Later they located the rest of the family and shared a picnic supper. As the sun lowered, ice cream makers were brought out and Gabe took a turn cranking.
Rhys Jackson spotted him. “I have a proposition for you.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ll buy that land from you and give you one of the houses I own in town.” He named a price.
Gabe mulled over the man’s generous offer. What did the banker want with land so far from town? “No other spot of land you’d want?”
“I own the other pieces around that spread. Over the years I tried to find the owner of yours without any luck. If I had that section, my holdings would be joined.”
“Well, you know I’ve taken a shine to that particular property. My house is underway. I’m not selling.”
“I’ll double my offer.”
Taken aback, Gabe stared at him. There was something fishy about the man’s insistence. “That’s a tempting offer. Overly generous actually. Still not selling.”
A muscle ticked in Rhys’s jaw, and he thinned his lips into a straight line. “You won’t get another offer like that.”
“Don’t want one.”
The man gave him a sidelong look before moving away and joining a group of men.
Elisabeth approached with a long wooden spoon and stirred the ice cream. “That was odd.”
“You heard?”
She nodded.
“Ever heard him mention looking for the owner of my land?”
“Never. Perhaps to my father.”
He waited until she finished stirring and cranked again. “You’re speaking to me again.”
“It’s rather difficult not to when my whole family thinks you’re grand.”
He thought a moment. “If me being around is a problem for you, Elisabeth, I’ll back away and leave you be.”
Her cheeks flushed pink. “That would be selfish of me. My family enjoys your company. And Irene is my friend. I don’t want to make things more awkward.”
“I enjoyed myself today,” he said. “And I enjoyed spending time with you. Even the potato game.”
“You looked awfully silly wearing the apron, but you were actually pretty good at the toss.”
“Those rascals smart when they hit.”
“Years past we’ve done it with eggs.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Now that’s just a waste of good eggs.”
“But incentive to catch them,” she replied with a laugh.
“Oh, I don’t know. Not getting hit in the head with a flying potato is pretty good incentive to catch the spud. I’d still rather eat them any day.”
“I’ve noticed.”
He caught the teasing lilt to her tone. “You and your stepmother and sisters cook better than any of the cooks in the restaurants and cafés where I’ve eaten over the years. Only home cooking I ever had was when I was a boy. My mama was a good cook. I can still remember picking apples and her baking them into a golden-crusted pie.”
“Josie taught us all to cook.”
“Is she giving Irene any lessons?”
“Irene’s catching on. She’s a little impatient. Cooking and baking take time. You can’t rush tender meat or creamy sauces. She’s getting there.”
“Her heart’s not in it,” he pointed out.
“It’s not my life’s ambition, either,” she replied. “Some things we just do because we need to, and we might as well do a good job while we’re at it.”
He studied her in the fading light. Her thick blond braid hung over her shoulder, and her skin was pink from the sun and the activity. “What is your life’s goal, Elisabeth?”
Chapter Seventeen
He’d surprised her, evident in the way she looked at him and then away. Finally she glanced back. “I’d like to use my skills in a manner that pleases God.”
“Not cooking.”
“Not especially. I had always wanted to go back to where I lived as a child, so after graduation I spent nearly a year back east. I studied bookkeeping.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I keep my father’s ledgers for home and the church. I’ve also helped Josie with investments. She has her own money and it’s set up in trust funds and stocks.”
He wasn’t going to ask how a young woman like Josie came by so much money, but the question nagged.
“Her father left her an inheritance, as did her first husband.” Before he had a chance to consider, she explained. “She was a widow when we traveled through Nebraska and met her.”
Gabe’s impression of Josie Hart improved even more at the knowledge that she could have lived her life well-off and done as she pleased. Maybe traveled. Instead she’d chosen to raise a family and keep a house where the Harts could welcome friends and neighbors. What made some people so unselfish and others only out for what they could get?
“I was mean to her at first,” Elisabeth admitted. “I resented her taking my mother’s place in our family…and in my father’s heart.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I don’t know. Abigail and Anna loved her right off. I held her at arm’s length and found fault with everything she did and said.”
“Maybe there’s hope for me yet, huh?”
She looked him in the eye, her confusion evident. “There’s no comparison.”
“You’re holding me at arm’s length…and probably wishing your arms were longer,” he said. “You don’t approve of me.”
“It’s not the same.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. What’s the rest of your life goal?”
“I’m a little confused about the rest of it.”
“What about children?”
“Perhaps one day. But not right now. I have plenty of children in my life.”
“Not your own.”
“Do you want children?” she asked.
“I suppose I do. Never thought all that much about it ’til lately, but bein’ around your brothers and sisters started me thinking about family. I was so focused on setting by enough to take care of Irene and make a home for her that I didn’t plan for kids of my own.
“Now I see that so much time has passed…she’s already a young woman, and she’ll likely be marrying and having her own family. I’m not pushing her or preventing her. She’s making her own choices. It’s the natural way of things should she decide she’d be happy with Gil. But then there I’d be with a big house and a ranch and no one to share it. So yeah, I guess I want kids.”
