by Jet MacLeod
Jed must have been worried, because he kept sending Juan or Cookie up to see me. He only got the same report every day. I was barely eating. I was still asleep when they peeked in at me. It must have been two weeks before Jed decided it was enough.
He came into my room, roused me up, tore down my curtains, and literally threw me in a bath of warm water with all my clothes on. He told me it was to make sure that the stench he had smelt was that of life and not of death. He told me to buck up, get up, and pretend to be a living person and eventually everything would work itself out. In a nut shell, he made me live again.
I stopped riding though because it reminded me of him. That was really the only thing in my somewhat unconventional life that I missed, besides Reece. To feel the wind in my hair, to smell the prairie beneath me, to be as free as I wanted to be, that was what horseback riding meant to me. It was a love I had since I was a kid in Corpus. But, now, it held no joy, only pain, so I stopped.
Jed didn’t question that though. He was happy to see me up and about again. He never asked me what happened. He knew something big and horribly wrong had happened after the way Juan and I looked when we rode into the ranch after they had already made it home. He never questioned Juan and thankfully Juan never told anyone either.
Juan rode out that morning into town without any grief. I watched him go and could only stand there waving to him, and hoping that he would find out something for me. Anything at that moment was better than nothing.
Jed saw me wave Juan off. He stood there, I am sure dumbfounded. I could only guess at what he thought was going on between the two of us, but I didn’t have to wait long. I knew he would eventually come question me about my “relationship” with Juan and he did.
“So you sending Juan into town, are you?” he asked me.
“Yes, Jed, I did,” I answered.
“Mind if I ask why, Miss Rayne?” he questioned.
“Actually, I don’t. He is running an errand for me,” I said, waiting for the next question.
“Oh, I see. Anything I should be worried about?” he inquired.
“Nope, Jed, not that I could say you should,” I stated, slightly starting to get miffed.
“Okay, then, well, I’d better go see to the cattle,” he said, walking off.
“You do that, Jed. I want them to be ready, good and ready this year,” I told him.
He walked off, coolly, collected, like he knew something that I didn’t. Jed might have been near fifty, but that man could walk circles around you mentally when he wanted. I didn’t know what he thought he knew, only that he thought he knew it.
*****
Juan had been gone for two weeks. I was beginning to think that something had happened. He was a site to see with his brand new red sombrero and bright red Mexican suit.
“Juan, what happened?” I asked him.
“Well, Miss Rayne, I had to go see my familia to find out everything and mi Madre made this for me. I thought I would wear it back here,” he answered.
“What did you find out, then, Juan?” I inquired.
“Enough to tell you inside, ma’am. It is not for the wandering ear to hear,” he told me with his rich Mexican accent shining through.
I took him into the kitchen and poured him a tall glass of lemonade. I handed him one glass and poured myself another. He handed me a bottle of liquor after he added a shot to his glass. He nodded in encouragement for me to add it to the drink, too. I guess he thought it would bolster me up for the news he had to tell me. He waited for me to make my decision about the liquor by drinking the spiked lemonade.
“Well, Juan, what is it?” I demanded, spinning the glass of lemonade in my hands on the table.
“I did find out some things about this Reece Bradley. I am not sure thought how much of it you want to hear,” Juan told me.
“I’ll make that decision. I’ll tell you when to stop. Just tell me what you know,” I said.
“Very well, ma’am. It goes like this: Misses Teresa Bradley moved to Texas from Meridian, Mississippi in 1866. Her husband, Thomas Palmer, was a cotton farmer in Mississippi who set his sights on Texas after the war. He died on their journey to Dallas. He was forty years old,” he told me.
“How old was she?” I asked, curious.
“She was only about sixteen or so. She moved to Dallas as Misses Palmer. A local banker and want-to-be rancher named George Bradley caught her eye. They were wed by the end of the year. He bought her a ranch in Amarillo and they called it the Circle B,” he added.
“So, what happened?” I questioned.
“It seems that they were happy for about five years and then Mister Bradley died from the influenza. She was devastated. She was also pregnant at the time of his death,” Juan said.
“Don’t tell me that the baby died too?” I begged on the verge of tears for her plight.
“Si, senorita, he did, still-borne. From what I could gather, she ran away from the ranch and Texas all together,” he explained.
“Then, how did she end up on my doorstep?” I asked.
“She moved to Santa Fe, for a while. Her foreman’s brother, a man Thomas James, followed her. The sheriff in Santa Fe said that she must have tired of ranch life because the James’ moved to San Francisco,” he added.
“The James’? They wed?” I questioned.
“No, but they were always together, so everyone just assumed that she was his wife,” he explained.
“What happened in San Francisco, then?”
“Thomas and she moved there for the ‘city life.’ She became a welcomed wealthy woman. She was courted, again. It wasn’t until a certain man by the name of Jameson Welsh started seeing her that she got edgy. From what I could gather, he, in no uncertain terms, told her that she would be his wife because he was a college buddy of George’s and they shared everything. I stress the ‘everything’ here, Miss Rayne.”
“I take it, she didn’t like that?” I asked.
