Red River Rifles (Wilderness Dawning—the Texas Wyllie Brothers Series Book 1)

by Dorothy Wiley

  His father rubbed his chin. “Seems to me you have two days to be certain you’ve fallen in love with her and you want her to be your wife. If you don’t have strong feelings about marriage at the end of two days, you won’t marry her on the third day.”

  “I have to agree,” Baldy said. “The bloom of love opens pretty quickly. You’ll know at the end of two days, if not sooner if your hearts are reaching out to each other enough to marry. Then on the third day, we can have a wedding. Alternatively, when Long comes, we can say our goodbyes to Louisa and her brother. Though I’ve grown used to having that smart little fellow underfoot.” He glanced over at Melly. “He surprised me. He’s actually been a good helper.”

  “We can’t let little Adam go back to that beast of a man,” Melly protested. “Or Louisa.” She stood up and tossed her apron down on the table angrily.

  “We can’t prevent it,” Baldy said. “They’re his children, Melly.”

  Samuel agreed with Melly. He didn’t like the idea of saying goodbye to them at all. Not one bit. But something else worried him. He placed his hands palms down on the table and leaned toward his father. “You need me. So do my brothers, Baldy, and Melly. There are threats all around us. Indians to the north and west. Spain to the south. Cattle rustlers and freebooters in between. If I marry Louisa, I’ll mostly be protecting her and her brother, not you.”

  “Samuel, you’re twenty-one. It’s time to think about your own life. With Baldy and three other sons, I’ll rarely if ever be alone. And I’m certainly not defenseless myself. I may be getting older, but my guns are still loaded, and I still shoot straight. If you decide that the time is right for you to marry, whether it’s Louisa, or someone else, you can build a home close by. You won’t be far away.”

  Samuel shook his head and started pacing. Something was making him hesitate. The image of Billy’s wife came to mind. Remembering the sight of the arrow in her made the thought of marriage and children freeze in his chest. “After what happened to Billy and his wife, the thought of building a home and getting married seems rash. It is too unsettled here. I never want to face having my wife and child murdered by Indians.”

  “I have a feeling it will be many years before this part of Texas is truly settled,” Father said. “You can’t put life on hold because of danger. For danger is always with us. Before you were ever born, I lost a brother to an unexpected danger. Whether it’s back in Kentucky or here or somewhere in between, danger is a part of life. But we are stronger than most because we have each other. Billy was alone. We are seven times stronger than Billy was.” He glanced up at Melly. “Yes, I’m counting you too, Melly.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a nod.

  “We can all trust in each other for protection,” his father said, “and trust in our weapons. That’s as much as any man can expect when it comes to starting a family.”

  “And trust in God,” Baldy added.

  Samuel and his father both nodded, acknowledging the truth of that.

  “As tough as life is here, it’s rewarding when you make a home out of nothing and fill it with love,” Melly said. “And you will be establishing a foundation for future generations so they will have a safer and better life.”

  His father nodded. “Love has no guarantees—it can last a day or a lifetime. Love promises only one thing. Every day with love is worth the risk of losing it any day.”

  Father had deeply loved Jane, Samuel’s mother, and it was easy to tell that he loved her still. Since Steve was born, his father had struggled to live with her loss. But Samuel also knew his father treasured every day of their marriage.

  Samuel wanted that kind of love too someday. Perhaps someday was now. He nodded his head decisively. “All right. I’ll court Louisa for two days. But don’t say anything to her about this. I want her to respond to me because she truly cares for me. Not because she’s looking for a way to escape marrying Long or to avoid going back to her father.”

  Melly smiled broadly. “With love, all three of those things are possible.”

  “When will she be through with her work for today?” he asked her.

  “She had some laundry to fold and then a chicken to pluck and cut up. That hen wasn’t laying eggs so I decided she would make a good soup tonight. We can’t tolerate freeloaders around here,” Melly said with a grin. “Louisa should be about through folding the clothes. Why don’t you go volunteer to help her dress the chicken? After that, she normally helps me to prepare dinner. But tonight, Baldy can help me. I think we need to prepare the doctor’s specialty.”

