A Heart Renewed (18 page)

“Lord, we thank you for this beautiful morning, the cool weather, and your grace which sustains us.  Please calm Julia’s fears and help her to trust that you will protect her.  We thank you for keeping us safe and allowing us to reach our destination.  Bless this food to our bodies.  Amen.”

But, you are wrong, Adam, I cannot trust him to protect me, for he has already failed to do so.
  Her anger threatened to resurrect as she picked at the food on her plate.  Seeing the concern on Adam’s face, she made an attempt to chew and swallow the food before her.

“Will says we will leave this morning soon after breakfast.  We boarded the horses at the livery last night, so I’ll go pick them up.  He also said Hannah was going to the store this morning to pick out some fabrics and that you were welcome to join her.”

Julia nodded.  She had little time to pack, having left in such a hurry.  While she was able to pick up a few things along the way, it would be good to purchase material and sewing supplies for a new dress.

By the time she finished pretending to eat, Hannah joined them and the two women walked across the plaza to the building labeled “Gray & Company.”

As they entered the store, Julia’s eyes took a second to adjust to the dimmer light.  They were greeted by a friendly shopkeeper.

“Mrs. Colter, a pleasure to see you.  I heard that husband of yours finally let you come into town.”

“Mr. Young.  Good to see you again.  This is Will’s sister, Miss Julia Colter.  She has just arrived from Texas.”

Mr. Young greeted Julia then pointed out the sewing supplies and fabrics when Hannah inquired.  Julia found a lovely dark green calico print that would go perfectly with her fair complexion and blue eyes.  She asked Mr. Young to cut off the amount needed while she looked around for some lace.  Seeing none, she decided a simple dress would be fine.  Hannah asked for small quantities of some white cotton fabrics.  Julia thought the amount too small for undergarments and assumed she was shopping for some other purpose.

As Julia reached into her reticule to pay for her purchases from what little money she had left, Hannah shook her head and told Mr. Young to place everything on Will’s account. 

Leaving the store, Hannah said, “Keep the rest of what you have for something special.  Will would be upset if you didn’t let him provide for you.”

Will and Adam were waiting outside the store with the wagon.  Adam finished tethering the horses to the back of their wagon—well his wagon now—before helping Julia up to the wagon as he had done countless times over the past months.  She watched as Will lifted Hannah by the waist and deposited her on the seat of his wagon.  Her brother treated her almost like she was one of those fragile porcelain dolls she had once seen in the window of the shops back home.

Texas was no longer her home, she remembered as Will led the way out of town.  Colter Ranch in the Arizona Territory was now her new home.

Chapter 13

Awed by the scene before her as the wagon topped the hill, Julia studied the valley below.  On the western border, unusual grayish-white mountains burst forth from the grass covered valley floor.  A beautiful deep blue lake sparkled with touches of silver reflecting the bright sun.  Next to the lake, a quaint log cabin welcomed her home.  A large barn and corral, the bunkhouse, and several other buildings stood nearby.

To the north, the massive herd of cattle grazed between tall pine and juniper trees.  Not all of them were longhorns, she marveled.  It looked like Will had several Herefords in mix.  She could make out six men on horseback on different sides of the herd.  As the wagons neared the bottom of the valley, another man on horseback rode toward Will’s wagon.

“We were a mite worried, Boss, when you didn’t return last night.”

Julia would recognize that voice anywhere.  It belonged to Ben Shepherd, her father’s foreman who came with Will from Texas.

“I see we have some company.”  Ben rode his horse toward her wagon.  “Miss Colter, Mr. Larson, good to see you made it here safely.”

“How have you been?  Has Will been giving you as much trouble as always?” she teased.

Ben laughed—that deep bellied laugh that she loved.  “Would not have it any other way, Miss Julia,” he answered with the familiar name he used—when she wasn’t in trouble.

Grinning she fired back, “Some things never change.”

As the wagons finished the descent to the bottom of the valley, Will stopped his near the ranch house.  Adam followed suit, coming around the side to help Julia down.

Feet on the ground, she stretched, trying to work out the kinks in sore muscles.  Then, turning in a full circle with arms stretched wide and head tilted back, she breathed deeply of the fresh crisp air.  This place was even more stunning from the valley floor than it had been from the top of the hill.

“Ben, will you help us get these things unloaded while Adam shows the horses their new home?” Will asked.

Ben dismounted his black mare and tied her to the hitching post in front of the ranch house.  There was not much to unload of Julia’s things, just a carpet bag containing a few items.  All that was left in their wagon was a few of Adam’s personal items and the small amount of food remaining from their long trip.  Grabbing the crate with food items, Ben carried it into the house and set it on the table.

As Julia followed behind him, she saw a young Mexican woman busily preparing the midday meal.  The aroma was enticing and she suddenly realized just how hungry she was.

“Rosa, this is Will’s sister, Julia,” Hannah introduced.

“Buenos Dias,” Rosa said, her accent slightly different from what Julia was used to from the Mexicans in Texas.  She also noticed the woman’s high angular cheek bones, which made her look part native.

Then Hannah showed her around the house.  “This will be your room,” she said, indicating one of the two bedrooms off of the main open room which served as kitchen, dining, and living areas.

Entering the small bedroom, Julia was immediately drawn to the handcrafted dresser.  Running her hand along the smooth top, she smiled.  She opened each of the drawers, noting how effortlessly they glided shut.  No doubt Will’s craftsmanship.  A smaller matching table rested next to the bed.

She turned as Will brought her carpet bag into the room.  Setting it on the bed he said, “I didn’t see anything else that looked like it was yours.  Is this all you brought?”

“There was no time to bring more,” she answered softly, begging the memories to stay buried.

