The Drifter's Promise

by Rita Hestand

"I guess he does, he asked for all you had, didn't he?"

  "Yeah, but even I know that's a considerable amount of corn?"

  "Maybe he has other uses for it."

  "It's a powerful lot of corn for one pig farmer." She insisted. She stopped what she was doing to look at Wes. "Sometimes, I feel like he's just being charitable to me. Like he feels sorry for me or something. I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. I'm no different than anyone else. Just that things happen."

  Wes stopped harnessing the mule and stared at her, "Maybe he gives it to other people who need it."

  "He is a generous man, isn't he," she glanced at Wes.

  "I've known him to be, yes." Wes replied.

  "You known him long?"

  "Yeah a few years."

  "You mean, you come through here often?" she asked, staring at him now.

  "Every year for the past six years or so."

  "Oh, I didn't know. I never saw you, but then, I don't get out much." She told him. "I guess, I could always give you some work if you were to stop off when you come through."

  "That's kind of you," he smiled.

  "Maybe you should get out more ma'am." Wes grinned at her now.

  "You think so?"

  "It certainly wouldn't hurt to get to know you neighbor's ma'am." He told her.

  "Jim didn't like me visiting, said we didn't have time for things like that." She bowed her head. "And I don't have much time now either."

  "Well, Jim's not here now. And the way I see it, you can do what you want."

  She stared at him a minute, then for the first time she broke out in a real smile. "I guess you're right."

  He nodded, smiled, and got up on the wagon.

  "You want to come along?" he asked, pausing to hear her answer.

  "It might be nice to get out a bit." She told him.

  "Come along then," He helped her up.

  His touching her hand seemed to affect her in some way, and she was quiet for a bit.

  "I guess you think I'm a bit strange, don't you?" she asked finally after too long a silence.

  "Nope, not strange, just a bit different." He smiled at her again.

  Kate felt his smile clear down to her toes. What a strange reaction, she mused silently. It was like a fluttering or something.

  "Well, I am a bit strange. I've been tied to this place ever since we came here. Jim didn't care for me talking to the town's people. I never realized until he died exactly how controlling he was. He was ten years older than me." She told him. "I guess in a way, I looked up to him. I mean, he had one of the nicest farms around, and people always talked about how hard he worked."

  "Did you know him long?"

  "Oh yes, we were neighbors for years. He knew my folks and when they died, he came around to check on me."

  "Well, I guess that was good of him."

  "Yeah, I guess it was." She nodded.

  "Was there a reason he didn't want you socializing with others?" Wes asked.

  "I don't know. I was pretty young when my folks died and I don't know, he was more like a father to me, than anything." She muttered aloud. "I been thinking on it a while now and I kinda got in the habit of minding him, like a father."

  "I suppose that would be natural too. Why did you wait so long to marry him?"

  "I got to where I could take care of myself pretty well. My Momma taught me to grow a fine garden, so I ate well, as she saved the seeds for us every year. Taught me how to plant and nourish the soil. So I ate good. Jim would bring me milk once a week from his cow, the place we had was paid for. But Jim didn't ask me to wed until a year ago."

  "Oh, why is that?"

  "He said I was too young to wed, said people would talk, and he advised me not to let some young man take advantage of me. But he never really courted me, just sorta saw after me. And his folks weren't fond of me. It wasn't a romantic kind of relationship, like you are thinking. I think he simply wanted a place of his own, and his family wanted him to root himself there, forever. He knew I could cook and clean house."

  "I don't understand, why wasn't it romantic?" Wes looked at her.

  "I think it was because I was a reader. I had some education, not much, but more than most boys got back home. I noticed a long time ago, in school how boys didn't like girls who could out read or write them. I guess they thought I was bragging when I told them about all the books I'd read."

  "He couldn't read then?"

  "No, none of his folks could either. They didn't see the need for it. But my Momma taught me to read before I even went to school. I was a fast learner too. And I had my head in books ever since." She smiled at him.

  "Nothing wrong with that. Did you ever try to teach him to read?"

