Every muscle in Jake’s body relaxed.
“Please enlighten us as to how you dealt with the villains,” Smithton said.
“Most who work on the Triple Diamond are good men.” Sims spoke between forkfuls. “Some of them helped at Rose’s last night. They got word to the cowboys still at the Triple Diamond. They cleared out, leaving Paine with only a handful of men.”
“Sure he loved that.” Cookie chuckled as he stabbed a piece of beef.
“Without Griggs to bully them into submission, they could care less about Paine. All they were interested in was the stash of money from the robberies. Once those hombres got the money, they hightailed it. We caught ‘em a few miles south of here.”
“I feel mighty stupid I didn’t catch on.” Jake took a second helping of fried potatoes.
“Don’t,” Farley interjected. “He is very good at his profession. He approached me after I returned from a business trip in Europe, posing as a land speculator. My father had passed while I was away. The cad knew my hands were full with many ventures, so he persuaded me he would come here and check out my holdings and report back. He advised waiting before I sold the land. Claimed anthrax had taken some of the cattle and rendered the land unusable.”
“That explains a lot. But it don’t make me feel any less foolish.”
Sims shoveled in a few more mouthfuls of food before adding, “Andrew Paine was apprehended dressed in Violet’s clothes.” Everyone at the table roared with laughter.
“When can I take possession of my father’s home again? I would like to get this unpleasant episode behind me as soon as I can.” Robert’s face brightened as he tasted Selena’s steak. “This meal makes the entire trip worthwhile.”
“Told you Selena’s food was first rate. Sims, what’s next?”
“We take the whole bunch to Hardyville where they’ll stand trial. Then the Paines will stand trial again back East. At some point they’ll be hanged.”
“What happens to Farley’s daughter Lily?” Isabel inquired.
“You mean, Lulu Paine, their baby sister,” Sims corrected. “Her part was simple. She would come home from boarding school, and whatever money her brothers had accumulated went back to Boston with her. We found the bank account, at least one of them. The Paines come from a long line of swindlers and con artists.”
“Are they going to arrest her?” Farley asked.
“Another marshal has been tracking her. She left the school for parts unknown.”
“I can assume she has a large purse to keep her living comfortably for a long time,” Smithton interjected.
“Well, you can paint a skunk white and call her a rabbit, but once she’s riled, everyone knows she’s a skunk.” Sims laughed at his own joke. “When she does, we’ll get her.”
“If I may, now that my father’s ranch is vacated, I wish to stay there. There is no need to impose on your hospitality any further.” Robert lifted his coffee cup for Selena to refill it. “However, I will miss your delicious cooking, my dear.”
“My cousin, Maria, she is the cook there. You shall not be disappointed, Señor. But first, you must have a piece of Señor Cookie’s pie before you leave.”
“Then I must.” He picked up his coffee mug. “Smithton and I need to take a full inventory of what is there. Whit will review any legal papers. I want to make restitution to everyone who has been wronged. I’ll have him take a look at all the documents, including the one you mentioned.”
“Mighty decent of you.” Jake was impressed with the man. “Your pa would be very proud. I recall him as a man who done right by others.”
“I am remorseful for not spending more time with him. I would have avoided this whole unfortunate thing if I had not let my mother poison me against him.” Robert sighed like a man who carried a lifetime of regret. “I cannot change the past, but I can try to make the future brighter for those this scoundrel has cheated.”
CHAPTER 37
Double M Ranch, June 10, 1873
Jake was in the stable brushing Traveler when Evangeline found him. He had just returned from a visit with Robert Farley.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready for what? Your sisters send you more furniture?”
There was pure joy in his wife’s eyes. “I do believe the last of my grandmother’s things have found their place.”
“Good to hear. I wondered if we’d have to build a bigger house to make more room.”
“I have a surprise for you.” She hooked her arm through his. He chuckled at the flirty way she looked at him. “You are forbidden to ask questions.”
