by Liz Harris
She took a few steps forward and stared hard in every direction.
Once again, there was no one to be seen. But this time, the feeling was so strong that she had no doubt there was someone there.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she made her way quickly across the yard to East Barn, where she knew she’d find Connor along with Aaron and three hired hands. They’d been there since lunch, sitting on milking stools, working their way through the huge pile of corn cobs that they’d pulled from the stalks both the day before and that morning.
Earlier on in the afternoon, as soon as she’d finished clearing away the lunch, she’d gone out and joined them, helping to remove the stalks and long dry leaves which would be used as fodder for the young stock, adding her share to the large heap on the ground behind them. She’d then started stripping the husks from the ears of corn, using the husking peg strapped to her mittens, but she’d taken a break to check on the cobs that were in the sun, drying.
She went back into the barn. Almost all of the bushel baskets had been filled with the bare ears of corn, she noticed, and there was only a small pile of cobs left to do.
Connor had his back to her, but Aaron saw her approach. ‘It’s your wife, Conn,’ he said, indicating with his head that Connor should look behind him.
Connor turned and smiled. ‘We won’t be much longer – we’re about ready to stop for the day. We thought we’d leave cutting the kernels from the cobs that we aren’t gonna sell till tomorrow. You could help with that tomorrow morning, if you were so minded. And if you think we need to dry more cobs, you can take them before we begin and put them out tomorrow. We don’t wanna run out of food in the middle of winter. Certainly not if next winter’s anything like the last. Some of the blizzards lasted for days on end.’
‘I’m not here to do the corn,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s about something else. You know that I thought someone was watching me on Sunday. Well just now, out in the vegetable garden, I had exactly the same feeling, and not for the first time today. I’m certain there’s someone there, even though I can’t see them.’
Connor glanced at Aaron and the hands. ‘Have any of you seen anything out of the ordinary today or in the last couple of days?’
‘Not me,’ Aaron said. ‘And I bin watchin’ out ever since you mentioned it on Sunday.’ The hired hands shook their heads.
Connor turned back to Ellen. ‘I reckon it’s your imagination. You had that feeling on Sunday, so being watched was probably still in your mind today.’
‘I don’t know … It felt very real to me. Both times.’
He glanced down at the pile of cobs. ‘We’ll easily finish by noon tomorrow so I reckon we can stop for today.’ He stood up. ‘I suggest we all get a gun and take a look around the place, just to be sure. You three men ride out to the far fields and see if there’s anything happening there. There’s not been any rustling for a while, but maybe someone’s planning on starting up again, though that wouldn’t explain why Ellen would be of interest to anyone watching. Aaron, you come with me. We’ll go through the barns and outbuildings. And when we’ve done that, maybe, you’d ride the fences and start checking for damage.’
Aaron and the hands stood up.
‘We’re on our way,’ one of the men said.
‘While you’re making a start on the fences, Aaron, I’ll take the wagon and go for Bridget. If there’s the slightest chance of trouble around, I don’t want her walking home by herself. When I get back, I’ll ride out and join you. As for you, Ellen, you go back to the house and bolt the door till I return. Be sure to bolt the front door and the back. I doubt there’s anyone here who shouldn’t be, but we’ll make real sure of that.’
‘That’s the barns and all the outbuildings clear,’ Aaron said as he and Connor started to make their way towards the horses’ shed. ‘And all the animals are safely penned in the corrals. There’s no sign of any visitors. You think she was right?’
‘Maybe, maybe not. So far we’ve not found any damage to the property or the animals, and there’s no sign of any strangers havin’ been here, but that doesn’t mean to say that there’s no one interested in what we’re doing.’
‘That’s so. But it sure ain’t Injuns. We ain’t had Injun trouble in these parts for ten years or more. Nope, I reckon it was her imaginin’ things.’
Connor shrugged his shoulders. ‘You’re probably right. But my mind keeps going over the same thought. It’s that Ellen said someone was watching her on Sunday. She wasn’t at the farm at the time – she was in town. And she thought they were watching her again today. Checking the buildings and land was the obvious place to start, but this might just be to do with Ellen. Or with me.’
