“What difference does it make?”
“It makes a difference.”
“He forced himself...I…need time to deal with everything.”
Garnett nodded. “I want you to stay here until I come back.”
“I don’t want to see him.”
“It’s alright sweetheart. He’s not going to hurt you again. Promise me you will stay here.”
“I don’t want anyone to know. Please, promise me.”
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Garnett dismounted at the house and found Dominic sitting alone on the porch.
“Did you find her?”
“I did.”
Dominic nodded. “Does she need time to settle down?”
“We need to have a serious talk.”
“Save your breath. I am tired to being held accountable for her instability.”
Garnett had spent a lot of his career cleaning up after men or representing them when they went too far. The mark of a good attorney is the ability to never let the situation become personal. “This time I think you need to just listen. She has two partially broken ribs and has serious bruising on her arms and cheek. There may be more but I didn’t ask the doctor. Mirisa has withdrawn to the point that I don’t want her left alone. She’s asked me not to tell anyone and I think that’s really better because I don’t think either James or Meeks would walk away from this one.”
“Does she want a divorce?”
“I told her you would give her whatever she needed but she’s in no condition to make a rational decision. I can’t stress enough that the legal consequences of this can be harsh even though you believe the pre-nuptial agreement protects you or even benefits you. Mirisa now has grounds to seek and get a divorce. She doesn’t want to see or talk with you and refuses to return to the house if you are here.”
Dominic leaned up against the post and lit his cigar. “Where is she?”
“Dominic, you need to just let her go.”
“I can’t. I need to talk to her.”
“She’s in no condition to see you and if you touch her again I won’t be able to keep it private and I can’t guarantee that she won’t file charges against you though I don’t think she has the mental strength to do anything except withdraw.”
“I just need to talk to her.”
“I’ll ride in with you and speak to her first.”
Dominic took the reins to his horse and they headed to town. Garnett went up to the room as Dominic stood in front of the hotel wondering how the hell he lost control. Garnett assured her that he would be outside the door and nothing would happen.
Dominic went into the Tavern and walked up to the room. He knocked and she opened the door before turning away from him. He sat down next to her but didn’t touch her. “Mirisa.”
“Dominic, you need to go back to your life and leave me alone.”
He folded his hands and looked down. “Is there nothing I can say?”
She bit her lip but wouldn’t look at him. “Please let me go.”
“Are you leaving me for someone else?” Her face showed the shock of his question as if what he had done to her never happened or didn’t matter. “If I promise to give up…”
She looked at him seriously. “Dominic, if you had been honest with yourself you would have never married me. Your love can’t stop this pain and your apologies are meaningless.”
“I’ll move into the adobe so you can be with the children. I’ll be leaving in a few days for Colorado but if you need anything before I go let Garnett know.” He stood as the tears ran down her cheeks.
Dominic told Garnett that he’d see him back at the house. Garnett went in and talked to her for a few hours about arrangements that would be in place before Dominic left. He told her that he was going to draw up the papers for a separation but first he wanted to take her home.
Dominic walked to the adobe and threw his case on the bed before heading to the bar. James was sitting on the porch enjoying the cool weather and Dominic sat down next to him.
“When are you leaving for Colorado?”
“As soon as I tie up the loose ends.” Dominic sipped on his whisky.
“We’ll be here another two weeks so we can finish up anything for the ranch.”
Meeks walked out stretching then leaned up against the railing. “Where’s Garnett?”
“He’s in town with Mirisa.”
“Is that why you have moved back into the adobe?”
“Pretty much. I hope all of you realize how instrumental you were in Mirisa becoming discontented with our marriage.”
James shook his head and decided that Dominic would never accept responsibility for a failure whether it was during an assignment or in his own personal life. The fact that Dominic was still leaving for Colorado was interesting but more interesting was the fact that it was necessary for Garnett to clean up whatever he did. The dynamics of their friendship was so completely sufficient.
Meeks watched as Mirisa and Garnett walked through the front door of the house. She was moving slowly as Garnett walked over and locked the porch doors and turned down the lanterns and she went into the nursery. Meeks turned his attention back to Dominic and knew without asking what he had done. Meeks walked into the house and poured a shot trying not to jump to conclusions.
When he questioned Garnett, he was told that she wanted to be left alone but as her attorney he wasn’t at liberty to discuss anything. Meeks finally approached her after Dominic and Garnett left for Colorado. She assured him that she just needed time. He knew she was trying to cover up the obvious bruise on her cheek and when he brought her into his arms he could feel the wrapping around her ribs.
“We’re leaving at the end of the week for New York. Do you need anything before we go?”
“No. Garnett made sure everything was handled and Sr. Gomez is here to help me.”
“When are you leaving?”
“I’m staying in Texas with the children.”
“Alright. Do you want to have dinner with us tonight?”
