A Family for the Rancher

by Louise M. Gouge

  All this time, noisy children had been running around inside and outside of the barn, busy with their treasure hunt. At the other end of the building, Pauline, so like her mama except in hair color, held Daniel’s hand and showed him some of the sharper tools on Edmund’s workbench.

  “We don’t need to touch those, just write down what they do.” She dictated the purpose of each one and waited while her younger brother wrote the words. “That’s an awl. It’s for poking holes in leather. That’s a curry brush for brushing horses.”

  Being only six, he took a while to write what she said, but she didn’t seem in a hurry to win the game. Edmund liked that.

  Maybe these young’uns were on their best behavior to impress him, but he couldn’t fault them for that. It just meant they approved of him enough to play matchmakers. Now if he could only get their mama to feel the same way. What could he do? Maybe help her outwit Floyd?

  So how do we do that, Lord? He left the young’uns to their game and walked toward the house. Some of the others were a heap more competitive, racing here and there to hunt for tools and such and making sure their lists were right. Edmund could identify with their enthusiasm because he enjoyed an occasional competition. Enjoyed hunting for...

  Hunting? Searching? That was it. He knew just how to start beating Floyd at his own game. Tonight after supper, he’d tell Lula May and see what she thought of his idea.

  * * *

  Lula May hadn’t even reached the edge of Little Horn before she realized she still hadn’t thanked Edmund for saving her life at the arroyo. What must he think of her? Plodding along the dusty road toward home, she sighed. Too bad she couldn’t catch up to him right now, but Lucas’s poor old mare had been wheezing all morning and might not survive a run.

  These darker horses suffered in the hot summer sun, so Lula May would wash her down and put her in the shade. But if she had colic, Lula May would have to put her down. She’d only had to do that once. It was a horrific experience. The only solution was for a horse to walk it out and try to eliminate the cause. If the old gal survived heat and belly troubles and her health improved, she might be useful for something. At barely fourteen years, she deserved a chance. Lula May didn’t have the heart to deny her that.

  A surprising conviction struck her. If only she could feel as kindly toward Uncle Floyd as she did toward this mare. Mama once told Lula May she’d grown up in a home full of love, so Floyd would have, too. What on earth had turned him so stinky mean? She supposed it was the war, when he’d lost almost all his property to debt and his wife and child to illness. But why couldn’t he have done what the wiser Southerners did, take what was left and move on with their lives? Despite losing the larger plantation to taxes, he’d been able to keep the house and that horse farm, but wasted all the profits. Now he wanted to take Lula May’s livelihood. It made no sense, and try though she might, she couldn’t put herself in his place.

  However, if the Lord had allowed these trials in her life, as Edmund claimed, she could trust Him to show her the way to solve them. One thing she knew for sure was that the Lord wanted His children to forgive those who offended them. Lula May sure did want her children to do the same, so she had to set an example. No matter what turned Uncle into such a mean man, she’d pray to have a forgiving heart toward him.

  Yet forgiving wasn’t the same as letting Floyd destroy their lives. She had the right and responsibility to protect them all from his rudeness and especially from his schemes. Now that she had Edmund on her side, her feelings of helplessness had disappeared, but she still had to figure out how to prove Uncle’s claims about Mama’s necklace to be false. In the meantime, she must treat him with the respect due an elder.

  She snorted to herself. Even when she treated him with respect, he sneered at her and claimed she was being nice so she could cheat him out of what he was owed. Well, she’d tried to teach the children not to let another person’s actions control theirs. Maybe it was time to stiffen her spine and do the same. Lord, I’m depending on You for strength and wisdom.

  An hour later, she’d finished brushing and washing down Lady and the old mare and turned them out, where they headed straight for the small stand of trees at the far side of the pasture. The long walk had the desired effect on the mare and one of her problems had been eliminated. She’d perked up and now pranced around with Lady like she was feeling better. Lula May sent up a prayer of thanks for that recovery. She felt better herself. Along with her prayer and resolution to treat Uncle kindly, she now possessed the emotional energy required to deal with him.

