by C. J. Petit
An hour later, Henry walked in.
“Nice spread, Gus. Looks like you could handle three thousand head.”
“I’ll keep it under two thousand, I think. I want them to have all the grass and water they need. Henry, my foreman just asked to be a regular hand again. You want the job? I need someone who’s not afraid to be my right hand in getting things done.”
Henry nodded. “I was hopin’ to get that job on the Rocking C. It’ll be a lot more fun getting things going here and working for you. I’ll do a good job for you, Gus.”
“I know you will. The men are all in the bunkhouse after moving that last bunch to the stockyards. We’ll go meet them shortly. You can fill them in on the deal to get the Herefords. The foreman’s quarters are pretty nice. So how was your extended lunch with Emma?”
Henry got flustered. “She’s a fine woman, Gus. I mean, she’s . . . well, she’s nice and everything.”
“She is. Did you meet Ethyl?”
“Uh-huh. She got home just before I left. She was one happy girl. That little mare you gave her seems to have set right with her.”
Gus stood up and said, “Let’s go to the bunkhouse. I’ll introduce you to the crew. They’re all good men, but you may have to press Joe Carroll a bit. Seems he gave Hank a bit of a hard time. He wanted the foreman’s job. He’s a good hand, but he’d make a lousy foreman. Oh, and your pay just went up another ten dollars a month. Can’t have you make the same as a top hand now, could we?”
“If you say so, Gus.” Henry smiled as they walked out the door.
Gus introduced Henry to the men. The hands were all pleased with Henry, except for Joe Carroll, who had thought he’d get the job even though he had only been there a short time. Joe thought very highly of himself.
Gus returned to the house and went through the envelopes on his desk. There was a letter from Eli and Rachel. He took out the letter and read it. It was written in Rachel’s hand, of course. They had moved into their new house and been welcomed by their old friends. They expressed outrage and sympathy for Libby’s death and welcomed the news of Sara. He could tell that these were Rachel’s own thoughts. She had poured out her wishes that she could see her daughter again, but she recognized the reality of her loss. She told him how happy they were for Gus’s having the two ranches combined and naming it the Double A in their honor. But the central thread in the letter was Sara. He contemplated bringing it with him when he visited her next. He had told her it would be a week, but tomorrow would only be four days. He’d think about it. He had so much to tell her. He also had to stop at the bank and deposit the drafts from the last three sales of cattle. He had over $13,000 sitting on his desk, and he hadn’t given it a second thought.
He had time today, but he wanted to rest Belle, so he went to the barn and used one of the ranch horses. He left the ranch and arrived at the bank twenty minutes later. He made his deposit and was leaving when he saw a sight that almost stopped his heart. Sara was riding past at a medium trot. She was looking straight ahead, so she didn’t see him. Words failed him as he tried to describe the vision. He knew she was a beautiful young woman with a figure to match, but seeing her in the late afternoon sun with her hair flowing behind her atop that chestnut horse was mesmerizing. Even the Stetson added to the impact. He watched as she accelerated out of Kinnick back toward Chadwick. He knew he couldn’t catch up to her. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. He knew the odds were that by the time he arrived in Chadwick, she’d probably be back on the job and with some customer. He felt anger swell. At least he thought it was anger and not jealousy.
But Gus didn’t know what Sara would be doing. Or not doing. He might have gone to Chadwick if he had known.
He made up his mind about something else, too. He didn’t care what she thought. He walked to the lawyer’s office and spent a while setting up his will. He’d pick it up the following day. Sara would be his sole heir. What she did with it was up to her.
He returned home and went to the office and began examining books for more of Mary’s notes. It took him a while, but he did find two more. One, ironically, was the Bible. He had to give Mary credit for her humor, though. Her notes in the Bible were more biblical. She would say, for example, “On this, the first day of the season of new life, Mary knew Bill Cook, and it was good.”
Later that night, he burned all three books.
The next morning, he rode into Kinnick and signed his completed will and took his copy back to the office. He put it in his desk rather than the safe. He wanted it found. He’d tell Emma about the will being there. It was ten o’clock, and it had only been four days, but he wanted to see Sara. He wouldn’t tell her about the will, though. He rode over to Emma’s house, as he called it now. He wasn’t very surprised to find Henry there. They were chatting as Henry was sitting on his horse. They both looked up at the sound of Belle’s approach, and Gus was amused as they both turned with faces like children who had been caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
“Morning, Emma. Henry. I’m going for a ride, Emma. Could you grab Ralph for me?”
“Let me go find him. This time of day, they’re usually back with the chickens.”
“I’ll go find him, then.”
Gus wheeled Belle to the back of the barn, and sure enough, the two small Basset Hounds were bouncing around near the chicken coop. The chickens, behind their protective barrier, ignored them.
Gus stepped down, grinning. They were bigger, but they were still puppies.
“Ralph, come here, boy.”
