wondering if there was something she was missing.
“Allen wasn’t the only one captured. Two of his buddies were captured as well. They were beaten and tortured too. They weren’t as lucky as Allen. They didn’t make it out alive.” Maggie said sadly. “One of the boys was from here. He went in the military at the same time as Allen. Allen feels responsible for his death. He feels like he was the one who talked him into joining. Now, he just drinks to forget. He still has nightmares at night.”
“Hasn’t anyone tried to help him? Surely the military has someone who can help him deal with the grief and anger he is feeling.” Lily couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it must have been to watch two friends die in such a horrible way.
“He won’t let anyone in. Everyone they’ve sent has walked out. I don’t know what else to do and neither does his brothers. We’ve all tried to help but nothing seems to work.” Maggie wiped a tear away as it coursed down her withered cheek. “I’m hoping maybe you can help him, help his brothers, learn to live again but I’m afraid he will just drive you away too.”
Lily stared out the windows at the mountains for a moment before replying, “Sometimes you have
to face death before you can appreciate what it means to live.” Turning to look at Maggie, Lily gazed into the older woman’s eyes and said quietly, “He just needs someone to show him the way. Maybe he just needs to realize his brothers need him as much as he needs them.”
Maggie grabbed Lily’s hands and squeezed them gently, “If anyone can help those boys learn to live and love again, it’s you. They need you Lily. I don’t understand how I know, I just do. They need you.”
Lily smiled sadly at Maggie and nodded. She knew what her mission was here. She needed to help the three brothers understand that no matter what life throws at them, if they stick together they can overcome any obstacle. It would take time, patience, and a gentle push to get them heading in the right direction but at least she knew what needed to be done. That was the first step in the right direction.
Chapter 4
Early the next morning, Lily hummed as she finished cleaning the living room area. Maggie had done her best but the house had been neglected for quite some time. Now, a lovely warm fire burned in the hearth with a neat stack of wood next to it. Lily had gone out at first light to explore the barn area and had met some of the men who worked on the ranch. Introducing herself as the new housekeeper, she had invited the men inside to enjoy some biscuits and sausage gravy and coffee. Brad Edwards, Harold Baker, Clive Simmons, and Ed Hammond had all worked at the ranch for the past ten years or more. Brad and Harold worked with the horses, while Clive was the ranch foreman and Ed worked on the equipment. Lily listened as the men talked about the day to day activities on the ranch. They normally ate in the kitchen connected to the bunkhouse although Ed and Clive each had a small cabin of their own nearby. Clive was married. Ed had never married and both Brad and Harold volunteered to marry Lily right then and there after tasting her biscuits and gravy and coffee. Lily blushed at the two younger men’s flirting.
She learned a lot from the men about the Cunnings. They were known for being hard working and honest. Most of the men on the ranch had been with them five years or longer because they enjoyed working for them and respected them. Although Allen had been gone a lot over the past eight years, he had come home frequently and worked side by side no matter what the job with the other men. Ethan was known for helping out the men and town’s people. Clive talked about how one of his sons had gotten into trouble with some drugs and needed help. Ethan had made sure the boy had gotten into a clinic to help sober him up and gave him a job on the ranch during the summers when he was out of school. Caleb worked as hard as any of the men. He had saved one of the ranch hands last summer from drowning after the man’s truck had swerved to miss a deer. Caleb had come upon him right after the accident. The man had been trapped by the steering wheel and the truck cab had been filling with water. Caleb had broken through the windshield and was able to pull the steering wheel back far enough for the man to get free. It wasn’t so much the big things the men said that gave Lily a better understanding of the men they worked for, it was the way they talked about them. She could tell they cared for and respected each of the men.
Lily worked most of the morning on the downstairs rooms. She avoided Allen’s room for now. She still wasn’t quite sure how she was going to handle him. So far there hadn’t been any sound out of the room. In the early afternoon she planned to strip all the beds upstairs and play with the laundry chute. She was going to have fun with it and couldn’t wait to see how the dumb waiter worked. Opening the curtains in the den, she gasped as she saw the floor to ceiling bookshelves lining the wall. She immediately fell in love with the room and knew this would become her favorite place to hide. Smiling, she walked around the room staring at the pictures on the antique tables and running her hands over the bindings of many of the books. There was one wall with windows set on each side of a set of French doors leading out onto the covered back porch area. If she was still there during the spring and summer she would have to sit outside on the porch and read. She worked in the room for almost an hour when she heard a noise against the wall. Recognizing it as the water turning on Lily smiled wickedly. Now would be a good time to check out Allen’s room while he was in the shower. If she was lucky, she could clean most of the room before he finished.