  At the outdoor pump, she splashed water on her face to wash off any remaining appearance of tears. She wouldn’t give Uncle the satisfaction of knowing he’d made her cry. Nor would she tell him about Lucas not paying her. Besides, after unloading all of her troubles onto Edmund’s broad shoulders, she felt lighthearted, almost giddy over whatever came next. It would be exciting to see how the Lord was going to work everything out.

  She walked into the house and found Uncle searching through every book and ledger in her office. He hadn’t even bothered to return them to the shelves. Hadn’t even closed them. Instead, they lay around the floor, the chairs and her desk, pages fluttering in the hot breeze blowing in through the western window. How would he feel if she went through his belongings this way and left them strewn about?

  “May I help you find something?” She kept her voice cheerfully curious, praying for strength and wisdom with each word.

  Barely glancing at her, he spat out his favorite curse word. “You know very well what I am looking for, girlie. You had better get that deed for me before my lawyer arrives tomorrow.”

  She refused to be dismayed by the mess he’d made. Partly because she was determined to treat him at least as well as she did Lucas’s mare and partly because he was nowhere near the secret safe under her desk. Hmm. That was a new thought. Her desk, not Frank’s. Her good, dear husband didn’t need it any longer and had left it in her safekeeping. That sweet notion warmed her heart.

  She leaned against the doorjamb, trying not to be amused by the spectacle he made, all dressed up in his tan suit, long-sleeved shirt and black tie...and sweating profusely. Maybe she should explain that, unlike in his genteel Alabama society, in Texas, a man could go about in his shirtsleeves and still be considered a gentleman.

  “What would you like for dinner?”

  He perked up and gave her his full attention. But then, any mention of food brought the same reaction. “I did not think much of that supper last night, but it was filling. You have any of it left?”

  “It’s in the icebox. I’ll heat it up for you.” She left him to his search and did as she’d said. Even sat down at the kitchen table and ate with him.

  Naturally, he criticized her manners and how much she ate. “You never did have much of a figure, but if you keep on eating that much food, you will resemble those cows out in your pasture. A real lady never eats—”

  “Steers.” She reminded herself not to let his insults hurt. In truth, she always ate plenty so she’d have the much-needed energy to do all of her work, and she always worked it off. She’d never carried any extra weight even when she was expecting. If anything, her muscular frame could use a few more just-right feminine curves like her friend Nancy’s. Not to mention Uncle was hardly a model of self-control or perfection.

  “What?”

  “Steers. Not cows. I keep telling you that you need to pay attention to the terms people use out here, or you’ll never fit in.” She stood and picked up her plate. “I’m headed out to the pasture to take dinner to Calvin and Samuel. Want to come?”

  “Certainly not.” He huffed out his indignation.

  She left him to his own devices, knowing full well he would keep looking for the deed. If he got more creative in his search, he might crawl under the desk and...no, she wouldn’t worry. God was in
control, and He had sent Edmund to help her. Together they would figure something out to keep Uncle from stealing her land and robbing her children of their futures.

  * * *

  Edmund caught the aroma of chicken the second he rode into Lula May’s barnyard, and his mouth began to water. Instead of waiting while the three young’uns tended Buster, he tied up Zephyr and headed straight for the house. If he could talk to Lula May alone before supper, that would be all the better.

  He entered the mudroom feeling as if he belonged there, then hesitated, watching her through the inside door as she worked on biscuit dough on the counter facing him. She’d freshened up and put on the pretty blue dress that brightened the color of her eyes. Their rich sky blue intensity always gave him a kick in the chest, and especially so after their heartfelt discussion today. He could see coming home to her every night. For the first time in his life, that sounded like a better idea than going home to an empty house and an evening that sometimes stretched out before him all endless and quiet. At last he could admit, at least to himself, that he’d always claimed to prefer his solitude because he’d had no other option. But now he did, if Lula May would just see it that way.

