by Kit Morgan
He finally closed his eyes and felt at peace enough to sleep. He’d enjoy Rufi’s company, get to know her a little, maybe make a new friend. Once she left, they could always write. It could be a fun adventure in addition to the business education Cyrus was giving him. And Cyrus ran most of his enterprises from afar, something C.J. would prefer. He wasn’t one to be stuck behind a desk slaving the days away. Like Cyrus, he wanted some excitement. Looking for a rare bird out on the prairie with a beautiful woman? That seemed ideal.
C.J. smiled, settled more comfortably under the blanket and went to sleep.
The next morning C.J. met Tom in the lobby of the hotel. Cyrus was also there and greeted him with his usual happy smile. “Well, young man, are you ready to visit the Triple-C?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” C.J. glanced around the lobby. “Where are the others?”
“The MacDonalds have business elsewhere this morning. We’ll see them later. Melvale’s also busy. Duncan and Cozette will be down in a moment to accompany you to the ranch.”
“Are you coming too?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss this reunion. Colin and Harrison haven’t a clue their brother’s here!”
C.J. smiled. If yesterday’s reunion with the townsfolk was any indication, Duncan seeing his brothers again would be incredible to watch. No wonder Cyrus wanted to go. “Do you think anyone will faint?”
Cyrus grinned. “If anyone does any passing out, it would be Harrison!”
“Harrison Cooke, faint?” C.J. said in shock. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“He’s been nervous as a cat these last few months, what with his daughter expecting her first child.”
C.J. laughed. “I heard about that from Mr. Mulligan. With all the commotion yesterday, I forgot.”
Cyrus grinned again. “What did Paddy tell you?”
“Only that Harrison’s driving his son-in-law mad and hardly lets his daughter out of his sight. Poor woman.”
Cyrus laughed and nodded. “That sums it up.” He turned toward the staircase as Duncan and Cozette descended. C.J. noticed his smile had vanished as he watched the duke and duchess approach. Now why would that be? Had something happened between them last night after he left? He also noted there was no sign of the Weavers, but it was early. They probably hadn’t come down yet.
“Good morning, Cyrus,” Duncan smiled at C.J. “I don’t believe I introduced you to my wife yesterday.”
“No, I’m afraid we weren’t,” C.J. remarked, extending his hand. “Carlyle Branson, Your Grace – ‘C.J.’ to my familiars.”
“Alas, there was too much going on,” Cozette offered. She let C.J. take her hand and kiss it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Branson. Cyrus has told us about you.”
C.J. could only stare at her a moment. There was something about her, something different besides just the trace of a French accent. For some reason she reminded him of Melvale. “The pleasure is all mine, Your Grace.”
“Oh, here you can call me Cozette, Mr. Branson – or should I say, C.J.” She winked and wrapped her arm around her husband’s. “So where are you from?”
Hmmm, how to play this? The only one here that knew about him was Cyrus, and if he’d already been talking to the duke and duchess … “Um, what did Cyrus tell you? I don’t want to repeat anything.”
“Only that you are from back east and have come west to study business.” She glanced at Cyrus with a smile.
C.J. shrugged. “I’m afraid there’s really no more than that.”
“Very well, then,” Duncan said, sounding disappointed. “Shall we be off?”
C.J.’s eyes drifted to the staircase. He was hoping to see Rufi this morning, but it appeared that wasn’t going to happen. “Fine, let’s go.”
Cyrus had borrowed a wagon from the livery stable, and soon had everyone settled and headed out of town. C.J. listened to Cyrus and Duncan talk about old times. Apparently they’d come west on the same wagon train when Duncan was nineteen. That would make the man about fifty, yet he looked barely thirty.
C.J. recalled the remarks made by many townspeople yesterday about how good Duncan and his wife looked. His brothers Harrison and Colin had to be in their mid-forties, but working outdoors as they did was harder on the body. He was glad he wasn’t a rancher. He was no stranger to hard work, but didn’t necessarily want to be doing it day in and day out in extreme cold and heat.
