"Do we need to stop off and get Jimmy?" Helena asked when they had gotten the wagon ready to go into town.
"I'd like him to try a few things on; he's grown a little since he's been here." Gabby admitted. "And filled out some too."
"Si, then we will ride out to the meadow where they are working and pick him up." Helena nodded as Gabby got up on the seat with her.
"He won't like being taken away from the cowboys."
Helena laughed. "He can endure it for one day. He sure does like Ben. I'm so glad.
"Me too." Gabby smiled. "When we first came here, I didn't know how he would like it. I was afraid he'd rebel and want to go home. But he loves it here."
"Si, he has adjusted well." Helena smiled. "I can tell Ben is very proud of him. He's going to make a wonderful father."
"Do you think he wants children?" Gabby asked turning to look at Helena.
"Before you came, I would have said never. But now, I think he would love to have children, lots of them." Helena smiled. "And you, do you want more?"
"Children bring sunshine into a home. Maybe, someday…" She admitted to her. "Soon…" she added under her breath.
Helena paused and then stared into her eyes. "You've brought sunshine into the house of darkness. You've changed a man who didn't know how to stop grieving, and you ask if you've changed? You and Ben will make many children."
Gabby blushed. "Not the way we are headed."
"So…you are anxious to take your place with him, are you not?"
"In a way, but…not until I'm sure that's what he wants." Gabby told her. "Helena, you know as well as I that he didn't want to marry me, at first. I'm not sure why he did. So I won't pressure him about it. I'll wait and see how things work out."
"Then my best advise to that is, enjoy the ride. Take one day at a time, and savor it. You and Ben are wise to get to know one another first. It will be a beautiful coming together I can tell you that. But…meantime, enjoy the joy in your heart, and open it for the love to come…" Helena smiled.
Gabby chuckled. "You're such a romantic. But, how do you know when you are really in love?"
"I think your heart will tell you." Helena laughed.
It was mid morning when they arrived at the branding camp. The men were working hard at it. Ben saw them and wiped his hands on his pants and came toward them. "What brings you two lovely ladies out here?"
Gabby stared at him, unable to admit to herself that she was hungry for the sight of him. She was growing very fond of her husband. Now that he knew her greatest fear, she wasn't as afraid.
"We need to pick Jimmy up as we are going to have to fit him for clothes. He's grown so much." Gabby explained.
He reached to lay his hand on hers, and smiled. Just that simple action, said so much to her. That he would openly display his fondness.
"Fine, I'll go get him." Ben nodded.
Pedro came up to the wagon. "Ladies. Nice day isn't it?"
"Si, Pedro, how are you?" Helena asked.
"Pretty good, it's hot and dusty here, but I enjoy this part of spring. Are you headed for town?"
"Si."
"May I ask, if you could get some disinfectant for Butch. Jim forgot it the other day and Butch needs it right away."
"Certainly, I'll take care of it." Helena offered.
"Thank you. Well, you ladies have a good trip."
"Thanks." Gabby smiled and nodded to him.
"He's a nice man."
"Si, he's my cousin." Helena stared after him.
"Your cousin? Did he come here when you did then?" Gabby asked curiously.
"No, he was here before me. He recommended me for the job of housekeeper. Mrs. Wyler rode all the way to the border to bring me here."
"She must have been a wonderful woman." Gabby thought about it a minute.
"She was. I loved her. But she was much different than you."
"How?" Gabby was curious about the famous Mrs. Wyler.
"She was like the queen of this place. Everyone respected and loved her. But she was more like royalty. She would not lower herself to do menial chores. She came from a very rich and old southern family. I loved her, but not like I love you." Helena patted her hand.
Ben strolled up with Jimmy by his side. Jimmy saw them and pouched out his lower lip. "Do I gotta go, Pa?"
"'Fraid so, son." Ben smiled at Gabby. "You've got to be measured for clothes that fit. So you can go to school soon when it's time. Don't worry, you can come back tomorrow."
"I don't want to go to school," He protested.
"Well say, you don't want to grow up ignorant, do you?" Ben asked. "Besides, you aren't old enough yet, but it won't be that long."
