by Lilah Rivers
“Just finding ourselves craving one of your fine steak and tater plates,” Conner said.
“Well, we have got more than enough to go around. You might want to have a seat with the boys over there. Sounds like something’s up. Something mighty exciting,” Mr. Saddler said.
Tobias and Conner looked at one another, worried that the other ranchers had heard the same news that they had.
“How’s it going, boys?” Tobias asked, sauntering over with his chest out and shoulders back, the confident walk of a man known for getting things done and doing them right.
“Howdy, Tobias. Trust you heard the good news?” Donald Chalmers asked.
“What news might that be?” Tobias asked, rather coolly.
“Ha! You think we don’t know that you’ve been after that ranch for years? Sure you’ve already heard about it,” Donald said.
“You mean the Stubbs Ranch? Well, now, you should have been more specific. Yes, I did hear about that. And, of course, I’m awfully interested in what it might look like to own a bit of land that pretty. But, like any one of you, I’ll just have to wait and see what Mrs. Stubbs has to say about who she’s wanting to sell it to,” Tobias said.
“If only…” came a low voice from behind him.
Tobias turned around to see none other than Ben Reynolds standing there.
“Ah, howdy, Mr. Reynolds. Didn’t fancy I’d be seeing you here. And just what do you mean by, ‘if only’?” Tobias asked.
Ben stared at him with those ratty, black eyes of his, the greasy goatee on his face a mockery of manhood. There was nothing but the long and gnarled scar on his arm to betray any sense of a man who might be tough enough to get into trouble and get himself out of it again.
“I mean that it would be wonderful if Miss Stubbs would sell,” he replied, emphasizing the fact that Mary Stubbs was no longer married.
“Ha! And why wouldn’t she sell?” Tobias asked, laughing with Charlie.
“Well, you might just have to go and ask her. After all, it is her decision,” Ben said.
Tobias stopped, no longer amused.
“I don’t rightly understand. What do you mean she isn’t selling?” Tobias asked.
“I mean that Mary Stubbs has decided that she wants to run the ranch on her own,” Ben said, the bitter glare in his eyes undeniable.
Tobias was quiet for a moment, along with the other men sitting at the table. But, realizing that this had to be utter nonsense, he slapped the table loudly and gave a sharp laugh, eliciting laughter from the rest of the men as well until they were all howling at the hilarity of the idea.
“Mary Stubbs? Running the ranch on her own? Well, isn’t that just about the most ludicrous rumor I’ve ever heard! You might want to check your sources there, Mr. Reynolds, because that’s quite a far cry from any woman I’ve ever heard of,” Tobias said.
But Ben was not moved, and his dark eyes simply waited until the laughter ceased before speaking up again.
“Mr. Wheeler, I trust that you have had enough of your amusement?” he asked.
Tobias knew it was an insult but he didn’t give in, didn’t show that he was irritated by being openly mocked like that.
“Now, I am sorry to say it, but I speak the truth. Miss Stubbs has decided that she is going to run the ranch on her own. She believes herself capable of doing so and has decided not to sell. And if she had decided differently, I believe that she would have seen reason and understood that I was the right man to take on such a charge,” Ben said.
Tobias leaned against the table and crossed his legs in a laid-back position.
“Oh, you think that now, do you?” Tobias asked.
“What? You thought that she would sell it to you?” Ben asked.
“I do, in fact. And we’re going to find out. Because not one man here is foolish enough to believe that Mrs. Stubbs is planning on keeping that ranch. You can try all you want to scare us off, to make us think that she’s not selling so you can swoop in and place your bid. But you’re wrong,” Tobias said.
A few of the men nodded, but when Tobias looked at the ranchers at the table, there were some who were clearly intimidated by Ben.
Ben was always intimidating people. No one really knew how to stand up to him. It was only Tobias who had the gall and enough arrogance to confront a man like that.
“It is too bad that you think I am lying,” Ben sighed. “But I suppose you will just have to find out for yourself. I am sure that she will be kind to you when you waltz up to Miss Stubbs and tell her that she is incapable of running the ranch on her own and that she should let you buy it.”
Tobias shook his head and rolled his eyes. He was hardly stupid enough to approach it in that way. He knew how to speak to a lady as a gentleman and he was going to have tact with Mrs. Stubbs.
“Whatever you say, Mr. Reynolds,” he replied.
