Cate Corrals a Cattleman

by Linda K. Hubalek

  “Weren’t you born in Illinois?”

  “Yes, but me and Momma moved to St. Louis after Grandma threw me out of the house. I think Grandma gave Momma money to leave town, but we didn’t get farther than St. Louis, when the money ran out. Then Momma went back to working in saloons ‘cause that’s all she knew to do.”

  “I believe your job now is to be the best mother Violet Rose could ever have, and help your sister with her young family.”

  “I don’t know what to say, except I would’ve stolen money sooner if I knew Uncle Isaac had a wonderful family,” Faye said, then half–smiled at her own joke.

  It would take time, and more than one flare up between the half–sisters, but Faye would become part of the family.

  “Do you sew, Faye?” Cate was thinking of the clothes the girl and baby needed.

  “Just enough to patch things since all I ever had to wear was hand–me–downs from other women in the saloon. I’ve never had a new dress of my own since I left Grandma’s house.”

  “Faye, do you like the color green?” Sarah asked with her first hint of a smile after yesterday’s revelation and upheaval.

  “Yes, I think a dark green looks rich and pretty. Why?”

  “I have a green dress I’ve only worn once, but I’d love to alter it to fit you. It would be perfect for you to wear to church this Sunday,” Sarah grinned.

  “Sarah, what are you thinking?!” Cate asked, appalled her daughter would think of such a suggestion. “That would give Mrs. Paulson a heart attack!”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Sarah smirked.

  “Only if you tell Faye the story behind the dress, and she still agrees to wear it,” Cate cautioned.

  “True. Faye, I was engaged to Ethan Paulson for two years. He’s a wonderful man, but we weren’t in love. We were pushed into marriage because his parents built a hotel in Clear Creek and Mrs. Paulson wanted me to work in it as a hostess.”

  “Well, it would be flattering if someone wanted you…”

  “Wait until you meet Mrs. Paulson, Faye, and you might think differently,” Cate cautioned.

  “So, I postponed the wedding twice, then finally decided to go through with the wedding last month when Marcus—who I truly love—refused to marry me.”

  “But wasn’t that Marcus I met last night?” Faye looked confused as she tried to follow Sarah’s explanation.

  “Yes, it was. The third date of the wedding, I left Ethan standing at the altar and rode here to tell Marcus I’d ‘follow him to the ends of the earth’, so to speak.”

  “So what’s all this have to do with a green dress?”

  “Mrs. Paulson picked out the green dress for me to wear at my wedding to her son, even though I don’t care for the color. And I wore it because I was too intimidated to tell her I’d prefer a blue dress.”

  “So, you want to shock this lady by having me, your sister, wear this dress to church?”

  Faye patted Violet’s back while thinking it over. “Hmm, is this Ethan good lookin’? I could use a real husband or at least a job.”

  “Yes, but Mrs. Paulson doesn’t like children and would require you give your baby away if you moved in.”

  “What! And you were going to marry this man? I’m glad ya came to your senses. Yes, I’d love to wear a green dress, and I know how to flaunt it in front of this lady, too.” Faye cocked her head and gave Sarah a little smile.

  Well, maybe it was good the two were scheming like sisters often do, or twins switching places. At least they weren’t ignoring or screaming at each other at the moment.

  Chapter 4

  “Kind of surprised to see you out so early this morning, Boss, but glad for your company,” Rusty Tucker, the ranch foreman commented when Isaac joined the group heading out to relieve the hands who stayed with the herd last night. “But I know you’ve been busy helping with all the children,” Rusty stated while watching the morning sun rise above the distant hills.

  Isaac wasn’t ready to face Cate and Sarah yet, after yesterday’s surprise arrival and revelations. He felt probably worse than he looked, but he couldn’t go into the house last night to sleep. Hearing Cate on the porch crying her eyes out in the middle of the night about killed him. And he was too ashamed to go comfort her.

  Last night his mind kept playing the “what if” game. What if he’d followed Felix that day? What if his father hadn’t died suddenly leaving his second wife in a bind?