"No…I guess not."
"Then you have to go to school. But don't fret, not for a while yet. We just want you prepared for when you do."
Jimmy climbed up the wagon and got in the back.
"Say, why don't you take Butch with you. He's not up to a day's work today. Pedro can doctor him tonight; meanwhile he'll get a little rest."
"Can I?" Jimmy's eyes widened.
"Sure, I'll see Sugarfoot gets back to the ranch alright."
"Thanks Pa." Jimmy smiled when he whistled for Butch and he came running up to the wagon. Ben motioned for him to jump up and he did, and then lay down beside Jimmy. His tail was wagging and he stared at them with his tongue hanging out.
"Alright, be careful…"
"Si!" Helena whipped the horses into a turn around and they were off. Jimmy waved at him until he was out of sight.
As they drove into town Helena was about to get down and hobble the horses in front of the General Store, but Gabby laid a hand on hers.
"That's Colby Newman," Gabby gasped aloud, turning her head away when she recognized the man across the street getting off his horse.
"Who's Colby Newman?" Helena asked.
"The man that killed my husband." Gabby uttered, trying to keep Jimmy from getting out of the wagon.
Helena's head jerked about and she stared at the man who wore his gun low on his hip. "What's he doing here?" Helena glanced at the big man with the long mustache and rifle in hand.
"I don't know. But it can't be for good…"
"He's gone into the gunsmith's." Helena told her. "Gabby, you're shaking, what's wrong?"
"For one thing, Colby isn't from around here though, and I can't imagine he just wandered down from Colorado. He's here for some reason." Gabby explained.
"Are you afraid of this man?" Helena frowned.
"Yes. After he was cleared of killing my husband he made threats…"
"What kind of threats?" Helena's eyes widened.
"He thinks my husband stole his money."
"Did he?"
"I don't know."
"Gabby, let's get into the store…" Helena advised. "Quickly."
"Yes…" Gabby gathered Jimmy in her arms and lifted him over the wagon and onto the ground, then took his hand and practically ran into the General Store.
However, the last thing Gabby wanted to do was shop for clothes since she saw Colby. She thought she'd left all the troubles behind her. But for some reason Colby was here, and it wasn't a coincident.
Helena tried to distract her. "Let's get Jimmy fitted and then we'll look at patterns."
Gabby nodded, glancing out the window for Colby.
A small petite woman of about fifty came out from the back and looked at them. "Helena, how are you?"
"Fine thank you Mrs. Saunders. You know Gabby, Ben's wife, of course."
"Yes, I was at the wedding. How are you?"
"Fine thank you, we came for some clothes for Jimmy and…some patterns." Gabby explained.
"Well Jimmy, how old are you now?" Mrs. Saunders asked.
"I'll be five in July." He announced proudly.
"Five…my, let me get my measure and we'll see what sizes we need." The lady took Jimmy's measurements while Jimmy squirmed about.
"Okay, his sizes are going to be right here. What
exactly are you looking for?" Mrs. Saunders asked.
"Just regular everyday clothes, he'll be going to school next year, I'm sure. Make them sturdy ones that will hold up, he's quite active," Gabby chortled and then glanced out the window.
After Jimmy tried on a couple of things, Gabby and Helena went about gathering some clothes for him and putting them in a basket.
Then Helena asked for the patterns.
"Oh yes, of course."
They rummaged through a catalogue full of them and decided on four different dresses, two for every day, one for parties and a riding outfit.
"Do you think that will be enough?" Helena asked.
"For now, yes." Gabby insisted.
"Alright, let's look at some material."
Mrs. Saunders pointed them in the right direction.
Gabby picked out two ginghams, a lovely silk, and some suede leather for a riding outfit. After gathering all the necessary things, Gabby found Jimmy over at the candy jars. He'd never seen so much candy in his life.
"Mama, can I have a piece of candy?"
"I suppose one wouldn't hurt." Gabby smiled at him.
He picked a long peppermint stick.
Helena watched them and shook her head. "We'll take a small sack of them, please."
