Unusual Inheritance (4 page)

“What do you want?” She asked.

Irritated Jed responded. “Can't you see that
I'm soaking wet? Rain is pouring down outside. My bed under the
wagon got flooded away. I'll have to bunk in here with you
tonight.”

“Bu..bunk with me?” Her voice squeaked in a
high pitch.

“Yes, with you.” Jed stated firmly. “Go back
to sleep. I'll wrap this blanket around my wet clothes before I lay
down, so my arms will be inside at all times.”

She could tell from his tone he was
squelching a laugh. Stormy and Jed stayed huddled in the wagon all
night but neither could sleep. In these close quarters it was all
she could do to not think about unwrapping Jed from his
blanket.

Stormy felt uneasy and shy, yet content and
safe all at the same time. She must be losing her senses, she
thought. Sometime before daybreak Jed fell asleep and stormy just
lay there trying to see his face in the dark. She reached out to
touch the shadowed outline of his jaw without thinking. Jed
stirred, opened his eyes and spoke.

“Is everything alright?”

Stormy stuttered a bit. “Yes…yes, ah, I'm
sorry. I must have touched you by accident.”

Jed rubbed his hands over his face where she
had touched him. “Oh, I see, well...Stormy.”

It was the second time Jed had called her by
her name and it sent a tingling feeling up and down her spine.
Morning arrived and after a quick breakfast of bread and bacon they
were on their way to Cedar Falls.

The first name basis continued as they
started their second day of the journey and by supper the
travelling together had become easy and comfortable. Jed was easy
to talk to and always made sure to include her in the
conversations.

They arrived at Cedar Wells around 4:00 the
third day. With no further storm delays they made good time each
day. By 4:10 the wagon pulled up in front of Stormy's one room
shack. Jed tried to hide his emotions but she could tell he was
shocked to see where she had been living. As soon as they entered
Stormy gathered her belongings and packed them into the empty
bag.

“Anything that doesn't fit in the bag we can
load in the wagon,” Jed said. “As long as there is still room for
you to sleep at night,” He added.

“Don't worry. I don't have that much.” Other
than a few clothes the only things she really wanted to take were a
few items that belonged to her ma and pa. She had to have something
to remember them by.

“We can sleep here tonight and start back in
the morning, but today I need to make the rounds, say goodbye to
Emily, and let my laundry customers know I won't be coming
back.”

It was now morning, the wagon was loaded, and
Stormy and Jed headed back out of Cedar Wells toward Possum
Junction. Stormy took one look back and was surprised that leaving
the place she had lived for years didn't bother her at all. In her
heart she knew that the Double LL was her home now and Katy Marie
and Carmen were her family. She smiled at the thought of having
someone to go home to. For the first time in a long time she was
truly happy.

Jed gathered wood for the fire as he watched
Stormy preparing food to cook. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She was quite a woman indeed; he smiled as he thought of how
uninhibited she was at times. Heck, even he blushed when thinking
of her in her underpants. He smiled again when he realized how
important she had become to him. He suddenly felt the need to
protect her, and protect her he would. He wouldn’t worry her with
the details of his suspicions just yet, and he certainly wouldn’t
let her know who he really worked for. Better to keep her in the
dark for now. And speaking of dark, it was almost upon them and the
fire wasn’t even going yet.

The campfire brought warmth to the cool night
air as both she and Jed sat on the old log next to it. It was the
first part of Autumn now and temperature was still hot by day, but
cool at night.

Jed broke the silence of their reverie.
“Guess it’s time for bed. If we get an early start we should be
home by early afternoon.”

Both Stormy and Jed rose at the same time,
throwing them into each other’s arms to keep from falling. Jed
pulled her slightly forward; then thought better of it. All he
wanted to do was kiss her, but until he could be honest with her he
would not touch her.

Stormy closed her eyes and steadied herself
for her very first kiss from a man. When it didn’t happen, her
heart fell to her feet. Jed had gone to his bedroll without looking
back. She wondered for hours that night what she had done wrong.
Why didn’t Jed kiss her?

