by Chloe Carley
“Well, yes,” Amos began, “but…”
“Then take me out on the trail,” Thomas said, climbing back onto Scout’s back and making ready to leave.
Amos nodded and a few moments later, he was riding at Thomas’ side, headed for the trail. The remaining cattle had been penned into a field at the side of the barn, and Thomas could see they were spooked. As they rode past, the whole herd charged off in the opposite direction and Amos shook his head sadly.
“Only good for meat and hide now. We’ll need a whole new herd. Those bandits don’t know the damage they do when they go charging through them like that; and to lose twenty head of cattle, we’ll never recover from that,” he said sadly, as they rode on down the trail.
“That’s why we need to find these outlaws and fast,” Thomas replied. “Now, where did you last see them?”
“Over there. I heard the gunshot and the cattle were charging this way and that. But I didn’t see the men here, only the cattle,” Amos said, pointing down the trail.
“And this way leads to Westfort?” Thomas asked, and the ranch hand nodded.
“All the way to the biggest cow town in the state. It’s a thirty-mile ride from here, though, Sheriff. If they’ve gone that way, there’s no hope of finding them. You know what Westfort’s like.” Amos sighed and shook his head.
Thomas made it his business to avoid Westfort as much as possible. It was a hive of villainy and scum, where a man would shoot you just for looking at him crooked and ask why you’d done so only once you were already six feet under. No one would care if twenty head of cattle were sold there without a license or the correct papers. If the outlaws had made their way there, then there was no hope of recovering the cattle.
“I know just what it’s like,” Thomas replied, grimly. “You go back to the ranch, I’m going to ride on a bit.”
He left Amos by the fence and rode off down the trail. There was something foreboding about it, a loneliness, as though the ghosts of past trailsmen haunted the way. Thomas glanced around from left to right, the clouds gathering above him, dark and menacing.
“Here comes the rain, Scout,” he said, patting the horse’s mane.
The tracks of the cattle were clear to see, running in the direction of Westfort. But, as he continued to follow, the first drops of rain began to fall onto the parched and sunbaked ground. Scout had no liking for rain and as the trail turned to mud, she halted, stamping her feet in the quagmire now forming about them.
I’ll never follow this now, Thomas realized, suddenly feeling hopeless. What was I even doing, riding out here like this?
It had been foolish to think he’d find the cattle so easily. The tracks in the mud could’ve come from a thousand different cattle, and with the trail now joining that which ran east towards Westfort, following it further seemed hopeless. Thomas cursed, pulling on Scout’s reins and turning the horse back towards Lakestone.
“All right, Scout, you can have your way. Let’s go back,” he said, and the horse let out a whinny in reply.
He rode straight back to town, not wishing to have Robbie and Amos say they’d told him so. But he’d felt such frustration in doing nothing, and at least the ride out had taken his mind off Aline. Still, she was never far from his thoughts and as he rode into town and the rain continued to fall, he thought of her again.
I could ride out there this afternoon, he thought, for there was little else worth doing.
But, as he tethered Scout up to her post outside the sheriff’s office, he saw a sight which gladdened his heart. Aline was just riding into town, on the side of a horse and trap driven by none other than Clarence Lester.
Well, at least she looks all right, Thomas reassured himself, hurrying across the street to greet her.
Chapter Twelve
Aline had bundled Sammy into his basket early that morning. He’d been reluctant to go, seeming more than happy stretched out on the bed asleep. But Aline was uncomfortable leaving him behind at the ranch while she and Clarence Lester went into Lakestone to pick up supplies. She’d passed a tolerable night at Lampeter Ranch—pleasant, in fact—and had awoken full of enthusiasm for what lay ahead. She’d spent the morning making a list of things she’d need from the grocer’s shop and the mercantile and had enlisted Clarence Lester to accompany her, a task he’d been more than happy to oblige in.
So it was that she and Sammy found themselves riding into town that morning, just as it had begun to rain. Sammy, like all cats, hated the rain and he was curled up in his basket roundly ignoring Aline, whom he clearly blamed for taking him away from the delights of a warm bed.
“I’m sorry to drag you out in such awful weather, Mr. Lester,” Aline said, as water dripped from her bonnet.
“It’s quite all right, Mrs. Hale, I don’t mind the ride. I’ve a little business to see to in town myself. We’re nearly here now,” the ranch hand replied as Lakestone came into view.
The prairies had less charm to them in the wet than they did on a warm summer’s day. Aline imagined what life must have been like for the first frontiersman, who didn’t have the luxury of a warm bed or a hot meal to sustain them.
It must have been a dismal existence, she thought as she pulled her damp shawl more closely around her.
“Here we are, Mrs. Hale. I’ll get the supplies for you, why don’t you take shelter in the Anaconda?” Clarence Lester suggested as they pulled up outside Mr. Ford’s grocer’s shop.
“Oh no, I shall help, too. I’m not a helpless maiden, Mr. Lester,” Aline replied, smiling at him as she hopped down from the horse and trap.