Just then, none other than Mr. Atwater, Mrs. Stubbs’s lawyer, entered. He took one look at all the ranchers, ending with a glance at Ben, before pulling his hat low and walking to a quiet corner table.
“Mr. Atwater!” Tobias called.
“I-I-I’m just here for the chicken. I don’t want to discuss anything else,” he said.
“Then you probably shouldn’t have come to a saloon full of ranchers. Come on, Mr. Atwater, you know what we’re all wondering. Is Mrs. Stubbs planning to sell anytime soon?” Tobias asked.
Mr. Atwater looked up as the ranchers made their way to crowd around his table and demand answers.
“Please, I really do not want to get involved in all of this,” he said.
“We just want to know what’s going on,” Tobias said.
Mr. Atwater was quiet and swallowed before licking his lips and then biting them. The multiple motions along with the sweat upon his brow showed the vastness of his discomfort.
“Go on, Mr. Atwater. Tell them,” Ben said.
Tobias looked to Ben and then to Mr. Atwater, a sinking feeling in his gut.
“Well…as far as I know, Mrs. Stubbs is planning to keep the ranch,” he confirmed.
A rush of murmurs and groans sounded from the dozen or so men who were crowded around the lawyer. Tobias felt his eye twitch and a few of the men took a step or two back, their dreams coming to nothing.
“Tobias, what does that mean?” Conner asked, leaning in close.
“Means you aren’t getting your own ranch just yet,” Tobias replied.
“Will she not be swayed?” Moses Black asked.
“I do not believe so. As it happens, she is not a woman who is easily swayed by anything,” Mr. Atwater replied.
“Doesn’t mean we can’t try,” Abram said.
“That’s true. We can always try. And you know what? I’ll bet she can be swayed if she really trusts the man who puts in the bid for it,” Tobias said, still thinking that he and Conner could convince her.
After all, she was a friend of their sister’s. Not only that, but she had to be reasonable enough. And she was a good, Christian woman. Surely, she would see that she needed to help the community by letting someone strong and capable take on the tasks of the ranch.
It was what was best for everyone.
“So, Mr. Wheeler, it would seem that even a woman who has made up her mind is not enough to convince you to relent?” Ben asked.
“Not with something like this. I know that I can run that ranch better than anybody in town, Mr. Reynolds. If you think I’m planning to back down, you’ve got it all wrong,” Tobias said.
He disliked the way that Ben smiled at him, giving the faintest hint of a laugh, as though Tobias were a mere child.
But he didn’t plan to back down and let Ben Reynolds get something that didn’t belong to him, something he didn’t deserve. Ben was a bully; everybody in town knew that. And he had cheated his way to better cattle before.
This time, he wasn’t going to win. This time, if Mary Stubbs could be convinced to sell her ranch, Tobias was the one who would come out on top.
Chapter 3<
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“I’ll see you at home,” Conner said, leaving Tobias who had the business in town.
His best saw had just given in the day before and he needed to pick up something new at the general store.
He walked in, planning to pick up some jerky as well, when he saw none other than Mrs. Mary Stubbs.
She was beautiful with that that long, brown hair and those strangely light blue eyes. But as far as he could recall, they had never really spoken. Maybe they had greeted one another at church or some such thing, but he mainly knew her because she and Danielle had been friends for a number of years.
But Danielle usually went over to Mary’s place, even when she was still living with her mother and father before getting married to Dirk. Danielle would joke with him and Conner that she needed to get away from the menfolk for a while.
So, in that moment, Tobias was not entirely sure what he should say as he approached his sister’s friend. Should he apologize for the loss of her husband? No, that had happened over a year before. But he certainly couldn’t jump into asking to buy the ranch. That would make him look terrible.
Tobias eyed her for a moment before remembering himself. He could do this.
Sauntering in his usual fashion, Tobias maneuvered himself over to Mary and picked up a small bag of seeds, seeing that she had gotten some tomato and also a pouch of cucumber.
“Looking to start a vegetable garden?” he asked, striking up a conversation.
Mary turned and looked him up and down for a moment before turning back to the seeds, clearly unimpressed by Tobias.
“I’ve been working on the vegetable garden since I moved into my home three years ago. Before that, it was suffering,” she said, putting back the pouch of lemon seeds that she had been looking at.
“Really? I never would have thought Mr. Stubbs would let something like that fall by the wayside,” Tobias said.
