by Rita Hestand
"He called you his girl, to my face. That must mean something. I'm a pretty good judge of character. If I wasn't I wouldn't have hired him on. "
"That's not the same. I don't doubt Jace is a good man, Noah. I know he is. But if a man can't be loyal it's best to know it now than later. And it's better I know now. We haven't been together that long this time and …neither has she. But she sure made an impression on him. Quick!"
"She ain't no good, and he's old enough to know that. The woman is married!" Noah barked.
Jen stared at Noah now, "Doesn't seem to matter, does it. Girls like her, always get what they want…"
"Girls like what?" Jace walked inside now staring at the two of them.
Noah picked up on Jen's fear. "We were talking about a gal Jen worked with at the saloon, Mary, she married this fella from back east, rich fella, she's got more money than she knows what to do with now. Mary was kind of pushy, if you know what I mean. She always got what she wanted. Ain't that right Jen?"
"That's right. She married him and we haven't see her since. One of the girls got a letter from her and according to the letter she's got everything she ever wanted. Noah knew her too and was asking about her. Well, goodnight now." Jen said moving away from them and not looking at Jace.
"Night hon." Noah went back to bed showing Jace he'd just got up to get some milk.
Jace looked at Jen's closed door. He started to go in, but Noah called to him. "Will you shut the light out Jace when you come to bed?"
"Yeah, I'll do that."
As he laid down that night, he wished he could break that door down and go in there and be with Jen. Still he knew that was impossible and it might be for some time, if he continued on with his plan. He was going to save Noah's place or die trying. But would he lose Jen through his efforts?
Why did doing the right thing always cause such problems! How would he ever explain this to her? He really thought she trusted him. But then Kate Williams was a lot like Rebecca and he could see where Jen got all the wrong ideas. Noah too, probably. One day and everything had changed. One day! Still, he'd started this, he'd have to see it through. He only hoped to God that Jen didn't give up on him.
Chapter Ten
Two days later, Jace and Noah headed for Hardin's place. Jace wondered if Hardin would recognize him. He hoped he could keep his disguise a while longer. This would be a real test. The tension inside him grew as they neared the place.
When they came upon Hardin’s place, Jace was startled. It was sprawled out on the prairie, but the lawns were so well kept, and had just the right amount of trees around the house, the house was a big two story ranch house, and the barn was like nothing Jace had ever seen, it must have had twenty stalls, just from the looks of it. Men were everywhere, working.
When they arrived Noah spoke with the foreman. He knew him by name and they chatted for a few minutes.
Noah came back to where Jace was standing, "He's gonna go get him. Sorry I didn't think to introduce you. But the man’s kind of busy and I wanted him to find Hardin for us, this place is too big to locate one person."
"That's all right." Jace nodded. "I'm gonna let you do all the talking. I'm just hired help anyway."
"You're more than that son. More than that." Noah nodded.
Hardin was a rather handsome man just a few years older than Jace. He was tall, a little broader than Jace and had sandy hair with green eyes. He wore his clothes well and was a well tailored man. Jace didn't remember him looking so affluent before. Jace eyed him but kept his hat pulled low over his eyes. At this point he wasn't ready to be recognized. He needed this edge.
Hardin glanced at him, but obviously there was no recognition.
"Mr. Hardin, I got a small string of my best for you to look over." Noah told him as he shook his hand.
"Nice to see you again, Noah." But when Hardin raised his left hand, Jace saw that his hand wasn't there at all. It was a nub.
Jace blinked and tried to wrap his mind around that fact.
"Are these the animals?" Hardin asked as his foreman brought the extra horses into the barn.
"They are…wanted to give you first of choice." Noah smiled at the man.
"They are fine looking animals. Want to show me what they can do?" Hardin taunted as his eyes inspected the animal, and he checked a few things with each one.
"Sure thing." Noah didn't hesitate to take the reins of the Stallion and mount him. He rode him into the huge arena that had lots of space between the stalls. He showed him tricks, movements that Hardin's men would be making and how to maneuver the horse just the way any cowboy would need.
