Nick shook his head and prepared his cup and waited for the coffee to boil. “It doesn’t work that way. I just… I wonder how committed she is to her life here. Is she just trying to get Ginger to go back to the city with her?”
“Do you think she’d go? Maybe you should ask her. It might set your mind at ease.”
Nick nodded thoughtfully. While Derek was often impaired with drink and had some wild ideas, there were the rare moments that he made sense.
“I’d like to, but she probably wouldn’t tell me even if she was considering going back. It would be easier for her there, you know. With the children to take care of, the ranch is going to be a huge feat for her to manage alone.”
“I don’t know. You should give your sister some credit. She knew what she was getting into coming out west. She doesn’t strike me as the type to give up easily.”
Nick nodded again looking into his coffee as if he might find an answer there in the dark liquid. Derek was right. Ginger had always been as much a part of the ranch as Daniel had been. She had started out a city girl but with time and Daniel’s patient tutelage she had gradually taken on more and more of the ranch work.
She had done a great job taking care of the garden and coordinating between farmhands which harvests needed to be planted or taken care of. She had been a great manager of affairs on the ranch.
He had often wondered what Daniel would have done without her. He had rarely imagined what would happen the other way around.
“You’re right. I am probably overreacting, but it’s not just that. I have more reasons for why I wish she wasn’t here than just that that I don’t want her to be here.”
“Like what?”
“Daniel’s death for one. She was asking about it tonight again.”
“What’s there to ask about? It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it?”
Nick shook his head. “Remember when I told you how I went to see the wreckage?”
Derek nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
Nick narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you remember?” Nick could remember that when he had tried to tell Derek, he had hardly understood him because he had consumed too much whiskey. He hadn’t even bothered going into the pin being replaced with a piece of wood because he hadn’t wanted to waste his breath.
He had decided to wait until Derek was sober to discuss it with him. It seemed that now was as good a time as any. While Derek probably wasn’t completely free of whiskey, he was probably as sober as he was ever going to be.
“Anyway, the pin was replaced with a piece of wood. It looked deliberate. I think it’s what caused the wagon to collapse like that.”
“Wait,” Derek’s eyes grew wide. “Are you saying…”
“I don’t know yet. I mean, sure, it could have been an accident. Maybe Daniel planned to buy a new pin in town and thought that the wooden one would hold out and it didn’t but it really doesn’t seem like something he would do.”
“Or maybe someone hoped it would look that way.” Derek’s voice was low and filled with anger.
Nick ran his hand over his face, “I don’t know. It really could be anything at this point. I just don’t want Lana poking around in it and stirring anything up. Especially if foul play ends up being involved.”
“You told her it was just an accident, right? So it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I did, I mean, I tried. I don’t know. She sort of acted like she suspected something. I’m not sure what to think of her.”
“Well, that might not be good. And then again, this whole thing might just be an accident and you may be reading into things.”
Nick nodded, “Maybe. Regardless, none of us need this sort of distraction right now. “
“So what are you going to do about it? You can’t exactly just ask her to leave. Ginger probably wouldn’t like that very much.”
“No, I can’t ask her to leave, but I can remind her why she might want to.”
Derek looked confused.
“I’m going to show her just how hard it is to live in the west and be a frontier woman. Hopefully, she’ll be on the next train in no time.”
Derek nodded this time, a playful grin on his face. “That sounds like a bit of fun.”
Nick gave a little scoff, “I certainly hope so. We should turn in now. It’s getting late. The saloon will still be there another night.”
“Do you mind-”
“Go ahead. Knock yourself out. You know I don’t mind. Blankets are on the shelf.” Nick turned and walked down the hallway to his bedroom, his half-empty cup of coffee in hand.
He needed a good night’s sleep to decide what it was that he was going to do tomorrow to remind Lana just how far from home she really was.
---*---
Nick woke up with a start. The soft pitter patter of rain sounded on the roof. He wasn’t sure exactly what time it was. The sky was darker than usual, making him feel disoriented. While the rain hadn’t started pouring yet, there was certainly a storm on its way. He could hear the continuous rumblings approaching from a distance and the wind in the trees gaining momentum.
Nick sighed and gave himself a moment to sit in bed and dread getting up. He hated doing chores in the rain.
