Carol, Bride of Archer Ranch: Sweet Western Historical Romance (Wild West Frontier Brides Book 6)

by Cindy Caldwell

  The widow looked down at a piece of paper she held her hand, raised her eyebrows and hurriedly folded it up into small squares, shoving it inside the bodice of her dress. She nodded curtly at Carol, turned and walked hastily down the boardwalk, and Carol was grateful that they hadn’t had cause to speak to each other.

  Carol shrugged her shoulders at the boys while they loaded the rest of the supplies in the back of the wagon. She wasn't sure that as long as she lived she would understand Widow Samson and why she would take such a disliking to Carol in the first place.

  As she watched her disappear down the boardwalk, Rose Tate, formerly Rose Archer, rushed out the door of the mercantile.

  “Oh, Carol, I'm so glad to see you. I've been hoping that I would run into you today." She held up a piece of paper that looked similar to the one that Widow Samson had had in her hand and she rushed down the porch stairs toward the buggy.

  "It's wonderful to see you, too, Rose. I know you've been busy at the school house, and we haven't seen much of you since Adam and Saffron got married."

  Rose shook her head. "I had no idea how busy I’d be as a schoolteacher here. Michael and I barely get to see each other, let alone anyone else. That's why I was hoping that you might be able to help." Rose reached out toward the buggy, holding the paper in her hand out to Carol. "Between the school hours and setting up the new library, we decided we need help." Rose turned and looked down the boardwalk as the widow Samson turned the corner. "And we’ve finally been able to convince the school board— although they have nothing to do with the library—that we do."

  Carol’s excitement grew as she thought of volunteering at the library. Several people stopped by and chatted as she waited for the boys, and she loved hearing about their lives, and shared her hopes about volunteering at the library. Each and every person smiled with encouragement and said they’d look forward to seeing her there.

  "Well, that's about the most I've ever heard Will say since we’ve been here,” Luke said as he lifted a barrel into the back of the wagon.

  Andy nodded. ”I’ve never heard him say anything at all before, so it was actually nice to meet him. I know that Adam thinks very highly of the blacksmith shop here in town."

  "Well, theirs was the best of the three in town," Andy said. "I've heard Adam say that several times and Hank, too.”

  As they pulled away from the mercantile, she peered in the window once, catching a fleeting glimpse of Will. Their eyes met briefly and Carol wondered why he and his brother were so quiet. As she looked away and caught sight of the library as they passed, she forgot all about Will Stanton. Soon, she’d be working in the library and have plenty of people to talk to.

  Chapter 5

  Carol could barely contain her excitement as she wrapped her arms around Luke's neck and he lifted her down from the buggy. The ride back from town seemed like it took forever and she twisted the paper in her hands, opening it and reading again about the volunteer opportunity at the library. She must've folded it up and opened it back up at least five times. She finally shoved it in her pocket as they passed through the gates to the Benson house.

  "You don't really think Adam and Saffron are gonna let you do this, do you?" Luke shifted Carol’s weight in his arms before he climbed up the porch steps.

  Carol frowned and looked up at him. Luke had always been very kind, and she hoped he wasn't teasing her now.

  "What do you mean, Luke? After what happened with Adam and Saffron before, why don't you think he’d let me go?"

  Luke shook his head and laughed. "Letting you go outside more often is a whole lot different than having you work as a volunteer at the new library. Is Adam going to stay with you? Saffron gonna stay with you?" He shook his head again as he followed Andy through the open door.

  Andy walked over to the fireplace and clasped his hands behind him as he leaned up against the brick. "I don't see anything wrong with it. Carol's a grown-up, anyway. She should be able to do whatever she wants. And she goes lots of places now. I bet she doesn’t even want anybody to stay with her."

  Carol smiled at her younger brother. He’d always been her champion when Adam and Luke tried hardest to protect her. Her heart warmed at his confidence in her ability, and she knew that if she was going to be seeing Dennis again, she needed to be as independent as possible. And maybe this was her first step.