“Forbidden, am I?” He touched her waist, but she wagged her finger. “Oh, no, come with me.” Her green eyes sparkled, and a giggle escaped her lips.
Jake followed her outside. Sage was hitched to the carriage Jake had purchased from Mr. Farley. The entire Double M crew was gathered around.
“What’s this all about?”
“We are going on a little trip.”
“How do you expect me to do that with all the work needs doin’ around here?”
“Jefe, the ranch, she will not fall into ruin if you are not here.” Tony loaded a bag into the carriage.
“We’ll do the chores,” Amelia said. She and Isabel had donned Artie’s old trousers.
Isabel imitated Artie’s voice. “Duke promised not to fight me while you’re gone.”
Duke rolled his eyes. “There ain’t nothin’ this bunch can’t handle while you’re away.” Bo and Manny simply grinned.
“Boss, have I ever let you down?” Walters asked.
Jake raised his arms in surrender. “I give up. Guess it’s settled.”
“Wait up a minute,” Cookie hollered as he and Selena hurried with a picnic basket.
“You no get hungry on your trip.” Selena smiled mischievously as she and Cookie stowed the basket. Juliet followed with another bag.
“I’ll bring you somethin’, sweetie.” Jake said the familiar promise, causing Juliet to giggle. He turned to help Evangeline into the carriage.
Once aboard, she took the reins from him. “I told you I know how to drive.” She clicked her tongue and Sage responded. Jake leaned back, wondering what his wife was up to.
“Where we goin’?”
“Not far—a place I heard you are very fond of.”
“Do you want me to guess?”
Evangeline kept her eyes straight ahead. “No, just relax and enjoy the view.”
Jake gazed at his wife, hoping she could see the longing in his eyes. “I am.”
“Tell me about your conversation with Mr. Farley this morning. How is Mr. Smithton’s progress in settling things at the Triple Diamond?”
“They’ve reviewed all the legal—or should I say illegal—papers served on all the ranchers and homesteaders. Fakes, ever last one of ‘em. The eviction notice he gave us wasn’t worth the ink to write it. Smithton told me Ben Mitchell’s brother, Byron, passed a few years ago, and he was never Lord McKay. It’s one of Paine’s aliases.”
“It’s sad to see how an entire family would waste their lives cheating people.”
“Now their sins have come back on ‘em with a vengeance.” Jake put his arm around her.
“You are distracting me from driving, sir.”
“Good.” He kissed her cheek. “There’s somethin’ else Farley told me. After givin’ back the land that was stolen to its rightful owners, he still had a sizable piece of land, includin’ the house. He sold it.”
“I hope whoever bought it will be a good neighbor and not treat the servants like slaves.”
“I think you’ll approve.”
“You know who bought it, don’t you?” Evangeline looked at him suspiciously.
“I did.”
Evangeline brought Sage to an abrupt stop. “You did? Why? I thought you loved the Double M.”
“I do, and I got no plans for movin’ right now. However, Robert made me a very generous offer.” Jake gave his wife a little pinch
.
“Jacob Marcum, you can be so aggravating. What offer?”
“He said if you would set up a medical practice in the house, he would sell me the land for one dollar an acre.”
Evangeline stared, open-mouthed.
“Why, you ask, would he make such an offer? Because he’s very impressed with my gal.” Jake looked at her, hoping his eyes conveyed all the love and pride that was in his heart. “He admired your willin’ness to buy Rose’s Place and the adjoinin’ hotel to convert into a school for the area ranchers’ children. I think what impressed him most was givin’ the gilded ladies money to start new lives somewhere else.”
Evangeline seemed overcome with emotion. “Isabel will be an excellent headmistress. The children here need a school. And the women from Rose’s deserve a chance to start over. I didn’t do these things for personal gain.”
“He knows that. Everyone does.” Jake’s hand moved a stray hair behind her ear. “Darlin’, you touched his heart. Seems you remind him an awful lot of your cousin Ida, and I think he regrets puttin’ money ahead of his feelin’s for her.”