‘With you? How d’you figure that?’
‘I went to the church with her and Bridget, and I’m always around the farm. Anyone watching could have been looking for me, not Ellen. She doesn’t strike me as a fanciful woman, and I’m more inclined to think that someone has been watching us than not. And that’s why I’m going for Bridget now. When I’ve got her safely back, I’ll come out and join you.’
‘You do that,’ Aaron said with a grin. ‘But I still think we ain’t gonna find so much as a dead rattler.’
‘You’ve been very quiet since you got back today,’ Connor said, sitting down on the edge of Bridget’s bed and looking thoughtfully at her. ‘Is it because there seems to have been a lot going on around the ranch since I dropped you back here?’
‘Nope.’
‘Well, is it that you’re not feeling well, then?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Only you hardly spoke on the way back from school, and you weren’t much more talkative at dinner. And you weren’t rude to Ellen – not even once. And you weren’t rude to me. That’s got us real worried about you,’ he said with a grin.
‘Very funny. There’s nothing wrong with me.’ She wriggled further under her quilt.
‘I know you, honey, and I know that something’s bothering you. What is it?’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘Yes, it is. Tell me what’s wrong.’
‘It’s Miss Quinn, if you really want to know. She wasn’t like she usually is. She was different today.’
‘In what way different?’
‘She was very quiet.’
He grinned at her. ‘Maybe you caught that from her. If so, I hope she’ll be very quiet again tomorrow. It makes for a peaceful evening for us.’
She pulled herself back up in the bed and stared at him, a worried expression on her face. ‘Be serious, Pa. It was like she was thinking about something else and not about us. We all thought that. We were especially good, and we sat learning our spellings all afternoon and didn’t move from our desks. We didn’t even have a recess. And then she didn’t test us before we came home, and she always tests us.’
‘I guess that does sound unusual, but the answer could be a simple one – she may have been feeling unwell. There are times when a woman doesn’t feel so good, and today could have been one of those times.’
‘Maybe. I didn’t like it, though, and I was mighty pleased to see you when I came out of school. So was Martha as it meant she didn’t have to walk so far.’ She giggled.
‘I sure wish I could collect you more often. I like hearing about the things you’ve done at school. Usually, by the time we sit down in the evening these days, you’re too tired to tell me much about what you’ve been doing. It was lucky that I urgently needed more molasses from town today as it meant that I got to have time with my daughter, you didn’t have to walk home and Martha didn’t have to walk as far as usual.’
Bridget turned her head and stared at the door. ‘You’d have more time to talk to me if you didn’t have to talk to her, and if she didn’t feel she had to talk to us,’ she said sharply.
‘I see that the old Bridget is returning,’ he said, and he stood up. ‘I’m now convinced that there’s nothing wrong with you so I’ll be off and you can get some sleep.’ He l
eaned over, kissed her on the forehead and left the bedroom.
‘Is she all right?’ Ellen shouted from the kitchen as he went back into the living room and sat down at the window table, opposite Ellen’s chair.
‘She’s fine. It was about Oonagh,’ he called back to her. ‘She’s been acting strangely today. But nothing to worry about.’
‘At least she’s not feeling poorly.’ She came into the room, holding a pail. ‘I’m going to get some water from the outside pump. It’ll be quicker to use that one, and there’s nothing to worry about since none of you found anything amiss today.’
Ellen opened the kitchen door, went out into the backyard and walked across to the pump, glancing up at the sky as she did so. The riot of orange and red that had earlier blazed a path across the sky was slowly purpling into the muted shades of night. She paused for a moment and watched the colours meld and deepen into a canopy of black that reached as far as the eye could see. As she watched, the first of the stars appeared.
And she heard a sound.
