Ranch Life is Great

by Malone, Misty

  "That if people were afraid to go in their store she would close it down now, and we'd have all the business in town." He hung his head, shaking it slowly. "How could he do that?"

  "We don't actually know for sure that he did, Theodore."

  "Why else would he have been in the store that day? He hadn't been in there in months. Then all of a sudden he shows up, the same day they're killed, and he's spreading such a vicious rumor." After another couple of minutes he had another thought. "I have to go apologize to Miss Elsie. I feel terrible. That poor lady didn't deserve this."

  "Theodore, you're not responsible for what your father did," the sheriff said.

  "Maybe not, but I still feel bad for Miss Elsie. I need to go talk to her. I'm not sure I'm ready yet, though, to face her. She deserves to know, though."

  "Would you like me to talk to her?"

  "Would you mind? I hate to ask you, but I'm just not sure I can face her yet. I will apologize to her in person, but I just don't think I can do it yet."

  "I understand. I'll go out and talk to them. I'm sure they'll understand why you asked me to tell them."

  * * *

  Sheriff Fitch did just that. He knew Elsie desperately wanted to know who killed her parents, so he went out to the ranch that evening, about the time Cade was coming in for supper. He met Cade at the barn and talked to him a minute before going to the house. Cade invited him to share supper with them while they talked, but Sheriff Fitch was hesitant.

  "I'm not sure Miss Elsie will want to be eating when I tell her my news," he said with a grim look. "We believe we know who killed her parents."

  "You believe you know?"

  "Yes. When I explain it to you, you'll understand what I mean."

  Cade was obviously confused, but didn't push for more information yet. No use making the sheriff explain it all twice. "Then let's get in there and let Elsie know. That's information she's been waiting to hear."

  The two men met up with Wyatt and explained the kind of news the sheriff had. Wyatt nodded, as well, and they all went to the house. Elsie greeted them warmly, and blushed a little when her husband gave her a little kiss in front of them all. "Honey, let's go in the sitting room for a few minutes. Sheriff Fitch has news on your parents' death. Wyatt, Maria, why don't you come in, as well, so you hear what he has to report, as well."

  When they were all seated, the sheriff started in. "Miss Elsie, I sure wish this wouldn't have happened. I hate telling you this, but—"

  "I know, Sheriff, and thank you. Since it did happen, though, I don't feel I can get past it until I know who did it."

  "I understand. Well, let me tell you the investigating I did and what I found. Like I said before, the next day after we talked, I left here in the morning, after the stores were open, and went to Springdale. I talked with the telegraph operator again, and was happy to hear he'd been thinking about the man that sent the telegram canceling the Stones' order, after I asked him about it. He remembered now that he was tall and thin, with gray hair, and rather pale looking. But I also asked if he was riding a brown horse, like the majority of the horses around here, and he said no. His horse was black with a white diamond on its head."

  "Ralph's horse," Wyatt said.

  "Yes," the sheriff confirmed. "After talking to him I rode to Ironton. It was a much easier ride than I anticipated, with a pretty nice path the whole way, and no hills or valleys. I got there before dinnertime. I met with George Preston again and talked to him some more. I found out he got there before dinnertime, just like I did."

  Cade squeezed Elsie's hand. "So that pretty well proves it was him who canceled the order. After all, how many people would even have known who to send the telegram to?"

  "Exactly," the sheriff agreed. "But this is the part that was a surprise to me. George Preston said Ralph didn't stay too long, leaving not too long after they had dinner. He was home before Theodore closed the store. What surprises me about that is that Theodore had no idea Ralph went to Springdale first. He was concerned when Ralph announced he was going to Ironton, because Theodore didn't think he was strong enough to do that. He was shocked when I told him he'd gone to Springdale first."

  Everyone looked from the sheriff to each other. Elsie was the first to voice her thoughts. "So Theodore didn't think he was strong enough to make it to Ironton and back, let alone to Springdale first?"

