Willow

by Norah Hess

  "We'll be married soon," she whispered, "then I won't have to leave you like this."

  Chapter Twelve

  It was deep twilight when Willow stepped out onto the veranda. She sat down in the deep shadow of a bougainvillea that spilled over the roof.

  She wanted to be alone, to think. If Jimmy and Sammy and Brian saw her sitting there, they would hurry over to join her. Most times she welcomed their company, their bantering and their horseplay.

  But tonight she meant to do some deep thinking. She needed to consider things she couldn't give her complete thoughts to during the day because there were so many interruptions. The day after her arrival back at the ranch she had resumed her housekeeping duties. It had taken two full days to put the large house back in order, doing the things that Jess was unable to do in her absence.

  Then there was the tending of her mother who, thank God, was recovering rapidly. And there were meals to be prepared, bread to be baked. Clothes to be washed and ironed.

  But she was strong and healthy and could have handled her workload easily. It was the worrying about her father and Buck Axel that was wearing her down. They were on her mind all the time, making her more jumpy and nervous as each day passed and the time for their appearance at the ranch grew nearer and nearer. She figured she had another two weeks of freedom.

  A soft sigh escaped Willow. When was Jules going to set the date of their wedding?

  Every night after they finished making love she waited in vain for him to speak of marriage. She had thought about bringing up the subject herself, but pride wouldn't let her. After all, the man did the proposing.

  But didn't Jules realize that if she were a married woman her father would have no other recourse but to ride away and leave her and Ma alone? What was he waiting for? she asked herself He loved her. Each night in his arms proved to her that he did.

  Willow left off her worrying when she heard her mother calling her name. With a sigh, she stood up. She still hadn't done any clear thinking. Her thoughts were as muddled as ever.

  Three weeks later, the moment that Willow had dreaded was upon her. It was mid-morning; she had just finished hanging up a basket of wash and was returning to the laundry room when a horse galloped up, almost knocking her down. Startled, she looked into her father's sneering face. Behind him, Buck Axel was pulling his horse to a snorting stop.

  "Well, daughter," Otto grated out, "at last I've run you and that milksop mother of yours down. I'll give you ten minutes to get your duds together and get your butt on a horse. That goes for puny Ruth too."

  "We're not going anywhere with you, and you can't make us."

  "Can't I, though." Evil looked out of Otto Ames's eyes. "It will be the easiest thing in the world to do. By the time I knock my wife around a little, you'll be beggin' me to take you home."

  "You wouldn't dare lay a hand on either of us."

  "Why not? There's only an old woman in the house. Me and Buck have been watchin' the place for two days. We know that every morning Asher and that half-breed ride off together, then the cowhands leave the ranch. That leaves only the cook and a couple of stable hands near the ranch house. Now get goin'."

  "Ma!" Willow suddenly screamed, "lock your door!" As she backed away, she looked around wildly for a club or anything else to use to protect herself. "Grab her, Buck!" Otto yelled. "I'll go get her maw."

  Buck was on to Willow in an instant, his arms locked around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. But she could kick, and her sharp boot heels brought angry yelps from the fat man. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her father about to enter the kitchen patio, and she screamed again, "Ma! Lock your bedroom door!"

  Willow's warning to Ruth had barely died away when there came the driving thud of hoofbeats.

  Jules and Logan had been riding about an hour, looking for a wild stallion and his harem. They had about decided that they wouldn't have any luck today, that it was too hot for the wild ones to move about. They were probably holed up somewhere waiting for the cool of the evening before venturing out to graze.

  Jules was about to untie the ranch horse he'd been leading, when he heard the sound of drumming hoofs. He turned around and saw a dust cloud in the distance. A wild herd was coming over the plains toward them, their heads high, their necks proudly arched, their long manes and tails gracefully flowing in the wind created by their racing hoofs. He freed the horse trotting beside him, and with a slap of his hat on its rump, the horse took off, heading for the ranch. A small pine tree attached to a rope around his neck, dragged behind him, stirring up a cloud of dust.

