by Cyndi Raye
“Your new husband seems like a fine, upstanding citizen. But I’ll say it again, Callie, if he treats you wrong, you high-tail it home and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Callie smiled at her uncle’s overprotective words of wisdom. She patted his hand. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Samuel is one of the most trustworthy, honest and loyal men I’ve ever known. His brothers are the same way. I doubt they have a deceiving bone in their bodies.”
Uncle Jessie rubbed a hand across his chin. “I’ve been around a long time, girl. Been lied to, beaten and in the days of mining gold, there was always someone trying to steal, cheat or lie. Not much has changed. Look at your own kin, Jacob.”
She shrugged. “Jacob is a bad example. He was always a low-down, lazy man.”
“Well, you may be right about that one. Yep, he is not a good example at all.”
“I know what you are trying to tell me without telling me, Uncle Jessie. I love Samuel. He’s a good man. I know there isn’t any secrets there. He is one of the most honest men I know. I promise you won’t have to worry.”
“Well, I’m going to have a man to man talk with him just to be sure.”
Callie rode the rest of the way contemplating Uncle Jessie’s talk. He would let Samuel know in a kind of nice, threatening way not to hurt his niece. She already knew the tone of voice he’d use and was anxious for him to get it over with. There would be no talking her uncle out of the talk, so wasn’t even going to try. She had better warn Samuel though.
The wagon turned down the lane at the sign with the bold letters that carved the name of the White Ranch. Callie shielded her eyes from the bright sun. In the distance the yard was set up almost exactly like she had remembered the day her and Samuel came riding in on the Chinaman’s horse.
Had it been only a few short weeks? It seemed as if she had known Samuel forever. Her heart began to pound at the thought of seeing him.
Her excitement grew the further down the road they went. Then she was there, in front of the house, it’s large two-story frame looming over head. The yard was filled with tables with food piled high. Neighbors, family and friends mingled everywhere.
Callie took a quick look around. She noticed his brothers, laughing with their wives while Nora spoke quietly with the old red-headed ranch hand Rusty.
The corral was empty so she looked to the barn, where some of the hands were mingling with their guests. Callie sat on the bench petrified. Where was her husband?
Was he even there? All this excitement brewing in her blood and now that she was here, she wasn’t able to find him anywhere.
Uncle Jessie helped her down. “You go find your husband. I’m going to get me some food and introduce myself.”
Callie smiled at her uncle. He wasn’t one bit shy when it came to enjoying a reception. Nora had done this for her and Samuel. It was her gift to them, creating a beautiful wedding reception for the two of them.
Nora began to walk towards her when her Uncle Jessie held out his hand. The two shook hands and began to speak as Nora nodded to someone on the porch.
Callie looked over. Her husband stood here, frozen to the spot. His hands were deep in his pockets as he leaned back on his heels. The look of surprise on his face was overwhelming. What was wrong with him? He acted as if he were frozen and couldn’t walk.
“Samuel! Hello?” She called out to him before making her way to the porch.
He shook himself, literally shook his head back and forth before he ran down the steps of the old wooden porch and picked her up in the air and spun her around so quickly she was stunned.
Then she flung back her head and laughed out loud.
There was some clapping going on behind them but Callie was not going to look because she knew it was his brothers. Once again they were being brothers. She was no longer embarrassed by anything they did.
Samuel stopped twirling her in circles. Her feet finally touched the ground. He gazed into her eyes with such an intense look that she gasped.
“I love you, Callie. I’ve missed you.”
His lips brushed against hers in a sweet kiss. Her hands went to his face, she wanted to touch him, to know that he was real.
“I love you, Samuel White. I missed you right back.”
“You sure do look beautiful. I think I like this side of you.”
She blushed. “What do you ever mean? In a dress? Oh, Samuel, I may love my blue jeans but dressed up like this and the way you looked at me just now, well, I’ll chuck the blue jeans if you act like this around me every day.”
He nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear. “I like the blue jeans, too. Don’t get rid of them just yet.”
She laughed at his brazenness.
Nora came up just then with Rusty and Uncle Jessie in tow. “Now that we’ve all met, I want to welcome you to your new home, dear Callie.”
Nora gave her a hug. It felt so good, almost like having a mother of her own. “Thank you, Nora. I’m glad to be here.”
“Well, good. We are so happy to have you. You’ll have to stay with me for some time until we figure out living arrangements. I’m afraid with everything happening so fast, Samuel didn’t get a chance to build a cabin for the two of you.”
Callie laid a hand on her sleeve. “I’m quite fine with staying in the main house. As long as you don’t mind.”
Nora tilted her head. “Are you sure, dear? It’s not a good start to a marriage living with your mother-in-law.”
Callie gave Nora another hug, taking her by surprise. “I’ve never had a mother so it will be a pleasure living here with you.”
“Thank you, but we will take it one step at a time. I will never impose on my children when it comes to their lives. For now, you are welcome to stay in the main house as long as you need.”
Nora gave Callie a tour of the main house. Afterwards, they walked around the yard together while Samuel took her trunks and things up to their new room on the second floor. It wasn’t long until Callie noticed Samuel on the porch looking for her. “There’s Samuel. Thank you, Nora, I appreciate your kindness.”