He’d need a wife for that, but neither of them mentioned it.
She changed the subject entirely. “I suggested Irene join one of the footraces today, but she declined. Too undignified for a celebrity, I suppose.”
“Irene?”
“Yes! You should have seen her the day of the shootings. When you left the church and she took out after you, neither Father or I could keep up with her.”
“Junie Pruitt won one of the races,” he said.
A couple strolled past the table where Gabe still cranked the ice cream. “Evenin’, Miss Hart,” the man greeted them. “Gabe.”
“Evenin’, Willis,” Gabe replied. “You and the missus enjoyin’ the celebration?”
“We’ve had an exhausting day, but we’re staying for the fireworks.” The two of them moved on.
The fellow had addressed her as Miss Hart, but Elisabeth hadn’t recognized them. A lot of people knew her family because of her father’s position. “Who was that?”
“Hand and his wife who work on Frank Evans’s ranch.”
“How do you know them?”
“I helped Willis load supplies at the mill one day. Later he showed up and lent a hand framing the house. His missus brought sandwiches and cookies for everyone that noon.”
Elisabeth studied him with interest. Between her notary duties and her father’s position, there weren’t very many people she hadn’t met at one time or another. All evening, she’d noticed him speaking to people she hadn’t guessed he’
d known.
“I guess it wouldn’t have been proper for Mrs. Barnes to come to something like this so soon after the doc’s death,” he said.
“Probably not.”
“And she’s still dealing with her loss. Must be hard for her sitting at home with so much ruckus goin’ on only a few blocks away.”
“I’m sure you’re right. After my mother died, it seemed wrong that life went on and people carried on with their activities, when it felt as though my life had ended.”
He studied the cold confection in the freezer and stopped turning the crank. “Maybe we could take her a dish of ice cream.”
Elisabeth looked at him with surprise and…an uncalled-for sense of pride. Her eyes stung at the thought of his acute thoughtfulness. She wouldn’t have thought of the kind gesture. “That would be really nice, Gabe.” She turned and waved to catch Arlene and Kalli’s attention. The younger girl reached her first. “We’re going to take some ice cream to Mrs. Barnes. Will you serve the children?”
Gabe scooped a generous portion of the dessert, and Elisabeth covered it with a red-and-white-checked napkin. “Let’s hurry before it melts.”
They walked the few blocks that took them away from the festivities. Seeing the doctor’s home for the first time since that fateful day gave Elisabeth a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Are you all right?” Gabe asked.
“I’m fine.”
Donetta answered the door looking tired. Her dress was rumpled as though she’d slept in it. She gave each of them a once-over, followed by a tentative smile. Tucking strands of hair into the knot at the back of her head, she said, “I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“We thought…well, that is, Gabe here thought… We brought you some ice cream.”
“That’s real thoughtful.” Mrs. Barnes stepped back and gestured for them to enter the house.
Elisabeth handed her the bowl. “I’ll get you a spoon so you can eat it before it melts.” She hurried toward the kitchen.
When she returned Donetta had offered Gabe a chair in the tiny sitting room. Elisabeth handed the woman a spoon and sat beside her on the divan.
Gabe’s gaze traveled to the doorway that led to the area where Dr. Barnes had treated patients.
Donetta tasted the ice cream. “This is a nice treat. People have been so kind. I have so much food I can’t eat it all. And truthfully I’m not very hungry most days.”
“People don’t know what else to do,” Elisabeth said. “And they want to help.”
Mrs. Barnes glanced at Gabe. “I made a stew from the venison you brought me.”
Elisabeth turned toward Gabe, who only nodded. He’d brought her meat?
“Is there anything else we can do?” he asked. “Bring wood?”
“I don’t think so. I’ll be moving whenever the town council finds a new doctor,” she answered, and then added with a shrug, “I’m not sure just yet where I’ll go.”
“Seems I recall you’re a fine cook,” Gabe said. “You served some tasty meals when I was laid up here for a few days.”
“I always cooked for Matthew and myself, of course. And I’ve taken meals to the jail for the past several years. I stopped doing that when one of those men responsible for Matthew’s death was locked up in there.”
“Think you could cook for eight or ten men?”
Elisabeth couldn’t figure out what he was getting at.
“Oh, yes, easily,” the woman replied.
“My sister’s still learning,” he told her. “But I don’t expect she’ll be ready to do justice to a real meal anytime soon. I’ll need someone to cook for the hands. I’ll have a room ready. Good-size one.” He glanced around. “Probably fit in some of your favorite things.”
“I don’t need much,” she said, her tone hopeful.
“Think about it.”
“I can tell you right now it sounds like a perfect way for me to work and have somewhere to stay. We never had any children, and I don’t have family.”
Elisabeth slowly absorbed what had just happened. Gabe had been considering this, she suspected. He’d been thinking about Mrs. Barnes enough to wonder how she was faring on her first holiday without her husband. And he’d just found a solution for the woman’s livelihood right in his own home. Just like that.
“Matthew told me you were a good man,” Donetta said. “He was perceptive.”
