Josephine nodded and slowly opened the sealed envelope. She quietly read the letter through, not just once, but three times. Her face was a complete mask of shock. “I…I don’t understand…What? How?”
The sheriff tried to not chuckle. He had heard all about Mr. Horace Randall while he was in Redington, and how badly he had treated both his wife and his step-daughter. Still, it was not good to speak ill of the dead. “As the letter from the attorney explains, your step-father passed away about a month ago. Given that he had no other family to speak of, you are his sole heir. Everything he had is now yours.”
She looked from the sheriff to the letter, then up at Hank. She had never seen so many zeroes in her life. “But…but we were as poor as church mice…” Josephine could not wrap her head around the number that was staring at her from the paper. “How…?”
“Apparently your step-father was very good at hiding things from you and your mother. I’m sorry for your loss,” the sheriff added automatically, though there was little feeling behind it. From all accounts, the world was better off without her step-father in it. He was certain it was not much of a loss for her, either.
All sorts of emotions roiled within Josephine. Shock, anger, resentment, joy…each emotion tore at her insides. How could he have had this kind of money and never told them? How could he have claimed to love her mother and yet never have built her the house he had promised her when they married?
Hank nodded at the sheriff. “Thank you,” he answered for her. As he held onto her, he felt her knees start to give away and helped her to the bench on the back porch to sit down.
By the time they reached the porch, Otis, Esther, and Lydia had stepped outside to see what all the commotion was about. Baby Hannah slept peacefully in her mother’s arms.
“Land’s sakes, child. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” exclaimed Esther as she watched Josephine weakly take a seat.
Josephine looked up at the kind, elderly woman in a dazed fashion and blinked several times before responding. “I feel like I have.”
“Well, now that that’s finished, I ought to be going,” the sheriff said with a tip of his hat.
Caleb, who had filled Madeline in on what was happening, spoke up. “Why don’t you spend the night here before heading back? I’m sure Hank wouldn’t mind putting you up for the night.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Hank agreed.
“That’s mighty kind of you, but I need to get to Bayard and send a telegraph that I found Miss Randall. Call off the search.”
Silas, who had begun unhitching the teams from the wagons, spoke up. “If you write down what you want to say, I can run it into Bayard for you, Sheriff.”
The sheriff was truly touched by his kindness. “You wouldn’t mind?”
Silas grinned. “Not at all. I’ll finish up here, saddle up a fresh horse, and be ready to go. You just go write your message.”
Caleb smiled. “Well, that’s settled, then. We’ve got some paper and pens in the parlor. Let’s go inside, and we can meet our newest neighbors while we’re there.” George had filled Caleb and the others in on their guests, with Silas supplying the names and details of the Washington’s arrival at the ranch.
Everyone slowly filed back into the house and friendly chatter and introductions filled the air. Hank and Josephine were the last to head inside. Hank helped her to her feet, anxious to find out what her plans would be now that she had so much money at her disposal. He hoped that she would still want to marry him, but the need to do so for her had been removed. She no longer needed his protection. Would she want to stay in Nebraska with him and be a rancher’s wife or would she want a place in society?
*****
Hank held his tongue through dinner. Josephine was quieter than usual, which was to be expected, he supposed. She had a lot to think about. The sheriff had not told them how much his fiancé had inherited, merely that it was a small fortune. He knew the man well enough to take him at his word.
The after-dinner conversation was held in the parlor. Elijah had come back from working on the ranch just in time for supper. Caleb offered to pay him a day’s wages, but he had insisted that it was the least he could do for the help that Madeline and the others had given them.
“So, are you going to claim a homestead here in Chimney Rock, then?” Caleb prodded Elijah. The two men had been standing near the fireplace since they had come into the parlor.
“You’ve all made us feel so welcome. We’d be honored,” came Elijah’s humble reply.
“Good!” Caleb grinned. “In that case, we have a proposal for you.”
“We?” Elijah asked, confused as to what he could possibly mean.
Hank stood up from his seat next to Josephine and walked to Caleb’s side. “Yep. We,” he added with a wink.
At Elijah’s dumbfounded look, Hank chuckled. “We want you and your family to stay at Ben’s old place. I’ve been riding back and forth every day, just to be near my Josephine. I’d much rather move back into the bunk house, but we need someone to keep an eye on the place.”
“And we thought you could stay until you get a place of your own built on your property. After that, one of our ranch hands can move into my brother’s old house,” Caleb added. He and Hank were pleased with their idea. He hoped that the Washingtons would approve of it as well.
Elijah looked first to his wife, then his parents, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. “Why on earth would you do that for strangers like us?”
Hank grinned. “The Starks have always had this habit of taking in strangers. Jim, Silas, Walter, myself…even Cookie. They found us all wandering around, looking for work and a place to lay our heads.”
“You might say it’s an old family tradition, I reckon,” Caleb piped in cheerfully.
Elijah looked from his wife to his parents once again, and then grinned. He shook Caleb’s hand first and then Hank’s. “We’d be honored to keep an eye on the place for you, but only if we rent it. And just until we get our own house started. Thank you.”
