Summer Breeze

by Catherine Anderson

  He handed her two large skeleton keys, pointing out the differences in the notches so she would be able to tell them apart. “This one’s for the archway, and this one’s for the ironwork over the porch door. I only had one key made for each so you can rest assured that no one else can get in.” When she had studied the keys and nodded to let him know she had their shapes memorized, he handed her six more, all of which were exactly alike. “These are for the ironwork over the front door of the house. You can keep one, if you like, and give out the others to special friends like Caitlin. She’ll be able to come in without a fuss that way, and once she’s inside, with everything locked up behind her, you can let her into the kitchen through the archway.”

  Rachel tucked the two kitchen keys into her skirt pocket. Then she offered him one of the six front door keys. “You’re my most special friend of all, Joseph.”

  His smile slowly faded, and for a long moment his gaze delved deeply into hers. “Thank you for that. It’s a fine compliment.”

  She pushed the key at him. “Then take it, please.”

  He reached into his jeans pocket and plucked out a duplicate. “I already confiscated one. Once I board your window back up, I’ll be needing a way in.” He slipped the key back into his pocket. “I plan to use that front entrance a lot, by the way, even after Darby comes home. The next time you start thinking how lonely you’ll be when Buddy and I leave, think again. We’re gonna pester the daylights out of you, and that’s a promise.”

  “A promise I hope you’ll keep.”

  His eyes went so dark they looked almost indigo. “I never break a promise, darlin’. If I give you my word on something, you can count on it.”

  Rachel hurried away before he could see the tears in her eyes.

  The following day, Joseph got up early, tended to chores while Rachel cooked his breakfast, and directly after he ate went to work on a new, much thicker wooden door for her archway. Using two makeshift sawhorses that he fashioned from boards he’d found in the barn, he set up shop in Rachel’s back dooryard, only a few feet from the porch so he could keep a close eye on the house. So far, no attempt had been made on Rachel’s life, but it was never far from Joseph’s mind that the killer might simply be waiting for an opportune moment. He couldn’t afford to forget that and let down his guard.

  At around eleven, Joseph heard a creaking sound and glanced up to see the thick back door open a crack. His heart soared, for he knew what it had cost Rachel to lift that bar and disengage the deadlocks. He doubted she’d opened that door in years.

  “Joseph?” she called. “Are you there?”

  He knew very well that she’d probably just seen him through the peephole, but he answered, all the same. “Right here, darlin’. You’ve got your bars to protect you. Open on up and enjoy the sunshine. It’s a gorgeous morning.”

  “Oh, no,” she said, her voice faint and trailing shakily away. “A crack is fine. I thought maybe we might talk while you work.”

  Joseph grinned as he grabbed his tape measure. “ ‘Drink to me only with thine eyes.’ ”

  “You’ve read Jonson?” she asked incredulously.

  Uh-oh. The lady knew her poetry. He used his square to mark his cutting line. “Actually, no. I just memorized certain lines of poetry to woo the ladies. I got them from Ace. He was always the reader in our family. Named his stallion Shakespeare, after a black, leather-bound volume my pa gave him. Damned fool actually read it, and I think he memorized half of it. Then he went on to read everything else he could get his hands on, and memorized great lines that he likes to spout all the time to make himself sound learned. I found only a very few to be useful.”

  “Meaning only a few to impress the ladies? For shame, Joseph Paxton. Poems are ballads for the soul.”

  “My soul is fine. I know plenty of poems, darlin’.”

  “Do you now? Recite something then.”

  “ ‘Little Bob is a fool, for he don’t go to school, and never at work is he seen. And because he don’t look inside of a book is the reason he’s so very green.’ There’s some poetry for you.”

  “That isn’t poetry, Joseph. It’s a child’s rhyme.”

  “Go ahead. Make light of it. I’ll bet you don’t know any.”

  “ ‘Come here, little kitten,’ ” she recited back, “ ‘I know you love me. I shall put down my sewing, and then we shall see, how smart you will look, when you play and you caper, all over the room, with your round ball of paper.’ ”

  “You like cats?” he asked.