But as she did so, there came a welcome voice from across the street and, turning, she found Thomas splashing through the mud toward her. He looked as though he’d already done a day’s work, his boots all spattered with mud. He took off his hat and nodded, ignoring Clarence who muttered something and walked off inside the grocer’s shop.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling at her, and Aline felt her cheeks flush.
“Good morning, but it’s hardly a fine one,” she admitted, looking up at the dark clouds above.
“I just got caught in it and it looks like you did, too,” he replied, still smiling.
She realized she likely looked a state, in her dripping wet bonnet and damp shawl. But he would simply have to take her as she came that day, and with Sammy meowing in his basket, she’d no desire to stand out in the rain and get even wetter than she already was.
“I’ve come into town for some supplies, Clarence was kind enough to drive me,” she said.
“I’m sure he was. I’ve just got back from Lakestone Creek Ranch, but the rain was enough to obliterate any tracks I might’ve followed,” he said, shaking his head. “Say, do you want to get out of the rain? I could use a drink and something to eat, and the Anaconda is open. Or would you not want to be seen having lunch again with the sheriff?” he asked, causing Aline to blush further.
“I’ll have lunch with whoever I so wish,” she replied and Thomas smiled, holding out his arm.
“Well, then, there’s no time like the present,” he said.
Aline called into the shop and told Clarence Lester he could go to the saloon for a while and meet her later. They had plenty of time to see to the supplies and besides, she was pleased to see Thomas again. She’d thought about him a great deal and he was becoming something of a familiar to her. There was no harm in another lunch, or so she told herself, as the two of them entered the Anaconda for their second meal together.
“The same table, sir?” the waiter asked and Thomas nodded.
“Is the mayor dining this afternoon?” he asked, and Aline was amused by the nervous look upon his face.
“Even if he is you’ve as much right to dine as he does. It looks like you’ve already worked a full day,” she assured him as the waiter led them to their table.
“And still nothing to show for it,” he replied, sighing.
“Don’t give up yet. These things take time, surely,”
Aline said, opening the menu which had just been presented to her.
“That’s not how other folk’ll look at it, Aline. They’ll say the sheriff isn’t doing his job properly, they’ll say they’re scared and that this town is becoming lawless,” he told her, shaking his head.
“And if anyone says that, then they’ll have me to answer to. They don’t realize how lucky they are. I’ve never met a man like you, a man who cares so much,” she said, and Thomas laughed.
“Maybe you haven’t met many men,” he replied.
They ordered sodas, soup, and a mutton pie, and Aline told the tale of burning the bacon back at the ranch. Thomas laughed as she described the parlor filling with smoke and declared that her skills as a cook would need some improvement.
“But I can dust just fine,” she added proudly, just as the pie was placed ceremoniously before them.
It smelled very good and as they took up their knives and forks, Sammy began to meow. Aline had rather neglected him since their arrival at the hotel, but now he made his presence known and rocked his basket to and fro.
“Someone’s hungry. Did you forget to give Sammy his sardines?” Thomas said as Aline leant down to open the basket.
“He had sardines for breakfast. But he was grumpy because I took him off the bed and made him come out in the rain,” she replied, lifting the cat, who seemed to scowl at her as she repeated the story of his ill-treatment.
“I’d be grumpy if you did that to me, too,” Thomas said, blushing as he did so.
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” she told him, just as Sammy leapt straight out of her arms and into Thomas’ lap.
“Woah there, Sammy, hey,” Thomas said, as the cat purred and arched his back, rubbing his face against Thomas’.
“Oh, you naughty cat, Sammy. Naughty thing,” Aline scolded, but Thomas just smiled.
“He’s all right, aren’t you, Sammy? There’s a good boy, settle down, now,” Thomas said, and he cut into the steaming hot pie, pulling out a piece of meat.
Aline watched as Thomas proceeded to feed Sammy, who purred contentedly and settled down to sleep in his lap.
“I think he’ll be happy enough now. At least until you take him out into the rain again,” Thomas said, winking at Aline.
The soup and pie were excellent, though Aline refused dessert on the grounds that it would soon be time to return to Lampeter Ranch and resume her duties.
“I promised Mr. Knox that I’d see to everything, though I feel a little out of my depth,” she admitted, as the waiter brought them coffee.
“You’ll make Harr—him a fine housekeeper, and I wouldn’t worry too much about pleasing him,” Thomas replied.
Aline looked at him, wondering what was behind his relationship with Mr. Knox. There was more to it than met the eye, judging from the way that Thomas looked at him and the dismissive way he’d treated Clarence Lester.
I guess small towns always have stories to tell, she thought, finishing up her coffee.
“And what of these outlaws you’ve been chasing?” she asked. “Mr. Knox says there’s nothing to worry about out at Lampeter Ranch.”
