On the Mountain

by Peggy Ann Craig

  Wade liked her kids well enough, and he tried being civil to John her husband, but truthfully he enjoyed her visits when she came alone. Somehow he knew that Kathleen understood this and kept her family’s visits to the minimum, however, she refused to spend Christmas without them. He supposed he couldn’t blame her, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without her or Prescott.

  He looked down over the ranch from his position along the verandah and saw the girl sitting in the pen housing Lucy. She had a book in her hand and looked like she was reading. It was a ritual she had begun almost immediately after Kathleen had returned to the city. For some reason, she found the horse’s company a welcoming substitute. Wade wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about the relationship that had formed between his sister and the girl. It shouldn’t have surprised him, however, knowing his sister’s generous and kind heart. If she felt there was a lost soul, then she would eagerly help to recover it.

  From his distance, he studied her and thought that if ever there were a lost soul, the girl was the essence of it. There was still so much anguish and pain within that when not checked could be spotted in the depths of her brown eyes. Wade’s humane side wanted to reach out and erase that suffering, but a greater portion rejected the girl for her betrayal. He tried many times to remove this reaction, wanting instead to somehow reproduce that feeling he had shared with the boy. But he couldn’t.

  The door of the homestead opened and Prescott stepped out, pulling on a pair of warm gloves. “I’m heading into Chapman. The chairs which Kathleen ordered from Victoria have arrived.”

  Wade nodded and turned from the girl. “All right.”

  “Did you need anything while I was there?”

  Christmas was in two days. He had purchased an expensive perfume imported from Europe for Kathleen and for Prescott he had bought him a box of Cuban cigars. He wasn’t much of a smoker, but he knew his brother would be impressed.

  The ranch hands he generally gave them a small pouch of coins which they happily went into Lantern to spend on woman and ale. His mind brought up the image of Anna, and he sighed heavily. If he didn’t purchase her anything, it would look like an obvious snub. However, he had never bought a gift for a woman other than Kathleen. He had no idea what to buy.

  “No, I’m all set.”

  His brother tipped his hat then went out to the barn to have one of the ranch hands rig up the wagon. Wade turned and went back inside the house. He was starting to get unusually restless lately. It was far too early to get cabin fever. The snow had not arrived and though the weather and wind were cold, the trails through the mountains were still clear. Tomorrow, he decided, he would head into Lantern. He had business to attend and could probably get a cut and trim his beard. A persisting ache in the groan made him think that a visit to Marion wasn’t such a bad idea either. Maybe having a girl in the house wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  * * *

  Anna put her book down and got to her feet stretching her arched back. Lucy lifted her head and shook her mane. She went over to the horse and acknowledged her with a hand to her neck. The horse turned toward her and nudged her gently with her nose. Smiling, she went back to retrieve her book. Lifting it and opening it to a particular page, she held it out for the animal. Horse. She mouthed the word silently and showed Lucy the image of a horse in the book.

  The sound of wheels spinning on the dirt road leading to the homestead, drew her attention away from the animal. She saw the same stagecoach, which had delivered Kathleen on her last visit, draw up in front of the house. A sense of joy filled Anna and she had to withhold the urge to go and greet Wade’s sister. From her distance she saw a man get out first, followed by a woman in a flowing dress and large overcoat. Two children scampered out after them.

  Wade came out of the house and greeted his sister with a kiss to the cheek, then turned and offered her husband a handshake. The children said a few words to him, then darted off in Anna’s direction. She watched as they ran toward her, and noticed one was a girl and one a boy. The boy was hooting like an Indian while the girl held her dress as tightly as possible to her person as she ran down the hill.

  As they neared, they looked upon Anna in surprise. The girl smiled first and looked so much like Kathleen, she warmed to her instantly. “Hello. My name is Danielle. This is my brother, John. What is yours?”

  Taken aback, Anna wanted desperately to speak to Kathleen’s children. Sadly, she shook her head and pointed to her throat.

