Robin shook her head. “Our pastor would be no help. Believe me.”
He raised one eyebrow. “It’s not like you to speak unkindly about a man of the cloth.”
She smiled and shrugged. “William, the preacher is Ty Morgan.”
TWENTY
William’s watch showed half-past midnight. The room was hot, no breeze came through the open windows, and scenes of the day’s events insisted on being rehearsed. He slipped on his britches and padded barefoot down the steps and onto the porch.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?”
William jumped at John’s voice. “I hear you but can’t see you.”
“I’m tryin’ to keep this wall from fallin’ down. Keep your voice low, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t wish to awaken anyone.”
“Not worried about wakin’ anybody. You got good eyes, son?”
William moved to John’s side. “I don’t wear spectacles, if that’s any indication.”
“I been a starin’ at one spot so long I can’t tell if they’s somethin’ a movin’ out there or if I got myself spooked. Look yonder, toward the barn. There! Did you see somethin’?”
William peered into the darkness. He did see movement, but what would anyone be doing way out here at this time of night? “You have any idea who or what it might be?”
“They’s been somebody snoopin’ around. He’s been seen here and over at Ty Morgan’s, too. Usually on horseback, and never looks to be hidin’. Never gets close enough, or stays around long enough, for anybody to catch up with him.”
“Want me to take a look? If it’s the same person he wouldn’t expect two men on your place, would he? Do you have a gun handy?”
“There’s one a hangin’ above the door in the kitchen. Can you manage handlin’ a gun without shootin’ somebody?”
William didn’t answer but stepped inside and retrieved the gun. “Don’t intend to shoot anyone, but if it’s an animal, I might find the weapon useful, don’t you think?”
“Humph. I knowed you weren’t no city slicker the minute I eyeballed ya in town. Think you can stay out of sight ‘til you get to the barn?”
“Trust me.”
William slipped into the shadows, scolding himself as he crept toward the barn. Only a city slicker would go out at night without his boots. What was he thinking?
He stopped at the edge of the tree cover, his jaw stiff from clamping it shut so he didn’t yelp as he encountered twigs and stickers along the way. He rubbed the bottom of each foot across his pant leg then leaned against the trunk of a tree to catch his breath. Did Robin know someone had been spying on them? What kind of danger was she in? Was Jacob in danger?
A twig snapped and a tingle ran the course of William’s spine. Had he been stupid enough to let someone get behind him? Heavy breathing accompanied another crunch of undergrowth. William shouldered the gun and whirled to face his opponent.
“Don’t ya dare pull that trigger. It’s me.”
William lowered the gun. “Well, you’re lucky you didn’t get shot, John Wenghold. I don’t recall hearing you say you were going to follow me. If someone’s still out there he’s no doubt laughing his head off.”
John stepped out of the shadows. “Keep the gun handy but come with me. I got me an idea.” He walked a ways farther then stopped and cupped his hands to his mouth. “Hey you, whoever ya might be. We knows you’re out there so ya might as well show yourself and tell us what ya got on your mind.”
“That’s a good way to get shot, you know.” William stepped between John and the barn.
“We don’t aim you no harm,” John shouted, “and I reckon if ya was intent on no good you would a done it long before now, so come on out.”
They waited for a long minute before a silhouette of a man emerged through the open barn door and slid around the corner. William ran, but John moved in front of him, and he tripped.
Pounding hooves telegraphed a departing message then all was quiet.
William sat on the hard ground with his knees drawn up. “If you would have stayed on the porch this might not have ended in such a fiasco. Why’d you cut in front of me?”
“Well, if that wouldn’t make granny’s cat howl. I didn’t do no cuttin’ in front. You was so slow I done got ahead of ya.”
“I couldn’t go any faster. I’m barefoot.”
“Barefoot?” John spit. “About the time I think ya might have a little bit of smarts, you go and pull some dumb trick. Don’t ya know no better than to go barefoot out here? It’s a wonder ya didn’t step on somethin’ sharp, or a snake, or somethin’.”
