Chapter 15
Why were the Reagan’s coming out to the ranch in the middle of the week? And who was the rider beside their buggy?
Rusty watched from the corral where he’d been working with a green horse. He’d just unsaddled the horse, brushed him down, and was ready to lead him back to the pasture gate. The pastor stopped the buggy in front of the house, apparently planning on visiting the family.
Rusty let the horse into the pasture and turned to walk up to the house. He’d take care of their horses while the Reagans and the stranger visited.
“Greetings. What brings you out to the ranch this afternoon?” Rusty asked as he helped Kaitlyn down from the buggy.
Pastor glanced at the man with him and then back to Rusty. “Rusty, this is Felix Longoria. He’s traveled from Topeka to see Faye and Sarah. Felix, this is Rusty Tucker, the Cross C Ranch foreman.”
Felix had dismounted and held his hand out to Rusty to shake. Rusty hesitated a second before his manners took over. Longoria had the same black hair and chin as his daughters. There was no doubt in Rusty’s mind that the man was indeed their father. How were the women, especially Sarah, going to handle this surprise visit?
“Please wait here, Mr. Longoria. I’ll go in first and talk to the girls,” Kaitlyn instructed.
Rusty rounded on the man. “What are you doing here? You abandoned Faye, so she had to work in a brothel!”
“Rusty now’s not the time,” Pastor advised.
“Yes, it is if he expects to waltz back into their lives as if nothing happened,” Rusty countered, trying to keep his fists at his side instead of swinging his right fist at the man’s jaw.
“I just came to meet the girls. I don’t want anything from them, except forgiveness,” Longoria answered.
“And because you’re now a preacher, they’re to forgive you for your abuse and abandonment?”
“Rusty, how about taking care of the horses for us? It may be a while before we go into the house.”
“No, it won’t be long when Faye hears her father is here. I’ll tie the horses to the hitching post here by the house for now. I’ll water them after the initial shock and greet is over,” Rusty admonished. There was no way he was leaving Faye by herself now, let alone Sarah. Marcus was out with the herd and Sarah may need more backup than Faye.
The front door jerked open, and Faye stepped out on the porch but stopped to stare at her father rather than coming down the steps. Rusty hurried to the bottom of the steps, ready to help any way he could.
Kaitlyn stepped out of the house, and Sarah followed her. All three women stood shoulder to shoulder facing the intruder.
Drat! Did Kaitlyn have her hand in her reticle? That meant she had her trigger finger on her peashooter.
“Hello, Faye and…Sarah. I’m sorry, but I had to see you. I went to the parsonage first since I’d met the Reagan’s before. I figured I’d need their help to meet with you,” Longoria said as an opening.
Sarah glared at Longoria, not saying a word in return.
“Did your wife kick you out of your house, Papa? I don’t know why else you’d finally come looking for me. Oh wait, I can. I now have a home with my sister, and you think you can move in too?” Faye scornfully asked.
“I’m so sorry, Faye. I shouldn’t have left you with my mother, but—”
“No, you shouldn’t have, knowing she hated me because I was the daughter of a prostitute and a worthless son!”
“Faye, I think we should go inside and—” Kaitlyn started, but Sarah interrupted her.
“He is not welcome into my home, nor will he ever be allowed near my children,” Sarah sternly replied. Her stance showed no forgiveness to her father. “Say your apologies and leave.”
“Sarah, the man, came here to meet and ask for your forgiveness, so I think you should talk to him. It will ease your mind and bitterness,” Pastor urged Sarah.
“For what he did to my mother? Never! Ever! Get off this land now!”
Sarah whipped up a rifle she had hidden in her skirt and aimed the firearm at Longoria’s chest.
All three men stepped back in surprise, but the women didn’t. Did Faye have a weapon on her too? Good grief!
“Sarah, please lower your rifle. I’m here to protect you and Faye,” Rusty gently said as he slowly came up the porch steps and stood beside Faye. No way was he going to walk in front of Sarah.