Nora gave her another hug. “You are welcome, dear. Now, if anyone asks, you don’t know where I went. I must go unwind and rejuvenate. At my age it is harder to entertain these days.”
Callie was surprised. “Has this been too much for you, Nora? I’m so sorry.”
“No, dear. I haven’t been sleeping and then worrying about the two of you has taken a toll. Most don’t know how I worry. I never let anyone see when I get too tired. Here’s the secret. Find a spot where you know no one will bother you for at least thirty minutes and bask in the silence.”
Callie nodded. “I’m assuming you have a spot all picked out?”
Nora grinned. “I sure do. My horse loves my company and she’s in the back of the barn so no one would suspect I go there to hide. I’ll see you in a half hour.”
Callie turned to find Samuel waving. She ran across the yard and took his hand. “Let’s eat. I’m famished!”
They loaded their plates with food and sat down on a bench, laughing and talking with Luke, Abigail, Adam and Melody.
Melody was the first one to welcome Callie. “You’ve had quite the adventure. I’ve met your uncle, he is a very nice man.”
Callie agreed. “Uncle Jessie is that and much more. I recently found out he has been having a romance with Doris, our cook.”
Abigail jumped in the conversation. “The cook? Oh my! That sounds intriguing. Tell us the whole story from the beginning.” She rubbed her growing belly.
As the three ladies talked while the men held their own conversation. Callie happened to overhear their conversation. She was having so much fun she didn’t realize what was going on until she saw a stern look on Samuel’s face.
“What are they doing here?” Samuel said to his brothers.
“Who?” Luke asked.
“Wesley and Russell Young and their mother.”
“Not sure,” Adam hesitated. “Maybe we sh
ould ask them to leave.”
Luke held up a hand. “No, Ma invited them. She said it’s time to let bygones be bygones. She said she wasn’t even sure what all the fuss was about. After all these years, it was time to make amends.”
Adam sighed. “It must have something to do with Samuel being the last of her boys to marry. This may be a problem. Let’s go talk in the barn.”
Samuel gave Callie a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll be right back, love.”
Callie gave him a worried look. “Is everything alright?”
He kissed the top of her head as he got up from the bench. “Perfect.”
As the three men went towards the barn, Callie noticed the worried look on Melody’s face. Abigail didn’t seem to have noticed, she was still rubbing her belly. When Melody caught her staring, she turned away in a manner that led Callie to believe she was right.
She knew her husband. All was not well. There was something he was hiding. All three of the White men were hiding something.
And she had a hunch Melody knew what was going on.
<><>
Samuel closed the barn door to keep the others out. Luke and Adam leaned against the first horse stall while he stood watch near the door. It was an unwritten code when the door was closed, it meant privacy. He hoped the other ranch hands would honor that right now.
“Okay Luke, what do you mean by your remark earlier?”
Luke crossed his arms. “Ma and I got to talking while you were out on the ranch this week. She wants us to try to get along with the Young family. Mrs. Young sent her a letter of apology some time back. It said that it’s been ten long years since they haven’t spoken and perhaps it was time to make amends.”
Samuel swore. “I can’t believe Ma would even consider befriending Mrs. Young after all this time. If Wesley and Russell get close and tell her the secret, her life will never be the same again.”
Adam joined the conversation. “The Young’s promised to never reveal who their father is. We’ve been paying them off for years. They are grown now, maybe it’s time we stopped.”
Luke lifted a hand. “Keep your voices down. Just because the door is closed, there are a lot of neighbors and members of the community out there. We don’t want anyone hearing this conversation.”
Samuel paced back and forth. He stood in front of Adam. “Don’t make it sound like we are paying for their silence. Someone had to help Mrs. Young raise them after Pa died. She wanted to confront Ma if you remember.”
Adam’s eyes burned into his. “I remember that day plain as if it were yesterday. How she stomped across the yard ready to tell Ma she’d been having an affair with our father!” His voice shook.
“It wasn’t an affair. Our father took advantage of her one time. When he realized what happened, he told me he tried to make it right but I’ll never forgive him for cheating on Ma.” Luke’s determined low voice was louder than if he had shouted. It silenced the others. “When Mrs. Young’s husband died, he swooped in there, trying to be kind and help her to take care of the farm, leaving us to do all the work here.”
Adam nodded. “I remember well. Samuel, you were pretty young then, and may not have remembered. Ma took meals to the Youngs and sent Pa over to help her. They both tried to do their best by a neighbor but then Pa began to spend more and more time there, helping the widow out. Ma put a stop to it and even confronted the widow, which she denied. It was after that they never spoke again. Ma forbid Pa to help her any longer. Soon after that he was wounded by that wrangler and died.”
Luke growled. “He’s lucky he died that way. If Ma had found out, it would be much worse.”
Samuel spoke up. “What are we doing here, brothers? Ma wants to make peace with Mrs.Young after all these years. If she gets too close to those boys she will know who the father is. Take a look at them, you can see who they look like. We can’t allow this to happen. We’ve guarded his secret for way too long.”