They had a quiet dinner before James took her hand and told her to take off her blouse. She started to object before he told her that he wanted to check her ribs. She looked from James to Meeks and they knew she was very fragile. James unbuttoned her blouse and removed it slowly. Neither of them reacted to the bruising on her arms knowing that her ribs would be worse. James slowly unwound the wrapping as she closed her eyes. Her entire left side was bruised and red. James lightly ran his fingers over her ribs noting the indentation where they were cracked.
“Meeks give her a shot of whisky.”
She looked at James. “Are you going to hurt me?”
“Yes. I have to make sure there are no complete breaks.”
Mirisa bit her lip as she began to shake. James made her lie down on the floor as Meeks held her hands above her head stretching her abdomen making the ribs more prominent. James straddled her hips and felt gently against the end of the first rib determining that it was cracked but not separated then he pushed on the bottom rib which was partially broken but fortunately not completely. James went into the kitchen and took down the salve. He gently rubbed it on the bruising, picked up the cloth and pulled it around to her right side keeping pressure on the ribs so they wouldn’t slip causing a worse break.
“It is going to take a while to heal but you need to avoid picking up anything or put too much pressure from the inside. I’m going to rewrap it but not as tight and I want you to take something for the pain.”
“I can’t. I’m still nursing the babies.”
James stood up as Meeks helped her sit up. “If you need to you can feed the babies milk. How are you sleeping?”
“Not well.”
“Do you want us to cancel our trip?”
“Thank you but I think I can handle this as long as you teach me how to wrap them.”
James nodded as Meeks helped her to her feet so James could wrap her ribs. “Mirisa do you have an
y of the elixir made?”
“At the top of the cupboard in the green bottle.”
James made her a cup of tea and put the elixir in the tea before handing it to her. He went in and spoke to Jasmine about how to care for the injuries and that she needed to convince Mirisa to wean the babies off of breastfeeding. Meeks sat down on the couch and Mirisa laid her head on his lap falling asleep.
“Meeks, do you want to cancel the trip?”
“No. She’s trying so hard to be strong and I think she needs the time to regain her confidence. I’ll get the doctor to come out to check on her and have one of the Ross boys stop by every day but I think Sr. Gomez can handle anything that needs to be done. I think we need to get the ranch sold and if we can do it fast then we’ll come back here before we go to Colorado.”
“Alright.”
THE RIDE to Colorado took seven days. In April, Garnett received a letter from James. Their trip to New York was uneventful and they had already received two very good offers on the ranch. He set out the terms of each offer and said he needed a telegram reply so they could tie up the sale before they returned to the ranch to physically transfer operations and the books. He said that Mirisa had stayed in Texas and she wanted Garnett to ask if she could buy the Texas house and the land north of it along with all the furnishings. James said he needed an answer on whether to accept an offer since the northern portion of the land was not part of the original purchase of the ranch. He also included the paperwork of the southeast portion of the land that they sold to Tom Ross as well as hundreds of acreage that was deeded to the town. Dominic sent a telegram back with their decision on the two bids and told him that he could put the house and property in her name but not to take any money from her. A few weeks later, they received another letter from James with the documents from the sale. James and Meeks were heading back to the ranch to meet with the new owner and his assistant to finish the transfer. He said that the house had been deeded to Mirisa and that they would head to Colorado on the train so they could bring Matthew.
Garnett went over the papers and the deposit slips into each of their accounts. “I never thought we would make that much money in less than five years.”
“I sent a long letter to Mirisa with rail tickets to come out with the twins but so far she hasn’t responded to any of my letters.”
“Dominic, there’s no good side to this. She doesn’t want to become the focus of your anger and she doesn’t want a faithless husband. You need to let her go.”
“I can’t.”
“Then you need to change yourself. Those are your only options.”
They rode south dismounting in front of the new house. The workers were putting up the roof tresses and the shingles had just been delivered. Garnett stepped up on the porch and thought it was an extremely well built house. The great room and kitchen were on the first floor with a porch wrapped completely around the house. The bedrooms were on the second floor above the library. It was twice as large as the Texas house but better insulated with massive fireplaces. Behind the house, they had started building a large stable that was better insulated then the house. Because of the size and details, the house wouldn’t be finished until mid-summer.
James and Meeks arrived back in Texas early May. Mirisa was sitting out on the porch curled up in her rocking chair reading a book. James kissed her and leaned up against the railing facing her.
“Have I ever told you that you are beautiful? If not, after spending months in New York City with some of the most beautiful women in the world, I must confess that none of them hold a candle to you.”
She smiled and closed her book. “How did things go with Miss Tyler?”
“She is wonderful in bed, is extremely pretty and very passionate. However, she’s not willing to leave her husband because he’s on his death bed with a large estate and no children. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that my portfolio made him look like a pauper. I guess I can understand the need for financial security but she already has a lot of money of her own.”
“Well, maybe it will work out. I think you would be happy should you decide to marry. How long are you here before you go to Colorado?”
“We’ll be here at least a couple of weeks tying up all the loose ends on the ranch. I have the deed for the house in my bags and we deposited the money for the stud into your account.”
“Did I have enough money for the house?”
“Dominic deeded it to you along with all the north acreage including Buffalo Hill.”
