The Rancher (26 page)

He spilled a long silver chain into his hand, followed by a lavender cameo.  Intricately carved into its pale skin was an ivory picture of a man and a woman in a passionate embrace.

“It’s beautiful.   My mother has a collection of unique cameos.  I must say though, I have never seen one like this.” Raine had always been fascinated by their mother’s collection, but Cole had never found use for it.

“And,  the  first  incident?”   Cole’s question lingered in the air for a few moments.

Clay returned the cameo to its pouchand placed it back in the box.

“It was hand designed by an Italian

friend of mine,” he ignored Cole’s determination to find out what was

happening and kept his attention on his

conversation with Raine.

“It was supposed to be for Clara, my wife.  Paulo sent it to me a long time ago, I just haven’t had the heart to retrieve it until now.   The Patterson’s have been good to hold onto it for me for all these years.” He turned to Cole.  “I thought it would make a nice weddin’ gift for my daughter.”  He stood up and placed the carved box into one of his saddle bags.

“As for the first incident,” Clay cleared his throat and turned to look pointedly at Cole, “my foreman was killed in a drunken brawl a month or so back.”

Cole bit his tongue and lowered his glare, feeling the petulant child.   “By

who?”

“Nobody knows who started it or how it happened. Everybody was fightin’. All my men came home with cuts and bruises, even the gangly Davey got his punches in I’m told. They’d just gotten back from a successful drive to Wyoming and went into town to celebrate.” Clay hunkered down and leaned back onto his heels, his thighs straining against his denims as he propped himself up against the side of the grounded wagon.

“He was just a kid. Younger’n you. ‘Bout to get himself hitched.”

“What makes you think they’re all connected?”  Raine asked.

“Let me show you something.”  Clay rocked back onto his feet, upright, and walked back to the rear axle of the

wagon.

Cole and Raine followed.

“See this?” he pointed to a small piece of black cloth tied around a spindle on one of the back wheels.  “There’s been one of

these appear after every incident.  There was one clenched in Jesse’s fist when he

went down--Jesse was my foreman.  One was tied to the gate.  Another folded like a knapsack and peeking through the straw in the barn and this one.”

“Have you told the sheriff about any of this?”   Raine inquired, crouched down and examining the axel.

“Can’t.   He now lives at the town cemetery and the new one hasn’t arrived yet.  He was supposed to arrive on last week’s train, but he didn’t make it.  No one has heard from him.”

How convenient that the only lawman in

town was dead.

“Why? Why would someone want to cause all this trouble?” Cole asked.

“A few weeks before you showed up, a man came to my door with an offer to buy the place.” Clay rested his boot on the spoke of the wagon wheel. “When I kindly refused his not so generous offer, he said he’d be surprised if I hadn’t changed my mind in two fortnights and he’d be back.”

“Well,   I’m  guessing  you  haven’t changed your mind.” Cole picked up a spool of chicken wire and threw it into back of the wagon alongside some of the more recoverable replacement fence posts they’d loaded.

“Nope. So, I reckon he’ll be back here in a day or two.”

“Who was he?” Raine asked.

“We believe he is working for the new owners of the Gnarled Oak.” He looked at Cole. “The property surrounding both the north and east sides of mine.

Cole’s eyes widened, but he remained

silent.

“Friedrich Johansson died a little over a year ago and since then collectors have been showin’ up at folk’s doorsteps, demandin’ payment on their mortgages.  There are four of us who own our land outright, so we figured they would try to get us to sell.”

That was the last thing Cole had expected to hear.  He shook his head.

“This is why I wanted Abby in Denver.” Clay threw his hand up in the air and muttered under his breath, kicking at

some of the wood planks that could now only be used for firewood.

“It has to be somebody you know, Clay, for them to get this close without being noticed.” Cole looked around at the

scattered tools and supplies.
 
But, who?
 
Cole decided it was time for him to meet

the crew.

“If you’re still needin’ a foreman...” Cole hadn’t forgotten he’d been fired.

Clay turned a darker shade of red.  He extended his hand to Cole. “Welcome back, son.”

Cole nodded, shaking the man’s hand firmly.

“We’d best be getting back.   The womenfolk’ll be a wonderin’ where we are and I don’t think Martha or my daughter will take too kindly to my

detaining the guest of honor.”

“Clay, you said the new sheriff is on his way?  Well, there’s no tellin’ how long it’ll take him to get here.  We’ll just have to do what we can in the meantime to

figure out what’s going on.” Raine clapped Cole on his back.

Cole smiled.

“I knew sending for you was the right choice.”   Clay spoke, approval in his voice. He pulled himself up onto his silver mount.

“W hy
 
did
 
you send for me?” Cole

wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to his

question.  “Surely, there are men around here qualified to run your ranch. Abby, even.”

“My daughter is the best I’ve ever

seen.  A real natural.  But I just can’t lose

her too. Seems running a ranch has become a real dangerous thing lately, and I  needed  someone  with  experience, strength, and good instincts.”