“Did you think the guy was going to accept your invitation for a tea party? ‘Come on out. We don’t aim you no harm. Nice Mr. Bad Man.’” William mimicked John. “Why don’t you leave him milk and cookies out behind the barn? After a while I bet you could get him to eat out of your hand.”
John waved him off. “You can poke fun all ya want. But promise me you’ll bust a gut to keep Robin and the boy in sight at all times. Never had me no trouble with anybody sneakin’ around ‘til they showed up. Me and Ty think it’s the boy what brung it on, but we can’t be sure.”
William rose and dusted off the seat of his pants. “Does Robin know?”
“Yeah, she seen him one night.”
“So, now what? You want me to stay up and watch?” William picked up the gun.
“Nope, no need. If the fella has half a brain he’s done figgered out there’s two of us. I doubt he’ll be back tonight. I been thinkin’ on havin’ me a piece of that there apple pie, if you haven’t already et it all. I was a wishin’ we could maybe have us a talk without Robin or the boy listenin’ in.”
“Hate to tell you, I ate the last piece of pi—Unh!” William winced as he stepped on something sharp.
“Here. You wanna hold my hand so’s you don’t trip?” John slapped his knee. “I’m purty sure ya didn’t eat the last piece of pie. I done figgered out where she puts the sweets when she don’t want me or the boy to find ‘em. B’sides that, a woman don’t ever bake only one pie on Saturday when she knows there’s company for Sunday.” John wiped his hand across his face. “Ya know, it’s a wonder that gun didn’t go off when you went a slammin’ into the ground. You did load it, didn’t ya?”
William grabbed John’s sleeve. “Are you telling me you keep an unloaded gun above your kitchen door? A lot of good that does. You think some intruder is going to politely wait for you to find your ammunition and load the crazy thing? John, you’ll have to be more diligent if you’re going to protect Robin and Jacob. You let me go out there with an empty gun, for crying out loud.”
“Didn’t let you do no such thing. I thought you’d have enough know-how to check. Always kept it loaded ‘til the boy came. Don’t take no fancy to him gettin’ curious and tryin’ to get it down.”
“You got a point. You know, if that gun had been loaded chances are you would have gotten shot tonight, cutting in front of me like you did.” William laughed. “If you don’t mind, though, I’m gonna load this thing before I hang it over the door again. With us both keeping Jacob in sight it should be safe enough.”
John shook his head. “Don’t know much about kids, do ya? I didn’t either before Jacob showed up. I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned—keepin’ a boy like him in sight at all times is about like clutchin’ a handful of water. What say I pound a couple nails up a bit higher? Maybe keep it out of his reach as best we can.”
William hung the gun back over the door. “Probably should wait until morning to pound anything unless, of course, you don’t mind Robin catching us cutting that other pie.”
John motioned to the cupboard where the coffee cups were. “Since you’re a gonna be around for a while, I reckon ya might as well make yourself at home. You can pour the coffee. I’ll get what I can find tucked away.”
William did as he was told, then grinned as John set a plate of cookies in front of him. “No pie? Th
ought you said she wouldn’t have baked only one pie.” He reached for a cookie. “Mmm . . . molasses. She remembered they’re my favorite.”
“Well, don’t get so high on yourself, boy—they’s my fav’rite, too.” John put two cookies on the table by his cup. “As late as it is, I reckon I might as well come right out and speak my mind. What ya here for?”
William liked this man. “That seems to be the question of the night. Robin asked me the same thing earlier.”
“So, what did ya tell her?”
“The same thing I’ll tell you—I came because I care for her.”
“Anybody send ya?” He reached for another cookie.
William took a sip of coffee. “Why would you ask a question like that?”
“Cuz Lionel Wenghold was my brother. He writ me a letter before he died—hadn’t kept in touch like I should’ve—askin’ me if I would think on making sure his daughters got took care of.”
William pointed to the cookies in front of John. “So, who’s taking care of whom?”