  "Thank you, Andy," Carol said as Luke set her down on the settee. "I'm glad somebody has confidence in my ability. Besides myself, I mean." She looked out the corner of her eye at Luke, whose ears turned crimson.

  “I... I... It's not that I don't have confidence in you," Luke sputtered. "It's just that—”

  “Just that what?" Andy said as he set his jaw. "Carol can do just about anything she wants. Well, I mean, I guess..."

  Carol held up a hand toward each one of her brothers. "Boys, boys, boys. I am a grown woman. And someday, I might even have my own house. I have to learn how to do things on my own. I'm trying to learn everything I can from Saffron, but she's so darn good at everything around here there’s not much for me to do. Maybe it's all right if I leave the house a few times a week. Meet some new people."

  Luke laughed. "I think you already know everybody in Tombstone. At least it seems that way when we go to the mercantile."

  "I love people. You know that. You can never have too many friends," Carol said as her eyes sparkled. She knew her brothers were trying to help her, both in their own way. But it was really Adam and Saffron that she needed to speak with.

  They all three turned toward the kitchen door as Saffron giggled at Adam’s deep voice. Both the boys looked at each other, pulled their hats on their heads and scooted out the front door.

  Carol smiled, knowing full well that two young boys might be a little uncomfortable around newlyweds. In fact, sometimes she felt like she might be in the way as well. She folded her hands in her lap as Saffron and Adam pushed through the swinging door from the kitchen.

  "Carol, you’re home," Saffron said with a bright smile.

  "Did you have a nice time at the mercantile?" Adam walked in behind Saffron and threw his arm over her shoulder. Carol sighed when Saffron turned to look up into Adam’s clear blue eyes and he looked down at her, full of love.

  Carol reached for the flyer on the table and opened it up, spreading it out on her skirts. "If you two could stop staring at each other for long enough, I have something I'd like to ask you."

  Saffron crossed the room and sat down beside Carol on the settee. "What do you have there?"

  Adam crossed his arms over his chest and slowly walked into the room, his boots soft on the colorful Oriental carpet.

  Carol’s stomach fluttered a bit as she glanced at Saffron and then up into her brother's eyes. He had that familiar look he used to have all the time when he wouldn't let Carol leave the house. Granted, it was for a good reason and he was trying to protect her. But it had been a long battle that Saffron had assisted her with to try to get Adam to treat her as much like a walking person as he could. She was hoping that he wouldn't backslide now.

  Carol lifted the paper and held it out to Saffron, sitting silently as Saffron read.

  Saffron scanned the paper, her eyes wide. She looked at Carol, then she looked from Carol to Adam and back to Carol again. She held the paper up to Adam and Carol twisted her hands together as she waited even longer for Adam to read it.

  Adam let out a slow breath, and sat down in his wingback chair by the brick fireplace. The paper fell to his lap and he ran his hands through his blonde hair. "I suppose you're going to tell me that you want to do this?"

  "I think it sounds awfully exciting for Carol," Saffron said, tilting her head and looking at Adam.

  Adam raised his eyes to meet those of his new wife, a smile creeping over his face. "Now, why am I not surprised at all that you would say that?"

  Carol laughed and squeezed Saffron’s hand. "Does that mean I can go? You know, Dennis might be here shortly, and I think it might hel
p me learn how to do things on my own so that I can be as independent as possible when he arrives."

  Saffron and Adam exchanged quick glances.

  Adam leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Well, it's not just my decision. You’re a grown woman, Carol, and if this is something that you want to do, I believe that Saffron and I can support that. We can go into town and talk to Rose, see what she needs and what time you need to be there, and hopefully we can figure out the rest."

  Chapter 6

  Will reached for the pocketknife on his belt, flipping open the leather case and pulling it out. It felt solid in his hand, the etched Ivory handle feeling cool to the touch. He always thought about his father when he pulled out that knife. It was hard to believe that he’d been gone almost five years now. Five long years that changed everything.

