“It was. There were all kinds of food booths, and people from every walk of life as well as games and exhibits and rides,” Aundy said, thoughtful as the memories resurfaced. “I think my favorite thing of all was the Ferris Wheel.”
“What’s a Ferris Wheel?” Nik asked, waiting for Aundy to explain.
“It was a ride that could hold more than two thousand people. It was literally a huge wheel standing more than two-hundred and sixty-feet tall. It sat on a monstrous axle and had thirty-six passenger cars attached to the rim of the wheel. People sat, or stood, in the cars and the wheel would take them up in the air and bring them back down to platforms,” Aundy said, using her finger to show how the wheel moved. “At the very top, you could see not only the fairgrounds and the city of Chicago, but for miles and miles past the lake and even into the surrounding states. It was amazing.”
“I want to ride a Ferris Wheel,” Nik said, imagining how wonderful it would be to see so far in the distance.
“Perhaps, someday you will,” Aundy said with a wink.
The men asked more questions about Chicago, the fair, and things she’d experienced. They talked about some of the more interesting things they’d seen in some of their travels and before they realized the lateness of the hour, it was well past time for the last of the evening chores to be completed.
“Goodness, I didn’t mean to distract you boys for so long,” Aundy said, helping Li clear the table. He shooed her away, so she grinned and started to walk out with the men.
“We enjoyed your stories, Missy,” Dent said, patting her on the shoulder as he put on his hat and opened the door. They stepped outside to see a dead lamb hanging from a limb in the cottonwood tree between the bunkhouse and the barn. A note was pinned to the tree by a wicked looking knife, covered in blood.
Aundy screamed and Dent pulled her around, shielding her from the gruesome sight.
“Bill, cut that thing down. Fred, bring that letter over here and the knife,” Dent ordered as his gaze took in the quiet barnyard. Nothing seemed unusual or out of place, other than the disturbing sight in the tree.
Nik ran over to the tree with Bill and bravely held back his tears as he cradled the dead lamb. At least it wasn’t Butter. Laying the lamb gently on a mound of grass, Nik scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the pasture where the flock was grazing with George, Lem, and Hank right behind him.
“I’m okay, Dent,” Aundy said, taking a deep breath and stepping back from her foreman. She couldn’t believe anyone would be so cruel as to kill a helpless lamb and string it up from a tree, but evidently, someone was desperate to make his point.
Reading the note, Aundy dropped it as if she’d been bitten by something poisonous. Rubbing her hands on her skirt like she was trying to wipe off something filthy, she looked around, trying to figure out how she and the men could have missed someone lurking around right outside the door while they enjoyed dinner.
Dent picked up the note and read it, shaking his head at the words.
“I dun tol’ ya but yer two stupid to pay me mind. I’m dun talkin. Say gudbuy to yer stinkin sheep.”
“Glen, run up to the house and call the sheriff,” Dent said, taking Aundy’s arm and walking her toward the house. He’d make sure it was safe and one of them would stay with her until the sheriff arrived.
They were almost to the back porch when Aundy came out of the trance she seemed to be in and realized Dent was taking her inside. She stopped walking and pulled her arm away from his hand where it had been on her elbow, guiding her along.
“No, Dent,” she said, taking another step back. “I need to go check on the rest of the sheep and Nik.”
“The guys will take care of Nik and watch out for the sheep. We’ll put someone on night watch from now on until this thing settles down. Don’t you worry, Missy,” Dent said, trying to be reassuring.
Aundy would have run off to the pasture except Glen hurried down the back steps, talking as he approached them. “Sheriff is sending someone out right away. He asked if Aundy would wait in the house for him. Said something about looking at the note from yesterday.”
“What note?” Dent asked, giving Aundy a probing glare.
“That tattletale Nash,” Aundy said, storming up the steps with Dent and Glen right behind her.
“What note?” Dent asked again, wanting to grab Aundy by the arm and give her a shake. Sometimes the woman was too independent for her own good.
