Balancing Act

by Patricia Davids

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Grandma.”

  “That’s a lie. You’ve come to drive me out of my home.”

  Sadly, Cheryl shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.”

  “Actually, you could,” a crisp new voice declared.

  Every head turned in surprise as Eleanor Hardin walked into the room. Setting her suitcase on the floor, she crossed the room to stand in front of Cheryl.

  “So you’re Sam’s ballerina. Oh, you’ve grown to look so much like your mother. I’m very glad to see you again, my dear.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Hardin,” Cheryl whispered.

  Eleanor turned away from Cheryl and faced the others in the room. “Everyone sit down,” she commanded in her usual brusque manner. “I want to hear the whole story from the start.”

  Eleanor crossed to Sam. “Close your mouth, Samuel. You look like an astonished fish.” She reached up, pulled his head down, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Did you miss me?” she asked softly.

  “I wasn’t expecting you for another month.”

  “Becky’s mother-in-law came to help out. The house wasn’t big enough for the both of us.”

  “How is Becky?”

  She flashed him a bright smile. “I think she was a little glad to see me go. Doris, don’t you dare leave,” Eleanor called as Cheryl’s grandmother gave a huff and turned on her heels.

  “She can’t take my home!”

  “She can if she wants it. That was the deal.”

  Confused, Cheryl glanced from one woman to the other. “I don’t understand. What deal?”

  “Tell her,” Eleanor commanded.

  “It was blackmail, that’s what it was,” the old woman spat.

  “Maybe, but Harriet was smart enough to make it legal.”

  Cheryl stared at Sam’s mother in amazement. “You knew Harriet?”

  Eleanor nodded. “Your mother, Harriet and I were close friends as girls together. Harriet’s parents died when she was a baby. She came to live with your mother’s family on the same ranch you grew up on. Your mother’s father was a wise man. He wanted to make certain that both girls were taken care of after he was gone. He had the ranch placed in a trust for them.

  “Harriet strongly disapproved of your father, but Mira loved him, and she married him over everyone’s objections. She and Harriet had a falling-out over it, and Harriet moved to Philadelphia. She told me later that she regretted cutting herself off from Mira.”

  Doris interrupted her. “The ranch should have gone to my son. He was her lawful husband. It wasn’t right that they kept it from him.”

  “But it was smart,” Eleanor shot back. “Hank would have lost the place in no time.”

  Cheryl struggled to understand. “You mean the ranch belonged to Harriet after my mother died?”

  Eleanor nodded.

  “And now?”

  “It’s part of a trust that Harriet set up for you and Angela. Harriet was willing to let your father live on the ranch and raise you there. It wasn’t until after your father died, and I contacted Harriet with my suspicions about your grandmother’s treatment of you, that Harriet and I hatched this plan.”

  “You contacted Harriet?”

  “Yes. Your grandmother was your legal guardian, but Harriet owned the property. In exchange for transferring legal guardianship to Harriet, Doris was allowed to remain on the ranch for the rest of her life, or until either you or Angela expressed a desire to return and live there.”

  “The income I get from Harriet’s trust fund comes from the ranch?”

  “That and other investments Harriet made. I thought you knew. Your sister knows about it.”

  Cheryl nodded. “She would. She and Harriet’s lawyer were co-executors of Harriet’s estate. I was so wrapped up in my career that I never even asked where the money came from.”

  No wonder her grandmother hadn’t wanted her to come back. She must have been afraid of being driven out of her home.

  “The place is yours if you want it,” Eleanor said quietly.

  “No,” Doris wailed. “She can’t have it. Where will I go?” She sank onto the sofa and began to rock back and forth.

  Cheryl watched Sam turn his back to the room and stare out the window. She had thrown away her chance at happiness here because she’d been ashamed. She had lacked the courage to share her past with Sam. He had no reason to trust her now.

  “I don’t want the ranch or any part of it,” she said.

  Sam stared out the window feeling heart-sick. When Merci had confronted him with Cheryl’s deception, all he could think about was how his wife had deceived him. How he’d been played for a fool again. Had Cheryl cared for him even a little? He didn’t know what to think.

  “Let Doris and Jake stay,” Cheryl told his mother. “I have my career, and that’s more than enough.”

  Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. He had his answer from her own lips. She didn’t want any part of them. Could he blame her?

  “Are you sure? It was your home,” Eleanor said gently.

  When Cheryl didn’t answer, Sam turned and met her gaze across the room. “I’m sure,” she said. “There’s nothing for me here.”

  Walter walked into the room then, and stopped short at the sight of Eleanor. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came home early.”

  “Are the twins with you? I can’t find them anywhere.”

  Sam frowned in concern. “What do you mean you can’t find them? When was the last time you saw them?”

  “They watched me load cattle this morning,” Walter answered.

  “The letters,” Cheryl exclaimed.

  Sam turned to her. “What letters?”

  Cheryl strode up to her grandmother. “You sent them, didn’t you? Where are the children? If you’ve hurt them—”

  Doris shrank before Cheryl’s anger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “What letters?” Sam demanded again.

  “Someone sent me threatening notes, telling me to leave or I’d be sorry.”

