The Ways of Heaven

by Lindsey Barlow

  Jeffries nodded. “They are on their way to the storage facilities to be put in the ice banks before delivery.”

  “Very good. We cannot afford to fall behind in our deliveries, especially since in another month we will get the summer visitors from the cities. Our dairy is becoming quite the tourist attraction I fear, especially since I’ve hired Kyle Lampton to cater our Summer Ball, and this year I plan on making it even grander.”

  Jeffries nodded. “Speaking of cooks, I hear Miss Rose is bringing one.”

  “Yes, and what a blessing! This dairy has become so big—and with the twins in the kitchen, I can’t keep up.”

  “You know Miss Anna, we could always use those machines for milking. I hear they—”

  Anna stopped dead in her tracks. “Jeffries, those things tear the cows’ udders to shreds. Why people were getting blood in their milk, and I will not do that to my babies.”

  Jeffries chuckled. “Of course not, Miss Anna, and may I just say that those cows are lucky to have a mama like you.”

  Anna grinned and patted her silver hair that still contained flashes of blonde. “Yes, they are.”

  Sheriff Ben stood up as Anna Castle walked in. She was a fine looking woman, as was her husband, both tall and fair with their Scandinavian ancestry manifesting in their broad shoulders and stately blue eyes.

  “Mrs. Castle, excuse me for coming so early. I have a few places to investigate, but I wished to speak with you first.”

  “It is no trouble at all, Ben,” she smiled. I was just about to start a cup of tea—” she looked at the sheriff, “Coffee?”

  “As black as you can make it,” he replied.

  Anna disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes, returning with a teacup and steaming mug of dark coffee.

  “Now, my dear Ben, you look like a man on a mission. Is everything alright?”

  He gave a single shoulder shrug. “I am sure you have heard about the cattle rustlers around these parts?”

  She nodded her head and leaned back in her favorite red velvet chair. “Strange, if you think about it. Tall Pine has a small ranch community compared to other counties.”

  Ben nodded. “I wrote Joseph Silver—you remember him, right? Tall man, married Esther Callen?”

  She laughed. “What female could forget him?” She waved her hand as if cooling a flushed face. “No woman forgets that man easily. How are they doing, by the way?”

  Ben smiled. “Well, Joseph, although a rancher now, lends a hand to the local detectives every now and then, which does not surprise me one bit.”

  “Is it true Abby’s papa plans on giving Will half his ranch? I’m happy for them, especially with Abby missing her family and such, but I’ll miss those two fiercely. I don’t know what Tall Pine will do without Will as their pastor or Abby keeping the town together.”

  “I don’t know either, but Joseph said Esther and his parents are over the moon about them coming out.”

  “Oh that is so good to hear,” Anna beamed. “Now, why did you write Joseph?”

  “Well it seems there is a pipeline of cattle rustling between here and Texas. Joseph says the word from the Rangers is that there is a gang called the Silent Owls running it.”

  “I see.”

  “Well, to speak bluntly, you and Clark seem to find the finest hands. I sent out word for a deputy several months ago, but most applicants are young ambitious boys who want to work in the cities.”

  “So you are thinking of deputizing a local?”

  Ben nodded. “Don’t have much choice. I don’t think the thefts are the Silent Owls, but I do think what we have in Tall Pine is a copycat. There has been a wildfire of rustlers since word of the Silent Owls spread. I would like to crush this little outburst of ego before it gets out of hand. However, with Tall Pine growing and being used as both a summer and winter attraction, I have my hands full. I need a deputy fast.”

  Anna nodded. “Well, I don’t see any of my workers wanting to be deputized. Still, let me talk to Clark and see if we can come up with some names.”

  Ben opened his mouth to speak, but not before he was interrupted by Clark Castle shouting, “Anna, they’re here!”

  Anna nearly dropped her teacup as she jumped from her chair. Sheriff Ben chuckled and stood up.

  “I heard Rose was returning.” He walked to the door, shaking Clark’s hand. “I’ll take my leave.”

