Linda Ford (4 page)

Jake pushed back from the table and rose to his feet. “None of them has showed yet.”

“They ain’t here?” The shorter one, Mr. Martin, looked angry.

“There’s a train due in twenty minutes,” Jake said. “Let’s go meet them.” He tossed some coins on the table. “Mother, while I’m out, try to get your rest.”

Hannah’s cheeks burned. She hadn’t expected to be paid for sharing her meager meal with them. It had been a courtesy, but he’d effectively put her in her place. Or rather, the place he expected of her—a willing servant to his demands.

She grabbed the coins and hurried after him. “I don’t want—” But the door closed behind him, and by the time she threw it open, he was riding away. She stared after him, her insides coiling like the fire-damaged curls of wallpaper. She sucked in several deep breaths before she returned to the table.

“My dear.” The older woman patted her hand. “He didn’t mean to insult you. He’s just very single-minded about business. He takes his responsibilities so seriously.” She sighed. “He was only fifteen when my husband was injured in an accident. Seth barely survived. He never walked again. Never got out of bed even. Although I miss him so much, it was a mercy when he went. No more pain and suffering. I picture him in heaven, enjoying the use of his legs again.” She sniffled into a hankie.

Hannah murmured her condolences, but when she began to clear the table, Mrs. Sperling caught her hand.

“Do you mind listening to an old woman’s prattle?”

Hannah laughed. “You aren’t old nor do you prattle.” She sensed the woman longed for someone to converse with. Hannah wasn’t opposed to the idea. It had been lonely with only Mort or passersby to talk to. Work could wait. “I’d love to sit and chat.”

Mrs. Sperling picked up where she left off. “Seth couldn’t move about, but he still ran the place. Jake became his legs and hands. He expected a lot from the boy. And now Jake expects even more from himself.”

Hannah didn’t want to hear about Jake. She especially did not want to listen to his mother excuse his behavior. “You have a daughter?”

The woman smiled with pride. “Audrey. She’s the opposite of Jake in many ways. Never worries about responsibility. She knows how to enjoy life. She married Harvey, who owns the neighboring ranch.”

“You’re very proud of her.”

“I’m proud of both of them.”

Hannah knew Mrs. Sperling believed her words, but when she spoke about Audrey, her voice held a whole different sound than when she spoke of Jake—as if Audrey pleased her and Jake served her. Hannah dismissed the idea. She was reading more into it than she had any right. She knew nothing about the family.

She let Mrs. Sperling talk for a long time and served her tea and cookies as they visited. But after the woman tried several times to unsuccessfully hide her yawns, Hannah stood. “I think I’d better take care of these dishes.”

“And I’d better go to my room. Thank you again for sharing your meal with us.”

Hannah cleaned up the meal, tidied the kitchen, and hauled the drapes out to the alley where Mort could finish burning them in the morning. She yawned and stretched. She would like to go to bed, but until Jake returned, she couldn’t lock the front door. She had no choice but to wait up.

She went to her room, picked up her Bible, and returned to the lobby to settle herself behind the desk and wait. She opened the scriptures where she had placed the bookmark last night—Deuteronomy, one of her favorite books. She began to read, enjoying the retelling of the desert journey and how God had worked among people. It encouraged her to know He still did.

Her head jerked as sleep overcame her. How long did Jake intend to stay out? She pushed to her weary feet, shivering as someone thudded past on the street. She’d never stayed open so late. She felt alone and vulnerable. If one of the cowboys with too much drink in him came through the door. . .

She made up her mind then and there and hurried out to the small building in the back to knock on Mort’s door. A light shone from inside, so she guessed she wouldn’t be waking him.

He opened up. “Yes, miss.”

“I need you to watch the desk. Mr. Sperling is still out.”

He nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

She hurried back inside. Thankfully, Mort had not grumbled.

❧

At the station the next morning, Jake climbed off his horse and momentarily leaned against its warm flank. No cattle buyers had come in on last night’s train. Jake managed to snag a few hours of restless sleep; then he, Riggs, and Martin met the first train this morning. Still no buyers.

Riggs stared at the train as it pulled from the station. “Where are they?”

Jake’s gut convulsed. “Let’s find out.”

The men strode three abreast into the depot.

The stationmaster glanced up at their approach and
looked worried. Jake spoke for them all. “Silas, is there a
telegram for me?”

“No sir, Mr. Sperling.” He glanced at the telegraph key. “Nothin’ at all.”

“Then I want to send a message,” Jake said, his voice as hard as the knot in his stomach. “Mr. Arnold. Stop. Where are you? Stop. Why the delay? Stop.”

