by Lydia Olson
She never wanted to bring anything like this into Milton’s life. He was a wonderful man; one she wondered if she even deserved.
“You still awake?” Milton asked. His deep, baritone voice shook Jane out of her thoughts, and she nearly jumped out of her slippers.
“I thought you retired for the evening,” Jane said. She pressed her hand against her chest, and her heart was thundering in her chest. Milton had nearly given her a heart attack.
Milton shook his head and walked closer to Jane. “No,” he whispered, “Matthew and I were speaking.”
“About what to do with Brandon?”
Milton nodded.
“I’m so sorry,” Jane said. She walked toward him. At this point, they were so close that they were nearly nose to nose.
“Don’t” Milton said. He placed a warm, calloused finger across her lips. “None of this is your fault.”
Jane held her breath. Milton was so close to her that she felt like she could hardly breathe, and most rational thought fled from her mind. He removed his finger, and she shivered from the loss of it. Jane licked her suddenly dry lips, and she noticed that Milton’s dark eyes suddenly focused on her lips.
Is he going to kiss me? she wondered. She longed for him to do so. So far, Milton had been the epitome of a gentleman, and he hadn’t kissed her anywhere but her hand or forehead. She longed to know what it would feel like to feel his lips on her own.
We have more important things to think about, Jane thought to herself. She didn’t like feeling like such a silly girl fantasizing about a kiss she wanted when things were so dire.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
Milton placed his hands around her waist. She could smell the scent of sage from his soap and the earthiness of the dirt from his work. It was a heady combination, and it made her head spin.
“We are going to get through it,” Milton said. “And we are going to do it together.”
Jane nearly swooned. Milton could be a difficult man in some regards, but when he showed her his emotions, it always made her knees weak.
“I want to help,” she said. She grabbed onto his vest. She wanted to make sure that he understood her. “You can’t leave me out of this.”
“Brandon is dangerous, and he wants you. I don’t want you in the crosshairs.”
Jane shook her head. “I’m your wife, and your partner. We will see this through together.”
For a moment, she thought that he would argue with her. His face was intense, and she braced herself for a fight, but it didn’t come.
Instead, Milton pressed a hand into her hair and leaned down. The feel of his lips on her own made her toes tingle, and it gave her hope. Jane was sure that no matter what, as long as she and Milton were together, they could see anything through.
Chapter Thirty
Like most days, Milton woke first thing that morning. The difference was that today he had no plans to work on the ranch. Instead, he planned to go door to door to as many ranchers as he could to see if there was something they could do to help him. Asking for help was not Milton’s strong suit, but Matthew’s plan was the only one they had.
“You just have to keep your wits about you,” Matthew said, as they were preparing the horses for the journey. Milton and Matthew both decided it was best that they travel out together. Milton was a rancher. He knew the business, but Matthew knew the law.
“Do you think I’ll be able to fight this?” Milton asked.
He’d been up most of the night worried about the lawsuit that Brandon had the sheriff bring to Milton. Technically, Milton had broken the law. He did not own the entire waterway. No single rancher did. They all shared the rights to the waterway. If they didn’t, no single rancher would be able to properly irrigate their land, and each property would have large chunks of pasture that were nearly useless.
“I think if we can find enough people willing to speak out, you have a good chance.”
Milton didn’t like the sound of that. He was looking for his friend to say yes or no, but it seemed that Matthew could not give him that; no matter how many times Milton asked.
“Why would any of the ranchers talk to me?” Milton asked. “This isn’t their problem. Heck, it wouldn’t be my problem except for the fact that Eimer feels jilted by my wife.”
Milton did not blame Jane for what was happening, but he had to face the facts. If Jane had married Brandon, he wouldn’t be coming after Milton’s ranch. Milton still couldn’t figure out why Brandon wanted his land. It wouldn’t bring Jane to him. It only served to frustrate Milton and take all of them away from important business.
In some ways, Brandon is getting exactly what he wants, Milton thought as he swung the saddle across the horse’s back.
“It doesn’t benefit anyone for the waterways to be contested. Plus, I heard that Brandon hasn’t been making many friends in town,” Matthew said.
“Where’d you hear that?” Milton asked. Matthew had been very cautious about revealing anything his father might have told him.
Matthew shrugged. “My father isn’t my only source,” he said.
Milton rolled his eyes. He didn’t know why Matthew was being intentionally coy, but it was starting to wear on his already thin nerves.
“We should get going,” Milton said. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
Matthew released a small groan. “You know, I was hoping to spend some time with your very beautiful new sister-in-law this afternoon.”