“No, ma’am, she hated him, too. She gave him the boot. And, so, did Thomas, but Welsh wasn’t going to take ‘No!’ for an answer from her. She got the law involved and then told Thomas that it was time to come back to Texas. That was Seventy-two,” Juan explained.
“Then what?” I inquired, too invested to stop now.
“Then, she is posing as a man and working for Loren Dell here in Junction City in the spring. The rest, you already know. No one knows what happened to Thomas James. More than likely, it was an Indian ambush and somehow she managed to survive and got out. She stole some of Thomas’ clothes and did what she could to make money, just trying to get home,” he told me, “She was afraid that is she told someone who she really was that no one would believe her.”
I just sat there. She was just trying to get home. That is why she kept saving all that money. I thought about the round up and remembered that I had kept her share of the makings. I still owed her money. I think it was about four or five hundred dollars from the horses that she had sold for me.
“Then I got in the way,” I said quietly.
“Ma’am?” Juan asked, confused.
“Nothing, Juan. Thank you,” I told him, “Wait, where is your family now?”
“In Amarillo, my Madre has a big kitchen there in town for the locals. She has them lining up at the door at lunch and dinner. Why you ask, Miss Rayne?” he asked me.
“Just wondering if you want to go home, soon, for a while,” I said. “But, I am not sure. We’ll have to wait and see how things look come Spring. Oh, and, Juan, remember, this is just between us.”
“No problem, mi Mamacita,” Juan answered.
“Did you just call me your ‘little Mom,’ Juan?” I questioned him with an arched eyebrow.
“Si, my little mother, because that is what you remind me of. You are like a second mother to half of the hands on this ranch. And, Jedidiah is their Papi,” he added.
“Oh, Juan, what I am going to do with you?” I teasingly asked him.
“I dunno, ma�
�am, I dunno,” he replied as we both started laughing.
Weeks passed and the sun began its journey into Spring. I was tiring of my life in Junction City. There wasn’t enough to do anymore. I wanted some real ‘city’ life.
I told Jed to look into how much I could get for the ranch. He looked shocked, but did as he was told. He brought me back figures from the bank and then paperwork for a loan from the bank in his name. He, then, tells me if I was going to sell the “blessed ranch” if had better be to someone who I could trust to run it right. He couldn’t think of any one more fit to do the job than himself. I couldn’t argue with him on that point and I totally agreed with him. He had been running it for years. He had only used me as a figure head in town.
Juan decide not to stay on with Jed, which didn’t surprise Jed too much. Juan was going to go with me to Amarillo. Juan didn’t ask where we were going, he knew.
Chapter Thirty
Rayne, May 1875
“She’s all yours, now, Jedidiah. Take care of her,” I said, handing him the deed and all the keys to the ranch I had.
“I will, Miss Rayne. Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked me one last time.
His eyes were dancing. He wasn’t sure what to make of the whole ordeal, but I knew that he wouldn’t argue with me, too much, either. He deserved it, even if he didn’t think that he did. He had done so much for me after Dad died.
“Jedidiah, I am. I need to do this for my sanity,” I answered. “Besides this is more your ranch than mine.”
It was an understatement and we both knew it. He had been running things for years. He only asked me certain questions because the deed had my name on it.
“I am sorry to see you go,” he added.
“I’ll come and visit every now and again.”
“You’d better or I’ll find Juan and hurt him, something personal,” he told us both.
“Jed, we aren’t getting married. He is just escorting me to Amarillo. His family is there, now,” I stated.
“If you say so, Miss Rayne, just don’t let him bully you too much on the ride there.”
“Oh, Jed, you will never learn,” I told him.
He helped me onto my horse, Honey Nugget. He put an extra rifle on my saddle hoping I would use it if need be. I nodded in agreement. It was the only arm I carried. The way that Juan was decked out you would have thought that he was going into a battle. He had bullets everywhere, three pistols, a slung sawed off shotgun and a rifle by his saddle as well.
Well, I could at least say that we were protected. Anyone who came down on us would have to think twice before finally going through with it. At least, I hoped so.
“I’ll send for Silas, once I have settled somewhere,” I told Jed.
“I understand, Miss Rayne. I’ll send him there by train. Don’t worry about the boy. Between Cookie and me, he’ll be a good cowboy,” Jed told me.
We both heard Silas coming on horseback. When he tried to join Juan and me, Jed just reached out and grabbed the halter of Silas’ horse, holding him there. I could see the pain on Silas’ face, but I needed to find myself again, before I could finish raising him.
“I’ll send for you, Silas. I promise. I have to find somewhere first. I won’t be dragging you around with me until I know that I’ll be somewhere permanent. I’m sorry, Silas,” I stated, fighting back the tears in my eyes.
He just stared at me, tears streaming down his face. He was mad at me and he had reason to be. I hadn’t been there for him like I should have since the round up last year.
“That is what Dad and Reece told me,” he told me.
It was like an arrow to the heart. He was his father’s son. He was also Reece’s son, after a fashion. And, they both knew how to get to me.
