by Clay, Verna
Lilah couldn't help but grin. "I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. O'Granger."
"Hell, woman, call me anything but Mr. O'Granger. My ma called me Rat and my pa called me Runt."
Lilah giggled, "Okay, I'll call you Grady if you call me Lilah."
Grady stuck out his hand. "It's a deal."
Smiling warmly at the friendly man, she shook his work calloused hand.
Rush said, "We need to get these horses to the barn. They've traveled a long ways and been faithful."
Grady reached for the reins. "You just let ol' Grady take care of 'em. You git yerself and this pretty lady over to the house so ya'll can freshen up and you can reacquaint yerself with yer brother."
Although Rush's face showed displeasure at Grady's words, he did not voice it, and Grady appeared not to notice. Rush reached for Lila's saddle bag and looped it over his neck and then accepted his own from Grady. He looped that one around his neck also. Finally, he untied Lilah's valise from her saddle and motioned her toward the house. Even though Trent had left the door open, Rush knocked.
His brother called from inside, "You don't need to knock. Just come in."
Rush nodded for Lilah to enter and once inside, she marveled at how cool the interior was compared to outside. Blinking to focus, she glanced around. They had entered a large foyer that led directly into a living area with a massive fireplace at the back, where Trent stood facing them. To Trent's right was a wide hallway and he jerked his head in that direction. "I figure Miss Parker can stay in the last bedroom and you can stay…" He hesitated a moment, "wherever you want."
Rush nodded. "Come on Lilah, I'll show you the way." When they entered the hallway he paused, turned, and asked his brother, "Do we still have ma's tub?"
"'Course we do. I'll have it brought to Miss Parker's room. Just let me know when you want water delivered."
Rush said, "Thanks," and continued leading Lilah down the hallway.
The first room they passed on their left was a dining area entered through an archway. The massive table, with at least ten chairs surrounding it, made Lilah sad as she conjured up images of a once vibrant family and friends gathering there. What has happened to cause this terrible rift?
Across the hall from the dining room and through another arch was a large kitchen. The placement of pots and pans, spices, dishes, and everything a cook needed, bespoke of a woman's touch, and Lilah surmised this was Pearl's domain.
Continuing down the hall with its oaken floors mellowed over many years, Lilah counted six closed doors. Rush opened the last door on the left and waited for her to enter. He followed her inside and set her saddle bag on the large four-poster bed covered with a faded, but still lovely, starburst quilt sewn of reds and yellows. Next to the bed a nightstand with a lace doily and a book of poetry invited a guest to relax and read. A beautiful redwood chest with matching armoire and vanity made the room even more cheery. Lilah walked to the one window, pulled the lacy white curtain aside, and glanced toward bushes and trees in the distance, obviously running alongside the river. She turned and faced Rush. "This is simply lovely."
With a hint of a smile, he said, "My mother was a gracious woman who loved making her guests welcome. She was raised in wealth but left it all behind to follow my father. Alongside him, she helped build this ranch from nothing to what you see today. Their first house was a soddy that Trent and I were born in. After five years in that house, their herd had enlarged and they started seeing a profit. While we lived in the sod house, my mother drew the plans for this one. Throughout the years, she was able to purchase the furniture. Every room has its own flavor."
There was a knock on the open door and they both turned to see two cowboys carrying a high-back tub with claw feet. Rush motioned to the left corner of the room. "Go ahead and place it there. Thank you."
"No problem, sir," said the older man with curly gray hair. The younger one nodded at Rush and then slid his gaze to Lilah. Although he glanced quickly away, she did not like the gleam in his eyes. She had seen that impudence many times in cocky young men.
After the hands left, Rush asked, "Would you like water delivered now?"
"If it's not an inconvenience that would be lovely."
"No inconvenience at all."
* * *
Rush poured the last bucket of water into his mother's old tub, bid Lilah goodbye, and thanked the older ranch hand who had introduced himself as Sam, for heating and helping cart the water.
