Lana was in a corner with a flock of birds surrounding her, no doubt looking for the grain she was supposed to have. A small smile touched Nick’s lips. Lana was the distraction that they all needed right now. He hated to admit it, but it was looking like Lana wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon, no matter how hard he made farm life for her.
He hurriedly opened the coop gate and strode across the yard to join her. He handed her the full pail of grain before she could protest. “Just toss it to them as evenly as you can. You can’t go wrong.”
Lana lifted one hand to protect her face as the birds swarmed her. They were hungry and eager to get to their food and she was so distracted by their frenzy she hadn’t thrown anything.
Nick chuckled and pushed his way through the fray to get beside her. Once he did, he gathered a large handful of feed and tossed it as far as he could in a fan motion, getting the majority of the chickens to leave Lana alone.
“Thank you,” she said with relief filling her voice.
“If I didn’t do that, the poor birds would never be able to eat properly,” Nick said jokingly. But he was fairly certain that Lana knew as well as he did that he’d helped her because he felt bad for her.
“Now that they’re busy, come on, let’s go get those eggs.” Nick led the way and Lana followed. He chuckled a little to himself as he envisioned her fighting with the chickens for their eggs.
He remembered the day that he had helped Daniel build the coop. They had opted for a spacious hen house so that the birds would have plenty of room to lay their eggs.
Lana yelped as a hen darted past her on the way into the coop, fluttering her wings.
“So, just reach into all the boxes, get the eggs and put them into this basket. Super easy.” Nick held out the wicker basket they used to collect eggs.
“Wait, you’re leaving?”
Nick nodded with a grin. “I have some other chores I have to take care of for Ginger before I leave. I’ll be around if you decide it’s too difficult.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure I can handle it.” Lana rose her chin in defiance.
With another little nod, Nick retreated. He wondered if Lana really would handle it or if he was going to be called back in a few moments. Regardless, as much fun as it was to see Lana uncomfortable dealing with the chickens, he really did have a pile of chores to help Ginger with before he left.
Craig had gotten word that his daughter was sick and he’d had to leave. Nick wasn’t sure when he would be back. Craig had been one of the only men he had trusted around Ginger and the children. Now everything was pretty much up to him.
He could pay people to do the bigger things, but even that was limited and he didn’t have all that much money to spare if they wanted to make it through the winter.
He needed to buy supplies soon. Nick sighed; it seemed that everything was falling apart all at once and he alone had to figure it out for himself.
---*---
Nick couldn’t say that he was surprised to see the familiar figure standing at the door of his barn when he arrived home.
As he approached, Derek held up his hands as if defending himself. “I know, I know, you’ve probably seen enough of me for a while. I wasn’t planning on coming around tonight except for I got some information about Daniel.”
Any exhaustion or tiredness that had plagued him moments earlier peeled away. “Really?”
“Actually yes. Apparently, he had a partner who often went down to him at the saloon. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing him with someone there at the saloon a few times.”
“You remember him at the saloon? Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I mean, I saw him at the saloon, I never really saw him gambling or there an obsessive amount. I was always in a different section than gambling and besides, you know me, I don’t really pay that much attention to things around me when I drink too much.”
Nick nodded, “I’ve noticed. Anyway, who is this partner and where can we find him?”
“He is actually in town tonight, over at the hotel. Do you want to go talk to him now?”
Nick scrunched his eyebrows together; he wasn’t exactly eager to head back to town so soon. Typically he only went to town every couple of weeks, “I suppose we could go. Is he gonna stick around long?”
Derek shrugged. “Not really sure where he lives or when he’ll be back so now would be best.”
Nick nodded and tightened the saddle on his horse once more. It looked like his night was still far from over.
---*---
As they waited for someone to answer at the hotel room door, Nick’s stomach tightened with nervousness. What if this was just an empty lead that left them with nothing like other leads had? He wasn’t much closer to the truth than the first day he’d started investigating.
After a few moments, a short man with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache answered the door. He had nervous eyes that roamed around, never landing on anything for more than a couple of seconds. “Can I help you?”
Nick stuffed his hands into his pockets, “I, um, actually we are here to talk about my brother-in-law, Daniel Meriwether. The two of you gambled together.”
