Drina’s Choice

by Agnes Alexander

  When Drina only sat there staring at him, he felt his heart plummet. The feeling that he might one day like this woman flew out the window as if it had never existed. It was replaced by the fact that he already had deep feelings for this waif of a female, and he’d lost her with his stubborn callousness. He wanted to cry, himself. Maybe he would. He could blame it on the pain from the gunshots, though that was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He closed his eyes and still waited.

  As if by magic, he felt her breath on his face. Then, her lips brushed his. His eyes popped open as she whispered, “Would it be possible for us to start over?”

  The sun broke through the morning fog at the same time Aaron felt his heart fill with hope for the first time in a long time.

  * * * *

  “Lottie, I can’t believe we’re going to the Wilcox ranch. What can this accomplish? You know he’s not going to welcome us there.”

  “I think he’ll be interested in what I’m going to tell him.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That Brit Vance is behind his shooting.”

  Milly frowned. “He’s never gonna believe you.”

  “Oh, I think he will.”

  “What if we run into his wife? What do you think she’ll think of us coming to her house?”

  “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out when we get there.”

  “You know everybody in town snubbed her when she was there the other day.”

  Lottie laughed then grabbed her chest because of the pain. “So? I can’t help that her husband chose to spend his wedding night with me instead of her.”

  “But nothing happened.”

  “The people in town don’t know that. They only know he was at the saloon all night when he should have been at home in his new bride’s bed.” Lottie groaned. “Do you have to hit every hole in the road?”

  “Sorry, Lottie. I’m being as careful as I can. We should be there soon.”

  They were silent for a minute then Lottie said, “I’ve been thinking, Milly.”

  “About what you’re going to tell Aaron?”

  “No. I already know what I’ll say to him. I was thinking of what happened last night.”

  “About Cleg beating you up?”

  “Yeah. I think Brit sent him to me. Otherwise, I would’ve had my usual night with the mayor. For some reason, he didn’t show up, and I think Brit arranged that, too.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “He knew I was beginning to suspect what a snake he is so he decided I was expendable. He sent Cleg up to kill me.”

  “But if he was supposed to kill you, he would have.”

  Lottie shook her head. “I think the fact that I told him Aaron Wilcox was alive confused him. All he wanted to do was get out of there and see if I was telling the truth.”

  “So, talking about Aaron saved your life?”

  “You’re catching on, Milly.” She waved her arm in the air toward the entrance to Rocking Chair Ranch. “We made it, my friend. Now let’s hurry to the house. I don’t want anybody to stop us. I’m sure somebody at the Swinging Door knows we’re gone by now. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re already on our trail.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Lottie. What have we done?”

  * * * *

  The sun disappeared behind the clouds soon after it had risen, and the day turned gray and dreary. In a matter of minutes it began to mist rain, then almost immediately, it began to come down as sharp, frozen pellets.

  Win groaned. What was going to happen next? It was as if the fates had decided he was doomed. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt that way since he left the bank near his cabin. How long ago was that? It had at least been a day because the stew was late getting done when the men came and threw him out of his cabin. Now, it was the next day. How he’d managed to get this far, he didn’t know. But here he was, closer to his goal, but still too far to do him any good.

  He felt like giving up. Why should he keep trying? He was an old man. Though he claimed to be eighty-three, he wasn’t even sure of his exact age. He’d been one of the first white men to come out here to seek his fortune. Though the fortune never happened, he liked the place and the solitude it gave him after his wife and two children had lost their lives to the fever. He’d only gone back east to fight in the big war; but after that, he decided he’d spend the rest of his life here. When he returned to the west, the only one who had ever interrupted his aloneness for any length of time was that sweet Indian girl he found after she’d been snatched by the buffalo hunters, abused, and left to die.

