The Texan's Reward

by Jodi Thomas

  Nell leaned closer to Harrison. “And Walter Farrow wants to offer us the going rate. Twice what it’s worth.”

  Harrison lowered his voice. “Either he’s crazy, or I didn’t see what was so valuable about that property.”

  “Maybe it’s not the property.” She tried to remember what the ranch had looked like. She’d gone out to the place years ago when Stockard had been ill. “I rode in a supply wagon once to deliver food and medicine to the old man. Fat Alice was worried about him.” Nell winked. “Fat Alice worried about all her paying customers, and somehow Henry Stockard always managed to come up with enough money to come to call. Near the end, I think she must have just cared about him.”

  Mr. Harrison shook his head. “He might have raised money from gambling, but not from any profit made on the land.”

  “He might have rented out his little house in town.”

  “Maybe.”

  Nell could still remember the earthy way Henry’s half-dugout, half-cabin had smelled. “I don’t recall much about the land, but I’ll never forget the feeling I got almost the minute I turned off the main road.” She hesitated, not wanting Harrison to think her silly. “It was like someone, or something, watched me. No, not just watched, more like stalked me. Fat Alice said no one but Stockard lived on the place, but I sure had the feeling someone else was out there hidden among the rocks.”

  Harrison looked surprised. “Strange. I kept looking over my shoulder yesterday. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being followed.” He brushed the back of his neck. “I could almost feel them breathing down on me.”

  “You think it could have been Walter Farrow following you?”

  “It could have been. He’s staying in town, and I rode through there, so he might have seen me and followed. But why? You told him he could go out there. He must have known I’d be checking out the place.”

  When Nell didn’t comment, Harrison added, “The sheriff says as far as he knows, no one has been on the ranch since the old man died.”

  Nell agreed. “The last time Fat Alice checked on him, Stockard was too weak to protest, and she brought him to town. He died in the doctor’s office a few days later of pneumonia. His will was on file in town, and everyone knew, besides the land, he didn’t own anything anyone would want. Fat Alice never even sent someone over to clear out his belongings that I know about.”

  “Then why,” Harrison grinned, obviously loving a mystery, “is his shack boarded up?”

  “You mean locked up?”

  “No, boarded up. I didn’t have the tools to break into it, but whoever nailed the boards across the door and windows didn’t want anyone getting inside without some effort.”

  “And who could have done it?” Nell asked. “Alice, maybe, but why? Who’d she want to keep out?”

  Harrison shook his head. “My guess is she might have wanted to keep something locked away inside. I circled the dugout. It’ll take a hatchet to get into there. I couldn’t even find a loose board to pull off so I could take a look.”

  Marla entered with coffee. Then, at Mr. Harrison’s invitation, stayed a minute to discuss the plans for the day.

  Harrison wanted to go to town for supplies and to make sure the title to the Stockard ranch would be ready to transfer if Walter Farrow made an offer. He planned to make another trip out to the land but didn’t want to be away from the house that long until Jacob returned.

  “I could get into town and back in an hour,” he suggested.

  This time Nell wasn’t surprised Marla wanted to go along with him. Marla was turning into his shadow, she thought, or maybe it was the other way around.

  Nell knew Gypsy would be busy with wash until midafternoon, so that would leave her to entertain Wednesday and the preacher. She predicted the day would be full of chatter.

  When she joined Wednesday, Nell found her busy sorting fabric. The girl smiled up at Nell as though she’d found a pirate’s hidden treasure. Nell had a habit of ordering material by mail from a store in Kansas that sent out samples several times a year. By the time the purchases arrived, she’d forgotten what she planned to do with most of the fabric. But Wednesday had ideas. The best of which was making Nell dresses that didn’t have to go over her head.

  “If you’ll let me,” she giggled, “I’ll make you one and show you how much easier it will be for you to get dressed. It’ll be my way of paying you back an ounce for your pound of kindness.”