  “Do you still have them?”

  Cheryl nodded. She hurried out of the room, returned with the papers and handed them to Sam.

  He glanced at each sheet, then fixed his eyes on Merci. “What do you know about these?”

  “Me?” she asked in obvious surprise.

  “You were adamant about getting Cheryl to leave.”

  Merci glared at him. “I know nothing about her notes. I came here today because I thought you should know the truth about that woman. I’d never threaten your children.”

  Sam turned his gaze on the elderly woman on the sofa. “That leaves you, Mrs. Thatcher.”

  “I don’t know anything.”

  He advanced until he towered over her and held the letters in front of her face. “Did you send these?”

  She cringed away from him. “I wanted her to leave, that’s all. She can’t drive me away from my home.”

  “Where are my children?” he bit out.

  Eleanor sat down beside the trembling woman. “Sam, calm down. Doris, tell us everything.”

  Doris kept her eyes down. “I sent the notes, but that’s all. I haven’t seen your girls.”

  Cheryl studied her grandmother’s face for a long moment, then sat down beside her. “You were very cruel to me. No child deserved to be treated the way you treated Angie and I.”

  Doris glanced at her, but quickly looked away. “Your dad was an only child. My husband used to say I spoiled the boy, but I didn’t believe it. Then, look how he turned out. I was ashamed to call him my son, but I still loved him.

  “I didn’t want you to turn out like he did. I thought I could beat some sense into you, but you were so stubborn. Then that stupid diary of yours sent him to prison. He died there! My son died without me by his side. You took away my son and now you want to take away my home.”

  Cheryl sat back and stared at her gra
ndmother. She thought of all the fear and shame this woman had caused and she wanted to hate her, but all she felt was pity. She took a deep breath, hoping the right words would come. “Someday, I hope we can find a way to get past the anger and bitterness of those years. I was a lonely, scared kid with no one to confide in, so I wrote down the things I couldn’t tell you or anyone. I was angry at the world and I wanted to hurt someone as much as I was hurting. I wanted my dad to pay attention to me so I did the one thing he was sure to notice. I helped him steal cattle from our neighbors.

  “I don’t know how Angie found my diary or why she took it to school with her. I don’t even know how Mrs. Hardin wound up with it.”

  Eleanor gave her a sad smile. “One of the boys at school, a bully, his name doesn’t matter, took her book bag and dumped it out on the playground. I saw what happened and came to help her pick up her papers. The book had fallen open to the last entry you had made. I couldn’t help seeing what you wrote. I had to tell the sheriff.”

  “I know. I understand. Grandmother, you have my word that you can stay at the ranch for as long as you like, only please tell us where the twins are.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know.” She burst into tears.

  Eleanor sat beside the weeping woman. “I believe you, Doris. It will be okay. Merci will take you home, now.”

  “I’d rather stay and help find the girls,” Merci announced.

  Eleanor raised one eyebrow. “You brought her here, you should take her home. I think you’ve helped enough for one day.” There was no mistaking the order in her quiet tone.

  Merci helped the still-weeping woman to her feet and they left together.

  “Sam, where could the girls be?” Cheryl asked, sick with worry.

  He raked a hand through his hair. “A hundred places. Let’s spread out and check everywhere again. Check every cupboard and closet.”

  Nodding, Eleanor and Cheryl began searching the house while the men searched outside.

  “Anything?” Eleanor asked when they met up with Walter and Sam by the barn door.

  “Nothing,” Sam said. “How could two little girls disappear without a trace? Has anyone else been here?”

  “Only the cattle buyer,” Walter answered.

  “How well do you know him?” Cheryl asked, her voice tight.

  Sam looked at her in disbelief. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m asking, how well do you know the man?” she snapped.

  “Elmer Reed picked up the cattle,” Walter answered.

  “Where was the trailer headed, and when did it leave?” Sam asked, trying to rein in his growing fear.

  “He was going to drop the heifers off in Abilene and then deliver the bulls to a ranch down by Wichita. He left an hour ago.”

  “Wichita? Did the girls know where the trailer was going?” Cheryl demanded.

  Walter nodded. “Yes, I heard Reed tell them where he was taking the cattle.”

  “I told the twins that I would be staying with my sister in Wichita. Could they have gotten into the trailer without the driver knowing it?”

  Walter shook his head. “They wouldn’t be able to get in back with the cattle. There’s no way they could lift the end gate. The trailer did have a side compartment, but they’re too little to reach the door handle.”

  Cheryl’s gaze flew to the bucket sitting a few feet away, and she pointed. “What if they stood on that?”

  Sam followed her across the yard. Small muddy boot prints and paw prints decorated the top of an overturned white plastic five-gallon bucket.

  “This is where the trailer was parked, wasn’t it?” Cheryl looked to Walter and back to Sam.

  “Okay.” Sam bowed his head a moment. He had to think straight, he couldn’t let his fear get in the way. “Walter, get the information on where those cattle are being delivered. Call the people and let them know what’s going on. The trailer should be almost to Abilene by now. Then notify the Highway Patrol and have them start looking for it. Mom, check with the neighbors to see if anyone has seen the girls. This may turn out to be a wild goose chase. If it is, we’ll need to organize a search party and have them spread out from the ranch on foot.” He started toward his truck.