After a few seconds of procrastination, he stood and got dressed, pulling on his heavy work coat before going to the kitchen. The whole cabin was chilly, and he decided he would get a fire going in the fireplace before heading out.
He missed having Ginger and the children here with him, but he also liked having space to himself. The times when it felt too lonely, he tried to spend more time outside or go visit Ginger and her family.
That was different now that Daniel was gone. He no longer went to Ginger’s for the company but only to make sure she was all right. He felt a heavy sadness every time he went. Daniel’s absence was palpable.
Lana’s face popped into his mind as he thought of this. He shook his head and frowned. Maybe it wasn’t so much about Lana but more about himself. Maybe he didn’t want to feel replaced, as if he wasn’t needed to care for his family.
Whatever the reason, he had a whole host of things he had planned for Lana and when he was through, she wouldn’t be able to get back to the city fast enough.
After there was a steady blaze in the fireplace, he went out to the barn and set about milking the cows. There were ten of them, so it took a good couple of hours. By the time he was through the sun was shining through the rain, making a rainbow against the now blue sky. The gray clouds had moved off to the northeast and looked like a departing dirty pile of cotton.
Nick shook his head and smiled. It was crazy how fast the weather could change. They always said if you didn’t like the weather in Missouri just wait 20 minutes and it would change. How true that was. The air had turned fresh and smelled so good after the rain had washed it clean.
He hurried through the rest of the chores and then went inside to the parlor to dry off and wait for the mud in the yard to dry up a little before visiting Ginger.
At first, it was relaxing and enjoyable to sit by the fire with a cup of hot coffee. But after a while, he couldn’t take it anymore. He kept wondering what Lana was doing with Ginger and the children. Was Ginger walking today? Was Lana making sure she didn’t overdo it?
It had cooled off significantly with the passing of the storm. He wrapped himself up warmly and got the horse saddled and prepared, then rode as fast as he dared on the slippery trail to Ginger’s ranch.
It didn’t take long, it was only a ten-minute ride between their houses. Nick hadn’t been able to believe his luck when Eric had given him a job so close to his sister’s and Daniel’s ranch. And then when the ranch had been left to him, it seemed as if God had put them together from the beginning.
Nobody was outside when Nick arrived. He tied his horse underneath the lean-to and then hurried up the porch steps two by two. He hesitated before knocking, wondering if it was strange that he was back so soon, then decided that it would be expected
.
He didn’t have to ask permission or worry about what people would think when visiting his family. Ginger had told him he was always welcome and they needed him here.
He knocked firmly on the door and a few moments later, it swung open. Lana was standing there. She had a big smudge of flour on her cheek and her hair was tousled. She was wearing one of Ginger’s aprons and appeared flustered when she saw him as she searched for words.
“C-come in.”
Nick nodded to her politely and took off his hat. “Good morning to you too, Miss Lana. I see you found the flour in the kitchen.”
He smirked as she began to wipe at her face and he walked over to Ginger.
“Good morning, Ginger.”
Ginger narrowed her eyes at him with a stern look.
“What?” he said feigning innocence.
“I heard that. Can’t you try to be nice to her?”
Nick glanced back at Lana who had gone back into the kitchen. She was standing behind Lydia and Freddy who were also covered in flour. The three of them seemed to be mixing something in a bowl.
“I- She’s fine. Tell me, have you walked around this morning yet? Should I help you out of bed?”
Ginger nodded her head up and down. “Yes, Lana helped me. I walked around a little and stretched my legs… well my leg technically, since I’m not supposed to walk on the broken one,” she added.
“Oh. Well, I’m sure there’s something around here that Lana hasn’t been able to take care of.”
“I don’t know. She’s been doing a pretty good job. I still don’t understand what your big problem with her is.”
“Nothing, I’m going to go and check on things outside.”
Ginger nodded, “Okay, make sure and come back soon though. The children are making something for lunch and you’re welcome to stay.”
Nick nodded absentmindedly, “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
He glanced one more time at Lana, who must have said something funny because the children were laughing along with her.
She already looked more comfortable than he would like. He certainly had his work cut out for him to send her back home.
Chapter 13
Once they had placed the pies in the oven, Lana slipped out back to get some fresh air. She needed a moment to clear her mind.