Not the sort of sound she was used to hearing break into the silence of the night. It wasn’t the loud report of a fallen branch as it snapped beneath the weight of an animal scurrying across it, nor the call of a bird, nor the hoot of an owl, nor the yelp of a coyote. It wasn’t the subdued murmur of the water in the distant creek, nor the quaking of the aspen leaves as the wind played between the branches. No, it was a different sound.
Puzzled, she took a few steps forward and stared across the fields in the direction of Liberty.
She heard the sound again. It was too faint to make out what it was, but it definitely wasn’t in her imagination.
The ground beneath her trembled and she heard it again, this time more distinctly. It was coming closer, getting louder. In a flash, she realised that she was hearing the clip-clop of metal-shod hooves as they pounded the hard, dry earth.
She spun around and ran back into the house.
‘Connor! Someone’s coming!’ she cried as she ran into the living room.
He jumped up, went swiftly past her to the kitchen, flung open the kitchen door and went out to the yard. He stood still and listened. She followed him outside and hovered close behind him.
‘They’re heading for the front,’ he told her. ‘Run and tell Aaron. Then come back and bolt the door behind you.’ He quickly stepped back into the house, and she saw him reach up above the door, lift down a thick wooden plank and lean it against the side of the door. ‘When you’ve bolted the door, slot the plank into the iron holders. That’ll keep you safe.’
He picked up his shotgun.
Her heart seemed to stop. ‘Why do you need a gun? Who do you think it is?’
‘No idea, but I’m thinking it’s kinda late for neighbours, but not too late for rustlers. We may only have twenty head of cattle, but it’s still worth their taking.’
‘It could be the person who was watching me. There could be more than one.’
‘Maybe. Only one way to find out. Now be gone. I’m gonna go out front to meet our visitors. When you get back, bolt the door and stay in the house.’
She went a couple of steps up the path towards the bunkhouse, then turned back to look at him. ‘You’ll be careful, won’t you?’ she called to him.
‘Sure will,’ she heard him say as he pushed the kitchen door shut behind him, his rifle in his hand.
As she slid the wooden plank into the metal holders on either side of the door, she heard the thwack of boots hitting the ground at speed as Aaron ran across the backyard towards West Barn. She went quickly to the front door, bolted it, then ran to Bridget’s bedroom and stood with her back to the closed door, staring across the living room to the front door. Cupping her hands together, she breathed deeply into them, trying to push back her fear.
She heard the muffled sound of a horse drawing to a halt on the other side of the gate. Only one horse, she thought, and she relaxed slightly. Connor would be a match for whoever it was.
‘Hello, the house!’ a strange voice called, and the cry was followed by laughter.
Connor said something in reply, but she couldn’t make out what he’d said. There weren’t any gunshots, though, just Connor speaking to another man.
The talking stopped and the gate creaked open on its hinges. The clip-clip of a horse being ridden up to the front of the house was followed by the clang of the gate closing and the grating of the iron bolt as it was slotted into place. Footsteps approached the house. That would be Connor, she thought. A horse whinnied outside the front door, and she heard the dull thud of leather boots landing on the hard ground. And that would be the other man. She drew her breath in sharply.
‘Hello, the House, indeed,’ she heard Connor remark from just outside the door. ‘No warning was necessary. We don’t shoot strangers on sight in these parts.’
His voice sounded cold, but he seemed to know the man. More of her tension drained away. He called to her to unbolt the door and she quickly did so.
Connor was the first person to come into the room, his face tense and strained. She took a step forward. A slim, dark-haired man in a wide-brimmed brown felt hat followed closely behind him. The man was carrying a large leather bag which he’d slung over his shoulder. The smell of woodsmoke, horses and leather came into the room with him.
‘This is Niall,’ Connor said. ‘My brother.’
Chapter Twelve
‘Your brother?’ Ellen echoed. ‘The Niall that Peggy mentioned a while ago, the friend of Jeb? I didn’t realise he was your brother. In fact, I didn’t know you had a brother.’ She stared at him in surprise.
‘I kinda forgot I had one,’ he said bluntly, ‘he’s been gone so long. He walked out on us around ten years ago and no one hereabouts has heard from him since.’