  “Stop by anytime, Ben.” Clark grinned. “We’re always pleased at your company.”

  Ben promised and headed towards the stables. As he did, he saw a quaint carriage pulling up outside the rose covered gate. Clark had confided in him a year ago about the trouble Rose was having in her marriage, and he’d heard rumors she was returning before Clark himself had told Ben. Anyone who truly knew her would know it was not Rose to blame, no matter what the society pages said. Still, he could not help but cringe as he thought what her life would be like. The world was not always kind to women in any age or position.

  That scoundrel Cade Walker, coming to Tall Pine with his swagger and pride. He was a good shot, though. Not only did Cade’s reputation proceed him throughout Colorado, but Ben remembered the rifle contest they’d had during the Autumn Festival. Cade had won without blinking an eye. He’d shot the target clean through, then followed with another shot, hitting in the exact same spot as before. Supposedly, he was quite the athlete as well, and Ben, like others, was grateful for his part in keeping a train track out of Tall Pine. God gives a man too much money, too much talent, and too much good looks—he is bound to lose all decency, Ben thought to himself.

  Nine

  Cade tried moving his shoulders, but they felt nailed to a floor that smelled of vomit and urine. He groaned and heard a grated chuckle.

  “First time in a prison, pretty boy?”

  Cade opened one eye, though it felt glued shut with tar. Sure enough, there were several foul smelling men, some bloodied up, others asleep, most simply staring off into the dark cell that encompassed them with bars. He remembered it now. The bar fight, after hours of drinking and gambling. He’d lost at all the tables badly, and then while he was drowning his disappointment, some beer bellied fool had spoken too much.

  “I know you.” His breath was hot and his teeth yellow. Cade knew he shouldn’t be in this kind of place, but the higher class clubs and bars had ostracized him due to his own conduct.

  “Most people do,” Cade replied softly, not bothering to make eye contact. He sipped his whiskey, letting the burning liquid sooth his emotions.

  “You were married to that fine woman. Rose was her name, right?” He gulped down his own pint of foaming beer and was joined in his laughter by several of his friends.

  Cade felt his muscles tense. He himself was tall and broad, but he did not have the sheer bulk of this stinking fellow. That didn’t matter. If this large bellied man spoke more of Rose, Cade would flatten him to the ground.

  “I heard you got rid of her. How come?”

  Again Cade said nothing, but a muscle in his jaw ticked.

  “She unfaithful to you? You not man enough for her?”

  Cade’s eyes slid over to him. “And what do you know about being a man?” Cade asked smoothly. “You think it means waltzing over to me and saying a few ignorant things to impress your friends that you can ruffle the feathers of someone like me?”

  The man’s face turned red and his smirk disappeared. “It means, pretty boy, that your fine looking wife is now a free woman, and I am just the man to dry her tears and comfort her.”

  Cade didn’t even think before he launched himself at the man. His body responded with a series of punches to the large face, then a knee to the gut and an elbow to the jaw. He was pried off, and before he could blink an eye, the bar had turned into a riot of broken glass and smashed chairs. Several long minutes passed before Cade was pulled off his contender and both were tossed in a cell.

  “How is your face feeling?” Cade asked now, tauntingly. He was still ready to figh
t despite his multiple bruises..

  “I look forward to having your wife tend my wounds,” he spat back.

  Cade lunged for him, but a guard caught him first, throwing his beaten body to the ground and knocking the other man with his club.

  “Cade Walker?” A policeman called out as he opened the cell and nodded for the guard to bring out Cade. “You have a visitor,” he said dryly.

  Cade allowed himself to be pulled up and shoved out of the cell. A part of him hoped it was Rose. Every knock on the door, every call on the phone, he wondered, or hoped, it was Rose—it never was.

  Cade was led to a nice office that smelled of redwood. At the desk sat a man sporting a gray mustache; he assumed this was the Captain. Sitting in front of the desk with utter disappointment and disgust on his face was Cade’s father, Clarence Walker.

  “Cade,” he addressed him sourly, “don’t you think you are getting too old for this?”