  “Ah, you’re the boy mother spoke of.” Her young eyes twinkled. “Uncle Prescott said your name was Peter.”

  Anna felt guilty that Kathleen and Prescott had to lie to their own family on her behalf. She nodded.

  “Whatcha you reading?” John, who was not much older than ten pointed to the book in her hand.

  “What are you reading?” His sister corrected him.

  He grimaced and repeated, “What are you reading?”

  Anna glanced down at the book and felt suddenly foolish. No doubt Kathleen’s children were well-educated and could read perfectly well. Feeling shameful, she raised the book in order for the children to see it. The girl looked up first and surprised Anna with a huge grin on her face. “I remember reading that book. Mother taught it to me when I was just learning to read. Is she teaching you?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Can I read your book?” The boy was sincere as he asked and Anna allowed him to remove it from her hand.

  “I’m twelve and John is eight,” Danielle told her and came to stand next to Anna. “How old are you?”

  She frowned and didn’t know how to tell the girl.

  “I could guess.” The girl said and sounded excited about the game.

  “Me too.” John spoke up.

  Anna smiled and nodded. The children dropped down to the ground around her feet.

  “Are you sixteen?” Danielle asked first and when Anna shook her head she said, “Point your finger up if you are older and down if you are younger.”

  Anna pointed up.

  “Are you sixty?” John guessed.

  Anna would have laughed if she could, but his sister did it for her. “Don’t be silly, John. That would make him a grandfather.”

  John looked disappointed, but didn’t give up. “Uncle Wade is forty-four. Are you the same age as Uncle Wade?”

  Anna digested this tidbit of information regarding Wade. She knew he was older than her, but she had no idea by so much. She shook her head and pointed down.

  “Are you in your twenties or thirties?” Danielle looked serious as she took the mathematical approach to guessing her age.

  “My guess would be in the twenties.” Wade’s unexpected voice drew all three heads around. “Though my first guess would have been the same as yours Danielle.”

  The children scrambled to their feet, and having forgotten all about the game, John pleaded with his uncle. “May I ride Lucy yet?”

  “I’m afraid not. She still needs some fine tuning.” He hoisted the boy up onto the fence surrounding the pen where Lucy stood. “Though I do believe she enjoys being read to.”

  Anna’s chin snapped up and her cheeks flooded a crimson red, but Wade was not looking at her but rather the horse.

  “I could read her this book.” John held out the book Anna had given him.

  Wade gave the boy’s hair a ruffle before turning his attention back to his niece. “So, what is your final verdict?”

  “Um.” She put a finger to her chin and seemed to study Anna. Wade joined his niece’s observation and Anna felt ridiculously uncomfortable.

  Lifting her hand, she indicated four fingers. One of Wade’s brows arched in surprise. “Twenty-four?”

  His niece sounded disappointed. “That’s not fair. I didn’t get a chance to guess, Uncle Wade.”

  “Now you see,” he told her. “That’s the one thing about Anna. There’s always a mystery to solve.”

  Anna looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

  Danie
lle scrunched up her face and looked at her uncle. “Who’s Anna?”

  Alarm widened Anna’s eyes and this time she shot Wade a glance. She had forgotten the children believed she was Peter. His eyes met hers and he frowned slightly, but turned to his niece to say, “A very mysterious woman.”

  Danielle only looked more confused, but allowed her uncle to brush her off as he told her to go and join John at Lucy’s pen. With his attention back on Anna, he quietly directed, “If you could come up to the house. Kathleen has asked for you.”

  She nodded and followed him up the hill. He turned back and hollered over his shoulder, “Remember, stay out of the pen. Lucy isn’t a trained horse.”

  He had nothing else to say to Anna, and when they entered the house they parted with him quietly excusing himself. Kathleen broke into a wide smile upon seeing Anna who easily returned the smile. “How good to see you again, Anna.”

  She shot a look of concern to the woman’s husband.