  "Right. He could hardly believe me when I told him he went to Springdale. He thought he was too weak. It wasn't until I told him what the telegraph operator said about the horse the man was riding that he knew it was indeed Ralph."

  "Yes, that would give it away. I've never seen another horse that looks like Ralph's, and especially around here. The biggest majority of the horses around here are brown. There are a few paints, and a couple black stallions, but none with the perfectly shaped white diamond on its head like that," Wyatt said. "And I notice horses because I've worked with them my whole life."

  Elsie was thinking further ahead. "So Theodore was surprised to learn his father canceled that order then?"

  "He was indeed. But here is the part that really surprised him, and me," the sheriff said. "When Theodore found out his father canceled that order he said that went along with him paying the two boys to throw the stone through the window."

  Cade nodded his head. "He knew about that?"

  "He said he'd heard the talk about town. He didn't know if it was true, but after hearing he'd canceled the order, he assumed it was, because he said it went along with his father starting that awful rumor. I asked about that, and he said his father hadn't been in the store for months, until all of a sudden he showed up one day. It just happened to be the day your parents were shot, Miss Elsie. He said he overheard Ralph suggesting to Mrs. Peters that the killer may not have gotten what they wanted and would be back again to the same place, and he certainly wouldn't want to be in that store again until the killer was caught. Theodore said he reprimanded his father for doing that, knowing Mrs. Peters was a busybody and would spread that rumor."

  Elsie was shocked. "So Ralph started the rumor?"

  "He did. But Theodore asked his father why he would do that, and he said if people didn't go in the store after the shootings, you might close it down. When that didn't work, and you rented it, he thought if they had to buy a new window right away, and an order was canceled and they ran out of stock, people would assume they weren't efficient enough to run a store, and everyone would go to Wilson's Mercantile."

  Cade had been thinking this through, and had a pretty good idea where the sheriff was headed with this story. He moved closer to his wife and pulled her close, holding her around the waist with one arm. "So, did Theodore say why Ralph was in their store that fateful day?"

  The sheriff looked grim again as he answered. "He was telling that story, about his father starting that terrible rumor that day your parents died, Miss Elsie, when he froze. He turned and looked away. When I asked him to finish the story, he turned back around. I felt sorry for him. He had tears in his eyes as he came to the same conclusion I did. His father wasn't as weak as he'd thought, or he wouldn't have been able to take that trip to cancel the order. And he was obviously trying to put Wintock's Mercantile out of business. So, it would have been an awful big coincidence for Ralph to have shown up at the store for the first time in months and months on that terrible day and start that awful rumor, if he hadn't been the one who killed them."

  Elsie had her face buried against Cade's shoulder, tears flowing unchecked. Cade held her, telling her it was all right, he had her, she was safe, and it was all right to cry. Maria moved over to sit on the couch on the other side of Elsie and put her arms around her shoulders, offering her love and condolences, as well. Everyone there gave her time to cry.

  To everyone's surprise, when she was able to gain control again, her first concern was for Theodore. "That poor man. How is he taking this, Sheriff?" She looked up to see a lot of raised eyebrows. "What? The way I understand it, he didn't know ab
out any of these things his father had done. Did I misunderstand that?"

  "No, you didn't," the sheriff said.

  Cade gave her a reassuring little hug. "I shouldn't be surprised, honey. You've just learned that this man's father killed your parents. Most people would be upset with him, not want to see him, but you're concerned about him. I love you and your heart of gold."

  "Thank you," she said quietly, as she blushed. "But look at it from his point of view. How would you feel if you were in his shoes? He must be devastated. What a terrible thing to learn about your father. I think we should go see him, support him."

  She stood up, but Cade gently pulled her back down. "Whoa, honey, I don't think that's a good idea quite yet."

  "Why not? He's probably home alone, hurting right now. He needs to know we don't hold him responsible for what his father did."