  But Felix should have been responsible enough to take care of his own mother anyway. Felix was a slacker at school and later as a young man, always looking for the easy way to do things, without having to work at anything. No wonder he had tried to rob a bank. At least Felix was one person he didn’t have to worry about.

  Isaac wasn’t surprised when his stepmother notified him, saying Felix had dropped off a child and left. He visited, to see if she was telling him the truth, and there sat this little girl, a spitting image of Felix. Now he wondered why he didn’t notice the similarities between Sarah and Faye at that time, but there was no reason for him to think they were related.

  His stepmother threatened to take the girl to an orphanage, so Isaac set up a money arrangement with the woman to keep Faye herself. He thought it would be best for the girl to stay with family, and there was a chance Faye’s mother might return if she got her own life straightened out.

  But it was his own fault he didn’t visit the grandmother and child again. He had enough money, he wasn’t concerned about the money his stepmother might have kept for herself, but it was the child’s welfare that haunted his conscience now. Isaac squirmed in his saddle thinking how Faye survived when on her own. His only consolation was at least now he could provide for her and her baby. No doubt she’d be living at the Cross C until Faye learned how to be a mother. In time, he could set her up in a house in town, but at age eighteen and the lifestyle she had lived, she was too inexperienced to be on her own in the real world.

  “I went ahead and told the hands at breakfast this morning what happened yesterday,” Marcus stated. “They heard the ruckus, plus they’ll be seeing Faye and her baby around the place now.”

  “Thank you, Marcus. I guess it is your job now to handle things on the ranch since I handed the ‘reins’ over to you. You probably didn’t expect you would be worrying about how the lack of rainfall is hurting the grassland, two injured bulls after they fought each other, and two screaming sisters, all in the same week, did you?” Isaac had to smile when thinking about the clash of the sisters yesterday. It wasn’t funny, but Faye and Sarah rounding on each other after just meeting…yes, they were related.

  “And how did Sarah take it after Cate got her and Faye separated?”

  “She felt her world had crashed. She was grieving the loss of her father again, ashamed about her conception—mad at the ‘little trollop’ who showed up at the house, who wasn’t taking care of her baby as she should. She and Cate talked a couple hours before Sarah came back to our room. Sarah has Cate’s will and drive, so she’ll make the best of it and be a protective big sister before we know it,” Marcus reported.

  “Sarah’s got a good heart. She’ll add Faye and the baby to her new family and be happy she gets to nurture them too,” Rusty added as they rode along.

  “And what about the engagement proposal you didn’t get to finish?” Marcus asked.

  “What? You were asking Cate to marry you when this all erupted?” Rusty chortled while holding his right palm over his heart. “You didn’t tell us that, Marcus!”

  “And neither one of you will ever tell anybody else,” Isaac pointed a finger at each of them in turn. You know how gossip spreads over the county about as fast as a grass fire.”

  “So, what are you going to do now about Cate?” Marcus asked seriously,

  “Last night I was ready to ride—heading who knows where—leaving you to clean up the mess that exploded in the living room,” Isaac shrugged his shoulders. “I blamed myself for what happened, but letting the facts s
ettle in my brain overnight, I know Cate and I will weather this storm, just like she and Moses did in their marriage.”

  “So how are you going to make up for it—since you’re riding the opposite direction of the house?” Marcus asked.

  “I’ll talk to Cate this evening and sort things out, but I warn you, we’re going off by ourselves somewhere so we don’t get interrupted this time.”

  “If you want any alone time as newlyweds, you better plan on building a house for just the two of you,” Rusty teased.

  “I already have the spot picked out—about a quarter mile from the ranch house. Think that will be far enough away for some privacy?”

  “Nope. In a few years, our eight kids will pile on the back of two horses and be at your doorstep begging for cookies,” Marcus laughed. “Oh, but then I’ll have some private time with my wife.”

  “Thanks for making me feel better, men. The Cross C has been a lonely—but calm—ranch for long enough. I’m happy it’s been overrun with family now and not only cattle,” Isaac stated as he kneed his horse to change gaits.