  He reached for the pencil that he’d set out on the table and leaned back into his chair. In slow, even motions he pared the wood, the familiar smell brushing over his nostrils. He’d never been much of a whittler like his dad but he did like to draw and his dad left a knife to him and one to his brother Joe, too. Joe spent some time whittling, but Will never did. He used the knife mostly just to sharpen his pencils.

  He leaned forward and shuffled through the stack of papers on the table, setting them aside until he found the one he was after. He cocked his head, thinking he should probably start over. He wasn't exactly sure that this was what Mr. Archer wanted and what Joe had asked him to draw. When Mr. Archer came in the day before, he’d described in great detail a new kind of latch that he wanted for the arena out at Archer Ranch. They had been using only chain so far and a couple of the horses and gotten out. Will chuckled thinking of Hank, Mr. Archer and their ranch hand, Ben, chasing those horses around. Mr. Archer had actually been red in the face describing the event and asked if Joe could come up with something to latch the gate a little bit better.

  After they’d finished supper last night, Will had sat on the porch watching the birds and listening to the wind whistle through the trees as he tried to come up with something that might work. Joe’d been busy working on more horseshoes for Adam so he'd had part of the morning to try to refine his design. He hoped it wouldn’t be one of those designs that he made quite frequently where he showed the picture to the person who wanted it and they looked blankly at it, not quite sure exactly how it was supposed to work. So far, he’d been pretty successful at explaining things and then when he and Joe put it together, usually things worked out.

  His father had been a master blacksmith before them and started the shop in Tombstone when they were just boys. He vaguely wondered if his father would have been proud of what they were doing with the shop. He knew for a fact he’d be surprised that they weren’t working on guns anymore. But that's the way it had to be. No arguing with Ma over that one.

  Satisfied with the drawing for the new latch, he flipped through the rest of the pictures and held one up to the light. He’d been working on this one for a while, since he’d first met her at the wedding, and it might take a few weeks more. He looked at the wheels on the side and wondered again how he was going be able to put the handles in the back so that that pretty girl who couldn’t walk could maybe have somebody push her from behind instead of pull from the front. He thought that way, she might even be able to roll the wheels on her own and see if maybe she could get around a little better. That is, even if she wanted to.

  Every time he saw her at the mercantile, he couldn’t seem to stop and talk to her. Everybody else would be coming and going, saying hello and she always had a bright smile for everybody. Including him, but he never spoke until this last time. Didn't quite know what to say. Wasn't even sure why he was worried about this chair but for some reason, the drawing just happened and once the drawings happened, he usually worked with Joe to try to put something together.

  He hadn’t shown him this one yet and wasn't sure if he was going to. He shuffled it back to the bottom of the pile and stood as his brother came through the door.

  "Hey, Will." Joe shrugged off his light coat and hung it on the rack by the wall. "What are you doing here so early? I didn't even hear you leave after breakfast."

  Will flipped closed the knife and put it back in its holster on his belt. He folded the leather case shut and looked up at his brother. "Not sure. Couldn't sleep too good and thought I'd get an early start."

  “You and those drawings of yours. I don’t know how there's room in your head for anything else. No wonder you can't sleep." Joe pulled his heavy leather apron over his head and tied the strings behind him, getting ready for his day's work in the blacksmith shop.

  Will cast a sidelong glance at his brother, wondering if he was getting teased again. When nothing else came, he rolled up his drawings and shoved them in his saddlebag. "Yeah, I guess it’s just something that I have to do."

  Joe laughed as he stoked the fire, adding coal to it so it would be hot enough for him to do his job. "Never been able to stop you since you were a little one. Guess nothing can change now. Either way, the stuff you draw up always works so I'm happy to have it. How you doing on those drawings for Mr. Archer?"

  Will stood back as Joe poked the fire, sparks flying in the room, as he tapped his saddlebag. "I think I have something that'll work. I'll go show Mr. Archer and if he thinks they're all right, we can put our heads together and see how we can actually make them.”