“I’m sure he’s right. The trail led off to Westfort. It’s about thirty miles east of here, a couple of stops further on the railroad. And if that’s where these bandits are taking the cattle, then it makes the whole business a lot harder,” Thomas replied.
He seemed weary of the entire situation, as though it were a weight upon his shoulders. Aline decided not to ask him any more questions and instead changed the subject to the weather, which seemed to be clearing up.
“I should be getting back, Clarence’ll be wondering where I’ve got to,” Aline said, rising from her place and taking Sammy from Thomas’ lap.
“Oh, let me drive you back in the trap, Aline. He’ll have seen to the supplies, I’m sure,” Thomas said.
She hesitated for a moment, reminding herself that she was no longer a lady of leisure and that she had responsibilities to see to back at the ranch. But it was early days yet, and Mr. Knox had hardly seemed a difficult taskmaster. Smiling, Aline nodded just as Sammy meowed, and with the sun now shining through the windows of the Anaconda Hotel, it seemed like a pleasant afternoon for a gentle ride home.
“I’d be delighted,” she replied and Thomas smiled.
“I’m pleased. Let me go get the trap and tell Clarence he can head back to Lampeter Ranch alone,” Thomas said, leaving Aline in the hotel lobby.
She watched with interest as several guests arrived, damp from the earlier showers. A man, who looked like he was of some importance, was accompanied by his wife and a small child. Aline nodded to them, looking up at the portraits of past owners and imagining her father passing through the restaurant or taking a drink in the bar.
What would you think of all this, Father? she wondered, picturing his kind and smiling face.
But it was Thomas’ face which came to her, too—his handsome features, his rugged good looks, his smile and that way in which he seemed to give her his full attention, whatever troubles were on his mind.
I’ve barely known him a few days, she reminded herself, yet the image persisted and she wondered what these thoughts might mean. I never loved Damon, she realized again, watching the family checking into the hotel.
The man and wife seemed entirely devoted to one another, as happy and at ease with one another as birds singing in the trees. She’d always imagined that was how married life should be—the total giving of oneself to another and the same in return. It was how she’d always dreamed it would be. Yet her marriage to Damon Hale was far from that ideal. It had been nothing short of misery. Miserable in every way.
I should have listened to my aunt and found a man to truly love me, she thought miserably, a tear rising in her eye as she watched the couple together.
Maybe I’ll have that one day, she added, just as Thomas entered the lobby, smiling at her.
“It’s all sorted. Clarence was all ready to leave. I’ve sent him on his way, which means that you and I shall ride the horse and trap to Lampeter Ranch, accompanied by Sammy, of course,” he said, taking up the cat’s basket as Aline followed him out into the street.
The rain of that morning was now forgotten and the sun was shining over the town, causing little wisps of steam to rise from the rooftops. The townsfolk had emerged to go about their business, and many of them greeted the sheriff as he and Aline made their way toward his office.
“You sure know a lot of folks,” Aline noted, and Thomas shook his head.
“Some far more than I would wish,” he said as the door to the sheriff’s office opened and John Hoskins stepped out.
“Sheriff, ma’am, the mayor was here earlier asking for you. He wants to know what’s happening with the outlaws. He seemed pretty angry about it,” the deputy said.
“Did you tell him I was out on the trail?” Thomas said and the deputy nodded.
“Yes, sir, I did. I told him you were up at Lakestone Creek Ranch that very moment following the trail of the cattle. He seemed satisfied, but…” John Hoskins said.
“But what?” Thomas asked.
“But he said we’ve got to do better than that. He wants answers, and soon,” the deputy replied.
“Well, let’s hope he gets them soon. I’ll be back later; I’m just taking Mrs. Hale home to Lampeter Ranch. If that’s all right with the mayor,” Thomas replied and, turning to Aline, he pointed toward the horse and trap outside the farrier’s shop.
“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Thomas,” Aline said as they made their way across the street. “It’s not far. I can walk if you need to be here.”
“The mayor needs to learn not to be a bully, you said so yourself. And besides, it’s you that’s going to drive,” Thomas replied, turning to her and grinning.
“Me? But I don’t know the first thing about driving a horse and trap,” she cried, looking at the trap as though it were some great juggernaut, rather than the farrier’s simple cart dr
awn by a docile horse.
“It’s about time you learned. Life out in the west can be hard, Aline, and you need to know how to look after yourself,” Thomas said and, with a slight blush to his cheeks, he continued, “not that I’m suggesting you can’t look after yourself already.”
“So, this is your way of making me independent out here? Terrifying me?” she said, laughing, as he took Sammy’s basket from her and helped her up into the trap.
“I’m not trying to terrify you. I just want to show you how to ride,” he replied, hopping up next to her and handing her the reins.
Aline had never so much as sat on a horse before. Back home in Massachusetts, she’d been taken anywhere she pleased by carriage and as a child she’d shown no interest in what her mother had referred to as ‘pony shows.’ The thought of driving the trap quite terrified her, but she had no intention of failing at it.