  Baldy grinned at his wife. “Chicken soup. Good for colds, moles, and sore…”

  Melly wagged a figure at him. “Don’t say it!”

  Samuel dashed out the door before anyone could say anything else. He didn’t need any more advice. He just needed to learn if he truly loved Louisa and if she loved him. At the thought of her loving him, a thrill ran through him and with a sense of urgency he hurried toward her.

  Chapter 13

  Louisa sat at the outside work table staring down at the gutted chicken Melly left for her. She felt as though her own guts were ripped out. Her scheme to strike a bargain with her father seemed the perfect solution when she’d thought of it, but now…

  She needed to stay strong and stick to her plan, for Adam’s sake. If her father would agree to leave Adam here in exchange for her cooperation, her brother would be assured of a happy life. When her father arrived at the end of the three days, she would take him aside and strike her bargain with him.

  To convince Samuel that she intended to marry Long, she vowed to show nothing but indifference toward him over the next three days. She would prove to them both that she was immune to him. It would mean keeping her distance from him as much as possible. She prayed she would not betray her true feelings—that she loved him.

  “Let me help you with that chicken,” Samuel said, as he strode up to Louisa. Her hair, which she normally wore loose in long graceful waves down her back, was tied at the nape of her neck.

  She held the headless hen by the feet and dipped it in an iron pot of scalding water hanging over their outdoor cook fire. Scalding allowed the long hard flight feathers to come off easily.

  When she finished, Louisa stared up at him. “Don’t you have more important work? Plucking and cutting up a chicken is one thing I do know how to do.” She sounded unusually curt.

  “Right now, I’m going to help you with that chicken.”

  She nodded indifferently. For some reason, she didn’t seem too happy to have him there.

  They sat down at the outdoor work table and he withdrew his knife from its sheath on his belt. “Louisa, I know you have a lot on your mind, but we need to talk,” he said as he cut the feet off. “I must ask your forgiveness for telling your father and Commander Long a lie about asking you to marry me.”

  Louisa shook her head. “No need for forgiveness. I know why you did it. That was actually quite clever of you and I thank you for it. But this is my problem and I’ll have to figure it out.”

  “We can figure it out together. If you’ll allow me to help.” He waved away a feather that floated between them.

  She swallowed and tugged at a wing feather. “No, I don’t need any help. Besides, there are no good solutions.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because if I refuse to marry Commander Long, my father will take his anger out not just on me but also on Adam. And if I agree to marry Long, then my father will also take my brother to Nacogdoches with us. Adam won’t have a chance for a decent future. The kind of future he would have here learning from and helping Dr. Grant. So there’s just one option…never mind.”

  Samuel wondered what she’d been about to say. “What option?”

  “Samuel, I said I would have to figure this out.”

  “Does your father beat Adam?” he asked, trying to probe gently.

  She sighed heavily. “Yes. Especially if I defy him. When Pa gets angry with me,
Adam starts to cry and that makes my father furious.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He often ridicules and taunts us, even offering to pay us if we’ll cry.”

  “Does he?” Samuel asked, incredulous.

  “No, he’s just mocking us. Besides, I stopped crying a long time ago. But Adam still cries.”

  An uncomfortable silence hung in the air between them while Samuel tackled cutting the chicken up with a vengeance.

  Their situation was even worse than he had imagined. “Louisa, that man is a brute. He treats you like property and doesn’t hesitate to punish you with violence. You both must stay away from him. If you don’t, I’m afraid of what might happen to one of you.”

  She nodded gloomily. “I’ve been worried about that for a long time. I live in fear that someday he will hurt one of us seriously. His temper is so bad I honestly think he’s capable of murder. Sometimes, the look in his eyes…” She swallowed. “It’s like a stab to my heart.” A terrible tenseness seemed to grip her.