  “I love cats, especially kittens. They’re so darling when they play.”

  Joseph filed that information away for later. One of his barnyard cats had recently given birth to a litter of kittens. “ ‘There was an old woman. And what do you think? She lived upon nothing, but victuals and drink. And though victuals and drink were the whole of her diet, this naughty old woman would never keep quiet.’ ”

  She burst out laughing. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  “Nah. If your new archway door comes out slantindicular because I measure wrong, it makes me no nevermind.”

  “Perhaps I should be about my business, then.” She released a shrill little sigh. “I need to make bread sometime today. We’re almost out.”

  “Don’t run off. I won’t mess up on my measurements. I was only joshing you.”

  “But what about the bread?”

  “Make a pan of cornbread. That’ll do us until tomorrow.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “ ‘Old mother Ro, she was always so slow that she couldn’t even wink in a hurry,’ ” he said in a singsong voice. “ ‘But dear little Dick, he is so very quick that he keeps all the folks in a flurry.’ ”

  “I take it back. You do know your verse,” she conceded.

  Joseph let loose with a gloating chuckle. “Got you whupped, don’t I? I know more rhymes than you do.”

  “You most certainly do not.”

  She launched into several more rhymes from childhood, and then she treated him to some lovely, far more serious poems by famous poets.

  “I take it back,” he conceded. “I’m flat outclassed. But, hey, book learning isn’t the only kind of knowledge that comes in handy. I know a whole passel of things you’ll never learn from a book.”

  “Such as?” she challenged.

  “Never squat with your spurs on.”

  She burst out laughing. Joseph imagined how she might look, throwing her head back and squeezing her eyes closed with mirth. His lips curved in a pleased smile. Damn, but he loved to make the lady laugh.

  “What other tidbits of wisdom are floating around in your brain, Joseph Paxton?”

  “Some ranchers raise pigs, and some will even admit it. But either way, they’re raisin’ pigs.”

  She groaned. “I do not raise pigs. I just have a few kitchen hams and several sides of bacon fattening up in my pigpen. Surely you have something more impressive than that tucked away in your mind.”

  “Never smack a man when he’s chewin’ tobacco.”

  She snorted. “Either that, or be smart enough to duck. What else?”

  “Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.”

  “Hmph. I can tell that you haven’t asked that question in a while.”

  “You making derogatory comments about my hair, woman?”

  “No, sir, I like your hair fine. I was just making an observation.”

  “Never follow good whiskey with water unless you’re out of good whiskey,” he tried.

  “So far, I am not unduly impressed with your store of knowledge.”

  Joseph thought for a moment. “About the time you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ someone else’s dog around.”

  “Oh, puh-lease. Surely you’ve got something better than that.”

  “If you’re gonna take the measure of a man, take his full measure,” Joseph retorted.

  “I’m trying. But so far, I haven’t seen a whole lot to
measure.”

  Joseph grinned. He loved that she was plainspoken. When he stuck his foot in his mouth, she’d be likely to understand, at least. “Here’s one for you to pay attention to, darlin’. If you’re gonna speak your mind, be sure you’re ridin’ a fast horse.”

  She giggled again. And so it went. Joseph kept a sharp eye on the door. Over the course of what remained of the morning, the crack widened just a bit.

  Miss Rachel was glimpsing a ribbon of sunshine for the first time in five years. Joseph had Bubba White to thank for that. The next time a heifer died at Eden, he’d present the beef to the blacksmith and his family to express his gratitude.

  It wasn’t often that a forge and anvil could make a miracle happen.

  Because he had promised David that he would ride with him over to the Pritchard place that afternoon, Joseph postponed eating lunch until the new archway door was completed. He had just finished sanding the extra-thick planks when Ace showed up to stand guard duty.

  “Howdy, big brother!” Joseph called. “You got a strong shoulder I can borrow? I’ll need help carrying this thing into the house.”

  Ace swung down off Shakespeare and sauntered over to peruse the door. “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat. You’re never going to fit that thing through the window, Joseph.”