“How did you find me?” Cole had done a dozen drives or so between Kansas and Texas, but this was his first job that had taken him all the way into Colorado.

“Levi told me you were the best ranchman he had ever seen, with an eye for detail and a gut for the truth about people.   He said your awareness and manner with horses was unparalleled and would put others to shame.”

“Levi?”  Cole asked aloud.   He and Raine exchanged glances.

Clay looked a little sheepish.

“He said if I could get you to come on as my foreman, Raine wouldn’t be too far

behind.  And between the two of you, he said we would have this mess resolved in

no time.”   Clay looked around at the scattered mess. Looking over his shoulder he added, “He seemed to think it would be good for the both of you as well.”

Raine mounted his paint horse and pulled to Clay’s side.  “How do you know our brother?”

All of the Redbournes were accustomedto getting what they wanted, but Levi wasparticularly keen at using his influenceover others to get his way.

“We met when I was transportinghorses through Cheyenne on the railroad afew years back.  He’s been a good friendever since.”

Cole ran his hand over the lead horse’s

back and pulled himself up onto the

functioning wagon.   “I don’t like being played the fool. You should have let on what you needed from the beginning.”

“Would you have come?”

Clay waited, his arms crossed on his saddle just above the wrists.

Cole didn’t have an answer.  Truth was, the state he was in, the more dangerous it had promised to be, the more likely he would have been to accept it. He didn’t think that would be the wisest thing to tell his new father-in-law just now.

“Did Abby know about this? About me?”

“No, sir.  I didn’t want her involved in any of it.  She did know I’d hired a new foreman, but that’s it.” Clay looked back over the debris on the hillside.  “I’ll send

Caleb back to collect anything else that

may be of value.  Martha is not going to be happy that all of the food stuffs are ruined,” he said and with his heels prodded his horse ahead.

“Well, it looks like our dear brother got his way,” Raine clicked his paint horse forward. Out of kicking distance. “You took the land and the girl.   Looks like you’ll be getting your inheritance after all.”

Cole urged his team of horses up alongside Raine.

“I should have known when he made the

special trip home last month he was up to something.” Cole could feel his irritation seeping into his words.

His family just couldn’t leave well enough alone.   They all had to get involved. He used to love that quality

about them.  Now, that it was directed at him, it just annoyed him.

“I should have known,” Cole repeated under his breath.

Chapter Thirteen

Abby descended the staircase withgrace and poise, two things which werenot usually among her greatest of assets.  Her hair, upswept, only allowed a fewstray tendrils to curl about her neck.

She wore the beautiful garnet comb Mrs. Hutchinson had given her.   She’dthought she’d lost it when she’d fallen inthe mud on the way to the church, but Lilyhad found it and cleaned it up for her.

The deep red coloring of the stone tookon an accentuating shade of purpleundertones that added a striking contrast toher lighter dress.  She was a Redbournebride and was glad she had something that

had belonged to Cole’s family to wear.

The lavender gown her father had purchased was well-fitted, though the neckline lower than was her custom and

she clasped her hands in front of her.  A darker purple shawl accented her dress, draped behind her and resting across her forearms.

With each step she took, another head turned in her direction until a hush fell across the entire room, all eyes on her.  She scanned the area full of well-wishers, looking for her groom.   As the guests parted and Abby saw the handsome face of her husband emerge from the crowd, she dropped her hands to her sides and smiled.

He’s beautiful
 
, she thought. Then, Mrs. Hutchinson’s words came to her mind.

In time, you will grow to love him—theman, not just the idea of him.

Abby wanted to know the man and sherealized at that moment she would have

the rest of her life to discover all there

was to know.

Cole’s movements were slow and

deliberate.  She stopped midway down the steps, her eyes drawn to his slender torso.  She imagined for a moment what it would be like to be really held in his arms.  To be loved by him.   She remembered the strength of him, shirt open and perspiring, and she swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

Cole held out his hand to her and she

glided down the rest of the staircase until her hand was nestled securely inside of his.  As he guided her across the large

room, the guests began clapping and wishing them well.

Clay met them at the door.  “I always knew this day would come, but I would have never guessed it would be so soon.”  Everyone laughed.  “Abby, you won your bet, all right.”

Abby blushed, then darted a horrified look in Cole’s direction.   He hadn’t

seemed to notice.

“I want you to be happy and this young

man has promised me he will take care of

you.  Your mother would be proud to see the young woman you have become.”  Clay’s voice quivered as he spoke.

Her father held Abby by the shoulders and turned her around to face the onlookers.  He placed a small lavender cameo, hanging from a silver chain,

around her bare neck and clasped it into place.  She put her hand over the trinket and looked down at the beautiful carving there.

“I love you, papa.”  She fell into his arms just as she had always done. He squeezed her once and then pulled her away from him, guiding her into the arms of the new man in her life.

“Let the dancing begin!” Clay shouted to the expectant room.  Cheers erupted and Cole took Abby by the hand and tucked it up into the crook of his elbow, leading her through the open door outside to the newly built dancing platform.