  This was a trick an old Indian had showed Jules a long time ago. The mustangs would see the rolling dust and instinctively follow it, often right into a corral. But it worked only with small herds.

  It worked today. When Jules and Logan closed the gate on the corral there were one stallion and six mares joining the twenty head already there. "Breaking that bunch should keep us busy for a while." Jules grinned at Logan. "Let's go home for a cup of coffee before we start on them."

  They had almost reached the house when Willow's terrified scream rang out. Both men sprinted to the house, separating at the veranda. Jules entered the kitchen patio and Logan slipped along the outside wall. As Jules moved quietly to the arch leading out-side, he saw Ruth's frightened face at the kitchen window. He motioned her to stay where she was, then sprang through the opening.

  A wild fury shook him when he saw Willow in the grip of a man who he knew instantly was Buck Axel. From his side view he saw Logan holding at bay an older man who must be Willow's father.

  He shot a fast glance at Willow. She was breathing fast, obviously panic-stricken. He swore under his breath that she should be so afraid.

  Jules swept his gaze to the man who held her and saw that he had a pistol in his free hand. As he stood taking the measure of a man who would pit his strength against that of a woman, Buck spoke.

  "Stand back, or I'll put a bullet through your heart."

  Jules's answer to the threat was a grim sneer of contempt. He looked at Willow and asked softly, "Do you hear me, honey? Can you think straight?"

  "Yes." Her answer was firm.

  "All right then, bend forward. Now!"

  Willow reacted immediately, folding at the waist, leaving Buck's chest vulnerable to attack. Swearing at his failure to jerk Willow back in place, the enraged man raised his gun and squeezed the trigger. The bullet plowed up dirt at Jules's feet.

  Swift as the blink of an eye, Jules had drawn his Colt, shooting Buck in the shoulder a split second before the man got his own shot off. He watched the man stagger back, clutching his shoulder. Then, his eyes glittering like ice, he ordered, "Lay your gun on the ground and kick it toward me."

  With a sullen look on his face, Buck did as he was ordered. Jules bent and picked up the pistol and then looked at Willow. "Are you all right?" he asked. When she answered that she was, he said, "Go in the house. I'm sure your mother and Aunt Jess are anxious about the gunfire. I'll be in before long."

  Jules brought his attention back to Buck. "Get on your horse," he ordered.

  "What about the bullet you put in my shoulder?" Buck whined. "I'm gonna bleed to death if I don't see a doctor."

  "You're not going to bleed to death. It's only a flesh wound," Jules said contemptously before saying to Logan, "Keep an eye on him while I have a few words with his companion."

  Otto stood waiting, his fingers twitching from the paralysis of fear that had seized him when Jules and Logan appeared. His voice cold, Jules said, "Ames, I'm letting you go this time. But if you ever come around here again, terrifying Willow and Ruth, I'll shoot you down the same as I would a mad dog. Is that clear?"

  Otto was incapable of speaking. He could only nod and hurry to scramble onto his horse. But once he was a safe distance away, he became braver and called to Jules, "I'll be back. Them are my womenfolk and I intend to get them back."

  Jules drew his Colt and, smiling contemptously, shot
at the horse's back hooves. The startled animal lunged away, almost unseating Otto.

  Laughing together, he and Logan entered the kitchen. Jules no sooner stepped through the door then Willow threw herself into his arms, at last letting her pent-up tears of fright flow.

  "Don't cry, honey." Jules stroked her hair. "You and your Ma won't be bothered by either one of them again."

  "You don't know them, Jules. They are evil men and determined to get their own way. They'll sneak in here again and shoot you in the back."

  "They won't. The shot I put in Axel's shoulder has ruined his gun arm, and your father is too much of a coward to face me alone." Jules held Willow away from him. "Is Ruth all right?"

  "Yes, she is. She's resting right now. So is Aunt Jess."