Lily hurried down the hallway and stood outside Allen’s door for a moment with her ear pressed against the door. Knocking softly, she cautiously opened the door to peek in when she didn’t get an answer. Sure enough she saw a light under the door to what had to be the bathroom. Hurrying inside the dark room, she left the door open to the hallway so she could start throwing things out. The first thing she noticed was the smell. The room definitely had a male odor that needed airing out. Lily hurried toward the windows and despite the frigid temperature outside threw open the windows on each side of the bed. Pulling the heavy curtains to one side she knew they would have to go. No more hiding. Twirling around, Lily moved like a woman possessed as she stripped the bed of all its linens and threw them out into the hallway. She grabbed one of the pillowcases and began filling it with empty whiskey bottles. The pillowcase landed with a thump on top of the linens she had thrown out. Next, she gathered up all the old dishes and piled them outside the door. She grabbed, yanked, and dragged everything she could get her hands on out the door as fast as she could. Close to an hour later she figured she had less than five minutes left to get as much as she could out of the room before Allen came out judging from the sounds coming from the bathroom. She planned on charging into the bathroom as soon as he was out and locking herself in it to give herself time to clean it. Then, she would move everything out of the hall and wash, dry, and toss. She had just finished closing the door to the hallway when she heard him moving. She raced to stand just to the left of the door so he wouldn’t see her right away. Holding her breath she waited trembling.
Allen felt bad about the way he had treated Maggie. He knew he needed to apologize to her; he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. He felt like hell. He had woken up with a hangover and was nauseated by his own body odor. He thought the least he could do was get cleaned up before he faced his aunt. Groaning as he rolled over, he sat up and grabbed his aching head. He sat for a moment until the room quit spinning. Once the room was still he waited a moment more until he could focus his eyes on the door to the bathroom. It was going to be a long trip. If he could make it there without throwing up he might make it through the day after all. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he grabbed the crutches next to the bed. He used them mostly to help him stay upright. Wobbling as he headed for the door, he let out a loud expletive when he ran into the door frame. Dropping the crutches, he staggered to the counter slamming the door to the bathroom closed with one hand and clutching the sink counter with the other.
Damn, but he felt like shit. Running a hand over his chin, he grimaced when he saw the shaggy beard covering his face. He rummaged around in the bathroom drawer until he found a pair of scissors. It was too long to just shave it, he would have to cut it first then shave. His hair wasn’t much better. Hanging in matted locks from lying down so long and not washing it, he looked like a homeless man out of the movies. Shuddering at the sight he couldn’t help but wonder what he had become. Maybe it would have been better off if he had been killed in the damn jungle with his friends. Shaking his head fiercely from side to side, he almost landed on his ass as his head protested the movement. He took a deep breath and raising a trembling hand he began cutting off his beard. It took him a good thirty minutes to just shave and his face featured a few new cuts. Pulling away from the mirror, he turned the shower on to the hottest setting and waited as the water warmed up. Stepping in, he flexed his shoulders as the warmth from the shower beat down on his sore muscles. He shampooed his hair twice and had to leave the conditioner on for an additional five minutes before he could even run his fingers through his hair. He didn’t get out of the shower until the water turned so cold he was shivering from the chill of it. He felt marginally better and he was hungry, something he hadn’t been for quite some tim
e. He had lost almost forty pounds since his capture and return. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a comb and worked it through his damp hair. He grinned as he thought of what his brothers would say when they saw his hair down past his shoulders. All three of them had always worn their hair short. He kind of liked having it long and thought he might just keep it that way. Wrapping a towel around his slender waist, he moved slowly for the door. He was still a little shaky from not using his legs in a while. He knew he should be doing the exercises the physical therapist and doctors had prescribed but he had sunk so low he just didn’t give a damn about whether he lived or died, much less whether he ever walked again.
Opening the door to the bedroom his first thought was it was way too bright. Maggie must have come in while he was in the shower and opened the damn blinds again. The second thing he noticed was it was cold as hell in the room. He walked slowly toward one of the windows and noticed it was opened. “Dammit, Maggie!” Allen yelled crossly. “You trying to freeze my ass out of the room now?” He muttered a long list of expletives under his breath. He was so pissed at being cold he didn’t even look as he exited the bathroom. It wasn’t until he heard the door to the bathroom close behind him that he turned. The movement was too much for his under used legs and throbbing head. Allen fell across the bed with a thump and a curse. That’s when he noticed all his bed linens were missing. “God dammit, Maggie. I told you to stay out of my room. Get the hell out of there and make my bed.”
