by Lydia Olson
Milton said nothing. He was beginning to wonder if Brandon’s interest in Jane stemmed from his desire to buy Milton’s land.
It seems I owe my wife an apology, he thought.
“My wife is more than content on our land,” he said.
“I’ve heard that she’s very lovely. I wonder how she would feel knowing that you have given up the opportunity to spend more time with her and less time on your ranch.”
Milton snorted. He couldn’t believe that Eimer was attempting this argument. Jane had grown up on a ranch, and she’d never faulted him from his sundown to sunup work. Until recently, when Milton allowed his pigheadedness to ruin their time together, Jane and Milton managed to find time together between their ranch duties.
“My wife is not your concern, and neither is my land,” Milton said. He stood up from the table. “It seems that we have nothing left to discuss.”
Milton did not wait to see what Brandon would say in response. He didn’t care. It seemed that Brandon Eimer had come into their lives with the sole aim of obtaining Milton’s land.
“You should ask your wife about whether she is concerned about me or not,” Eimer suggested. “I’ve heard that she’s been asking about me, and I have to admit that I absolutely cannot wait to meet her.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jane’s head ached something fierce. After being in her family’s presence for only a short period, she was beginning to remember just how much strain they constantly put upon her. Her father sulked in the corner of the wagon, and Kate grumbled every time they hit a hole in the road.
“I thought Denver was supposed to be more cosmopolitan than this,” Kate remarked, her voice snide. She’d complained since she set foot in the wagon. First, it was about her clothing—she didn’t care to stain her new silk shoes on the muddy floor of the wagon.
Jane bit her tongue. The wagon was hardly muddy, and besides, who in their right mind wore silk to travel?
And why did you purchase new shoes when you are supposed to be destitute? Jane thought.
Then, Kate complained about the air. “Quite a chill, and you know that cold weather does not agree with me.”
Jane said nothing. She didn’t control the weather, thank goodness.
Now, Kate complained about the roads.
“My goodness,” she said. “I thought you said that this ranch was close. We’ve been traveling for hours.”
“We’ve hardly been on our way for more than half an hour,” Jane tried to respond in a neutral tone of voice. She wanted to keep the peace between herself and Kate, but she was finding it more and more challenging the more her sister prattled on about her likes and dislikes.
“Feels like forever,” Kate grumbled.
Jane bit her tongue so hard that she was sure that she was going to draw blood. She’d been away from her family for some time now, and the time apart allowed her a bit of clarity. For years she wanted desperately for Kate to accept her, but now, she realized that that was never going to happen.
Jane and Milton were saving Kate from a life in the poorhouse, and she couldn’t even find it in her heart to be minimally grateful. It turned Jane’s stomach. She longed to snap at her sister and remind her of all this, but she didn’t. She’d known Kate long enough to know that it wouldn’t do anything but make things worse between the two of them.
So, it would be up to Jane to put up with her sister’s incessantly rude behavior.
“Look over the hill,” Jane said. She reached across Kate, pointing in the direction of the ranch.
“Once we cross it, you’ll be able to see the land more clearly.” Jane couldn’t stop the pride in her voice. She was proud of her new home. That Milton worked hard on it was reflected in his land and his house. Jane wanted her family to be awed by it, and by him. She wanted her Pa to know that she made a better match on her own than the one that he tried to force her into.
Jane waited with bated breath as the ranch came into view. She hadn’t left the land very often since she arrived, but every time she returned and crossed the hill, she felt her heart give a little flutter as the white, two-story home came into view. She smiled as she thought about the first time, she saw it—the evening after she was married.
Now, as the land started to reflect the changing season, she was even more enraptured by her home. From far away, it looked like a painting. The large white house was surrounded by acres of green grass and large trees whose leaves were beginning to turn red, orange, and yellow. It was picturesque in a way that made her grateful to reside there.
“Isn’t it lovely?” Jane asked.
Kate sneered, and Jane felt herself sink deeper into her seat. “It’s not as nice as home. I don’t see any cattle.”
Jane wanted to tell Kate that she didn’t see cattle because Milton owned enough acres for them not to be visible, but she didn’t.
“Looks ostentatious to me,” her father said. It was the first time he had spoken since they got in the wagon. “What kind of man needs such a large house to himself?”
“One whom you should be grateful for,” Jane reminded him, her voice terse. She could handle her father’s ire and Kate’s bitterness, but she would not tolerate insults to Milton. She thought she’d made that clear, but it seemed she hadn’t. “If Milton didn’t have such a large house, then he wouldn’t have space for you to come live in it.”
Her father’s mouth closed with an audible snap, and Jane sat a little higher in her seat. She felt pleased at the fact that she’d effectively reminded her father of his place. She admitted to herself that she felt a certain guilty pleasure at this. For the first time in her life, she felt some sense of power.