  He took a deep breath and muttered, “You can’t give up Winten Knolls. Beulah would be disappointed if you did. Just put one foot in front of the other, old man. You can make it. Keep in mind that you made it when there was a hostile Indian arrow in your arm and your wagon had gone up in flames. When there seemed to be no hope, since there was nobody to turn to for help, you made it…and you know good and well you can make it now. All you have to do is to keep going. Each and every step is getting you closer to the help. If it’s meant for you to survive, then despite everything, you’ll make it—even if it is terrible weather and despite the fact you’re on the verge of freezing to death.”

  He squared his shoulders and trudged forward.

  Chapter 12

  Beulah came into the bedroom carrying a tray, and on it were two plates filled with breakfast food. “I bet you folks are gettin’ hungry.”

  “It looks good, Beulah, but I would’ve come into the dining room to eat. I don’t want to be trouble.”

  “You ain’t no trouble, Miz Drina. Besides, I thought you and Mr. Aaron would enjoy eating your breakfast together. It’s been a while since he was able to come to the dining room.”

  “I’ll be coming soon, Beulah.”

  “Good.” She sat the tray on the table and picked up the coffee pot. “I figured you both needed a refill.”

  “We do.”

  Drina stood and gathered all the pillows and put them behind Aaron’s back. “This will make it easier for you to eat.”

  “Do you mean you’re not going to feed me?” he teased.

  She shook her head and smiled at him. “I think you’re capable of eating on your own today.”

  Beulah spread a towel across his chest. “Let’s try not to get the bandage dirty. It makes them harder to wash.”

  He frowned. “Why in the world would you wash them?”

  “ ’Cause Miz Drina cut up the material she bought to make herself some underwear. It’s good muslin.”

  He turned toward Drina. “You cut up your cloth?”

  She nodded. “Beulah was in a hurry for bandages and it was handy.”

  “Are you going to ever stop surprising me?”

  She blushed.

  Beulah looked at them with suspicion in her eyes, but only said, “The weather has suddenly changed. The sun is gone and it’s sleeting.”

  “Oh, no.”

  She glared at him. “Why would you care what the weather is? All you’re going to do is lay in this bed today.”

  “Beulah, the cows haven’t been driven to the winter pasture. I need to get out there…” He started to get out of bed, but fell back.

  “Well, somebody else is going to have to drive them. You’re not able. Now, lay down and eat your breakfast.”

  “All right, I’ll eat, but when you get back to the kitchen, send Salty to see me.”’

  She nodded and turned toward Drina. “I leave it up to you to make him behave.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you can handle him.” She closed the door behind her.

  Drina handed Aaron his plate. “Since you’ve been living on broth, I’m sure this looks good to you.”

  “It does.” He picked up the fork. “Now, sit down and eat your own breakfast. I don’t want to eat alone.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Aaron watched her eat and was fascinated by the way she was savoring each
bite. She must have had it pretty bad before coming here, he thought. I sure hope she thinks things are better for her now.

  It was then he noticed the worn robe she had on. Not only was it faded, but the elbows were worn threadbare. There was a rip down the left side that had been sewn with a different color thread, and it looked as if it would tear across the shoulders at any minute. No wonder she wanted to go get dressed before joining him in his room, though the dresses she’d been wearing weren’t much better.

  As of this minute things are going to change. No matter what our relationship is, my wife is not going to go around in rags. She’s going to have the most and the nicest dresses of any woman in Hatchet Springs. If she wants to sew them, that’s fine, but she needs some things before then. I’ve got to add to Salty’s list of things to buy at Ragsdale’s.

  “After we eat, I want you to do something, Drina.”

  “What?”

  “First, though I like seeing you in your night clothes, I guess you’d better get dressed. Then, I want you to get Beulah’s scissors and start cutting out some of that material you bought.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. I think you’ve been anxious to start sewing yourself a new dress.”

  “But where would I do this?”

  “Where had you planned on doing it?”

  She shrugged. “I guess I could cut it out on the dining room table—then I could do the sewing anywhere.”

