“Auntie Annie, you are not an idiot, and Papa says we shouldn’t ever call anybody one either. It’s not polite.”
Hannah sat up to find Clara standing in the doorway in her nightdress and clutching a rag doll to her chest. “Of course it’s not polite. I’m angry with myself, that’s all.” She swiped her fingers across her cheeks to erase the tears that had escaped her eyes.
Clara padded in bare feet over to Hannah and climbed up on the bed beside her. She lifted her fingers and touched Hannah’s face. “Your cheeks are wet. Were you crying?”
Hannah reached over and hugged Clara close. “Yes, I was, sweetie. I did something very foolish, and it made me unhappy.” She tickled the girl’s ribs. “But now that you’re here, I can’t help but be happy.”
Clara’s giggles warmed Hannah’s heart and did bring back some joy, but no amount of laughter from her niece could erase the embarrassment brought on by her impulsive behavior. How would she ever be able to look Micah in the face again?
CHAPTER 24
HANNAH CLOSED THE door behind Ellie and leaned against it. Her heart sank to her toes at the news Ellie had brought that Micah had come to town again and gone immediately to the saloon. The chasm between the brothers had grown deeper and Micah’s problems multiplied. She touched her fingers to her lips, remembering the kiss she’d planted on his cheek a few nights ago.
The voices of Manfred and Sallie drifted from the dining room. Hannah bit her lip. They’d know what to do, but she hesitated in going to them. She hadn’t told Sallie about the kiss, and even now heat rose in her cheeks at the brazenness of such an act. She straightened up and breathed deeply to gain courage to speak with her sister.
When she entered the dining room, they stopped their discussion, but not before she caught the end of Sallie’s words. “This chasm he and Levi have created will be the death of the Circle G yet. We have to do something to help. Mrs. Gordon is under great stress, and I didn’t like the dark circles under her eyes when I saw her earlier this week.”
Manfred nodded to Hannah. “Come in and sit down.” He leaned on the table, his arms crossed. “We’re concerned about Mrs. Gordon and her health.”
Concern had already consumed Hannah’s thoughts too. “This is a battle those two have to fight between themselves. No one has been able to break through the barrier they created.”
Sallie nodded her agreement. “We’ve both prayed and prayed for those two young men, but so far the Lord hasn’t answered. Ellie has tried to reason with Levi and James has tried with Micah, but neither accomplished much except to make both men angrier.”
“I wish I could do something,” Hannah said. She didn’t want to reveal that she’d already tried too and failed miserably.
The side of Micah she’d seen at the depot on her arrival and the man who’d danced with her were entirely different from the man she’d seen these past weeks with misery in his eyes. Now he sat in that saloon trying to forget it all in a bottle of liquor. That couldn’t do anything but make matters worse. Why couldn’t Micah see that? She sank into a chair next to Sallie.
Sallie reached over and grasped Hannah’s hands. “Oh, Hannah, you can’t mend people’s lives like you can a broken arm or a bad cut. They have to want to be helped, and apparently these two young men don’t want to be helped.”
“But it hurts so to see the sadness I saw in him and his mother the other night at the ranch. I know how deeply wounded Mrs. Gordon is by her sons’ behavior. Imagine how you would feel if it happened with two of your own.” Although she had no children of her own, Hannah could think of nothing worse than to have two people who were a part of her and whom she loved with all her heart to turn against each other.
“We all care about him, and we don’t like to see what is happening either, but it’s not our family and none of our business. All we can and should do is to pray for God to resolve the issues and bring the two brothers back together.” Sallie squeezed Hannah’s hands once again then stood. “I’m going up to check on the children.”
She leaned over and kissed the top of her husband’s head. “I’ll be back down, and then we can have tea and some of that pecan bread you like so much.”
Manfred patted her hand. “Thank you, dear. I’ll be in my office looking over a few charts. I may need to go back out to the Hensley place to check on Jonah.” He rose from his chair and wrapped his arm about Sallie’s waist as they left the kitchen.
