by Woods, Emily
Before he could formulate a reply, Alex heard Cole's breathing deepen and then a whiffling snore, leaving Alex to ponder his words.
5
“What's his name again?” Christina asked her sister. She hoped that her sister could offer some insight as to the identity of the ranch hand.
Since it was now nearly lunchtime, they were riding back to Valerie's house.
“Who do you mean? The new ranch hand?” Her sister shot her sly look. “He's pretty cute, isn't he? I think it was Alex.”
Christina huffed a little. “You can't believe that I would be interested in a ranch hand, can you? How absurd.” Too late, she realized that Val's husband was essentially that. “It's different with you and Thomas of course.”
But Valerie shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I might have had the same opinion a number of years ago, but not anymore. Life out here changes you. Did you know that many women from back East come here to marry ranchers?”
Christina had heard of that. “Well, they're rather desperate, aren't they? Women from fallen families or with very few options. I suppose any woman might be tempted to settle for marriage to rancher over other less...desirable alternatives.”
Although she hadn't known any such women personally, Christina had heard of women answering advertisements to wed men in other parts of the country.
“Yes, I suppose it is better than the alternatives,” Val replied dryly.
They arrived back at the house to find Thomas reading to the children.
“Oh, good, you're back. I wasn't sure if you were going to leave me to find lunch myself.”
“I wouldn't want you to starve, dearest,” Valerie joked, leaning over to peck Thomas on the cheek. “Or burn the house down. Come on, Chris…Christina,” she amended when she saw her sister scowl. “Let's see what we can find for such a good father.”
Drawing back a little, Christina frowned. “Are you asking me to...cook?”
Valerie laughed. “Nothing so dramatic as that. Just keep me company and maybe slice up some bread. There's still chicken left over from last night that will do nicely for some sandwiches.”
“If you insist.” With a longsuffering sigh, Christina hung up her riding hat and followed Valerie into the kitchen. If it was her parents' intention to humble her with this experience, things were off to a good start.
Having to make her own bed this morning, Christina realized that she was not cut out for such work. The maids in her house somehow transformed a jumble of sheets and blankets into a smooth and tidy arrangement, but she had no such luck. Her pitiful efforts didn't do much to improve the bed and finally, she’d just given up. When Valerie came along and showed her how to do it, she was baffled to see her sister do such domestic work with ease.
Now, she wanted her to help out in the kitchen?
“If I lose a finger, I'll hold you responsible,” she grumbled. “I've never held anything sharper than a steak knife.”
“If you can cut a steak, you can cut a loaf of bread,” her sister assured her. “Just watch me.”
Christina observed as Valerie sawed off two slices from the loaf.
“Now you try,” she instructed.
She did try, but the slices, if they could be called that, were two inches wider on the bottom than the top. One piece crumbled halfway through.
“This is ridiculous. Don't you have some peas I can shell or something simpler?”
Val laughed. “Not for lunch, dearest.” She quickly sliced up the rest of the loaf. “Here's some butter. Spread it across the bread like so.”
That was a bit of an easier task, and Christina felt inordinately proud of herself for buttering all the bread. In the meantime, Valerie had deboned the leftover chicken and arranged the meat on a platter along with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, and cheese.
“How did you do all that so quickly?” she asked, genuinely amazed.
“It took some practice, but I was motivated to learn,” Valerie replied with a grin. “You'd be surprised what a person can do when she really wants to.”
Thomas came in with the children and after a short prayer, they sat down to eat. Christina was surprised how much she enjoyed the simple lunch. She was also proud of her contribution.
“I buttered the bread,” she informed the children gravely, expecting some admiring looks.
What she got instead was a broad smile from five-year-old Jessica. “Mama lets me do that! Isn't it fun?”
That wasn't the word she would have used to describe the experience, but after catching a look from Valerie, she decided to play along. Jessica was a sweetheart after all, and her bright shining face sparked a moment of generosity in Christina.
“It was my first time,” she confided. “Do you think I did a good job?”
With a serious expression, Jessica opened her sandwich and looked inside. “Pretty good. A little thick, but I like it that way.”
Christina suppressed a laugh, sure that was the wrong reaction. She managed to smile and nod. “Thank you. I'll remember that.”
For the first time since she arrived, Christina felt something other than resentment stir in her heart. And it felt good.
* * *
After having flipped through the pages of Cole's Bible, Alex replaced it carefully on the side table and got up to work the kinks out of his legs. He hadn't really read any of the tome. It was just too overwhelming of a task. Where did one even start? And what was the point when there was no preacher to explain it? In his opinion, it seemed like a rather daunting, if not impossible, task—to read the Bible on one's own.