Hank smiled. “We’ll help you get settled over there tomorrow. No need to move anyone tonight.”
Caleb thanked him with a wink and a nod, but he was not done yet. “Jim came up to me, just before we came in for supper. He said you’re a hard worker. How about helping out on the ranch until you get things going at your place? Yesterday’s storm aside, it looks like we’re heading into another dry spell. It might take some time before any of us gets a large herd going. We’re about to sell most of our steer and just keep some breeding stock around, and you’ll need to start breeding your mares.”
“We’ll help each other build our houses, too. Everyone has their own talents around here, and we always help our neighbors,” Hank added.
Elijah stood stock still, amazed at the kindness he and his family were being shown. Silas had been right—these were amazing people that they had stumbled upon. Tears filled his eyes and he answered in the only way he could. He gave first Caleb and then Hank a giant bear hug.
When they were done, there was not a dry eye in the room. Well, except for the boys. They were too busy playing jacks in the corner to pay any of the adults any mind.
“This calls for a celebration!” Caleb announced as he reached for his fiddle. He began to play, and Otis and Elijah began to sing. The ladies began to clap along, feet tapping to the music.
Hank grinned, but instead of joining in, quietly pulled Josephine from her seat and escorted her outside on his arm. They slipped out, seemingly unnoticed.
“Is that what you and Caleb were whispering about before supper?” Josephine asked slyly. She knew that they were up to something, but had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts over her inheritance that she had not paid them any mind.
Hank nodded. “We knew they’d need some help getting started. And with us starting to build our house tomorrow, it really would be easier for me to move back here.”
Hank marveled at how beautiful his bride-to-b
e was in the moonlight. He stopped walking with her and reached up to tuck in a loose curl by her cheek. He wanted to kiss her, but could see that she had something on her mind. He waited patiently while she wrestled with her thoughts.
“Hank, I know this might sound forward, but…”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, Josie-darlin’?” His heart was pounding in his chest so hard that he was certain she could hear it. He knew that Josephine would not leave him hanging for long, but now that she was about to say something, he was shaking in his boots.
“What do you think about moving up our wedding date? We could just live here, with Caleb and Maddy, until the house is ready.”
Hank was dumbfounded. She could not have surprised him more if she had told him the man on the moon had just come for a visit. He stood there and stared at her for what felt like forever. “You…you mean it? You…you still want to marry me, even after…?”
It was Josephine’s turn to grin. “Yes, silly. I want to marry you. As soon as possible. I know you wanted to wait until the house was ready, but after yesterday, I don’t want to waste a moment apart from you.”
A smile slowly transformed Hank’s face. It felt like the weight of the world had suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He wanted the same thing, and had been talking to Caleb about just that as they had headed home from Gering.
The two of them, along with the sheriff, had found shelter in an abandoned barn before the storm had hit, but they had feared that the storm might have hit the town of Chimney Rock or the ranch. Hank had vowed then and there to marry Josephine as soon as possible, to not waste another day apart from her, as they sat in that dark barn. It was not until Silas had found them that they knew everyone back home was safe and sound.
“I feel the same way, darlin’. Let’s talk to the reverend tomorrow, see when we can get married. I love you, Miss Josephine Martin. I love you more than anything.” Hank stroked her cheek and then kissed her under the light of the full moon.
The sounds of Caleb’s fiddle and the singing in the house set the mood perfectly. Josephine’s heart soared. She was about to marry the man of her dreams, her nasty step-father was dead, and they were financially set for life. Hank loved her and she loved him. In the end, that was all that mattered.
*****
Josephine lay awake that night, tossing and turning as best she could on the sofa. She still needed to confess her secret to Hank, though she was more certain than ever now that he would not think twice about it. His reception to the Washingtons made it clear to her that he did not care what a person’s skin color was, but that he judged people on their character.
Another thought ate at her as well. She did want to marry Hank as soon as possible, just as she had told him, yet she knew that they were eager to increase the size of the ranch. Hank’s claim would add another one-hundred and sixty acres to the existing four-hundred and eighty, but if she took a claim as a single woman and lived on it for six months, she could then purchase that one-hundred and sixty for one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. After that, she and Hank could get married and together, the ranch would consist of eight-hundred acres!
If she lived in a simple sod house, she could be in it by the end of the month. They would marry early in the fall, perhaps late summer if they were lucky. She did not relish the idea of living alone, but she knew that she would be well taken care of if she did. In the meantime, Hank could continue with the plans for their home. Maybe by the time they did marry, the house would be done! That would be a wonderful wedding gift.
Once she had talked herself into it, her stomach twisted in knots all night. She worried about what Hank would think of her plan. They had just agreed to marry as soon as possible, and here she had come up with a plan to delay their wedding. She also worried about leaving Madeline alone, even though she knew that her friend would be all right. It was not as though she would not still come by to help out every day!
By the time the sun had begun to lighten the sky, Josephine was up and working in the kitchen. She had gathered the eggs and milked the cow before the sun popped up over the horizon and spread its warm glow across the land. She put the milk into the icebox, checked that the fire had been started in the stove (which Caleb normally did before he headed outside), and set the water on to boil for coffee and tea.