Besides, while he had a strong body, true, his real strength was in his mind. He could strategize, calculate, factor in unseen risks and predict an outcome. His grandfather knew it and Cyrus knew it. Both were trying to help him utilize his talent to his best ability.
After several miles they crested a hill and Duncan, who was driving, brought the team to a stop. “I never tire of this view. Especially now with the extra house and buildings.”
C.J., who was sitting in the back with Cyrus, stood to get a better look. “Wow,” he whispered.
“Indeed.” Duncan smiled and looked over his shoulder at him. “When I was younger and we first came here, there were more trees. We used them to build a barn and the first house – no more than a shack really. Then my younger brother Harrison married Sadie Jones, whose father was a cattle baron. He built the larger house down there as a wedding gift, and gave us a thousand head of cattle besides. Quite a stroke of good fortune.”
“You miss living here,” C.J. stated.
“Very much, Mr. Branson. Clear Creek is a special place, in case you hadn’t figured that out.”
He smiled. “It’s different, I’ll give it that.”
“I’m afraid I’ve been taking up C.J.’s time,” Cyrus admitted. “I keep him so busy he hasn’t had much time to get to know the town yet.”
C.J.’s brow creased. He thought he’d been getting to know the town pretty well.
“Let’s not wait any longer, Duncan,” Cozette said. “I want to see Sadie, Belle and the children.”
“Then let’s be off.” He got the team going again.
Cyrus told C.J. that between Colin and Harrison’s families, there were nine children, plus their foreman’s three. Harrison’s daughter Honoria was the eldest, married and with a child on the way. Ever since she became pregnant, no one had seen much of Harrison in town – everyone knew he hovered over her like she’d break at any moment.
As they pulled up in front of the main ranch house, the door flew open and Harrison’s wife Sadie ran out. “Mercy!” She turned toward the open door behind her. “Belle, come quick!” She hurried down the porch steps to the wagon. “I don’t believe it! I do not believe it!”
Duncan jumped from the wagon seat to the ground, hurried around the horses to his sister-in-law and pulled her into a fierce hug. “Sadie my dearest! How are you?”
C.J. was further surprised when his wife also leaped from the seat, skirt flying, and landed gracefully next to them. “Sadie!”
“Cozette!” Sadie cried and threw her arms around her.
Cyrus looked at C.J. and smiled. “Cozette was a French trapper’s daughter – she grew up in buckskins, hunting alongside him. Jumping out of a wagon like that isn’t all she can do.”
C.J. nodded silently, still getting over the shock.
“Cyrus,” Sadie said, shading her eyes against the morning sun. “Come down from there.”
C.J. climbed out of the wagon, went to the back and opened the wagon gate to help Cyrus out. The man was old and frail – he wasn’t going to leap out of the wagon the way the duke and duchess had. He let C.J. help him down, then shuffled toward Sadie.
Belle came out, gasped and flew down the porch steps into Duncan’s arms. “Duncan! What are you doing here?”
“Well, if you’d rather I went back …”
“Don’t you dare!” She stepped out of his embrace and hugged Cozette. “Why didn’t you write and tell us you were coming?”
Cozette smiled. “We wanted it to be a surprise.”
Sadie fanned herself with her hand.
“It is that. Good heavens, I think I need some lemonade for the shock.”
Belle laughed. “Brandy, maybe? Colin has some stashed somewhere in the house.”
“Speaking of Colin,” Duncan said, “are either of my brothers around?”
“I’m afraid not,” Belle said. “They’re in the south pastures with Logan and some of the other hands, rounding up steers to drive to Baker City.”
“I see. You don’t mind if I ride out to see them, do you?”
“Of course not,” Sadie replied. “I can have a horse saddled for you.”
Duncan glanced at C.J. “Care to accompany me?”
C.J. was startled by the question. He wasn’t expecting to be asked. “Sure, why not?”
Duncan smiled. “I need a witness. Someone has to see the look on my brothers’ faces when they spot me.”
Cyrus burst out laughing. “Remember what we talked about, C.J.?”
C.J. also laughed, picturing Harrison fainting at the sight of his older brother. “Maybe I should bring a canteen of water?”