The double LL was the best sight in the world
as the wagon pulled into its view. Katy Marie, outside playing,
jumped up and down with glee. She immediately ran into the house to
get Carmen. Stormy was surprised at how happy she was to be back
and how much she had missed Katy Marie. In a very short time she
had come to love the child with all her heart.

Carmen fussed over them and helped to
retrieve Stormy’s belongings. Jed, who hadn’t said much to her
since he’d held her in his arms, quickly said goodbye and headed
toward the bunk house.

“I’m so glad you are here,” Katy Marie
squealed as she practically hugged Stormy to death.

“I’m very glad to be here,” she replied to
Katy Marie. “I missed you,” she added. Carmen bustled through the
room singing as she went. “Supper will be done in a couple of
hours, missy, so why don’t you go upstairs and rest.”

“I think I will,” Stormy answered. She knew
nothing more until the next morning. Stormy had slept straight
through supper. Guess all those days sleeping in a wagon had caught
up with her.

The days became routine again; a routine that
Stormy loved. Jed and Jake still came to supper every night but Jed
never made any attempt to be close to her again. It hurt but she
didn’t let on. He really seemed to love Katy Marie though. Jake was
just Jake. He was always friendly, yet phony as could be. At least
that’s how Stormy felt. She also noticed there seemed to be some
tension between Jake and Jed lately. They barely spoke to each
other, and those looks they gave each other were very suspect
indeed.

It was time to get to the bottom of things.
One, or both of these men had something to hide and she was going
to find out what it was. The ranch was now her responsibility and
she wasn’t about to let anything go down on her watch. It was time
for some real snooping. First thing tomorrow she would begin her
investigation, starting with another good look at the books, and
then on to checking the inventory on supplies and how things were
stored around the ranch. She had not noticed the men riding out to
the north pasture lately so maybe she was wrong about something
going on there.

The morning light peeked through the curtains
and landed on Stormy’s face. She felt so snug and comfy in her bed
but threw her legs over the side anyway to get ready for the day.
Besides her regular chores it was time to look into what’s going on
at the ranch and that was something she took very seriously.

“Morning Carmen”, Stormy said.

“Ah, good morning, did you sleep well?”
Carmen spoke as she kept on kneading her biscuit dough.

“Yes, thanks…I did. Can you get Katy Marie
off to school for me today? I have some things I need to attend
to.” Stormy asked. “Of course I can. No problem.” Carmen
replied.

After breakfast Stormy pulled out the books
for the ranch and sat down to look them over again. She had done
this before, but surely must be missing something. They seemed
okay, but the ranch didn’t seem to be making the money it had a
year ago. Maybe she didn’t look back far enough. Stormy went back
many months prior to when Aunt Lucy had died and did a comparison
of inventory, supply cost, and sales. As the comparison progressed
over the months, she could see a sharp decline in the ranch
finances. The problem seemed to stem from loss of cattle, to an
unbelievable increase in supplies for the ranch. Before mentioning
this to Jake she would delve a little further into it. If they have
fewer cattle, then where are they? If less cattle, why are more
supplies for ranch needed? Lots of questions that need answering,
she thought. Now it was time to check out where items listed on the
books really are.

Stormy dressed in work pants so she could
really give the ranch a good going over. With gloves in her back
pocket she set off to the barn to start her investigation.

Benjamin, the old stable hand, looked up from
mucking the stalls as Stormy entered the barn. “Howdy, Miss
Calder,” he said, coming closer. “Something I can do fer ya?” He
asked, then spit his slippery elm chaw on the ground.

“Good morning Benjamin,” Stormy smiled as she
answered. He looked to be about 70 years old, wiry, yet still
strong enough to get the barn cleaned and animals fed. “I have a
few questions for you if you have the time,” she added.

“Shore do, Ma’am,” he answered. “Is something
wrong?” He spat on the ground again.

“No, Benjamin, I just want to learn more
about how things are done here on the ranch. What can you tell me
about where the supplies are kept, and who keeps up with what needs
to be ordered before the receipt is passed on to me. You know, how
we inventory things,” she added.