She decided to make bacon and eggs for breakfast, with toast and jam on the side. As she came upstairs from the cellar with the bacon and jam, she met Elijah and Lydia as they came into the kitchen with sweet baby Hannah cradled in her mother’s arms.
“Good morning!” Josephine called out in a cheerful voice. She was eager to hide the fact that she did not sleep a wink the night before and hoped that being cheerful would help.
Elijah nodded politely and smiled as he helped his wife sit down with the baby. “Good morning, Miss Jo. I’m going to see if the men need any help this morning.”
“Oh, please let Hank know that I’ll expect him for breakfast. It shouldn’t take long.”
He nodded as he bent down to kiss his wife on the cheek and his baby girl on the forehead, then quickly donned his hat and headed outside.
The tenderness in the affection he showered on his family warmed Josephine’s heart and she could not help but smile. She began to bustle about the kitchen, eager to keep her hands busy while she waited to talk to Hank.
Lydia watched her for a moment before she offered to help. “I can lay Hannah down and help, if that’s all right.” She could not stand watching someone be so busy while she remained idle. Besides that, Josephine looked like she had not slept a wink all night.
Josephine nearly declined the help, as she wanted to stay as busy as possible, but she also knew how uncomfortable it would make her feel to sit and watch while someone else did all the work. “Thank you. That would be wonderful.”
She helped Lydia set up the basket that they had used yesterday as a temporary cradle and the two ladies got to work. Lydia hummed to herself as she worked, while Josephine tried to plan out what she would say to Hank about holding off on the wedding.
It was not long before Madeline and the boys came downstairs, with the dog on their heels. The boys took Pardner outside, and Madeline began to set the table in the dining room. With so many visitors, it was impossible to seat everyone at the small table in the kitchen, and she saw that Josephine and Lydia had breakfast well in hand.
Soon everyone was up and about. The boys came back inside and were made to wash up for breakfast. By the time the food was ready, Hank, Caleb and Elijah returned from their morning chores. They washed up and joined the others in the dining room, while Josephine and Lydia served up the food. Madeline happily watched over Hannah, who was sleeping peacefully in her basket.
Caleb turned to Elijah after Otis said the blessing and everyone began to eat. “Elijah, I was thinking about your homestead. Hank and I were talking about it, and we thought you might like the land to the east of Ben’s place.”
“It’s a nice piece of land,” Hank chimed in. “Has a creek that runs through it for the horses, and you’d be staying close by in Ben’s house while you build yours. Double S Ranch would love to have you for a neighbor.”
Madeline grinned. “So, you finally decided on a new name for the ranch?” She knew that they had been tossing ideas around, but last that she heard, they had not yet committed to changing it. She was pleased that they had. It was only fair to include Hank in it, now that they were partners.
Caleb gave her a wink. “Yep. It seemed the right thing to do, now that we’re expanding.” He turned his attention back to Elijah. “What do you say? Would you like to be our neighbor?”
“We can take you out there to give it a look over after breakfast, if you like,” Hank added, oblivious to the anxiety that spread through Josephine as he offered.
Josephine had thought she had the perfect opening to talk to Hank about her idea of adding even more acreage to the ranch, but things were moving too fast at the table for her to get a word
in edgewise.
The men may have been oblivious, but Madeline sensed that her friend’s mood had changed drastically. “Josephine? Did you have something to say?”
All eyes turned to Josephine and she felt the blood rush to her face in a hot wave of embarrassment. “I…I just wanted to talk to Hank for a moment before he rushes off for the day.”
Hank chuckled. “Of course, Josie-darlin’. Caleb can saddle up Rusty for me, right Caleb?”
Caleb rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh, I suppose…but you’ll owe me one.”
“Now, hold on a minute there. I think you still owe me one,” Hank teased back.
Laughter filled the room as everyone enjoyed the banter between the two men. Josephine smiled, but was far too nervous to join in. She picked at her food while the others ate, her stomach twisting in knots.
As soon as Hank finished his meal, she stood up and began to take his plate, but Madeline waved her away.
“We’ll get that. You two go and talk,” Madeline insisted.
Josephine furrowed her brow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes…you two go for a walk and talk,” Lydia chimed in. “We’ve got this.”
Josephine smiled her thanks, walked into the front hall, and waited for Hank by the door. He was right on her heels, so she did not need to wait for long.
He opened the door for her, and they stepped outside into the unseasonably warm air. They walked a short distance from the house before Josephine worked up the courage to say what she had been rehearsing all night.
“Hank, I…I have a couple of things to tell you, and I’m not sure how you’ll take them.” She began to pluck at her skirt nervously as she spoke and her heart was pounding so hard that she was certain he could hear it.
He looked at her and saw for the first time how tired she looked, and how frightened. “You know you can tell me anything, darlin’. I love you. Nothing you say’ll change that.”
“It might,” she muttered under her breath.
Before he could ask what she meant by that, she jumped right in. There was no beating around the bush any longer. “I think you have a right to know before we get married that I’m part Indian. My father’s mother was a half breed.”
Hank's Runaway Bride (Brides of Chimney Rock Book 1) Page 15