“Didn’t know how to go about gettin’ ‘em out here, and I surely weren’t gonna set up camp in Chicago. Didn’t reckon on them comin’ one at a time.”
“Why did he ask you? I mean, if you didn’t keep in contact, how did he know you would be the kind of person to honor his wishes?”
“Cuz we’s Wengholds, that’s how. Distance didn’t erase our name or drain our blood. Did Lionel ask you to take care of Robin in particular?”
William nodded. “Robin and I grew up together, played together, went to school together. At some point, can’t remember when, I appointed myself her knight in shining armor. Her limp made her a target for some awful mean pranks and a whole lot of ridicule. I tried to spare her as much as possible. Mr. Wenghold knew I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her as long as I could help it.”
“You let her out of your sight long enough for her to make her way to Kansas. You don’t think anything bad could happen to her out here? Jumpin’ bullfrogs, man. Did you know she was caught in a twister the first day she arrived? If it hadn’t been for Ty Morgan it’s hard tellin’ where she might’ve got blowed to.”
“I’ve heard the story. This Ty must be quite the man—preacher, woman and child saver, successful rancher . . .”
John’s eyes narrowed. “And a man what’s so blamed honorable he’s done got himself caught in a web that’s more’n likely gonna strangle him.”
“I didn’t mean to disparage him, Mr. Wenghold.”
“Ya sounded like a jealous schoolboy.” John spooned sugar into his coffee. “If my brother asked ya to take care of Robin, why’d it take ya so long?”
“I asked Robin to marry me before your brother died. I thought it might bring him a small measure of comfort. She refused—quite adamantly, I might add. I’m sorry to admit my pride was wounded. I fooled myself into thinking that if I left her alone for a bit she would see she needed me and would reconsider the offer.”
“The offer? Like ya was buyin’ a piece of property? I don’t know nothin’ about a woman gettin’ married, but I think I can pride myself on bein’ a mite smarter than you.”
“I didn’t know she would leave Chicago. Actually, I was gone when Mr. Wenghold died. I returned as soon as possible when my father contacted me with the news that the Wenghold sisters were in financial straits. He’d also heard a rumor that Robin planned to go west to work on a ranch. I didn’t get back in time to try to stop her.”
“Where was ya? You rich kids travel to warm climates for the winter, do ya?”
William stood and took his cup to the sink. “I was on my Uncle Earl Benson’s ranch in Wyoming Territory. I’ve spent my summers there since I was twelve years old. My father thought it would do me good to learn to work with something besides other people’s money.”
“You there all summer and winter?”
“No, no. I have an office at my father’s bank. Your brother visited with me there in early September, shortly after his physician gave him the news he had only a few months to live. I proposed to Robin soon after. I reasoned it would give her papa comfort to know she would be provided for. When she refused, I sulked. A short time later we received word my uncle was injured, and it provided me an opportunity to leave Chicago.”
“Did Robin know where you were? Does she know about this Uncle Earl?” John brushed cookie crumbs off the table.
“I guess I can’t answer that. I’m not sure my whereabouts mattered to her. It wasn’t unusual for me to be gone often during the summer. Our family owned a small private lake in Michigan. When I was younger, Mother and I would spend as much time as possible there, while my father stayed in the city. I don’t recall ever talking to Robin about my Uncle Earl or my working on his ranch. And I certainly didn’t know you existed until I returned and went to call on Robin.”
“Do ya love the girl, Mr. Benson, or is it a sense of duty you got stuck in your feelin’? Robin ain’t no dummy. She’ll sniff you out like a dog huntin’ a rabbit hole.”
William shrugged. “I admire Robin. And I know I could learn to love her. Love, as I understand it, would only be a fickle emotion without friendship, admiration or respect, and the profound need to protect that which is loved. I’m hoping my time here will allow Robin and me to have a better understanding of where we are in this relationship. Or, perhaps, whether there even is a relationship.”
John held his hand out to William. “I don’t suppose you’d consider staying on here, should Robin decide to take you up on your so-called offer?”