  “Come on in.” She brushed a strand of that strawberry blond hair off of her forehead with the back of one floured hand, a useless gesture, because the strand fell right back in front of her left eye.

  Without thinking, he stepped across the room and pushed the hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “There.” Then he realized what he’d done, the familiarity with which he’d acted without her permission. “Um... I...uh...”

  She stared up at him, those big blue eyes all round and her lips parted in shock. His knees almost buckled. Had he ruined everything? Lost his chance to win her by moving too fast? It wasn’t as if he’d meant to take liberties.

  A sound from the other room made them both take a step back.

  “Thank you.” All businesslike now, Lula May returned to her biscuit making. “Should have pinned that back before I got started.”

  Floyd Jones entered the kitchen and shot accusing looks at the two of them. “What are you doing here?”

  Edmund gave him a bland smile. “Came to supper.”

  “Again?”

  “Again.”

  Floyd sat himself down at the kitchen table. “Lula May, bring me some coffee.”

  Edmund opened his mouth to say, “Get it yourself,” but Lula May beat him to it.

  “Floyd, you know where the cups are. Coffee’s hot. While you’re helping yourself, pour a cup for Edmund.”

  Edmund gave her a sly wink, which she returned. Maybe he hadn’t lost his chance with her after all.

  * * *

  Throughout supper, Lula May tried to figure out how to get time alone with Edmund. She could see in those piercing green eyes that he wanted to speak with her. But how could she talk privately when Uncle inserted himself into everything that happened in the house.

  Edmund solved the problem for her. After supper, he invited Uncle to play checkers, let him win, then turned his chair over to Calvin. He must have told her son that he wanted to talk to her, because Calvin took his place despite his aversion to Uncle’s cheating.

  “All right, Uncle Floyd.” Calvin rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Last time you beat me three out of three, so I demand a rematch.”

  “Humph. Will not do you any good, boy.” Seated in Frank’s chair like a king holding court, Uncle lifted one corner of his lips into a sneer. “I am on my game tonight.”

  “Since you all are entertaining each other, I’ll go check on Lucas’s mare.” Lula May did her part to arrange her private talk with Edmund. “Anyone want to go with me?”

  “Nope. No, ma’am.” Her other children spoke all together, and for once, she was glad for their matchmaking. All four of them looked directly at Edmund.

  “Well...” Edmund drawled out the word, sighed, and then rolled his shoulders as if he was too weary to take on yet another task at the end of a hard day. “It’s getting dark, so I guess I’d better go with you in case those cattle rustlers head this way.”

  “Why, thank you, sir.” Lula May spoke like the Southern belles Uncle had always wanted her to emulate. “I would deeply appreciate your protection.” She batted her eyelashes, something she’d never done in her life.

  Edmund tilted his head and frowned in confusion, then blinked and arched his eyebrows with understanding. “Happy to, ma’am.”

  Uncle Floyd glared at the two of them as they left the parlor. Lula May held on to her mirth until they reached the barnyard, then doubled over laughing, definitely not the behavior of a Southern belle.

  “Did you see his face?” She gazed up at Edmund, no longer caring what Uncle thought of her...friendship with her handsome neighbor. After Edmund’s proposal, despite her turning him down, something had changed in that friendship. Other than Frank and her children, she’d never trusted anyone this profoundly since her parents’ deaths. It relieved her more than she ever could have imagined. How easy it would be to give Edmund her heart, but only if he gave his to her.

  “Yep.” Edmund’s expression was shadowed in the twilight, but she could hear the humor in his voice. At the same time, she read caution in his posture. “I wouldn’t rile him too much. That might mess up our plan.”

  Her heart jumped. “You have a plan?”