The puppies both came waddling over, tails wagging and ears kicking up dust. He plucked up Ralph as Marge looked up with those sad eyes. Emma came around the corner.
“I thought Marge might be distraught at the separation. This is their first time apart.”
“You know, you’re right. I may have to go and get a third one for me. Probably another female.”
Emma picked up Marge as Gus slid Ralph into his jacket, which Ralph seemed to find quite to his liking as he wiggled into a comfortable spot.
“We’ll be back in a little while.”
Emma knew better than to ask questions and appreciated that Gus hadn’t asked questions about what she and Henry had been talking about.
Gus set Belle off at a quick trot, cutting across the pastures toward the road to Chadwick. He held Ralph, who had already fallen asleep. He reached the road and twenty minutes later arrived in front of the OK Saloon. He stepped down, hoping Sara was up early. It wasn’t noon.
He went through the batwing doors and was enormously pleased to see Sara sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of her. She heard the doors open and quickly glanced his way. Her face lit up and then tilted curiously as Gus walked toward her with a bulging jacket.
“Good morning, Sara.” Gus smiled as he reached into his jacket and produced a waking Ralph. Gus plopped him on the table next to Sara’s coffee. He immediately stuck his big nose into the cup and began to lap it up.
Sara started laughing at the sight of those giant ears hanging down to the table with the butt in the air and tail wagging furiously.
“Gus, he’s so cute!” she exclaimed.
“This is Ralph. His sister is back at the ranch.”
Then she smiled at him. “It’s only been four days, Gus.”
He looked sheepish as he said, “I know. I just had a lot to talk to you about.”
“Well, let’s take Ralph upstairs, and we’ll talk.”
“Just a word of warning. He’ll probably pee somewhere.”
“I’ve had worse in that room. Come on.”
Gus picked up a disappointed puppy. He’d probably be excited later when the caffeine hit. They reached Sara’s room and went inside. Sara closed the door, and Gus let Ralph down. He pressed his nose to the floor and began investigating the myriad scents that he had never smelled before.
“Look at him go,” said a laughing Sara.
“It’s what they do,” Gus replied as he sat.<
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“Gus, I was hoping you’d show up early. I love my horse. I named him Solomon. I ride every day now. It’s so exhilarating.”
“I saw you yesterday. You rode past me as I was coming out of the bank.”
“But I didn’t see Belle anywhere. I always watch for her.”
“I was using a ranch horse. We had just returned from Texas, and I wanted her to rest. I have to tell you, Sara, when I saw you, my heart stopped. You were hypnotizing as you rode.”
Sara smiled. “You finally noticed?”
“No, no. I’ve always been aware of how beautiful you are and your incredible shape and everything, but it was more than that. I can’t describe it well. I really don’t have the words. I was simply stunned, Sara.”
She tilted her head. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Sara, I’ve seen a lot of beautiful things in my life. Spectacular sunsets, awe-inspiring sunrises, and the sun playing across the heat-shimmering desert. But nothing compared to you. You took my breath away.”
“I don’t know what to say, Gus. I was just riding.”
“That was part of it, really, Sara. You were joyful. Your face was radiant. It was that final piece of the picture. It’ll stay imprinted in my memory as long as I live.
Sara knew for a certainty then. There was no doubt in her mind. But it didn’t matter.
“Anyway, I’ll tell you the other things. We’re down to our last six hundred head. Three more trips and we’ll be empty of cattle. The Double A will stay clear for a few months. I’ve negotiated a deal with the Rocking C in Texas for six hundred head of Herefords, and they’ll be on our range by early June.”
“That’s wonderful, Gus.”
“When we were riding back from the Rocking C, I decided to make a side trip. I went to Wichita Falls.”
Sara had a sinking feeling that Gus may have shot Will Brannon. He’d be a wanted man now because of her.
“What did you do, Gus? Please tell me you didn’t shoot him.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t do anything that drastic. I only hit him once before explaining why I did.”
“So, it wasn’t that bad?”
“Not really. But he’ll be in pain for a while. I hit him flush in the mouth. He lost eight teeth.”
Sara was relieved and satisfied at the measure of justice that Gus had meted out.
“Thank you for that, Gus. I can imagine he wasn’t pleased.”
“He was not. He called me a ‘bathdard.’”
Sara laughed. “He is the bathdard, Gus. Not you.”
“I almost didn’t tell you about it. I was worried you might be angry with me, but then I don’t want to keep any secrets from you, Sara.”
Sara smiled. “I don’t think you have a lot of secrets worth hiding, Gus.”
“Probably not. Anyway, I brought an old friend, Henry Owens, back from Texas to take over as foreman. Hank Anderson decided he didn’t want the job. There seems to be a bonus for Henry, too. I think he’s smitten by Emma Powers. She seems to have reciprocated as well.” Gus smiled.
“I thought she might have set her cap for you.”
“No, not at all. I’m just her boss, Sara.”
“Why do you think that women aren’t attracted to you, Gus?”