  Nell acted like she was thinking about it. “Well, all right, but you’ll have to make everyone else something new, too. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”

  The girl laughed and began chattering about ideas she’d already thought of. Gypsy needed a dress that pulled on quick as an apron so when company knocked she could slip it on and run for the door. Marla needed something that looked good on her slender frame.

  “This could take some time,” Nell finally found a break to comment. “You might have to stay quite a while. If I like the dress, I’ll want another.”

  Tears filled Wednesday’s eyes when she smiled.

  Nell pulled an unfinished quilt over her lap and began to embroider stitches across the seams as she listened to Wednesday’s plans for each piece of material.

  When Mr. Harrison stopped by to tell her he was leaving for town, she pulled him aside and told him to buy material for baby things. He looked at her as if she’d asked him the impossible.

  “I’ll try,” he said, then hurried away before she could think of any more dragons that needed slaying.

  Nell returned to her sewing, but by lunch, she’d enjoyed as much of Wednesday’s talk as she could endure. They ate on the porch with Gypsy and the preacher. As the others cleared away the dishes, Nell asked the girl to take her sewing and go up to keep Mrs. O’Daniel company. The nurse must be lonely in her bedroom.

  Nell slipped into one of the window coves and opened a book.

  The house hadn’t been quiet for two hours when the preacher came in to wait for dinner. He said he’d been studying all day and wondered if he might practice a sermon on her. Everyone else passing through could claim to be busy. Nell was trapped. After an hour of acting like she was hanging on every word, her only saving grace was that she wouldn’t have to hear it again when he preached from the pulpit.

  He’d been to town to turn in his request to preach some Sunday, but hadn’t heard a reply.

  Nell swore that Gypsy announced dinner was ready before Marla even cut out the biscuits, so they could gather round the table and the reverend would have to stop practicing. They’d all noticed the man couldn’t seem to get wound to full speed while he ate.

  So they sat talking at the table, all wondering from time to time why dinner hadn’t been served. Finally, Marla brought it out and seemed surprised everyone was already around the table.

  Exhausted, Nell forced herself to stay downstairs as long as possible. She knew if she went to bed, she’d only worry about Jacob, so she spent an hour reading to everyone after supper, then let Harrison guide her to the study to go over some of the records he found.

  It was almost midnight when Harrison and Marla carried her up to bed. Alone, she sat in the darkness and wondered where Jacob was.

  He was all right, she decided. She would have felt it if he’d been shot.

  Shadows deepened as the house grew quiet. One hour slipped by, then another, as she strained to hear any sound announcing Jacob’s return.

  “He’s safe,” she whispered in the darkness of her room.

  She listened again but heard only silence.

  CHAPTER 18

  WHEN NELL OPENED HER EYES, MORNING SPILLED across the room in bright colors of reflected light. She’d overslept and missed the sunrise.

  In the months since the ambush, she’d learned to move slowly when she first awoke. The last thing she needed was a jab of pain shooting through her body when she wasn’t wide awake enough to fight it.

  So she lay still, bracing herself before she faced another day.

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nbsp; A voice seemed to drift from nowhere. “Roll to your side, dear, before trying to sit up. It’ll put less pressure on the small of your back.”

  Nell did as the voice ordered, then pushed herself to a sitting position. A squarely built woman in a navy blue dress with a starched white apron faced her. “Remember me?” The nurse laughed and waved. “I’m Mrs. O’Daniel, and I’m happy to be at your service.”

  Nell had talked to the woman several times yesterday, but the Mrs. O’Daniel she’d seen in bed suffering from a hangover looked nothing like the proper woman before her now. Only hours ago, the nurse hadn’t been able to focus, and her hair was a bush of tangles and curls around her plump, pale face. Now all signs of disorder had been forced back into a bun at the base of her neck. This morning there was no hangover. The woman who’d looked like she might fall apart had vanished and been replaced by a chubby woman who stood straight as a drill sergeant but smiled as warmly as an old maid aunt.

  “Good morning,” Nell managed as she lowered her feet to the floor.

  Mrs. O’Daniel handed her a glass of water. “I’d like to get a few details out of the way, if I may, before we start our first day together, my dear.”

