by Ember Pierce
* * *
“Oh, very good. I just got a shipment in. From Paris, of course. The ones I ordered are pretty yet practical. Dresses to wear around the house under an apron when cleaning. Or for working in the garden or on the farm. They’re right over here. I have a small changing room right behind that door and there’s a full length mirror. Pick whatever you’d like to try on. I’m in the middle of my inventory. If you need anything else, just let me know.” He smiled and walked off carrying a notebook and pencil.
* * *
Mae studied the dresses. Some were solid and some were sold with two bodices. One bodice was somewhat plain, but the other was fancy. It was a wonderful idea. Daytime and evening bodices. Conceivably, she could use a dress like that for church if she wanted to.
* * *
She could wake, dress, and do her chores. Then she could change into the nicer of the two bodices when it was time to leave the house for church. She took the items and placed them in the little dressing room which was far bigger than she’d thought it would be.
* * *
Then she chose four other dresses, three for everyday, and another with two bodices. It took her an hour to try them all, but they fit well and she took all five. She also purchased four chemises, two pairs of stockings, a crinoline, two bib aprons and one half apron, and an everyday bonnet that would keep the sun and wind off her face. She also bought some small tea towels for the kitchen, a bucket, and a scrub brush.
* * *
When she’d assembled her purchases she called Nick to the counter. He seemed pleased at the sale he was making. It must be a lot of money for a Monday morning, Mae thought.
* * *
“Mrs. Henderson, as my thank you for this large purchase, I’d like to offer you two handkerchiefs. Take whichever two you’d like. They’re on the table there.”
* * *
“Why, thank you, Nick.” Mae chose two lovely fine-cotton hankies edged in lace while Nick wrapped her purchases in brown paper and tied them.
* * *
“I’ll put this on Mr. Henderson’s tab.”
* * *
“Thank you,” she said.
* * *
“Let me bring these packages out to the buggy for you. Is Mr. Henderson with you?”
* * *
“No, I came into town by myself.”
* * *
“Well, mind you go straight home, hear? Rustlers raided one of our ranches closest to town. You’re just beyond the town limits and you don’t have to ride across the plains. Besides, they’re most likely gone by now. It was before dawn when they hit. But still, mind yourself and go straight home. I’d take you there myself if I could leave the store.”
* * *
“Okay, Nick, I’ll go right home.” Mae was slightly nervous at the thought of running into the cattle rustlers, but at the same time it seemed unlikely that she would. There was no use worrying about something that might not happen. It was a waste of time. That’s what her father had always told her. She could hear his voice in the back of her head as she answered Nick.
* * *
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
* * *
Everything was loaded into the buggy. Mae thought next time she should bring the buckboard instead. Everything was still so new.
* * *
“Thank you again, Mrs. Henderson.” Nick assisted her into the buggy. “I appreciate your business. I’ll let you know when that fabric you want gets in, too.”
* * *
“Thank you, Nick.” She flicked the reins and was off, heading home.
* * *
She looked all around her as she drove. It was a lucky boon that the road out of town went right past the farmhouse. Scott’s property seemed to be pretty big, but the house was just about a hundred yards beyond the last house on the road which was still in town.
* * *
Still, the idea that the rustlers might come back concerned her. What would she do if they came to the house and Scott was out on the farm? Once again she reminded herself that it wouldn’t do any good to worry about it. She had too much else to do.
* * *
She planned to make an apple cobbler for Scott. It was to be sort of an apology to him for the misunderstanding they had the day before. Her thoughts went back to it. She didn’t think she’d been wrong to want him to go to church with her.
* * *
It had been clear to her that she and Scott wouldn’t have a typical marriage. They barely knew one another. Still, she felt drawn to him like she’d never been to anyone.
* * *
She wondered what had hurt Scott so badly. The scar on his face was a bad one, yet it barely marred his rugged good looks. Clearly Scott had emotional wounds that had hurt him more than the ones on his face.
* * *
It was obvious why he would feel a certain sense of self-conscious thoughts regarding the scars. But, in an odd way, it almost added to his demeanor of strong silence. It made him even more intriguing than Mae imagined he must have been without it.
* * *
It was ten o’clock when she left the general store according to the clock there. She’d have just enough time to make the cobbler and scrub the kitchen floor before starting on dinner.
* * *
Pulling up to the side of the house, she’d take her packages in and then take the buggy to the barn to unhitch it. The horses needed to be turned out into the paddock as well. She hopped down from the buggy and heard the back screen door open. Scott came around from the back of the house. He ran up to her, a look of something like relief on his face.
