Peter had been the right person to teach Gabe to ride, and proper care of his horse and equipment. Now Gabe blended in with the cowboys riding the range because of his attire and tanned face. Work clothes bought the first week in Kansas were getting short and tight, indicating Gabe was growing like a weed.
Reuben loved Tate and Amelia like they were his own children. He felt so blessed he’d get to watch and help them grow up after missing Gabe’s formative years. Tate and Amelia fussed now if they thought they hadn’t had their fair share of Reuben’s time. There were tears as well as giggles, like a real family would have.
But Darcie surprised him the most. Knowing she’d have help raising her children lifted a big weight off her shoulders. She smiled more, teased him and the children about things with a sparkle in her eye. Darcie reached for his hand now and gave it a squeeze.
The women in the Wilerson and Hamner families were working on wedding plans. Reuben didn’t care what kind of cake Millie would make for the reception, but it was an important decision for the women to discuss, along with flowers and the dresses for her and Amelia.
Every time Darcie asked a question or shared something, she beamed at him, and Reuben felt ten feet tall. He was falling in love with Darcie and couldn’t wait to share their lives together.
Now he and Darcie were in Clear Creek for a legal matter that needed to be taken care of. Cora’s brother, Lyle Elison, had recently moved from Boston to Clear Creek to practice law.
Lyle was here for Cora’s and Dagmar’s wedding, then returned to Boston to apprentice at a law firm. When Lyle was ready to strike out on his own, he decided to practice in Kansas. He rented the building next to Clancy’s Café, using the downstairs as his office and living in the upstairs rooms.
Reuben opened the office door, then stepped back to allow Darcie to enter first. They could have gone to the lawyer in Ellsworth, but wanted to patronize the new lawyer in town, especially since Lyle was his boss’s brother.
The space had been divided into three sections. The first being a reception area with chairs and a desk for a receptionist. Lyle hadn’t hired anyone yet as he didn’t have enough business to require help. The second room was Lyle’s office for private consultation, and the back room so far was empty.
“Hello, Reuben and Darcie. Please come into the office and have a seat.” Lyle stepped out of his office and motioned to enter. After Reuben seated Darcie, Lyle went around his desk and sat in his upholstered swivel chair.
“Thank you, Lyle. I’ve been anxious to see what you found,” Darcie got right to the point. It had been two weeks since they met with Lyle the first time, and she wanted news.
Lyle nervously looked at Reuben and cleared his throat. Reuben thought Lyle had a lot of gumption to work in Clear Creek after all the shenanigans he and his friends pulled when Lyle and Carl lived on the Bar E Ranch a few years ago. His parents sent their sons here to work on the ranch to give them something to do, but they didn’t do a lick of work.
Reuben decided to give Lyle a chance to redeem himself by filing the paperwork for the children’s adoptions, plus Lyle insisted to do it free, being it was his first case as a full-fledged lawyer.
“Darcie, I’ve filed the paperwork for Reuben to adopt Tate and Amelia. The judge will have no problem granting this because you are divorced from Mr. Robbins, and he’s in jail for murder. You have already named your sister Millie as your children’s guardian, and I suggest you leave that in place in case something should happen to both of you,” Lyle looked to Darcie for her consent.
“Is that all right, Reuben?” Darcie turned to ask.
Reuben thought for a moment. “Since Millie’s married now, should you list both her and Adam as guardians?”
“Oh yes, excellent idea. I’ll add Marshal Wilerson’s name.” Lyle met Reuben’s eyes but his face flushed a little, probably embarrassed he hadn’t suggested it before Reuben. Lyle dipped his pen in the inkwell and scribbled on a piece of paper, apparently as a note to change the guardianship.
“Have you heard back from my former wife about Darcie adopting Gabe?” Reuben knew it was a longshot that Mattie would relinquish her rights to her firstborn, but Reuben wanted to check out the matter.
“I’ve sent two telegrams as you suggested to speed up the process, one to Mrs. Ringwald, and the other to the lawyer who you said was handling Mr. Ringwald’s estate.”