Milton released a small chuckle. “You’ll have to wait. Business first.” He put his foot into the stirrup and swung himself into his saddle. Like Matthew, he wanted to spend the day with his wife. He smiled as he remembered the moment they had shared last night. He was confident that he would get the support he needed this afternoon and be back in time for supper.
Milton was ready for him and Jane to move on from the past. He could see a bright future ahead for them, but they could only move forward if they managed to put the past behind him.
“Let’s go,” he urged as he grabbed the reins. “The sooner we go, the sooner you can get back to courting Kate.”
Matthew laughed. Milton wasn’t against something happening between Matthew and Kate. He had a feeling that his sister-in-law might be more than a match for his best friend, and once everything settled down, he was sure that he would enjoy watching the two of them spar with one another.
***
The two friends rode out to Milton’s closest neighbor aside from Eimer. Stephen Miller was a young man who’d recently taken over his father’s ranch. Milton knew him well, but they weren’t friendly. They’d been rivals in the schoolhouse, and they’d never quite found common ground.
The Miller farm was across from Milton’s. It was smaller, but they shared the same waterway. If Brandon was suing Milton, Milton was sure he should also have sued Stephen Miller. Though they never had the friendliest history, Milton was sure they could find some common ground now.
“Did we really have to come here first?” Matthew asked with a grimace. He had wanted to start further out with men who had ranches nearby, but Milton knew their best chance was closer to home.
“Yes,” Milton said, as they both dismounted. “Stephen is the most likely to offer us some sort of help.”
“But he’s such a …” Matthew began.
“Hush,” Milton said. He didn’t need Stephen overhearing Matthew calling him some sort of name.
Walking toward the house, Milton was shocked by the disarray they saw. The front porch steps were weathered and rotting. Both Matthew and Milton walked over them gingerly, each worried that they might fall through the wood.
“Looks like the Millers may have fallen on hard times.”
Milton was shocked. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t aware that the Millers were having financial problems.
Walking toward the door, he noticed the house looked even worse than the steps. One of the windows was covered by a sheet tied to the window frame w
here the glass had been damaged.
They’ll need to get that fixed before winter, Milton thought. They’d freeze in the Denver snow once the weather really started turning.
“What are you doing here?” Stephen Miller demanded as he wrenched the door open. Both Milton and Matthew took a step back. They were both surprised to see him so soon, since neither of them knocked on the door.
“We’re sorry to bother you,” Milton said. He wasn’t sure what else to say. Stephen didn’t look like the young man he remembered. He was always smaller and shorter than Milton, but when they were kids, he’d been stocky and the Miller ranch had been one of the most powerful ranch families in the area. Now, Stephen was thin and had the hollow cheeked look one got when they weren’t getting enough to eat.
How did this happen? Milton wondered.
“You’ve never much cared about bothering anyone,” Stephen said, “so you can stop with the niceties and tell me why you are here.”
Milton looked at Matthew quickly. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say. He wasn’t good at making conversation with people, and he worried that he would say the wrong thing to Stephen. It was obvious that he was already angry.
“Can we come inside?” Matthew asked. Milton could tell that he was starting to turn on the charm, which worked on almost everyone.
“No,” Stephen said. He walked further out onto the porch and closed the door behind him. “My wife is sleeping. We just had a baby …”
Milton didn’t know what to say. He knew Stephen was married, but he hadn’t known that his wife just had a child. For the past few years, Milton hadn’t spent much time thinking about the goings on around town.
“This won’t take long,” Milton said, jumping in before Matthew could speak. Matthew might normally bring the charm, but Milton got the sense that Stephen wasn’t looking for that today.
Stephen lifted his chin defiantly and crossed his arms. He was not showing the interest or welcome that Milton hoped for.
“Have you met the new rancher in town?” Milton asked.
“Eimer?” Stephen asked.
Milton nodded. “What do you know about him?”
“Nothing,” Stephen said, speaking a little too quickly, and Milton instantly knew there was something going on.
“Is he stopping you from using the waterway?’ Milton asked.
Stephen shook his head. “He’s said nothing to me.”
“You’re lying,” Milton accused and moved toward him. He didn’t want or need to threaten Stephen, but he felt a certain sense of desperation. Seeing the Miller ranch in such disrepair felt like a portent of things that could come should he not succeed in pressing Brandon back. He was never going to allow Jane to give birth to a child in a rundown, drafty house.
“So, what if I am?” Stephen challenged.
That was all the confirmation Milton needed, and it didn’t make him feel good. “If anyone can sue for waterway rights, what’s to stop me from suing you or Nicky Hawkins up the road? We’ve all used the waterway for years with no problems. Now you mean to tell me you’re going to let some big city easterner come in and disrupt that?”