Riggs nudged him. “Forget ‘where are you.’ We just want to know why he’s not here.”

Jake nodded. “Take out that part.”

Silas glanced at the three of them, waiting for them to nod. “Send it,” Jake said. “And the man better have a good reason for being so late. I’ll accept nothing short of a death in his family.”

Martin smacked his fist into his palm. “Or serious injury.”

Jake knew what he meant. Martin was known to have a short fuse. He wouldn’t be opposed to using his fists if Mr. Arnold was simply dangling them at the end of a rope hoping to force them to sell at a lower price. “Best wait and hear what he has to say for himself. Could be he’s on his way right now.”

They turned and strode toward the door. The men parted ways outside. Riggs and Martin headed back to their herds.

Jake returned to the hotel, where he lingered a moment at his horse’s side. Things just couldn’t get any worse. As he thumped up the wooden steps, he thought he heard a familiar sound and shuddered. He was tired. His mind played tricks. At least he hoped so.

But as he opened the door, he realized things were about to get a whole lot worse.

Three

“Uncle Jake. Uncle Jake.” Two bodies launched themselves at him. They were small. Together they weighed less than a hardy calf, but he knew from experience that they had the ability to cut him down at the knees if he didn’t brace himself. He backed up until he hit a solid wall and prepared for the attack. And just in time. One small body hit him at knee level. The other grabbed Jake’s hands and crawled up his body like some kind of monkey.

“Hey, boys. Where did you come from?” Guess it was too much to expect Audrey would keep them at home and out of his hair.

The smallest one, the four-year-old knee nipper named Sammy, screamed, “We get to stay with Gamma.”

Luke, a year older but only a few pounds heavier, continued to pull himself up Jake’s body until he planted his face directly in front of Jake’s. “Momma said we could have fun in town.”

“She did, did she?” He shuddered, picturing just what sort of fun the pair would have.

“Where’s your mother? Where’s Grandma?” He edged his face past Luke’s and located his mother sitting next to the window in the lobby. “Where’s Audrey?”

“She wanted to go with Harvey on his business trip. She asked if I would mind keeping the boys. Of course I agreed.”

“You can’t keep them here.”

“Why not? They’ll enjoy a few days in town.”

“A few days?” He sputtered and stopped to rope in his thoughts. “We can’t keep them out of trouble on the ranch. On two ranches. How do you expect to corral them in town?”

He looked around the lobby, seeing it for the first time. The prissy furniture. The breakable knickknacks. The polished wooden floor—beautiful and just perfect for two little boys to slide on, leaving scratches he guessed Hannah wouldn’t appreciate.

His mother answered his question. “You can herd two hundred head of cows by yourself. Surely you can keep an eye on two little boys.”

“Me?” When had he volunteered for the job? “Can’t you keep them here?” As he finished studying his surroundings, his doubts multiplied.

Hannah came to the door of the dining room, an adoring expression on her face as she watched the boys.

“Don’t let their innocent appearance fool you,” he warned her. “This pair can be deadly.”

She tore her gaze from Sammy, her smile receding as she met Jake’s eyes. “They’re sweet.”

He glanced past her to the dining room, visions of one of the youngsters falling into the hole, and saw she’d erected a barrier with lengths of wood. He knew it wouldn’t keep the boys out. Nothing but a solid wall would.

Luke squirmed out of his arm, and as Jake tried to snag him, Sammy escaped. The pair circled the room, screaming at the top of their lungs. His mother closed her eyes and pressed her lips together so hard they disappeared. He could hardly blame her. The racket was worse than weaning time at the ranch.
Ahh
, for the peace of his cows. . . He could think of nothing he’d sooner do than get on his horse and head out of town.

“Have they eaten?” He was forced to raise his voice to make himself heard.

Hannah chuckled. “Steadily since they came.”

He groaned, remembering their bottomless appetites. He grabbed Sammy as he roared past. “How would you like to go get something to eat?”

Jake winced as the boy roared his approval. “You don’t have to yell. I’m not deaf.” Though he would be if Sammy kept screaming in his ear.

“I like yelling,” the boy said.

“Yeah, I noticed.” He turned to the other screaming child. “Luke, if you stop running and yelling, I’ll take you to the restaurant.”

Luke skidded to a halt. “Can I have anything I want?”

“I suppose so.”

Luke screamed his approval and raced for the door. Sammy slipped from Jake’s grasp and galloped after him, doubling the noise.