  "You go He down for a while, too. You've just had a bad shock. You're as pale as your white apron. Logan and I are going to have a cup of coffee and then start taming the mustangs we just brought in."

  Willow lay on her narrow cot, listening to her mother's even breathing. She wished that she could nap, too, to relax her nerves, which were still raw. Those few minutes before Jules had appeared, looking like a wild man, she had thought that she and her mother were going to be dragged back to their old miserable existence, that she would be forced to marry Buck Axel.

  How good and safe she had felt when suddenly Jules was there to protect her. No one had ever before intervened in Otto Ames's treatment of his womenfolk. Except poor Smitty, she amended. The poor old fellow had died because he'd tried to help Ruth. And Logan—she musn't forget him. He had been brave enough to bring Ma to her.

  But Pa and Buck would be back. She knew that as well as she knew the sun would rise in the east. Her only hope was that by that time she would be married. If she was the wife of Jules Asher, Pa wouldn't dare drag her away. But there would be nothing to keep him from forcing Ma to go with him. Not that he loved his wife; he would do it only out of pure meanness.

  Willow finally gave up the hope of sleeping. She would do better to keep herself busy with something. She remembered that she hadn't finished the wash yet.

  Still, as she scrubbed and rinsed and hung out everything to dry, it was all done automatically, and worrisome thoughts continued to run through her mind. How long would it be before her father returned? When was Jules going to set their wedding date? Surely after today he would realize that they should marry soon for her protection.

  Willow had just finished hanging up the last basket of wet clothes when she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her. She jerked her head around and then relaxed. Thad Wilson stood smiling at her.

  "I just learned that you had returned from the cattle drive," he said. "I'm happy to see you back."

  "Thank you, Thad." Willow returned the handsome young man's smile. "I'm happy to be back. What have you brought me today?" she asked, leading the way past the kitchen patio to where the young fanner had parked his wagon.

  "The usual vegetables, milk and eggs. I brought along a couple young fryers in case you're hungry for some friend chicken for supper."

  "That sounds good, Thad, but I'm just too tired to pluck chickens."

  "You wouldn't have to. I took the chance that you might want them, so I did all the messy work. They're ready to be cut up and put in the frying pan."

  "In that case, I'll take them." Willow grinned at him. "Maybe the next time you come, you can bring me a stewing hen. I'm hungry for some chicken and dumplings."

  Thad said that he could do that and Willow began choosing what vegetables she wanted. When everything had been put into a basket, Thad picked it up.

  But before he carried the reed container into the kitchen for her, he asked with a shy smile, "Can I come over tonight and sit with you for a while? You can tell me all about the cattle drive."

  Willow was ready to say that she didn't think it was a good idea, that she would be marrying Jules soon, when Jules himself came striding up from the barn.

  "Hello, Wilson," he said, frowning. "Still peddling your vegetables, I see."

  An angry flush spread over Thad's face at the hint of contempt in Jules's voice. He answered politely, though. "Yes, like you, I'm still working at earning a living."

  It angered Willow also that Jules had spoken demeaningly to Thad. It was uncalled for. Was he by any chance jealous of the handsome younger man? she wondered. Maybe she should let Thad call on her. Maybe seeing another man interested in her would spur Jules to set their wedding date.

  When Jules had disappeared into the kitchen, Willow took the basket from Thad and, smiling up at him, said, "I'll look for you around seven o'clock."

  The wide grin that curved the young man's lips made Willow feel guilty about stringing him along. He was a nice person and didn't deserve to be treated so shabbily.

  The three men—Jules, Logan and Rooster—did most of the talking at the supper table. When Willow had been complimented on the crispy fried chicken, the men turned to the subject of wild horses. They talked of how many of the wild ones Jules and Logan had tamed that day and how many they expected to break tomorrow.

  Willow and Ruth had little to say. They were still unsettled by the scare they had experienced that morning. Ruth jumped at the slightest unexpected sound, and Willow kept replaying in her mind the terrifying minutes when Buck Axel had held her prisoner against his fat belly.