“I’ll get the horses.” Sadie ran toward the barn.
“Saddle one for me too!” Cyrus called after her.
Duncan sighed and shook his head. “We could have saddled our own.”
Belle waved at the barn. “There are a couple of men inside cleaning stalls. They won’t mind.”
Duncan put his hands on his hips and surveyed his surroundings. “It’s hard to believe this is the same place.” He sighed and headed for the house. “Any coffee on the stove?”
Belle took Cozette’s hand and followed. “Always.”
Cyrus watched them go with a smile on his face. “I wish you could have known them back in the day.”
C.J. arched an eyebrow. “How so?”
Cyrus looked at him. “The Cookes, this place, the people we came west with … this was a new land back then. We built all this up from nothing.” He patted C.J. on the back. “Your grandpa wants to make sure you know what that’s like.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he said with a shake of his head.
“To build something with your own two hands, son, to know you did it.” He waved at the ranch around them. “To know that you brought it out of nothing, yourself.”
“I’m hardly going to run out and build a ranch house, Cyrus. You and I both know I have enough money to have one built for me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, son.”
C.J. blanched. “What do you mean?”
“Your grandfather is the one with the money. Not you. Though you know you’ll inherit it, the money isn’t yours yet. For all you know, Rufus could will everything to his chambermaid.”
“What are you getting at, Cyrus?”
“If you want to build an empire, you can’t have everyone do it for you. Now, things go easier with help. The Cookes had help, lots of it, but they also put in the work. Myself, Duncan, his brothers, we can help you, advise you – but you still have to do the work yourself.”
C.J. studied him a moment, then looked around the barnyard, the houses, bunkhouses and various outbuildings. “So they lived in a shack?”
“Yes, son, they did. But it doesn’t matter how much money your grandfather wills to you. If you don’t know how to work, you can lose it easy enough. You know young men who have, I imagine.”
C.J. nodded – he knew many young men in Baltimore who’d turned a fortune into nothing, whether through gambling, drink, loose women or just plain stupidity. Cyrus and Grandpa Rufus didn’t want to see him squander his inheritance away. But didn’t Grandpa know him better than that? He would never dream of doing such a thing. So what was he getting at? Unless … hm. “And this goes for anyone I marry?”
“Now you’re getting the picture,” Cyrus said calmly. “I know your grandfather didn’t care much for your mother. Said she ruined your father.”
“Is that really any of your business?” C.J. shot back, and immediately winced in regret.
But Cyrus took it with equanimity. “Well, I can understand his concern.”
C.J. stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed. “So he’s worried I’ll marry someone like Mother.”
“I guess he is.”
C.J. gazed at the sky and chuckled. “Oh, Grandpa, have you no faith in me?”
“I think he wants you to find a wife as hard-working as you’re learning to be.” Cyrus patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s have a cup of coffee with the others before we head out.”
“I’m perfectly capable of choosing a good wife, Cyrus.”
“Of course you are. You just have to convince your grandfather of that.”
C.J. looked over the ranch one last time before he followed Cyrus up the porch steps. So it wasn’t about taking over his grandfather’s empire, but building his own. And not just building an empire, but a family.
He smiled and went into the house, mulling over just how to do that.
Chapter Seven
Rufi studied the deserted hotel lobby. The rest of the family was already in the dining parlor having breakfast, and she planned to join them. Last night, she’d overheard Mr. Brody the hotel manager tell Mr. Branson to ride out to the famous Triple-C Ranch in the morning. She wondered if Harlan and the family would go as well.
“Rufi!” Bella called. “Don’t just stand there, come and eat.”
With a sigh she left the lobby and went into the hotel’s huge dining room. The Van Cleet Hotel was the nicest she’d ever stayed in, much nicer than the one in Nowhere. She sat next to Sebastian at one of two tables her family was using. “Did you sleep well?” she asked him.
“When Pa stopped snoring I did.”
“Snorin’ means yer healthy,” Benjamin retorted. “’Member that when someone complains ‘bout yer snorin’ when yer older.”
