by Chloe Carley
With far more confidence than she felt, Aline urged the horse on. The farrier’s relaxed old animal was slow to start and stomped his hoof a few times, before Thomas gave him a flick with the whip, an action which seemed suddenly to bring him alive.
“Oh!” Aline cried, as the trap jolted off down the street at a pace and she pulled the reins back to slow the horse down.
“Attaboy, there we go,” Thomas encouraged as they sped along the street and out onto the trail.
“Am I doing it right?” Aline worried, turning to Thomas who pointed back down the trail.
“Just keep an eye on the trail. I’ll tell you when you’re doing it wrong,” he told her as the trap picked up speed.
“I’m getting it, I’m really getting it,” Aline cried, a sense of exhilaration now running through her as she urged on the horse. With the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin, Aline felt more alive than she’d done in a long time. Sitting there, next to Thomas and with Sammy in his basket, she felt every bit as though she’d left her old life behind and found something new, the place she’d always longed for. How good it felt to be on the trail, riding out into the endless horizon with her whole life ahead of her. She could’ve laughed out loud with joy.
Though Thomas would think me quite mad, she thought as Lampeter Ranch came into sight.
“You’re a natural, Aline, and now you don’t need to be stuck out here at Lampeter Ranch all by yourself. You’ve got your freedom—you can come and go as you please,” Thomas said, and Aline reined in the horse in the ranch yard.
“He sure can fly when he wants to,” she replied breathlessly.
“Well, if you liked driving the trap then the next thing is to teach you to ride. You can’t run a ranch and not be able to ride,” Thomas said, helping her down and handing her Sammy’s basket.
“I’d like that,” she replied. “I’ve never ridden before, but if it’s as exciting as driving the trap then I’d love to try.”
“Good, I’m glad. I’ve got a lovely old horse called Rigby. I keep him over at the farrier’s shop. He’d be gentle with you—not like my Scout, she’d throw the first person to get on her who wasn’t me,” Thomas said, laughing.
“Oh my, is it dangerous?” Aline wondered if she’d been too forthright in her enthusiasm.
But Thomas just smiled and shook his head. “It’s not dangerous. Besides, you’ll have me to teach you and I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said, blushing a little as he spoke.
Aline knew the sincerity of his words and she was touched by his kind offer. The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him. There was a strange sense of familiarity between them, and Aline felt as though she’d known Thomas for years, rather than just a few short days. She couldn’t wait to learn to ride with him and to find out more about him.
“Then I shall be happy to accept. The sooner the better, by the sounds of it. Now, I would be neglecting my duties as housekeeper if I didn’t offer you a coffee,” she said, pointing toward the house, but Thomas shook his head.
“That’s mighty kind of you, Aline, but I need to be getting back to Lakestone. John Hoskins is right; we can only appease the mayor a little longer. He wants answers and he wants them now,” Thomas said.
“Well, be sure to stop by very soon, you promise me?” Aline said and Thomas touched his hat to her.
“Very soon, and we’ll see what kind of a horsewoman you are,” he added, climbing back into the trap and wishing her a good day.
She stood on the veranda and watched as the trap disappeared along the trail.
He sure is a nice man, she thought and as though in answer, Sammy let out a loud meow.
“And you like the sheriff too, don’t you, Sammy?” she said, carrying him back inside.
There, she found the supplies all neatly laid out and set to putting them away. She really couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt happier and it seemed that the simple things in life were what counted, her old life back in Massachusetts seeming an age away.
Moving out here was the best thing I ever did, she realized, smiling at Sammy, who rubbed himself up against her legs and purred. And I think I’ll enjoy getting to know Thomas much better.
Chapter Thirteen
Thomas drove the trap slowly back toward Lakestone. He’d spotted Clarence Lester smoking a cigarette outside one of the barns, scowling at him as he drove past. He still couldn’t get that feeling of something not being right at Lampeter Ranch out of the pit of his stomach.
Why wasn’t Harrison there all the time? And where had Clarence and Hector been found? The last Thomas had heard of them, they’d been wanted on charges of a bank robbery that had gone wrong over in the next state. Yet now they were here in Lakestone, seemingly without a care in the world.
Aline’s in the lion’s den and she doesn’t even know it, he thought miserably.
He’d been surprised at how well she’d driven the horse and trap over the prairie. Usually, women of such good class and breeding found such things a chore, but not Aline. She seemed to take everything in her stride and Thomas hoped he hadn’t offended her by assuming she’d find the task harder than it was.
She seemed happy, though, he reminded himself, sighing, as he drove back into Lakestone.
However Aline felt about him, Thomas knew that his own feelings for her were growing. He couldn’t rid himself of the thought of her, not that he wished to. She’d entirely captured his heart in just a few short days and he felt completely distracted by her, so much so that his responsibilities seemed neglected and secondary.