  “I told John the entire story,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind, but we kept it from the children in fear something may accidentally slip.”

  She nodded, already having realized as much. John, the man she identified as her husband took a step in her direction. “It is very nice to meet you, Anna. Kathleen could not stop speaking of you since she returned from the Circle H on her last visit.”

  He spoke with a British accent in a very slow and cultured manner. One hand stayed at his back while he spoke and his body remained perfectly poised. Welcoming didn’t immediately come to mind and if she hadn’t known better, she would never have guessed they were a couple.

  “Come, let us go to the reading room.” Kathleen took her arm and led her in that direction. “I so want to see how your reading and writing have come along.”

  The woman was so happy and excited, Anna temporarily worried about disappointing her, but that fear vanished when she indicated a book she was attempting lately.

  “That’s wonderful, Anna.” She touched her arm and looked down at her with such pride, she couldn’t help but beam.

  The sound of someone entering the room, had Anna turning to see Wade carrying a tray of tea and saucers. Horrified, she abandoned his sister’s side and went to remove the tray from his hands. However, he only shrugged her away.

  “Please, humor my sister.” He made a face meant to be in jest and said, “Or I’m afraid she will bore me with all her horrible party chatter.”

  “Nonsense.” Kathleen took Anna’s arm and led her to one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. “It will be the grandest party the Circle H has ever seen. You will help me with the preparations?”

  She nodded and felt utterly wretched when Wade handed her a teacup.

  She went to stand up and do the deed herself, but Kathleen covered her arm with a hand. “Sit down, dear. Wade certainly knows how to pour tea.”

  Keeping her eyes downcast, she dropped her chin and felt a small lock of hair brush her cheek. She quickly brushed it behind her ear.

  “John, perhaps you would like to take a walk around the estate.” Wade offered, and his brother-in-law nodded his gratitude.

  “I’m afraid all this talk about a Christmas ball is far too much for me as well.” He stood up and bowed to his wife before following Wade outside.

  Anna took a sip of her tea, then looked up to see Kathleen staring at her with open regret. Reaching out she brushed the same strand of hair behind Anna’s ear. “Such a pity. I bet it was beautiful at one time.”

  She remembered her hair. It had been long. When she went to sit she had to be careful not to sit on it. The color was a chestnut brown and shimmered like silk, or so her father had told her since she had actually never seen the material. It had been her pride and joy. However, a strange thing can happen when faced with a life and death situation. It no longer seemed of consequence.

  “Perhaps, someday, you will be able to grow it back.”

  She looked at the delicate china cup in her hand and thought about the future. It looked bleak and hopeless and Anna could not see herself out of this mess she had gotten herself into. Pretty dresses and silky long locks adorned with elaborate hats and colorful ribbons, were never going to be a choice for Anna. As far as she was concerned, it didn’t rightly matter whether she remained a boy or not.

  * * *

  “I’m going into Lantern for several hours,” Wade informed the occupants at the breakfast table the following morning. “So don’t expect me back until late tonight.”

  “Would you take Anna with you?” Kathleen asked, safely referring to her female identity. The children had already had breakfast in the kitchen with Anna earlier and had made their way outside to play in the barns with the animals.

  His hand froze in the process of filling his mouth with scrambled eggs.

  “I’ll give you a list of items I need for the party tomorrow night.”

  “I can pick them up myself.” He shoved the fork into his mouth and swallowed the contents.

  “Thank you, Wade, however I prefer a female’s choice in some of the matters and I really need to be here to organize the decorations.”

  “I wasn’t planning on coming back till late.” He reminded her.

  “That’s all right. I won’t need these items until tomorrow.” Wade still didn’t look pleased, causing his sister to ask, “Is there another problem?”

  “Of course not,” Wade mumbled knowing she’d only thwart any he offered. The door to the kitchen opened and the subject of their conversation came in to remove their dirty dishes. “Anna, be ready to go into town in an hour’s time.”