  When Willow heard the clock strike six in the great room, she hurried to slice the apple pie and pour coffee. Thad would be there in another hour and she wanted the men out of the house. She was having second thoughts about having told Thad that he could return at seven o'clock. Jules might not get jealous at all. He was pretty arrogant in his knowledge of how she felt about him. He could very well just become angry and order the smitten farmer off the premises.

  Willow began to wonder if Jules suspected that Thad was going to come calling tonight. He had just asked for a second serving of pie and to have his coffee cup refilled as he and Logan continued to talk horses. Jess had left the table half an hour before, and Ruth had excused herself and said good night shortly after. Rooster had left then too.

  Hoping to hurry the men along, she began clearing the table. The men apparently took the hint and rose and walked outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard their voices fading away on the evening air. They were going to the stables.

  She flew around the kitchen, washing the dishes and putting them in the rack to dry. A quick swipe at the table and stove and she was hurrying to her room. Thad would arrive any minute and she wanted to at least comb her hair before he did.

  The clock was striking seven when Willow stepped out onto the veranda and took a seat in the shadow of the hanging vines. When Thad showed up, she intended to explain to him that she was in love with Jules. That should be sufficient to make him forget about courting her.

  The old hound sat at Willow's feet, sniffing at the evening breeze as the minutes ticked by. Willow heard the clock inside strike the half hour, and she wondered why Thad was late arriving. Fifteen minutes later, she decided that he wasn't coming. She was relieved. She wouldn't have the embarrassment of telling him that he would be wasting his time calling on her.

  She was about to rise and go into the house when she heard Jules saying good night to Logan down at the stables. She sat quietly and he walked past the veranda without a glance in her direction. She saw him step into the small patio and disappear into the kitchen. Then she heard him speak to Jess in the family room. "Where's Willow?" he asked.

  "I guess she's gone to bed. Today was very upsetting to her." Jess knocked out her pipe and then said, "You're late coming in. What kept you? The wild ones?"

  "Some of the time. The rest of the time I was setting that sodbuster straight about Willow. Can you imagine he had the nerve to get all spruced up and ride over here to court Willow?"

  "Yes, I can imagine that. Willow is very beautiful, and how is anyone to know that you're interested in her? What exactly did you tell him?"

  "I
told him that Willow was my woman and that I'd kick his sorry ass if he ever came around here again other than to do business."

  There was a short silence before Jess asked, "What are your real feelings about Willow?"

  "Willow is the kind of woman I've looked for all my life. She's the sort a man would never tire of."

  "I'm happy to hear that. Willow is a fine young woman. You couldn't pick a better wife."

  "Wife?"

  Willow heard the surprise in Jules's voice, and her heart felt as if it had dropped to her feet. She held her breath to hear what he might add to that single word.

  "Aunt Jess, you know how I've always felt about marriage. It changes a man, ties him down, makes him old before his time. I haven't changed my mind about that."

  "But you just said—"

  "I said that I want Willow to be with me the rest of my life."

  "You hair-brain, she is not the type of woman who would be satisfied with that kind of life. She will want marriage so that she can have children. She's too proud to be another Nina."

  "Don't compare her to that one. Willow knows I don't think of her that way."

  "How would she know that? Have you told her? After all, she cleans for you, cooks your meals and shares your bed for a few hours every night. In what way is she any different from Nina? Is it because she cooks better, keeps your house cleaner?"

  "Of course not." There was a thread of anger in Jules's voice. "Nina was nothing to me. I care deeply for Willow."

  "But not enough to give her your name?"

  "I'll give her everything a wife could expect from a husband, but I will not give her my name."

  "You're a damn fool, Jules Asher!" There was anger in Jess's voice. "I hope you lose her, and regret it the rest of your life."

  Willow vaguely heard the tapping of Jess's cane on the tile floor as the old lady left the room. She had just received the worst shock of her life.