“And?” Reuben was holding his breath, because Mattie was holding the cards so to speak.
“You knew I received a telegraph back from the lawyer, Mr. Abercrombie, acknowledging my inquiry and that he would meet with Mrs. Ringwald. I have not received more correspondence from him, but hopefully something in writing will arrive in the mail soon,” Lyle reported. “I never heard back from Mrs. Ringwald, nor did I expect to, assuming instead any response would come from their family attorney.”
“So now what should we do about Gabe’s protection?”
“It would depend on whether his mother had already listed guardians. At least he is old enough to fend for himself, if he really needed to, but I would still recommend having the Marshal and Millie listed as his guardians until age eighteen.”
“Good idea. Check with the Wilersons first to ensure whether it is okay though.”
“I can list them as guardians while in Kansas, but his mother would have to be notified in case she already has named guardians for Gabe.
“Will any of this delay our marriage?” Darcie asked Lyle.
“No, you should be able to go ahead with your plans and the paperwork will fall into place later.”
Reuben stood, reached across the desk to pump Lyle’s hand. After years of heartache, he and Gabe were finally together, ready to start a new family with Darcie and her children.
Chapter 9
It couldn’t be her. Mattie was standing on the ranch house porch next to Darcie? Reuben gritted his teeth to control the angry words ready to erupt from his mouth. He knew she was up to some trick, showing up unannounced.
Reuben, Dagmar and Gabe had left at dawn to move a group of cattle to a new section of grass while the morning was still cool. Now back late morning, Reuben continued to the barn, planning to take care of his horse before confronting Mattie.
“That’s mother! What’s she doing here?” Gabe twisted around in his saddle to stare at the women on the porch, but followed Reuben into the barn.
“Don’t know. Maybe she decided you needed to go back home. What’s your choice on the subject before we go meet her? Stay here or go back to Rochester?”
Reuben hated to be blunt with his son, but he was old enough to decide what to do. He had bonded with his son, so no matter where Gabe lived, he’d be sure they’d stay connected by letters and hopefully visits.
“I miss Mary, but life is so much easier living here with you. I don’t know what to say.” Gabe swung off his horse, then looked toward the house before tugging the horse’s reins to enter the barn.
Dust motes danced in the air as they entered the dim interior of the center of the barn.
“You know the woman on the porch?” Dagmar followed behind Reuben and Gabe with his mount.
“That’s Gabe’s mother, but I have no idea why she’s here.”
“I’ll take care of your horses so you can go meet her,” Dagmar offered.
“Nope, we’re going to take care of our horses, and she can wait, or come down to the barn.” His horse stepped sideways in protest when Reuben yanked the leather to unhook the cinch. “And we’re going to rub down the horses, feed them oats before letting them out into the corral, and we might even get out the saddle soap and give the bridles and saddles a good cleaning.” How dare she come to Clear Creek? She kicked Gabe out of the house and now she shows up?
“Think she came by herself?” Gabe asked as he pulled the saddle off his horse, thinking of his sister.
“Would she leave Mary with the maid and cook?”
“She and Reginald took trips now and then, leaving
us at home with the help, so I can see Mother leaving her behind.”
“You know you’re leaving Darcie up there to play hostess to her,” Dagmar pointed out. “Cora was going to spend the day at Rania’s house so she’s not home.”
Reuben knocked back his hat and rubbed his hand over his face to wipe off the sweat and settle his mind. “Okay, we better get up there then. We’ll get back to work as soon as we can.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ve got to deal with some family issues, so that trumps mucking stalls.”
“Nope, I’d rather shovel horse manure than meet with Mattie. Sorry, Gabe, I shouldn’t have said that out loud,” Reuben growled before putting his arm across Gabe’s shoulder and pulling him toward the barn entrance.
He couldn’t tell which woman looked more steamed—Mattie, because he and Gabe had taken their sweet time leaving the barn instead of galloping to the porch as soon as they spotted her—or Darcie. She stood ramrod straight with Amelia on her hip and her other hand tightly holding a fidgeting Tate.