"Oh but…."
"Quit fretting. Please put this on Ben Wyler's account Mrs. Saunders, if you will."
"Oh…yes, of course." Mrs. Saunders looked at the two of them. "But…why didn't you just buy one of the ready-mades?"
"I'm hard to fit. But that reminds me…I need a gown and robe."
"Oh yes, and slippers too." Helena smiled at her. "Glad you thought of that. What about Jimmy does he need a night shirt?"
"Yes, that would be great." Gabby nodded.
But as they were about to leave, Colby came out of the gunsmith's shop and spotted her.
He came right up to her. "Mrs. Campbell?"
"No…I've remarried. Whatever are you doing here in Pecos, Colby? Thought you had a mine to work."
He eyed her with a snide smile. "My partner's taking care of that. I got other things to finish up with. So you remarried, did ya?"
"Yes…What are you doing here?"
"That was fast. Didn't grieve much for Frank, I see. Not that I blame you a bit. Well, I'm just passin' through. Never thought I'd run into you though?"
"Neither did I."
"Hope he's better than the last fella." Colby blurted and tipped his hat to Helena.
Gabby waited until they were on the road then she put her hand over Helena's. "Don't tell anyone about Colby. I don't want to make any trouble."
"But…what if there is trouble?" Helena asked.
"Then we'll deal with it…" Gabby explained.
Chapter Sixteen
Days passed and there was no sign of Colby turning up. Gabby was beginning to relax and enjoy her life again at the ranch.
When Jimmy came running into the kitchen one morning, he was red faced and out of breath.
"What's wrong, Jimmy?" Gabby grabbed him.
"It's Miss Clara; she won't give any milk today. I tried and tried, but nothing came out. What could be wrong?"
Helena heard him and came out of the parlor with her feather duster. "Don't worry, we will get hold of Doc Haskell and he will find out what it wrong."
"Is she sick?"
"Could be."
"She's such a good cow. She never gives me a hard time getting her milk." Jimmy told them.
"Come on, let's go have a look at her." Gabby smiled at Jimmy.
They walked out to the barn and Gabby ran her hand over her. On closer examination, Gabby nodded. "I think I know what is wrong."
"You do?" Jimmy gasped.
"Miss Clara gonna have a little one soon that's why." Gabby smiled at him.
"You don't mean it?" Jimmy looked at Miss Clara and pet her.
"I'd bet on it." Gabby smiled. "And not too long, I'd say she's getting close to calving."
"How'd you know Mama?"
"Well honey, I've been around a lot of milk cows in my time. Miss Clara is a fine specimen; she's had a few calves. She's a Brown Swiss, one of the best breeds aside from a Jersey. Your Pa probably brought her to the barn because of it. I'd imagine, that's why he's got her pinned up in the barn. He has other milk cows; we'll talk to him tonight about it."
"Can I watch it being born?" Jimmy asked.
"You'll have to ask him, Jimmy." Gabby smiled at him.
However, as they were talking a dog wandered in the barn. He was at the far end, and he gazed at them with a droopy head, before he began to move strangely toward them. Gabby hadn't seen this dog before and wondered where it came from. Just from the way it moved, she quickly realized that something was not right.
Jimmy started to edge toward it when Gabby pulled him back.
"I just wanted to pet him, Mama."
"I know, but he's a strange dog, and you don't go petting strange dogs." Gabby warned eyeing the dog with precision.
"So, what have we here?" Gabby asked as she watched the dog approach them.
Something wasn't right about the dog and Gabby recognized that too. He had a strange way of walking, as though his muscles wouldn't carry him. And he hung his head low, and the noise from the other animals made him nervous. He barked a time or two. "Jimmy get in the house."
"But…why Mama?"
"Do as I say, Jimmy." Gabby edged closer to her son. "Don't argue; get to the house…now."
"What's wrong?"
"Run Jimmy, run…" Gabby told him. She saw the frothy saliva and the way his jaw drooped. The dog moved closer, snarling. Just the sound of her voice had the dog moving his head from one side to the other as though in complete misery. Jimmy ran, falling once, but getting up and running again to the house.