  "I tried, but he got the notion in his head it wasn't that important. He was a farmer and he saw no need of it. I guess it was just the way he was raised."

  "I like a good book myself every now and then."

  "You do?" She looked surprised. "Well, remind me and I'll let you read my books. I've read them all, many times."

  He looked at her now, their glances meeting, "Well, thank you."

  "I have plenty of books, and I've reread every one of them several times. When I get tired of them, I read the bible."

  "Well, now, that's a good thing." Wes chuckled.

  "You can borrow any of my books if you like." She told him.

  "That's right nice of you, ma'am."

  She glanced at him now, "You don't have to ma'am me. You can call me Kate."

  "Alright, Kate." He grinned again.

  Dickens was washing down his hogs and creating a hog waller for them too when they rode up to his place.

  "Kate, good to see you again," Dickens put the pail down and came striding up to the wagon, helping her down.

  "Hi Mister Dickens, good to see you too." Kate smiled. "We brought some more corn for you. But you ought to have enough for a while now."

  Dickens shook his head, "You just keep bringing what you got."

  "But surely, you won't need any more for a while."

  "Now Kate, you don't understand." He began walking her to the house, offering her coffee.

  "I guess I don't, why don't you enlighten me." She smiled at him.

  "En—what?" Dickens twisted his head at her.

  "Tell me about it." Kate chuckled.

  "Well now, there are at least ten families about that depend on me to help them out every year. Every year I try to figure out how I can keep them going. Some have lots of kids, lots of mouths to feed, and some can't seem to turn a profit. So I take them what I can to keep them from losing their place and starvin' to death. It's that simple."

  Kate stopped in her tracks and turn to look at Mr. Dickens. "I had no idea you had such a generous nature about you. Although, it doesn't shock me. You are about the only one in town who befriended me."

  Wes helped Mr. Dickens hired hand stow the corn in his barn, then he went up to the house to hopefully get a cup of coffee from Dickens himself.

  "Who are these people you are talking about?" Kate asked as Wes came in and sat down at the table with them.

  "Some settlers that came up the Mississippi some time back and were share-croppers. Most of them spent their money just comin' west. They struggled along, almost starving out there on the prairie until me and the Mayor decided to do something about it. Every year we get together and try to help them out."

  "Came up the Mississippi huh?" Kate was wide eyed with interest now.

  "Most of them didn't have a dime to their name by the time they got here. And some of the landowners around here wouldn't spare a dime for them. But they got kids and I can't stand to see a kid starve." Dickens was saying.

  "You're a remarkable man, Mister Dickens." Kate told him, putting her hand on top of his.

  "Every man ought to do something good before he leaves this earth." Dickens told her.

  "Well," Kate watched him pour them all some coffee and continued. "I'm kind of glad you wanted my corn then."


  Dickens shot them both a glance now, "Well, doing what is right makes me feel good and I sleep well most of the time. You might not believe it, but used to, most of the people of this town was that way. But greed took hold and now it's every man for himself. You ought to know, ain't nobody offered to help you and Jim."

  "I gotta admit, I brought a lot of that on myself, by being unfriendly." Kate hung her head. "Jim was too proud to ask for help. And he thought I was flirting if I looked at another man."

  "Yeah, pride can sure pull a fast one on you." Dickens nodded as he stirred the sugar in his coffee.

  "Well now Wes, you are mighty quiet today." Dickens noted.

  "Just listening." Wes smiled.

  "Tell me, you seen any more of that cat out there?" Dickens asked.

  Wes quirked his head, "Cat?"

  "Yeah, the one that got a hold of her husband."

  "I hadn't even thought about it. But if he took blood then he could be dangerous." Wes fretted. "I haven't seen any signs of a cat around though, of course I wasn't looking."

  "Sure could son, sure could." Dickens raised a brow. "And they tell me, once they mark their territory, they come back to it, especially if they took blood."

  "You think there might be more trouble from him?" Kate's eyes widened.

  "Could be."