It didn’t last long.
***
“Is Pa settled?” Kate asked. They had gotten to the house with little additional fuss. Hank and Jane dragged the trunks into the house. Neither Kate nor her father helped. Not that Jane was surprised. Jane’s father asked to rest, and so Jane showed him to his room. They didn’t talk to one another. Jane simply showed him to his room and allowed him to rest.
“He is,” she said. “Did Hank take your things to your room?”
Kate nodded. “He was quite rude about it.”
Jane said nothing. Hank was never rude. He was jovial and outspoken, but never disrespectful. She was sure that whatever Hank said it wasn’t anything that Jane would have bat an eyelash at.
“Would you like me to show you to your room?”
“I want you to tell me why you offered to house us?”
Jane was taken aback by Kate’s tone. Her sister had never been particularly kind to her, but Jane did not expect her sister to ask such a question.
“You’re my family. Of course I would help you in your time of need. When I received Pa’s letter, I was shocked. I could hardly believe that he had lost the ranch.”
Kate let out a sardonic laugh. She’d unpinned her hat and her dark hair shined as the light played against it. Kate was a true beauty, and once more, Jane was surprised that she had not yet married. “Pa lost the ranch because he made bad choices.”
“Yes, he mentioned the bank.”
Kate snorted and rolled her eyes. “That’s one way that you could put it.”
“What do you mean?” Jane asked. She was finding herself more and more confused as her sister continued speaking. She thought that she knew why her father lost the ranch, but after speaking with her sister, she was starting to wonder if she really did know everything.
“When can I expect to meet this husband of yours?” Kate asked.
Jane sighed. She knew that she wasn’t going to get any extra information about her father. When Kate made up her mind about something, no one could change it. “Milton will be home later this evening. Like I said, he had business to take care of.”
Kate pursed her lips tightly together until they formed a thin line. The disgust was evident on her face, and Jane couldn’t help but wonder what she could have possibly done to deserve Kate’s ire.
When they were younger, her mother would tell Jane that Kate was simply jealous. She would tell Jane to be kind to Kate and that she would eventually come around. She never did.
“Why did you marry?” Kate asked.
This time it was Jane’s turn to laugh. She couldn’t believe that her sister was asking her such a question. After all, Kate was the person who alerted her to the fact that Jane was to be married off to Brandon. “I wasn’t given much of a choice,” she said.
Kate shrugged. “That’s not what I’m asking. I’m wondering why you rushed away from home to marry a man who you never met. Brandon is rich, and Pa ordered you to marry him.” Kate looked around the ranch. They were seated in the dining room, which was more formal from the kitchen. The great mahogany table was positioned in the middle of the room, and the oriental carpet was a deep red that clashed with Kate’s dress. There were signs of Milton’s wealth all over the house.
“I suppose you did well for yourself either way,” Kate said.
“I didn’t know that Milton was well-off,” Jane didn’t know why she felt the need to defend her actions. It shouldn’t matter one way or another to Kate. Jane thought that she should be happy that she hadn’t married Brandon.
I can’t imagine him helping her and Pa.
But once more, Jane kept her lips sealed. Fighting with Kate was about as effective as fighting with a wall. Pointless, and the only person who would be hurt was Jane.
“If you have to marry, I suppose I should commend you for not doing what Pa told you, and still ending out on top. Just like you always do.”
Jane opened her mouth to say something, but the look on Kate’s face stopped her from speaking.
“Let me show you to your room. You can change before dinner. We normally eat as the sun begins to set.”
“Aren’t you just the lady of the house now,” Kate observed. Her tone was snide once more. Jane sighed. It seemed that no matter what she did, she wasn’t going to please Kate. She wondered, Why do I even try? Kate had a way of making Jane feel as small as humanly possible even when she was in her own home.
“Come on,” Jane said. She hated the quiver in her voice.
Kate heaved a sigh as she got up from the table. Her dress swooshed against her legs as she followed Jane. Jane noticed that the dress was new and cut in the latest fashion. It seemed that Kate wasn’t just getting brand-new shoes, but a completely new wardrobe as well. Jane bit her lip and shook her head as she considered her sister’s new wardrobe. Somehow her father lost the ranch, but he had enough money to outfit her sister in silk gowns.
Something else was going on, and Jane wanted to know what it was. Kate wasn’t going to tell her, of that she was sure, but Jane wondered if her father would if she applied the right pressure.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Jane felt as if her head was spinning. Her family being on the ranch added another complication to her already complicated life. She thought she had finally crawled out from under her past, but she had a sick feeling in her stomach that things might not be so simple.