He decided to take a short walk around the bunkhouse to get some fresh air and exercise, but Cole's comments were heavy on his mind. Should he confess to Luke why he was here? It was hard to decide. On one hand, he would quickly find out where the man stood on the issue, but on the other, he didn't want to create a problem or burden him in any way. There wasn't anything that he wanted from him, except the chance to know who he was. However, Luke might not see it that way, if he even believed him. That was another possibility. What if he had never told his wife or friends that he had a son that he abandoned? There was the chance that he was so ashamed of himself that he would even deny it, or would become skeptical, thinking that Alex wanted part of the ranch as an inheritance.
In Philadelphia, his plan had felt reasonable and right. But now that he was in the same vicinity as his father, he couldn't seem to follow through with it. Originally, he was going to come, stay for a few weeks, and then tell Luke who he was. Now, the weight of his plan felt like too much of a burden to carry. Would he even tell Luke at all? Maybe it was enough just to work for the man, get to know him, and then leave.
That idea suddenly sounded incredibly appealing. He could stay until winter, make enough money to travel to California and start at Stanford in the new year. His grandparents would wire him the funds if he asked for it, never questioning him once about why he needed them. They would just assume that there were some unexpected costs associated with his schooling. That was how much they trusted him.
This realization made him uncomfortable. His grandparents had raised him, loved him in their own way, and provided for him beyond his needs. In return, he'd betrayed them to satisfy his own desires.
But he couldn't stop himself. All his life, his grandfather had told him that Luke had relinquished all his paternal rights. Be that as it may, Alex felt he had a right to meet his father at least once.
Well, now he'd done that. But what was the next step? It no longer seemed crystal clear.
“Is this where they brought him?”
Alex turned to see to see Austin and the doctor approaching. How had he not heard the horses? His thoughts had blocked out everything else.
“Yes,” he replied. “He was sleeping, so I stepped out for a just a minute.”
The doctor nodded and entered the bunkhouse, Austin and Alex close behind.
After just ten minutes of examining Cole, the doctor seemed satisfied. “I'll p
ut in a few stitches, but there are no internal injuries, as far as I can tell. The bandage should be changed twice a day though, and the wound cleaned out with water that's been boiled. That'll help to prevent infection.”
Alex took careful mental notes. It should fall to him to take care of the man, after all.
“Thanks, Doctor Wilson,” Cole replied. “Make sure you go up to the house to settle the fee. I'm sure Aunt Marge and Missus Winston will want to give you some lunch as well.”
The doctor tipped his hat and left, stating that he would return in a week's time to see how he was getting on, but that he should get up and about as soon as he felt able without too much pain.
Austin escorted the doctor up to the house, leaving Cole and Alex in the bunkhouse.
“Not too bad, then,” Cole said, grinning at Alex. “No need to look like someone died.”
Alex shook his head. “It still shouldn't have happened. It was my mistake.”
“Aw, don't worry about it. I should have known better than to get off the horse with the bull so close by. Let's just say we both need to be more careful.”
Cole glanced toward the Bible. “Did you read anything of interest?”
“Uh, not really. I don't think that I'm really fit to interpret it.”
Raising his eyebrows, Cole gave him a look of wonder. “So, you've never read it then?”
“Not really. I know the basic premise: creation, Garden of Eden, the fall, the stories of great men, prophets, and then of course, Jesus's birth, life, death, and resurrection.”
Cole suddenly gave a burst of laughter, which startled Alex.
“I've never heard the Bible summarized so neatly before,” he exclaimed when he recovered. Holding his side, he now grimaced a little. “I hope I haven't undone the doctor's good work.” When he saw Alex frowning, he became serious. “I didn't mean to mock you, but you were so practical about it all, so objective. Most people aren't like that. They have a strong opinion either way.”
“Oh, my opinion on the Bible? That seems rather pretentious. Again, I don't think I'm the right person to say.”
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, my friend. Or perhaps you feel nothing about it?”
Alex thought Cole looked quite concerned over the idea, but he didn't know how to answer.
“It's a good book, I suppose, but how can we know it's accurate? It's very old.”
“I wish I could answer that clearly. Austin might be able to, or Luke or Aunt Marge, or really almost any other person on the ranch. I'm probably the least qualified, but what I can tell you is that the Bible changed my life. I learned about my purpose on Earth.”
Now Alex was interested. “From the Bible?”
“Yes. I haven't read the whole thing of course, but Austin has, many times, and he helped me understand a lot about it. I would say that every person, especially people as intelligent as you, should make the effort to read it. It's not as hard as you might think. Take it for a few days. I'm too tired to read anyway.”
The offer was impossible to refuse, so Alex reached over and picked it up again. “Where should I start?”
“Well, you might want to read Genesis and Exodus, but then skip over to the New Testament.”
“That doesn't seem very orderly.”
Cole suppressed another laugh. “I know, but it gets kind of complicated after Exodus. I mean, you could read it from front to back, but it might become a bit overwhelming. The major point is in the New Testament, but reading the first couple books gives you some background. Maybe you can just trust me on this.”
Alex noticed that Cole seemed drowsy again, so he nodded and flipped open the Bible to the first book. “Rest for a while and I'll start.”