In seconds he had the horse practically dancing to his tune, with tricks, and moves that Hardin appreciated. Hardin chuckled, "That Noah, he knows his horseflesh doesn't he?"
Hardin cast Jace another glance. "You working for the old man?"
"Yeah, Jace Harrison."
"Hank Hardin. Noah's a good man. Hard working man. But he knows horse flesh better than anyone I know. You hang around him, you will too." Hardin chuckled.
"I hope so." Jace answered. "You got a nice spread here."
"Yeah, took a lot of work, but it was worth it."
Jace nodded.
"That's good enough for me, Noah. I'll take them all." Hardin told him.
"Good. Done done my business." He chuckled. Noah glanced at Jace, "That's why I like this fella. He knows my work and appreciates it."
"You know horses better than anyone I know, Noah. There's no doubt about that in my mind. And I want you to know, my men are always happy to see you."
"Say, how's that pretty wife of yours?" Noah asked beaming.
Hardin squinted, the pain in his eyes was so evident that Jace studied his expression for a long minute. A pain so acute that Jace was stunned. Why had the mention of his wife caused such a quick change in the man? "She's not so good right now…She's not good at all."
That answered his question.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Noah told him. "Please tell her I was asking of her." Noah's voice drifted off. The way they spoke of her said everything.
Jace noticed how well the two men got along and the respect they had for each other. He pondered on that a bit. He hadn't expected any of this. He came prepared to fuel his anger. But it wasn't happening. Instead he grew more quiet and thoughtful. Not once in all his ramblings had Jace ever considered that Hank Hardin might have had a few struggles of his own. Jen was right, obviously there had been a big change in Hardin. But hadn't Jen said Hardin watched her? What was that about?
"Of course, she'd love to see you."
Noah started walking with Hardin and Jace followed. "You'll never guess who I got out at the cabin doin' my cookin'."
"Who's that?"
"Jenny Carter."
Hank stopped and looked at him. "She's cooking for you?"
"Yep, she sure is."
"Well I'll be damned. Good, guess I don't have to worry about her no more then. I know you'll take good care of her. You know I worried over that kid for a lot of years. I wanted to help her out, but she was a proud one and wouldn't take money from me. Said it wasn't proper. But at thirteen I felt bad her going into that saloon, and yet knowing how she felt about the orphanage. I'm glad she left that place."
Jace heard this and wanted to ask questions, but he didn't want to give his cover away. He'd wait and question Noah about it later.
"I haven't seen Elizabeth in a long time." Noah told him. "I probably should have come to visit more often."
They walked up to the big house, a brand new house that was sitting on Montgomery land. Jace prepared himself for more shocks. Hardin was missing a hand, and had a sick wife. And had seen over Jenny all these years. That in itself was enough to almost excuse him for what he'd done. Had he misjudged the man. Had he put blame where it didn't belong? Hard to believe.
But he had to admit this ranch was ten times the show place his parents ever had. Hardin had put money and effort into it. He had to adm
ire the man for all the work.
As they walked into the bedroom Jace held back at the doorway. He saw the woman in the bed, dressed in a gown and had a cape around her shoulders. The bedroom was nicely furnished and the woman had every convenience. But the look on her face was pained as though she lived with it every day. Her hair was blonde, she wasn't that old, but the illness she obviously suffered from was making her appear older.
"Noah…" she cried and reached for the old man.
"Elizabeth, you're looking well." Noah bent to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
"Liar, but I love you for it…" she cried. "It's been a while."
"I'm sorry Elizabeth, you know what a hermit I am. But I wanted to see you, since I came to deliver some horses to your husband."
"I'm so glad you stopped by. You still hanging on to that land of yours."
"You betcha." Noah smiled.
"Good, don't you let anyone cheat you out of it, Noah. That land has been in your family for a long time. Don't let anyone talk you out of it. Especially that Williams woman. I've heard the talk."