“Well.” Benjamin rubbed his beard covered
chin in thought. “Jake pretty much runs everything round these
parts and we don’t argue with him bout it, fer sure.” He nervously
shifted from one foot to another.

Stormy replied. “Where are the supplies and
other items the ranch stores kept?”

“Well, most supplies for horses are kept in
the tack room and supplies, like grain, are kept in the building
behind the barn here. Things like fencing, branding tools and such
are kept in the extra smaller barn to the south of the ranch house.
It used to be the main barn until this one was built about 8 years
ago”

Just as Benjamin was about to say more, Jake
strode in. “What’s going on? There a problem, Ben?” He asked.

“No sir, Mr. Jake, no problem,” Benjamin
quickly responded.

“I was just asking about some of the supplies
and where they are kept,” Stormy chimed in. “Benjamin was just
telling me where it is all kept.”

“Get back to work Benjamin,” Jake said
gruffly. “I’ll handle this.”

Benjamin quickly turned and started mucking
out the stalls again. Stormy could tell that he was angry and it
frankly turned her stomach. Stormy said to Jake. “Benjamin is doing
a good job, so don’t think he isn’t. As the manager and owner of
the ranch he showed me respect by answering my questions as best he
could.” She looked right into Jake’s eyes with a resolve that was
meant to let him know that Benjamin better not get into any
trouble.

“Well, you know if you have any questions you
can ask me,” he added. “Are you looking for anything specific that
I can help you with?” He asked.

“No, just looking around to see how the ranch
is run. I’m sure you are doing a fantastic job,” she added, trying
to disguise the fact she was investigating him and the way the
ranch had been run.

Just then Rusty and Slim entered the barn,
seemingly anxious to find Jake. They almost spat out their latest
issues but soon noticed they were not alone. As quickly as the
noisy men entered, the barn became silent as they saw Stormy was
standing there. Stormy noticed that Benjamin seemed to be invisible
to them, which means he probably hears a lot. She would have to get
him alone and talk to him some more. For now, she would check out
the storage places and get back to the house to work on her regular
chores.

Stormy took one look back toward the barn as
she headed to the house. She saw Jake talking to Benjamin and he
shoved him backward. Benjamin turned and went back to work. This is
something she would certainly bring up at supper time tonight for
sure!

Chapter Nine

Dinner tonight was one the best as far as
Stormy was concerned. Carmen had really outdone herself. Garlic
mashed potatoes, smothered steak, and beans. She pushed herself
away from the table and spoke.

“Katie Marie, if you are done you may be
excused. I have some business to discuss with Jake”.

“May I take my pie upstairs with me?” Katy
asked as she said goodbye to Jed and Jake.

“Of course you can,” Stormy smiled and kissed
Katy Marie.

Stormy looked straight at Jake and asked.
“What was going on with Benjamin this afternoon? It appears from
where I was standing you shoved him.” Jed, sitting across from her,
quickly turned to Jake.

Jake’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Well
you are right. I did shove the old coot but he was being
disrespectful and I won’t tolerate that.” Jake stood to his full
height, nearly 6 foot 2 inches. It was obvious his feathers were
ruffled.

Stormy suspicioned that Benjamin didn’t have
a disrespectful bone in his body, but let it drop for now.

Jed spoke up as Jake was reaching for his
hat. “Benjamin is just an old man. You shouldn’t have shoved
him”.

Jake turned angry eyes toward Jed. “You
weren’t there so I suggest you mind your own business and let me do
my job!”

Stormy could see this was getting out of
hand. “Okay, that’s enough. Let’s drop this for now, but if
anything like this happens again we will discuss it further.” With
that said Stormy scooted up to the table and put a spoonful of
apple pie in her mouth. Jake sat back down and the men followed
suit.

The next morning Stormy’s search through the
supplies showed a few minor discrepancies but not much. However
there were purchases made that were on the books that she had not
been able to locate. Plus there was still the issue of the missing
cattle. Could there be rustlers? She knew one thing for sure, she
must investigate on her own until she knew more. If Jed, Jake, or
anyone else was conducting any kind of shady business they would be
gone in a heartbeat. Aunt Lucy’s legacy to her must remain
intact.