An Unlikely Place for Love

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  That morning when the three men came out, Tim handed her a copy of the newspaper. Though there was a blurb about her parents’ deaths, the journalist confirmed that the killers were still on the loose. No one but her knew their identities, and she couldn’t risk going to the police when one of the killers was a well-known cop in the town she lived in. She could only hope another cop would discover the truth, arrest the two men, and put them safely in jail. In the meantime, she would bide her time on this farm and do her best to fit in with the group she was around.

  ***

  She was relieved when it was time to call it quits for the day. Her right hand was sore from cutting the wool. She decided to walk down to the river that gently flowed on the property so she could let it rest in the cool water. She took a deep breath. Farming was hard work. She missed her comfortable life in Virginia. She was wealthy, so she hadn’t worked like this a day in her life. Her work was mental, not physical. She took her hand out of the water and massaged it. She flexed her hand several times to work out the rest of the kinks in it.

  She examined her surroundings. The land was mostly flat but there was a small slope that dipped to the river. A large rock was on the edge of the riverbank, which would provide a sense of privacy for when she wanted to bathe. She never took a bath outside of a bathroom before, but Chad didn’t have the kind of plumbing she was used to. She could use a bath. She felt incredibly disgusting after not having bathed for a week. But she wanted to use soap to wipe the grime off of her body.

  She went back to the barn to get her bar of soap so she could go back to the river to take a bath. She was dismayed to see Chad cleaning out the horses’ stalls. She had hoped she wouldn’t have to run into him. She sighed. He looked exhausted.

  “Do you want some help?” she offered, despite her better judgment.

  He glanced up from his rake. “I got it,” he replied.

  “I don’t mind helping out. It is why you feed me and provide my lodging. So what if we don’t get along? That doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.”

  “The other men are done for the day. That means you are too.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Look, the only thing that’s sore on me is my hand from all that clipping. I can manage a rake. But afterwards, I’m going to take a nice, long bath in the river. I’m tired of feeling like a hobo.”

  “Isn’t that what you are?”

  She stopped herself from groaning in aggravation. “You don’t accept anything from someone who tries to do something nice for you, do you?”

  “It’s been a long time since that’s happened.”

  “Fine. So now you can say, it happened again.” She grabbed a rake from the corner of the barn and started cleaning out a different stall.

  Chad shook his head. “You don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

  “You’re right. I don’t. I keep going after something I want until I get it. Fortunately for you, I have my mind set to clean out this stall, whether you can appreciate my help or not.”

  “I do appreciate it,” he softly replied. “I’m just not used to it.”

  Her anger at him from earlier that day died down. He’s been hurt so much that he can’t allow himself to believe that anyone would want to be nice to him for the sake of being nice. She decided not to voice her revelation since he was obviously appalled that she could read him so well. Instead, she said, “You’re welcome” and continued to work.

  When she was done, she took a bath in the river, which felt soothing and relaxing after such a long day of work. It was nice to let her long light blond hair fall down her back instead of keeping it under the wig. She hadn’t realized that her body was sore until she was naked in the water. The cool water’s current massaged her body. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being clean. When she got out, she sat on the rock and waited for the warm sun to dry her off.

  The land was drastically different from Virginia. She lived in the city there, but most of Virginia was covered in trees. The Dakota territory had trees but they weren’t many. She missed her home. Even if I return, my life will never be the same again. The thought depressed her. Her father had been one of the two Virginia Senators. He had recently sponsored the controversial Tree Removal Bill to present before Congress. She didn’t know the details of the bill, except she knew it had something to do with making the southwestern part of the state open to the lumber companies. Her mother was a big supporter of her father, and Kate couldn’t imagine that her mother did anything to upset anyone since she was a peacemaker by nature. Why would someone kill my parents?

  She finally allowed herself the freedom to cry. There was something about being alone on the open prairie that brought the security she needed so she could release her pent up emotions. Though she was far from everything that had been familiar to her, she had never felt closer to God. One of the books she had borrowed from Chad’s library was the Bible. She took comfort in reading it. After her emotions settled, she got dressed and returned to the barn. She had washed her dirty clothes while bathing, so she hung her wet clothes up to dry. Her clean clothes were a relief to wear. She didn’t realize farming could be such dirty work.

  “Will you be coming in for dinner?” Chad asked her.

  She jumped from the clothes line. She hadn’t heard him walking behind her. She cleared her throat so she wouldn’t use her normal female voice. “Yes. What’s on the menu tonight?”

  “Beans and rice.”

  She inwardly groaned. She missed her fancy, good tasting meals she was used to eating in the restaurants. “Sounds good,” she lied. She couldn’t complain about the food when there was nothing else to eat. She never cooked a meal a day in her life, so she was at the mercy of whatever he decided to make.

  She was disappointed when Chad put the plate of food in front of her and turned to leave the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked him.

  “I already did.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke. He simply walked out of the kitchen.

  She sighed and ate the meal by herself. She didn’t know why she could get along with everyone but him. She shrugged. I won’t be here long anyway, so it’s just as well that he won’t let me get close to him.

