Unusual Inheritance (3 page)

The lines for hanging wash were out back of
the house and had a good view of the acreage to the North and
Northeast. Halfway through their chore Stormy saw five horsemen
riding out toward the North pastures; and again, just like the men
she saw before, they were in a huge hurry.

“Carmen, do you know where those ranch hands
are going? I thought the men were working out in the South pasture
today gathering up some prime cattle for the restaurant in
town.”

“No senorita, I don't. But they go every week
it seems, and they are gone for about half the day.”

“I guess I’ll just ask Jake,” Stormy replied.
But the more she thought about it the more she thought a surprise
visit might be in order. She handed the wash basket to Carmen and
said. “I think I’ll just go see for myself. See you tonight. Please
watch Katy Marie for me until I get back.”

“Yes Senorita, no problem.”

The gray mare had become her favorite to ride
and she saddled it with speed before the men could get too far
ahead of her. They had disappeared from sight by the time she got
to the last place she had seen them, but followed on in the same
direction. After an hour she saw the smoke through the trees. Not a
lot, but enough to let her know where they were.

Stormy eased in slowly to see what they were
doing. As she got closer she could see that the men were branding
some young cattle. As she approached, a man looked up and his
expression was frightening. He said something quickly to the men
and met her head on. Even with him on foot and her on a horseback
the man seemed a force to be reckoned with. Stormy recognized the
ranch hand as Nate Spartan, one of Jake Renner’s men.

Nate Spartan walked to where Stormy sat upon
her mare. “What are you doing way out here, Miss Calder?”

“I wanted to see what you and the men were
doing,” she replied honestly.

“Well as you can see we are just branding
some of the cattle.” His voice cracked as he attempted to control
his irritation.

“I thought our cattle were out in the south
pasture right now. Where did these come from?” she asked.

“Strays”, he replied.

“So you have strays, right here in this very
spot, every week?” Stormy asked, looking him straight in the
eye.

Nate looked straight back. “Yep, every week
some of these young ones wander out here and we have to round them
up. You obviously haven't ever worked on a ranch, have you?” He
asked, trying to insinuate she didn't know how things worked.

Stormy, seeing his clenched fist decided not
to press the issue anymore. She took a look around and spoke to a
few of the men, but to no avail. None of the men offered much in
the way of conversation. Before leaving she watched as the men
branded a couple of calves just to let them know they weren’t
running Stormy Calder off. Something just didn't look right but she
wasn't sure what it was. As she looked at the branding iron and
heard the sizzle it made again the animals hide, it made her
cringe.

Quickly Stormy started the ride back to the
ranch but soon slowed the mare’s gate as the wind blew her dress up
and over her head on more than one occasion. The wind had been at
her back on the way out and she had left the ranch so fast there
was no time to don a pair of pants.

“To blazes with
this,”
she voiced out loud; then proceeded to tie her
skirt up around her waist. There she was, riding with only her
underpants between her and the saddle. The howling winds and hooves
of the gray mare covered the sound of another horse fast
approaching from behind. Stormy looked to her right and Jed
suddenly appeared. That lop sided grin of his spread from ear to
ear.

She reined the gray mare to a stop. “Do you
always have to appear when I'm indisposed?” She yelled at him.

“Well gosh darn it, it ain't my fault you are
always parading around me in your underpants!” He yelled back.

Hastily she untied her dress and let it fall.
“Where did you come from? Were you back there with those ranch
hands? I didn't see you.”

“No, I was just coming back from checking the
north fence line. Why?”

“It seems that some of the guys are branding
cattle way out here,” she replied.

“Out here! Why they should....well, I mean
they probably have a good reason for it. I'm on my way back to the
ranch so I'll just ride along if that's okay. We'll go slowly so
you won't be tempted to show me your underpants again,” he teased
her.

At first Stormy was mad but when she realized
Jed was just having a little fun at her expense, she surprised
herself and him by laughing as well.