  The Captain laughed when Cade simply glared. “Sadly, Mr. Walker, when they have the disease, they are never too old.”

  “The disease?” Mr. Walker frowned.

  “Gambling,” the Captain sighed. “We’ve seen men leave children and beautiful wives for gambling, as well as lose their home and even their lives.”

  Mr. Walker simply nodded and stood up. “Well, thank you, Captain. I am sorry for the inconvenience my son caused you and your men.”

  The Captain nodded and wished Mr. Walker good luck.

  “Come along, Cade.”

  Cade did not like the patronizing tone his father was using, even though he knew he deserved it. He was only gambling so much because of Rose; she was what drove him to this. He had not been happy with her, and now he was miserable without her. She was his curse, a disease that had grown into his skin. The only cure was the thrill of the game. With each card he experienced momentary freedom and excitement. He was adventurous with the cards, strong with the cards; he could do anything and win anything with the cards.

  “You know, I am regretting not having tried to convince Rose to leave off a divorce—” His father shoved open the front doors and stomped down the steps where his chauffer nodded, giving an uncomfortable glance at Cade before opening the door.“You never approved of the divorce.” Cade winced as he climbed into the carriage.“Yes, but for different reasons.” He tapped the chauffer’s shoulder. “Snow Peak Café, Henry. I am sure Cade needs more in his stomach than cheap whiskey.” He looked over at his son. “Our lawyer says that you refused to proceed with Rose’s wishes. Is this true?”

  Cade stiffened and looked ahead. He wanted to burn those papers, tear them apart, do anything other than sign those cursed documents.

  Clarence shook his head. “Well, Rose didn’t fix you, nor has her abandonment altered you in any positive way, so I feel there is only one option.”

  “I’m not sure I follow you,” Cade murmured apathetically. He gazed out the window, feeling like a young man again, about to be lectured.

  “I am saying that you are a disgrace, Cade. Goodness, you do not even work as a lawman any more. At least then you would have some dignity and purpose.”

  “Now you approve of my work?” Cade asked bitterly, “After years of calling me a disgrace because I chose to be a detective and not a businessman?”

  “At least you worked as a real man should.” He scowled, shaking his head and waving a hand in the air. “Don’t you have any pride, boy?” his father snapped. “Any sense how foolish a grown man such as yourself looks gambling the night away when he has a beautiful wife to go home to, a good family, and a comfortable home? What more do you want?”

  Cade narrowed his eyes at his father. “What I want is to make my own decisions, to not have you or anyone else forcing me to feel guilty about what I choose. You are right: I am a grown man! My choices are my own.”

  Clarence Walker’s jaw stiffened. “Yes. Your choices are your own, but the money used for your lifestyle and your despicable hobbies—son, that is all mine. After your work slowly came to a halt, I supported you for the sake of your marriage. Now, though, there is no reason to continue supporting you. I am cutting you off.”

  “What’s that?” Cade rubbed his temples. His head throbbed with the concentration of trying to drown out his father’s words, and yet he could not block them.

  “I am withdrawing everything: money, support, and I am selling your house to pay your debts.”

  Cade’s head snapped towards his father. “What are you talking about?”

  “I found out about your gambling debts. Your house will pay for them.”

  “No.” Cade began to feel frantic; his skin grew clammy beneath his clothes. “You can’t sell the house.” What if Rose came back? What if they had a chance to start over? Their home was the only proof he had of their marriage, their years together.

  “I’ve already begun, Cade. Like I said, I am withdrawing everything. I have done you no service in spoiling you. You think you are a man, but Cade, you are nothing more than an undisciplined boy. No wonder you lost a woman like Rose. She grew tired of playing nanny.”

  Cade gritted his teeth. “She’ll come back.” He clenched his fists.

  “Come back to what, Cade? A broken man who leaves her every night to drink and gamble? I am surprised she stayed as long as she did.”