  “Then do it. I want to see how fast you can make a new dress.”

  She grinned. “Tired of seeing these old rags, huh?”

  He laughed, then frowned as pain swept through his body. It was the first bad one he’d had all morning.

  “All right, I’ll do it, but you have to finish eating. I think it’s time you took your medicine and laid down for a nap.”

  * * * *

  “Don’t hit me again, Pa. I didn’t do nothing with him. I don’t know where he got to. Maybe a bear or something drug him off.”

  “Eli, you fool. Didn’t no bear drag him off.” Cleg Keller was furious.

  “Maybe it was a cougar,” Art suggested.

  Cleg reached out and slapped Art. “You’re a fool, too. Didn’t no animal get him. There ain’t no clothes nor blood nor bones around here. Somebody helped him get away, and it had to be one of you two.”

  “How could we help him get away, Pa? We was in here with you drinking whiskey.” Eli dodged his pa’s raised hand.

  “Could uh been Injuns.” Art tried another suggestion.

  Cleg frowned as if he was thinking. “Injuns, huh?”

  “Yeah, Pa. They say they’s still right many in this area.” Art continued, “And you know how them Injuns is. They’ll take any white man as a slave no matter how old he is.”

  “They ain’t gonna get much work outta that ’n.”

  “I know, Pa, but Injuns ain’t much smart, you know.”

  Cleg was quiet a minute then he startled everyone when he reached over and slapped Eli again. “Ye should a killed him last night. Why didn’t you?”

  “I thought I did, Pa.”

  “Well, you didn’t. Now, what am I going to do? Brit Vance is gonna be furious. I was supposed to kill the old man and drop him on Wilcox’s door step. Now I ain’t got nobody to drop there unless I use one of you.”

  Art frowned. “You ain’t gonna do that, are you?”

  “It wouldn’t do no good. Wilcox don’t care about any of us. Especially you two. He’d probably be glad you was dead. After all, you’re the ones who messed up that whore and left her to die on his ranch. You botched that, too. She lived, just like this old man.”

  “What whore, Pa?”

  “That Ariel Carlton, you fools.” He glared at them. “Damn your hides. Ain’t neither one of you smart enough to kill nobody? You gotta work on that or you’ll end up behind bars in spite of all the things I’ve teached you.”

  “I’ll do better, Pa,” Eli said.

  “Me, too,” Art added.

  “You damn well better.” Cleg wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Now, I gotta figure out how to find that old man. I shore don’t want to give Vance back his fifty dollars.”

  * * * *

  “I ain’t never heard of anything so foolish. Me going to the mercantile to buy cloth? What’s that fancy-thinking Geneva Ragsdale going to think? She’ll spread it all over town that I’ve been buying cloth and thread and such. It’s more than a cowboy should have to put up with.”

  “What are you mumbling about, Salty?” Felix gathered the empty dishes on the bunkhouse kitchen table.

  “Ain’t nothing important.”

  “Sounded like you said you was going to buy cloth.”

  Salty frowned at Felix. “What would I want with cloth?”

  “I don’t know, Salty. Maybe you want to sew a shirt or something.”

  “Well, I don’t want to sew nothing.” Salty stood, slammed his hat on his head and stomped out the door.

  Still in a foul mood, he’d just stepped off the last step and reached the ground when he heard Beulah calling him. “What now?” He muttered, and headed in her direction. “What do you want?”

  “Mr. Aaron’s concerned because of this sleet. He wants the cows driven to the winter pasture. He even tried to get up to do it himself, but Miz Drina and I stopped him. Can you take care of getting them moved, Salty?”

  He adjusted his hat to keep the sleet out of his eyes. “I don’t see why not. We have most of the cows rounded up so it won’t be hard to drive them to winter grazing. We’ll probably be gone all night.”

  “Then you better check with Felix and see if you need to get anything to take with you.”

