“Elizabeth, Vince has done nothing but help me. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be as rich as we are today. I hope someday to leave this ranch to him and our daughter.”
Elizabeth glared at him. “You said you were going to keep an open mind about Amelia’s marriage to Jed Wainwright. Were you lying to me, Rafe?”
“Of course, I’m going to give Amelia’s marriage a chance, but I can’t help it if I believe it’s doomed to failure. Amelia is too smart for the likes of Wainwright.”
“If you plan to give Jed a chance, when are you going to take the time to find out where he and Amelia are living?”
Rafe could not hide his surprise when he said, “What are you talking about, my dear?”
“It’s been some time since she came to visit us and we had the terrible scene. Since you promised to accept her husband, I think you should use your influence to find them so we can pay them a visit. I want to see my daughter.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sure they’re busy getting settled. I think a visit from us would be a distraction.”
“You’re being ridiculous. A visit from us wouldn’t interfere. I’m sure Amelia would welcome a visit from us.”
Delores entered with a platter of chicken. She added it to the table where vegetables already sat. When she left, Elizabeth went on, saying, “So, shall we plan a trip to town tomorrow to find out where Amelia and her husband live?”
“No!”
“But…”
Delores came back into the dining room. “Mr. Donahue, Wayne Rivers is at the back door. He says it’s important he speak to you right away.”
“Can’t it wait until after dinner?” Elizabeth looked at her husband. “You and I haven’t finished out discussion about a visit to Amelia.”
Rafe dropped his napkin beside his plate. “Something critical may have happened. I’ll be back shortly. Go ahead and eat.”
* * * *
Later in the afternoon, Elizabeth guided the horse pulling her buggy with one hand, then reached over and patted Delores’s arm with her other. “I’m sure Juanita will be happy to see you, dear.”
“I don’t know, Miz Elizabeth. Why didn’t she let me know Roberto was dead? It looks like she’d want her only relative in the area to know.” Delores wiped her eyes. “When Pablo came to the kitchen door and told me that Roberto was dead and buried, I could hardly believe it.”
“Well, we won’t be too long getting there now. The Garcia ranch is only a couple of miles away.”
“I appreciate you bringing me, Miz Elizabeth. I hope Mr. Donahue won’t mind.”
“If he’d come back after Wayne Rivers came to get him, he’d be with us. Since he wasn’t back, we had no choice except to leave him behind.”
“I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.” Elizabeth glanced at Delores. “I’m sorry Mr. Donahue has been so difficult lately, but he’s been awfully upset about Amelia’s marriage. He’s not taking it well at all.”
“I don’t mind, Ma’am. I know he’s been mad about Miz Amelia running away, but he hasn’t been hard on me.”
Elizabeth didn’t say anything for a minute then she took a deep breath and asked, “Delores, I was in St. Louis visiting my sister when Amelia got married. Though he was as stubborn and hard headed as always when I left, it seems like everything changed when I returned home. He’s not only stubborn, but now he’s unreasonable about things, especially Amelia. I don’t know when he decided she was going to marry Vince Callahan. He hadn’t said anything about it before I left. I was stunned when I got his wire telling me to come home to plan the wedding.”
“I know, Miz Elizabeth. I was shocked when he told me she was going to marry Mr. Callahan, too. I didn’t think…” She closed her mouth.
“Didn’t think what, Delores?”
“I didn’t think Miz Amelia liked Vince Callahan very much.”
“Did you talk to Amelia about it?”
“Only in passing, Ma’am. I mentioned it to her one morning at breakfast and she told me she thought her father had lost his mind. She said she’d never marry an old man like Vince Callahan and her father might as well accept it. Then in a few days, she said she was going into Settlers Ridge to have a wedding dress made. I was surprised she’d changed her mind, but I didn’t feel it was my place to question her.”