“When I came home last night, there was a note on the door. Garrett was the only one who saw it. He must have said something to Deputy Rawlings,” Aundy said, walking to the front room where she plucked the note from a galvanized pail she used to hold discarded papers to burn in the stove and fireplace.
Unfolding the wadded piece of paper, she turned up the lamp on the desk and handed the letter to Dent.
He read it and compared the handwriting to the note they’d just found, deciding both notes appeared to be written in the same hand.
“Glen, check the house, would ya?” Dent asked. Motioning for Glen to look in each room and make sure the house was secure, he and Aundy returned to the kitchen. Dent set the warning letters on a corner of the table.
“No one wants to hurt me, just my poor little sheep,” Aundy said, banging the coffee pot as she filled it with water and slammed it on the stove. She stoked up the fire and put a kettle of water on to boil as well, assuming it was going to be a long evening.
Dent was surprised to see her anger about to boil over. He’d expected her to be frightened, tearful, but not this angry. He was plenty mad for everyone.
“I hope Nik is okay,” Aundy said, muttering more to herself than Dent. When Glen returned to the room and nodded his head, Dent asked him to keep Aundy company while he went back out.
“Keep her in the house,” Dent whispered to Glen as he opened the kitchen door.
Aundy watched him leave and frowned at her hired hand. “You don’t have to stay here and keep me company. I’d much rather be out there, so I’m sure you would as well.”
Glen stood watching Aundy pace around the kitchen, feeling his own nerves twisting tighter with each step she took. He had to do something to calm them both down. “That’s okay, Aundy. I don’t mind keeping you company. Anything I can do to help around the house? Maybe we could find something to work on until the deputy comes. You need shelves hung or anything repaired?”
Aundy was right. Glen would rather have been just about anywhere other than in the house with her at that moment, but he was grateful she was mad and slamming things around instead of crying hysterically, which is what he assumed most women would be doing after seeing the lamb in the tree. Just thinking about it made a cold shiver slither down his spine. Anyone who could do that was capable of just about anything.
“Want I should call Garrett and have him come over?”
“Absolutely not,” Aundy said hotly, glaring at Glen as she stirred something in a bowl. He’d noticed she liked to bake when she was upset. It worked out well for the men, since it meant cookies, cake or pie for them.
“How about I…” Glen didn’t know who was pounding at the front door, but as he hurried to answer it, he didn’t care. Any interruption was welcome.
Almost any.
Glen could have done without seeing the pretty-faced Ashton Monroe standing on the doorstep, dressed in an expensive tailored suit with brocade vest and fancy tie in place. Glancing at his feet, Glen was gratified to see, for once, Ashton’s boots weren’t polished to a shine that reflected his face.
“Where’s Mrs. Erickson?” Ashton asked, barging his way inside. “I just heard the terrible news and rushed right over.”
“How could you hear the news? We barely discovered it ourselves,” Glen said with a narrowed gaze.
“You know how the phone line buzzes with all the latest gossip,” Ashton said, looking around the room, expecting Aundy to materialize. When she didn’t, Glen sighed and walked Ashton to the kitchen where Aundy was dropping cookie dough
onto a baking sheet before sliding it in the oven.
“Ashton? Now isn’t a good time for a social call,” Aundy said, rinsing her hands and drying them on a dishtowel.
“I realize that, my dearest Mrs. Erickson,” Ashton said, sidling next to her and taking her hand. Leading her to the table, he held out a chair for her. When she reluctantly sat down, he gallantly dropped to one knee, looking at her with tender eyes. “I heard about the tragedy that befell one of your sheep and rushed right over knowing how distraught you’d be.”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but as you can see, I’m fine,” Aundy said, annoyed to have Ashton fawning over her. He wasn’t normally quite so…attentive. It irritated her that the men all seemed to expect her to fall to the floor in a faint or sob until she lost the ability to function coherently.
As the owner of the farm and the sheep, she wouldn’t allow herself the luxury of giving in to the urge to cry until she drained the well dry.
“My dear, you look anything but fine. You seem quite distressed,” Ashton said, getting to his feet and pulling a chair so close to hers their knees brushed. Aundy drew back her legs and frowned at Ashton.