Hannah swallowed the lump in her throat. If only she could have a love like that with Micah. Her heart constricted with pain at the picture of him drinking himself to a stupor at the saloon.
An idea leaped into her head, and before she had a chance to reject it, she pushed back from the table. The feud between Micah and Levi may not be her business, but God wouldn’t mind if she meddled just a little. Sometimes a little help along the way made God’s job easier. At least she hoped it would in this case.
Hannah called out to Manfred to let him know she was going for a walk then stepped out onto the porch. The summer sun left streaks and streams of purple and orange across the evening sky. In a short time darkness would cover the town with only light from a few gas lamps to give any illumination. She hurried down the walk then turned toward the center of town. If she walked fast, she’d get to the lights on Main Street before complete darkness enveloped everything. She increased her pace and ignored the extra weight of her boot.
Music from the piano in the saloon filled the still night air, and Hannah stopped short. She’d never been in a saloon before. What had she been thinking? She couldn’t simply march in and confront Micah in front of all those people. She’d embarrass herself as well as Micah. There had to be some other way.
She inched her way along the wall outside the saloon before venturing a peek inside. Cowboys and townsmen filled the tables, and their laughter rang out with the tinny piano as background. Micah sat toward the back at a table by himself. A lone bottle of whiskey and a small glass sat before him on the table.
Hannah’s heart ached at the sight. Even from here the set of his shoulders and the angle of his head told a story of sadness and defeat. How she longed to wrap her arms around him and cradle his head against her chest as a mother would a hurt child. However, her emotions were not that of a mother wanting to comfort a child, but more wanting to comfort a man she loved as a wife would her husband.
That thinking had to stop. She bit down hard on her lip to take her mind away from its wayward path. Then she noticed the table sat near a rear door. Hannah narrowed her eyes and peered again through the window. Maybe if she went around back and investigated, there might be a way in without walking across the middle of the saloon.
When she rounded the corner of the building, the black night wrapped itself around her like a shroud. Icy fear raced through her body, and she turned back. No, she wanted to speak with Micah, so there had to be a way. Lord, give me courage, but if this isn’t what You want me to do, I’ll turn back now and leave him alone.
After a moment she took a step back to the light, but a voice in her heart stopped her. Talk to him. I’ll be with you. She hesitated only seconds before plunging forth between the two buildings and into the alley. At the back of the saloon light spilled from a window and revealed a doorway. Hannah sidled up to it and tried the knob. It turned, and the door opened into a storage room of sorts.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Across the room was another door that must lead into the saloon. After tiptoeing her way to the door, she opened it a crack. There sat Micah not more than three feet away with his back toward her.
A floorboard creaked and caused Micah to turn his head to find Hannah Dyer beside the storage room door. His mouth dropped open, and he locked gazes with her for a few seconds. What in thunder was she doing in a saloon?
His first instinct was to yell at her, but he kept his voice low. “Get out of here, Hannah. This is no place for a girl like you.” If the doc heard about this, he’d have both their
heads on a silver platter.
Instead of leaving, she scurried like a mouse to his table and sat down. “I’ve come to tell you something, and you’d better listen and listen good.”
What in the world? She must be out of her head. “I don’t care what you have to say. I’ve heard it all.” Why was his heart pounding so? He couldn’t let her have this effect on him. “Get yourself home before you get into trouble.” At least no one had noticed her sitting there as yet.
He stared at her as she bit her lip as though considering what he said. With her yellow dress cut high at the neck and trimmed in some kind of fancy lace, she looked as out of place as a lamb in a pigsty.
She squared her shoulders and shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving. It’s time for you to find Levi, straighten things out between the two of you, and get on with the business of taking care of your pa’s ranch. The ways things are now, neither one of you is going to get what you want. You’ll still be saddled with the ranch and all its debt, and Ellie won’t marry Levi.”