“Of course, we now know she had no intention of getting a wedding dress made. She went into town to marry Jed Wainwright.” When Delores said nothing, Elizabeth went on, saying, “Did Amelia tell you anything about her intentions to marry Mr. Wainwright?”
“Nothing at all. I was as shocked as everyone else when I heard she’d married the bounty hunter. I didn’t even know she knew him.”
“I see.” Elizabeth sighed. “I know you heard the fight she had with her father when she came to the ranch a little while back.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Rafe says he’s going to try to accept her husband, but so far I’ve seen no signs of acceptance. I want to see my daughter, Delores, but I don’t know where she lives. Do you have any idea where she and her husband have settled?”
Delores looked surprised. “You don’t know?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No. If I did, I’d visit her.”
“Miz Elizabeth, I thought you knew Amelia’s husband bought the Lawson ranch.”
Elizabeth reined the horse to a stop and turned to look at Delores. “Did my husband know Wainwright had bought the Lawson’s place?”
“I think…I don’t…I’m not sure.”
“Delores, we’ve always been honest with each other. Tell me the truth. Did Rafe know Amelia and her husband were living on the Lawson Ranch?”
Delores dropped her head and muttered something.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“I’m sorry, Miz Elizabeth, I don’t want Mr. Donahue to fire me.”
“Mr. Donahue is not going to fire you. You work for me, not him. Now answer me.”
Delores nodded. “I didn’t mean to overhear, but I was in the hall when I heard Mr. Donahue and Mr. Fielding talking that night several weeks ago when he came to supper. Mr. Fielding told him about them buying the ranch then. Mr. Donahue yelled and cursed and threatened…”
Elizabeth dropped her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. “My daughter has been this close to me all the time and Rafe didn’t tell me.”
“Maybe he thought…”
“No, Delores. There’s no excuse. He knew how I was longing to see Amelia. He didn’t care how I felt because he purposely kept the information from me.”
“I’m sorry, Miz Elizabeth.”
“So am I.” Elizabeth shook the reins and the horse began to trot forward. “If we had time, I’d go see Amelia today, but tomorrow will be soon enough. I need to confront Rafe about this. He has no business treating me this way.” There was a determined look on her face.
* * * *
Rafe raced his horse toward the Garcia ranch. What is Elizabeth thinking? Doesn’t she know better than to take off to visit Juanita Garcia with only Delores along? Stupid women out alone in this area isn’t safe. That woman has been almost impossible to control since she came back from St. Louis. Damn city people. I don’t know what they put in my wife’s head, but I sure wish she’d get it out. Things are going to have to change. I can’t put up with her actions much longer. First Amelia turns into a stubborn child and now Elizabeth is doing the same thing. I don’t know what the hell to do with the two of them. It may take a good lashing to put them back in their place.
His mind continued to mull over his problems as he rode along. He should have asked the stable boy what time the women left. Now he wasn’t sure he could catch his wife before she got to the Garcia place. He sure hoped he could, though. He didn’t want somebody there spewing the ridiculous notion that Vince had killed Roberto. It would be like Elizabeth to believe them and he’d again have a fight on his hands. And with the mood she’d been in
lately, it could get nasty.
Why couldn’t she wait till I came back in? I would’ve taken her to the funeral and we’d have paid our respects as neighbors should. He grinned as thoughts continued to enter his mind. Then I’d have sent a man to help Juanita out and in a few days I’d come talk to her about buying the ranch. Of course, she’ll sell it to me. Though the place is small, there’s no way she and her little boy could run it. They might miss it, but if they don’t want to work for me, I’ll help them move into town or even to Mexico if they want. Even if some people think so, I’m not a heartless man.
Rafe knew he wasn’t going to catch his wife when he turned his horse down the road leading to the ranch. It wasn’t long until the small cabin came in site. There were two wagons sitting in front of the house and Elizabeth’s buggy sat off to the side under a tree.
Pulling back on the reins to stop his horse, Rafe frowned. What was going on? It looked like some men were loading the wagons with things from the house. Was the Garcia woman leaving so soon? No. There hadn’t been a funeral and no woman would leave before burying her husband.