Sucking a breath, he paused before the door to his old bedroom. He knew he wouldn't stay in that room, but neither could he ignore it. It would have been hard to explain what he was feeling, but the room called to him. Slowly, he turned the knob and stood immobile in the entrance. Not much had changed. Pearl kept all the rooms clean and dusted, just like she always had, and he felt as if he had stepped backwards in time. In his mind's eye, he saw Katy sitting before her vanity brushing her long golden hair and catching his eye in the mirror. He saw himself bending over to inhale her fragrance before kissing her neck, he saw… Shaking his head he ground his jaw and stepped into the room and another memory assailed him—Katy lying still in death with her dead baby cradled in the curve of one arm. Both Katy and the baby had been so beautiful that even the memory brought tears to his eyes; tears he had not shed since the day of their deaths—the day he'd almost killed Trent because she'd died birthing his brother's child.
Inhaling a shuddering breath, he stepped into the room, closed the door, walked over to the bed, and ran his hand down the length of the silk coverlet he had worked so hard to earn enough money to buy as a Christmas gift for his wife, and said softly, "I loved you Katy, but Trent loved you more. It's still in his eyes." Swiping his own eyes, he left the room and walked two doors down. He had to escape the bedroom he had shared with his wife.
Loud knocking startled Rush and he jumped upright. After unloading his saddle bag in the room he'd chosen to stay in, emotional and physical weariness had made him stretch his long frame out on the bed and he must have fallen asleep.
"Rush? Boy? You in there?"
He smiled when he heard Pearl's raspy voice.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, I hope yer respectable and wearin' pants 'cause I'm comin' in. 'Course ain't no part o' no man I ain't seen, so's it don't matter all that much."
Pearl opened the door and Rush grinned as he rose to greet the former slave who had raised him as much as his own ma.
"Come here, boy, and give an old woman a kiss. I didn't knows if I'd see ya agin in this life, what with you and Trent at each other's throats. Sure hope you got over yer anger 'cause it's been nigh to twenty years now and kinfolk need to forgive."
Rush said, "I love you, Pearl, but what you're referring to is not something I want to talk about."
Pearl made a tsking sound. "Ain't gonna go away 'til ya face it, but I'll keep me mouth shut. Gimme a hug, son."
Rush didn't have to walk far because Pearl met him in the middle of the room and wrapped her ample arms around his waist. Her short and rotund body had him bent over almost double. He gave her a hard squeeze and for the second time that day found himself close to tears.
After a long embrace, Pearl stepped back, lifted a hankie to her eyes, and said, "I hear tell ya brought a lady friend with ya. I didn't knock on her door 'cause I figured she must be plum tuckered out." She blew her nose, and said, "Tell me 'bout the lady. Is you and she in love?"
Rush chuckled, "You never were one to beat-around-the-bush. Always said whatever's on your mind, and I can see that hasn't changed."
"Good. 'Cause I'm still waitin' fer yer answer."
After a loud laugh, Rush told Pearl about Lilah, but his serious tone and his anger renewed itself when he described her kidnapping and subsequent ill treatment.
By the time he'd come to the end of his recital, Pearl's eyes had widened in amazement and she vocalized an unladylike curse, followed by, "I'll make sure that gal eats plenty so's her health's restored. L
ike I always say, meat on a woman's bones makes her healthy and her husband happy."
While Rush tried to think of a response, she winked, elbowed him, and darted out the door.
Chapter 15: Pearl
When Pearl rang the bell on the porch for suppertime, Lilah was surprised when all the ranch hands rushed in. Even though Lilah didn't ask, Pearl said, "Don't make a lick a sense for the hands to eat separate. We all been eatin' like this fer years. Makes fer interestin' conversations, too."
However, the tension between Rush and Trent was so thick, it shut down even polite conversation. Pearl's attempts to lighten the mood did little to help and finally silence blanketed the table. The hands ate quickly and excused themselves. Lilah was glad when the cocky cowboy who'd delivered the bathtub left. She'd encountered men like him before; men who were disrespectful users of women.