Nick was hard to handle. He made her feel nervous and as if he was examining everything she did. What if she wasn’t really that helpful? What if she was really messing something up for Ginger?
Lana shook her head and pulled a basket of clean clothes up higher on her hip. She needed to get these hung out anyway.
She made quick work of pinning up the white shirts, the overalls, and Lydia’s dresses. Once she had gotten the bulk of the clothing washed, keeping up was fairly easy.
She had been planning to wait until the next day to hang these out or hang them inside when she heard the rain start in the morning, but the sun had come out quickly enough and the remaining rain seemed to have been blown away. It was a cool, breezy day but the sun made it feel a little warmer.
Once she was satisfied with her work, she went back into the cabin. Nick was nowhere to be seen.
Freddy and Lydia were playing a game of checkers in front of the fireplace and Ginger was reading a book.
“I’m going to check on the bread,” Lana said to no one in particular. She walked into the kitchen and searched around till she found two small towels in a drawer near the sink. She pulled open the oven door and checked the bread. It had a golden-brown crust and looked as if it was perfectly baked.
She folded the towels and placed them on the side of the loaf and pulled it from the oven, placing it on the table. As she did so, she realized there was a cup on the table that hadn’t been there before.
It was flipped upside down. Lana figured it must have been either Lydia or Freddy’s doing and reached out, picking it up swiftly.
Out from under it scurried a large spider. Lana let out a scream, nearly falling to the ground as she stumbled backward.
Once her breathing calmed a bit and she was able to regain her dignity, the sound of laughter made her turn.
Nick was standing in the doorway, clutching his side as he laughed uncontrollably and watched her reaction to the creature.
Lana bit down on the swift response she had been about to deliver. After she was able to calm down a bit more and Nick had stopped laughing and resorted to an amused smile, Lana took a step toward him.
“Was this your idea? What are you trying to do?”
Nick shrugged. “I’m not trying to do anything. Spiders are a part of the country in the west. You’re not scared of them, are you? He was running loose in the kitchen when I put the cup over him and now he is loose again.”
Lana shook her head, ignoring the voice inside her head that was screaming yes. “No, I am not scared. It just took me by surprise.”
“Then why don’t you take it outside?” he asked in a teasing voice. Nick lifted his eyebrows and Lana knew he was daring her.
She let her gaze go back to the horrible, long-legged hairy spider who was still crawling on the edge of the table. He didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to leave.
“I- you brought him in here. If it had been in the kitchen I would have seen it. You should take him out to wherever you got him from.”
“Fair enough. Though I won’t stop believing you’re scared of them till I personally see you carrying one out that door.”
“That is not going to be happening any time soon,” Lana bit out. She watched as Nick scooped the insect up between the cup and a piece of wood.
“Where did you even get a spider? It’s been raining all morning.”
“It was in the barn. There are plenty of them out there. Speaking of which, Craig isn’t going to be able to keep collecting the eggs. I’ll need to show you how to do that today or tomorrow.”
Lana nodded but her stomach twisted in knots. She had been hoping that collecting eggs was something she wouldn’t have to do for quite some time. “I’m ready whenever you are available to show me,” she assured him despite her inner voice’s protests.
“Right,” Nick paused near her and their bodies almost touched. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of spiders to practice getting used to there in the hen house,” he said as he passed.
Lana watched him go and felt a flash of anger at his chuckle. She wasn’t afraid of the hen house and she wasn’t afraid of some spiders.
“I bet there weren’t spiders in the city.” Nick’s last words as he went out the door made Lana even more determined not to be intimidated. It wasn’t hard to see what Nick was trying to pull with this stunt. He obviously wanted to scare her into going back to the city.
It wasn’t going to happen. She was going to stick it out here as long as Ginger needed her, even if she had to face spiders or any other terrible creature out here in the west.
Besides, didn’t chickens eat spiders? She remembered Ginger telling her in a letter how thankful she was that the chickens ate the spiders and that the cats ate the mice.
She set her jaw and turned to the bread that was cooling on the table. She was going to show Nick how much this family needed her and how tough she could be.
She knew what it was like to have family die and to be left all alone. She could see the same grief and sadness on Ginger’s face for much of the day. She knew how hard it was to feel as if you had no one left to lean on.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 10