Spurring his horse, Rafe could distinguish more of the scene the closer he came. He saw Elizabeth sitting on the bench under a shade tree in the side yard several yards from her buggy. Two women sat in chairs near her. They looked as if they were drinking tea or coffee. He headed in their direction.
Climbing from the saddle and ground hitching his horse, he walked up to them. “Ladies,” he said, tipping his hat.
“What are you doing here, Rafe?” Elizabeth looked up at him.
“I was concerned because you came all this way on your own, my dear.” He turned to Juanita. “I’m sorry about your husband, Mrs. Garcia.”
Juanita nodded, but didn’t speak.
“I know this is a hard time for you. If I can relieve some of your worry, I’d be happy to send a couple of my men over to help you until you can decide what you want to do with your ranch.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said.
Ignoring the fact Elizabeth and Delores said nothing, Rafe continued. “I’m sure you think so, but there’s no way a woman and a young boy can keep this place up without help.”
Elizabeth broke in. “I don’t think this is the time to bring such a thing up, Rafe.”
“Now, my dear, I know how women are. At a time like this, a man’s clear head is needed. Women aren’t capable of making decisions because their emotions have them almost paralyzed. They rely too much on their hearts and aren’t thinking clearly.”
“It wouldn’t hurt you to rely a little more on your heart.” Elizabeth’s voice was sharp.
Rafe bit his lip to control his anger. He was smart enough not to show ire toward his wife in front of these women, even if one was his housekeeper. “You’re probably right, but right now, I’d like to be of assistance to Mrs. Garcia in a practical way. I’m sure she needs it and will appreciate it in the long run.”
Nobody answered and a minute of silence followed. Rafe broke it. “I can’t help noticing you’re moving things out of the house, Mrs. Garcia. May I ask why you’re in such a rush to get away? Don’t you think you’ll need some of these things when the neighbors come to give their condolences?”
“I know what I’m doing, Mr. Donahue.”
Rafe shook his head and turned to look at the man coming around the cabin with a crate. It was filled with chickens. He frowned. “What in the world are you doing with your stock, Mrs. Garcia?”
Before she could answer, Elizabeth stood and took hold of Rafe’s arm. “Let’s walk over here. I want—”
“No, Elizabeth…I want—”
“I insist, Rafe. Come with me.” Her voice was firm and she tugged at his arm.
He took a deep breath and followed her. When they were several feet away, he stopped. “Now, tell me what the hell is going on. Has she already dug a hole and thrown Roberto in it?”
“You can be so irritating.” Elizabeth looked up at him. “The Catholic church allowed Juanita to bury Roberto in the church yard yesterday.”
He looked stunned. “I’m surprised she did it so quickly, but I guess Catholics do things differently.”
“Juanita buried her husband the way he requested and the priest agreed to do it for her.”
“Then, it might be time to talk with her about buying this ranch.”
“I don’t think so, Rafe. She said she was going to stay with a friend and she’d be making decisions later this week.”
“But…if—”
“Rafe, please. Put off talking with her about it today.”
He hesitated then finally took a deep breath. “I won’t say anything to her today, but rest assured, I won’t put off talking to her for very long. I want this ranch.”
“I know you do, Rafe. You seem to want a lot of things lately.” Elizabeth sounded disgusted.
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind, dear. Now, why don’t you go on home? Delores and I will be along soon.”
“There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you keep running about this country all alone. It’s not safe.”
“Then, let me collect Delores and say goodbye to Juanita. We’ll leave shortly.”
Rafe nodded and turned to watch the men loading a bedstead. He recognized Ward Kyler. How in the world did he end up moving Mrs. Garcia’s belongings?
He walked back to Juanita, again gave her his condolences, and headed toward the men. He wanted to find out why his former employee was helping this woman move out of her cabin.