  “I promise, I will help you figure a way out.”

  She gazed up at him. “Don’t promise what you can’t offer.”

  “I don’t know yet what I can offer. And neither do you.”

  “I know that my fate is set by a higher power, greater than both of us. A power that knows my future far better than I do. I must learn to live with the life I’m dealt and be grateful for the blessings I do have. Somehow, Adam and I will survive.”

  The woman’s saint-like statement left him stunned. “Being grateful for blessings does not mean you can’t fight back against injustice. Against the wrongs done to you. And all the obstacles you mentioned have to do with your brother. You have to think about your happiness too. How you want to live your life.” He threw the last piece of meat into the pile of cut up pieces.

  “I really must get back to work,” she said.

  He wasn’t going to let her avoid talking about this. “Did you like Commander Long? Are you interested in marrying him?”

  “No! I found him haughty, presumptuous, and a man who would likely use my father and me for his own ends.”

  It surprised him how relieved he was to hear her say that. “You’re exactly right. He is all three of those things.”

  “I need to help Melly in the kitchen.” She grabbed the tray with the cut-up chicken on it and headed toward the Grant’s cabin. “Thank you for your help. Goodbye, Samuel.”

  Samuel hurried after her wondering if courting Louisa was always going to be this challenging. “Melly told me you have the afternoon off. Baldy is going to help her make one of his specialties.”

  Louisa frowned. “Baldy? I didn’t know he knew how to do anything other than boil water.”

  “He’s actually a good cook. When he was a circuit preacher traveling throughout Kentucky, he had to cook all his own meals. What do you say we go for a ride? I’d like to show you our herd and tell you about my plans.”

  “I can’t. I’m working,” she said as they stepped inside. “I have things to do.”

  “I already spoke to Melly. She said you are off duty for the rest of the day.”

  Louisa didn’t look pleased. “First, I have to put this chicken in the pot to simmer and then I need to check on Adam,” she said.

  They rinsed the chicken pieces and their hands in salted water. He added some wood and kindling to the embers in the hearth while she tossed the chicken along with some seasoning into the large iron pot Melly used to make soup.

  “There, now all Melly and Baldy have to do is add the vegetables,” she said.

  “They should be here shortly,” Samuel said.

  They found Adam in the doctor’s apothecary where Baldy kept his potions, tinctures, and medicines. Baldy was extremely knowledgeable in the use of plants and herbs to make medicines.

  He also kept a good supply of medical supplies such as Dr. John Sappington’s fever pills for malaria. Baldy said malaria pills contained quinine, dogwood bark, licorice, whiskey, and a couple of other ingredients Samuel couldn’t remember. In the summer, settlers around the settlement, especially those who lived closest to the river, often suffered attacks of malaria’s chills and fever. It was of an unknown cause and a danger against which no rifle could protect.

  Adam stood on a stool in front of a work table and seemed to be concentrating on his work.

  “What are you doing?” Louisa asked him.

  “Dr. Grant wants me to crush these mustard seeds with this mortar. Then I’m to shave these sassafras roots. When I finish that I’m supposed to grind up this chicory root a little at a time with this other mortar.”

  “Are you sure you know how to do all that?” Louisa asked her brother.

  “Sure! Dr. Grant showed me. It’s not hard. It just takes time.”

  “Looks like you’re doing a fine job, Adam,” Samuel told him. The boy certainly was a quick learner and seemed particularly bright for his age.

  “Thank you, Sir. I’m also learnin’ what he treats with all these. Mustard seeds are for making a poultice for chest colds. Tea made from Sassafras settles stomachs. And chicory helps people go.”

  “Go?” Louisa asked, looking confused.

  Adam grinned. “You know…down there.” The boy pointed to his rear end. “Dr. Grant says people sometimes have problems with that.”

