He had followed his sister out here from the city and now he had a life here. If it hadn’t been for her coming here with Daniel, he would have stayed in the city.
With his worries about keeping both ranches running, making enough money to keep them for winter and figuring out Daniel’s death, he didn’t needed this extra one on top.
Now that Daniel was gone, would Ginger want to continue to live out here once she realized how much harder it would be alone?
And what about Lana? He wasn’t sure what to think of her being with Ginger.
Lana might be a mean woman and hurt the children. Or maybe she would be nosey and overbearing. His imagination was full of unpleasant scenarios of what kind of woman this stranger was.
He touched the sides of his horse, moving him forward just a little faster.
“What is it you think you can do about it? I mean, if she already invited her to come out here and she’s on her way, it doesn’t seem there is much you can do.” Derek shrugged and nearly fell off his horse.
“Maybe when you’re sober you can help me think of something,” Nick said dryly. “I don’t want her to get too comfortable here. She can visit and then head back where she came from. Ginger and I can make it on our own.”
“Maybe,” Derek bobbed his head up and down, “Probably. I don’t always think as straight after a couple of swigs of whiskey, you know.”
“You don’t say.” Nick threw him an incredulous look. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what made Derek and himself best friends. There couldn’t possibly be more polar opposites of people. Besides a sample once to see how it tasted, Nick didn’t drink at all.
He had seen whiskey destroy too many men and families. He didn’t smoke either. Despite the popularity of it, he found it destructive and hated to see people hacking and coughing and so addicted to it they couldn’t go a day without their cigar.
Not to mention, both of those vices had hefty costs to the wallet. Speaking of his wallet, he was becoming more and more convinced that he had made the wrong decision to travel during the night. His wallet contained every penny he had saved over the last half a year.
He had taken it to pay for the cattle, but now that he was heading back empty-handed he had money on him. It was generally a bad idea to wander around with things people could steal. There were a few solitary bandits and the occasional thug. But more worrisome than all of them together were the Linden Bandits. They had begun to make a reputation for themselves for robbing everyone.
They had robbed the poorest man walking to the richest man at his ranch. Nick could only hope that God would be with them and get them home safely tonight, regardless of the dangers around them.
Dusk led into night faster than Nick expected and both he and Derek quieted their conversation. It was best not to draw attention to themselves if there was anyone lurking about. Every twig breaking and every rustle of the bushes made Nick reach for his pistol, which was tucked carefully in his holster where he could reach it.
He never went on a long trip unprepared. At least he had that to be grateful for. He wouldn’t consider himself professional with guns but he certainly had enough experience to consider himself safe with one.
His mentor and teacher had taught him that. Nick gave a little smile in the dark night as he thought of Eric. When Nick had followed his sister out here, he hadn’t known a thing about anything. If it hadn’t been for Eric, he probably would have stayed with his job at the general store to this day.
Eric had taken him under his wing and taught him the ways of farming and ranching. He had been a stellar teacher and Nick had enjoyed the two years on his ranch.
Don’t travel at night, my boy. It’s not worth the risk to you or your family. Words that Eric had said often sounded in his mind. He hadn’t listened. He had to stop letting his sister’s friend get under his skin. He had to quit worrying about all the what-ifs or he was going to do something foolish and regret it.
He hadn’t even met her yet and she was already causing trouble. Another rustle to the side of them made Nick tense. He only hoped that the rest of their journey passed quickly. What would happen to Ginger if he didn’t even make it home?
---*---
When the silhouette of his familiar cabin came into view, Nick gave a sigh of relief. They were finally back.
The last couple hours of their journey had thankfully been uneventful, but that hadn’t made it any less nerve-wracking for Nick.
“Do you mind if I bunk down here? I’m exhausted.” Derek was eyeing the cabin with the same relief Nick was feeling.
“Sure, no problem. Let’s get the horses in the barn and then we can get to bed.”
As they entered the barn, Nick ran a loving hand over the post in the doorway. He had helped Eric build this barn when the old one had burnt down.
When Eric had passed away Nick had never expected him to leave his possessions to him, but he had. He had left every single thing he’d had, including his ranch, to Nick. Apparently, he had no children in the west and didn’t want to leave all his hard work to someone who didn’t care.