At the other table, Calvin laughed. “Don’t feel bad, Ben. I gotta lot more ears to serenade in my house than ya got in yers.”
“Not for long once Ebba has her little one,” Charity said. “Speaking of which … Ma, Benjamin and I wanted to discuss something with you.”
“If it’s about building your own place, I don’t want to hear it now. You all know I like a full house.”
Benjamin and Charity exchanged a look. “We know, Ma,” Benjamin said. “But let’s face it – if any of us have more younguns, we’re gonna need room. What if company comes again? Ain’t no place to put ‘em.”
“He has a point,” Bella agreed. “We barely had room enough for the Johnsons and Olivia over the holidays.”
Ma smiled ruefully at Harlan. “I guess I’ll just have to face it, won’t I?”
He put his arm around her. “Don’t worry, Ma, you’ll still have me in the house. Along with Daniel, Ebba and their younguns.”
“I suppose,” she said, her eyes downcast.
“Does this mean I get my own room?” Sebastian asked.
“What’s this?” Rufi said. “You don’t want to share a room with Truly?”
“No!” he said with alarm. “’Specially not when she becomes a real girl!”
Everyone’s laughter was interrupted by the arrival of a pudgy, pretty dark-haired woman wearing an apron. “Good morning, my name’s Rosie Comfort. I’m making your breakfast this morning. Shall we start with some coffee?”
The Weavers were duly impressed – Rosie spoke like a maitre d’ at some Eastern establishment. Last night they were served by Sally Upton, an older woman who gushed over Harlan for a half hour before serving dinner. Everyone liked Sally, even Ma. She told them all about Rosie and her cooking, and the men were eager to try it out.
When the food finally came, Rufi ate her potatoes and bacon slowly. She felt out of place and didn’t know why. Maybe because she wasn’t paired with anyone – Charity had Benjamin, Bella had Calvin, Ma had Harlan. The children didn’t know any better. But Rufi’s mother was gone, her father lost to gambling and drink, her siblings all much younger. She shouldn’t complain, she supposed – she had a lot co
mpared to others. But that one absence …
That was it – she wanted more. Coming here was fulfilling her secret dream of traveling to faraway places, albeit just the next state, and she’d met some very interesting people already. How many other people could say they’d been introduced to a real duke and duchess? And there was Mr. Melvale … she sighed.
“What’s the matter with you?” Sebastian asked as he stabbed at his scrambled eggs.
“Nothing,” she said dreamily.
Sebastian looked at her, his little face twisted up in confusion. “You made a funny noise.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, like you got a belly ache or something.”
“Sebastian,” his mother said. “Let Rufi eat her breakfast.”
“I wonder where all the interesting folks are today,” Ma commented.
“Duncan and Cozette went to the Triple-C,” Harlan said. “I aim to pay it a visit myself.”
“Can we come?” Calvin asked brightly.
“Not yet. I don’t want to bring the entire family out at once. But I will extend an invitation to them to come to town and join us for dinner.”
“Are there as many of them as there are of us?” Benjamin asked.
“Just about,” Harlan smiled. “But most of them are still younguns. Wait until they start marrying.”
“But ours’ll marry too, so there’ll still be more of us,” Calvin argued.
Charity sipped her coffee. “Not if ours move away.”
“Move away?!” he said. “Why would they?”
Rufi fidgeted in her chair. “It could happen.”
“Nonsense,” Ma said. “Who would want to move away from our farm?”
“You can’t predict who will go and who will stay,” Charity said. “I never thought I’d leave my hometown, but here I am.”
Benjamin smiled at her. “I’m glad you are.”
“Me too!” Sebastian said with a big smile.
Rufi listened but said no more. None of them knew how she’d begun to dream about leaving several months ago. It started shortly after Olivia Bridger, their unexpected houseguest over the holidays, married George Johnson. What an interesting time that was! And then Old Man Johnson visited and thought he was seeing angels – ones who looked like a short rotund drifter and a rooster. Maybe he’d gone loco, but Olivia couldn’t have been happier and Old Man Johnson was giving his angel friends credit for bringing her and his nephew together.