The man’s face twisted in fear and he tried to slam the door, but Nick managed to put his foot in between the door and the frame.
“I had nothing to do with his death, I swear,” the man said. His face trembled and he took a stumbling step backward as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“I didn’t say anything about who was responsible for his death. Why would you think anyone even was responsible for his death? Everyone knows it was an accident.” Nick narrowed his eyes.
“I- I don’t know. I mean, the… he…”
Nick could tell that the man knew something. He doubted that he was responsible for Daniel’s death or he probably wouldn’t be in town in the first place.
“I suggest you start talking and quickly. If you know that someone killed Daniel, we need to know what you know. Whoever it was is going to receive justice.”
“I don’t know who it was. I just know that Daniel and I… well we weren’t the best at gambling. We started playing at the other table because the games were more interesting and the stakes were higher. We thought we would make more money faster.”
“But you didn’t.” Nick had been able to guess that part of the story.
“No, we didn’t. Daniel bet double or nothing and we lost. I hardly know who he owed. I think it was someone named Jake Gold. Apparently, the men at the table worked for him or something. I don’t know.”
Nick still didn’t leave; he needed to hear more, as he was finally understanding a little more of the situation. “Then what happened? How did Daniel pay?”
The man shook his head, a look of grief on his face. “He didn’t. The man said that he had a week. They said he knew what happened to men who didn't pay up. The last I saw Daniel was a few days before he died. He said he’d found out who Jake Gold was and he was going to ask him for more time.”
“Who is this Jake Gold? Is it someone in town? There are four Jakes in town that I know about and none of them have the last name of Gold.”
“I don’t know. I’ve already told you everything. Next thing I know, I hear that good old Daniel is being buried and has left a wife and children behind. I came back and paid all of my savings to the men. I didn’t want to risk the same fate.”
Nick nodded. He could understand that. He would definitely be doing the same if he were in this man’s position.
This time when the man moved to leave, Nick didn’t stop him. The man paused before he left the hotel room, “One more thing. If I were you, I’d find out how much Daniel really owed and pay it back. I have a feeling that whoever did this to Daniel didn’t just have him in mind. They have been known to go after family too. They don’t care who they kill. They just care about the money.”
Nick nodded, unable to say anything. He knew what the man was insinuating. Whoever had killed Daniel would li
kely come after Ginger, the children and even Lana, and of course they might come after him too.
Chapter 18
Lana gave the basket of eggs sitting on the kitchen table a wry look. Today was the third day that she had managed to feed the chickens and gather the eggs by herself.
She still dreaded the chore but wasn’t about to tell Nick that. The first time he’d left her to do it alone, she hadn’t thought she would get through it without calling him back in to help her.
But the idea of him saying she couldn’t handle western life had kept her from doing so. She had talked with the chickens about maybe taking it easy on her, but they didn’t seem to care. They still swarmed her when she walked into the pen with their feed, and the hens still pecked at her hands when she stole their eggs.
But she had learned a few things. If she threw the food out over the ground they would swarm on that instead of her. And she hadn’t felt nearly as overwhelmed by the experience today as she had on the first day so she felt good about that.
She did enjoy the fresh eggs. They were better than anything she’d had ever had in the city.
“Lydia, Freddy, come and eat! We are about to go!” Lana adjusted the plates at the table and hurried into the parlor to help Ginger in to eat.
It was Sunday and they were preparing to go down to the church for the service. The reverend happened to be in town, which was a rare occasion according to Ginger, and they were all eager not to miss it.
Ginger shoed her away and instead leaned on the crutch that Nick had made her. Lana could see that she was still keeping her weight off of her broken leg like the doctor had ordered and still managing to get around quite well on her good leg.
Nick had said they would move her bed back to her room tomorrow afternoon, now that Ginger could move around a little more freely. The doctor had said that Ginger should stay off of her leg for eight weeks at least, and that was if there was no problem with healing or with an infection.
Lana had kept a close eye on it since she had arrived. Checking the cast and making sure that Ginger followed the doctor’s orders, no matter how much Ginger wanted to walk on it again, had been her daily routine.
Freddy and Lydia ran into the kitchen, nearly knocking the chairs over as they clambered into them. Lydia was in a light blue dress with ribbons to match tying back her hair in two braids.
