“He’s growin’ like a weed. How about Ben, how’s he doin’? Ya’ll settle in with the young ‘un?”
“Ben is doing fine. It’s funny, but he’s only been with us for a few weeks, but I can’t seem to remember life without him. Lisbet took to being a mama right quick.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you ain’t had any trouble adjustin’. Course ya didn’t have to go without sleep for weeks and weeks like I did.” Tom chuckled as he joked about newborns awake at all hours of the night. “It’s amazing how quickly life changes when a little one comes around.”
“Yep. So what brings you around, Tom, I’m assuming it ain’t that dinner invitation since you don’t have Sally and the baby with you.” Rayne looked suspiciously at her friend. Not that she wasn’t glad to see Tom; he just seldom rode out to the ranch just to pass the time of day.
“Well, I got two reasons. First, like I said, I thought I’d come by and check on ya’ll and I wanted to tell ya that I did some checking on your pa. Yeah, Doc told me what your brother had said and how you reacted when ya heard he was alive.”
“Tom, I’m sorry I lied to you. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
“Slow down, Rayne. First off, ya didn’t kill the man so you didn’t lie to me. And had ya killed him, I can’t honestly say I’d have faulted you for it. I also took a ride over to Crescent Hills to see Judge Martin. Accordin’ to him and his understandin’ of the law, you’re Ben’s next of kin. There are witnesses attesting to the fact that your brother asked you to raise his boy. The fact that the same witnesses heard him say to keep Ben away from your pa and your accounts of beatings you suffered makes a man wonder if it’s wise to turn a boy over to his care. So I don’t believe you have any reason to worry about you’re pa claimin’ Ben, especially since it’d be Judge Martin who would decide the matter.”
“You did that for me?” Rayne wasn’t sure what to think or feel.
“Well, of course I did. You’re my friend. I’d do the same for anyone who’s got a good heart.”
Just as Rayne was about to speak, she saw Lisbet walking toward them with Ben in her arms.
“Hello, Tom, I didn’t know you were here. How are Sally and the baby?”
“Hello, Ms. Lisbet, they are just fine. How about yourself and this good lookin’ young man?”
“We are just fine. Ben just woke up from his nap and I thought we’d come out and see if Rayne wanted some lemonade.”
“Sounds great, what do you say, Tom? Got time to come in for a spell?” Rayne asked.
“I don’t see why not. I’m sure Sam has things in town covered.” Tom smiled at Lisbet. “Ms. Lisbet, mind if I take young Ben from ya for a few minutes. For some reason I miss holdin’ squirmin’ tykes when I’m away from Jack.”
“Not at all. Mind you, he is getting heavy.” Lisbet smiled as she looked over at Rayne who wore a sappy smile of her own. They all walked toward the house together.
†
Later that evening, after Lisbet had put the supper dishes up, and Ben was asleep, Rayne cleared her throat. “Lisbet, I’ve decided that I need to let my father know about Jason and Mary, that way he can tell her family.”
“Do you expect him to come take Ben?” Lisbet asked.
Rayne could hear the fear and worry in Lisbet’s voice and wanted to assure her but she knew she couldn’t. “Honestly, I don’t know. He had to have known about Uncle Luke’s passing and the ranch being left to me, yet he never showed up. I’d like to say no, but it is his grandson we’re talking about here. I don’t see him just giving up trying to claim him.”
“I suppose it’s too much to hope for, isn’t it? Rayne, I don’t want him to take Ben from us. I know he doesn’t belong to us but I don’t think I can handle Ben not being here.”
“I can’t promise that that won’t happen. Tom did tell me he talked to a judge over in Crescent Hill who told him since I have witnesses to Jason telling me he wants me to raise Ben, chances are we won’t lose him. We can take that to heart and we should be a bit more confident with that.”
Rayne shrugged as she thought of how quickly Ben had become such an important part of their lives. She had seen how Lisbet interacted with Ben and how easily Ben had accepted them both into his small world. It would kill her to see Lisbet lose that little boy.
