Blue Moon Promise (35 page)
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Now you and your pa have more land than the rest of us put together. No wonder you had no need of Margaret.”
Nate pointed to a rock near the fire. “Have a seat and tell me what you’re talking about. The last land Pa bought was the Larson spread. We’re still far behind you in land ownership.”
O’Brien stared at him. “I’m beginning to think you really don’t know.”
“I’m getting tired of this game, O’Brien. Say your piece so I can get some shut-eye.”
“Ten thousand acres of land is what I’m talking about. And your little gal owns it. So that means
you
own it.”
Nate had heard O’Brien wanted to buy up the big spread on the Stars Above’s back side. It was mostly Indian territory right now, roamed only by deer and rabbits. Pa had eyed it as well, but the cost would have been astronomical, even if the owner was around to be found.
“You’re sure?” he asked finally.
O’Brien’s nod was jerky. “I’ve spent a pocketful trying to track down the owner, and here it’s your own little wife.”
“Lucy owns the old Thompson spread,” Nate repeated, still unable to wrap his mind around what the rancher was saying. “How is that possible?”
“Her ma’s maternal grandmother was a Thompson. She had tied the land up in a trust so it always passed to the eldest daughter. She wanted the women in her family to be able to be independent. The land passed to Lucy’s mother, who is dead. Lucy is the oldest, so it belongs to her. You really didn’t know?”
“I don’t think
she
knows.” Nate couldn’t believe Lucy would keep something like that from him. But then, she hadn’t told him about the coins either. If Jed hadn’t spilled it, he might not know even now.
O’Brien snorted. “Bet your Pa did.” He shook his head. “If you want to sell, let me know.” His voice held no hope of that happening though. He turned and stalked away.
Lucy was sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Her golden hair spilled over her shoulders and caught the light, but Nate hardened his heart at the beautiful sight. Could she have deceived him? Maybe his father had told her not to tell him the marriage was a business arrangement, though Nate had no clue why Pa might hide it.
“I heard voices,” she said, her voice soft.
“O’Brien was here. He wanted to buy your land.” He hoped she would at least appear confused, but she looked away. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded.
“I just found out.” She reached for her pack and dug into it, extracting a creased paper. “It was in the bottom of my mother’s chest. I found it when I was packing to come on this trip. I’m sure Dad assumed it was worthless, if he even remembered Mama owned it. I wanted to make sure it was real, so I checked with the county clerk before coming to find you. I wanted to surprise you.”
Longing to believe her, he took the heavy, yellowed paper gingerly in his fingers and held it up to read in the fire’s glow. It was a deed to ten thousand acres of land.
Her gaze stayed on him until he looked up. “We weren’t destitute after all.” She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. “I-Is it worth a lot of money?”
“Yes. I wonder if Pa knew about it.”
“How could he?” Her head came up quickly and she frowned. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly. “He mentioned that Mama had inherited some land but that she wanted to live in the city so they packed up and moved away. So he knew she owned it at one time. He even said he would have bought it if it hadn’t been left to my mother.”
“Pa is no fool. I reckon he went looking for you so he could get control of this.” Nate held up the deed. “He knew your pa had died when he arrived, right?”
She nodded. “He said Catherine wrote to ask for help.”
“I bet he’d hoped to buy it from her, but it was passing from your mother, not your father. So he figured he’d get it through marriage.”
“I—I thought he truly cared about me and the children. That he had come out of love for my parents.”
He heard the waver in her voice and wanted to take her in his arms. To reassure her that he loved her, but since he’d never told her his feelings in the first place, this wasn’t the time. Not when she seemed to regret having married him. “We need to talk to Pa about this.”
Her slim shoulders squared and she stood. “To what purpose, Nate? With his heart condition, can we risk upsetting him? He may have known nothing about it.”
“Oh, he knew. I’m sure of it.” As anger washed over him, he wanted to jump on his horse and ride back home to confront his father. But Lucy was right. His father’s health might not take the stress of an altercation. “We can’t ignore it. I have to know the truth.”
“If we approach him calmly to discuss it, perhaps he won’t become upset.”
Nate nodded. “I can try.” He studied her face and wished he could see what she was thinking. “What would you have done if you had known?” he asked softly, already knowing the answer.
Her small teeth gleamed in the light as she bit her lower lip. “I wouldn’t have had need of your father’s offer.”
The knowledge caused an ache under his breastbone. When had he begun to love Lucy? It felt as though this feeling had always been part of him. His life would be so empty without her.
“So what do you think about our marriage now?” he asked.
“Nothing has changed. If God had wanted me to know about the land, I would have found it before I married you.”
Her words calmed his heart. “You’re my blessing,” he said, brushing her lips with his. “Get some sleep. We’ll deal with Pa tomorrow.”
BY THE TIME Nate came leading the horses the next morning, Lucy was sitting on a tree stump sipping a cup of vile coffee. She’d coaxed some sugar from one of the hands. She longed for milk though. Then the coffee might be drinkable.
When she saw Nate, she poured out the rest of the bitter brew and rose. “I’m ready.”
“I’d pour it out, too, if it had sugar in it,” he said with a teasing grin.
She examined his expression. “I should have brought some tea.”
He walked her to Wanda. “Those britches never looked that good on me.” He helped her mount.
What had gotten into him today? He seemed almost happy to be leaving the cattle drive.
They rode in silence to the south, back toward the ranch. At only twenty miles from home, they should reach the main house by early afternoon. The cattle were only able to make fifteen miles a day, but the horses could do forty.
