by Denise Irwin
Smiling down at her he said, “I didn’t see a thing.”
Garrett escorted her to the front of the casket, where she whispered to him before he left her, “Who closed the casket?” She almost giggled aloud, when he winked at her. That small wink let her know that she would do just fine.
Danny smiled as she looked at the faces around the room, watching for her to either speak or pass out. Her emotions felt as though they had been entered into the Daytona 500 NASCAR Race, as they ran in circles inside her heart.
“Good morning, my name is Daniella McPherson. I am Matt McPherson’s granddaughter. I know many of the faces in this room, but there are so many more faces that I don’t know. I want to thank you for coming to honor my Grandpa. Those of you, who know me, know that I was orphaned when my parents were killed in an auto accident, so it was my grandfather along with Betty Shaffer, who raised me. My grandfather’s generosity allowed me to attend school in Paris, France. Since returning to the ranch, I have learned that Matt McPherson’s generosity has also been extended to many people in need. In the few days that I have been home, I’m overwhelmed that my grandfather not only owns a large horse ranch, but that the ranch now operates as a place for handicapped children to visit as a part of their physical therapy.
“The McPherson Ranch also takes in abused horses and turns them into gentle giants. They too have emotional and physical handicaps, but they work hard to be a part of the children’s program. While I was abroad, my grandfather, Betty Shaffer, and Garrett Ryan turned this old ranch around into something I am very proud to be a part of. I am the sixth generation to own the ranch, and my only hope is that I can live up to the expectation of my Grandpa. It would be wrong if I didn’t repeat myself and thank you for honoring my grandfather, Matt McPherson.”
Garrett reached for her arm as he whispered, “You look close to passing out.”
“I am.”
“I’ve got you. Take hold of my arm. There’s a horse and buggy just outside the door. You’re gonna ride in that buggy with Betty.”
When Garrett helped her up to sit next to Nana, she chided him, “This is not a buggy sir; it is a carriage. In its day, it was the talk of the town.”
He smiled at her, “I then offer my apology to the mistress of the house for calling it a buggy.”
The carriage in question had traveled with the first McPherson years ago from Boston to Denver. He appointed himself as the Mayor and took the carriage to Sunday church services. It was polished every week to keep its black exterior glistening in the sunlight. It was an open air carriage, much like the ones used in Newport, years later, when the wealthiest men in the country tried to outdo one another showing off their wealth. The first McPherson’s use of the carriage became an amusement to the residents in town. He was laughed at since they rode to church in the more rugged homemade buckboards that adapted to the terrain. A buckboard replaced the ornate carriage for Sunday church services and trips for supplies into town. The carriage was placed in its own barn, or now, one would call it a carriage garage, and only used to transport the McPherson coffins to their final resting place in the family graveyard. This was Danny’s second trip in the carriage. The first was to bury her parents.
The carriage slowly made its way along the dirt road while the mourners walked behind it. When they reached the McPherson graveyard, someone opened the carriage door, and offered a hand to assist her and Nana down. Expecting that the hand belonged to Garrett, she found that to her astonishment, it was Michal.
Once she and Nana were standing beside the carriage, he offered both of his elbows to escort them to the grave site. There were two chairs in front of the freshly dug grave. Danny took one while Nana took the other. Danny watched silently while the pallbearers brought Matt’s casket to its final resting place. Someone standing alone on a distant hill played Amazing Grace on his bagpipe. When he played Going Home, uncontrollable tears fell from Danny’s eyes.
Through a tear blurred vision, she watched as her grandfather’s casket was lowered into the grave. She looked up to see a single white dove circle the graveyard. Even though she was sitting, her body was uncontrollably shaking after watching that lone dove circle overhead. Someone handed her a red carnation. When she stood from her chair to toss the flower onto the casket, the bagpiper played Danny Boy.
Through the gray fog in her brain, she heard Nana tell her, “Danny, you need to take a shovel and fill it with dirt. Then you will place the first shovel of dirt into the grave.”
Sobbing, she choked on her words. “I can’t. Nana, I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can child. You need to find the emotional strength from within your heart. I will not allow you to dishonor your grandfather.”
Danny did as she was told; she grabbed the shovel and dug into the dirt pile created from digging out his grave. Traumatized, when she looked into his grave she felt someone take hold of her weak body. If Garrett hadn’t reacted as quickly as he had, she would have fallen into the grave, landing on top of her grandfather’s casket.
Through the thick fog in her mind, she heard him say, “Danny, I’ll walk you to the carriage and then come back to collect Betty.”
“I want to walk back to the house. I need some fresh air.”
Garrett watched as she walked away from the interment alone. He knew she was crying and needed a moment to collect herself.
When Danny reached the house, she went straight to her bathroom to wash her face. When everyone returned to the house, Nana would need her help for her grandfather’s Irish Wake. She went down to the kitchen to find Nana pouring tumblers full of Irish whiskey.
“Child, we’re gonna have a hoedown like you’ve never seen.”