Soon there was only Rush, Trent, Grady, Pearl, and Lilah left in the dining room. Lilah was surprised when Rush asked his brother, "How many squatters you got on the land?"
Trent also seemed surprised by Rush's question. "We got four families."
"Do they give you any trouble?"
"Only one family does. I suspect they're stealin' a cow now and again."
"Are you going to make them leave."
"I've been thinkin' about it. But you know how pa always had a soft spot for families just tryin' to support themselves."
Rush pushed some mashed potatoes around on his plate, seemingly lost in thought. Lilah could feel he wanted to say something and wondered if he would.
After a moment, he said, "I don't know how you'll receive this, but there was a landowner I came across a few years back that came up with a pretty good solution to squatters. He was a fair man like Pa."
Although Trent looked interested, all he said was, "Yeah?"
Rush scratched his neck, gazed out the window, and said, "Instead of just allowing them to stay on his land, he leased a portion to them, with a clause deeding the land to them in twenty years if they stayed that long and respected his rights as the owner."
"What!" Trent exclaimed.
"Here me out."
His brother, although looking skeptical, nodded.
Rush continued, "The man had a lot of acreage, like you, and the amount he leased to each squatter barely made a dent in his holdings. He apportioned the land wisely and, although he wasn't averse to others knowing about his contract with the squatters, asked them not to advertise their agreement. The squatters were so overjoyed with the arrangement they were happy to oblige, and whenever they felt there was a threat to the landowner, they immediately advised him. They were like watchdogs over his property because of the stake they had in it. He told me he'd made the arrangements over ten years previous and had nary a problem with any of them since then. In fact, they'd become his friends and he felt it was his responsibility to return some of the prosperity he'd been blessed with."
By the time Rush finished his speech, Lilah's mouth gaped and Pearl's eyes had widened. As for Trent, he merely stared at Rush with incredulity. Finally he said, "Never heard of such a thing." He chewed the inside of his jaw.
Rush said, "Just thought I'd mention it."
Pearl said, "I knows all the squatters and they's right good people, 'ceptin' maybe Huck Cayson when he drinks. 'Course he only drinks now and agin 'cause he's raisin' three teenage boys on his own. It's a good thing his daughter, Arizona, is there to help, but she's in her twenties now and I'd say overripe fer marriage. Course 'bout the only eligible bachelor 'round here is Trent. The field hands come and go too much to settle down." She stopped her rambling long enough to stare Trent down, "That gal is right nice. Not as purdy as some I've seen, but she's gonna make some man a fine wife. She's got more spunk than most and makes her brothers tow the line. I bet a piece o' land would sure perk up that fam'ly's spirits."
Trent laid his napkin on the table. "If you'll excuse me, I have paperwork to finish."
Rush also excused himself and said he wanted to check on his horses.
When Lilah began stacking dishes, Pearl chuckled, "Do ya thinks I got me point across to Trent 'bout Miz Arizona? He can't see it 'cause he thinks he's too old fer her, and he's still pinin' fer another woman, but that gal is jus' what he needs. She won't take none o' his crap."
Lilah turned her head and grinned. "Yes, ma'am. I think you made your point." She lifted some plates and started toward the kitchen.
Pearl clucked, "Now missy, you just leave them dishes fer me."
"I will not. This is too much work for one person."
Pearl clucked again, "I been doin' dishes fer folks since I was a slave girl. This ain't nothin' and I'm happy to do anything I can fer this fam'ly. Them boys' pa and ma saved me from dyin'. Durin' the slave years before the war, when I was a young woman, I escaped a mean master and followed the Rio for weeks barely surviving on the little bit o' food I'd brought and the fish and game I could catch. Eventually I met up with some more escaped slaves and we stayed together 'til the hunters found us. I was hidin' in a tree and watched 'em round up the others. After they left, I run fer me life agin, but times was hard and I got so weak I laid down in the dirt one day and told the Lord I's ready to die." She grinned. "But He had other plans fer me 'cause the next thing I knows is I'm layin' in the softest bed I ever felt and havin' someone feed me the tastiest soup I ever et', and then Miz Garrett said the sweetest words I ever heard. She said I could stay with them if I wanted. Well, hell, even a lunatic knows stayin' with these kind folks is bettr'n goin' on and meetin' up with the mean folks agin. Although there was a few close calls, they kept me hid from the hunters fer years. Then, one day, they come to me with the biggest grins and said the war was over and I was a free woman." Pearl loaded plates onto her arm. "Nope, I don't mind cleanin' up one bit. But you've not lived the life I have so's you jus' go on to yer room and rest."