The rest of the ride back was very pleasant
and Jed Rivers wasn't all that bad to hang out with, she surmised.
She just wondered if she could trust him. There was something he
and Jake were hiding. She just wondered if they were connected.

Whatever was going on at the ranch would have
to wait. It was time to go back to Cedar Wells and pack up her
other belongings, such as they were. She also needed to tell her
laundry customers she wouldn’t be back. In the short time she had
been at the Double LL it already felt like home. After this last
trip, Cedar Wells would be nothing more than a memory.

The stairs gave their familiar creek as
Stormy headed down to supper. Jake, Jed, and Katy Marie were
already at the table waiting for her.

Both men stood at her entrance. “I'm sorry to
keep you all waiting on me” she said.

Jake smiled sweetly, pulled out her chair and
replied. “No problem, we just got here ourselves.”

Carmen brought in another great meal, just as
she always did. Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, and of course
good old country biscuits and gravy.

Katy Marie was extra excited this evening it
seemed and was chattering away as the foods were passed around the
table. Today had been the first day of school and already the
teacher was planning a play for the children. She was going to have
a lead role later in the fall and wanted Stormy to help her
practice her part.

"You Bet I will" Stormy chimed in. “What part
are you playing?”

“I'm going to be an angel who helps lost
children find their way back home after they get lost in the woods.
It's a very special part and the teacher said I'd be just perfect
for it.” She smiled excitedly.

“Well, I know you're my little angel,” Jed
tweaked Katy Marie's nose gently. She giggled and went back to
eating.

Stormy could not help but be drawn to the
gentleness that seemed to be in Jed, but she still had to keep her
guard up. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jake.

“What are the books looking like for the
month? You got any questions for me?” He asked. “I don't mind
helping,” he said again.

“The books look pretty good,” she answered.
“It seems we made a good profit on the few cattle we sold to our
neighbor, but the cost of supplies seemed a little high for our
size herd and ranch hands we have. Do you know anything about
that?” She asked.

“Oh, Stormy, I just remembered, I promised
one of the guys in the bunk house I'd play in their poker game
tonight. We can go over the books tomorrow or the next day?” He
rose, put on his hat, and said a quick goodnight.

“Well, he sure left in a hurry,” Jed
said.

“It seemed like he couldn't get out of here
fast enough,” Stormy replied.

Sounds of the wagon stopping out front made
Stormy quickly finish her packing. She rushed downstairs and was
surprised to see Jed Rivers was there as well. He approached Stormy
and indicated she hand him her bags, which she did. She followed
him to the wagon and saw his gear stowed in the back as well. It
appears he thinks he is going with her on the trip.

“What are your things doing in the wagon?”
Stormy asked.

“Jake says no woman should be traveling alone
so he told me to go with you.”

“Well, Jake Renner is not the boss of me and
I can make the trip by myself. I made it here by myself, didn’t I?”
Stormy asked, hands on her hips.

Jed walked over and stood mere inches from
her creamy skin and full pink lips. “If you recall Ma’am, you met
up with some kind of “peeper” on your way here,” he couldn’t help
but chuckle. “Can’t be too safe, you know.”

She couldn’t help but laugh and decided to
give in. Company might be kind of nice, especially when they looked
like Jed Rivers! “Well you can go on one condition,” Stormy pointed
her finger at Jed. “If we are going to spend almost a week together
you’d better start calling me Stormy.”

“Alright…Stormy…Say your goodbyes and we will
be on our way. Need to make as much distance as we can before
nightfall.”

Stormy said goodbye to Katy Marie and
promised her she would be back as soon as possible and told her to
be a good girl for Carmen.

The air was crisp and the morning sun felt
good upon her skin, but she knew the weather in Kansas would be
changing soon and they had to get a move on for this trip. It would
take three days to get there, at least one day to gather up her
belongings, and three days back. So she would be away from the
ranch almost an entire week. This worried Stormy because of Jake.
She wasn’t certain he was doing something wrong but was starting to
get very suspicious of him. The fact he kept ignoring her attempts
to go over the books was one reason. Of course she could question
Jed, but maybe he was in on it with Jake. She didn’t know if she
could trust any of the men at this point.

