She loved the feeling as Devil galloped over the miles that encompassed the ranch, his hoofs pounding the dusty ground, carrying her effortlessly on his high black back. This freedom, this exhilarating aura, this was the West, and she was rapidly falling in love with it.
During these lazy days, Herman and Alex spent many hours together, both in the house and ranch office and out on the range. Lisa spent her afternoons by the pool, relaxing and reading, looking healthier and more rested day by day.
The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, and Robin found her eyes wandering to the blond man who sat at the head of the table each evening at dinner, trying to define and understand the deepening feelings that she had for him, wishing that she could read his mind and his heart.
She couldn't, of course, but neither could she get him out of her mind. The words that passed between them were very trivial ones, concerning the house, the children, and short conversations with Herman and Lisa. But still, he was in her thoughts as she galloped across the prairie, in her thoughts as she neatly and accurately filled in the daily accounts and organized the running of the house. Robin knew that her feelings were unrealistic ones, that sooner or later she would have to face the fact that she was coasting along in a type of dream world, but for now, she was satisfied.
Herman watched her thoughtfully on many occasions. One evening, after the family had dispersed from the dinner table and darkness had set in, she decided to take a quick dip in the pool, something she did often after a warm summer day. She slipped into her room and donned her racing suit, ready for her dip in the pool. The house was silent as she passed through it on the way to the patio, quickly braiding her hair and pinning it to the back of her head as she moved.
The patio was dimly lit this evening. Of the three spotlights that usually cast their golden glow over the blue surface of the pool, only one was now lit. Robin registered the fact in the back of her mind, planning to get one of the hands to change the bulbs in the morning.
Even though the area was far from well lit, she was very accustomed to the pool, and the beam shining from the one functioning light was adequate for her to see her way to the side of the pool.
She paused on the walk and peered out over the glasslike surface of the water. So beautiful. So inviting. As she stepped to the edge of the pool, she reached an arm out for the metal handrail of the pool ladder. But she never reached it. For out of the dark, a black, undefined shape came hurtling toward her, plowing full tilt into her stomach and throwing her several feet away from the pool to the grass beyond.
Robin felt the air rush forcefully out of her lungs, heard a muffled grunt from her attacker, and suddenly her head swam with stars.
When she caught her breath, she found herself lying on her back, the bright clear stars of the Montana sky hanging overhead. The smell of the soft freshly cut green grass assailed her nostrils. She heard the sound of moving water, and her skin prickled. Someone was still here.
Here, amid the beauty of the gorgeous heavens, the green lawn, the idyllic atmosphere of the pool, she lay silently, afraid. She heard the sound of footsteps and raised her head bravely.
Suddenly Jacob's face peered down at her.
"Are you hurt?"
"Hurt!" she snapped, pulling herself up onto a rather sore elbow. "A little late to be worrying about that, isn't it?"
She was so angry! For Jacob was certainly the only person in sight. There was no doubt in her still-stunned mind that he was the culprit who had bowled her over with such force. She shook her head angrily and her long blond hair came plummeting down her back.
"I'm sorry. Robin, really sorry," he said in a calm voice that irritated her even more. "But I had to do it. I had no choice!"
"What are you, some kind of lunatic? What on earth do you mean, you had to do it? You could have really injured me."
She climbed to her feet, brushing the clinging grass from her still-dry bathing suit and bare legs. She was really going to have to talk to Alex about his eldest son. What a crazy thing he had done!
But now he walked over to the end of the pool and stepped onto the diving board.
She watched him in amazement. What next?
He reached down into the water and pulled something dark and square from its depths.
"I'm sorry I didn't help you up right away," he said calmly. "But I had to unplug this thing." He pointed to the now-empty outdoor socket in the wall of the house.
"It was in the water. So you see, I had to knock you over. I had to. You could have been electrocuted if you had touched that metal ladder."
Even in the shadowy light, she could see his face was almost colorless.
Robin felt a surge of gratitude for the boy. He had certainly acted with haste, and that was for sure, even if his methods were not so very smooth! The radio must have fallen into the pool, and he had done his best to prevent a serious accident.
"Well, thank you for taking care of me," she said. "But I don't think your father is going to be delighted when he hears you had the radio out on the diving board again."
He opened his eyes in shock and surprise.
"But I didn't!" he exclaimed. "I didn't. I came out the door behind you. I swear it. I haven't brought the radio out here since Dad chewed me out for it earlier in the summer. Lately I've been using the one you gave me for my birthday. Honest, Robin." His protests were so real, so easy to believe.
But Robin didn't want to believe Jacob. For as she stood in the shadowed patio facing the seventeen-year-old boy, she felt the iron band of fear contracting on her heart, squeezing her chest, making her hands perspire and her head spin.
For the radio had certainly not walked to the diving board by itself. Someone had obviously been responsible for the near miss, someone who had known her nightly swimming habits, and known Jacob's old trick of using the extension cord on the electric radio. Someone who had planned the accident, to be blamed on Jacob.