  Nell nodded, not trusting her voice.

  The nurse stood as if at attention. “I’d like to rearrange this room for you. The wheelchair needs to be beside your bed and the lamp far enough away that it won’t get knocked over. After moving some of the furniture, you should have something to hang onto when you move about.”

  Nell saw the woman’s point, except for the “moving about” part. Standing and taking one step had been the sum total of her “moving about” for six months.

  “Next, starting today, you’ll be on a routine. Regular meals, regular sleep, regular exercise. As soon as it’s warm, we’ll swim in the afternoons, but for now you’ll have a hot bath and a rubdown a few times a week.”

  “You sound like I’m a horse.” Nell smiled, thinking she’d make Jacob laugh when she told him of the nurse’s orders. In truth, she was willing to try anything. Dr. McClellan would be here soon, and she wanted to show him some progress.

  Mrs. O’Daniel didn’t smile. “Your housekeeper laid out your clothes, miss, and I’ve put your brush near enough.” She moved the straight-backed chair she’d been standing in front of closer to Nell. “If you’ll hold onto this, it will make standing easier while you’re dressing. I’ll see you in thirty minutes.” She turned and opened the door.

  “Aren’t you going to help me dress?”

  Mrs. O’Daniel stared at her. “If you can stand on the porch all by yourself, you can dress yourself. I’ve put everything you’ll need in front of you.”

  The door closed before Nell added, “But I fell.”

  Thirty minutes later, Nell was ready for a nap. She’d struggled with dressing and combing her hair. At first she’d thought to put it up, but soon found it took far too much effort. She braided it in one long braid and braced herself on the chair back while she reached for a ribbon.

  Mrs. O’Daniel returned with the chiming of the clock. “You look grand, my dear.”

  Nell wanted to call her a liar, but she smiled at the nurse’s effort to compliment her on effort at least.

  Mrs. O’Daniel straightened the room as she talked. “Everyone is waiting breakfast on you, miss. I’ll help you downstairs.” She carried a wide leather belt. The buckle was sturdy and the leather pliable from use. Without comment, the nurse buckled it loosely around Nell’s waist. “I know it’s not much, Miss, but it will hold.”

  Nell raised her arms so the nurse could carry her, hoping the stout woman could manage it. She looked like she might weigh as much as the last nurse, only Mrs. O’Daniel was not only ten years older but more than a head shorter than Mary Ruth had been.

  To Nell’s surprise, Mrs. O’Daniel put one arm around Nell’s waist and gripped the belt. She braced her other arm in front of Nell to help her stand.

  With a little effort, Nell stood beside the woman and placed one arm across her thick shoulders.

  “Now hold your body straight and do the best you can to walk, miss. Don’t you worry about falling. The grip I’ve got on this belt won’t let you go. We’ll move as fast or as slow as you like. Speed isn’t important, progress is.”

  Nell nodded and gripped the back of her chair with her free hand.

  Moving across the room, Nell reached for support as she passed furniture. It took them twenty minutes to get to the landing. Though Nell moved in small steps, her feet took very little of her weight. She was almost walking, she thought. Almost.

  When Harrison and Marla saw her at the top of the stairs, they both ran to help. Mrs. O’Daniel informed them that they weren’t needed. She moved so that Nell could hold the railing with her free hand. “We’re going down these stairs together. One step at a time. Anyone near her but me will just be in her way.”

  Nell lifted her chin, not wanting to admit how frightened she felt. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the banister, taking one step down, then Mrs. O’Daniel waited while she got another firm hold and they managed another step.

  Halfway down, Mr. Harrison moved in her path. “Let us carry you the rest of the way,” he asked. “You’ve done quite enough for today.”

  Mrs. O’Daniel looked at Nell. “You’re only halfway through,” she said. “These stairs will never be longer or harder than they are today if you reach the bottom.”

  Nell tried to smile. “I want to go the rest of the way,” she whispered.