Freddy had cleaned up nicely as well; he was wearing a pair of brown pants with black suspenders and a plaid shirt that matched nicely with Lydia’s dress.
The two of them gulped down the food as if they hadn’t eaten in a long while and Ginger and Lana didn’t take long to catch up.
As they were halfway through their meal, the sound of the door opening interrupted them. Lana was sure it was Nick. He was the only one who would walk in unannounced like that. “Are you all ready?” Nick asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Almost!” Freddy said through a mouthful of food.
“Freddy, don’t talk with your mouth full please.” Lana had been speaking with the children about manners for the last several days, and yet her teachings didn’t seem to be sticking.
“Manners? We’re not in the city,” Nick had a mischievous grin on his face that for some reason intrigued Lana more than it irritated her.
“Your uncle is just saying that because he doesn’t want to use them himself,” Lana said gently, pointing to the fork as a reminder for Freddy to use it.
“Is that true, Uncle Nick?”
Nick fidgeted a little and Lana felt a little stroke of victory as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, I don’t know that’s the reason, but let’s not talk about that right now. We’re going to be late for the service if we don’t get on the road soon.”
Lydia and Freddy didn’t need further prompting. From what Ginger had told her, the children didn’t get to go to town often. It was usually only when they went to church and even that was only once or twice a month.
After church, they always got a penny candy from the general store. Lana could see that it was a special day for them.
Once breakfast was finished, they piled into the wagon and Nick snapped the reins and ‘gidyupped’ at the horses. The wagon jerked forward and they were on their way.
Lana leaned forward excitedly; she had a feeling today was going to be a good day.
---*---
“Lana, this is Christy. She lives on the other side of town, but we like to talk when we both come to service,” Ginger announced as she pulled Lana up to a woman who looked to be their age.
She had auburn hair with a spray of freckles over her light skin. “It’s nice to meet you!” Christy stuck her hand out and Lana shook it tentatively.
She had been introduced to so many new faces this morning that she was sure that she would forget most of them by the next day.
The service had been wonderful. The reverend had left almost as soon as it was over. Apparently, he’d already been in town for a day and had to move on to the next town since there were no marriages or funerals taking place in town that day.
Lana wondered how it was to be a traveling minister, always on the go.
“Are you ladies ready to go?” Nick asked walking up.
Ginger nodded and leaned a little on Lana. “I think that would be good. I’m getting pretty tired. The crutch works pretty well but it gets sore under my arm if I walk too much.”
“The children are playing outside. Let’s go and we’ll pick them up when we are all in the wagon.”
Nick went to Ginger’s other side and between him and Lana, they helped her out of the church and into the wagon.
Lydia and Freddy must have spotted them because they came running up. They looked like opposite children from the ones who had been so spiffy and prepared that morning.
There was a tear in Freddy’s pants and Lydia’s bows had come untied. They both had a good number of smudges of dirt on their faces and clothing.
“It looks like you two had fun,” Lana said with a laugh.
“Climb in, we’ll get you both some candy on the way home so you can add sticky to the dirt on you,” Nick declared, laughing. Nick was holding back on the horses' reins. As always, the horses were eager to get back home.
The stop at the general store took a little longer than Lana would have thought. Lydia and Freddy couldn’t seem to decide what candy they wanted. There were several different choices for a penny. In the end, they both got peppermint sticks and Nick brought one for Ginger and Lana as well.
The ride home was full of chatter and laughter. It made Lana feel as if she had a family again. It had been so long since she’d had people to laugh with, to spend time with, to care about.
As soon as the pulled up to the ranch, Lana knew something was wrong. Her first clue was that the cabin door was swinging open, She was sure it had been closed when they left.
She could tell that Nick felt the same way by the intense frown that enveloped his face. “Stay here, I’m going to check this out before you go in.”
Lana wanted to protest, but instead she stayed in the back of the wagon and waited tensely. A few moments later, Nick emerged with a dark look on his face.
“Lana, come here a second,” Nick called.
Lana was surprised that she would be the one he called.
She leaped down from the wagon and after telling the children to stay put, hurried across the yard and to the cabin. When she stepped inside she gasped, unable to find words.
An Encounter of Courageous Hearts: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 14