William shook hands with the older man. “It would be tempting, but no. As much as I’ve learned to love this way of life while working for my uncle, in the end I don’t want to set up camp on a ranch. I’ll return to Chicago and my life as a banker—like my father and his father before him—with or without Robin.”
“With or without the boy?”
William shook his head. “I don’t know, sir. I don’t know.”
TWENTY-ONE
Robin tied the bow of her new straw bonnet under her chin. The trio of small burgundy roses along the brim complimented the lighter shade of pink of her dress. One last dab of rosewater on her wrists, one last pinch of her cheeks, and she was ready. Mama would no doubt have scolded her for being so vain. But Mama wasn’t here. And was it so wrong to want to be pretty? To actuallyfeelpretty?
Uncle John would no doubt wink, and Jacob was sure to blurt out something about her new dress. But she wouldnotlet anything spoil this day. How good it was to have her trunk again. And to make it even sweeter, her sisters had packed two new dresses. It must have cost them a fortune, but this morning it didn’t matter. She would see they received payment later. For today, she planned to enjoy going to church with a new frock—and with William.
“Robin? You plannin’ on havin’ church in your room or you gonna hie yourself on down here so we can be a leavin’?”
“I’m right here, Uncle John. You needn’t yell.” Robin reached the bottom step and smiled at him.
“Well, if you don’t look purty this mornin. Reminds me of them wild roses what grow along the creek.” The older man stepped closer and sniffed. “And, by gum, you smell like ‘em, too. Whooee, Cedar Bluff, Kansas. You best be lookin’ out this mornin’.”
“Uncle John, please don’t say anything.” She kissed his leathery face. “I’m sure Jacob will embarrass me enough. But I do so want to look nice.”
John patted her cheek. “Oh, girly, I wish your Grandma Wenghold could see you. Ya remind me of her, you know?”
“I do? Thank you, Uncle John. I think that’s the nicest thing you could say. I’ve never heard you talk of her without love in your voice. She must have been a very special lady.”
“Special don’t near say it all. But enough of that for now. Come along. Church won’t wait for us, you know.
Robin stepped onto the porch and William’s eyes widened. A slow smile spread across his face, and butterflies danced in her stomach while his gaze
inched at a snail’s pace from her bonnet to her feet, then back again. Her breath caught, and she bit her tongue to keep from gasping. William’s dark suit accentuated his sapphire-blue eyes. His reddish brown hair swept away from his face and fell to the top of his crisp white shirt collar. Why had she never seen this side of him in Chicago?He didn’t look like this in Chicago. That’s why.
“You two gonna just stand there a gapin’. Ain’t you never seed one another cleaned up before?
Jacob giggled and his shrill voice broke her reverie. “Look at me, Robin.”
Goodness, but it was warm.
“Do you see me, Robin? Uncle John says I’m big enough to ride the horse Ty gave me all by myself.”
Robin scowled at her uncle. “You aren’t going to let him ride alone, are you?”
“He ain’t gonna be by hisself. I’m lettin’ you and William take the buggy, and me and the boy will ride horseback, and I got his horse tied to mine. No need to worry, though. By the time I was his age I was bouncin’ on the top of a big ole’ cow pony so broad my legs stuck out like oars on a boat.”
“By yourself?”
“No. Your pa was with me. Hard to find a young’un on this prairie what don’t learn to ride pert near as soon as he can sit by hisself. It’s a necessity. I figger we’re startin’ two years too late with Jacob boy.”
Robin shot a glance at William. Was he in on this?
He shrugged and winked.
She sighed. They outnumbered her.
“Your buggy awaits, my lady.” William stepped to the porch and placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, then walked her to the buggy. He helped her in then climbed beside her and gave the reins a flip.
John rode alongside the buggy. “William, be sure and have Robin point out the wild rose bushes. Patch don’t like to lollygag, so me and the boy will be pushin’ on. We got plenty of time if you was wantin’ to meander a bit.” He tipped his hat. “See ya in church.” He laughed as he rode away.
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