Her mouth felt full of cotton, it was so dry. How much Jacob suspected of her suspicions she could not imagine, but she knew that on top of the other mishaps that she had encountered since her arrival at the ranch, there was certainly not much chance that the happenings were coincidences.
Robin gathered up her things to leave the patio. She found Jacob waiting at the door.
"You know, Robin," he said evenly, with his dark eyes giving her a penetrating stare. "You are sure pretty when you are angry. No wonder Father likes you so."
And then he was gone.
Robin was left alone to figure out how she was to accomplish the tasks to which she had pledged herself, and to ponder over Jacob's extremely unsettling words.
Chapter 11
Cook was in a tizzy the next morning when Robin arrived in the kitchen. The hour was early, the sun was just beginning its long ascent into the summer Montana sky, casting its pinkish glow of light over the eastern horizon. The majestic sunrise was a promise of a glorious and beautiful day, though the mood in the kitchen was a far from glorious one.
Robin had not slept well after her disturbing experience by the side of the pool. She had tossed and turned in her bed debating the motives and consequences of the near catastrophe that Jacob's quick action had prevented. But her tossing and turning were not only due to the shock of the dangerous situation, but also to the meaning of Jacob's last words as he had left her for the night. "No wonder Father likes you so." The words had rung and rung in her ears and in her heart. How she wished that there was truth to them!
In her pensive state so early in the morning, she was startled to find cook banging around angrily in the kitchen, muttering wildly to herself, shaking her head in disgust.
"Burn the breakfast rolls?" Robin chided gently, trying to get a smile out of the little woman.
"I'd like to burn something, I'll tell you that much. Nerve of that woman! Nerve! Sheer nerve." More banging and muttering followed.
"Cook, if you'll start over and talk to me rationally, maybe, just maybe I'll understand a
glimmer of what you're talking about."
Cook banged two heavy mugs onto the center table and straddled a stool nearby.
"Okay, Robin. Park yourself over here. Maybe you can make some sense out of this whole mess."
Robin sat obediently and waited for her to go on. The smell of the hot, fresh coffee assailed her nostrils. Cook made the best coffee in the world.
"I just can't understand what is happening around this place, Robin. I just can't understand. Years ago there was nothing but trouble here. A lot of trouble with the Mr. and Mrs. yelling and hollering and riding off in anger, temper, and fights. And then we had all the problems and pain with Mrs. Laura's death, which was more than any being needs to go through in a lifetime.
"And then time went by and things settled down to a kind of sad tension, with everyone frustrated and nervous and ready to explode.
"The last few months have been the first time in years that life has had any semblance of happiness around here. The kids smile occasionally, the place runs smoothly, the help is not running off and quitting right and left, because of vicious rumors, and Mr. Alex has been the calmest and most content that I've ever seen him."
"Well, that sounds good to me, Cookie. I can't see what you're banging pots about."
"It all began when you arrived, you know. The family settled down to normal, more or less. When the town heard an outsider had come and stayed, and that life went on as usual, it started something. Folks weren't so hesitant to work out here at the ranch. The girls in the house are content, some of the ranch hands have been staying overnight in the bunkhouses, instead of making the trek back to town at night.
"It's like the past is finally dead and buried, as it should have been a long time ago. And Mr. Alex."
Cookie paused and gave Robin a long pensive look. "Well. I'm not sure I know quite why, but Mr. Alex is a much happier man. Not without his problems and memories and frustrations, mind you, but for a long time it seemed to me that he didn't know which end was up, what was important in life. And now, looks like gravity has taken over again. Looks like he's got his feet back on the ground."
Robin's stomach felt full of butterflies. Was cook suggesting that this, too, was because of her? She didn't have the nerve to ask.
"But now, into the center of this newfound calm around here, thunderclouds are beginning to gather. It's the calm before the storm. You mark my words."
Robin looked at her questioningly. "But why? I don't understand."
"That's because you weren't here five years ago when this ranch erupted, Robin. Or you would see the problem.
"First Mr. Herman and Mrs. Lisa arrive for a visit. Alex hasn't seen them for five years, since their last visit. Which was the same time as Mrs. Laura's fatal accident. There was only one other additional person here at that time, Deborah Rankin, an old friend of Laura's, and a long-time admirer of Alex's. She's a troublemaker and one of the slyest women I've ever laid eyes on.
"A telegram arrived early this morning saying that she'll be arriving tomorrow around noon for a few weeks visit. I can't quite figure out why. First of all, it's a coincidence that she should arrive at the same time as Herman and Lisa after all this time. Secondly, I'm puzzled that she should send a telegram from Seattle saying that she is arriving in town today, when someone I know spotted her here in Hamilton only two weeks ago. She stayed at the hotel, and made no attempt to get in touch with anyone on the ranch as far as I know. So what is she up to?"
Robin sat staring straight ahead, trying to digest the meaning of what she had just heard.
"How I wish this whole mess had been settled once and for all, Robin. How I wish that we didn't have to live with these fears and doubts and feelings that the whole world could blow up any moment. But you see, the stage is set, the characters are all arriving, the old feelings will all come to the surface and get everyone on edge, and I have a feeling that there will be an explosion around here like none you've ever dreamed of.