Evangeline finally signaled Sage to move on. Jake remained silent. He knew the look of deep reflection when he saw it on his wife’s face.
She turned to gaze at him. “You want me to open a practice?”
“It’s what you’re meant to do.”
“But I’m not sure I’m ready to practice medicine full-time again.”
“So, have office hours twice a week. The Triple Diamond is centrally located, and the house is near the road. People can come to you, and now with this fine carriage, you can go where you’re needed. Besides, we gotta have a place to put all the furniture that keeps comin’ from your sister.”
“Do you realize how much time tending the sick could take up? I’d need to hire someone to help me. I have no idea who.”
“I married a woman with a callin’ from God for healin’. I’d be a fool to hold you back.”
“Beloved, your confidence in me means more than I have words.”
Jake warmed to her term of endearment and leaned over to kiss her cheek again. Gently, he thumbed away her tears.
“I have an extra surprise for you.” Evangeline’s voice caught. “I was going to save it until we got to our destination, but I want you to have it now. Open the basket. There is a letter in it.”
Jake retrieved the letter from the picnic basket. He stared at the envelope for several seconds. “You wrote Johnny?”
“I did.”
Jake read every word twice and stared at the picture of his young friend, now all grown up with a family of his own. He was so engrossed in the letter, he didn’t notice when the wagon stopped.
Evangeline touched his arm. “We’re here.”
When he looked up, the homestead stood before him. The house had been repaired and whitewashed, the grounds cleared, and as they entered, he was amazed at the transformation. “Darlin’, this looks amazin’. When did you do all this?”
“The ladies and I have been working on this since Isabel returned as herself. Mr. Walters got the men to come over here whenever they had time to clear away the dead trees and such.”
Jake put his arm around her waist. “Looks like when I was a child, but there is so much of you here too.”
“I know this home has good memories for you. I wanted to make it a place of rest from your hectic days. It’s not far from the ranch but yet secluded.” Evangeline’s voice softened as she took his hand and led him to the bedroom. It had been transformed by a beautiful four-poster bed with a lovely blue wedding ring quilt and sheer white curtains.
Jake’s heart rejoiced. “So this is the end of the journey, my darlin’ Evie.” He held out his arms to his wife.
Willingly, she melted into him. “No, my love, it’s only the beginning.”
Acknowledgments
Now is my chance to tell all those who gave a helping hand in the story you now hold in your hands how awesome they are.
Gayle Haas went through every page of an earlier version with joy and careful eyes, giving editing suggestions even though neither of us knew what we were doing.
My sweet daughter-in-law, Maribel Huff, and her sisters Marbella Rucker and Leticia Millan helped me get the Mexican/ Spanish phrasing right. You ladies rock.
Retired Chief Petty Officer Christopher Bryant, Civil War reenactor and lifelong friend, loaned me some wonderful out-of-print books about women in the West. Chris’ vast knowledge of guns of the period amazed me and, thanks to him, I could get the details right.
Rowena Kuo believed in me enough to present me with the Editor’s Choice Award. Her continued encouragement has been priceless.
Molly Jo Realy stepped in to do the first thorough edits. My thanks go to her for journeying with me to get it done. And thanks go to Andrea Merrell for doing the final edits. Her touches and encouragement have made all the difference. So grateful God brought these two wonderful editors in on this project.
Thanks to Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas for taking a chance on me.
Thanks to Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writer’s Guild for providing writing courses to help me learn the craft of novel writing.
Thanks to Word Weavers International for starting critique groups in my home state of Illinois. My critique group has challenged me and helped me be a better writer.
Thanks to my first accountability partner, Tez Brooks, for his input. Knowing a guy’s guy found my characters interesting was inspiring.
Thanks to Lin Johnson for letting me work off the tuition for my first Write to Publish conference. It was there I learned so much and began calling myself a writer. Attending Write to Publish every year since has helped me make all sorts of wonderful connections that led to the publication of this book.
Most importantly, thank you, Jesus, for giving me the gift of words. May they always honor You.
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Secrets & Charades Page 27