* * *
Mae wondered if he thought she’d run off. She’d done the laundry and left coffee and breakfast. He was foolish to think that she would do such a thing as run off. But she reminded herself that he didn’t know what she considered foolish or not.
* * *
“Mae! Were you in town? Why did you go in alone? I would have taken you in. Please, you are not to do so again.”
* * *
“I’m not to do so? Scott, I needed some clothes. I barely brought anything with me from Virginia. I went to the general store.”
* * *
“I see. Well, you’re certainly welcome to get whatever it is you need. Or want. I have an account with Nick.”
* * *
“I know, he told me, and he wrote down what I got in his ledger. He also gave me this receipt if you’d like to see what all I spent your money on.” She didn’t mean the last to sound as harsh as it did. “You know, Nick told me that cattle rustlers hit one of the ranches this morning before dawn. One of the ranches closer to town. He told me to come straight home.”
* * *
“That’s what he told you? Did he say which ranch it was? I reckon it’s got to be the Duffy place or the Robinson place.”
* * *
“He didn’t say which one it was. He only told me to go straight home and he would have accompanied me if he didn’t have to stay at the store.”
* * *
Scott nodded. “Okay. I’ll have to go in and talk to him about it. It’s been a while since we’ve had anything like that around here. Until we find out who the rustlers are and where they’re from, you’d be best to stay close to home. If you need anything from town I’ll go in and get it for you. Or I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t have gone in without me knowing. Is that clear?”
* * *
“Well, I needed some clothing. I told you, I brought very little with me when I left my home in Virginia. I left very quickly and traveled light. I didn’t want to wake you and I have things to do around here. This morning was the only time I could go shopping. And I didn’t anticipate it being a problem.”
* * *
“Okay, but like I said, I’ll escort you next time. It’s best you stay close to the house until I find out more information about the rustlers. No one will come to the house while I’m in the fields. They’re more concerne
d with cattle than anything else.”
* * *
“Alright.” Mae picked up some of the packages.
* * *
“Leave them. I’ll take them in before I unhitch the wagon.”
* * *
“Okay, I need to scrub the kitchen floor anyhow. Will you be here, at the house, for dinner?”
* * *
“Yes,” Scott answered abruptly and turned away from her as he gathered up the packages from the floor of the carriage.
* * *
Not knowing what else to do, Mae went into the house. Once more she put a large pot of water on the cookstove to heat. She took her oldest apron and slipped the top over her head, tying it at the waist.
* * *
Then she pinned the front of her skirt up almost to her knees and swept the floor. She moved the table and chairs to one side of the kitchen and scrubbed the floor.
* * *
When it was dry, she moved the table and chairs to the other side and continued. She worked fast and an hour later she was ready to make dinner.
* * *
At one o’clock, Mae took a roast chicken from the oven. Carrots and mashed potatoes, biscuits, and apple cobbler for dessert made up the fare. She sat at the table and waited for Scott to come in from the garden. He’d been weeding for the past two hours.
* * *
Finally, he came in and washed his hands and face. Then he sat at the table. Mae was happy to see that he seemed hungry. He went ahead and carved the chicken breast and placed some on her plate. When their plates were full, Mae was ready to say Grace, but Scott dug right in without saying thanks.
* * *
For ten minutes not a word was said. Finally, Mae could stand it no longer. “You know, Scott, it seems to me you would be more interested in finding out what happened this morning. With the rustlers, I mean.”
* * *
He glanced up. “What do you mean by that? Why would I be more interested than anybody else?”
* * *
“You used to be the sheriff, didn’t you? You could help before this thing gets out of hand. Surely you don’t think the rustlers will hit just this one time. Do you?”
* * *
“I used to be the sheriff, Mae. It’s an elected position. I’m not going to step on the current sheriff’s toes by trying to put my two cents in. Besides, I have no interest in doing so. I’ll find out what the story is from Nick and Ephraim. I’m certainly not going to offer to help the current sheriff.”
* * *
“You don’t have to step on anyone’s toes. That’s not what I’m saying. It’s not what I’m suggesting. Not at all. I only thought that they, the townsfolk, and maybe the sheriff, would be interested in your take on things. You know, from the standpoint of a citizen who has been sheriff in the past.”