  “Where are you going, Sam?” his mother called after him.

  “I think Cheryl is right. I think they hitched a ride to Wichita on that trailer. I’m going to try and catch up with them. Walter, raise me on the radio if you hear anything.”

  “Right.”

  Cheryl hurried after Sam. He had started the pickup by the time she yanked open the door. He glared at her as she climbed in. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  She slammed the door closed. “I’m coming with you.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “You don’t have time to drag me out of here, so drive.”

  “Your sister will be here soon.”

  “She’ll wait.”

  He hesitated an instant, then he shoved the truck into gear and tore out of the yard.

  He flew down the highway well over the legal speed limit. Several times, he glanced at Cheryl. She sat silent and tight-lipped beside him, a worried frown etched on her face. Twenty minutes later, he slowed for the wide spot in the road that was the town of Delavan. Cheryl continued to stare straight ahead, but he saw her lip quiver before she bit down on it.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  His grip tightened on the wheel. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  She fixed her gaze on him. “At first, because I thought I would be gone in a day or two, and it wouldn’t matter.”

  “And later?”

  She looked away. “Later, I was afraid that it would matter.”

  “I wish you had trusted me.”

  She sighed. “What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, by the way, did I mention my family used to steal cattle, and I spent time in jail for helping?’ That’s a little hard to work into after-dinner conversation.” She stared down at her hands. “I thought if you found out, you wouldn’t want me near the girls.”

  “I thought we had more going for us than after-dinner conversation.” He couldn’t help the bitterness that crept into his voice.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. The truth is—I was trying to protect myself. Running away, hiding from my past had become an ingrained habit. You can’t imagine what it was like, being mocked and worse because my name was Thatcher. I wanted to bury who I was and never dig her up. You helped me see that I had to face my past. You showed me how to live. I wanted to be a woman like that. That’s why I went to see Jake today. I was coming back to tell you everything. I never wanted to hurt you, or the children. If you can’t believe anything else, I hope you’ll believe that.”

  “I do.”

  She raked a hand through her hair. “I shouldn’t have let them out of my sight. I knew how upset they were.”

  “This isn’t your fault.” He shook his head. “If they hadn’t hitched a ride on this trailer, they would’ve hatched some other harebrained plan.”

  A small grin lifted some of the worry from her face. “They are imaginative.”

  He tried for a lighter tone. “Do me a favor, will you? When you’re back in New York, keep an eye out for them. There’s no telling how soon they’ll think of a way to visit you.”

  “Maybe their father could bring them,” she suggested softly.

  He glanced at her. “Yes, maybe he could.”

  Hope began to unfurl in Cheryl’s heart. Sam had been hurt by the way she had deceived him, but perhaps he could forgive her, in time.

  She stared straight ahead. The highway ran west in a long silver ribbon between vast stretches of prairie. In most places, the hills were little more than acres of charred ground where the spring fires had swept across them. Boulders and stones protruded from the burnt ashes like white bones, but here and there, new green life was beginning to show as the resilient grass sprouted again.

  The bright sunli
ght dimmed, and she realized towering thunderheads had blocked out the afternoon sun. The radio crackled as Walter’s voice came on. “Sam, do you read me? Over.”

  Sam picked up the mike and answered him. “Go ahead, Walter.”

  “The trailer arrived in Abilene twenty minutes ago. The twins had been in it, but they must have gotten out somewhere along the route. All they found was one of their hats in the feed compartment.”

  “Did the driver say where he stopped?”

  “We figure he made about eight stops, mostly at intersections. Three of those would be in towns along the route, three would be rural intersections. He says he stopped once for a train on Highway Fifteen and once at a narrow bridge to let a combine go through. He thinks that was on this side of Herington, but he can’t be sure.”

  “Eight stops in sixty miles. That doesn’t narrow the search much.”

  “The Highway Patrol and the county sheriff are questioning him now. They’ll start working their way back from Abilene to here.”

  “Okay. We’re just west of Delavan, Walter. Keep us posted.” Sam turned on the wipers as big drops splattered the windshield.

  “We’ll find them, Sam. I know we will.” Cheryl didn’t know if she was trying to reassure Sam or herself.

  Like a hamster on an exercise wheel, her mind ran over and over all the dire possibilities. They could have been picked up by anyone—a kindly farmer or a dangerous stranger. They could be scared and hiding so that even the right people couldn’t find them. She tried to ignore the possibility that they might have tried to jump out of the moving trailer and be lying injured in a ditch somewhere along this road. Her eyes searched through the rain-streaked glass for any sign of them as Sam drove westward.

  The storm brought an early gloom to the late afternoon. Sam turned on the headlights. The road curved then dipped down to cross a narrow creek. Their headlights swung past an old abandoned church falling into ruins in a grove of trees at the road’s edge. A yellow cat sat licking its paw on the sagging railing of a little portico. The passing headlights reflected briefly in its eyes.

  Cheryl twisted around in her seat. “Sam, did you see that?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sam braked the truck sharply. “What did you see?”