  "One more load and we'll have the corn pulled. Then I could take some time to scout the place a bit. If he's around it shouldn't be too hard to find traces of him."

  "Mr. Dickens, I can't have Wes scouting for that cat, it might get him too." Kate slapped the table hard. "Then I'd feel responsible."

  "Well you sure can't hunt him down yourself, Kate. And you could be in danger out there. He's already marked the place with his blood."

  Dickens firmed his lips and then smiled. "Wes is a good hunter Kate. He can take care of himself. Besides, he'll be after stock next I expect."

  "That's true." Wes affirmed.

  "But I can't afford to lose my one and only hand!" she complained.

  "Might lose more than that if we don't catch him." Wes informed her. "A cat don't just come once and never seen again. No ma'am, he'll be stalking around looking for more."

  "But—"

  "Don't you fret, Wes knows how to handle such things. And you need him to check it out, at least." Dickens pointed out.

  "But wouldn't we hear him, if he was about?"

  "Maybe, cat's have big territories, you could be after someone else next time." Dickens said plainly. "Heard tell they claim up to twenty miles of territory as their own."

  "I hadn't thought of that." Kate murmured.

  "You just let us men take care of that Kate. It isn't women's business." Dickens insisted.

  "I guess I got a lot to learn, don't I?" she sounded contrite. "But I couldn't go through another night like I did when I found Jim."

  "No ma'am, I don't think you could." Dickens stared at her suddenly pale face.

  "You don't know how bad I felt dragging him behind that mule. I just couldn't lift him. And I was so bloodied by the time I got to the Tate's place I had to throw away those clothes, I'd have never got the stains out. The Tate's probably thought I was insane that night, the way I looked."

  Dickens chuckled, "All of us go through things like that out here, Kate. And they are old enough to understand that."

  "I need to go over and thank them for fetching the Reverend and undertaker." Kate looked as though she had just thought of it.

  "That'd be a good start in getting to know your neighbors. You see, it's alright to have problems like that, we all do, but going back and thanking them would go a long way to impressing them."

  "Manners you mean." Kate chuckled.

  "Yeah, that's the word. Manners."

  "You're right. I'll do that."

  She drank her coffee and Wes and Dickens talked for a bit, then they headed back to the farm.

  But they were nearly there when they ran into the Smith boys.

  "Well now, lookie here, Arnold, looks like Jim Marley's wife has a new man. Ain't that somethin'?" Brent Smith hollered putting his wagon in the way so Wes would have to go around.

  "Mr. Smith, your wagon is blocking the road." Kate noticed.

  "Ain't you gonna introduce your new man to us?" Brent asked.

  "Wes Dolan, these are the Smith boys, they live on the other side of me." She told Wes.

  "Gentlemen!" Wes tipped his hat.

  "Where's Jim?"

  "He died!" Kate said very plainly.

  "Died? From what?" Arnold the younger one asked.

  "Cougar." Wes said matter-of-factly.

  "A cat, well, why didn't you tell us? I mean a cat can do a lot of harm. Did Jim kill it before he got it?"

  "No, there was no sign of the cat when I got to Jim." Kate told them.

  "Well," Brent glanced at his brother. "We best be tellin' Pa about this. He'll want to get to the huntin' of him. In fact, did you tell anyone?"

  "Just the Tate's, the Reverend, the undertaker, and Dickens."

  "Well, we better get to town and start a hunting party." Brent told them. He moved his wagon out of the way.

  But he stopped long enough to ask. "He your new man?"

  "No, he's my hired hand."

  "Hired hand. Thought your old man didn't like nobody helpin' out." Arnold popped off.

  "He didn't. But I do!"

  Brent studied on that, "Good day to you, then."

  Wes kept going then and didn't say another word until they got to the place.

  "So that's the Smith's huh?" Wes asked his brow shooting upward.

  "Two of them, there are two more sons and their father, living up on the hill yonder. They are usually too drunk to carry on a conversation though." Kate huffed.

  "I take it you don't care for them?" Wes asked.