"I'm so scared, Robin, darned scared. What is happening around here?"
But Robin had no answer for her, for the same question was rattling on relentlessly inside her own brain. What was happening around here?
"Oh, my, Deborah's coming." Sara's voice was breathless and anxious as she appeared at Robin's bedroom door a few hours later. She was still in her bathrobe, long glistening black hair streaming freely down her back. Her eyes were opened widely, full of emotion, full of anxiety.
"Why is she coming, Robin? Who asked Deborah to come?"
Robin tried to calm the unhappy teenager down. "It's all right. Sara. Please don't be upset. I have no idea who invited Deborah, or what reason she has for coming. The fact is, I know very little about her. But there's no use in—"
"She's a horrible woman, Robin. I don't know how my mother ever became friends with her. There's a kind of evil around her, a meanness. But they had known each other for years. But then, after the accident—" She choked on the word. "After the accident, she stayed on and made everyone miserable. She was so obviously trying to get her hooks into Father, it was disgusting."
"You were very little at the time. Sara. That was an emotional time. Your imagination may well have been working overtime."
"No chance, Robin. It was very clear, even to Jacob and me, what her intent was. I was sure Dad saw through her. I was sure. But now she's coming back. Why? Did he ask her to come? Oh, I could scream."
"Well, at least spare us the scream, Sara, until you know all the details. No need getting yourself worked up over something that may well be nothing."
Sara lowered her eyes. "I'll try, Robin, but I can feel it in my bones that something awful is going to happen. She was here when Mother died, you know, and so were Herman and Lisa. Now it seems like the whole thing was only yesterday, instead of five years ago."
Robin put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sara. This whole thing is very hard on you."
"And hard on Father." It was the first time Robin had heard Sara speak sympathetically about her father. "On the outside she's beautiful, Robin, like a perfect jewel. And Father's been alone so long..."
When Sara left to dress for the day, her words stayed behind. Cookie was very, very right. The scene was set—the tension had begun. It did seem like a fuse had been lit on Ridley Ranch, and the explosion could be closer than they'd ever expected.
Despite her pot banging and general condition of upset, the meal that cook delivered to the table that night was a delicious one. The group was all in attendance: the children, Alex, Lisa, and Herman. Robin found her eyes roving constantly from the well-filled plate before her to her dinner companions, trying, as she seemed to find herself doing so often these days, to read their minds and moods and motives.
That the people present were preoccupied and tense was an obvious fact. But Robin could find no answers in their faces.
Just who was this much-remembered Deborah? And why was she suddenly appearing on the scene? Had she, as Sara voiced in fear, been sent for by Alex? Robin's stomach churned at the thought. Things had been calm, happier at the ranch since her own arrival, cook had said. Alex had been relaxed. Could he, as she so fervently hoped, have been reacting positively to Robin's presence?
Her throat was tight. And had he, upon realizing the deceit she had agreed to in order to gain a position on the ranch, have been disillusioned about her, changing his mind, suffocating what could have been the seeds of caring? And now Deborah was scheduled to arrive. Invited or uninvited. Robin had to admit to herself that she would not have blamed Alex if he had chosen such a route—Deborah. The name buzzed in her head. She was extremely relieved when the dishes were lifted from the table and she could graciously make an escape from the dining room.
She slipped out the front door of the ranch house, sucking in the first cooler breaths of evening air as the scorching sun dipped into the horizon, throwing its gorgeous glaze of red and orange across the Montana sky and the open plains.
She rounded the corner of th
e house, her eyes taking in the breathtaking view that she had come to appreciate. The silhouettes of the bunkhouses and barns loomed in the distance, dark shapes etched amidst the glowing early-evening sky. There was no one in sight. Robin's eyes scanned the horizon, across the plains to the low distant outline of mountains miles away.
Peace. That was the word that constantly came to mind as she surveyed the scene before her.
Yet, within the walls of the ranch house, there was not a trace of that peace to be found. A group of individuals, each obviously under stress, was growing tenser.
And why? Because the past was being remembered.
And because of Deborah.
Chapter 12
Deborah arrived. Amid the daily bustle of the ranch the arrival of most folks would have been a slightly noticed affair. But with the interest sparked by the tension in the family and guests, Deborah's arrival could not have been more dramatic if she had been accompanied by a decorated brass band.
She arrived in the late morning, behind the wheel of a sparkling yellow Cadillac, chrome glistening in the sunlight. Almost the full population of the ranch had instantaneously appeared with the first crunch of her tires on the gravel drive.
Robin stood beside Sara watching the new arrival quietly as she unfolded herself from behind the wheel of the car. From her long, tanned legs, (supporting the envied kind of body that one would expect from such legs) to her beautiful face, she was breathtaking! Her even features were set off to even more perfection by the mass of dark shiny curls that hung invitingly to her shoulders.
Her makeup highlighted her large dark eyes, adding to the sophistication of her well-fitting and obviously expensive summer dress.
Season of Fear Page 8