Elisabeth lowered her gaze to the bowl Donetta had placed on the nearby table and the remainder of melting ice cream.
“Thank you for helping me,” she said.
“You’ll be helping me out, Mrs. Barnes. You saved me from searching to hire someone. And I already know you’re a good cook. The house isn’t finished yet,” he added. “But it will be in a few weeks.”
At that Elisabeth joined the conversation. “If a new doctor is hired, you can stay with us until Gabe’s house is ready.”
“I’m humbled by your generosity.” She had tears in her eyes now. “Both of you.”
Elisabeth, too, had been humbled by Gabe’s kind consideration for the widowed woman.
A few minutes later, Donetta washed the bowl, and they said their goodbyes.
“Had you been planning that?” Elisabeth asked as they walked along Main Street, where gas lamps and paper lanterns lit the booths. Another platform had been built on a grassy area beyond the businesses, and a gathering of local musicians tuned up for an evening concert. Townspeople had spread quilts and blankets and were getting children settled.
“Planned I’d need a cook is all,” Gabe replied.
“How did you know she’d accept your offer?”
“I didn’t.” He pointed. “There’s your father.”
She let him change the subject, and they joined the Harts, Irene among them now. Josie had taken the baby home so the two of them could rest in the quiet house.
Irene spread an extra quilt and showed them where they could sit.
John already slept, but Peter kept jumping up and walking toward another family, where he chattered to a redheaded little girl. Sam repeatedly snagged him back and sat him on the quilt. The last time, he gave him a stern warning to stay put. The boy pouted, but crawled into his father’s lap and leaned his head against his chest. Within minutes he was asleep.
The band played a selection of patriotic tunes, and when the people knew the words, they sang along.
Gabe had given Elisabeth a lot more to think about. His concern for Mrs. Barnes had been completely unexpected.
She couldn’t help that she felt deceived by him. He hadn’t let on that he had hunted down men for a living. He’d been evasive about his past, and for good reason.
She reached into her skirt pocket, found two smooth stones, and rubbed her fingers over their surfaces. The fact that others, like her family—and even Irene—had taken the news of his bounty hunting in stride confused her even more. She hadn’t been able to forget his question when he’d asked about Joshua and the battles he’d fought, wondering how that was any different.
Perhaps Joshua fighting for his land wasn’t any different from protecting Mrs. Barnes, but both were far different from setting out to chase men for the rewards on their heads. How could she look aside?
The songs turned to popular tunes of the day and old familiar music.
She felt betrayed. Deceived, plainly and simply. When she tried to fall asleep at night, she nursed that hurt. She knew dwelling on it was wrong. She’d been working to put his past out of her mind. Her resentment was a protective shell. He recognized it. She needed it there. He wasn’t a man she wanted to care for.
As the band finished and the first fireworks burst overhead, Gilbert located them and joined Irene where she sat. Though the sky was dark, the fireworks created bursts of light. Elisabeth sat close enough to notice when Gilbert reached over and took Irene’s hand in his.
She glanced at Gabe. He had noticed, too, but he directed his attention back to the exploding colors above. He was a handsome man, no doub
t about it. She studied his profile, the shape of his nose and chin…the mouth she knew was soft.
At memories of kissing him, her resentment softened more than she liked. Anger had been her defense, but it was getting more and more difficult to stay angry. Especially when he did something like he’d done that night in offering Mrs. Barnes a position and a home.
Even if she could put his past aside—and that was a big if—Gabe was nothing like the husband she wanted. She had expectations, and he didn’t meet them. She embarrassed herself by allowing the attraction she felt and, admittedly, his kisses to veer her off her chosen path. She’d never questioned the qualities she held in esteem, still didn’t. Gabe was not a man she would consider marrying.
Friendship was out of the question. She’d been friends with Gilbert for years, and their friendship was nothing like this crazy, emotionally exhausting relationship she had with Gabe. The two of them were definitely not friends.
Her head and her heart told her two different things. He might have good qualities, but Gabe didn’t match up to her ideals. While fireworks burst against the black heavens and murmurs of appreciation and wonder echoed around her, she prayed for wisdom. Lord, show me what You’d have me to do.
She believed with all her heart that God answered prayer. She just hoped His answer came soon.
Elisabeth received a telegram requesting her services in a nearby town. She invited Irene to accompany her, but the other young woman declined. “Gil has invited me to dinner on Friday, and I need to get my good dresses aired and pressed. When do you leave?” she asked.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Will you please meet Gil with me this afternoon then? The real estate man is able to show him the Martin house at three.”
Elisabeth agreed and accompanied Irene at the appropriate time. Gil and Mr. Payne were waiting on the porch when they hurried up the brick walk.
Gil greeted both of them, but his smile was for Irene. As long as she’d known him, Elisabeth had never seen him behave this way. He’d always been easygoing and polite, but he went out of his way to do things for Irene, to make her smile and to see to her comfort.
Mr. Payne let them in, and they strolled through the rooms. Eventually they reached the kitchen. “It’s not yellow any longer,” Gil said.
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