“This house has entirely too many stairs,” Kate grumbled. This time Jane rolled her eyes. Kate would have one of the best rooms in the entire house, and Jane knew that she would still find a way to complain about it.
Jane was done trying to please her sister. Kate had no other options until she married. She would live under Jane’s roof whether she liked it or not. She could complain all day long if she cared to, but Jane hoped that she wouldn’t.
Milton would be home soon, and Jane just prayed that he wouldn’t regret allowing her family to stay with him. Jane was starting to realize that this was a mistake. Her father was angry and potentially not being truthful with her, and her sister was content to make everyone around her as miserable as possible.
Plus, her family knew about Brandon. What if one of them sees him in town? Jane’s stomach turned as she walked Kate to her new room.
She couldn’t wait for Milton to come home. Her husband was a balm for her soul. She knew that she could get through anything if they were together.
Let’s just hope we can weather my family. As she looked at her sister’s sour face, she wasn’t so sure about that.
Chapter Twenty-Two
That evening, Milton couldn’t help the dark turn that his mood had taken. He had a bad taste in his mouth after meeting with Brandon, and that mood had not gone away when Milton met his father- and sister-in-law.
“I apologize that I wasn’t able to greet you at the train station,” Milton said.
They were sitting at the dining table for supper, and the tension was thick enough to cut through with a knife Jane set on the table.
“How a man treats his family says a lot about his character,” George said.
Jane released a heavy sigh, and it was the only thing that kept Milton from responding to George’s not so veiled insults. Milton could tell that Jane was upset, and he did not want to add to it.
George Parrish was not anything like Milton thought he would be. The way that Jane always described him Milton expected a larger-than-life character. George was a small, stout man with a rotund belly. He looked like he hadn’t worked the land for decades.
No wonder he lost the land, Milton thought, as he watched his father-in-law shovel food in his mouth while insulting his hosts.
Milton had run into Hank prior to coming into the house, so he knew what to expect from his in-laws. Hank said that neither George nor Kate helped to carry a single trunk into the house. They left the heavy lifting to Jane and Hank. Milton did not like that his father-in-law clearly did not respect his wife. It did not endear him to his son-in-law. Not one bit.
He’ll soon find out that no one gets to disrespect my wife, he thought, gripping the handle of his fork tightly.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, you married my daughter without asking for my permission,” George said.
“Stop it, Papa,” Jane said. Her voice was tight.
“I will not …”
“You will,” Milton said. His voice was as firm as iron. He’d had enough. “You are in my home, and you will respect my wife.”
George’s face was as red as an apple, and for a moment Milton was sure that he would explode.
“Why don’t we all just finish our meals,” Jane said. “It’s been a long day, and I’m sure that we are all just a little tired and upset.”
Milton said nothing, but he promised that if George would play nice with him than he would do the same.
“No,” Kate, Jane’s sister said. She’d been quiet through most of supper. Hank had said a great deal about Kate, but Milton brushed it off. Kate hadn’t spoken much more than a hello to him, so he’d assumed that she was simply put out by Hank’s behavior. She wasn’t the first woman for that to happen to. “We should hash all of this out. After all, we are family.” Kate’s eyes had a devious sparkle to them.
“Katherine …” her father warned.
“No, Pa,” Kate said. “Jane should have to explain herself. After all, she’s the reason that we lost the ranch.”
“What are you even talking about?” Jane asked. She looked to her father and then to her sister, confusion clear on her face. Milton, too, was confused. “How did my marriage ruin the ranch? If anything, Milton is the reason you aren’t on the streets!”
Kate chuckled. She didn’t seem the least bit fazed by what Jane or her father were saying to her. Milton was starting to realize what Hank meant when he said that Jane’s sister was difficult. Milton was sure that he could take care of George, but he wasn’t so certain that he was equipped to play the kinds of games Kate might enjoy. He’d learned long ago that women were much more vicious than men.
“You’d like to think that. You’ve always walked around like your actions don’t have consequences,” Kate sneered.
Milton had enough. He threw his napkin on the table ready to give Kate a piece of his mind.
But Jane beat him to it. She threw her napkin down,
her eyes filling with tears, and she ran out of the door.
Milton gritted his teeth as he looked at Kate’s smug face. He wanted to let her know that she could not speak to his wife that way, and he wanted to know how exactly his marriage to Jane caused them to lose the ranch. But he couldn’t. Jane was upset, and Milton was the only one at this table who seemed to care.
***
The sky was dark. As the fall started to turn to winter, the days were growing shorter and the nights were growing longer. Jane stormed out of the house and marched toward the barn. Her short legs were covering distance quicker than Milton thought possible.
“Jane!” he called out. He was running to make up the distance between them.