The anger in her eyes flashed fire, but she kept her voice at a level that couldn’t be heard beyond his table. What a beautiful face, even in anger. Why hadn’t he gone after her instead of Camilla? Oh, wait, yes, her deformed leg and foot. He opened his mouth to tell her that it was none of her business, but she plowed ahead.
“Don’t you think you caused your ma enough grief when you ran away the first time? Now you’re staying in town but running away again. This time you think you can hide from all your problems with a bottle of whiskey, but you can’t hide from it and you can’t hide from God. Your father would be sorely disappointed in you right now.”
“Hah! You think you have it all figured out.” She didn’t know the half of it. Pa had never been pleased with anything Micah did. He leaned forward. “Well, let me tell you one thing, Sister Dyer, I do what I want whenever I want, and nobody’s going to tell me different. I’m not hurting anybody but myself. As for God, He doesn’t care about me anyway.” Let her chew on that for a while.
Even that didn’t stop her. “Micah Gordon, God cares about you. He wants you to succeed. He wants you to do what needs to be done to take care of what your father left you. You don’t want to do it alone, so go get Levi and tell him you need him. You’re both too stubborn to see how much you do need each other.”
That was enough. Micah slammed his fist on the table, causing the bottle to jump. If not for Hannah’s quick hands, it would have fallen and spilled its contents in her lap. His voice rose above the crowd noise. “I don’t need your advice now or ever, Hannah Dyer. Go home and leave me alone. You don’t belong here in the first place.”
The stricken look in her eyes hurt to the core, but he couldn’t give in to her. Under other circumstances he might be shutting her up with a kiss, but not now. Silence roared its presence as everyone in the saloon stopped all activity to observe the scene. Red flooded Hannah’s cheeks as she jumped up.
Her lower lip trembled and her fists clenched at her sides. “Micah Gordon, you are the most stubborn, pigheaded, blind, and . . . and . . . oh, why don’t you wake up and see the truth.” With that she whirled around and marched across the saloon to the front door with her head held high.
Once the doors closed behind Hannah, the music and conversation resumed, but several men glanced in his direction and shook their heads. Tess, the owner of the saloon, sauntered over and stood at his side with her hands on her hips. “She’s only telling you what a lot of others in here would like to. Don’t you think this feud has gone on long enough? Go home where you belong and work things out with your family.”
She grabbed up the bottle. “And this won’t help you solve anything. It’ll only make matters worse.” Tess stared hard at him for a few seconds then headed back to the bar, where she handed over the bottle he’d already paid for.
He’d only had one sip from it, but then he didn’t need it anyway with anger roiling inside and sending bile up through his throat. When he headed for the door, the bartender held out the money spent on the whiskey. Micah waved him off. “Keep it. I may need it later.”
When the warm night air hit his face, he breathed deeply and untied his horse. He swung his leg up over Smokey’s back. “Might as well go home, my friend. No one seems to want me around here.”
Rejection . . . the story of his life . . . filled him with a sadness he couldn’t stop. It flowed through him like water spilling over a dam after a heavy rain. First his father, then the women he’d wanted while he had been away, and then his father again once he’d returned home. It may not have been Micah himself that Pa rejected this summer, but by not accepting the things Micah wanted to do with the ranch, it may as well have been. He’d even ruined any chances he may have had with Hannah Dyer.
He’d hurt her tonight, and that called up a regret in his heart that he had never experienced before. No woman had ever had this effect on him. Despite her handicap, she was a woman who loved with all her heart and soul. She’d be as faithful as Ma had been to Pa, and that was the kind of love he wanted in his life.
The moon sent beams of light to guide him home, but only darkness surrounded his soul. How could he have been so rude to her? Did she really care that much about him? Even if she did, it would do him no good now. He had ruined any chances he may have had with her.