“I’m so sorry, Sarah, what I did was inexcusable as I stated in my letter,” Longoria pleaded to Sarah. “My only consolation was that I know you had a good life with Cate and Moses.”
“I should shoot you anyway for what you did to Faye,” Sarah hissed.
“Sarah, please put the gun down,” Pastor instructed her. “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t, but Faye may want to curse the man before he leaves forever,” Sarah hissed.
Rusty had never seen Sarah this mad in the years he’d known her. Why wasn’t Marcus or Cate here today? Had Longoria planned this trip when Cate and Isaac were gone?
“Sarah, think of your children. They’re inside the house probably watching and hearing all of this,” Rusty said, trying to calm Sarah down.
His words seemed to reach Sarah because she relaxed her stance and dropped the gun to her side. Without another word, she turned and walked back into the house.
There was a universal sigh of relief, but it didn’t help that Longoria was still on the property.
“Faye, did you want to talk to your father?” Rusty asked as he lightly touched her shoulder.
She took a long time to answer Rusty. “Yes, if we can talk on your porch and you stay with me?”
“Sure, we can do that.”
“Kaitlyn and I will go to check on Sarah until you’re done talking to Faye, Felix. Have Rusty knock on the door when you’re ready to leave,” Pastor nodded to Longoria as he walked up the porch steps.
“Say whatever you need to your father, to give yourself peace. You’re in charge of your and Violet’s lives now, not your father’s,” Pastor advised Faye as he took his wife’s hand. Rusty made sure they were inside before motioning Longoria to walk in front of them to his cabin. No way was he going to turn his back on this man.
Rusty tucked Faye’s hand around his elbow and held it close to his side. She was trembling. Was it from anger or fear?
“Do you want to sit in the rocker or stand, Faye?” Rusty asked as they stepped on his simple porch. Now the puppies showed up to meet them, going from person to person for attention.
“Sit down, dogs,” Rusty firmly said, which calmed the puppies for a few seconds.
“You’ve turned into a beautiful woman, Faye. You look so much like your mother,” Longoria said as he stared at Faye. She didn’t say anything, but her fingers tightened around his arm.
“I’m sorry your mother and I couldn’t be together, but …”
“Your mother wasn’t pleased by my mother’s profession, so of course, you abandoned both of us,” Faye finished his thoughts for him.
“I thought my mother would bring you up properly, but—”
“She reunited me with my drug-addicted mother as soon as she had the chance.”
“I was surprised by that. I don’t know where my mother had the extra funds to do so.”
“Besides Isaac’s funds he sent to take care of me—since you didn’t—Grandmother was selling off the family gun collection she’d hidden from Isaac and his sister.”
Longoria nodded, looking at the distant hills instead of at Faye.
Rusty listened to the panting puppies as they sniffed around the porch, oblivious to the tension above them.
“Spending time in jail, thinking I was going to be hanged, made me look back at my miserable excuse of a life. I vowed I’d make it up to the world if by chance I got out of that mess. I was released because of lack of evidence, although I was guilty of my crime.
“When I walked out of prison, it was to a straight road to redee
ming my soul. I became a pastor to help others.”
“But you didn’t come to help me.” Rusty cringed at the hurt in Faye’s words.
“I tried to find you, but my mother didn’t know where you were. You could have been anywhere in the United States. It was only by the chance meeting with the Reagan’s that we finally meet again,” Longoria pleaded his case to Faye.
“Tell me about your new family,” Faye said to change the subject.
“Right now, my wife is mad at me for not sharing my past with her until…the other day.”
“I hope the pain of rejection is deep for you. Maybe now you’ll know what it feels like when the person you love, leaves you,” Faye cried in anger.
Tears were running down Faye’s face, but she wasn’t bothering with wiping them away. Rusty wanted to take her in his arms to soothe the pain away, but she needed to have this conversation with her father to go forward in her life.