Stormy was sitting in silence, thinking, as
the rocking wagon relaxed her. They had used the chuck wagon
because it was covered and Stormy could sleep in it at night and
Jed could sleep on the ground. They had plenty of food and the
chuck wagon was equipped with barrels to hold water, utensils, and
anything else they would need. It was really quite a nice set up.
In some ways better than what she had been used to at home.

That is, her old home. She had only been at
the Double LL ranch a short time now but already she loved it. And
Katy Marie had a special place in her heart as well as Carmen. She
found she liked running a big ranch. The daily hustle and bustle
kept ranch life exciting, whether it was ordering supplies for the
bunkhouse or helping Carmen cook in the kitchen. For the first time
in a long time she wasn't alone anymore.

The wagon hit a hole and jarred Stormy back
to her senses. She could see Jed trying not to grin out of the side
of his mouth.

“Do you have to hit every bump in the road?”
she asked, irritated that he found this amusing.

Jed answered back. “Well you seemed to be
awfully far away in that little mind of yours and I was getting a
little lonely for conversation. So, I thought I'd wake you up”

“What do you want to talk about,” Stormy
asked?

“Well I don't know, just things, like
...where are we going exactly once we hit town, and how far is your
house from town. Or is it in town?” He asked.

Stormy turned her heard toward Jed. “I was
living in a small one room house right on the edge of town because
I took in laundry for people in Cedar Wells,” she admitted. “It was
close for people to drop off and pick up their clothes.”

Jed looked a little surprised. “You took in
laundry for money?” He stared back in shock.

“Yes for money. I had to eat you know,” she
said, embarrassed and defensive at the same time.

His face softened a moment as he realized
that Stormy had not had an easy life and he decided to change the
subject. She was so beautiful! Even carrying on a conversation with
her was hard at times because all he wanted to do was touch her,
not talk. “Do you have any friends there that we need to stop by
and see while we are in town?”

“No not really. Maybe I’ll visit Emily at the
general store. We could stop by there. I really don't have a lot of
friends since Ma and Pa died. People just quit coming around unless
they wanted me to do their laundry.”

A feeling of sadness overwhelmed Jed along
with a feeling that he wanted nothing more than to take care of
Stormy Calder. “Well then it’s settled. After we gather up your
things we will stop and see this Emily.”

The day was long and Stormy was getting
tired. Even though riding in the wagon was more comfortable than
ridding old wobbles for three days, her backside was still sore
from rattling around on the wooden seat all day.

Stormy broke the silence that had been
between them for a while. “How long will it be before we can
stop?”

“Well it is getting rather late and by the
time we build a fire and get some food in our bellies it will be
nightfall. Let's look for a clearing up here somewhere and pull
over for the night.”

Stormy sighed, “Thanks Goodness. I don't
think I could stay in this wagon much longer.”

Jed laughed out loud and Stormy looked at his
face and just smiled. “Come on now, you know you are tired of
riding in the wagon too.”

Jed smiled back and said. “You know, you are
right. I'm more used to straddling a horse than riding in a wagon
and I'm ready to get out too. We will pull over up here.”

Stormy and Jed located the perfect spot and
set about getting their camp ready for the night. There were plenty
of things to work with because of the chuck wagon. So getting a
fire ready and food going wasn't going to be hard at all.

Jed looked for wood while Stormy got
ingredients out to make bacon and beans. She had brought along a
loaf of bread as well and bacon, beans, and bread sounded pretty
good right now. Of course it could not compare to the meals Carmen
fixed but she needed to cut back anyway. She was probably going to
gain weight living at the Double LL ranch, she smiled to
herself.

Night fell and Stormy lay in the wagon,
trying to shut down her mind and fall asleep. She must have finally
dosed off but was awakened by someone entering the wagon. Startled
she sat up but was quickly reassured by Jed that it was just
him.