Hattie

by Kirsten Osbourne

  Hattie poured the little energy she had left into scrubbing with the dust rag. She dusted the door frames, the railings, the walls—everything she could think of. When she was done, she still had an hour to fill before it was time for dinner.

  When Hattie was with Will, she felt young and alive. She was full of hope and the possibilities the future held. Now she felt hardened. She had nothing to look forward to. Was this what the rest of her life would be like?

  9

  “And there’s Aunt Hattie, Aunt Theresa, and Aunt Katie!” Dorothy Reeves explained cheerfully to her youngest son. Dorothy, one of Hattie’s sisters, and Carter, her husband, were visiting the Sanders’ house briefly to drop off their boys for a few days. Dorothy and Carter would be traveling to visit Carter’s family, and their sons were too young to make the trip.

  Hattie tried to smile at her nephews, but she still felt drained and exhausted from everything that had happened with Will.

  Dorothy immediately noticed something was wrong, but she decided to save her inquiries for later when less people were around.

  Hattie forced herself to eat a few bites at dinner, but she wasn’t hungry. Even though they dined on Edna Petunia’s pork chops, which Hattie normally loved, her heart just wasn’t in it.

  After dinner, it was Theresa and Katie’s turn to wash the dishes, and Carter and Cletus retired to the formal parlor together. Edna Petunia followed them.

  Dorothy grabbed Hattie’s hand. “Let’s go for a walk outside. It’s a beautiful night.”

  Hattie looked at Dorothy in surprise. It wasn’t usual to go outside after dinner. She didn’t feel like making a fuss, so she quietly agreed.

  Once they were outside, Dorothy looked Hattie straight in the eyes. “What’s wrong, Hattie?”

  Hattie sighed. “I don’t want to trouble you.”

  “You’re my sister, and I care for you.” Dorothy smiled. “You’re not troubling me. What’s on your mind?”

  They continued to walk away from the house. Hattie didn’t want her parents to overhear. “I met a man.”

  Dorothy’s eyes widened. “You have to tell me more than that, Hattie!”

  “The man is in the rodeo. His name is Will Hart, and he’s a cowboy and performer in the Wild West show Cletus took us to,” Hattie continued.

  “And you . . . care for him?” Dorothy prompted. It was funny for her to think about her younger sisters growing up and having romances. To Dorothy, Hattie, Theresa, and Katie would always be her baby sisters even though they were grown young women and old enough to marry and begin families of their own.

  Hattie nodded. “He asked me to marry him.”

  Dorothy gasped. “It was that serious? What are you going to do?”

  “It’s already been decided for me,” Hattie explained sadly. “Cletus and Edna Petunia hate him. They say a man in the rodeo is not the kind of man I would want to settle down with.”

  “Oh, Hattie, that’s awful. Do you know why?” Dorothy asked.

  “It has something to do with him not being able to provide me a stable lifestyle,” Hattie replied. It hurt her just to talk about Will. Again, she wondered what he was doing at that very moment.

  “I see.” Dorothy felt sorry for Hattie, but she wasn’t sure what she could do about it. When her parents had their minds made up about something, there was usually no budging their position.

  “It’s all such a mess!” Hattie cried. Earlier that day, she had been in shock and too numb to experience her emotions. Now, talking about her situation, they all flooded back.

  “Tell me about him,” Dorothy suggested gently.

  “Well, he’s tall and handsome, and he’s the most skilled man I’ve ever seen on a horse. But it’s not only riding, it’s roping, too,” Hattie gushed. “The way he looks at me makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world, that’s how closely he pays attention to me.”

  “Wow. He sounds really wonderful.” Dorothy wondered if Cletus and Edna Petunia had really given this man a fair chance, or if they had simply judged him by his job. Everything Hattie had described sounded like ideal characteristics for a spouse.

  “He’s the best man I’ve ever met,” Hattie said honestly. “And Dorothy, he does all of his tricks with only one arm!”

  “He performs with one hand behind his back?” Dorothy was confused.

  Hattie shook her head. “He only has one arm.”

  “Was he born that way, or was there an accident?” Dorothy asked, curious.