“Halt!” Jake yelled. But neither boy slowed down. Jake almost fell as he skidded to the door in time to stop Sammy but too late to corral Luke who stood on the sidewalk still screaming. Jake’s horse reared, and a rider on the street struggled to keep from being thrown into the dirt.

Jake grabbed Luke and yanked him inside. “Stop that racket right now.”

“What?” the boy yelled.

“Stop yelling!” Jake realized he was yelling now and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “Please, be quiet.” Blessed silence filled the room. “That’s better. Mother, shall we go to the restaurant now?”

His mother fluttered her fingers. “I have a headache. You go without me.”

He stared at her. “Me? Take these two out by myself?” He shook his head hard.

“Jake, there are only two of them.”

“And one of me.” He shifted his gaze to Hannah. If she came along there would be two for two.

She must have read his thoughts. She held up a cloth. “I’m working.”

“But you have to eat, don’t you?”

She crossed her arms and looked disinterested in his plight. He tried to think of a way to convince her. If she were one of his outfit, how would he handle it? Ask nicely? And then insist. She wasn’t one of the hired hands, but surely the same process would work for her.

“Hannah, I would appreciate it if you would accompany us to lunch.”

She glanced over her shoulder as if measuring the work she had.

“You aren’t going to finish up anytime soon, so why not take a break?”

She shifted her gaze from the dining room to the two boys.

He wasn’t above using the pair as bait. “Boys, wouldn’t you like Miss Hannah to come with us?”

He grimaced as they yelled, “Yes!” Why did his sister let them be so loud?

Hannah smiled at their eagerness. “Very well. I’ll come along. Give me a minute to clean up.”

Jake had been about to say she didn’t need to bother. They weren’t going anyplace fancy. Not with his two nephews. Where he planned to go there would be working men and cowboys. Besides, she looked perfectly presentable in her pretty little blue cotton dress, but she hurried away before he could get the words into shape to speak.

He tried to keep the boys at his side while they waited, but even though she was only gone a few minutes, by the time she returned, they were circling the room at full gallop, their voices about to shatter the windows. Jake captured Sammy as he raced by and wondered if he would have to hog-tie the pair to get them to the restaurant in one piece.

Hannah held out her hand. “Luke, walk with me.” The boy trotted over and took her hand as simple as that. She glanced at each boy. “Now let’s see who can be the quietest.”

“For how long?” Sammy asked.

“Until we get back. I think I might have some cookies for anyone who is quiet the whole time we’re gone. You can talk, but quietly. Like gentlemen.”

Sammy squirmed to his feet and took Jake’s hand.

Jake gave Hannah a hard look. “How did you do that?”

She shrugged. “I just asked them.” She’d pulled her hair into a soft roll that made him notice her pretty features. A wide, smiling mouth, a pert little nose with just a hint of freckles, and hazel eyes that he already knew could turn cold one minute and fiery the next.

“I asked them, too. It didn’t work as you might have noticed.”

“You ordered them.”

He blinked. “I—”

She smiled sweetly. “There’s a difference.”

“Of course. I know that.” Except he couldn’t remember ordering the boys about. And if she thought he had, then maybe he didn’t know.

They strode down the street. The boys were so quiet, Jake shuddered, wondering when they would explode. He glanced at Hannah. She smiled as if she enjoyed a secret. Suddenly he relaxed. This wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

They reached the restaurant. Several of his outfit nodded greetings and watched, as curious as newborn calves, as Jake found a table for his group next to the window. He and Luke sat across from Hannah and Sammy. Hannah fussed about Sammy for a moment then left him to down the glass of water the waitress brought. Beside him, Luke did the same. Jake tensed, ready to rescue a glass should either boy upset his.

They drained their water and sat on the edge of their chairs swinging their feet. Sammy screamed as they kicked each other.

Jake thumped the tabletop. “Boys, keep the noise down.”

Hannah shot him a look that made him squirm more than his words had made either boy squirm. She touched Sammy’s shoulder. “Remember, speak quietly if you want cookies when we get back.”

Sammy stopped pumping his legs. “What kind?”

“What’s your favorite?” she asked.

He glanced at Luke. “What is?” he whispered.

Luke whispered back, “Molasses.”

Sammy turned toward Hannah, serious as a judge. “Molasses.”

“Then it’s a good thing that’s what I baked this morning, isn’t it?”

Jake studied Sammy. Light brown hair and blue eyes, like his father, and a rash of freckles. Luke, darker than Sammy, didn’t have quite the innocent look Sammy managed to fool strangers with but was just as capable of mischief. Jake couldn’t imagine how the pair got into so much trouble. It seemed to stick to them like a bad smell to a pair of boots.