  “I thought I’d get out of going to Ragsdale’s.”

  Beulah frowned. “Why don’t you want to go to Ragsdale’s?”

  “Never mind, it ain’t important.” He turned around and went back toward the bunkhouse to talk to Felix.

  After their conversation, Salty headed to the smokehouse to gather the supplies Felix wanted to take along so they could eat after getting the cattle to the winter pasture. He knew they’d better hurry. Though the sleet had turned into mostly rain, it could change back quickly. The last thing he wanted to do was get stuck in a storm.

  He was about to enter the smokehouse when he saw a buggy headed toward the house. He figured it was the doctor until he saw this one didn’t have the fancy trim that was on Doc’s rig. Frowning, he walked to meet the visitors. He couldn’t believe his eyes when they got close enough so he could see Lottie from the Swinging Door and the pretty new girl that almost every man in town was waiting for Hal to put to work.

  * * * *

  “Oh, my Lord, Lottie. Somebody’s coming to meet us.”

  Lottie roused up from the almost coma she’d been in for the last few miles. “Is it Aaron?”

  “No. It looks like Salty.”

  “Don’t let him run us off, Milly. We’ve got to warn Aaron about Brit.” With that, Lottie slumped down in the seat.

  Salty reached the buggy. “What in the world are you two doing here?”

  “We’ve got to see, Aaron.” Milly’s voice was timid.

  “Well, that’s not gonna happen. Now, turn this buggy around and head back to town.”

  “We can’t.”

  “And why not?”

  “They’ll kill us if we do.” When Salty frowned, she went on. “We had to slip away to warn Aaron about…”

  Salty interrupted. “What’s the matter with Lottie?”

  “She’s hurt. Cleg Keller almost killed her.”

  “So, you brought her to the Rocking Chair?”

  “No.” Milly burst into tears. “Lottie made me go rent this buggy and we slipped out of the saloon because she knows who shot Aaron and …”

  “She what?”

  “She said she knows who shot Aaron and who’s behind it all. They’ll kill us if we … Oh, please help us. I don’t want Lottie to die. She’s the only friend I’ve got
in this world. I need her.”

  Before Salty could answer, the front door opened and Drina came out onto the porch. She had some pieces of cut material in her hand. Beulah followed her.

  “What’s going on, Salty?” Beulah asked.

  “It’s just a couple of gals who …”

  “Is someone hurt?” Drina asked.

  “Well, yeah, but…”

  “Well, don’t just stand there, Salty. Bring them inside.”

  “But…”

  Beulah had a frown on her face, but she said, “Don’t argue with Mrs. Wilcox. Bring them in the house.”

  Salty looked as if he was going to refuse, but he decided he wouldn’t disobey the lady of the house. In the end, he picked Lottie up in his arms and carried her up the seeps.

  A stunned Milly followed. She continued to watch as Drina put down the pieces of the dress she’d cut out.

  It seemed Salty didn’t want to wait around to see what happened with the whores in the house. He looked at Milly. “I’ll go put your horse and buggy in the barn so it won’t get so wet out here.”

  Milly nodded and continued to look at Drina. She wasn’t sure what to say or do, so she only stood there waiting for somebody to speak to her.

  “What happened to this woman?” Beulah asked.

  “Cleg Keller tried to kill her.”

  Beulah frowned. “That beast. Somebody ought to kill him.”

  * * * *

  Beulah turned to Drina. “Mrs. Wilcox, why don’t you go check on your husband? I can handle everything here. I’m sure this other woman will help me, if I need it.”

  “I don’t mind, helping you, Beulah.”

  “I know you don’t, but really, I’m doing fine.”

  Drina nodded, picked up the cut out dress she’d put on the entry table and went down the hall. She had a feeling Beulah was trying to get rid of her. Though she had an inkling, she didn’t fully understand why. Was it because the women had shown up at the ranch, or was it because she didn’t want Drina to know who they are?