“Silas, I am sorry. I will send for you. Stay here, work, become the cattle rancher and horseman, you were meant to be. I can’t do that for you,” I explained, as I nudged Honey Nugget closer to his horse. “I’ll send for you. I promise.”
I reached out and grabbed him. We hugged. I wiped away his tears and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was more emotion for the both us in a very long time.
“I promise,” I told him, again.
“I promise, too, mi amigo, I’ll come get you myself, if need be,” Juan stated.
He shook Juan’s hand and nodded in agreement. It seemed to calm everyone involved. Juan shook Jed’s hand and the joined me at the edge of the ranch. We both gave it one last look before we headed into the vastness of the prairie.
We made it to Amarillo in what I would say was record timing. It was very warm in the city when we arrived. I arranged for us to have lodging at the Amarillo Grande, their “Grand Hotel,” for a week or so. Juan went home to his family. I was welcomed to stay with them, but I felt out of place there.
I settled into life Amarillo very easily. I didn’t really have to seek employment. I did decide that it would be for the best if I deposited all that money.
I made my way to the bank. I was greeted by a fat old man that smelled like liquor. I wasn’t sure I was in right place, until Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome came from around the counter.
“Forgive me, Ma’am, for Wally here. How can I help you?” he asked.
“Well, good sir, it seems I have an obnoxious amount of money and would like to have someone else look after it for me. I am tired of carrying it all around all the time,” I told the bank man.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place, ma’am,” he stated. “Please, follow me, ma’am. I’ll help you sort this out. I am Mister Wade Shylock.”
“Like as in Shakespeare’s Shylock?” I questioned.
“Yes, ma’am, just like him. Now, let’s see. How much would you like to deposit to open your account here?”
“Well, I have a problem. I owe someone who lives here a good amount. She doesn’t know that I am here, yet, though. Maybe you know her, Mister Shylock,” I told him.
“Whom might that be, Miss?” he asked.
“Misses George Bradley,” I said.
“Teresa? You know her, huh? Well, how much do you owe her, Miss?” he questioned.
“It is about five hundred dollars,” I replied.
“Five hundred,” he gulped, but I could see the dollar signs in his eyes. “Well, let’s see. I can put that in her account. Will that be a transfer or deposit?”
“Cash deposit,” I told him, handing him the bills.
“I see,” he said, counting them out, “And, the rest of your money? I am assuming you would like to open an account with us here at Amarillo State Bank.”
“Yes, Mister Shylock, I would. I have the cash here with me to do so. That is why I came in today,” I said.
“Alright then, let me get my ledger so I can add you in and make this deposit into Misses Bradley’s account. While I do that, here is some paperwork you might want to read over, or I can read it for you, when I come back,” he said, standing, handing me the papers and walking towards the door.
“I can read, Mister Shylock,” I replied.
“Ah, yes, Miss, and please call me, Wade,” he stated as he left the room to gather the ledger.
I read the papers. They were all standard bank notes and advertisements. It was just like the bank in Junction City.
“Well, ma’am, let’s get started. I’ll fill out the ledger here for you. I’ll have to ask you a few questions, though,” he started.
“Go ahead, Wade,” I told him.
“Name, please, Miss.”
“Rayne, that’s R-A-Y-N-E, Denise Whittacre.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-two,” I answered.
“Address?”
“Right now, Room 302, Amarillo Grande.”
“Amount that you wish to start your account with?”
“This,” I said, handing him a large wad of cash, “Less about two hundred, please.”
He stared at the wad on the table in front of him. He started to count it. He looked at me for a total and to be honest, I d
idn’t have one. I just shrugged my shoulders. I haven’t really kept tabs on it since we left Junction City. I knew I had given Juan Del Mar around two hundred for his escort, but that was about it.
“There is a lot here, Miss Whittacre,” he said.
“Yes, I know,” I replied.
“Do you mind me asking, what this is from?”
“I sold my ranch in Junction City. I wanted a change. And, that is what is left from it, less my travelling expenses,” I explained and he swallowed hard.
“Well, there must be about ten thousand or more here.”
“Sounds about right, the place sold for about fifteen thousand with cattle. I am still waiting on the profits on the horses, though,” I stated.
“There’s going to be more?” he asked.
“Probably a lot more,” I told him matter-of-factly.
“Welcome to Amarillo, Miss Whittacre,” he stated, shaking my hand, “I hope you plan on staying for a while.”
“Depends,” I replied.
“On what?” he asked.
“On what Amarillo plans on giving me for staying.”
He had finished counting and the total came up to be around thirteen thousand two hundred dollars, which was with the two hundred less what I asked for and Reece’s deposit. He gave me smaller bills for the two hundred that I was keeping.
“Thank you for your business, Miss Whittacre,” he said, personally, showing me out.
“You’re welcome, Mister Shylock, but I have one more thing to ask of you before I go,” I stated.
“Anything,” he replied.
“Please don’t tell anyone, I’m here. And, don’t tell Misses Bradley about the deposit. I want to surprise her with it. Can you do that for me, Mister Shylock?” I asked him.