As he drew closer to home, his thoughts rambled through past years and ended up in the last few weeks. Levi criticized and condemned Micah for leaving home without any thought for anyone else in the family, but now he’d gone and done the same thing. Maybe Levi wasn’t wasting his money and time on booze and women, but he was hurting his family just the same.
Micah sat up straighter in the saddle. It was time someone shook some sense into that boy. As the oldest, that job belonged to him. In a flash it all became clear. Hannah’s words rang true and pierced his heart. He was head of this family now, and it was his place to go after Levi and bring him home no matter how angry he may be. Pride or begging had nothing to do with it. Family meant working things out, no matter what.
He’d do that tomorrow morning. It being a Saturday, he’d be able to leave without having to tell anyone what he planned. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get Levi to swallow his pride and come home.
With new determination he rode up to the ranch house. A horse stood hitched at the railing. Micah peered through the moonlight. It sure looked like Levi’s horse, but what was he doing out here at the ranch?
The front door opened and a figure stood silhouetted in the light. Micah dismounted and strode to the porch. “Levi? What are you doing here?”
CHAPTER 25
LEVI ATTEMPTED TO brush past Micah, but he grabbed his brother’s arm. “I want to talk with you, and you’re going to listen.”
“I’m not listening to anything you have to say.” Levi yanked his arm to get away, but Micah tightened his grasp. “Let me go.”
“No. You’re both staying here.” Ma stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “You two have been feuding long enough. You come inside now and get this mess sorted out before I take a switch to you both.”
Even with all his years away, Micah never forgot that tone of voice. Ma meant business, and he’d best get himself inside. Levi would do the same if he knew what was good for him. Micah dropped his brother’s arm. “Yes, ma’am, I’m coming.”
He shot a glare at Levi. His brother clenched his teeth and his eyes narrowed, but he followed Micah into the parlor.
“Now, sit yourselves down here and let’s get this business cleared up once and for all. It makes no sense for you to be at two different ranches when only one of them really needs you both.” She waited until Micah and Levi settled in their chairs.
“I’ve waited long enough for you boys to come to some agreement. Since neither of you has made a move to talk to the other, I’ve decided it’s time to step in and make it happen. Micah, I reckon you have something to say to Levi, and Levi, you’re going to listen. When he�
�s done, it’ll be your turn to talk and state your opinion.”
This was more like old times. When he and Levi argued, Ma let them handle things their own way, but if they didn’t, she stepped in and did what needed to be done in the situation. He wished she hadn’t waited so long this time, but at least Levi would be forced to listen.
“Thank you, Ma.” He leaned toward Levi. “I know when we were boys we didn’t always get along, but we never let things go this far. We’ve both made mistakes. Mine was to leave and stay away so long without giving anyone any idea of where I was. Yours was to run off when I did come home.”
A frown muddied Levi’s face, and he opened his mouth to most likely protest, but Ma stopped him. “Don’t say a word, Levi. You wait until he’s done, and then you can have your say.”
Levi slumped back in his chair still wearing the frown and crossed his arms.
“Levi, I talked with Pa soon as I came home and told him I didn’t want this ranch as my own to run. I can’t handle it, and I’ve about proved that with the way things have gone the past month. I begged him to change his will and at least make the ranch half yours. I would gladly have worked with you as a business partner. You know more about running this place than I could ever know. If not for you and Roy, we’d be in even worse condition than we are.”
Levi’s eyebrows arched and his eyes opened wide. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“You never gave me a chance. Every time I went after you, you ran the opposite direction. And the one time I did try to talk to you, you twisted my words into something I couldn’t even recognize.”
“Ma, did you know about this?” Levi straightened in his chair and leaned toward Ma.
“Yes, Pa and I talked about it. He was so worried about losing the ranch completely that he didn’t get around to changing his will. He wanted it to be debt free. He figured that one last loan from the bank would tide him over until he got the herd to market. He never planned on dying before he could do that.”
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