Thomas had always been diligent in his duties, far more so than was required. Being sheriff was not just his job, it was his life—and so intent upon fulfilling his duties had he been that it had often been at the expense of his own well-being.
“Find yourself a nice woman, Sheriff,” Lita Morrell used to say, when Thomas would come in late after spending all day at his duties.
But so far, such pleasures had eluded him and Thomas had always put duty before self.
But maybe that should change, he told himself, returning to the horse and trap to the farrier’s shop and ambling back towards the sheriff’s office, after all, there’s not many like Aline Hale come along.
John Hoskins was writing at his desk when Thomas entered the sheriff’s office and he looked up and grinned, his expression saying it all.
“I hear that old Mrs. Kerouac needs someone to escort her to church on Sunday, Sheriff. I told her you’d be more than happy to oblige, now that our duties include accompaniment,” the deputy said, shaking his head and laughing.
“Do you want to take tea with the Fords next Tuesday? Or should I have you volunteered for jailhouse duty all day?” Thomas asked, giving the deputy a withering look, though trying his best to disguise his smile.
“You got me there, Sheriff. Mrs. Hale sure is a nice lady. Why don’t you…” the deputy began, but Thomas raised his hand.
“You just think about Susan, Deputy, you hear me?” he said, shaking his head.
“All right, Sheriff. I was only teasing you,” he replied, shaking his head and grinning as he went back to his paperwork.
Thomas sat for a moment, the pile of reports on his desk seeming like an unassailable mountain. But he couldn’t help find his mind fixed on Aline. John Hoskins was right, he was sweet on her, and he didn’t mind admitting it—at least to himself.
But if anyone else found out… he thought, wondering just what Harrison would say if Thomas’ true feelings were discovered.
***
Over the next few days, Aline settled into a comfortable routine. She would rise with the first light of day, which, being high summer, came early. It would often be Sammy who would wake her first, pawing at her and meowing for his sardines.
Aline would splash cold water on her face and put on fresh clothes before beginning her household chores. She’d mastered the art of cooking bacon without filling the parlor with smoke and both C
larence Lester and Hector Perez had complimented her on her porridge, which they both deemed to be excellent.
Life at Lampeter Ranch was good and Aline had barely thought about the threat of bandits and outlaws. She’d seen nothing of her employer, but the expenses at the grocer’s store had been covered and Mr. Ford had sent word with his boy Louis that his credit was good for just about anything she needed.
So it was that Aline found herself some days later humming as she washed the pots and pans after breakfast. She’d swept the parlor and put fresh wood on the range. There was even a little posy of flowers on the table, so that the parlor looked ever so homely, and Sammy was rolling around on the rug with a look of utmost contentment.
“Oh, Sammy, must you show us your tummy like that, it’s not very gentlemanly-like,” she said, laughing at the cat, who rolled onto his side and let out a loud meow.
I must see if we have enough flour for the bread, she thought, glancing at a half-eaten loaf of bread on the side.
But, as she did so, there came a knock on the door and, wiping her hands on her apron, she hurried to open it. She was surprised, though there was no reason why she should have been, to find her employer, Mr. Knox, standing on the threshold.
He beamed at her, in that funny way he had. With his mouth curled halfway between a smile and a grimace, he extended his hand to her and didn’t wait to be invited in before he entered the parlor.
“My, My, Mrs. Hale. You’ve sure got this place looking nice,” he said, glancing around as Sammy ran off into the back bedroom.
“Oh, do you think so? I was worried I… I hadn’t been doing enough. You know, back home in Massachusetts I had a maid, her name was…” Aline began, but Mr. Knox just raised his hand and laughed.
“You don’t need to explain, Mrs. Hale—to my eye, you’ve got the whole place just perfect. Far better than if I had left Clarence and Hector to see to it,” he replied, still casting his eyes around the parlor with interest.
“Well, I’m glad you think so. Would you like some coffee?” she asked, and Mr. Knox nodded.
“I would, and a slice of seed cake if there is some. Or have you not ventured into such heady heights of culinary endeavor yet, Mrs. Hale?” he asked.
Aline blushed. She’d attempted to bake a seed cake, but it had gone somewhat awry and she’d ended up with what her aunt would’ve called “a pancake disaster” and a burnt tin.
“I’ve some rock buns,” she said, hesitantly, for they’d only just survived her ministrations.
“A rock bun it is then, and a cup coffee. How nice,” he replied and Aline set to at the range.
“I got everything I needed at the store,” Aline said as she returned with his coffee, “Mr. Ford is ever so obliging, and he tells me that our credit is excellent.”
“And so he should do, Mrs. Hale. My credit is always excellent in this town and as far east as Westfort,” Mr. Knox replied, taking a sip of coffee and letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
“Fortwest, I keep hearing that name these past days,” Aline said, recalling Thomas’ words about the cattle town.
“Oh, really? From whom, may I ask?” her employer asked.