When the guests came into the house, Danny handed each one a tumbler. Nana stayed in the kitchen filling the tumblers and placing them onto a tray. Once the tray was full, she handed it to Danny to hand them out. When Danny’s tray was empty, she exchanged the empty tray for a full one. Danny stopped counting the number of trays and just tried to keep the production line moving.
A friend of her grandfather’s raised his glass, “May the road rise up to meet you;
may the wind be always at your back, the sun shine warm upon your face. The rain may fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”
Once the toast was complete, the food, beer and music appeared as if by magic. Danny honestly thought she saw a green leprechaun handing out mugs full of Irish beer. She danced along with everyone else, and when her feet hurt, she kicked her tight fitting heels under the sofa, and danced until dawn.
When the last of their guests staggered out of the house, Danny looked at her Nana, “It’s almost time to fix breakfast.”
“Child, if these boys didn’t get enough to eat, shame on them. This old woman is going to bed before I start cleaning up. I’m gonna suggest that you do the same.”
Danny was too wired to sleep, so after her Nana went off to bed, she went into the kitchen and put the hordes of food into storage bowls. She then started moving the dirty glasses and plates that were strewn throughout the house toward the kitchen. Before tackling the dishwashing, she put on a pot of coffee. Judging by the stacks of dirty dishes piled onto the kitchen table and counter, it was gonna be a long night.
She loaded the dishwasher, clearing a small spot on the table. Danny then poured a cup of coffee and took it to the cleared spot. Her plan was to run the dishwasher all night if she had to. Since the first load would take about three-quarters of an hour, she could grab a quick nap. She listened to the cycles of the machine waiting to hear the click the dial would make, when the dry cycle was completed.
Danny heard the click and decided that she could sleep for just a few minutes more. When she lifted her heavy head off the table, she looked up and saw that Michal had retrieved the clean dishes from the dishwasher and was in the process of reloading it with dirty dishes. She looked up at him, “What are you doing?”
/> “I’m just trying to help. I left the festivities early. Why don’t you go get some rest, while I take care of cleaning up? I am not sure where they go, so I have placed the clean dishes onto the table.”
“Let me help; you don’t have to do this alone.”
“Daniella, I might be a buffoon, but I can load and unload a house dishwasher. Seriously, go get some sleep, please let me do this one small thing.”
Someone must have said something to Michal that Garrett and her grandfather thought he was a buffoon. “Please at least let me put the clean dishes away since I know where they go.”
“I have just been piling them back onto the table, but if you know where they go, I will take you up on your offer.”
They worked together throughout the night and in the pre-dawn light, heard the rooster’s crow announcing that it was morning.
“Before you run off to bed, would you please join me in a cup of coffee?”
Danny was so tired that she could barely move; however, working together, the kitchen was ready for Nana to start fixing breakfast. “Sure, I can do that.”
“Daniella, with your permission, I would like to ask Garrett for a job.”
“Do you seriously want to work as a ranch hand?”
“Yes.”
When Nana came into the kitchen to start the morning breakfast, she found Michal and Danny with their heads lying on her kitchen table, sound asleep. She looked around to see that they must have been up all night tidying her kitchen. She would have preferred to find Danny with Garrett, but she was a patient woman.
She touched Danny’s shoulder to wake her. When that didn’t work, she nudged her shoulder, and when that didn’t work, she tried to wake Michal. Betty thought for a moment, there’s always more than one way to skin a cat. She had just the thing that would wake them. She grabbed her cast iron frying pan and banged on it with a steel spoon.
That did the trick; they jumped from their chairs and ran out the front door onto the porch. Nana followed them onto the porch. They were clinging to one another as if the world were coming to an end.
Nana laughed, “The sky isn’t falling, but I couldn’t wake either of you. Banging a steel spoon against a frying pan always works. I’m more than a little grateful for the work the two of you did to get my kitchen in order, but you both need to get some sleep. So, ya’ll go on. I don’t want to see either of you until lunch.”
Danny spent the next seven days sitting beside Nana, writing thank you notes to all the guests along with everyone who sent flowers and cards. Of course, Nana insisted that each one contained a personal note. Before Danny wrote out the card, Nana would tell her who the person or persons were so that she could personalize what she wrote. The only breaks they took were to feed the ranch hands, and use the bathroom. She crawled up the stairs after dinner each night to go to her bedroom. The fingers of her right hand were swollen and knotted as if they were severely arthritic. She’d fill the bathroom sink with hot water and soak her hand until she could uncurl her fingers. As part of her nightly ritual, she cried herself to sleep. She’d never be able to honestly tell anyone whether her nightly weeping was her grandfather’s death or that she missed her life in Paris.
When Nana told her the cards were done and would leave in the mail, Danny didn’t know what to do next. She wandered aimlessly around the house. As she drifted through the rooms, she argued with herself. Did she really want to be a rancher, or did she want to return to her beloved Paris? That question never gave her a moment’s peace, and not allowing her to think about anything else.
Nana watched as her child wandered the house, but she didn’t interfere. It was likely that Danny was searching for the right answer to a difficult question and it was also likely that the question was if Danny should stay or go. Her heart ached for the woman she raised as if Danny were her own child. She wanted to help Danny with the painful decision, but she had to do it on her own or forever regret what she’d decided.