“Maybe we can talk about it later, when Austin comes in.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “We can do that.” His voice sounded much more confident than he felt. He wished more than ever that he hadn't accidentally riled that bull, for more reasons than one.
6
Christina felt restless in the evening. She didn’t think she would ever become accustomed to rising and going to bed early.
As she wandered around the house, she was attracted to the large window that looked upon the mountains. The moon was luminous, full and so bright that she could clearly see the landscape for what felt like miles.
It was a beautiful place, she acknowledged. But would she ever, like her sister had done, be able to give up the city for it? She didn't think so, but then again, she'd never been in love the way Valerie had been with Thomas since she was about twelve or fourteen years old. No man had ever stirred her heart like that. She wasn't sure if that was because she was cold by nature, or just hadn't met the right person. Perhaps it was a combination of both.
Sighing, she knew that sleep would still be a long time in coming, so she wrapped herself up and decided to take in the night air. Once outside, she breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the cleanness of it. That was another draw, she supposed.
Her eyes moved over to the house of the owners. It was large and comfortable, and apparently, they were going to go over again tomorrow. Kate had apologized for the interruption to their visit and insisted they return the next day.
Christina didn't feel the need, but having been raised with good manners, she accepted the offer gracefully. The ride over had caused her a bit of discomfort, but she was happy to be out of the depressing little house. Riding over to Kate’s was almost a pleasant experience, aside from the ranch hand getting hurt. Well, that and being with the children. She found her nephews and niece delightful and didn't mind spending time with them.
The wind kicked up a few notches and she retreated into the house. The bed had taken some getting used to, but now she crawled under the thick quilt gratefully. It wasn't much to look at, but it was sufficiently functional, much like everything else out West, she supposed as she finally drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Alex had gotten up several times during the night to check on Cole, just to make sure he wasn't feverish or in pain. The man slept straight through until morning, despite having had multiple naps during the previous day.
At one point when he'd gotten up, he looked out the window in the direction of the house he'd learned belonged to the Wells family. It still caused him significant discomfort to think that the one person who could give him away was so close by. What would he do if she recognized him? How would he explain?
Right as he was thinking about her, he saw a movement near the house. At first, he thought it might be a deer or some kind of animal, but the moonlight revealed that it was a person. He couldn't make out who it was from this distance, but he would have guessed that it was Miss Christina. She was probably like him, used to different hours than what people kept on the ranch. He wondered how she felt so confident to stroll around when there were various creatures roaming about. Perhaps she didn't know. He would mention something to Maddie tomorrow.
Maddie, his...stepsister? She was an amazing woman, although the females back in New York wouldn't think so. They would scowl down their noses at someone so apparently unrefined, someone running around doing men's work and wearing men’s clothes. He supposed Christina viewed her with disdain, and that annoyed him. She was hardworking and loyal, if a little feistier than the women he'd ever met.
His mind raked over the past forty-eight hours, reliving every moment, especially those in the presence of his biological family. It was still hard to fathom that he had three siblings. It was even more amazing then he’d imagined.
After making sure that Cole was comfortable once again, Alex settled down on the bunk. It wasn't the worse thing he'd slept on. His bed in the dormitory had been that, so thin and worn. This one was stuffed with hay, but with the layering of several sheets, it was quite tolerable.
Exhausted, he fell asleep, hoping that answers to his questions would present themselves in the following day.
* * *
“He's doing quite well,” Kate inform
ed them when Valerie enquired after Cole. “I'm so glad. It would be horrific if something happened to him, especially for Maddie.”
Christina didn't want to criticize the woman's daughter, so she framed her questions carefully, hoping to appear more curious than anything else.
“Has she always worn pants?” she asked mildly, sipping her tea as daintily as she could from the large mug. “And worked alongside the men?”
Kate and Valerie looked at each other with amused expressions.
“She's always been different from other women, but I guess growing up around so many men will have that effect on a girl.”
“Oh, well, it could have gone the other way too, couldn't it?” Too late, she realized that she was on the way to making an indelicate comment that could be construed as a jab at Maddie's reputation. “I mean, she might have become almost a princess.”
“Who’s a princess?” Jessica demanded from across the table. She had come along today, as her siblings were at school and Thomas had to work.
“No one, dear,” Valerie replied, reaching over to wipe a few crumbs off her daughter’s face.
Kate didn't take any offense to the comment, either because she didn't want to or because it didn't occur to her that Christina might have meant something untoward.
“Well, perhaps she went through that phase, but as soon as she hit thirteen, she showed a preference for less feminine pastimes. I indulged her a little, I suppose, but by the time she hit eighteen, she was determined not to be a typical female.”
The little laugh that Kate issued showed the woman had no distress over the fact, so Christina tried to hide her scorn. Such an attitude would have never been accepted where she came from.
“I suppose there's a freedom out here that we don't enjoy in the East,” she said evenly. “As I'm sure you well remember, women of a certain class are expected to devote their time to activities such as needlepoint and the like.”
