Montana Sky: The Rancher And The Shepherdess (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Loving A Rancher Book 2)

by Caroline Clemmons

  “Oh, we are. The robbers are back in prison. Preston hated to kill anyone, but he was forced to shoot the leader to save Vern’s life. Which saved my life too.”

  “Sure and ‘tis glad I am that you and your family are safe.” Proudly, Gormlaith opened the last door. “Here’s our bedroom.”

  “I see you have some of Gideon Walker’s fine craftsmanship. Preston had bought some for our room and also for Iris’ room.” Amanda traced the carving with a forefinger. “Your furniture is very much like ours. You’ll like Gideon and his wife Darcy.”

  Iris said, “Papa built me my very own room and got my furniture especially for me. Mama let me choose the curtain fabric and I picked lavender.”

  “Now doesn’t that sound lovely, Iris? You know you’re treasured.”

  The little girl giggled. “Papa calls me Princess Iris.”

  With a sigh, Gormlaith gestured toward the hall. “Shall we go down now? Surely the men are ready to stop talking ranching news.”

  Amanda laughed. “They’re never ready, but they’ve had long enough.”

  After visiting a while longer, the Kincaids left for their home.

  Gormlaith watched the sleigh leave. “How long will their drive home take?”

  Her husband gazed at her fondly. “Almost an hour. Soon I’ll be able to take you to Morgan’s Crossing. It’s not an impressive place, but there are nice people and I’m eager for them to meet you.”

  “Aye, and I’ll look forward to the trip for it will mean you’re healing well.”

  Chapter Eleven

  A week later, Gormlaith sat beside Garrett as he drove the sleigh toward Morgan’s Crossing. She wore her new purple wool dress. The lace collar wasn’t complete, but she’d add that later.

  He still protected the left side of his injured back. “Getting out is such a welcome experience after being cooped up like an invalid. I’m glad we have a nice day for our outing.”

  The trip on such a pleasant day fueled her cheerfulness. “Aye, the cold is not as bad with the sun shining so brightly. I think I’m getting used to this weather, for I’m more comfortable now.”

  “There’s the road leading to the Kincaid’s ranch. We continue this way for Morgan’s Crossing. Be warned that the town is much smaller than Sweetwater Springs.”

  He drove across the wooden bridge. “Now you can see what there is of the town. Small but there are new buildings so people are moving here.”

  “That’s a fine house we’re approaching.”

  “Prudence and Michael Morgan live there. He owns the land where the other buildings are built. We’ll eat at the boarding house. They have a great cook.”

  He stopped the sleigh in front of what looked like a store. When he’d set the brake, he climbed down and came around to help her descend.

  “Let’s go inside. Prudence Morgan manages it, but she hired Ralph Jones to help her.”

  Gormlaith thought the store was nice in spite of what Garrett had said. Lots more was offered than at the village where she’d shopped in Ireland.

  Garrett showed her a list. “We need flour, lard, lantern oil, laudanum, and sugar. I need more nails. Get whatever else you need for cooking and for yourself.”

  “I don’t need anything personally, but I might get some fine yarn and make a blanket for the Kincaid’s baby.”

  A blond woman with sharp features came their way. Her welcoming smile transformed her face. “I haven’t met you, but I heard Garrett had wed. I’m Prudence Morgan.”

  “Aye, and this is your fine store. My name is Gormlaith McDonald and ‘tis pleased I am to meet you.”

  “Do you need help with anything?”

  Gormlaith laughed and gestured around her. “Sure and I’d like to look at every item in the store, but I only need a few things.” She handed Prudence the list.

  “I’ll have Mr. Jones gather this while you look around. Just call out if you need help.”

  Gormlaith browsed aisle by aisle. She gathered skeins of fine yarn in pale green that would be suitable for a girl or a boy. Having a new friend she could knit for excited her.

  Amanda would teach her to can food and Gormlaith would let her friend use the sewing machine. How nice to have that to look forward to. And now she’d met Prudence, who seemed very nice.