“From Tho… the Sheriff. He reckons these outlaws or bandits or whatever they are are riding out from there to raid farms,” she replied, taking a seat on the bench opposite him.
“Does he, now, how interesting. The sheriff sure has some ideas, doesn’t he?” Mr. Knox replied, grimacing slightly as he took a bite out of his rock bun.
“Oh, are they a little hard?” Aline said, worried that she might break his teeth, an act which would not go down well in her first week of domestic duties.
“They’re fine, Mrs. Hale, though a few more currants wouldn’t go amiss. Ask Mr. Ford to put some in with your next order,” Mr. Knox said through a mouthful of rock bun.
“May I ask you a question, Mr. Knox? You’ve been so kind to let me stay here and I’m so very grateful to you for letting me look after the house and begin seeing to the ranch, but I can’t help but see that folks don’t take too kindly to you. Whatever do they have against you?” Aline asked, boldly seeking an answer to the question that had been on her mind for the past few days.
Mr. Knox smiled, running his tongue over his teeth and shaking his head.
“Success, Mrs. Hale. That’s what folks don’t like, they don’t like success. When a man is successful, he gains enemies. I am a successful man and I have made money thanks to my success. Lakestone is a funny place, like so many other frontier towns. The problem with frontiers is that they’re always moving, always changing, and places like this get left behind. The successful folks keeping moving on, pushing new frontiers whilst others get left behind. Lakestone is a nice little place, but it’s full of folks who got left behind,” he replied, still smiling at her.
“I… I see, I suppose my father was one of those first men…” she began.
“Ah, your father was clearly a successful man. He came here when this was the place to be, but now it’s a place that has been, and those of us who have made our money and succeeded in business are those whom the rest find difficult. You’re right, there’s plenty of folks in Lakestone who don’t like me, but that’s their problem—not mine and not yours,” he said, pushing aside the plate containing the half-eaten rock bun.
“You and the sheriff don’t seem to get on at all,” she continued, still wanting to know more about why Mr. Knox seemed so universally disliked in the little town of Lakestone, Montana.
There must be more to it than that, she thought, thinking back to the encounters between Thomas and Mr. Knox.
“The sheriff and I are… well, you know how it is,” Mr. Knox replied.
Aline was about to reply that she had no idea how it was, is or should be, but at that moment there came another knock at the door and Mr. Knox leaped up to open it.
“Allow me, Mrs. Hale,” he said, opening the door and ushering Clarence and Hector inside.
“Good morning, Mrs. Hale,” Clarence said, as the two men removed their hats.
They both smelt strongly of tobacco and Aline ushered them to the table, where she proceeded to pour out coffee and offer more of her stone-hard rock buns.
“I told these two to come join us, I want us all to get along just fine,” Mr. Knox said, smiling round at them all, “but we’ve one member of our party missing—where’s young Sammy at? Has he settled in as well as his mistress?”
Sammy was nowhere to be seen and Aline remained puzzled by the fact that her usually-friendly cat had quite absented himself from their company.
“Oh, he’s probably asleep on the bed. He loves to sleep, Mr. Knox,” she replied.
“What a shame, I was hoping to pet him,” Mr. Knox replied, and Clarence and Hector laughed.
“Ain’t you men ever seen a man pet a cat before?” Aline asked, turning to Clarence and Hector who blushed.
“They think it’s soft, Mrs. Hale. The sort of thing the sheriff would do,” Mr. Knox replied, and once more the two ranch hands burst out laughing.
“Well, soft or not, I’m just pleased to have made the acquaintance of you all. You’ve all been so kind, though I’m pleased to say that I’ll no longer need Mr. Lester here to drive me into town in the horse and trap, the sheriff has shown me how to drive the horses and he’s going to show me how to ride, too,” Aline said, noting that the two ranch hands had pushed their rock buns away.
“How kind of him,” Mr. Knox said, though Aline couldn’t tell by his tone whether he meant it.
“But, it’s the three of you I should be thanking for all your kindness to me here at Lampeter Ranch. My father would be overjoyed to see Sammy and I so happy here, and I want to do something in return,” Aline said, picking up the plates and setting aside the rock buns for the hens.
“Your presence here is enough thanks, Mrs. Hale,” Mr. Knox said, but Aline shook her head.
“Oh, no, I’m ever so grateful, and now that I’ve had a chance to practice a
few dishes, I’d like to cook dinner for you all,” she suggested.
Clarence and Hector looked at one another in surprise and Mr. Knox cleared his throat, his eyes darting to the half-eaten rock buns.
“Well… now, Mrs. Hale that’s…” he began.
“Cooking may not be my strong point yet, Mr. Knox, but I assure you that I’ve been the recipient of enough hospitality to know how to take care of my guests. You’d all be most welcome, and perhaps even Sammy might put in an appearance. I’ve a lovely red ribbon to tie on his tail, he looks as pretty as a picture in a ribbon,” Aline said, not willing to take no for an answer.