“Truly, I’ll be fine, Ashton. Please don’t worry yourself on my behalf. Someone from the sheriff’s office will be here soon, so it’s probably best if you leave now,” Aundy said, getting up from her chair and taking the cookies out of the oven, glad to have something to keep her busy. If she had to sit still with Ashton patting her hand and consoling her one more minute, she might give in to the urge to slap him.
“If you’re certain,” Ashton said, sounding hurt as he got to his feet and started toward the front door.
“I’m certain, but thank you again for thinking of me,” Aundy said, tilting her head toward Glen, indicating he should walk Ashton to the door.
Putting the last of the cookies in the oven to bake, Aundy was washing the dishes she dirtied to make cookies when Glen returned to the kitchen.
“Do you like Ashton?” Glen asked, picking up a hot cookie then juggling it from one hand to the other until it was cool enough to eat.
“Of course I like him, just like I do all the neighbors,” Aundy said, drying the bowl and putting it away.
“No, I mean like him…you know?” Glen asked, wondering why he brought up the subject in the first place. It was clear Ashton’s presence annoyed Aundy and she wanted him out of the house as quickly as possible.
“If you mean would I consider giving my heart to a man like him, then the answer is no,” Aundy said, watching Glen snitch another cookie. She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him as the kitchen door opened and Dent walked in with Kade.
The deputy took the two notes and asked Aundy questions about any threats she received. She told him about Marvin Tooley, including taking him home when he showed up drunk the previous afternoon.
“Why in tarnation didn’t you find one of us?” Dent asked, trying to keep from yelling. He couldn’t believe Aundy hauled the filthy drunk home all by herself. She might be the boss, but she was still an innocent woman who shouldn’t be dealing with some of the things she’d resigned herself to managing as the owner of the place.
“You were busy, I handled the situation and that was that,” Aundy said, offering Kade a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies, which he gladly accepted.
“That isn’t that. That is asking for a whole lot of trouble, Missy. You can’t be going around hauling home drunks. You just can’t,” Dent said, slapping the hat he’d been twisting around in his hands on his leg, stirring up a cloud of dust.
“We’ll discuss your thoughts on that subject later,” Aundy said, turning her attention back to Kade. He asked her a few more questions, took another handful of cookies and left. Dent gave him the bloody knife, along with the lamb carcass to take with him.
Lem decided to stay with Nik out by the sheep. No missing or wounded animals were found when they checked the pasture, other than the dead lamb.
“Missy, you and I are going to have a long conversation about what is acceptable for you to do and what is not,” Dent said, waggling his finger at her.
Aundy was gearing up to let him have an earful about doing whatever she deemed necessary when the back door opened and Garrett stepped inside.
“Aundy, are you okay?” Garrett asked, his silvery gaze focused on hers. Walking toward her, he opened his arms and she rushed right into the warmth and comfort they offered.
Despite her attempts to keep her emotions tamped down, to keep her fear and hurt from overwhelming her, the sight of Garrett opened the floodgates and she couldn’t hold back any longer. Although she’d kept her back straight and chin up throughout the evening, as soon as Garrett touched her all the starch went out of her spine and she melted against him.
When the first sob wracked her shoulders, Garrett sat in a chair and pulled her onto his lap, cradling her head to his chest.
Stroking her back, he murmured softly to her. “It’s okay, darlin’. It’s okay,” Garrett said, handing her the dishtowel Dent held out to dry her tears.
“It’s not okay,” she said between sobs. “They killed my lamb, Garrett. They killed my poor little lamb.”
“I know, honey. I’m sorry,” Garrett said, noticing Glen sitting at the table, grinning at him as if he knew some big secret.
“We’ll just um…Come on, Glen,” Dent said, hurrying out the door with Glen right behind him.
“I’ll leave them alone for a minute or two before I go make sure he ain’t doing nothing he shouldn’t be,” Dent said as they walked toward the bunkhouse.