Gabe stayed by his side when Reuben stopped six feet away from the porch steps. Reuben widened his stance and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for Mattie, or Darcie, to say something.
“Gabriel. I’m…glad to see you. Are you enjoying playing cowboy with your father?” Mattie’s arms were crossed too, over a gray silk gown. So much for wearing widow black to mourn Ringwald’s demise.
“Yes I am, actually.” Reuben was proud of Gabe’s mature conversation with his mother.
“So what’s your reason for this visit, Mattie?” Reuben glanced at Darcie and he could have sworn there was steam rising from her red hair.
“I received your lawyer’s telegram and talked to my own counsel,” Mattie rolled her shoulders back. “To put it bluntly, we’re still married, Reuben.” A smirking smile spread over her face as she gauged his reaction.
“But you’re …” Gabe started to say before Reuben raised his hands to cut him off.
“Don’t say another word about anything, Gabe,” Reuben quietly told his son.
“Oh, yes. I got the telegram requesting I relinquish my rights to Gabriel, so you could marry your betrothed. I assume you were marrying your maid so your other children would be legitimate?” Gabe gasped and looked back at Reuben, who shook his head again to keep quiet. Darcie hadn’t said a word yet. What had Mattie told Darcie when she arrived?
“Gabe is my only child, but the children on this ranch call me ‘Poppa’, since my son uses that endearment for me,” Reuben countered.
“Well isn’t that sweet you help the little urchins…”
Darcie turned on her heel and stormed for the door, pulling a protesting Tate with her. The screen door slammed as she escaped into the house. Reuben would have to talk to her later to smooth over all Mattie accused him of doing.
“So how could I still be married to you, when you had me declared dead?” Reuben knew she was playing some sort of tactics game with him, and his life.
“It was a technicality I found out after Reginald died.”
“If we’re still married, doesn’t that make your children with Ringwald illegitimate?”
“That’s all taken care of. You know money can buy anything, Rueben,” Mattie rolled her eyes and did a little flip with her hand. “Now, I want you to sell this ranch, and then we can go back to Rochester.”
Reuben snorted a laugh and shook his head. “You want me to sell this six-thousand acre ranch? Then what would I do with the five hundred or so head of cattle and horses that graze on this land? That’s how this ranch makes its money.” Mattie’s eyes widened when he mentioned the size of the ranch.
“You can up the asking price of the ranch to include the animals.” Mattie raised her shoulders as if it was so easy to do.
“I’d rather stay here and oversee my vast empire. You move here instead,” Reuben countered back.
Mattie looked around the ranch yard then out to the pasture which rolled into the horizon. “No. I will not live in this god-forsaken country,” she hotly replied.
“I didn’t think you’d like to live out on the Kansas prairie,” Reuben couldn’t help badgering her.
“Swede, could you come over and meet Gabe’s mother, Mrs. Ringwald?” Reuben called to Dagmar as he headed to the back entrance of the house.
Dagmar warily sauntered up to stand by Gabe and touched the brim of his hat. “Good day, ma’am.”
“Well, isn’t that nice. Besides your Irish maid, you’ve hired Swedish immigrants, too. I overheard on the train there were a lot of them in Kansas.”
Dagmar looked at Reuben in confusion.
“You assumed wrong, Mattie. Kansas is the land of opportunity. Mr. Hamner and his wife own this ranch. I’m just a drover and cook here.”
“You’re joking,” Mattie’s prim voice held a hint of disdain.
“I don’t appreciate you cutting down my heritage, or that of my help, Mrs. Ringwald,” Dagmar’s voice turned deep, and he put a hand on his hip, right above his revolver to make the point. “You are most welcome to leave my home and ranch at any time if you continue to be rude.”
“No, it can’t be true,” Mattie’s wide eyes darted between Reuben’s and Dagmar’s.
“It’s public record at the county courthouse in Ellsworth who owns the Bar E Ranch, if you don’t believe me or my help,” Dagmar firmly stated.
“Why are you just a hired hand, Reuben? I thought they gave away free land out here,” Mattie waved her hand in the general direction of the pasture.