  Harrison moved aside. His face was set with no display of emotion, but she didn’t miss the worry in his gray eyes. He joined the others watching from the bottom of the stairs.

  The preacher mumbled a prayer, and Wednesday paced as Nell held fast to Mrs. O’Daniel’s shoulder with one hand and the stair railing with the other. Sweat ran off her forehead, but she forced her head high. The nurse was giving her a chance to fight, and fight she would. One step at a time.

  Mrs. O’Daniel’s breathing sounded like a train pulling into the station, but she held on tightly to the belt. Nell leaned into her, knowing the woman would hold fast.

  One more step.

  Nell’s shoe turned, making her foot slip sideways. Mrs. O’Daniel held on, giving her time to straighten and find her balance again.

  One more step.

  Nell closed her eyes, remembering all the times at school that she’d walked down the stairs alone to go to dinner. She’d written Fat Alice long letters about her friends at school, but in truth, she’d been alone. No one wanted to be friends with a girl they knew nothing about, and if they’d known her past, they wouldn’t have offered anyway.

  One more step.

  She’d told herself then that their whispers didn’t hurt. She told herself now that the pain didn’t matter. She would survive.

  With the last step, everyone cheered, and she realized she’d reached the bottom of the stairs. She was no longer that frightened child; she was surrounded by friends. Nell felt exhausted and thankful when Gypsy slipped the wheelchair against the back of her legs and she could sit down.

  “You did a grand job,” Mrs. O’Daniel whispered as she unbuckled the belt. “A grand job indeed.”

  “Thank you,” Nell answered out of breath.

  For once she let the housekeeper push her to the table.

  Mrs. O’Daniel took the seat Harrison pulled out for her. Now that she was sober, she seemed all business, which was something he understood. She ate in silence, then pushed her plate aside and pulled out her watch. The timepiece was huge, the kind of pocket watch a man would carry.

  As she drank her second cup of coffee, Nell couldn’t help but wonder which of Mrs. O’Daniel’s husbands had left it to her. Smiling, Nell remembered the watch she’d given Jacob a few years ago for Christmas. He’d told her it was the best gift he’d ever received.

  After Nell downed the last of her coffee, she felt more like facing the day. “What’s the plan, Mrs. O’Daniel?” S
he liked the way the nurse seemed to know what she was doing. Most of the others had been happy to read while Nell stayed in bed. All had insisted she take frequent naps.

  “We’ll walk down to breakfast every morning from now on. And every day you’ll stay out of that chair a little longer until one day, you’ll climb the stairs alone and the wheelchair will be pushed into a corner to collect dust.”

  Nell wasn’t sure she believed her words, but they offered Nell something she hadn’t had in six months: hope.

  Mrs. O’Daniel worked upstairs rearranging Nell’s room for most of the morning. She sent Gypsy and Marla bumping their way downstairs with the bedroom rug and ordered Mr. Harrison to bring up two more ladder-back chairs. When she finally came downstairs, she had the belt with her.

  Nell smiled. “I have a feeling I’m going to grow to hate that thing.”

  Mrs. O’Daniel was all business. “It’s time for your work, dear. Gypsy tells me you like tea. Would you like to walk to the kitchen for a cup or out to the porch to stand in the sun for a few minutes?”

  The nurse offered her arm for Nell to pull up on. “The porch please,” Nell answered. She’d not whine, no matter what the nurse suggested. After the stairs, a walk to the porch didn’t seem all that hard, but her legs felt weak.

  To her surprise, the trip was not as bad as she feared it might be. Nell was learning to trust the stout little woman. True to her word, Mrs. O’Daniel moved slowly, allowing Nell to find her footing with each step but not letting her put much weight on her legs.

  When they reached the porch, Nell closed her eyes and smiled into the warm sun. She took a deep breath, smelling rain in the air. Looking north, she noticed clouds rolling in along the horizon. A storm would be upon them by nightfall.

  Mrs. O’Daniel stood like a rock beside her. “One more step each day, miss. Just one more step, and before you know it, you’ll be walking.”