Audrey had dressed them to come to town in dark brown trousers and matching pale brown shirts that made them look like innocent young children. In fact, if he didn’t know them so well he might have been as fooled as Hannah, her eyes all warm as she watched them.

She looked healthy enough. Good bones. Good conformity. Good gait—though he supposed it was called something different in a woman. The sort of woman a man wanted to take home and care for. Why did she want to do a man’s job? What would it prove except her foolishness at trying? And it would bring only disappointment—or worse, if she fell off a ladder with no one around to catch her.

The murmur of conversation and the clinking of china in the kitchen filled the silence as Sammy pressed his lips together so he would pass the quiet test.

The serving girl placed heaping plates before them. Jake grabbed Luke’s hands before he could dig in. “Grace first.” He murmured a quick prayer with one eye not quite shut so he could watch Sammy. He almost relaxed as Hannah covered the boy’s hands with hers.

The food was robust, just like a man needed. For the first time he realized how few women were in the room. Probably most of them preferred one of the fancier places. Would Hannah? He’d seen her scrubbing walls and dragging down old drapes. She’d had flour dusting her nose as she bent over a table rolling out biscuits. He tried to imagine her in the finest restaurant in town and found not only could he, but he liked it. Right then and there, he promised himself he’d take her one day. For his enjoyment as much as hers. Though she had probably been to all of them already. Maybe accompanied by someone else. He was startled to realize how much he didn’t like that idea.

“Have you been to the other restaurants in town?” he asked.

“Not yet. I’ve been rather preoccupied with the hotel.”

“What made you think you—” He paused. Better not suggest she couldn’t run the hotel. He’d already noticed she seemed a little sensitive about that. “What made you think you wanted to run a hotel?”

She laughed softly, a sound like the wind racing through the trees. “Actually I never thought of it until my grandparents asked me if I’d like to, and then I jumped at the opportunity.”

“So this is a sudden decision?” If he intended to ask her to the fanciest restaurant in town, he’d better do it before she changed her mind about the hotel business and headed back East.

She reached over and cut Sammy’s meat into little pieces. “Sudden? I suppose. Though I’d been praying for such an opportunity for a long time. I just hadn’t known what shape it would take.”

He worked that about in his head as he devoted some attention to his meal. He just couldn’t see it the way she did. “How is it an opportunity for a young woman alone?”

She paused with a forkful of mashed potatoes halfway to her mouth. Her eyes flashed like sun off rocks lying below the surface of a mountain stream. All shiny and bright. “Perhaps it depends on the young woman.”

Their gazes clashed. Locked. He read determination, stubbornness even, in her eyes. He sought the right words to express his feelings, not willing to concede to her opinion, wanting to save her from disappointment when she found she just couldn’t do it on her own. Not wishing to say again what he really thought—that it was man’s work she aimed to do—he settled on saying, “Everyone has his limit.”

Her eyes held a glittering challenge. “What’s yours, Jake Sperling?”

Jake’s thoughts tangled like old rope, caught in things her eyes seemed to promise—knowing, sharing, longing, and hundreds of butterfly ideas he couldn’t name. His mouth opened, but no words formed in his brain.

Luke’s grunt pulled his attention away from her probing look to the child struggling with his meat. Jake reached over with his knife. “I’ll cut it.”

Luke shook his head. “I do it myself.” He dug his fork in harder. The meat skidded away and landed in Jake’s lap. He grabbed it and wiped in on the napkin before putting it back on Luke’s plate and, ignoring the child’s stubborn glower, cut it into pieces. Only then did he turn back to Hannah and answer her question. “Maybe my limit is little boys.”

She laughed, and the sound sank into his senses like a breath of spring. “Little boys are becoming men. I’d think you, of all people, would encourage their independence.”

“Independence means responsibility, and these two aren’t ready for that.” He felt the heat of her look—like being branded. He wondered what she thought. He waited for her to say it.

Someone jostled his elbow. “Hey, Jake. When are we heading back to the ranch?”

He turned to Zeke and saw several others hovered behind him. “Waiting for the buyers.”

Zeke looked surprised. “Thought they was supposed to be here when we arrived.”

Jake tried to shrug it off. “I expected them.” He pushed back from the table. “Boys, I’ll be in touch real soon.” Luke and Sammy had cleaned their plates down to the pattern on the china. “Are you done?” he asked Hannah.

She nodded.

“Then let’s be on our way.” He had to take care of the herd.