  “Don’t have to. We can take it in through the front door.”

  Ace rolled up his shirtsleeves. “That’s one thick mother. It’s a door for a fortress.”

  “It is, at that.” Joseph hooked a thumb at the back door. “Rachel needs barricades, not doors. I figure this will make her feel plenty safe.”

  “How much protection does she need?”

  Not so long ago, Joseph had asked himself the same question. Now he simply accepted and no longer tried to make sense of it.

  Once they got the door hefted up onto their shoulders, the two men grunted, huffed, and puffed their way around to the front of the house, whereupon the stout creation had to be lowered to the ground while Joseph used his key to unlock the ironwork that now covered the front entrance.

  “I think I’ve ruptured a gut,” Ace said.

  Joseph chuckled. “That’s a gambler for you. Never turned your hand to hard work.”

  Ace snorted. “If it weren’t for my gambling, you would have starved to death as a young pup.”

  “That I would have. No aspersions upon your efforts to feed me intended. I was just teasing you.”

  Once the entrance was opened, they carried the door into the vestibule. Ace kicked the interior door closed behind him, and Joseph called that good enough until they had carried their burden to the dining room. What Rachel didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, and he’d be back to lock up soon.

  Rachel nearly jumped out of her skin when a deafening crash sounded in the dining room and vibrations rolled through the kitchen floor. She whirled to stare at the archway.

  “Rachel?” Joseph called. “Don’t shoot us, darlin’. It’s just me and Ace with your new barricade. Time to open up. I need to install it.”

  Rachel had a bad moment. What would she have for a barricade while the installation took place? Nothing, she guessed, and the very thought sent her heart racing. She nevertheless gathered her courage and lifted the bar, opened the interior door, and quickly unlocked the ironwork. Then she scurried away to the water closet.

  She’d no sooner moved the broken door to cover the doorway than Joseph said, “Honey, you’re perfectly safe. Ace is even faster with a gun than I am. Like we’d let anyone get into the kitchen?”

  Rachel inched the door to one side so she could peer out. The two men were already lifting her new barricade into position, and the sight of it calmed her. It was at least four inches thick, so heavy that both Joseph and Ace strained to maneuver it. “My goodness, Joseph, it’s lovely.”

  The comment set Ace to laughing. “Lovely? This door is stout, but that’s about all I can say for it.”

  “What are you saying, that my handiwork is lacking?” Joseph asked.

  Soon the men were volleying teasing remarks back and forth, their deep chuckles and laughter filling the kitchen. Their jocularity soothed Rachel’s nerves enough that she was able to leave the water closet.

  “There she is,” Joseph called over his shoulder. “Slipping out to see the finished product. Almost up, darlin’. I just hope you don’t bust a gut opening and closing the damned thing. It’s heavy, and that’s a fact.”

  Rachel stepped closer to admire her new door. It was three and a half planks wide and every bit as stalwart as the porch door that Darby had fashioned for her years ago. “Oh, Joseph, such a lot of work. You shouldn’t have.”

  “Just took some elbow grease,” Joseph assured her, “and I’m used to that. It felt kind of good to break a sweat, actually. I’m used to going from morning ’til night.”

  While the two finished tightening hinge screws and shaving the door to fit, Rachel fixed lunch. When the door had been installed, she welcomed to her table the third guest in less than a week, and in the doing, she marveled at how Joseph’s presence in the house had so greatly changed her life. Only a short time ago, she couldn’t have imagined having even one visitor. Now guests in her kitchen were becoming a common occurrence.

  “Caitlin’s coming later,” Ace said around a mouthful of salt pork sandwich. “She couldn’t leave until Little Ace woke up from his midmorning nap. She’s probably driving over now.”

  Rachel’s heart lifted. “I will be glad to have her.”

  “She’s bringing a bunch of fashion stuff. Recent periodicals with all the latest nonsense in them.”