  “Sort of. I was thinking if I could get Floyd away from here for long enough, you could go through his things and see if you can find some sort of evidence to prove you owned the necklace. Maybe he has a copy of your grandma’s will so you can see exactly what it says. Something like that.”

  Lula May cringed. As much as she’d felt dismayed by Uncle’s searching her house, she felt more than a little uncomfortable returning the favor. “Oh, my.” She chewed her lip. “Is that honest? I mean, would the Lord approve of my doing it?”

  They walked toward the near pasture, where Lucas’s mare now grazed close by the fence. Just as Lula May was wishing she’d brought a carrot for the horse, Edmund pulled one from his pocket. Clever man. Clever, thoughtful man. The mare ambled over and took it, munching noisily on the treat. Lula May imagined she could see the thank-you in her large brown eyes.

  “The way I see it, it’s not like you’d be breaking into his house. He’s a guest in yours.” Edmund chuckled. “Don’t you do his laundry? You’d just be looking for things to wash.”

  “On a Tuesday? He knows my laundry day is every other Saturday.”

  “Hmm. I see what you mean.” Petting the mare over the fence’s top rail, Edmund gave Lula May a sidelong glance. “Your young’uns did get mighty dirty over at my place today. Might mean an extra washday.” His voice held a hint of teasing, which she ignored in light of his reasoning.

  “That might work.” She recalled Uncle’s wilted suit and shirt, for which he had at least one change of clothes. “How did you plan to get him away from here?”

  “I’d thought about taking him to the cattlemen’s meeting tomorrow night. I could spread the word not to discuss the posse’s schedule until he and I head back here.” He shrugged. “’Course, that means you wouldn’t be able to go, and I think you should be there.” He paused, staring down into her eyes, and once again tucked her wayward strand of hair back behind her ear. “I want you to be there.”

  Just as when he touched her earlier, a pleasant shiver swept down her neck. Oh, my. How easy it would be to love this kind, tenderhearted man. If only he loved her instead of regarding her as merely a neighbor to help, a friend to rescue.

  “That means the world to me, Edmund.” In the dim evening light, she held his gaze for several blissful moments, wishing against all good sense that he would bend down and kiss her.

  Instead, he cleared his throat and stared away into the gathering darkness to the east. Taking a cue fro
m him, she also shook off the intense feelings of the moment.

  “His lawyer’s supposed to arrive on the three o’clock train tomorrow. You could drive him to town while I do the laundry.”

  “Huh. There you have it. The perfect answer.”

  And so it was that early the next afternoon, the hottest time of day in mid-July, she found herself in the backyard scrubbing clothes on the washboard in her large tin tub...and waving goodbye to Edmund and Uncle as they drove away toward town. As soon as they rounded the hill a quarter mile beyond her property, she rinsed her last shirt and hung it to dry on the clothesline. With the younger children at Edmund’s with Abel, the foreman, and Calvin and Samuel busy with the horses, Lula May headed into the house to search Uncle’s large steamer trunk. She prayed with all her might that she’d find something, anything to prove her innocence.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Edmund did his best not to sound threatening as Floyd pulled a small flask from his pocket and started to pour its contents into his empty coffee cup. “Mrs. Green will throw us both out if she finds out you brought spirits into her café.”

  As Floyd returned the flask to his inside jacket pocket, he snorted and muttered something about backwoods Cretans. The old man would be surprised to learn Edmund knew what that word meant. In fact, the Apostle Paul had written about that race of men. “Even a prophet of their own said, the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.” Sounded more like Floyd Jones than anybody who lived here in Little Horn. Where on earth did the man get the idea he was better than everyone else? And where did he get the contents of that flask? According to Lula May, he hadn’t been off the ranch except for attending the July Fourth celebration. Must have found a kindred spirit among the few strangers who’d shown up for the event and bought enough to last him awhile.

  “Just another half hour before the train arrives.” Edmund nodded toward the clock on the opposite wall.