  These two women were not the type she’d known in New York. Not a’tall. Most of her friends in New York were uneducated and couldn’t read or write. They were destined always to slave in a factory and would age long before their time. She thanked God she had escaped that life.

  Gormlaith overheard her husband talking to the store owner.

  He asked, “The Kincaids thought the Scofields had milk cows for sale. Have you heard that, too?

  Prudence nodded. “Yes, they asked me to pass the word. I believe Mrs. Scofield’s home today if you want to ask her. She’s in the last cabin down the road.”

  After thanking Prudence, Garrett strode to Gormlaith. “I’ll walk to the Scofield home and see if I can make a deal for the cows while you keep warm in here with shopping.”

  “You’re sure you don’t mind if I get the yarn?”

  He took her hand in his. “Honey, get whatever you wish. I shouldn’t be long. Then we’ll get lunch at the boarding house.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  She stared at him, wondering at his public display. When he smiled, she relaxed and replied with a grin of her own. “See you don’t hurt your back. You’re not completely healed.”

  “Yes, wife.” He turned and walked away.

  She watched him, gauging his stride. He still held himself stiff to protect his back muscles. Climbing in and out of the sleigh probably irritated his injury and caused him pain.

  Gormlaith gathered her yarn and laid the skeins on the counter. “I’ll keep looking, but now my hands will be free.”

  Prudence smiled. “I’ll be happy to make as many stacks of goods as you wish. Someday soon perhaps you’ll come to my home for tea with some of the local women.”

  “Sure and wouldn’t that be lovely?” She picked up a book and thumbed through it. Garrett’s ranching and literary tomes were too lofty for her. Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain appeared more to her liking. Counting herself fortunate to have time to read of an evening, she chose one by each of the two authors and laid them on the counter before returning to her perusal.

  Prudence joined Gormlaith in her stroll down the aisles. “I’m glad you enjoy reading. Darcy Walker practically has her own library. You can probably trade with her or just borrow her books. She’s very generous about loaning them.”

  “I haven’t met her yet but her husband made some of our furniture.” She glanced at gloves and handkerchiefs, but decided against them. They were hardly a necessity. “Can you tell me when Father Frederick is due.”

  “He’s here now hearing confessions and he’ll have a mass tomorrow.”

  By the time Garrett returned, Gormlaith had examined everything in the store, or at least thought she had. Garrett loaded their purchases into the wagon and she bid Prudence farewell.

  He helped her into the wagon-sleigh. “Are you ready to eat?”

  “We mustn’t yet. Father Frederick is at the meeting house, wherever that is. We should go talk to him and get married before we eat.”

  “We are married. Right now, I’m real hungry and then we have milk cows to pick up from Mrs. Scofield. I want to get home before dark.”

  She turned, willing to do battle. “Garrett McDonald, you said we could have Father Frederick marry us. Are you going back on your word?”

  He appeared angry. “Of course not. But he comes every month. Going home with cows tied behind the wagon will be slow and I want to get there before dark in case wolves are around.”

  She saw the wisdom in his words but didn’t forsake her plea. “And the priest’s here and he’ll think we’re living in sin as it is. Say we can see him now.”

  Obviously exasperated with her, he gave in. “All right, all right. If this
is that big a deal to you, let’s go.”

  He stopped across from the saloon at a large building. “This is the meeting house. I guess Father Frederick is inside.”

  He joined her and together they walked into the building. She was rendered speechless when the inside displayed nothing resembling a church. Near the front was a makeshift fount and toward the back a table with a cup and plate.

  At least the priest standing behind the table wore a proper cassock. He smiled and beckoned them forward.

  She dipped her fingers in the fount and made the sign of the cross then she and Garrett made their way to the table. After a brief time of questions from Father Frederick, he was willing to perform the ceremony. When he came to the part about Adam and Eve and a woman being a man’s helper, she met Garrett’s gaze and they exchanged a smile.

  They accepted the bread, the wine, and the blessing.

  Afterward, Father Frederick took her hand. “Here where there are only a handful of people spread over a large area, rules must be relaxed. However, you were right to come to me for your vows even though you were legally wed by Reverend Norton. I offer mass once a month and I hope to see you occasionally.”