  Hattie shook her head again. “I don’t know. I didn’t get the chance to ask.”

  “How many times have you seen him?” Dorothy wondered.

  “I sneaked off to see the rodeo a third time,” Hattie admitted. “And then he came to our house for a picnic under the stars.”

  “Oh, Hattie, how romantic!” Dorothy breathed.

  “Until Cletus woke up and chased him away.” Hattie’s expression crumpled as she recalled watching Will race away.

  “Oh, no!” Dorothy had no idea that Hattie had been secretly meeting up with her beau.

  “And then, one final time, I went to meet him on his final show at the rodeo. That was last night. They’ve probably moved on to the next town,” Hattie finished sadly.

  “That sounds very difficult, Hattie. I’m sorry you’re going through that.” Dorothy wished there was something she could do to help.

  “I can understand where Edna Petunia and Cletus are coming from,” Hattie said.

  “You do?” Dorothy asked.

  “When Will proposed to me, I told him I was flattered, but there was no way that I could leave my family,” Hattie recounted.

  “Did he want you to run away with him?” Dorothy couldn’t believe the twists and turns Hattie’s story was taking!

  “There are some husbands and wives who travel together. Will said that we could do that,” Hattie said. “I never thought I would meet a man who would make me want to be with him all the time. But Will is that man.” Hattie felt her face go red as she thought about him. “But now there’s no chance of that.”

  Dorothy patted Hattie on the arm. “I’m sure there will be other men, Hattie.”

  “I doubt it. There are no young men in Nowhere!” Hattie complained.

  “You have a point, but you never know. You saw what happened with Carter and me!” Dorothy reminded her sister. Carter Reeves was an attorney who had moved to Nowhere for a summer to work on an important case. Dorothy had been hired to help him keep his books. Instead, they’d fallen in love. Even though Carter was an avowed city man, he had been so smitten by Dorothy that he’d ended up staying in Nowhere permanently.

  Now, Dorothy and Carter happily lived on property in Nowhere with their young children. They occasionally visited Carter’s relatives in the city, but they were very content with their lives in Nowhere.

  Hattie nodded, but she wasn’t sure. Dorothy had been lucky. What if Hattie wasn’t so lucky? “I think the hardest part is seeing you and all of our other sisters who are happily married. I never thought much about having children, but after meeting Will, I realized that I wanted him to be the father of my children. Does that sound crazy?”

  Dorothy squeezed Hattie’s hand. “Oh, Hattie, that doesn’t sound crazy to me at all. Matters of love are rarely simple. I wish I could help you more, but I don’t know what to do.”

  “It’s okay,” Hattie told Dorothy. “Just allowing me to talk about it has been helpful—even though it’s making me cry.”

  “Oh, Hattie, I’m sorry!” Dorothy threw her arms around her sister.

  “I’m only teasing,” Hattie said, but Dorothy could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “It will be okay, Hattie,” Dorothy reassured. “I don’t know exactly how—but I promise you, it will all work out in the end.”

  Hattie smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Dorothy. I’m lucky to have you.”

  Dorothy bit her lip. She hated to see Hattie in such a sad situation. “You’re welcome
, dear. If you ever need to talk, any time, I’m here for you.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to lie down now.” Hattie hugged Dorothy goodbye and went into the house.

  Dorothy stood for a while, deep in thought. Now that she lived outside the family home, it was rare that she had any disagreement or tension with her parents. But the look on Hattie’s face made her want to speak out.

  Dorothy made up her mind and walked back into the house. She went to the formal parlor. “Can I speak with you, Cletus and Edna Petunia?”

  Cletus looked up in surprise, pausing the game of checkers he was playing with Carter. “What is it, dear?”

  “I just spoke to Hattie,” Dorothy began nervously.

  Cletus and Edna Petunia exchanged a look.

  Dorothy cleared her throat. “I think you’ve made a big mistake.”

  Across town, Will Hart folded his clothes and stuffed them into his leather travel bag. It had taken him longer than anticipated to pack his personal belongings, and now he had to go out to the stable to pack all of the equipment for the horses.