Luke turned. “He doesn’t deserve it. If he weren’t dead, I’d kill him myself. What do you two want to do about this situation? We can’t let them get too close.”
Samuel continued to pace. “I don’t know. There’s no solution.Wait! What if I started a fight with Wesley, he gets riled up fast and we all jump in with our wrestling moves. Ma won’t put up with that and will throw them off the property.”
Luke nodded. “It sounds like a reasonable plan. Something like that won’t last forever, though.” He took in a deep breath. “Sometimes I think we should out and tell her the truth but Ma is getting older. It may be too hard on her.”
Samuel shook his head. “Why would we tell her after ten plus years of keeping the secret? Even after all these years it would kill her to know her husband and our father was a lying, cheating, rotten home wrecker!”
“Shh, Samuel, I hear the ladies. We better get out there.”
“I’ll put our plan into motion right away. No sense letting the Youngs get friendly with Ma. Where is she anyway?”
“Where’s who?” Callie asked when he opened the door. The three brothers stepped out into the evening air.
“Ma.” He looked around the yard, his eyes trying to adjust from inside the barn to outside. It was late afternoon but the day was starting to fade. It always did so much earlier this time of year. He placed his arm around Callie’s shoulder as they began to walk towards the food tables where the Young brothers stood with the widow. “Are you having a good time?”
Callie smiled up at him, her face glowing. “I love your family and my two new sister-in-laws. I can’t wait for Abigail to have the baby, plus this will be so much fun to have sisters close by. I missed out on siblings.”
He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait to get you alone.”
Callie flung her arms around his neck. “We can leave right now if you’d like Mr. White.”
“I have something to finish with my brothers.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But afterwards, I’m all yours, Mrs. White.”
“There she is.”
He pulled her closer. “Who?”
“Your Ma. You asked where she was. She’s standing right over there in the doorway to the barn. She said she was going to go visit with her mare. It is her favorite place to escape all the chaos. Except she doesn’t look as if it worked.”
Samuel swung around. The moment he saw her face Samuel knew she had been inside the barn. “Luke! Adam!”
Callie turned to him. “Samuel? What’s wrong? You look as upset as your Ma. What is it?”
“I’ll have to explain later, Callie.”
Luke and Adam were closing in on the Youngs. When they heard his voice, they both swung around to where Samuel stared.
The three brothers looked at each other.
Nora had heard every single word they said in the barn.
By the look on her face, the secret was out.
The secret was no longer a secret.
Chapter 8
Melody stood on one side of Callie while Abigail stood on her other side, rubbing her belly and staring at the scene in front of them.
“What’s wrong with Nora?” Abigail asked. “What’s wrong with our men?”
“Oh, dear God in heaven above!” Melody’s jaw dropped. “She knows,” her voice whispered.
“Knows what? Melody, what in the world is going on here?” Callie knew something was going on. She had noticed earlier in the day. Now it looked as if everything was coming to a head. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let Samuel go through this alone.
She took a step towards Samuel when Melody’s hand shot out. “No, stay here. Please. I’ll explain later.”
Callie was frustrated. “That’s exactly what Samuel just said.”
Callie was drawn to Nora’s tall frame slowly and meticulously making her way towards her three sons. Her face was unreadable. When she stood in front of them, she gave each one a steady look and then turned to the Youngs.
What was this all about? Callie, growing frustrated,
wanted to be by Samuel’s side but Melody held on to her hand so she wasn’t able to move near her husband.
Most of the other guests were unaware the tension was so high right now. In the background, laughter and little children’s voices carried through the air. Callie tried once again to take a step towards her husband but Melody was not letting her go. “Please, wait,” she begged Callie.
It was getting harder to comply. When she got a glance of Samuel’s face, Callie gasped. He was utterly and totally horrified. Melody grasped harder on her hand. Luke and Adam had the same look.
Nora stood in front of the Youngs. “Widow Young,” she said, her voice hard. Callie hadn’t ever heard the sound of her voice sounding so harsh. Nora had been so kind the few times she spoke. “I understand you’ve been accepting monies from my sons for the last ten years or so, ever since my late husband died.”
The widow’s eyes widened. “I, um, Nora, look, can we talk somewhere private?”
“Not right now.” Nora smiled except it didn’t appear as a smile at all. Her eyes looked empty. She took a step forward to stare at the widow’s teenage sons, first Wesley and then Russell. They stood tall, didn’t even blink. Oh, dear Lord, was this what Callie thought it was?
How in the world had this secret been kept silent for so long?
“I do see the resemblance.” She wasn’t really talking to any one person in particular. For a moment Callie thought she was going to walk away but then she turned to her sons, who looked terribly nervous.
“You were right about me getting too close to them. I can absolutely see Robert in their faces.”
“Ma.” Luke tried to step forward.
She put up her hand and shook her head.
Luke stopped.
Adam and Samuel stepped forward at the same time then stopped when Luke did.
Instead, Nora turned to Widow Young. “You’ve been taking money all these years from my sons to keep quiet about your affair. You consorted to blackmail to keep this from me.”
Widow Young opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again. “They begged me not to tell you about the boys. I thought I was doing the right thing.”