  Garrett thanked the priest and gave him money. She was astonished when Father Frederick accepted payment. Perhaps he had to pay his own expenses going from town to town.

  Arm in arm, she and her husband strolled to the boarding house for their wedding dinner. After a wonderful meal prepared by a cheerful woman named Bertha, they returned to their wagon.

  “Now we get our cows. I’ll tie them to the back of the wagon but that means we have to go slow enough for them to follow.”

  Thinking of the cows being so upset they went dry, she said, “I could walk and lead them.”

  “No need.” He put his hand on his heart. “I promise not to drive fast enough they’ll be uncomfortable.”

  “Sure and ‘tis happy I am to hear that for hadn’t I’d rather ride than walk? Let’s see these wonders. ”

  Back in the sleigh, they drove to a small house. As they climbed down, a woman came from around the corner leading two cows. One bovine appeared to be pregnant.

  “Here you are, Mr. McDonald.” She nodded to Gormlaith. “Hello, you must be Mrs. McDonald.”

  “Aye, ‘tis pleased I am to meet you, Mrs. Scofield, and pleased to acquire the cows. I’ve longed for fresh milk and butter. Canned milk is no match for fresh.”

  “These are good cows and your husband has promised you’ll take good care of them. We don’t have room for them, much less the calf Bossie is carrying.” She laid a hand on the nose of one. “This one is Maisie.”

  Gormlaith smoothed her hands across the soft nose of each cow and rubbed between their ears. “You can be sure we’ll take good care of them.”

  “I wouldn’t sell them if I couldn’t rest easy that they’d be in good hands. I’m attached to them.”

  “Of course, and so will we be.” She spoke in Irish to the cows.

  Garrett tied them to the back of the sleigh and they set out at a snail’s pace. Gormlaith kept turning to look at the animals. Finally, she climbed in the back and faced the cows. She sat near the end and talked to them as they slowly made their way home. Eventually she tired talking to them and sang songs she recalled from Ireland.

  When they reached the ranch, Garrett climbed down and untied the cows. “You’ve a fine voice and I enjoyed hearing you. Do I have to be a cow before you’ll sing for me?”

  “I’ll serenade you any time your ears can tolerate the noise.”

  Together they put the animals away and gave them feed and water. Neither cow needed milking but she checked on the hens before she helped carry their supplies inside.

  “You didn’t buy much for yourself. Two books and yarn to make something you’ll give away is not enough to mention.”

  She set the books in the parlor and the yarn in her knitting bag. “I enjoyed our outing and inspecting each item in the store and talking to Prudence Morgan. And now we’re good and married and have two cows for milk.” She put her arms around his neck. “Today has been very productive. I don’t believe I could be happier, dear husband.”

  “Nor I, my lovely wife.” His head tilted. “I hear a horse.”

  Together they strode to the door in time to see Sheriff Mather tie his horse to the hitching rail.

  Garrett held the door wide. “Come in, Sheriff. You here about the wolves? I heard Preston and some men were going to hunt the pack.”

  “They got all five wolves.” He shifted uncomfortably. “This concerns your wife.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Gormlaith’s knees turned to butter.

  Garrett grasped her waist and guided her to her chair by the fireplace. He stirred the coals and added more wood to get a blaze going.

  Then, he faced the sheriff. “Have a seat, Sheriff. Is this about her in-laws?”

  “I have a warrant saying she murdered her first husband. After meeting her, I figured there was more to the story.”

  She took out her handkerchief and dabbed at her leaking eyes. “I knew the McGowans wouldn’t rest until they’d had their revenge.”

  The sheriff leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Tell me your version of the story from start to finish. Don’t leave out anything, no matter how small.”

  Gormlaith started with her father insisting she marry Conor and detailed everything up to the time she left New York. The story was long and she couldn’t help shedding tears like a waterfall.

  Garrett sat on the arm of her chair and alternately patted her shoulder and hugged her. “The police closed the case. How did these people get a warrant issued?”