"I won't Elizabeth. I promise you that. Now you start getting better. I just brought your husband some nice horseflesh and you gotta get well. That Gray out there would sure love to take you riding." Noah chuckled.
"Oh…" She leaned back, with a winsome look on her face. "It sounds lovely Noah. You remember how I used to love to ride." She smiled softly.
"Oh yeah. I wouldn't forget a horse lady like you." He chuckled.
"Thank you. Hank always appreciated your horses. So did the men. With trained horses it makes all the work easier. I wish I could ride right now." She said but she was weak she could hardly hold her head up, Jace noticed. She had once been a beautiful woman if the picture on the wall was her, but reduced by some disease she was frail now, with huge dark spots under her eyes.
"Thanks for coming in and saying hello…" she cried.
He leaned and kissed her on the forehead. "Take care Elizabeth I'll be back to see if you rode him…all right?"
She smiled, and a tear fell down her cheek as he left.
Noah cleared his throat, obviously affected by the woman's poor condition.
Jace felt a lump growing in his throat. He had the feeling that they were saying their last goodbyes.
Hardin paid him when they walked out and into the den taking the cash out of his safe. Grief suddenly made the man's face pale and gaunt.
Jace looked around, his house was big and spacious.
"Those are nice horses Noah, I'm glad to get them. My men are too. They really appreciate me taking your horses because they know they got the best." Hardin chuckled. "I've always said good stock is worth their weight in gold on a ranch."
"Glad you like them."
"I see you got yourself a hired man now." Hardin glanced at Jace again, but still he showed no signs of recognition.
"Yeah, I had to. Actually, things are pickin' up there now. Come see me when you can spare some time." Noah shook hands with the man.
"Well, we all have to slow down sometimes. But like Elizabeth says, don't give up the place." He chuckled.
"Well, I'm hard pressed to get rid of Mrs. Williams let me tell you. She's been on me to sell to her for a while now. Said you'd probably want the place too."
"She's wrong Noah. Once, a long time ago I was greedy and wanted every speck of land I saw. But when Elizabeth came along, I realized she was what I really wanted. I really wanted a home. And she made one for me. I just wish…." He cleared his throat. "I got all I can handle. But I don't envy you handling that fancy viper of a woman. She gets her claws into every man she sees. She's me ten years ago."
"That's for shore."
"Thanks for stopping in like you did. It means so much to her. She thinks the world of you Noah."
"And I her." Noah nodded, "Good luck to you both Hardin."
"Thanks." Hardin's voice was raspy now and Jace noticed.
But they were on their way before much time passed.
As they rode back Jace looked at Noah who had grown very quiet and he seemed to canter his horse.
"How'd he loose his hand, Noah?"
Noah glanced over at him, "That was a strange thing, got it caught in some old bailing wire, they were tearing down an old fence. He didn't think too much of it at the time, you know you're always getting hurt when you work hard. He thought he was fine, but gangrene set in and they had to cut it off to save him. He was lucky the doc said, it could have killed him."
"That's pretty rough. He seems to cope with it well, though."
"Yeah, well, things happen and you gotta keep going. He was glad it wasn't his right hand. That happened right after they married." Noah remembered. "He went to work in a week as though nothing had happened to him. He learned to do without it better than most. He was just so happy, nothing could get him down. He's sure got the metal."
"And his wife, what's wrong with her?"
"Elizabeth is dying of some kind of tumor they called it. She's been sick for some time but she's really looking frail. I hate to see it. She's one fine woman." Noah shook his head in sadness. "She won't see another winter."
"So he's dealing without a hand and soon without a wife?" Jace said slowly, going over it in his mind.
"Yeah, he's had it pretty rough the past few years. It kind of settled him down. He used to be a man to be reckoned with, but he lost his hand, and that took some starch out of him, now…he's losing her. And she's his reason for living. She's a fine woman. I hate to see what it might do to him."