Hell, it would kill me to lose Ben.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep Ben with us. I promise you that, sweetheart.” Rayne stood and walked to the fireplace to add wood. “Let’s go to bed, it’s been a long day.”
†
Rayne wrote to her father, apologized for hitting him and running away and having been the disappointment she had obviously been to him. She also explained that the life he expected for her was not the life she wanted for herself, not that she was under any misconception that her happiness mattered to him. She ended the letter by telling him about the death of Jason and Mary. That she had buried them under the limbs of a willow on a hill overlooking the ranch, and that she was raising Ben as Jason had asked her to. She signed the letter with only her name.
She carried the letter in her pocket for several days before finally getting her courage up one day and riding into town to send it off to the wretched man. She hoped and prayed all the way home that she would never see the man again.
Before she knew it, a few months had passed and Ben had become so ingrained in their lives that she couldn’t remember a day when he hadn’t been there. Life had become everything she wanted, she would wake up in the mornings with a smile on her face and joy in her heart, and she went to bed feeling that tiredness born of hard, rewarding work and a full life filled with love. The three had become a family.
Rayne hadn’t received a reply from her father and she was beginning to feel like she was finally able to breathe. She felt like the man and his ghost was out of her life and she wouldn’t have to live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder.
It was a nice thought.
Chapter Fifteen
The minute the man walked into the dining room, Bessie knew trouble wasn’t far behind. Doc had told her about Rayne and her fear about having killed her father and the fact that Rayne’s brother had not wanted the baby raised by the man. The stranger resembled Luke and Rayne so there was no mistaking the relationship between them. Bessie grabbed the first person she found and asked them to go bring the sheriff as quickly as they could. In the meantime she put on her best smile and welcomed the man.
“Why, hello, and welcome to Willow Springs. My name’s Bessie. Now tell me what can I get for ya?”
“Hmm, mighty friendly folk around here. Look, it’s been a long ride and I really detest this wilderness. A table would be a good start then some coffee, fried potatoes and a steak. Cooked rare.”
“Yes, of course, my apologies for neglectin’ to get you a table. Follow me and I’ll give you my best table. The coffee I’ll get you now and you meal will be out as quickly as possible. I hope you’re hungry ‘cause we serve man-sized meals here.”
Bessie seated the man and felt sick to her stomach for being so accommodating. She knew he was here to make trouble and looked at the entryway to see if the sheriff had arrived yet. Bessie cringed when she heard the man’s voice again.
“How much are your rooms? I may as well set up here,” the man stated.
“Four bits will cover your meal and a night’s stay. Just the room is two bits.” Bessie shivered. For some reason the man scared her.
“I suppose that will have to do. Now mind you, I don’t know how long my stay will be. God willing, it won’t be long.”
“I’ll have Jessie set you up a room and let you know which one it is before you are done with your dinner. Is that acceptable Mr. …?”
“Mathews, Clayton Mathews. Do you think you could possibly put that order in for my meal? I’m starving.”
“Yes, of course, Mr. Mathews.”
Bessie rushed to get the steak and potatoes cooking and let Jessie know
to make sure the room would be ready. Just as she was bringing the steak out, Tom walked into the dining room.
“Howdy, Ms. Bessie, I hear we have a visitor.”
“Yes sir, have a seat and I’ll be right back with some coffee and we can chat.”
“Sounds good.” Tom sat at a table, stretched his legs out, and looked around the dining room. When he saw the stranger sitting at a corner table, he knew exactly why Bessie had asked for him to come by.
“Here we are, Mr. Mathews. One steak and some fried potatoes with onions, I hope you enjoy it.” She stood with her back to the sheriff, close to the table. “So what brings you to our fine town?”
“Might I just have my dinner, Miss? My reasons for being in town are my own and I don’t reckon they are of any concern to you.”
“I’m sorry for intruding. I was just tryin’ to be friendly, is all.” Bessie placed the dinner plate on the table. “Hope you enjoy your meal.”
“Yes, I intend to.” Mathews responded as he cut into the thick steak.