* * *
“Why don’t you just stick to worrying about what needs doing here at the house? While you put the things you purchased today on credit at the general store, did Nick inform you that I have accounts in every store?”
* * *
“No, he didn’t. He was concerned about me getting home.”
* * *
“Well, I want you to know that I have the money to support you properly, Mae. We are not poor. We’re not even down on our luck. I pulled a salary when I was sheriff and I had men work the farm for me at the same time. I have some money in the bank. While I don’t want you to spend my money as if there’s no tomorrow, I encourage you to get what you need for the house and for yourself. Of course that includes anything special you might like, such as a book, or maybe a pair of earrings, for instance.”
* * *
“Oh, yes, it’s very kind of you. Excuse me, I didn’t mean to appear ungrateful. I don’t want to appear as if I’m taking any kind of advantage of your good graces.”
* * *
“You haven’t. I know that. You’re not that type of woman. It’s obvious you were brought up well and you’re thoughtful. Now, if that’s all, I’m going out to ride the fences. I want to make sure that if the rustlers get the idea to steal feed, it won’t be easy for them.”
* * *
“Alright, Scott. I’ll be changing the sheets. Is it alright if I go into your room?”
* * *
“You’re my wife, Mae. I reckon you’ll have to go in there sometimes.”
* * *
“Ok.” Mae thought Scott was peculiar. On the one hand he wanted to keep a close eye on her. He understood and accepted that she would clean his room. On the other hand he insisted that theirs was not a typical marriage. The fact that they stayed in separate rooms that weren’t connected by a corridor attested to the fact.
* * *
Mae set the apple cobbler in front of him when he was through with his meal. He ate it without saying a word and then tipped his hat to her and went back to work.
* * *
Mae sighed and watched as his back moved off the porch. He was so abrupt sometimes. And he’d said he was partial to apple cobbler.
* * *
She wondered if they’d ever see eye to eye on anything. Would they ever understand one another? She covered the cobbler with a towel and put it in the pantry.
13
The following morning, out on the farm, Scott tried to turn his mind to the work he was doing. There was grain to be hauled to one of the ranches farther outside town. His neighbor had purchased the grain the previous week. Now the man was ready to store it. But again and again Scott’s mind strayed from the task at hand.
* * *
He had an unsettling feeling about the cattle rustlers. Things in town had been relatively quiet for the last year. Wayne Bixby had been in jail in the state pen. But, it should have been clear to him that the quiet meant bad news. Whoever the rustlers were, whoever they were working for and Scott was worried it was Bixby, had had months to formulate plans to terrorize Fable Springs.
* * *
He shook his head. It was time he stopped trying to figure out the next step the rustlers might take. But that was proving impossible for him to do. His sheriff mind had gone through all the information about the rustlers again and again. They would most likely hit another ranch before too long.
* * *
He had to admit that it was possible that they were not from the area. If that was the case, then it was a one-time offense and the rustlers were off in some other county by now, or in some other state. They could even be headed for one of the territories.
* * *
But he had a feeling these rustlers weren’t from out of town. He had a nasty sinking feeling that this was Bixby, coming back to finish the job he’d started a year ago.
* * *
There was no way to get control over the situation even if he relaxed his thoughts. Jumping to conclusions wasn’t the way to go about figuring what might happen next. First, he needed to gather as much information about the robbery as he could. But a part of him kept telling him he was wasting his time.
* * *
Why he was even considering the motives of the rustlers was beyond him. He wasn’t the sheriff anymore. He’d walked away from the job. His deputy had taken over when Scott left the office because of the accident. It’d been a terrible time for Scott and the deputy had stepped in and handled everything.
* * *
The investigation that followed the kidnapping of Annie and the explosion in the mine never yielded any evidence, though. Any way to prove that Wayne Bixby had been behind the plan had been unavailable. Fortunately the man was sent to prison for an offense in another county in which a man, a man who owned a gold mine, had been killed under suspicious circumstances. Scott had gone over to that county as soon as he’d known Bixby was a suspect.
* * *
He’d done everything he could to gather evidence and it had paid off. Bixby had been in the state pen for a year. Then, Scott had heard, Bixby had turned informant. Technically he was still protected by the law. Maybe that was
why he seemed to feel sure about going after Scott again.
* * *
Scott felt sure that if Bixby was behind a new rash of rustlings in their county, he would keep his tracks securely hidden. It would be harder to find him than a needle in a haystack this time. The man was going to keep his hands clean. He’d let his henchmen do his dirty work.