When he saw Ward come out of the house, he spoke. “Hello, Ward.”
Ward nodded and placed the stack of blankets he was carrying in the Buckboard. Without speaking, he turned and started back into the house.
“Wait a minute,” Rafe said. “I want to talk to you.”
Ward paused and looked at him. “We don’t have anything to say to each other.”
“I want to know what’s going on here. Why is this woman moving out of her home and why are you helping her do it?”
Ward pushed his hat back and wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve. “I don’t see that’s any of your business, Donahue.”
“It’s not, but for all the time you spent working on my ranch, I thought you might give me the courtesy of answering my questions.”
“Look, Donahue. I don’t owe you a damn thing. I gave you five good years of hard work as foreman and how do you repay me? As soon as your wife’s daddy died, you demote me and handed the foremanship over to a man who had only been on the ranch a short time. I held my tongue and still gave you a good day’s work for my pay and as soon as I have an accident, you fire me without giving me a chance to do other jobs while I heal.”
“Look, Kyler. I had no choice. Vince said you didn’t want to do anything but lay around in the bunk house and…”
“I don’t give a damn what Callahan said, I was working my tail off. He wanted to get rid of me because I was onto him. He was afraid I’d eventually make you see what he was up to.”
“You’re wrong about Vince. He’s been…”
“Forget it, Donahue. Nobody can make a stupid man see what’s right in front of his face.”
Rafe couldn’t believe what he’d heard. How dare a ranch hand talk to him this way.
He couldn’t help saying, “Well, since you’re whole again, I was going to offer you your job back, but with your attitude—”
“Rafe Donahue, I wouldn’t take a job back on your ranch if you doubled my wages. I’m working for an honest man now.”
“Who?”
“As I said before, it’s none of your damn business. Now, get out of my way. I have work to do.”
* * * *
On the way home, Elizabeth ignored Rafe as he rode his horse alongside her buggy. She and Delores talked some, but their voices were low and he wasn’t able to understand a thing they said. Why had she been so aloof with him? She should have been happy he’d tried to show his sympathy to the Garc
ia widow. Instead, she rushed away as soon as he arrived. He didn’t even have time to find out if the woman was going to sell her place. Of course, she could be upset because Delores was. After all, Juanita was Delores’s niece or some kind of kin and the woman had a right to be weepy. He only hoped the housekeeper would be able to cook supper when they got home. He’d had a rough day and he was hungry. He wanted more than a sandwich or a bowl of soup.
When they got home, Delores headed into the kitchen and Elizabeth went directly to her room to freshen up. Still puzzled by his wife’s actions, Rafe went to his study and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He decided he’d keep his mouth shut and wait until she was ready to tell him what was going on in her head. That was, if she didn’t take too long to let him in on her thinking. If she did, he’d have to find out in his own way.
In less than an hour, Delores put supper on the table and it wasn’t a sandwich. She had ham, beans and corn as well as a peach pie for dessert. Rafe was glad, but he didn’t tell her how this pleased him.
He and Elizabeth ate the meal in silence then Delores served coffee and dessert. Stirring cream in her coffee slowly, Elizabeth looked at him. “Why didn’t you tell me Amelia’s husband bought the Lawson ranch?”
Surprised, he muttered, “How did you find out?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is why you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t think the time was right.”
Elizabeth stared at him. “And when was the time going to be right?”
“My dear, I think you’re making too much of this. I knew you would eventually find out.”
Glancing down at her pie, she said, “You’ve lied to me, Rafe Donahue, and I don’t like that.”
He frowned. “I’ve never lied to you.”
“Have you forgiven Amelia for marrying Jed Wainwright?”
His jaw worked as he searched his brain for an answer to satisfy her. “Elizabeth, I—”
“A yes or no will be the correct answer, Rafe. Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes about it.”
“It’s not that simple, my dear. You know I still think Amelia should have married Vince. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t already regret her marriage to the half-breed.”
Amelia's Marriage Page 20