Bessie turned and left.
As Bessie walked up to Tom, she wiped her hands on the apron she had tied around her waist. She had a bad feeling about this guy. “Hey, Tom, let me get you that coffee. Then we can talk.” She then headed to the kitchen. When she returned she had a coffee cup and a slice of apple pie. “Come on, I have a better table we can sit at and talk in private.”
“So the man sitting over there eating the steak is Clayton Mathews. I think he is Rayne’s pa; Rayne, and this man they got the same blue eyes.”
“Say why he’s in town?” Tom lifted the coffee to his lips and peered over the rim at the stranger.
“Was rather rude in sayin’ that he has business and he is hoping that God will make the stay here a short one.”
“Well, a man’s got a right to some privacy but to say he doesn’t like our fair town is uncalled for.”
He grinned and winked at Bessie before turning his eyes toward the man. “I suppose I should go say hello, welcome the man to our town. Maybe I can show him how nice our town is.”
“Fat chance of that happenin’. Be careful, he just might bite your head off. I just cain’t understand why big city folks have to be rude and nasty.” Bessie stood.
“Now, Bessie, they’re just a different type of folk, is all.” Tom took his last sip of coffee, and reached into his pocket for a few coins to pay for it.
“Now don’t you go tryin’ to pay for that, it’s on the house this time.” Bessie spoke as she drew the man into a hug. “Just remember that this is Rayne’s pa, and he’s come for Ben. I can feel the evil radiating off him.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. Rayne is one of us and if need be, me and most of the town will protect her.” He tipped his hat. “Tell Doc I said howdy.”
†
“Hey, how are my two favorite people in the world?” Rayne hung up her hat and walked toward Lisbet and placed a kiss on her cheek. Ben squealed in delight as soon as he heard her voice and began crawling toward her. “Hold on there, little man, let Ma wash up.” Lisbet scooped up the squealing child and placed him in the high chair readying him for his meal.
“Rayne, don’t get him all riled up. He is a bundle of energy as it is.”
“How am I getting him riled up? I just walked in and said hello. Ben, are you giving your mama a hard time this mornin’?”
“He has been into everything today and won’t let me accomplish a thing.”
Rayne wrapped her arms around Lisbet and kissed her softly again. “I’m sorry, honey. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing, it’s just part of being a parent. I suppose I never thought of all the energy it takes to follow a young’un. Sit down and eat your lunch with me. Then maybe you can play with Ben for a tad while I hang up some laundry.”
“Sure, darlin’, anything else I can do? Come on, sit down and eat, I’ll feed Ben and wash up afterwards. In fact, I’ll take him out and put him on Delilah for a bit. Give him a little ride up and down the fence line.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Lisbet panicked at the thought of her boy on a horse. “I’ll be fine with him. You don’t have to take him. Sorry, it’s just been a long morning.”
“Lisbet, sweetheart, he’ll be fine, I promise and you can do with a little bit of rest, right?”
“Rayne really, you don’t have to take him. We’ll be fine here…we always are.”
“Lisbet, what’s wrong? Look, I understand you’re here all day with him and he is a handful. Let me take him for a little while so you can get some rest. Take some time for yourself and I’ll take the rest of the day off and watch him. In fact, why don’t we eat lunch, I’ll help you hang the laundry then we hitch up the buckboard, and we can take a ride over to that spot by the meadow on the creek that we like so much. What do you say?”
“Are you sure you can do that?” Lisbet’s eyes opened wide and she had a big smile on her face. “Really, Rayne? That would be so nice.”
“Of course we can. I’m actually ahead on the planting, so an afternoon off sounds like a good idea. Let’s eat so we can get goin’.” Rayne pulled out a chair for Lisbet and then sat down. “So, Ben, what do we have here? Yum, it looks amazing.”
“Rayne, it’s just some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.” Lisbet placed some potatoes on a plate for Ben along with some green beans, and smiled as the boy grabbed a handful and shoved it in his mouth.