“Yes, a person can claim one hundred sixty acres, but it takes money to build a house and barn, buy livestock and farming equipment. Remember slamming the door of our home to shut me out when I returned from the war? I only owned the ragged clothes I wore and the few dollars in my pocket. Plus, since you’d declared me dead, I haven’t gotten any war pensions, but I bet you’ve been collecting widow’s pay, haven’t you?” Mattie didn’t answer, but her face gave away the answer to the question he’d asked.
“So where do you live now?” She changed the subject to deflect from herself.
“See the bunkhouse over there, Mattie? I have a room in it, about the same size space as your foyer, which holds my bed, Gabe’s cot, a small dresser, chair and small pot-bellied stove. Are you ready to live in a space that small with me and Gabe already in it? There’s a hook for one spare set of clothing per person. Could you leave behind all your clothing but one dress to work in and one for church? Oh, and there would be no maid so you’d be doing all the housework yourself.”
“Mr. Ranch Owner would have to build a house to accommodate the space we needed then.”
“Sorry, Ma’am. Don’t work that way. That’s Reuben’s living quarters whether he’s single or married with a family.”
“So, if we moved back to New York, your parents would be financing our family, Mattie, because my simple cowboy skills wouldn’t earn enough money in downtown Rochester to maintain your lavish lifestyle,” Reuben shrugged his shoulders, acting like it was okay to live off her family like they had done before.
It was interesting to see Mattie’s face turn deathly pale. What was the reason behind her visit? He’d thought she’d have a big windfall of money with the passing of her husband. What happened when Ringwald died?
“So your choice, Mattie, is you move into the cook’s room with me and Gabe, or divorce me—if we are indeed still married—so you can find another rich husband to finance you.”
“What about my daughter?”
“Except for Gabe, I’m not responsible for Mary, Mattie. Mary would have to live with Ringwald’s parents, or yours. I assume Mary is Reginald’s child?”
Silence hung in the air as he waited for her response, but she didn’t answer for several long moments.
“I put Reginald’s name on Mary’s birth certificate, but it could have been either of you.” Mattie pronounced. “Mary looks just like me, so we’ll never really know.”
Reuben glanced
over at Gabe, shocked this fact had to come out in front of his son, about his sister. How many other secrets had Mattie kept from her family?
“In the meantime I need a place to stay…” she glanced at the house, waiting for an offer to stay in the ranch house.
“I’m sure you’ll be comfortable at the Paulson Hotel, Mrs. Ringwald, because we won’t be accommodating you here,” Dagmar said, then left before she could protest his lack of hospitality.
“Gabe, we need to get back to work,” Reuben said as he turned to walk back to the barn.
“Wait a minute! What about me?”
“What about you?”
Reuben tried to keep his voice calm, but inside he was smoldering with anger at this woman. Now she’d probably mess up his life a second time, because when Darcie left the porch, she looked like she was going take her kids and run out of his life the way she did with her first marriage.
“I need a ride back to Clear Creek. I hired the man at the livery stable to bring me out here, but he went back into town,” she confessed. “I…didn’t think I’d be going back to town so soon.”
“You going to walk, or do you want to borrow a horse? But don’t try to sell it. Horse thieves get hung around here.”
Good. Mattie looked sad and defeated, but she’d never feel as bad as he did the day he arrived home after the war.
“Can Gabe drive me back to town?”
“No. I won’t leave you alone with him to poison his mind again.”
“I’m sorry, Reuben, but I can’t get back to town by myself. I wouldn’t even know which way to walk.”
“Nor are you equipped in case a prairie wolf or rattlesnake decides to attack you as you walk the miles back to town.”
Reuben knew it was cruel, but he loved the sense of power; his words caused Mattie to shrink back against the porch post.
“Give me a few minutes to get a horse hitched to the buggy and I’ll take you back to town,” Reuben grumbled. He didn’t want to sit by her for any reason, but he needed to get her off the ranch, plus talk to Lyle about her visit anyway.
Darcie Desires a Drover: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 7) Page 8