  Joe looked up from the fire, sweat already beading on his forehead. "Don't you think we should take a look at them first?" He looked at Will for a moment and shook his head. "Never mind. That's just a waste of time. They always work. Go on ahead and I'll see you back here in a little bit."

  Will nodded at his brother, pleased that they wouldn't have to take that extra step. He’d been over and over the latches in his head, and knew for sure that they were going to work.

  "Thanks for that, Joe. I'll be back after a bit to let you know what he says." He walked over to the small stable on the side of the blacksmith shop, saddled up his horse, and headed out for Archer Ranch with the drawing safely in his saddle bags.

  Chapter 7

  Will slowed his horse as he drove up to Archer Ranch, passing under the big metal sign. He smiled as he looked up at it. It was one of the first things he'd worked on with his father and brother. He was just a kid back then when Beau Archer decided to make the ranch sign bigger thing than it was before. It had been a bit of a challenge for his pa, Joe and himself as it was the first big thing that he’d ever done. He squinted and pushed his hat back as he looked up.

  It had to span at least twenty feet from post to post. He’d told his pa even back then that it was going to take a lot of iron to get it to stand up. The first one they'd made hadn't stayed, and he remembered Mr. Archer's face as they all stood back proudly, only to see it crash to the ground.

  His father had been very disappointed and he and Joe had worked long hours at the forge, getting the cutouts of the Archer Ranch brands right on each side. As Will stood there, he remembered somehow knowing that it really wasn't going to hold up, but no one had listened to him at the time.

  They’d driven home in silence, the three of them, and Will had stayed up all night, scratching at least three pencils to the nub as he drew and drew and made new calculations. By the time the sun came up, there was a pile of crumpled paper in the corner and the next thing he knew, his pa was poking him in the shoulder. He lifted his head from the drawing and watched his pa’s smile spread across his face as he looked at it, his head cocked to one side.

  "I think you have something here, boy," his father had said. Joe had stood beside him and stared at the paper, confusion settling in. His father had turned to Joe, his finger pointing wildly at the drawings as he explained what Will had discovered.

  Now, as he looked up at the sign, he remembered that was the first time he really knew that he could draw something. Something metal, anyway, and make sure that it was going to work. After that, he’d been the designer in the fam
ily, making sure that what the customer wanted would actually hold up.

  He didn't talk much about it. Well, truth be told, Will didn't talk much at all. But he did know what would work when it came to metal, and in the time since his pa had died, he and Joe had fallen into a rhythm. Will did the designs, Joe did the work. Both pitched in at the shop when they needed to, but Joe was pretty much a master with iron and steel and could produce anything that Will designed.

  “Mighty fine sign you made there, son," Beau Archer said as he walked down the drive toward where Will was sitting on his horse. "Held up all these years, just perfect."

  Will looked down at his saddle and took off his hat, running a hand through his dark brown hair. He’d known Mr. Archer for a long time. Knew he was a nice man, and always grateful for anything that the Stanton brothers provided.

  "Glad you like it, Mr. Archer." Will hopped down from his horse and threw the reins over the fence. He reached into his saddle bag and pulled out the rolled-up drawings that he had for the latch on the arena, wanting to get to business.

  "I suppose you have something equally brilliant to solve my new problem," Mr. Archer said as he leaned his elbows across Will’s saddle.

  Will met Mr. Archer's eyes. He smiled at the laugh lines around Mr. Archer's weathered face and the gray at his temples. Mr. Archer always had smiling eyes, but the gray was new. Mr. Archer's wife, Katie, had died a few years ago, and now along with the smile lines around Mr. Archer's eyes there was always a bit of sadness.

  "I think maybe I do have something here for you, Mr. Archer," Will said as he turned and headed toward the arena. They walked in silence past the large adobe stable, and the small, fenced-in adobe casita surrounded by herbs and flowers.

  As they arrived at the arena, Beau reached out and jiggled the loose latch at the top of the gate. "See here what I'm talking about?"