Lilah attempted to swallow the lump in her throat at Pearl's story. "Please let me help."
Pearl set the plates on the counter and reached a gnarled hand to pat Lilah's shoulder. "Yer a good-hearted woman, missy. Yer jus' the woman Rush needs. These Garrett boys should listen to ol' Pearl, 'cause she knows what's best fer 'em."
Lilah quickly said, "Oh no, we're not…you know…like that."
Pearl chuckled. "Not yet. But I's got the second sight."
Lilah frowned. Since she didn't know what that meant and didn't want to ask, she kept clearing the table alongside Pearl.
Over the next week, the tension was so tight around the ranch that Pearl finally confided to Lilah while they were alone in the kitchen, "I don't know how much you knows 'bout what happened 'tween them boys, but seein's as how you're subject to the pressure cookin' up 'round here, you gots a right to know."
Without waiting for Lilah's response, she continued, "The feud started over Katy, Rush's wife. Trent and Katy loved each other and finally give in to that love and made a baby, whilst Rush was away on ranch bizness. 'Course Rush loved Katy too and was goin' to move away and raise the child as his own, but Katy went into labor and died birthin' the babe. Both Trent and Rush feel responsible for her death—Trent for givin' her the baby and Rush thinkin' he put so much pressure on her she went into labor early."
Lilah's heart broke for the brothers.
Pearl sighed and fingered a tear. "Them boys' ma and pa would surely turn over in their graves if they was to know the sadness in this house. It was a right happy place when Rush and Trent was youngins' growin' up."
Chapter 16: Bad Seed
The beauty of the land spread out below Rush and he moved his gaze from the east to the west. Homesickness quenched all his other emotions and he closed his eyes tightly. For the two weeks since arriving at Big G, he'd spent much time in the saddle avoiding his brother. Lilah seemed content reading in the library or helping Pearl in the kitchen. He'd intended to stay not longer than a week, but leaving his childhood home was proving to be more difficult than anticipated. Until now, he'd circumvented the
family cemetery, but with sudden resolve he turned Rio to descend the hill. At the bottom, he guided his horse toward the fork leading to the graves.
In an open space sheltered by tall bur oaks he dismounted, tied Rio's lead, and entered the fenced off area through an intricately carved iron gate. Puffing air, he approached the side-by-side graves of his father and mother, then removed his hat and knelt.
"Hello, Ma and Pa. It's been a long time, I know. But I finally made it back. Didn't know if I ever would, but circumstances kind of forced my hand." He was quiet for a long time and then said, "I'm leaving soon and this may be goodbye for good. I just want ya'll to know that I couldn't have asked for better parents. I also want you to know how much I loved you. As for Trent, I'm sorry about what happened between us, and I guess I burned my bridges when I left. I only wish…" He didn't finish his sentence.
Standing, he stayed beside their graves a minute longer before walking the few paces to Katy's grave. Twisting the brim of his hat through his fingers, he read her epitaph carved in stone—Beloved Wife and Mother. Next to her grave was a small one with the simple engraving of Sweet Baby Girl.
Whereas Rush had no trouble speaking to his parents, he could not form audible words for Katy and the baby. Inhaling a shuddering breath, it was his heart that silently cried, I'm so sorry, Katy. I shouldn't have tried to make you love me when you loved him. You were a good woman and didn't deserve to die so young."
A noise distracted Rush's misery and he glanced over his shoulder to see Trent approaching on his horse. The brothers made eye contact and Rush turned back around while Trent dismounted. He heard the gate open and his brother's footsteps walking toward him.