  She looked surprised and he turned his attention away from her.

  “I have a list of supplies I need picked up in Lantern. If you could give Wade a hand?” Kathleen explained and Anna nodded vaguely before slipping out of the room. He had a feeling she was not looking forward to the trip either.

  Wade finished his meal, then took his coffee into the great room and sat next to the huge fireplace. Looking around, he hardly recognized the place, it was already beginning to look entirely different. The crew Kathleen hired to come in and set up the house for the Christmas ball had basically removed every stick of furniture in the room and replaced it with tables and chairs that looked like they belonged in a church’s community center rather than his living room.

  Less than an hour later, he was outside hitching Sty to a wagon when Anna came running toward him. A look of slight panic creased the otherwise flawless skin above her brows, causing him to wonder if she feared his anger if she were late. Sighing heavily at this thought, he reached in the back of the utility box and produced a blanket for the long drive. Anna had come around and perched herself on the back of the wagon. He frowned and felt slightly irritated. She may still want to disguise herself as a boy, but he knew differently.

  “Sit up front.”

  She looked surprised and hesitated before climbing back down and heading for the front of the wagon. Wade waited for her and with a hoist lifted her up onto the two seated bench. He went around the horse and climbed up alongside her then draped the warm wool blanket over them both. With a click of his tongue he drove the horse off the homestead and toward the path that led to town.

  * * *

  The ride was not long into Lantern. Just over an hour later, Wade pulled Sty and the wagon into the livery then climbed down and headed around to Anna’s side. She didn’t wait for him and quickly jumped to the ground.

  “Prescott says that Elizabeth has asked about your health,” he stated. “It would probably be courteous of you to go over and say hello. I’ve got some business to do in the bank and then plan on getting a shampoo and cut.”

  Her eyes didn’t stray from his face while he talked.

  “Do you have Kathleen’s list?”

  She nodded.

  “Good, I’ll meet you at the mercantile in about forty-five minutes and help you pick out the items.” He walked off toward a building nearest to them while Anna tur
ned toward the restaurant.

  Elizabeth had been kind and she did look forward to seeing her again. The woman’s plain but friendly face looked up from a table she was serving, upon Anna’s entrance. She smiled fondly and came over to take her arms in her hands.

  “How good to see you, Peter. I’ve hoped you’ve been well.”

  Anna nodded and looked around the establishment. There were several full tables and she felt suddenly like an intruder and a nuisance. However, Elizabeth drew her over to an empty table and sat her down.

  “I’ll get you a plate of food and a cup of coffee. Your cheeks are cherry red from that long drive.”

  Instinctively, Anna raised her hand to touch her cheek, however since she was still wearing her leather gloves, felt nothing.

  “Take off your coat and stay awhile.” She glanced toward the entrance of the restaurant. “Did you come with Wade or Prescott?”

  Elizabeth glanced back at her silence and gave her an apologetic smile.

  “Wade?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Is he planning on returning shortly?”

  Anna shook her head.

  The woman gave her a knowing smile and hurried off to fetch Anna’s food. She returned presently with two mugs of warm coffee. Taking the seat opposite her, Elizabeth told her that she had worried about her since her last visit. She had asked Prescott many times how the ranch boy was doing and how she hoped he would make a return visit, but this time in better health. She then inquired as to how she found the Haddock’s sister on which Anna nodded her head and smiled.

  As usual, Elizabeth’s cooking was delicious. She served her mouth-watering fried chicken and sliced potatoes, and before Anna knew it, it was time she headed over to the mercantile. The woman was such nice company, she almost hated to leave.

  “I’ve been invited to Kathleen’s Christmas ball, so I’m sure I’ll see you there tomorrow.”

  Anna felt her smile waver. She would be a servant at the event, not a guest. It would be considered inappropriate for her to talk to the guests. Exchanging their farewells on the boardwalk outside Elizabeth’s restaurant, she turned and headed for the store.