  Cade looked to the sheriff for help. "Actually, Miss Elsie, he is pretty upset. He said he needed to come apologize to you, but he wasn't quite ready to face you yet. I think he was pretty overwhelmed by this whole thing, and he went home to come to grips with the whole situation. Then he plans to come talk to you. I think he's afraid you're going to hate him and not want to see him again."

  "But why? He didn't do anything to me. Well, I will admit I was pretty upset with him when he tried to buy my store from me for next to nothing, but the more I thought about that, he wasn't gloating; he simply offered to buy it. I was upset about being in the situation I was in, but that wasn't his fault. He was actually just being a businessman, offering to buy it. I thought it was an awfully low price, but as I thought about it, my anger left. What he offered was probably a fair price for the store at that time, since no one knew if it would even remain a store. He only asked the one time, and when I said no, he dropped it." She shook her head. "No, I don't hate him. I feel sorry for him at the moment."

  Cade hugged his wife a little closer to him again. "I'm glad you feel that way, and I think that will help him. When word gets out about this, I don't know how people will react, but if the townspeople see you're not blaming him, that will probably go a long way toward how others act toward him."

  "I think you're right, Cade," Sheriff Fitch said. "Miss Elsie, I think that attitude will help Theodore a great deal when it comes to how others look at him."

  "I don't see why anyone would blame him. You said he didn't know about the things his father did, so he obviously wasn't part of them. He was a victim, much like I was." She turned to Cade. "I still think we should go tell him that, so he can stop worrying about what we'll think of him."

  "If he hasn't come out here in a couple days we'll go talk to him," Cade said. "I think we need to give him the time and space he needs to come to peace with it himself first. If you'll think back, when you lost your parents, it was a shock and it took a few days for you to be able to accept it. This is very similar, honey. He didn't just lose his father, but he did just lose a good amount of respect for him. In many ways, that would be harder than when he actually lost him."

  Elsie was quiet for several moments. She looked over at Maria, who offered her opinion. "I think he's right, Elsie. That would be very difficult, to learn that about your father not long after he passed away. He might need a couple days to accept that and learn how to deal with it."

  "Maybe," she finally admitted. "But I think we should give him tonight, and go see him tomorrow."

  "We'll talk more later, Elsie, after we've both had a little time to think about it."

  "Good idea," the sheriff said. "I'll leave you all now to contemplate all this. I'm sure you'll need time to make peace with the news, as well."

  Maria asked him to stay for supper, but he thanked her and refused, insisting they needed time together to deal with this. It was a quiet meal while they discussed what they'd learned.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, Elsie woke up determined. She and Cade had talked again about seeing Theodore, but he was insisting she give him some time alone before they go talk to him. She totally disagreed with that decision. She felt it was her parents, so she should be the one to make that decision. She hated the thought of Theodore feeling bad, thinking she blamed him for what his father had done.

  She hadn't been able to sleep much the night before, thinking about what to do. She decided she was going in to see him today. She would ask Cade one more time, but if he refused to go with her, she'd go alone. She thought back to when they were married and she moved to the ranch. He told her he didn't want her going to town alone because a single lady traveling alone wasn't safe out here. He didn't refuse her right to go to town, but simply asked that she take someone with her.

  When her Aunt Gertrude was still here, the two of them had gone into town together a few times. She knew he would be fine with her and Maria together, but she wouldn't ask Maria. She was a good friend, but had worked for Cade and his family for a long time. She would feel an obligation to tell Cade of their plans. She liked Maria and wouldn't put her in the awkward position of having to choose one over the other.

  She would take her gun along and she'd be fine. The idea had actually come from their talk the night before with the sheriff. He said Ralph left after Theodore left for the store and was back before he got home. If it worked for him, why wouldn't it work for her, as well? Cade wouldn't even need to know she was gone.

  They ate breakfast, as usual. When Cade asked what she planned to do during the day, she tried one more time. "Are you sure we can't go talk to Theodore today?"