  “She wanted a baby,” he sighed and blinked as his eyes suddenly felt a sharp sting. She had stayed in hopes of having a baby; it had not been for him. He was her hope in having the children she’d always wanted, and he’d abused that hope by acting how he wanted, knowing she would stay, believing she had no other choice.

  “Well, she has a baby now.” Mr. Walker strummed his fingers on his knees. “Cade, do you know much about the Indians around these parts?’

  He shrugged. “Rose was always speaking about the horrible conditions of the reservations. She and other women from church would bring food and blankets to them.”

  “I once heard an Indian speak of a particular tradition in which young boys are sent out by themselves to the mountains. There they must face the elements, wolves, and grizzlies, and hunt for food. The thought behind this is that such struggles turn boys into men.” Clarence lowered his eyes to his shiny shoes. “I have given you the false belief that the finest university and full pockets make you worthy to call yourself a man. So Cade, I am sending you to the mountains, as it were. You go out and make a man out of yourself. Find work, drop these harmful habits, and integrate some decency and respect into your life. Prove to me that you have changed, and then you will have your inheritance.”

  “Are you trying to recreate the ‘Prodigal Son’ parable, Father?” Cade smirked.

  “I am simply being a father,” he replied sharply.

  “By kicking me out of your life?” Cade clenched his teeth. He would not allow his father to see the sting these words caused. He didn’t need the support of family or money. He was a Walker who had been top of his class at Stanford in both academics and athletics. Being on his own wouldn’t be a trial.

  It was being without Rose that had proven to be more than he could bear.

  His father tilted his head towards him. “I am allowing you to become someone who would have been worthy of Rose.”

  Cade cocked an eyebrow and met his father’s gaze. “Rose lived her actions in accordance to what she felt God wanted. People like that, you can never be worthy of, because they think they live on a pedestal.” He looked forward, knowing that what he said reeked of infantile bitterness. “I’ll go, Father. I don’t need you. The same way I don’t need Rose, God, or anybody else.” He walked out, his tongue burning with the lie. He needed Rose more than he ever realized, but his father was right. Cade was not a man, not the kind that Rose needed anyway. Cade’s father thought that he could change Cade back into a man by taking everything, but then again, his father had always tried to mold Cade into what he wanted.

  “I am beyond changing,” Cade muttered to himself. A sinking feeling settled over him as he
realized that this was the first true thing he had said in a very long time.

  Ten

  “Momma!” clutching Daisy, Rose hopped out of the carriage and ran toward her mother. “I’m home. I’m home!” she chanted.

  Anna closed her eyes as Rose wrapped her right arm around her neck. “Oh, you smell like apple cider and butter cookies.” She sighed as she kissed her mother smartly on the cheek.

  Anna’s eyes moistened as she kissed her daughter back. “I’ve missed you terribly. Never are you allowed to leave Tall Pine again—not ever,” Anna teased, pulling away to look at Daisy. “Oh Rose, she is … she is beautiful. So beautiful.”

  “And perfect in every way.” Rose tickled Daisy who squealed.

  Anna’s eyes shined as she held out her hands. “Let me take her. It has been forever since I’ve held a plump baby.”

  Rose laughed and handed over Daisy. “Father!” she exclaimed and threw her arms over his broad shoulders. “You look much too handsome for your age.” She buried her face into his neck, feeling tears prick her eyes. “Momma must have to beat women off with a stick.”Clark said nothing as he rocked his daughter. “My baby,” he whispered before pulling back and cupping her face in his hands. “I’m sorry.” His eyes were gentle and Rose swallowed back a sob that threatened to escape her lips. She knew what her father was saying. He was sorry life had not turned out how she expected it. He was sorry about Cade, and Nell, and the stigma his daughter would now carry for the rest of life.

  Rose forced a smile

  “I’m fine, Father,” she nodded at Daisy, “I have her.” She looked back at Meg walking up the flower-lined path with Jonathan trailing behind her. “And, I practically kidnapped this talented young woman.” She walked back and took Meg’s arm. “She is a living testament that God answers prayers. You two have been looking for a head cook to work with the twins, and I found her.”