“It doesn’t matter, Sara. But I’ve got to tell you this story. I got there and that worthless foreman I told you about, Bryce Hatfield, was chewing out Henry about something. He saw me and told me to get out, that there was no job for me. I pretended to be some English gentleman while he kept trying to toss me off the ranch. Henry was laughing, so he fired Henry. I offered him a job at more money. After I made the deal, Arvin Croft, the owner, told me that his daughter, Helen, was going to have a baby. When I told Henry, after we’d left the ranch, we both laughed our heads off.”
“Why?”
“I told you how the foreman had gotten the job by making eyes at Helen. Well, the joke around the campfires was that he might have gone too far and would wind up having to marry the girl. Well, he did. And, well, he had to do what he had to do, and now this plain, flat-chested, annoying woman is his wife and soon to be the mother of his children.”
“Was she that bad, Gus?”
“Sara, it wasn’t her appearance that kept her from making her desirable to potential suitors; it was her personality. She never smiled. She criticized everything. She was more hideous inside than she was plain on the outside. If you and Helen were to switch bodies, I’d still be here talking to you. I’d still love you.”
Gus realized that it had slipped out. So did Sara.
“Gus, you can’t mean that.”
Gus sighed. “I’m sorry it slipped out like that, Sara. I really am. I can imagine how that must sound. Can you forget I told you?”
“No, I can’t, Gus. That’s not the kind of thing anyone can forget.”
“Does that mean I can’t come and talk to you anymore? Sara, every time something happened, I’d say to myself ‘I’ve got to tell Sara this,’ or ‘Sara won’t believe this.’ I’d see something impressive or different and wish you had been there to see it. I know that you’d never want to be with me. I understand that, but if I lose the chance to talk to you, well, it would leave a giant hole in my life.”
Sara didn’t know what to do. Should she tell him?
“Gus, why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”
“Come on, Sara. Look at me and look at yourself. Be honest, now, like you always are. How old are you twenty-two?”
“I’m twenty-four, almost twenty-five.”
“Well, next month, I’ll be turning thirty-eight. I’d be stealing your best years, Sara. I’ve known for a while how I feel about you. I couldn’t say anything, and I wish I hadn’t let it slip out now. But it’s there. It owns me. You own me. But I’d rather settle for just coming and talking to you, to be able to hear your laugh and listen to you. You’re the most insightful person I know, Sara. I value your advice over anyone else’s. So, would it be all right if I still came and saw you?”
Now it was Sara’s turn to lay her soul bare.
She exhaled. “Gus, this is going to be hard to say, so please be patient. After you first found me, I told you then that you had spoiled me for other men. I meant it as a lover. And you did. I never experienced anything close to that since, and never expect to again, unless it’s with you. But when you began to show up to just talk, you became more, so much more. I kept waiting for you to return. I started turning away customers in the hope you would be back. Gus, I haven’t been with a man in two weeks now. Do I still have urges? Yes. But only to be with you, Gus. After you left for Texas and I began riding, I’d ride Solomon down to the Red River each day, hoping to see you when you returned. I know that I love you, Gus. It’s frightening to me just how much I do love you. It fills me up and overflows. Your age doesn’t matter one bit to me, Gus. You matter. The soft, considerate yet fiercely protective you. But I am what I am, Gus. You’d be shunned as much as I am. I won’t allow that.”
It was Gus’s turn to be flabbergasted.
“Sara, it doesn’t matter what they think. I never have cared one bit about what anyone thinks. That doesn’t matter to me. It only matters what you think, Sara. What you think matters because it’s you that matters the most to me. Sara, if you love me as much as I love you, does anything else really matter at all? Marry me, Sara. Stay with me so we don’t have to wait to see each other. Be my lover, my wife, and my very best friend, Sara, and I’ll make you happier than you’ve ever been.”
“Do you really think we can do it, Gus? Can we be happy knowing that you’d see a man who had bedded me?”
“Sara, there are thousands of men out there that are married to women who have been bedded by other men. I don’t care. If they see you with me and keep quiet about it, I’ll let it go. If they say anything, I won’t. It’ll all die down after a while. But the truly good people, like my friends on the ranch, will welcome you honestly if for no other reason than they’ll know how muc
h I love and respect you.”
Sara had to wipe away a few tears as she smiled. “Can we get married soon?”
“Today, if you’d like, Sara.”
“I’d like that.”
“Let’s do this. I’ll run Ralph, who’s just peed on your shoe, by the way, back to the ranch. I’ll be back here in an hour. You pack up what you want to take with you and leave it here. I’ll meet you at the livery. We’ll go to Hendrick and be married. Then we can return, pick up your things, and go home.”
“And you’ll make love to me, Gus?” she asked quietly.
“That’s exactly what I’ll do, my love. It won’t be just lust. It’ll be making true love to you, just as it will be for the rest of my life,” he answered, then he held her close and kissed her. It was an in-between kiss. Not soft, but with just a hint of passion, and with a lot more than a hint of love.