  "I'm sure, Elsie. Give him time to accept it. I've been thinking about what you said, how you feel about it, and we'll talk again tonight. I thought we need to give him time to come to you, but I do see what you're saying. Maybe we can go tomorrow. But I feel strongly that we need to give him today to come to terms with his feelings."

  "But we can go tomorrow?"

  "I'm not promising," Cade corrected, "but I am thinking about what you said. We'll talk about it again tonight."

  "All right. Then today I'm going to spend most of the day out at the barn with the animals. I have some thinking to do, too, and I think being out there with them is the best place to do that."

  Cade smiled, knowing how much she enjoyed working with the injured and small animals. "All right. I'll see you at dinner time." He kissed her before leaving for the barn.

  She helped Maria clean up the dishes, then went out to the barn, as well. She treated the animals that needed ointment applied, and then hitched her horse to her buggy. The men were all out working today, so none were in the barn to see what she was doing. Cade was still teaching her how to ride, and although she rode some on the ranch now, she didn't feel comfortable enough to ride to town. She'd been taking a buggy for years and knew she could do that. She tucked her gun into the pocket of her dress and set out for town.

  She was thinking about what all she'd learned and what she was going to say to Theodore, and missed the horse and rider coming toward her. When she first saw it, he was stopped in the road directly in front of her, so she would have to stop. She pulled her buggy to a stop, feeling very uneasy.

  The man approached rather slowly, and she felt a shiver go up her back. The closer he got the scarier he looked. He was pretty unkempt, with a scruffy beard. "Well, well," he said. "It looks like we have a little lady out by herself. Why don't you climb down from there and we can get to know each other better?"

  "Absolutely not," Elsie insisted. "I have a husband."

  "Well, he's obviously not here right now, and I am," he said with a disgusting smile that showed rotted teeth. "Now get on down here like I said."

  Elsie tried to get her horse moving and steer around him, but he was having none of it, moving his horse directly in front of the buggy again. "If you're trying to upset me, I would suggest you rethink that. How I treat you will depend a lot on how much you cooperate, or how much you make me work for what we both know I'll have. It would be to your advantage to take that to heart."

  Elsie
's heart was pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure what she should do. She remembered her gun hidden in her dress pocket, but was afraid to use it yet. He was watching her closely, and what if he saw her bring it out and shot her first? Or if she did get it out and shot, what if she missed? Her horse would likely be spooked and take off running, which was very dangerous, and he would be chasing after her, as well.

  While she was considering all these possibilities, she heard another rider approaching from behind, and riding fast. She wondered who that was. Could it possibly be Cade? She put that hope out of her mind quickly, though, because he wouldn't be back in to even know she was gone until he came in for dinner. As much as the next thought scared her, she had to consider it. What if it was this hooligan's partner? She tried to think quickly, knowing she needed to have a plan of some sort.

  Before she came up with anything that had any chance of being successful, though, she heard a deep, booming voice behind her. "Move aside and let the lady pass."

  Elsie let out her breath, never so glad to hear her husband's voice. In the next second, though, she was concerned again, but this time for both of them. What had she gotten her husband into?"

  "Finders keepers, Mister. Mind your own business."

  A shot rang out, which zipped right over the stranger's head. "The next one will be a foot lower. Now back away. This is my business. That's my wife, and if you value your life you'll get your horse turned around and headed in the opposite direction immediately, as fast as that horse will take you."

  "All right, all right," he said as he quickly turned his horse around. "I'm going. But you best take better care of your wife. It ain't safe for a lady to be out here by herself. That's just askin' for trouble."

  Cade had reached Elsie by then, and she could see how he flinched at the stranger's words. Without saying a word, he slid down off Thunder and climbed up next to her in the buggy. He had her in his arms, holding her tight, but she could easily see he kept his eyes on the stranger, making sure he kept moving.