  Will felt miserable as he dragged himself outside. He didn’t want to leave Bagley. He wished they’d had a few more weeks, just enough time for him to demonstrate to the Sanders that he was worthy of their daughter.

  As Will began walking toward the stables, he saw a flash of lightning and heard a deafening thunderclap. Suddenly, it seemed that the skies had burst forth with buckets of freezing rain. Will stifled the urge to curse loudly. He had thought things couldn’t have been worse, but the rain proved him wrong.

  Some of the horses jumped, spooked by the lightning and thunder. Others whined, unhappy at the water that poured in. Since the stop in Bagley was a temporary one, the rodeo was using a section of the pavilion as makeshift stables. This meant that the structure did not protect the horses from the elements.

  Will sighed and tried to calm some of the more skittish horses. His long day was becoming longer and more difficult. As he worked, his thoughts drifted to Hattie. He wondered what she was doing. No doubt she was in trouble from their moonlit escapades. He hoped she wasn’t suffering too badly. He felt awful that he couldn’t be there for her.

  Soon, Will and the horses were soaking wet. He gathered the equipment into piles and prepared to load it into the wagons. He put his left arm over his eyes to shield them from the rain and stared up at the sky. The rain showed no signs of letting up.

  Just then, he saw Robert running toward the tents. “What do you make of this?” Will called. “Do you think we’ll still leave first thing in the morning?”

  Robert shrugged, and Will saw that he was also drenched. “You’ll need to talk with the boss about that.” Robert continued on his way, holding his hands above his head in an attempt to block out the rain.

  Will groaned. He wasn’t sure what condition Mr. Ingalls would be in, and he was sure the weather would only worsen his mood. But he wanted to know if he really needed to load all the equipment into the wagons in this dreadful weather.

  Will ventured out into the storm and went back to the tents. Rain dripped from his brow and ears as he waited outside Mr. Ingalls’ tent. “Mr. Ingalls? Are you in there, sir? I have a question for you.”

  Will heard a crashing noise from inside the tent.

  “Mr. Ingalls?” Will repeated.

  A few moments later, the door to the tent opened and an arm poked out, beckoning him inside. When Will’s eyes adjusted to the dimly lit tent, he saw an empty whiskey bottle sitting next to Mr. Ingalls’ chair. He sighed and hoped his boss would be coherent enough to answer his question. “The storm’s pretty bad out there,” Will began. He shook his left arm and water sprayed everywhere, illustrating his point.

  Mr. Ingalls shielded his face from the water and groaned.

  “I’d like to know if you still plan on leaving town first thing in the morning. It’s not looking like it’s going to let up.” Will took a deep breath. “Perhaps we could leave a little later, if conditions improve.”

  Mr. Ingalls looked at Will sternly. “Son, you need to do as I say.”

  “Yes, Mr. Ingalls,” Will replied.

  Mr. Ingalls paused for a long time. Will waited patiently. But instead of saying something, Mr. Ingalls simply burst out laughing.

  Will was used to the rodeo owner’s erratic behavior. “Mr. Ingalls, you haven’t told me what to do yet,” he pointed out.

  Mr. Ingalls smirked. “You need to get out of here. Let’s get out of here first thing in the morning.”

  Will sighed wearily. “Even with the storm coming through?”

  Mr. Ingalls hiccupped loudly. “Even with the storm coming through.”

  “Yes, sir,” Will said politely. Inside, he was fuming, but Mr. Ingalls was his boss, and whatever he said ruled the rodeo. He had hired each and every performer in the Wild West show, and he could easily fire them if he felt like it. Will didn’t want to test his luck.

  Will showed himself out of the tent, not bothering to wait for Mr. Ingalls to say another word. Packing up all of the equipment would take hours, and he’d surely be soaked to the bone once he was done. He’d probably even develop pneumonia. It would serve Mr. Ingalls right—but then again, Will wouldn’t be able to appreciate Mr. Ingalls’s comeuppance.

  Will walked across the fairgrounds, heading back to the pavilion to finish packing. The rain was still pouring down. Will knew Mr. Ingalls had made a poor decision, but he didn’t see what choice he had in following the owner’s orders.