  Samuel and Louisa laughed while Adam snickered. Samuel knew from his own brothers that all boys seemed to find matters of digestion terribly funny. In any case, he was grateful that Adam had managed to make his sister chuckle. She laughed far too infrequently.

  When Louisa had recovered herself, she told Samuel, “I’m too tired for a ride. Perhaps another day.” She turned to leave.

  Samuel’s chest flooded with disappointment. “Please, Louisa. I have important things I want to discuss with you.”

  She sighed heavily and then nodded. “All right. Just a short ride. Adam, I’ll be back soon. Will you be okay by yourself?”

  “Sure I will. After Dr. Grant showed me what to do, he told me he would be back soon to see how I was doing.”

  “Keep up the good work, Adam,” Samuel told him as they left. “But be sure not to eat or drink any of this stuff.”

  “I won’t. Dr. Grant warned me about that too. He said if I put the wrong thing in my mouth it could make my tongue fall out. And if my tongue fell out, then I wouldn’t be able to jabber like I always do. He said the only thing I was allowed to put in my mouth around here was milk, fresh spring water, and Mrs. Grant’s good cookin’.”

  “That’s good advice,” Samuel said. “Because I like hearing your chatter.”

  “I like to talk to you too,” Adam said.

  As soon as they were outside and walking toward the horse shed, Samuel took hold of Louisa’s hand. The mere touch of her hand sent a shiver racing up his arm and down his back. Thanks to Baldy’s miraculous ointment, her hands were nearly healed now, but the soft flesh of her hand was marred by hard callouses. Her work-hardened hands were much like her life. She’d had to be thick-skinned to stay sane and protect her brother.

  He frowned when she pulled her hand out of his and crossed her arms in front of her. When had her feelings toward him become so cold? His own head swirled with doubts.

  “Your horse shed is bigger and cleaner than most people’s houses,” Louisa said.

  “Father won’t have it any other way. He’s extremely particular when it comes to horses.”

  Samson was still stalled in the shed. He’d planned to go to the settlement for the supplies they didn’t get. But, again, the supplies would have to wait.

  “What’s up the stairs?”

  “It’s a private room,” he said but didn’t explain further.

  Samuel saddled Samson and then an older but dependable bay mare that Melly sometimes rode.

  Within a few minutes, they rode past the house and pulled up next to his brothers. Two of them were still chopping wood while the other one stacked. They waved and smiled kno
wingly.

  Samuel shot them an annoyed look. “Tell Father we’re going out to check the cattle.”

  Riding away, they passed between two stands of pines and then into the openness of the immense pasture. The sunny meadow always seemed welcoming to him and he inhaled the clean scent of grass seasoned with pine. Here, plentiful fall grasses rose up from the earth, still lush and springy and full of nourishment for his cattle.

  Louisa appeared comfortable on a horse and rode well. He loved how her long hair spread out in the wind as they rode. He remembered her brother saying that the Indians had killed her mare. Undoubtedly, that was yet another heartache for her to bear. He resolved to buy her another horse even if his courtship didn’t go well. And if he could find one, he’d get Adam another dog.

  “Did you know that herds of wild cattle and horses roam the Great Plains?” Samuel told her as they rode at a leisurely pace. “In Louisiana, there’s a large market for these animals.”

  “Is that what you and your father intend to do? Sell stock in Louisiana?”

  “No, there’s already a lot of competition for that market. With my brothers’ help, I intend to round up or buy as many cattle as we can and then sell them to the government for use at their forts. That’s what we did in Kentucky and it was quite profitable. Next month, I’m buying five hundred head for $6 each with the calves thrown in for good measure.”

  “Really! That seems like a lot of cattle. And a lot of money.”

  “I’ve been saving for a long time.”

  “Who is selling you the cattle?”

  “I’m planning to buy from Martín De León, he herds feral cattle from south and central Texas. Normally he sells in Louisiana, but his men are driving a herd north to Nacogdoches next month and selling them there. We have been corresponding and he promised to put aside five-hundred head for me.”