  ***

  On Saturday, she took Reliable to the fairgrounds in the town. She was eager to ride a horse for pleasure again. She did enjoy having to ride it for work, but she enjoyed riding it for pleasure much more. She had made sure her wig was pinned securely to her blond hair so that even if her hat flew off her head, her wig wouldn’t. She arrived early at the fairgrounds so that she could get a feel for the people who lived in town. She wanted to fit in and needed time to observe them from a distance. Fortunately, since she already fit in with Tim, Sam and Jeff, that would make her job easier. A lot of families were at the grounds. There was a large potluck, which she was very grateful for since she was tired of eating Chad’s mediocre meals. Some men were also roasting hot dogs, steak and hamburgers over a fire. Her mouth watered in anticipation. There was only so much chili, bean and rice, stew, sandwiches and egg dishes that she could eat. She would definitely eat after the race. She already knew she would eat until she was ready to pop, and she would be no good for riding for at least an hour afterwards.

  For the most part, people were in a good mood. They were laughing and talking as they waited for the horse racing to begin. She suspected that there would be other games as well, but her interest was in riding Reliable. This is it. It’s show time. If she could fool four men into believing she was a man, then she should be able to fool the rest of the town. She urged Reliable forward. She wondered why Chad refused to join in the fun. He never has any fun. His life is all about work. She shook her head. Whatever Georgia did to him, it destroyed any inclination he had to enjoy life. Pushing aside the observation, she led Reliable up to a post and tied him up. She gave him the carrot in her pocket.

  “Now you have to make me look good out there today,” she whispered. “I want them to be impressed with you.
You have great speed and grace. Just follow my commands and we’ll finish first in the race.”

  Reliable snorted.

  She took that as his agreement and smiled. “I’ll be back when it’s time for the race. Rest up.” She patted his neck before turning her attention to the fairgrounds. To her surprise, Sam and Tim walked over to welcome her.

  “I’m glad Chad didn’t talk you out of coming,” Sam greeted. He handed her a beer.

  She took it. “What am I? A child? He can’t tell me who I can and can’t see.” He didn’t try to talk her out of going. In fact, he didn’t say anything when she told him she was heading to town. She opened the bottle of beer. “So, when are the races? I’m anxious to ride Reliable hard.”

  “We’ll do those after a little socializing. The women are big into that kind of thing.”

  “That’s typical of a woman.” She happened to enjoy socializing and entertaining others.

  “Come along,” Tim said. “We want to introduce you to some people.”

  She followed them. When they weren’t looking, she spilled some of the beer to the ground so it would look like she was drinking it. She had no intention of drinking any alcohol since it would hinder her ability to act like a man.

  Sam introduced her to Jack, Wes, and Todd. She noted that all the men except for Sam shared the same black hair. They were an inch or two shorter than her. We could be related since I chose to wear a black wig. That was a disturbing thought. She had no desire to be related to them.

  “They’re our cousins,” Sam told her. “Jack is the blacksmith. He’s married to Veronica, and he already has five kids even though he’s thirty-two.”

  “Good to meet you, Jack.” She shook his hand, hoping her grip felt firm enough to pass off as a man.

  “We rarely get to see him since he’s always with the family. Good of you to break away for a few moments.”

  “Well, we’ll be having number six in eight months,” Jack informed them.

  “No kidding,” Tim replied, chuckling.

  “The woman can’t keep her hands off me.”

  “You must be a tiger in bed.”

  “Well, I am well-endowed.”

  She realized that the other men seemed especially impressed that Jack was such a good lover. That must be important to men.

  Tim continued the introductions. “Wes runs the grocery store. Wes’ wife is pregnant with baby number two.” He pointed to the large brunette who looked like she was ready to give birth at any moment. “Todd is a farmer and is still single even though he’s thirty-five.”

  “There’s no woman that strikes my fancy in this town,” Todd explained.

  “You should probably travel the country and find one that does,” she quickly spoke up.

  “Is that why you’re traveling?” Sam wondered.

  “No. I want to experience freedom. I’m only twenty-eight. I can be tied down later.”

  “Yes, though I love Veronica,” Jack began, “I wished I hadn’t married as soon as I turned eighteen. We heard that you’re a free spirit. I admit that I’m jealous.”

  “Oh, well since you’re married, you might as well enjoy all the sex you can get.” She didn’t want to deter Jack from his wife.

  “Not being married doesn’t stop some of us from having fun.” Tim chuckled. “There’s a saloon in the next town with some soiled doves that know some pretty good tricks.”

  She inwardly cringed as Jeff and Sam joined him in the joke. These men are pigs. No self-respecting woman would go near them.

  “And I’m sure there’s some disease they’re carrying too.” Todd frowned. “I don’t care to catch anything like that.”

  “Besides,” Kate began, “everyone knows that married people have sex more often and that the sex is better.”

  “That is true,” Jack said, smiling again.

  “My true love is riding horses,” she remarked, eager to change topics. “When are the races going to begin anyway?”

  “You sure do sound confident in your abilities,” Tim noted.