Nate finally broke the silence. He began showing her wildflowers along the way and told her their names. He pointed out the hawks flying overhead and the eagles atop the bluff they passed. Wasn’t he going to bring up the land? Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it so he kept his anger with his father in check. The landmarks began to be familiar to Lucy. They would be home soon.
At the crest of the hill above the ranch, Nate reined in his horse. He cleared his throat. “Was Pa in on this all along? About you coming on the cattle drive?”
She shook her head. “He had no idea until I showed up with Eileen. I had planned to take her with me, but she was sleepy and cranky, and I realized it wouldn’t work.”
“At least you showed some sense.” He turned in the saddle and stared at her. “Why do you feel this need to prove yourself, Lucy? You have many talents. They just aren’t with the cattle. I’m not saying you didn’t do a good job as a cowboy. Bo said you were better than most of the tenderfoots he’s worked with. But you hate it.”
“It’s part of your life, and I want to share your life, Nate. I don’t want to be an appendage who has no relevance to your real life. Your passion is the cattle empire you’re building. You said when we first met that you needed a wife who would work alongside you with the cattle.” She still smarted from those words.
Nate sighed. “I was wrong, Lucy. I’ve told you I was wrong. I didn’t know what I needed, but God did. I needed you.”
Tears stung her eyes, but she sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Was he just saying that? She thought back to the words she’d overheard last night when he was talking to Margaret. She’d tried to earn love all her life by controlling things and being what people needed her to be. Was she even capable of stopping that?
He reached over and laid his hand on hers. “You don’t have to earn anyone’s respect, Lucy. You have it already.”
Respect
. For a moment she’d hoped he would tell her he harbored stronger feelings than respect. She longed to hear words of love from him. She managed a smile. “We’d better get going.”
They started down the hill, and Lucy saw the ranch in the distance. Her backside hurt, and she craved a soak in a hot tub. And the softness of a real bed. The horse must have sensed her eagerness because the mare’s pace picked up. Nate kicked his gelding into a canter as well, and they rode the final distance home. The horses plodded to a stop in front of the barn, and Lucy slid to the ground. Her stomach was in knots at the thought of the coming conversation.
Nate handed the reins to a hand who came to help him. Taking her elbow, he led her to the house. The aroma of chicken cooking wafted to her nose. They found Henry in the parlor reading a story to Eileen, who was sleeping with her head leaning against his knee. He had a blanket over his knees, although the day was far from chilly. Lucy thought the thermometer must read close to ninety. She listened to his deep voice as he read about Alice and her adventures through the looking glass.
Henry glanced up. His bushy eyebrows rose. “He wouldn’t let you stay, eh, Lucy? I suspected as much.” He closed the book and laid it aside. “Eileen was missing you.”
Lucy took the chair farthest from her father-in-law. “I missed her.” Aware that her jaw ached from clenching it, she forced herself to relax as Nate dropped onto the sofa near his father. She hoped there was a logical explanation.
Henry stared at his son. “You seem tense, Nate. Don’t be too hard on Lucy. She did it for you.”
“I’m not upset with Lucy. I know she has a big heart and wanted to please me.” Nate slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew the deed. “This is what threw me.” He opened the document and smoothed it out on his knee.
Henry craned his head to look. “Looks like a deed.” His voice was eager.
“It is. For the ten thousand acres on our back side.”
Henry’s eyes widened, and he snatched up the document. Holding it under his nose to read it, he began to smile. “You found it.”
Not even a pretense of ignorance. The satisfaction in his voice made her ill, and Lucy pressed her hand against her stomach. “You knew,” she whispered. “You didn’t come to see me out of concern for me and the children.”
Henry’s smile faded. “It wasn’t quite like that, Lucy. Of course I wanted to help you. And Nate here was never going to take a wife without a push. It seemed the logical solution.”
“You get the land you wanted, and you manage to get me married,” Nate said. “Then everything is right with your world.”
Though his voice was deceptively calm, Lucy saw his jaw harden, and she prayed for Nate to stay calm even as her own temper rose.
Just sit quietly and let your husband handle it
. But it was hard to bite her tongue.
“We’ll put the land to good use. It was being ignored and wasn’t helping anyone.”
“And you feared O’Brien would get it first,” Nate said.
“I didn’t want to be boxed in.”
Nate glanced at Lucy. “It’s your land, Lucy, not mine. You can do whatever you want with it.”
The way he took his hands off of the property touched her. “I’d like to give some of it to my uncle.”
Henry leaped to his feet. “That’s ridiculous, Lucy.”
“Which would you rather have? All of my land or my uncle’s spread?”
“I own your uncle’s spread now,” Nate said.
They locked glances, and she couldn’t read his expression. Was he disappointed that she would want to do this? Did he feel she was choosing her uncle over him?
“Are you trying to force my hand, Lucy? I thought you wanted our differences put aside, not compounded.”
Lucy laced her fingers together. “I don’t want my family to have nothing. Uncle Drew’s spread is small. Only a thousand acres. If I compensate him with the same amount of land, that’s a tiny portion of the land I own.” Nate stared at her and she held her breath to see his reaction.
“Please, Nate. Let go of any hard feelings. I heard you talking to Margaret, you know. What you said about being loved for ourselves. I love my family because they are part of me. Can’t you do the same?”
His face was impassive until he finally gave a slow nod. “Then let’s give him back his land plus another thousand I own that borders it. We’ll keep yours intact for our daughter someday.”
Her heart swelled to bursting, but before she could tell him how she felt, his father leaped to his feet and raised his fist in the air.
“You can’t do that!” Henry shook his fist again. “Larson’s land is mine.”
Nate ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not, Pa. You signed it over to me last spring.”
Henry sank back onto the sofa. “You’re no son of mine.”