“His eye was on the bigger picture and the money-makers of the ranch. My duty was the food, so it made sense that I start a small vegetable garden to provide specifically for that,” she said.
Tobias nodded, as though he cared very much to hear about her vegetable garden. In truth, all he wanted was to find out about the ranch and was itching to ask his questions.
“I’m sure he was glad that you took charge of it,” Tobias said.
“Well, what else is a woman to do with her time?” she asked, something in her tone sounding like this was a warning rather than a question.
Tobias said nothing right away, choosing his words carefully. If she was a snake ready to strike, he would have to be prepared to step back rather quickly.
“I am quite certain you use your time very well,” he finally said.
Mary Stubbs looked at him as though he was the biggest fool she had ever seen in all her life, but Tobias had no idea what to say or do next. He couldn’t figure what he had done wrong, either.
But there was something in her stunning, light brown eyes that captivated him more than he rightly cared to admit. She was like an illusion before him and it very nearly knocked Tobias out of his typically confident sphere.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wheeler, but is there something I can help you with?” she asked him, rounding on him and staring at him with a coolness that far exceeded his own.
For a moment, Tobias was speechless and he spluttered.
“Oh, dear. It appears as though you are not quite sure what it is you wanted to say,” Mary said.
“I-it’s just that I wanted to…I wanted to offer you my assistance,” he said.
Mary Stubbs folded her arms across her chest but there was a gentle softening of her expression.
“Well, that is very kind of you. What sort of assistance do you believe that I am in need of?” she asked.
Tobias tried to interpret the way her body and face communicated, but they were entirely closed off from showing him what was really going on in her thoughts. He wasn’t sure if she was genuinely curious, grateful, or stubborn. He only wished that he could understand what she might have on her mind.
“I am not sure that you need any at all. But I know that you have had a whole lot to deal with over the past year and I felt bad that I never offered a hand. I guess we all just figured you had things covered or Mr. Stubbs’s brother would show up, but I am ashamed that I never assisted you in your efforts on the ranch,” Tobias said.
“How thoughtful,” she said, relaxing and giving him a faint smile.
At this, Tobias released some of the tension in his shoulders, relieved that she wasn’t angry at him. She was a very difficult woman to read and he had been starting to wonder if he had made a mistake or something.
“Well, I just don’t want you struggling out there on the ranch on your own,” Tobias said, trying to continue showing her what a nice gentleman he was and that he was more than happy to be of service.
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Wheeler. As it happens, I am doing just fine. I have four ranch hands, as you know. And they are very good men. Each one as good as the other. Not only as men of honor, but they are also skilled and I must say that they know exactly what they are doing,” she said.
“That must be a relief to you,” Tobias said, his heart sinking.
He had hoped that if he was able to help her out a little bit, Mary might be more inclined to listen to him as he suggested that she was better off selling the ranch.
“You weren’t really born to this work, were you?” he asked.
“No, not a lick. But it turns out that I have a natural flair for it, for which I am relieved. I had two solid years of being trained quite well in the running of a ranch and that was followed by the past year of doing it all on my own,” she said.
It was sweet to hear her talk about all of this, as though she was confident in her work. Tobias realized that she must, indeed, have excellent ranch hands if they worked so hard that she was able to spend her time just cooking and tending to the garden.
Mary was a nice girl, but Tobias realized that she must not have any idea how much work was really going on around her. If she did, she would probably be a lot quicker to hand off her duties to someone like him who would be able to get things done.
“Wow. It sounds like you must really have a gift for this life if you managed to pick it up in just three years. I have been at this since boyhood, helping my father,” Tobias said.
“Then I am quite sure that you are far in advance of me,” she replied, laughing in a lovely, feminine way.
Tobias tried not to let himself be mesmerized by Mary. She was shockingly lovely and he was irritated at himself for noticing that so strongly when he ought to have been focusing on getting the ranch. That was his priority, of course.
But she was a magnificent woman, to be sure.
“Reverend Walker, good afternoon,” she said, turning slightly from Tobias for a moment and giving the reverend her full attention.
He nodded to her and smiled.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Stubbs. And you, Mr. Wheeler. I trust you are ready to give the reading this week?” Reverend Walker asked.
“Indeed, I am, Reverend,” Tobias replied.
He was always happy to do the Scripture reading at church and, this time it was one of his favorite passages. A section from Matthew, Chapter Eleven.