Niall took off his hat and threw it to the table. Brushing past Connor, he went up to Ellen. ‘Aren’t you gonna introduce me, Conn?’ he asked. She saw his eyes run across her face and settle on her left cheek. He glanced over his shoulder at Connor and raised an eyebrow, then he turned back to her, and smiled broadly. It was Connor’s smile, she saw with a start, but coming from a leaner face. ‘Not that I need an introduction. From what I hear in town, I’ve gotten me a new sister.’ He held out his hand.
She glanced at Connor, but his eyes were fixed on the back of Niall’s head.
She took Niall’s hand. ‘Hello, Niall,’ she said. ‘I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.’
‘Likewise, I’m sure.’ He released her hand and looked around the room. ‘Well, what do you know, Conn? You’ve made this mighty pretty.’ Amused eyes settled on her once again. ‘Or is that your doing, ma’am?’
‘Call me Ellen, won’t you?’
He gave her a slight bow. ‘I’ll be glad to do so. And the young ’un, Conn? A girl, I believe.’
‘In bed.’
‘I guess I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see her.’
‘Since she’s eight year’s old and you’ve never yet set eyes on her, not so much as even once, I reckon one day more won’t hurt too much.’
‘Eight is she?’ Niall said, shaking his head. ‘How time flies!’ He crossed to the living room table with a leisurely gait, sat down and stretched out his legs. ‘I was real sorry to hear about Alice. She was a fine woman.’
Connor took the seat opposite Niall. Ellen went into the kitchen and pulled the coffee pot across to the stove. ‘You seem well informed about me and my family,’ she heard Connor say, his voice chill. ‘How come you know so much?’
‘Why, from Oonagh, of course. First person I looked for when I rode into town. She’s turned into a real beautiful gal, I must say. I sure was amazed to learn that she wasn’t already taken.’ He turned around as Ellen came back into the room with a plate of doughnuts. ‘Beggin’ your pardon, ma’am, but I’m gonna speak my mind to my brother here.’ He turned back to Connor. ‘I sure was surprised that you and our Miss Oonagh didn’t wed each other, what with Alice gone and Oonagh still not we
d. She always was sweet on you.’
Ellen’s heart missed a beat. She put the plate in the centre of the table and moved back towards the kitchen. Hovering just inside the living room, she waited for the water to heat up, hanging on to every word that Niall and Conn spoke.
‘It was you and Jeb she hung out with, not me,’ Connor said tersely.
‘You can’t tell me that you didn’t know she’d have had you for the asking.’
‘I guess I was too busy looking at Alice to be interested in figuring out what was going on in Oonagh’s mind. But it’s what’s in your mind that I want to hear. Why’ve you come back, Niall? What do you want?’
‘Why, you’re sounding a mite unfriendly, brother,’ he drawled. ‘That wouldn’t be much of a welcome for a stranger, and it’s even less of a welcome for a brother. And you a churchgoer, too.’ He shook his head and clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Ellen stepped forward to put two mugs on their table. ‘The water’s almost ready. I’ll bring you some coffee in a minute.’
‘And then I think Niall will be on his way,’ Connor said. He met his brother’s eyes.
Ellen stared from one to the other.
‘And then I think Niall will be given a bed for the night,’ Niall said quietly, his gaze not leaving his brother’s face. ‘And for as many nights as he wants. This is Niall’s home, too. As the older son, it’s his birthright, if you like.’ He sat back, gestured with upturned palms and smiled across the table. ‘Look at us both, Ellen, sitting at the same table after all these years. This is just what our ma and pa would have wanted – their two boys under the same roof, running the homestead together.’ He laughed. ‘And I’m thinking that we should do just that. Yessir; I am.’ He laughed again.
Ellen went out and soon after returned with a pot of coffee. She filled their mugs and turned to leave.
‘Pour a coffee for yourself, Ellen,’ Connor said, ‘and sit with us. Whatever Niall has in mind – and I’m sure he has something in mind – it’ll affect you as much as me.’