“I have a six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. My girl looks like you did at that age,” Longoria said wistfully.
“So, I’ve been replaced with new children.”
“I’m trying to be a good father this time around because you’re already a grown woman. I owe that to your half-siblings.
“I hear you have a daughter, Faye. I’m sure you want what’s best for her too.”
“Yes, although she and I will always have problems because of the stigma of her birth. We’ll never know who her father is since I had to work on my back to survive,” Faye said crudely, to stab her father for wronging her.
Longoria rubbed his hands back and forth across his face. “I’m so, so sorry, Faye. I can never forgive myself for what you had to go through because of me.”
“And I can never forgive you either. Please leave now. We’re finished,” Faye’s voice trembled with her words, but she meant every one of them.
“All right. If you ever want to meet—”
“No.”
Longoria let Faye’s word sink between them a minute then spoke again.
“If you ever want to meet your half-siblings, I’ll keep in touch with the Reagans. They’ll have my address.”
Longoria reached a hand out to his daughter but finally dropped it when Faye crowded against Rusty instead.
“Goodbye, Faye.”
Then Longoria walked off the porch toward the horse he’d ridden to the ranch.
Rusty pulled Faye away from his chest and looked down at her tear-stained face. He wanted to hold and soothe her, but he needed to get Longoria off the place first.
“Why don’t you go into my cabin while I get the Reagans out of the house?”
“No. I need to hold Violet,” Faye said after taking a deep breath. “I’m going back into the house.”
“All right. After they’re gone, I’ll be around the buildings if you or Sarah need me.”
Rusty kissed Faye’s forehead and then gave her a quick hug.
“I’m proud of you, Faye. You stood up to the man who hurt you. I hope this gives you peace to let go of the past.”
“I do feel better, but I still wish he would have been a decent father to me.”
“I know. Let’s hope he keeps his promise to be a good father to your half-siblings.”
This time Rusty gave Faye a quick kiss on the lips.
“How about my favorite two girls meet me on my porch after supper? I’ll even make some hot cocoa for you,” Rusty tried to coax Faye with her favorite hot drink.
“Thank you, Rusty, for standing by me today. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” Rusty replied, feeling relieved that he happened to be in the ranch yard when Longoria arrived.
Hopefully, Faye could put this incident in the past now and move forward. The question was would it be with him, or would she choose to move elsewhere?
Chapter 16
Faye hated to admit it, but she was glad her father had come to the ranch. After him being out of her life for years, it was good to see him and have a final meeting.
It unnerved Sarah to meet Felix, to see their facial similarities, but at the same time, it made Sarah realize she’d always think of Moses as her father, not the stranger who stood in the middle of the yard.
Faye knew there’d be a long talk with tears between Sarah and Marcus tonight after the children went to bed, but Sarah’s husband would help her get through her anxiety.
The seriousness of parenting made Faye more determined than ever to do right for Violet. Her father had made a mess of her life, but Faye wouldn’t do that to Violet.
“How’s everyone at the house doing tonight?” Rusty asked Faye as soon as she stepped up on the cabin’s porch. He was sitting in the rocker waiting for her but stood when she approached.
“Sarah’s upset but glad to finally put a face to her mother’s attacker. I’m not sure if the fact he’s now a preacher helps or hinders her feelings. I think she’ll have a lot of questions for Pastor Reagan shortly.”
“Make’s sense. I’m glad we have a good preacher in our community we can talk to,” Rusty said as he reached for Violet.
Both Violet and Rusty’s faces brightened at the sight of the other. “How’s my little flower girl? Been good for your momma today?” Rusty softly cooed to Violet.
Violet waved her arms, staring intently at Rusty’s smile. Her baby had fallen for Rusty as much as she had.
“How’d you feel after seeing your father? I watched for you to come to talk to me after he left, but you didn’t.”
“Maggie was upset seeing Sarah pointing a gun at…Felix,” Faye confessed. “Sarah spent most of the afternoon with her while I watched the other children.”