"I'm sorry Noah," Jace's voice softened now. It had been a shock to see the place in such good order. Even a bigger shock was what a nice man Hardin seemed to be. Jace hadn't expected that. He remembered a totally different man. And some of the old anger seemed to seep from him now. He understood change well, because that's what he was doing, changing. Straightening up his act.
"I heard he had been a hell-raiser from some of the town folks." Jace asked.
"Yeah, a while back he was. But that all died when she came on the scene. You see, him and Elizabeth got married about eight years ago. Two of the happiest people you ever would see. He was so in love with her, still is. It's killin' him to see her this way. But she straightened him up. Made a real man of him, and he's been a pillar of the town since. He's done a lot for the town too. He put in a library and built a school and they even have a opera house there too, you know for all the play acting some of them people do. The town's name is Carterville, but they are thinking of naming it after him now."
Jace studied on that hard. Nothing he believed of Hardin was as he thought. And the man was suffering, it was in his eyes. Perhaps he was suffering more than any man should. Perhaps there was nothing to settle any longer, God had already settled it.
"He knows Jen?" Jace asked curiously.
"Oh yeah, they go way back. You see when her dad died and her sister too, she was alone. Really alone. At the time of her father's death, well, let's just say he wasn't well thought of. The town counsel wanted to send her to an orphanage, but she refused. She ran away a time or two. Hank tried to give her money through the years, but she refused it. Said she'd make it on her own. I gotta admire her for that. He fretted about her going to work in that saloon. He was always trying to take care of her. He kept saying she was too young to end up in a place like that. She was too old to adopt, too young to marry. He couldn’t do anything for her, but he kept saying the town should have done more to help her out. He still until this day looks at her like she was his little girl.
Jace was glad he hadn't recognized him, because now he had to rethink things. He had a lot of thinking to do, and it weighed on him.
"What'd you think of him and his place?"
"He's a nice enough fella. He sure liked your horses."
"Yeah, that's why I always give him first pick. He appreciates good horses. You know, he did a real turnaround when he married Elizabeth. Never seen anyone change so much. And since he married her, he
's taken a lot of pride in his place too. That house is new, he fixed it for her special."
"Yeah, he's got a nice spread. I guess when a man finds the right woman, it can happen."
"And he was out there working every inch of it, let me tell you. He worked right along side his men." Noah told him. "He hired himself plenty of men too."
The more Noah talked about him, the more confused Jace felt.
How could he hate a man like that? Had he himself changed that much?
Chapter Eleven
Jace wanted to talk to Jen, but she'd been so evasive lately he wasn't sure what to think about it. Sure, he'd flirted with Kate Williams, but Jen didn't understand what that was all about, and right now, he couldn't explain.
But after they got back from Hardin's and Noah went to rest like he did every day after eating, Jen went outside and Jace followed her.
She was hanging clothes on the line again and he watched her. Just looking at her filled him with such a happiness. He began to understand how Hardin felt. A good woman could change a lot of things. She was still his girl; she just didn't know it.
She saw him standing against the cabin, his hat low, his boot heel holding him upright. "So how was your trip to Hardin's?" She asked trying to keep the subject as impersonal as possible. The strain of her voice the only visible sign that something wasn't quite right.
But he knew. And he wanted to tell her. He just couldn't. Not yet!
Jace moved the toe of his boot into the ground, "Not at all what I expected."
She nodded and a slight smile curled her lips. Glancing at his confusion she sighed. "He's a good man Jace. I didn't want to just tell you that, because I was sure you wouldn't believe it until you saw for yourself."
He looked up at her, "Why didn't you tell me about him and you?"
"There is no him and me” She smirked at him. "I figured the way you are about him; the best thing was for you to see for yourself." She exclaimed staring at him now. "I'll admit, when he was younger he was pretty rotten. He thought he was in love with Rebecca too, you know. And if you ask him today, he'd admit it too. But, he told me later that was a big mistake. When he met Elizabeth everything changed for him, for the better. He's changed that much. He's proof that people can change, Jace."