Stephen released a snort. “You talk like you’re looking for cooperation, but no one helped me when my pa died. Everyone was happy to watch as debt collectors chipped away at this place.”
Milton said nothing. In all honesty, he hadn’t paid much attention to what was happening with the Miller ranch. He’d been too busy building his own.
“I’m sorry that you’ve been down on your luck,” Milton said. He didn’t know what else he could say to Stephen. It was clear that he was angry at him, even though Milton didn’t understand exactly why.
He should be angry at his father, Milton thought. But something told him he shouldn’t voice that aloud. “But if we let an outsider come in and do this …”
Stephen shook his head. “I can’t help you,” he said. His voice cracked a bit, and he ran a hand across his face. “Look,” he said, “Eimer made it clear that anyone who helped you would find themselves in his crosshairs. Even if I wanted to, I can’t put my neck out like that.”
Milton’s heart sank to his feet as he watched Stephen look back toward his dilapidated house. He wanted to press forward to convince Stephen that helping him was the right, moral thing to do, but he couldn’t. The despair on the man’s face kept him from pressing the issue any further.
Instead, Milton tipped his hat and bid him a good day. “You best get back to that wife and child of yours. Give her my regards and congratulations to both of you on the birth,” Milton said.
Before he started walking back into his home, Stephen released a heavy sigh and turned back to Milton and Matthew. “You may want to go talk to James Hay,” he said.
“James Hay?” Milton asked. Hay was an old widower who owned a ranch several miles away.
“His daughter is friends with my wife. She mentioned that Eimer paid them a visit a few weeks ago. Sounds like it didn’t go well,” he said.
Milton nodded. “We’ll make him our next stop,” he said. “And I thank you for the information.” Milton did appreciate it. He could tell that Eimer had scared Stephen, and though Stephen had given them only a name, every little bit helped.
“Tread carefully,” Stephen said. “Eimer seems to have it out for you.”
Milton gave a nod and a smile, and Stephen allowed a small, tight smile before heading back inside.
“Why did you just let him go like that?” Matthew muttered the moment the door closed. “I could have questioned him. It sounds to me like Brandon put some things in place to stop him from coming forward. I might be able to convince a judge …”
Milton held up his hand to stop his friend from saying anything further. They were still too close to the open window for Milton’s liking, and he didn’t want Stephen overhearing. He was clearly desperate, and Milton didn’t know if Brandon would be able to further play into his fear.
Milton and Matthew walked back to their horses quietly, each one lost in their own thoughts. Milton couldn’t believe that Brandon had gotten to Stephen so quickly.
How long has he been planning this? He wondered. The thought of Brandon having such an advantage over him unsettled Milton.
“What next?” Matthew asked.
“We go and see James Hay,” Milton replied. “I want to know what Eimer’s done with him.”
Matthew raised a brow. “I don’t know if we are going to find any help in the rest of the town, especially if what Miller said was true.” he said.
Milton wasn’t sure about that either, but he had to try. Milton wasn’t the type of man who would simply sit back while another tried to take everything from him.
***
“Can I get you anything to drink?” James’ daughter Helen asked.
“No thanks,” Milton said. He wanted to be polite, but he wasn’t here to socialize.
“I’ll take some whiskey if you’ve got it,” Matthew said.
Milton elbowed him in the ribs. “We aren’t here to drink.”
Matthew rolled his eyes, but he said nothing to Helen. James was sitting across from them smoking a pipe. He was an old man who seemed to be older than Father Time and tough as nails.
“What are you doing here?” James asked. “I haven’t seen you since you were a boy.”
Milton shifted under James’ stare. He had dark eyes that seemed to see everything. “We heard from Stephen Miller that you’ve had some run-ins with Brandon Eimer.”
James released a small snort. “Better get the whiskey,” he said to Helen.
Helen’s face pinched together, but she got up from the table and went off the get the liquor. Milton leaned forward on the table, his interest immediately piqued. He wanted to know more.
“Can you tell us what you know about Eimer?” Matthew asked. His tone was suddenly serious. Milton hid a smile as he heard his friend switch from congenial visitor to lawyer.
“Let’s wait for the whiskey,” h
e said.
Milton bit the inside of his lip. He knew that he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t. There were still a lot of ranchers that they needed to talk to, and there wasn’t time to be wasted.
“With all due respect,” Milton said, “we need to be on our way.”
James’ mouth pressed into a hard line, and for a moment Milton worried he’d offended the old man. “Then, I suppose we should get to it. Eimer wanted to buy my land.”
“What?” Milton asked. James’ ranch wasn’t small by any means, but it wasn’t connected to Milton’s, and as far as Milton knew there weren’t any waterways or other features that made his ranch extra desirable.