He paused for a moment, twisting that same old tan cowboy hat around in his hands.  “Julia, I just want you to know how glad I am that you are here.  So is Hannah.  Despite whatever happened to bring you to our doorstep, I hope you will feel at home here.”

Stepping closer, he spread his arms out, meaning to hug her.  Panic choked her breath and she moved away from the almost-embrace.  Coming up short, he gave her a puzzled look, obviously confused by her reaction.  Though he made no further attempt to touch her, she could see the hurt written on his face.

“I’ll leave you to your unpacking, then,” he stated as he backed out the door.

Staring at the empty doorway, her anger and fear battled.  She wished she could feel comfortable enough to let him hug her.  It’s not that she feared Will would ever harm her or become violent with her.  He just looked so much like Reuben, it was hard to put it from her mind.

Sighing, she opened the carpet bag and removed the few items she brought from home.  This was going to be harder than she thought.

Will frowned as he entered the kitchen, perplexed by Julia’s odd reaction to his hug.  He made eye contact with Hannah and saw a question reflected there.  “I’m going out to see if Ben and Snake want to join us for dinner.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Hannah said.

Once they were outside warmed by the sun, Will started, “Please tell me, was that fear in Julia’s face this morning when I entered the dining hall?”

At Hannah’s nod, he continued, “I don’t understand what’s going on with her.  Yesterday when I greeted her with a hug, she stiffened.  Then, well, you saw what happened this morning.  Now I wanted to give her a hug and she backed away.”

Letting out a long frustrated sigh, he paused by the corral.  “This is not the same jubilant, adventurous sister that I left in Texas.”

“Last night she told me that Reuben beat her.”

Will stopped abruptly and turned to face Hannah as his heart broke at the news.  “What else did she say?”

“She didn’t elaborate.  But, I sensed there was something more…” She broke eye contact. “Sinister, perhaps?  I’m not sure.”

Anger and guilt assailed him.  Anger at Reuben for whatever he did to Julia.  Anger and guilt, directed toward himself, for not bringing her with him last fall.  He should have, even though it was against his father’s last wishes.  He knew what kind of man Reuben was, but he did not want to believe he was so corrupt that he would lash out against Julia.

“Will,” Hannah said as she laid her hand on his arm.  “This was not your fault.”

He did not agree with his wife, but kept the thought to himself.  “But, why is she frightened of me?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.  What I do know is that we have to give her time and as much space as she needs.  Be gentle and calm around her, always reassuring.”

Will nodded in agreement.  “I’ll do my best.”

Hannah reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before returning to the ranch house.

Even if he had done nothing to cause Julia to fear him, it still hurt.  They had been so close growing up.  How could anything that Reuben did cause her to react this way towards him?  He loved her.  He had always been kind to her.  They talked so easily back in Texas.

Kicking the toe of his boot on the corral post, he tried to push his feelings aside for now.  She only just arrived and would need some time to settle in.  Then maybe things would get back to normal.

As Adam approached, Will nodded toward the bunkhouse.  “There’s a bunk available for you.”

Grabbing his things from the wagon, Adam followed him.  Carefully opening the door, to keep from disturbing the night shift, Will showed him an empty bunk.

“Once you’re settled, come back up to the house for dinner,” he whispered.  “It should be ready shortly.”

Adam nodded.

Walking back outside, he headed toward the slaughter house.  The door was closed, a good indication that Snake was preparing some of the beef for the smoker.  When he was not slaughtering, he usually left the door propped open to allow fresh air in.  Then Will opened the door and told Snake dinner was ready.  Snake waved it off and said to leave a plate for him.  He would be up after he got this batch in the smoker.

By the time Will made his way back to the ranch house, Ben and Adam were already seated at the table.  Julia sat next to Hannah’s chair, across from Adam.  As soon as he seated himself, Hannah set out the food.

Once grace was said, Will started the conversation.  “Hannah, I forgot to tell you in the rush of yesterday that Mr. Boggs invited us to the Governor’s Ball on Thursday.”

Looking around the table, he added, “I would like for all of you to attend.”  Will knew Ben would be somewhat uncomfortable.  He never seemed to like the big parties before.

“Will Bet—, I mean Mrs. Lancaster, be attending?” Ben asked.  His question was met with discretely covered shocked looks on both Will and Hannah’s faces.

Hannah recovered quickly.  “I’m sure Betty and her son will be there.”

“Adam, I want you there to meet as many of the townsmen as possible.  It’ll be good for them to get to know you since you’ll be working with several of them.”

“Certainly,” Adam replied.

Will remembered the letter he picked up this morning from the postmaster and handed it to Hannah.  “I must be getting old, forgetting so many things today,” he said winking at his wife.  “Who is it from?”

Julia looked at him, for the first time since arriving, confusion creasing her brow.  Adam had a strange look on his face as well.  He figured he better explain why he would be handing correspondence off to his wife. 

“A few months ago I was thrown from my horse—you remember Jackson,” he said looking at Julia.  She nodded.  “When I landed, I hit my head and was unconscious for several weeks.  When I finally woke, my memory was fuzzy for the first several days.  Everything eventually came back—except my ability to read.”  He hated admitting it, but knew there was no use pretending things were different.

Hannah jumped in, “But we are working on that.  Until he fully recovers, Will has asked me to read to him.”

“And Hannah graciously agreed.”

His wife smiled softly at him before breaking the seal.  She quickly scanned the letter, probably determining if it should be read privately later.  When her eyes went to the bottom of the page, she set the letter aside.  Turning to Julia, she said, “It’s from you.  I guess we know that wagon travel can be faster than the mail around here.”

Will laughed at the irony of receiving the letter from his sister the day she arrived.  “Anything in there that we don’t already know?”