One thing Faye had decided today, the man she knew as her father growing up was gone, hopefully becoming a better man for his young children. From now on he was Felix to her, not her disappointing papa.
“I thought you both handled the situation well, considering you had no advance warning he’d show up.”
“It’s been on the back of my mind that he would. He wrote in our letters he wanted to meet us,” Faye shrugged her shoulder.
“Come here,” Rusty asked, shifting Violet to hold her against the right side of his chest and extending his left arm to Faye.
Faye melted into his embrace, needing the comfort of his body as much as his words. He softly kissed her forehead before tightening his arm around her shoulders. Faye wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying the sense of comfort and rightness of the moment.
“Any more thoughts about moving to Topeka to be near your father?”
Faye felt Rusty tense up with his question. She didn’t think Rusty wanted her to leave Clear Creek since they were courting, but she’d mentioned moving away more than once.
“No, I’ve decided to stay here. Sarah and Marcus told me again this evening that me and Violet are part of the Brenner and Wilerson families and I’m welcome to stay here.”
“I’m glad because I want you both to be part of my life too,” Rusty said as he tilted Faye’s chin up with his finger and kissed her.
“In what way?” Faye slowly raised her eyes to Rusty’s. Was Rusty about to propose marriage?
“I enjoy seeing you on the ranch and spending time with you.”
That wasn’t what Faye hoped Rusty would say. Was he not ready for marriage, or didn’t think she would make a good wife?
If he thought he could get kisses, and then more out of her without marriage…
Faye pulled away from Rusty, taking Violet in her arms at the same time. She moved to sit in the rocker to put space between them.
Rusty narrowed his lips as he eyed her abrupt move.
“Did I say something wrong, Faye?”
“Not if you didn’t plan on it. I believe I read your intentions wrong is all.”
Why did the man look clueless for a moment?
“Intentions?”
At least the man blushed, finally catching on to Faye’s meaning.
“Faye, we haven
’t even known each other for a month yet. Rushing into marriage would be wrong for you,” Rusty patiently said as he sat down on the bench beside the rocker.
“Mail-order brides get married when they get off the train without knowing the groom at all,” Faye countered.
“And sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t,” Rusty answered.
Yes, Faye heard how Millie Wilerson came as a mail-order bride for a Sam Larson, who died before she arrived. Luckily, Cate happened to meet her, which ended with the happy marriage of Millie to Cate’s son, Adam.
“But why wait? We could marry, and Violet and I move right in with you.”
Rusty thought a few seconds, then crossed his arms. “Is your trousseau ready?”
“No, I don’t have a trunk of possessions or household things. You know what I arrived with.”
“Then you need time to accumulate and make items before your marriage. Don’t most women have thirteen quilt tops made for their quilting bee after the wedding date is set?”
“We wouldn’t need quilts if we’re moving into the cabin. It’s already furnished.”
“But you’ll want a wedding quilt. Possibly new sheets with embroidered-edged pillowcases? Dollies for furniture to dress up a bachelor’s crude home?”
“Sewing isn’t my forte, and the wedding ring quilt pattern looks difficult.”
“There are plenty of quilters to help you on quilts, household linens, and such.”
What Rusty suggested was correct. And she’d want a wedding quilt to show Violet and any future children.
“I can ask Sarah about that.”
“About all I have in my kitchen is a skillet and a coffee pot. I eat most of my meals in the bunkhouse or at the big house. My future wife would need to cook and bake for our family, besides bringing in kitchen pans and cooking utensils.”
Faye was just learning necessary cooking skills now. Her last batch of bread didn’t raise hence the loaves were as heavy as bricks. And the children complained about the lumps in her gravy the previous week.
All right. She needed more time with Sarah learning how to cook before taking over her own kitchen.
“Weddings and receptions take time to plan,” Rusty continued.
Faye Favors a Foreman: A Historical Western Romance (Brides with Grit Book 11) Page 10