  "Not exactly the kind of neighbors I appreciate. But they were here before me, so I can't rightly be griping about them, as long as they leave me alone." Kate said quite matter-of-factly.

  Wes stared off in the direction they rode. He didn't say any more about them.

  Chapter Six

  That evening at the table, Wes eyed her a moment while he sipped his coffee and waited for her to put the food on the table. His glance traveled around the room, noting the pretty curtains at the window, the rug on the floor. She had knitting sitting in the rocking chair. It looked homey and inviting. It had been a long time since he enjoyed the atmosphere of a real home and this woman had made a nice home.

  "Soon as we finish gathering the corn, I'm gonna check that cat out. At the time you told me about him, I didn't think much of it. I guess I assumed someone else might have done it." He moved his thoughts away from how nice she had made it all look.

  "It isn't your problem," she insisted, putting the bread and butter on the table.

  "It could be if he decides to come back. Cats are dangerous creatures, Kate. They mark their territory. They are cunning in sly ways. Once they mark it, they can return at any given moment. Unlike a lot of other animals they almost try to outthink people. Besides, he could be bothering others around here too." Wes did his best not to notice what a fine figure of a woman she presented. She had pretty blonde hair, and deep blue eyes, and a figure any

  man could admire. But she just lost her husband, and he wasn't the kind of man to stay long. She wouldn't be interested in a short relationship. But he certainly was a good-looking man.

  "Were you planning on joining the hunting party?" She asked as she put the food on the table now.

  "No, I'll go it alone."

  "Isn't that more dangerous?" she asked her eyes widening.

  "Depends, if the party are full of drunks or not. Drunks with guns can be even more dangerous, Kate."

  "Oh, I guess you are right about that." Kate felt she had said too much. "The Smith boys are quite the drinkers. At least that's what Mr. Dickens told me."

  "Well, Dickens would know. He knows about everyone around here." he smiled.


  She sat back in her chair now opposite him, staring at him, "I'm not worried about that. You already said you'd help me get the crop in. And I believe you'll do your best to do it, but a cat… "

  "But you are worried about something, aren't you?"

  She shrugged.

  "Just what I'll do when you leave. Or if something happened to you. I guess I've come to rely on your help. I shouldn't presume so much." She muttered. "I mean I have to prepare for it. I guess I'm going to have to make up my mind up about selling the place or not. Right now, I'm still a little numb from all that has happened. You see we don't have enough paid into this place to make much off it, and I imagine I'm going to have to make money to keep it going. The land here is good, and Jim worked very hard making it a fine place, I'll give him that."

  "Maybe you need to get out more in the community and meet people. You might find some local man or kid to help run the place."

  "Maybe. Back home," she seemed to be remembering, "we had a small shack on a small piece of land, and I had a garden that could keep me fed all year round. The place was paid for and I could manage, but this place isn't paid for and I don't know if I can keep it going."

  "Did you sell the place back home?"

  "Jim did, when we married."

  "What happened to the money you got for it? If you don't mind me asking."

  "It went into making a down payment on this place." She answered quickly. "You see, it was a small place, but with good soil. But Jim needed a bigger place to farm and so we moved here and paid down on it. His farm wasn't really his, it was his families. But he did most of the work on it."

  "So he took everything you had basically?"

  She stared at him a moment, realizing for the first time, that could have been his reason for marrying her. "Yes, well, we were married when he took it. He had the right. I hated selling it, but we were moving, and I figured some squatter might claim it if I moved off. "

  Wes nodded.

  "Why did you move out here?"

  "Jim's folks didn't like me. And they hated losing him. He wanted to break away from them, see what he could do for himself."

  "Why?"

  "My folks were just dirt farmers. Jim was the best of his family, they had a big place, a nice place, but Jim did most of the work. When he married me, they lost him and had to work the place themselves. They resented me for marrying him. Said I was a gold digger. But Jim wasn't rich, he just had a nice farm, that's all. And, unfortunately, when he married me, he didn't have any money, it was all tied up in their family farm. He couldn't sell it. It wasn't in his name. So it was my money that paid for the down payment of this place."