  Rachel’s heart soared again. She’d had no need to follow fashion, living as she did, and she no longer had any idea what might be in vogue. But a part of her still yearned to look pretty, regardless. Especially now, with Joseph around. She wanted him to—She aborted the notion, horrified at the train of her thoughts. She wanted him to want her.

  Joseph caught her eye and gave her a quick wink. “Fabulous lunch, Rachel. You have magic in your fingertips.”

  Recalling how she felt every time he touched her, she thought it was Joseph who had the magic touch.

  “It is good,” Ace seconded. “Thank you for inviting me to eat.”

  “Feeding you is the least I can do,” Rachel said, collecting her thoughts and forcing them to more practical matters. And as she spoke, she realized that she sincerely meant it. Ace had spent more afternoons at her house recently than he’d spent at his own, and she knew he had a ranch to run. He was also operating minus Esa, one of his full-time hands. “I deeply appreciate all the time you’ve taken away from your work to be here. Thank you so much.”

  “Hear that?” Ace gave his brother an arch look. “Some people appreciate me and have the good manners to say thank you.”

  Joseph swallowed and grinned. “What have you done that I should thank you for?”

  “I helped carry in the door and install it.”

  “Oh, that.” Joseph shrugged and took another bite of sandwich. “If I were to thank you for every little thing, you might get a big head and start expecting it. That wouldn’t do.”

  Ace turned laughing brown eyes on Rachel. “Do you see what I have to put up with? I think I raised them wrong. Should have kicked their butts more often, I reckon.”

  Joseph flashed a broad grin and winked at Rachel. “Too late to correct the mistake now, big brother. Nowadays, I kick back.”

  Ace’s expression turned suddenly serious. “You and David going back over to Pritchard’s today?”

  Joseph sat back on his chair. Not for the first time, Rachel noted how different the two brothers were, one with jet-black hair and brown eyes, the other blond and blue eyed.

  “Pritchard’s place will be one of our stops,” Joseph replied.

  Ace wiped his mouth and dropped his napkin on his plate. “You boys be careful. Jeb Pritchard’s not just mean; he’s crazy, to boot.”

  Joseph smiled. “We’ll be fine, big brother. We wer
e trained up by one of the best.”

  “Jesus!”

  Joseph dived for cover, praying as he hit the dirt that David had bailed off his horse just as quickly as he had. Jeb Pritchard was shooting at them. Even as the realization registered in Joseph’s brain, another bullet plowed into the dirt right in front of his nose. No shotgun today. The son of a bitch had a rifle.

  “You okay?” David called from behind a rock.

  Joseph kept his head low, using a bush to hide himself. “I’m fine,” he yelled back. “But I need more than this for cover.” He scrambled sideways to get behind a log. When he felt halfway protected, he drew his Colt, wishing like hell that he had his rifle. No such luck. The weapon was still in the saddle boot, and Obie, being the intelligent animal he was, had galloped away to hide behind some trees. “What’s that man’s problem?”

  Just as Joseph posed the question, Jeb hollered, “You ain’t been invited onto my property, you cocky bastards. Until you are, I’ll shoot every time I see your faces!”

  David sent Joseph a bewildered look. “What’s gotten into him? I’m the law, for God’s sake. He can’t just open fire on the law.”

  “Looks to me like he’s doing just that.” Joseph brushed dirt from his eyes. “Means business, too. He’s not good enough to place his slug an inch from my nose just to scare hell out of me. I think the ornery old bastard just missed.”

  David checked his weapon for bullets.

  “Why bother?” Joseph called. “He’s out of range.”

  “Damn it,” David bit out. “I need my Winchester.”

  “It’s long gone. The horses are off behind the trees.”

  A bullet hit the rock where David was hiding, the lead making a ker-chunk as it sent up a spray of granite. David sank lower to the ground. “Damned horses are smarter than we are.”

  “I think you’re right,” Joseph bit out. “Let’s pull foot. I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking to die today.”

  “You think we can make it to the trees?”

  “If we stay on our bellies and keep our heads down.” Crawling away went against Joseph’s grain. But, he rationalized, it was better to crawl and live to see another sunrise than take a slug between the eyes. “You ready?”