It was handy that Eric’s property had been adjacent to the small piece Nick had bought for himself. Eric had sold off a small parcel to Ginger and Daniel on the west side of the property and when Nick had come west he was able to buy another parcel on the East side after working for Eric a few years and getting some experience.
Whenever Nick spent time around the ranch he thought of Eric and how he had changed his life.
Two balls of fur came barreling towards him, nearly knocking him down to the ground. “Woah, calm down!” Nick called out. But he made no real move to stop his dogs as they covered him with their forms of hugs.
Storm was shorter than Buddy and looked like a swishing swirl of white and gray as he tore around the yard in his excitement to see Nick.
Buddy bawled out his greetings, leaping crazily and nearly knocking Nick over as he dismounted. Nick had gotten him with the hopes of making a hunting dog out of him, but unfortunately, hunting was not one of the things he was good at.
Storm had shown up on his doorstep one night in the middle of a rainstorm, a wet ball of white and gray fuzz, his intelligent brown eyes pleading for help as he wagged his trembling body. Nick hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of keeping the fluffy white puppy with grey streaks. He had turned out to be great for cattle herding. Nick was certain that Storm would give his life for the cattle when protecting them from predators.
Nick didn’t like leaving his dogs behind, but sometimes he didn’t have much of a choice. He did enjoy the warm welcome they always gave him no matter how long he had been gone.
He gave each dog a thorough petting, first Storm and then Buddy, meanwhile trying to fend off their enthusiastic slobbery kisses.
“Are you almost done? I bet I could sleep right here with the horses, I’m so beat,” Derek’s tired voice made him realize how long he had taken with the dogs.
Thin tendrils of soft light were filtering through the darkness which had turned to gray. The sun was coming up and Derek was right; he was beginning to feel the exhaustion himself.
He had planned to visit his sister as soon as he had reached town, but it was probably a little too early right now anyway.
They could get some rest and he would go first thing in a few hours. Between he and Derek, it didn’t take long to get the horses brushed down and into their stalls.
Once they got inside, Nick hurried off to the bedroom and heard Derek fishing out some blankets and making himself a bed on the parlor floor.
Derek had spent the night before and Nick was confident he knew what to do. Right now, Nick just needed to get his eyes closed and get some rest.
Chapter 9
Lana stood at the entrance of the children’s bedroom, her hands on her hips and her lips pursed as she tried to decide where to start.
There was a pile of dirty clothes in the corner and the bedsheets appeared as if they hadn’t been washed for w
ho knew how long.
She decided that first things first she should get things washed and drying, then she would make some breakfast.
The sun had just barely started peeking above the horizon. The children were up and had already gone outside. Lana had heard them right before she herself had gotten out of bed. She had slept on a few blankets on the floor in Ginger’s room.
Ginger’s bed had been moved into the parlor for now, but she had said that once she was back in her room, either Lana could continue sleeping there or move to the children’s room until they were able to get another bed for her.
Lana started by pulling all the bed clothing off the beds and gathering all the dirty laundry. She peeked into the large wooden chest by the wall to find a single pair of clothes left that appeared to be Freddy’s. They were still clean so she left them there and took everything else outside.
It took a while of searching before she found the large tub that Ginger had mentioned the night before. Lana couldn't wait until she got a chance to use it for a bath.
She filled the tub with water and got all the clothing soaking in it before heading back into the cabin. Deciding that it was a little later than she would have liked, she began breakfast and determined to go finish the clothes afterwards.
Someone had put a large basket of fresh eggs on the table.
Lana eyed them suspiciously. She knew that sooner or later she would have to learn how to retrieve the eggs from the hen house, but she was very nervous about it. She hadn’t had much experience with animals, and what little she did have wasn’t great. She had hoped that she would have some time to get used to the ranch a little before she had to deal with the chickens, cows, or horses.
Lana generously prepared two eggs each along with some fried pork she found in the pantry. She also whipped up a fresh batch of biscuits. Soon the kitchen and the entire house were filled with the delicious aromas of the hot food.
She pulled out four plates and dished up large amounts on each. She wasn’t sure how much the children would eat. The day before, Lydia had polished off her entire plate, but Freddy had only eaten half of his.
She decided to make Freddy a slightly smaller plate and if he was still hungry she would give him more. A knock at the door had her nervous once more.