  “Don’t know. Warrant claims she fled to avoid prosecution.”

  Although she had expected them to use that accusation, hearing it now sent anger’s fire raging inside her. “I fled to avoid Denis McGowan raping me because he thought that would convince me to marry him.”

  She glanced at her husband with an apology. “‘Tis sorry I am to speak so coarse and improper.”

  She returned her gaze to the sheriff. “Denis and his mother wanted me to stay there and keep on supporting them with my salary from the shirt factory. How could they accuse me after the police said Conor’s fall was an accident and his fault?”

  The sheriff scratched at his chin. “I don’t know. I’ll send a few wires. Gormlaith, you give me your word you’ll wait here and I won’t take you to jail as I should.”

  She raised her chin and straightened her spine. “Nothing will make me leave Garrett’s side unless you arrest me.”

  He rose slowly to his feet. “All right, reckon I’ll be on my way back to Sweetwater Springs.”

  Gormlaith wanted the sheriff and the trouble gone from their lives. But, she realized the sheriff was bone weary. Punishing him for doing his job didn’t make sense.

  “Sheriff, ‘tis too late to start back tonight. Please, stay in our guest room. You can put your horse in the barn and give him oats and water. The weather is that cold after dark.”

  “My wife’s right. That’s a hard ride and you’ve just arrived. You need to sleep in a bed—ours is not the nicest one in the Territory, but better than the hard ground or the traveler’s cabin. Your horse needs a rest, too. And, Gormlaith is a grand cook. Wait until you eat her breakfast.”

  The sheriff appeared undecided, looking from her to her husband.

  Garrett stood. “I’ll help you stable your horse while Gormlaith puts clean sheets on the bed.”

  The lawman appeared relieved if a little sheepish. Guess he felt odd staying with the person he’d come to question and mayhap arrest. She didn’t hold him responsible for the slander against her. She knew Denis and Moira McGowan had manipulated the truth.

  “If you’re sure I won’t be putting you out I’d appreciate the warm bed. Have to admit I wasn’t looking forward to that long ride on such a cold night.”

  Before going upstairs, Gormlaith started a pot of coffee.
She had stew left from last night and started it warming. A loaf of bread from the pie safe would fill their stomachs. Too bad there was no cobbler remaining.

  She put fresh linen on the bed and covered that with several quilts. When she had the fire going in the fireplace, the room was cozy. There was no water in the pitcher, so she carried that downstairs. Before she could fill it, the men were back so she set aside the container.

  Sheriff Mather dropped his saddlebags on the floor. “You’re being generous when I came to arrest you.”

  She set bowls and cutlery on the table then dished up the stew. “But you didn’t arrest me. You said I could stay here with my husband.”

  “Yes, Ma’am, I did. Not good policy but I don’t figure you can go anywhere in this weather.” He shrugged. “No place for a woman to run except to Sweetwater Springs and the train. Besides, you gave me your word.”

  She poured the cups of coffee then set the pot on the table. “I’ve no mind to go anywhere unless Garrett is with me. This is a grand ranch and we have a lot of work waiting.”

  Their stilted conversation avoided mention of the problem and centered on news in the county. After supper, the men sat by the fire a short while and she tidied up the kitchen.

  She filled the pitcher with hot water from the reservoir and went to the parlor door. “Sheriff, if you’re ready to turn in, I’ll show you to your room and give you this water for washing up before bed if you wish. If not, you can set the pitcher on the hearth and the water will stay warm until morning.”

  “Sounds nice. You’ve no idea how many times I’ve shaved with cold water. And having a fire in the room is a real bonus.”

  “Garrett, I’m going up also. Would you turn out the lamps?”

  Later in bed with the bedside lamp low and a glow from the fireplace, she snuggled up to her husband. “What will I do if I’m arrested? I can’t prove anything without going back to New York. I hoped never to see that place again.”

  He cradled her and nuzzled her neck. “But if necessary, we’ll go there and get sworn statements from witnesses.”

  Astonished, she sat up and looked at him. “You’d go with me? Who’d look after the ranch and the animals? How would we pay for the cost?”