“Ol’ Garrett better be sure he wants Aundy because she’s plumb sold on him. She would barely give Ashton Monroe the time of day and fairly ran him out of the house, but she sure don’t seem to mind Garrett being there,” Glen said, deciding Aundy had better taste in men than most of the female population around town. Garrett Nash could have his choice of women, but Ashton had the looks, money, and suave manners that made the ladies practically fall at his feet.
“When was Ashton here?” Dent asked, coming to a stop outside the bunkhouse.
“Just before you and Kade came in. Aundy didn’t act none too pleased he showed up. She told him she was fine and to go home. He finally got the idea she wasn’t of a mind to visit and left.”
“Did he know something had happened or was it a social call?” Dent asked.
“He knew all about it. Said news travels fast. Suppose that’s true enough. I heard some busybodies round here can’t get any of their housework done cause they spend all day listening in on the phone line.”
“That so,” Dent said distractedly, looking toward the house and deciding to give Aundy a few more minutes alone with Garrett.
Knocking on the kitchen door half an hour later, Dent walked in to see Garrett drinking coffee and eating cookies while Aundy sipped a cup of tea. She was no longer crying and had her straight spine and determined look back in place.
“Everything alright?” Dent asked, coming inside and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“For now,” Aundy said, looking at Dent and mustering a small smile.
“Lem’s gonna stay with Nik and the sheep for a while. Hank’s gonna catch a few winks then head out to pick up the second shift. Fred and Bill will keep an eye out around here tonight,” Dent said, letting Aundy know someone would be watching to make sure she was safe.
“Why don’t you come back with me to Nash’s Folly, Aundy? No one will know you’re there and you can rest easy,” Garrett said, reaching across the table to take her hand in his.
Once she stopped crying, he’d been trying to convince her to stay at his place where Nora could fuss over her and he could keep an eye on her until they caught whoever was making the threats.
Adamant she wasn’t going to abandon the farm, the sheep, or her men, Aundy refused. Like she was doing now.
Squeezing his fingers, she smiled with a grateful look but shook her head.
“That’s e
xactly what someone wants me to do, isn’t it? Run off scared. I think someone wants me off this place and they’re trying to frighten me into leaving by harming my sheep,” Aundy said, glancing from Garrett to Dent who sat passing some unspoken message with lifted brows and nearly imperceptible nods of their heads.
“You two agree, don’t you?” Aundy said, getting to her feet and pacing around the kitchen again. “Why? What did I do? Who did I offend?”
“No one, Missy,” Dent said, shaking his head. “Some folks, men, just don’t cotton to the idea of a woman running her own place and doing it quiet well.”
“Their way of thinking may be better suited to the days of cavedwellers, but you aren’t going to change their minds,” Garrett said, glad his parents raised him to think everyone should have equal opportunities regardless of gender or race. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay at our house tonight?”
“No, Garrett. I thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine,” Aundy said, getting to her feet and rinsing out the cups in the sink. Garrett and Dent added theirs and Dent mumbled something about seeing them later and ambled out the door, leaving Garrett leaning against the counter, watching Aundy fuss with wiping off the table and storing the cookies in a tin.
“Aundy,” he said, pulling her against him as she walked by.
“Don’t, Garrett. Please,” Aundy said, tears filling her eyes as she looked into his silvery depths. If he offered more gentle assurances, she would break down sobbing again and that wouldn’t help anyone. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I know you will be. You’re one of the strongest women I know,” Garrett said, giving her a loving smile. Lowering his head to hers, their lips connected in a fiery kiss and Aundy wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him, to her dreams, to her desires. Pressed against him with his lips moving insistently against hers, she could easily forget about the farm, the sheep, and everything else.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have the luxury of forgetting and abruptly pulled back, pulled herself down to earth and reality.
“Thank you, Garrett. You can’t know how much I appreciate your coming over,” Aundy said, meaning every word. Although she refused to let Glen call him, Aundy hadn’t realized how desperately she needed to see Garrett until he walked in the door. She wanted to go with him to Nash’s Folly where Nora would make her tea, J.B. would offer sage wisdom, and Garrett would keep her safe. Instead, she had to stay, take a stand, and let it be known that nothing was going to run her off Erik’s land.
Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) Page 22