Gabby edged slowly to the ladder that led to the loft and as soon as she could reach it, began climbing it.
The dog barked a strange strangled sound that Gabby recognized from her youth. He viciously tried to reach her, almost grabbing her foot with his mouth, but she scrambled quickly up the ladder and lay halfway between the ladder and the open loft. She could see from the loft that Jimmy had made it to the house. He was looking at her from the kitchen window.
Directly Helena came out the door.
"Don't come out here." Gabby called out to her. The dog went berserk once more from her voice, whining as though she had hurt him. "Get Pedro, or Ben…with a gun. He's rabid…" Gabby shouted.
"Si, don't come down until someone comes to help." Helena told her.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on it."
The dog tried to climb the ladder desperately, as though his getting to her was necessary to stop the misery he was in. He chewed on the wood, he slobbered, and he made some strange sounds. But he kept slipping down. His coordination wasn't good any longer. He was too far gone to be saved and Gabby knew it. She felt for the animal, but she knew better than to let him get any closer.
The horses were nervous and Miss Clara, moved away too.
In minutes, Pedro came running out with his shotgun loaded.
"Where is he?" Pedro shouted at her.
"He's standing at the bottom rung of the ladder. Be careful. Don't get too close, he's in the last stages." Gabby cried. "He's very rabid."
Pedro cast her strange look, but slowly edged his way into the barn.
When he was sure he had a shot, he pulled the trigger. The dog whined, and fell to the floor of the barn as he'd tried again to climb and could not make it. The horrid scratch marks he made were on the wall of the barn between the rungs of the ladder. Blood had gushed from the shotgun blast as Pedro hit him in the head.
The dog lay in a mangled mess at the foot of the ladder, one paw clung to the last rung.
He lay dead, on the barn floor.
The horses stirred, Miss Clara mooed.
"You can come down now." Pedro smiled up at her.
"Goodness that was scary…" She tried to chuckle, but as
she came down she looked at the poor animal and shook her head. A tear was in her eye. "Poor thing…"
"How did you figure it out so quickly?"
"I've seen it before. I saw the froth coming from his mouth…I seen it when I was a kid. Scared the living daylights out of me then, and it did just now. A coon got our pet dog when I was just ten and daddy had to shoot him. I cried for two weeks." Gabby shook her head again. "I didn't understand then why he had to be killed. It took a long time for me to forgive daddy."
"Sometime experiences like that have a way of savin' you later on. He could have hurt the animals or anyone here."
"Jimmy was just out here. I was afraid for him." Gabby grabbed her chest.
"Go on in the house, I'll take care of him." Pedro told her.
"Thanks Pedro." Gabby grabbed him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Pedro smiled. "Si."
When she went inside Helena and Jimmy were hugging her. "Are you sure you are alright?"
"I'm fine. Just glad Jimmy got to the house when I told him."
"Is he dead, Mama?"
"Yes, honey, he was too sick to save." Gabby told him.
"But if he was sick, why didn't we doctor him like we did old Butch?" Jimmy asked.
"Because Jimmy he was rabid, and in the last stages of it too. Very sick, he couldn't be saved."
When Ben heard the news he rode home as fast as he could and burst into the house a though it were on fire.
Gabby, Helena and Jimmy were sitting in the parlor talking about it.
"You alright?" He asked his face white as a sheet.
"Fine…Pedro's got him. He's burying him out behind the barn. They'll have to try and find what gave him the rabies, so it won't spread."
Ben came to stand beside her.
"Mama was brave…." Jimmy smiled.
"Scared the daylights out of me!" Ben hollered.
All their heads looked up at him.
"Well, hell, he could have killed you Gabby!" Ben was hollering. "Or Jimmy either."
"She is fine, go on back to work." Helena told him with a smile.
"Tell Pedro to have a look around the place, see if he can find what got hold of that dog. Until we find whatever it was, it could happen again. Don't want Butch coming down with something like that, or any of the stock." Ben told Helena.
"I'll tell him." Helena nodded.
Love As Big As Texas Page 16