  Will worked as quickly as he could as the cold rain pelted down on him. The horses were still unhappy and groaned with displeasure. “Trust me,” Will announced to the animals. “I don’t like this any better than you do.”

  Will worked in a steady rhythm. He had packed the rodeo up countless times before and moved onto the next city. For some reason, though, leaving this time simply felt wrong.

  Will rubbed his left hand across his eyes. He was getting tired, and the storm had not abetted. Just when it felt like the rain would never end, Robert ran up to Will.

  “Have you heard?” Robert asked, out of breath.

  “Heard what?” Will scowled. He did not care for interruptions while he worked.

  “We need to put it all back!” Robert cried. “Damn Ingalls!”

  “Excuse me?” Will was sure he’d misheard his friend.

  “That’s right. Ingalls said we’re staying an extra night,” Robert shouted over the rain.

  “Why would he—”

  Robert shrugged. “I have no idea. He’s talking about some crazy rich man who wants us to stay in town. Said we’re going to do another show tomorrow night.”

  “But we’ve already had our last show!” Will protested.

  Robert held up his hands. “I’m just the messenger, Will. I’m repeating what I heard.”

  “I didn’t mean to lash out at you,” Will apologized. “But I’ve been working through this crazy rain because Ingalls said we were heading out first thing tomorrow.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you. Boss says we need to get ready for another show. I need to tell the others.” Robert continued on, alerting the other men and women to stop packing.

  Will rubbed his temple with his left hand. His entire body ached from packing everything up. But he would do what he needed to do. Most of the equipment he had just packed would need to be unpacked, and he’d have to groom the horses to prepare them for tomorrow’s show.

  He also would need to coordinate with the other rodeo cowboys to make sure they knew the order they would be performing in. Normally, Will found his lifestyle adventurous and exciting. Living out of a tent, sleeping on the ground, and eating meals out of cans seemed exotic. He got to see places he would never have seen if he’d stayed in his hometown. But that night, Will wanted nothing more than to warm himself by a fire, eat a hot meal, and go to sleep in a nice, firm bed. Instead, he’d be rushing around for hours, preparing for a final show that had seemingly come out
of nowhere.

  Will tried to remember the last time Mr. Ingalls had demanded another show in a town they were preparing to leave. On some occasions, Mr. Ingalls would arrange less-than-upstanding deals with proprietors in small towns that Will and Robert had their misgivings about. But overall, despite his drinking, he was a good and understanding boss. When men or women needed to take a leave to visit family or take care of personal obligations, he gave them time off without questioning them or swindling them out of money. And sometimes, the extra shows he added through his deals gave him the ability to hire more workers, making everyone’s load lighter.

  As Will pondered this, he remembered that Mr. Ingalls still owed him four months’ pay. Since Will didn’t have a wife or family to support, he didn’t mind when Mr. Ingalls wasn’t prepared to pay him on time. He allowed Mr. Ingalls to distribute pay to the men with mouths to feed or ailing parents they needed to send money to. He knew Mr. Ingalls would eventually catch up.

  But this time, it had been four months, and Mr. Ingalls had not said a word to him. Will decided he would remind Mr. Ingalls about the missing pay when he saw him later.

  Will unpacked all of the equipment that he had just put into boxes and crates. His muscles were clamoring for rest, but there was still a lot to do. He hoped that whoever Mr. Ingalls had struck a deal with was worth all this extra fuss.

  10

  The morning sun was bright and warm against Hattie’s face as she woke up. Her cheeks were salty from her tears the night before. As much as she tried to focus on a future that didn’t include Will Hart, it made her distraught to think about.

  Hattie pulled herself out of bed and dressed for the day. Edna Petunia had given her another lengthy list of chores to tackle, and there was no use putting it off. The work needed to be done whether she liked it or not.

  Hattie filled a bucket with water and a little soap. She took a mop from the closet and soaked it in the sudsy water, then wiped the mop back and forth across the kitchen floor. As she worked, she did her best to put rodeos and cowboys out of her mind completely.