Nana looked up when Danny ducked her head into the kitchen after lunch, “Nana, we’re done with lunch, so you won’t need me until it’s time to prepare dinner. Would you mind if I went out for a ride?”
Her Nana smiled, “Of course not, child. The fresh air will do you some good.”
“Thanks Nana, I think you might be right.”
Danny jogged to the barn and saddled a horse. She led him through the yard and then climbed into the saddle. Once clear of the barnyard, she urged him into a run. She felt the fresh air wash across her face as she sped across the pasture. She’d been raised on a horse ranch and forgot how refreshing a good ride can be. As a young teenager, she rode every day, leaving behind the school yard bullies. She would dream of riding to the end of the earth and jumping off a high cliff into a cool river.
She heard someone calling her name. When she stopped and turned to face behind her, she saw that it was Garrett had who had called to her. When he stopped beside her, he had an apologetic look on his face. He felt as though he needed to explain, so he sheepishly told her, “Nana was worried, so she asked me to check on you.”
Danny laughed at his blushing cheeks, “Well, my word, one look at your face tells me that you were a bit worried yourself.”
Garrett patted the side of his horse’s neck, “I can’t deny that. You haven’t ridden in a long time.”
She laughed harder, “So, I take it that you were sent to rescue me?”
“No, Nana said it wasn’t the riding alone that worried her. It was the fact that you looked lost.”
“Lost on the ranch where I grew up? You’re joking.”
“Not that kind of lost. She said you would ride when the bullies at school got to you. She just wanted to make sure you were okay. I’ll leave if you want.”
“No, I don't want you to leave. Please ride with me. I just needed some fresh air.”
“Is there something that you’re struggling with?”
“What do you mean?”
The horses walked alongside one another cocking their ears back as if they wanted to hear Danny’s answer as well. “Nana thinks you’re struggling on several fronts. The first and foremost is that you seem conflicted with leaving Paris. The second is that she’s afraid that Michal will talk you into staying with him in France.”
“Well, it seems to me that the two of you have decided what I’m thinking. Are the two of you magicians? Did you cast some magical spell, so that you could read my thoughts?”
“This conversation is going downhill fast, so let me just say that Betty is worried and leave it at that. I’ll take my leave and let you enjoy the rest of your ride.”
Danny sat dumbfounded in her saddle and watched him gallop back to the barn.
When she walked into the kitchen, Danny asked to speak to Nana privately. “Of course child, let’s go into your den.”
Once they were seated, Danny asked, “Why did you send Garrett to talk with me about my conflicts.”
Taken back by Danny’s tone, she answered sternly, “I worry about you. If that’s against your rules, just let me know.”
“Oh Nana, I’m sorry. I sounded angry because you hit the nail on the head. I need to go back to Paris to close my shop and help my staff find jobs. Can you understand the conflict I’m feeling? I’m being torn in half by two totally different businesses. I’m leaving the design business to become a rancher.”
“When do you want to go?”
“I think the sooner that I go, the sooner I’ll return home. I’m going to keep my promise; it’s just that there will be times when I’m gonna struggle. I know the fashion business well and nothing about ranches. Does that make any sense to you?”
Betty smiled, “It makes perfect sense to me. I have just one request. Will you please take Michal with you? I am so done with him; I want him out of this house.”
Danny laughed, “I am so happy to hear you say that. I was starting to think that you liked the asshole.”
Betty joined in Danny’s laughter, “Garrett is
so right, he’s a pansy assed buffoon.”
“I’ll speak with him after dinner tonight.”
When she cleared the dinner serving bowls from the table, Nana nodded her head at Danny, as if to say, ‘you go on and talk to that man’. Danny winked at her, as she asked Michal if he had a moment to speak with her. She walked him to what was now her office and asked him to have a seat.
“Daniella, did you speak with Garrett about a job for me?”
“Oh Michal, I have not, but I will. I need to leave for Paris to close my shop and wondered if you wanted to travel with me? If you are considering working in Denver, you’ll need to give notice, right?”
“I have already given notice to my employer that I will be moving to Colorado; however, I would love to travel back to Paris with you. I will make all the arrangements.”
Did she hear him correctly? Did this asshole just tell her that he was moving to Colorado?
“Michal, thank you, I would appreciate that.”
“Then I will bid you a good night, so that I can begin looking into flights.”
After he left, Danny felt the walls closing in cutting off her breath; she felt as though she was suffocating and needed air. She made her way to the front porch, where she found Garrett leaning against the railing smoking a cigar.
“Garrett, did you offer Michal a job?”
“Why would I offer him a job?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know. He just told me that he’s given notice to his boss in Paris and that he’s resigning to take a job in Colorado.”
“Danny, I assure you that I offered him no such job.”
“In that case, you won’t mind my asking him about the job at breakfast, will you?”
“Ask him whatever you want, but I have not offered him a job.”
“Well, we’ll solve this little mystery in the morning.”
Chapter Eight