“Well, it's gotta be good stuff. Look at how he is chowing down. I do believe I’ll have me some of this good looking grub too.” Rayne laughed and reached for a piece of chicken and placed it on her plate.
The three ate their lunch and after cleaning the dishes, they went outside to hang the laundry to dry. Then Rayne went out and hitched up the buckboard. With Lisbet and Ben beside her, Rayne guided the horses toward the stream and the meadow. She loved that meadow and it was a special place for her and Lisbet, and before that, for her and Emma. She wanted to create special memories for Ben. She knew he wouldn’t remember this time but eventually he would retain memories and she wanted him to have only good ones. She was gonna start now.
“Whoa.” Rayne pulled on the reins to a stop the horses. “Here we are, Ben. It’s the most beautiful place on this ranch. Even Mama will agree. Right, honey?”
“It is a very beautiful place, that’s for sure. I don’t think there could be a more perfect spot on this earth.” Lisbet looked around at the scenery and took in a deep breath. “The air smells so sweet.”
Rayne jumped down and reached for the boy, “Come on, Ben, let’s get your mama down and we’ll all head for the creek maybe get our toes wet. What do you say?”
With a squeal, Ben reached for Rayne. “All right come on, tiger.” Once she took Ben from Lisbet, Rayne took her hand and helped her down from the buckboard. Together the two women walked with the infant to the creek where they sat and simply enjoyed the relaxing sounds of nature. The sounds of the singing birds and water trickling over the rocks set the mood for a very enjoyable afternoon, so much so that when time came for them to head back home, neither wanted to leave.
“I enjoyed this afternoon, Rayne. Thank you so much for bringing us. I didn’t mean to be so snappy with you. I suppose just being cooped up in the house all day every day was starting to get to me.”
“Lisbet, you know if tiger here gets to be too much, just tell me. I’ll take him. You don’t gotta deal with him all by yourself.”
“How are you gonna take care of a baby?”
“Well, I don’t know but it’s not fair that you have him all day. You got chores to do, too.”
“Rayne, he’s fine with me. It’s just sometimes I feel like I just don’t have enough hands. He’s just so quick. I can leave him in one spot and before I know it, he’s clear across the room and into something.”
“I never thought about how quickly they can move. I’ll figure out a way to help you with him. And I promise to help you out more around the house, too.”
&n
bsp; “I’ll be fine, sweetheart, really. I just felt overwhelmed this morning. I usually have the laundry hung before he wakes up…and it just felt like everything was going wrong this morning.”
“I’m sorry you had such an awful morning. Just know that from now on, I’ll be helping out more.”
“Tomorrow will be a better day I know. It’s funny, I never thought I could be so busy, so tired and yet be so incredibly happy.” Rayne held Ben tightly as they started for the buckboard. “I can honestly say that I never thought about children and what I would be missing out on, but Ben here is a blessing. I gotta say life has a lot more meaning now that I have you and him in it.”
With a smile, Lisbet leaned in and kissed Rayne. “I know. I feel the same way. I never imagined having a child or a family. In all honesty, I figured I’d end up doing the same thing my mother did…you know, be a working girl.”
“I have to tell you, I don’t think I could be any happier and I’m so glad you decided to get into my saddle bag that day.”
“Me too. So much has happened since then. Are you ever sorry you didn’t turn me in?”
They were almost back to the buckboard.
“Nope. I thank the Lord every day that I didn’t take you to the sheriff.” Rayne held her hand out to help Lisbet up into the seat before lifting Ben up to her. With a smile, Rayne went to the other side and climbed up herself. Yes, life had surely taken a turn for the better the day she found Lisbet. Life was definitely good these days. She was happy again, the ranch was growing, it had a good reputation, and she had a family that she adored.
Chapter Sixteen
Tom adjusted his gun belt and sauntered over to the man he knew was Rayne’s pa. “Hello, names Tom Kennedy. I’m the sheriff here in Willow Springs and want to welcome you.” Tom extended his hand in a welcoming gesture.
Rayne's New Beginnings Page 12