  “You’d better not be all talk because I bet some money that you’ll win today,” Sam added.

  “Didn’t anyone bet on me?” Jeff wondered.

  “A couple of us did,” Wes said.

  “It’s too bad you’re going to lose.” She turned to Sam and Tim. “Get ready to add some coins to your pocket because I’m coming in first.” She grinned. “How many of you all are related, anyway?” She pointed to the large gathering of people on the fairgrounds.

  “A third of us are first cousins, another third of us are second and third cousins, and the rest aren’t related at all.”

  That explained why so many of them looked a lot alike.

  “We need some fresh blood here,” Todd replied. “It would be nice to get some new women in town.”

  “What about Chad?” she asked. “He didn’t come from here. Are there any women seeking him out?”

  “Chad is impotent,” Sam quietly confided. “That’s why he and Georgia never had children. The whole town knows about it, so none of the women are interested.”

  She couldn’t tell if that was the truth or not. If it was, it would be humiliating for the whole town to know. If it wasn’t true, it would be irritating to have such an awful rumor spread about him.

  “Georgia was pretty upset about it,” Tim recalled. “But there was nothing we could do about it.”

  “Why didn’t she just annul the marriage since they couldn’t do it?” she asked.

  “She felt sorry for him. She was very selfless.”

  If that was true, then it was no wonder why Chad was glad she was dead. Who wanted a wife who stayed married to a man out of pity?

  “Let’s start the horse races!” an older man called out.

  “That’s Pa. We’ll introduce you to him later,” Sam promised. “Good luck. I’m rooting for you. You’d better win!”

  “No need to worry,” she casually replied before she set her beer bottle on the ground and hopped up on Reliable.

  There were three different types of races and she entered each one. One race was a straight run around the track. The second race was for running and jumping over hurdles. The third race was a straight run around the track five times. She won each one, thanks to her years of training. She figured that these people were amateurs in this area. Sam was thrilled and patted her on the back. His enthusiasm and strength nearly knocked her over. Then everyone wanted to know who she was and where she came from and what she was doing there. She made up all kinds of stories about her past while she ate the delicious food. When she couldn’t eat anymore, she joined the other men in unbuckling their belts and leaning back in the chair in satisfaction while the women cleaned up the mess from the meal. For once, she was glad that she was pretending to be a man so she didn’t have to do the work. She was used to servants doing it for her. I didn’t appreciate my servants. When I get back to Virginia, that is going to change.

  “There is Pa,” Tim told her, pointing to the man with gray hair and beard. “Pa,” he called out to the man a couple chairs down from them. “This is Billy Ingram. He is Chad’s temporary farmhand.”

  “Good to meet you, sir,” she replied.

  “A polite young fellow,” the old man said. “Sam and Tim say you’ve been trying to get old Chad to come out of his shell.”

  Really? She wondered why they said that. “Oh, I don’t know. I call him boss and do what he tells me to. It’s all in a day’s work.”

  “He actually calls Chad ‘boss’ to his face.” Sam laughed.

  The men around her chuckled.

  Why is that so funny? “Well, he is my boss,” she replied as she glanced around at them, confused that they laughed even harder at her announcement.

  “It’s just hard to think of him as an authority figure,” Sam explained. “He’s such a wimp.”

  “He’s strong,” she protested. She had watched him lift heavy items that even Sam, Tim and Jeff had trouble with.

/>   “You’ve got a good heart, Billy,” the old man said. “But when Sam said that Chad’s a wimp, he wasn’t referring to his physical ability to do things.”

  She still didn’t get what was so funny but she played along as if she understood what they were talking about.

  “Chad is such a joke.” Tim shook his head in amusement. “He tries to act like he knows how to manage a farm but he has no clue.”

  Jeff spoke up. “When Georgia brought him here, he acted like he was superior to us because he came from San Francisco. He spoke as if he were rich or something.”

  She wondered if the men felt inferior to Chad and made fun of him to make up for it.

  “He was so awkward on a horse,” Sam recalled. “He even cried one time after he fell off of it. What a baby.”

  She had a hard time believing that Chad cried. He didn’t strike her as a weak man.

  “He adored Georgia though, so we put up with him,” Tim stated.

  “Yes, they had the perfect marriage,” Sam reflected. “Though they couldn’t have children.”

  “Through no fault of her own,” their father added.

  “Georgia wouldn’t ever leave him because she was faithful to God and her marriage vows. She was a saint. Chad’s not easy to deal with.” Sam took a drink from his beer bottle.

  She didn’t know whether to believe them or not. She cleared her throat. “Why do you say that?”

  “That farm is technically ours, but he won’t let us have it. It was my grandfather who owned it. He left it to Georgia. Chad doesn’t have any right to it though he claims he does.”

  “Because he was married to her.”

  “Right. But blood is thicker than water. One of these days, we’ll get the farm back.”

  The other men nodded.

  She wondered why Chad chose to stay in this town. Georgia’s relatives obviously hated him because he owned the farm, and he had to deal with them five days a week. No wonder he was so aloof. It was how he coped. She felt sorry for him.