  ***

  “Pastor Reagan?” Cate asked as she knocked on the door of his little cubbyhole office in the back of the church. The door was wide open, but she hated to surprise him while he was reading. She had hitched a horse to a small buggy and took off for Clear Creek right after lunch. She’d said she needed to go to Taylor’s Mercantile for material and thread to make dresses for the newest members of the family, but that was her excuse to get out of the house and see the pastor.

  “Cate! Please come in and sit down. How are you today?” Although it had been years since Patrick Reagan emigrated from Ireland, his voice had a nice, amusing lilt to it, which Cate found soothing today.

  Cate closed the office door before sitting down. “I hope you have time to visit and give me some advice today, Pastor.”

  “Of course I do. How can I help you? I hate to mention it, but you’re looking a little frazzled today.”

  Cate didn’t know how to start, but knew with Pastor it was best to tell it straight forward. He wasn’t a fancy preacher with flowing sermons and biblical quotes. And as many others had, he’d faced hardships, too.

  “I’d like you to keep what I say in confidence for now, as it involves family members who are really hurting from this situation. And because of that reason, I need someone outside the family to talk to.” Cate gripped her hands tight on her lap, but looked at Pastor when she continued.

  “I promise whatever you say stays between us and God,” Pastor nodded and waited for her to start.

  Cate took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “When we lived in Illinois, I…was attacked by a man before Sarah was born, but Moses and I always considered Moses her father. Yesterday, a very young woman arrived looking for Isaac, and she could be Sarah’s twin by her looks.”

  “Oh, Cate I’m so sorry you were hurt, but glad you survived the trauma and fear it caused. You’re a remarkable woman.

  “But I don’t understand why this young woman was looking for Isaac?”

  “The man who attacked me was Isaac’s stepbrother, Felix Longoria, and the young woman, Faye, is his daughter.

  “It turns out, Isaac’s father married Felix’s mother, but Mr. Connely died shortly after the ceremony and hadn’t changed his will to include his new wife and her son yet, if he ever planned to. Felix was mad at Isaac over not getting any of the Connely inheritance. The men fought about it, then Felix came after me, knowing it would hurt Isaac. Felix was so intoxicated, I doubt he remembered half of what he said or did that day.”

  “Oh my! I’m sure the situation put everyone in a tailspin,” Pastor said shaking his head. “How are Sarah and Isaac holding up, or reacting?”

  “Much as you would expect. Sarah’s mad at me for not telling her it was a possibility Moses wasn’t her father. Isaac is beyond humiliated his stepbrother did the unthinkable to me. And poor Faye, was left abandoned in a ‘house of ill repute’ and had to work there to survive. Faye’s upset Sarah’s had a good life while she’s had it very rough. Faye arrived with a three–month old baby, both of them malnourished and with no clothes except for what they wore. Faye had kept a letter Isaac had sent to her grandmother years ago saying he was moving to Kansas. She stole money from a ‘customer’ and came to Isaac for help.”

  Cate rattled off in rapid fire everything that happened last night, but didn’t bother going into the details of this morning’s tirade.

  Faye was accustomed to sleeping days since she worked nights, so she went back to bed after breakfast this morning, leaving Violet downstairs in a clothes basket which was sitting in the kitchen, full of clean diapers. But before Cate or Sarah realized Faye hadn’t taken the baby upstairs, the rich goat’s milk upset Violet’s tummy, causing her to regurgitate and have the runs—so there were no clean diapers for the triplets, and the dirty stack had to be rewashed and hung outside to dry.

  Maggie, Marty and Maisie were upset and whining because another baby moved in to take the adults’ time away from them. It was only a week ago when Molly and Moses joined the family. So within a month’s time, they were living in a different house with six more children, four of them being infants.

  And poor Molly and Moses were overwhelmed after living with a Cheyenne tribe for the last several months. Cate searched for them before lunch and found them hiding under a bed, whispering something in a language that wasn’t English.

  Cate stopped her mind’s list of today’s upsets because Pastor was talking to her and she wasn’t listening.

  “I know you and Isaac will help this young Faye and her child, so some good things will happen out of this trauma. And… how are you holding up with this revelation?”