Mirisa looked out over the river then met his eyes. “Dominic sent me a letter with rail tickets to bring the children to Colorado for the summer. He’s actually written to me every week but I am unable to respond back.” James watched her face that was so etched with sadness. “Are you hungry? I am making baked chicken and herbs for dinner.”
“Let me clean up and we’ll be over later.” She nodded and watched as he walked back to the adobe. They had a great dinner and Matthew was so excited that they were going to take him to Colorado on the train so they could take his horse and Dog. The weeks went by fast with transitioning the ranch to the new owners.
Meeks was standing on the edge of the river thinking about how to approach Mirisa when she walked up behind him and slipped her arms through his putting her cheek on his back. “It’s a beautiful moon tonight.”
“Most full moons are but this one seems to exceptionally bright.”
“Did you have a nice trip to New York?”
“Not really but I got a lot done.” He reached for her wrist and pulled her around in front of him. Without hesitation he pulled her up kissing first her lips, then her eyelids, down her neck and finally he held her back so he could look at her. They talked for a long time and he finally convinced her to come to Colorado.
James and Meeks were in Colorado for almost a month before her train was scheduled to arrive. Matthew spent most days riding with his father and Garnett or fishing in the stream with James. They taught him how to tie his own flies using feathers they found on the ground. The weather had turned very warm and the lodge slowly took on a very warmhearted feeling as the furnishings continued to arrive from New York.
The porch that stretched across the back of the house was facing the river with large French doors opening from the great room and the eastern wing until it disappeared wrapping in front of a very large bedroom attached to the nursery wing. Every part of the house was made with timber from the surrounding land. The river stones of the central fireplace were also used for the outdoor kitchen and fire ring. When James first walked into the lodge, he knew it was designed for Mirisa.
On the second floor of the west wing were six bedrooms each with a private bath. The third floor was one room that jutted out over the rocks facing west with a perfect view of the mountains. The piano was the last thing to arrive and they had to hoist it up from the ledge to get it set in the room. Garnett spent the first morning tuning it and the afternoon playing. He thought about how long he had put away his love of the piano and it wasn’t until Mirisa came into their lives that his passion was reborn.
The kitchen and dining area was the first things you saw when you entered the house before you stepped into the great room. Meeks brought in a gardener who worked on flower beds that surrounded the entire house and had wild roses planted on the slope leading up to the edge of the porch. The house was so large that it was easy to get lost.
Dominic walked up to the train and spoke to the conductor who swung down with the step in his left hand. He turned and pointed to one of the cars then placed the step on the ground as passengers started to come out of the cars.
Dominic and Matthew walked down almost to the end as a private porter stepped down putting the step on the platform. A well dressed gentleman stepped off and turned to offer his hand to someone. Dominic watched as the woman put her hand in the gentleman’s and stepped down on the platform. He stopped in his tracks as James watched. Mirisa was dressed in yellow chiffon with her hai
r falling over her shoulders and held back with a hairpin. Mirisa was carrying Maggie who was dressed in a pink gingham dress with a white apron and when she was on the platform the gentleman turned helping Jasmine and Jonathan down.
Dominic took Maggie from her as she took Matthew in her arms. She turned back to her husband. “Dominic, this is Dr. Bailey.”
Dominic shook hands with the man as Garnett walked up and took Maggie. She introduced Garnett to the doctor. Dr. Bailey was young, attractive and extremely well dressed.
“Are you travelling through?”
“No. I am going to practice here in Denver.”
“Then I am sure we will cross paths again.”
Dr. Bailey smiled and turned to Mirisa lifting her hand and kissing it. “It was a pleasure to spend time with you.” He tipped his hat, picked up his doctor’s bag and walked down the platform as a porter put his luggage on a waiting wagon.
“We’ll talk about this later.” Dominic put his hand on her elbow and walked her down the platform to the wagon. Meeks was leaning up against it as the porter was loading her trunks into the wagon. Dominic helped everyone into the wagon as James helped Mirisa up and Garnett put Maggie in her lap.
Mirisa walked through the doors and immediately looked at Meeks. Meeks opened the wing to the nursery so they could put all the trunks in the playroom. He set Maggie down as Jonathan toddled in holding Matthew’s hand. Mirisa stood in front of the large glass doors of the great room looking at the view realizing that it was built on the hill of wildflowers.
Dominic walked over and took off his gun, wrapped it and placed it behind the bar. She looked at him before she opened the doors stepping out on the porch. Dominic walked down to the nursery which was fully decorated and had a small kitchen for the children. He opened the door at the end of the wing and knew it was for Mirisa because it was so feminine. Above the large four-poster bed was a drawing of Mirisa with the three children picking wildflowers. Dominic thought the most beautiful moments were when she was unaware that you were watching her. He had never met anyone who could get so lost in the trouble-free moments in life. She always seemed to be walking out of sync with the rest of the world. James walked in behind Dominic and put her case next to the bed and opened the doors to bring in the fresh air.
The Visitor - Colorado 1869 - 1871 Page 9