She hated the fear of Nick’s impending visit. She had tried telling herself that she didn’t care what the man thought of her, but the more she thought about it the more she realized that she did care. She wanted to be accepted here, probably because she was all alone out here. She was all alone in this world, as a matter of fact.
At least back home she did have some people who she could call acquaintances and Mrs. Miller who she considered her second mother.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was Craig. He held out a pail and a plate covered in a cloth napkin. “Here’s some milk and cheese from the springhouse. In the future, don’t be afraid to help yourself to anything in there.” Craig gave her a big smile as he handed the pail over to her.
“Thank you, Craig. This is perfect. Do you want to join us for breakfast? I’m sure there’s plenty if you do.”
“No need ma’am. I’ve already had mine early this morning. You all enjoy it.”
Lana nodded and retreated back to the kitchen where she finished laying everything out. When it was all ready she called out to Freddy and Lydia, who were once again playing outside. This time they were at the edge of the woods.
Lana wondered if they were always allowed free reign or if it was just because Ginger was currently injured.
“Lydia, Freddy, it’s time to eat!” Lana was unsure if their interaction yesterday had helped them be more receptive to her or if they were just starving. Either way, they dropped their playthings and hurried over without being asked a second time.
“Wait! Wait!” Lana called after them, stopping them just before they went into the cabin. “We need to wash your hands first.” She stood at the water pump holding a bar of soap and a towel,
“Why?” Freddy looked down at his hands. “They’re not dirty.”
“You were just playing in the dirt. I’m fairly certain they are dirty.” Lana didn’t want to argue with Freddy, but it was looking like she had no choice.
“But the dirt is over there.” Freddy pointed to the dirt that was still on the edge of the woods where they had been playing.
Lana knelt down and took Freddy’s hands into hers. “Look, Freddy, it’s very important we get the dirt off your hands; some of that dirt stays on there, you know. And there are things in the dirt that aren’t good for you to eat. Those things can make you sick.”
He looked at her with eyes that plainly said he didn’t believe her. “Okay,” he said at last.
Lana led him and Lydia over to the water pump and washed both of their hands thoroughly and then they went back into the cabin together. Everything was getting a little cold but it didn’t matter. Lana was so hungry she was certain that the temperature wouldn’t change her appetite.
She sat Lydia and Freddy down at the table and then took a plate to Ginger. “I can join you at the table.” Ginger smiled with pain in her expression.
“Are you sure? We could come and eat by you if you’d like.”
Ginger shook her head, “Nonsense. Just help me out of this bed. I need to get up anyway. I can’t stand to lie here another moment.”
Lana nodded reluctantly and helped Ginger out of the bed and helped her hobble over to the table.
She pulled out a chair for Ginger and sat her down and then hurried to her own chair.
“Lydia’s is bigger than mine,” Freddy said with a whiney voice.
“That’s because you’re smaller,” Lydia looked at him with a condescending smile.
“Am not!” Freddy turned to her with a pout.
“I’ll just give you a little more, okay?” Lana said, feeling exasperated and hungry.
She turned and took his plate, going to the stove and dishing a little more food onto it.
“Freddy wait!” she heard Ginger’s frantic cry. She turned around to see Freddy slipping out the door again.
Lana stifled a groan. It seemed that running out at the most inopportune times was something that Freddy enjoyed doing.
She hurried outside and scanned the area. He couldn’t have gone far, could he? Every place she looked was empty. There were no signs of him near the woods or in the middle of the yard where they had been before. When she found him, she was going to give him a proper scolding about running out on meal times. When she spotted him, her body froze.
Freddy was sitting on top of the barn roof, a happy, giddy expression on his –six year old, mischievous face.
“Freddy! What in the world are you doing up there? Stay there! I’m going to get you down.” Lana searched frantically for how Freddy might have managed such a feat. Up against the side of the barn, there was a makeshift ladder. Either Craig or someone else must have forgotten it there.
Lana hurried over to the ladder and hiked up her skirt. She then began a shaky ascent up the ladder. When she finally managed to get to the top of the roof she clung to the side in a knelt-down position.
She wasn’t sure where the beams were underneath her and she was worried that she might fall through. “Come this way, Freddy.” Images of the little boy falling off the roof and Ginger losing another family member made Lana tremble with fear. She had to get him down from there before he got hurt.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 7