  Cate took a deep breath, thinking how to honestly answer his question. “Of course I am humiliated I had to tell them what happened—but I was the victim—so I won’t take the blame for what happened to me or Sarah. I lived with what I had to endure because I had three small children to protect, and I was not going to let them get hurt by the drunken intruder. But, even though it happened over twenty years ago, it’s brought back painful memories.

  “My main worry now is how to handle introducing Faye to people. Sarah is so upset by suddenly having a sister. And the fact that Faye’s an unwed mother who grew up in a brothel, uneducated in her speech because she didn’t attend school, and looks like she could be Sarah’s twin …”

  “I’m so sorry, Cate, for what you went through, and I admire how you’re dealing with it. In your typical fashion you’ve handled it, and find yourself worrying about others instead. As for my advice about the sisters, they are going to have to come to terms with it by themselves. Sarah and Faye need to decide what they want to tell people about their relationship. As parents, we want to soothe and make everything better for our children. I’m sure you’re going to help them out, but remember they are adults now. They have to find ways to face and accept the facts themselves.”

  “But…”

  “Ah, no ‘but’. You asked for my advice, Cate. You’re a strong woman, but let this situation make these young women strong, too. Yes, give them advice when they ask. You can’t—and shouldn’t—take care of all their problems. You know from life experience they will have to face many bad situations in their lives, too, so they need to learn how to handle them for themselves.”

  Cate smiled weakly at Pastor Reagan. “That’s why I came to you, knowing you’d listen and recommend the best solution to our current family situation.

  “But also, there’s the problem with Isaac. He was on one knee starting to propose marriage to me when my sons brought Faye out to the Cross C yesterday! He had the ring poised to slide onto my finger! I’m finally ready to marry again and now Isaac’s upset and didn’t finish asking me to marry him. Any ideas?”

  “Set the wedding date and hope he shows up?” Pastor Reagan chuckled. “Cate, it hasn’t been twenty–four hours since all this happened. Give the po
or man a break, he’s in shock. It’s the man’s job to protect his family, and right now, he feels he’s failed—not only for you and your family, but Faye, too.”

  “Yes, that’s true. I think Isaac’s also upset because Moses never told him what Felix did. But I still believe it was right to keep it between me and my husband at the time,” Cate added.

  “Give everyone time to adjust, Cate. Think of all the changes taking place in your family right now. Besides all four of your children marrying this summer, you’ve added a lot of small children all at once.” Pastor sighed, then continued, “Not everyone recovers from a traumatic event as fast as you do, especially when yesterday was the first everyone knew about this.”

  “True, but…”

  “Cate, you can’t make everyone happy and get everything done in a few days. Plus, you shouldn’t be doing it for them anyway. Ease back and let them form their own family routine.

  “You said you’re anxious to start your new life with Isaac, so concentrate on him and your future marriage, rather than trying to guide your children’s. Okay?”

  “Yes, Pastor, thank you for your advice. And I’ll try to follow through with it, too,” Cate smiled as she stood to leave.

  “Good. But I do expect you to have your whole family here next Sunday. It’s good to see more than one pew full of Wilersons.” Pastor took Cate’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “And let me know when to perform your and Isaac’s wedding ceremony, too. It will happen.”

  ***

  By the time Isaac rode back to the ranch and took care of his horse, the sun was sinking low in the west. He’d meant to be home a couple of hours ago, but it never seems to happen that way when you want it to.

  What would Cate say now when he was late for supper, too? Would there be a plate of food in the stove warmer, a cold sandwich on a plate on the table, or nothing?

  He was bone–tired and sweat–drenched from being out in the heat all day on the back of a horse, but he’d still prefer that to what Cate probably faced in the house today. And neither of them got any sleep last night. Still, they needed to find a quiet spot—maybe the chicken house, where at least those critters would be asleep—to talk about yesterday’s events. And the interrupted proposal was still hanging in the air. Would she still be for it, or glad they got interrupted? Heck, he wasn’t a young buck but a wise, mature man, so he knew he had to face the next “blast of heat”, so to speak.