Unusual Inheritance (5 page)

Suddenly there was a knock on the door as Jed
entered since it was already open. He removed his hat from his head
and nodded to Stormy. “Afternoon”, he said. “ Just wanted to let
you know that I checked on Benjamin and he is doing fine. He didn’t
have much to say, but that’s Benjamin.”

“Thanks, Jed. I was going to go talk to him
myself, but didn’t want any kind of retaliation being brought on
him. I don’t believe for a minute that he did anything wrong. Sweet
old guy,” she sighed.

Jed walked closer to Stormy and got within
inches of her face. “Stormy, be careful,” he whispered. “I know you
are looking into things because Benjamin shared that much. Ranch
hands can be a rough bunch and most of them don’t like taking
orders from a woman,” he reminded her.

“Oh, is that how you feel?” She blurted out.
“You hate taking orders from me?”

“That is not what I meant, and I think you
know it. Just be careful. You can trust me Stormy,” he said as he
looked straight into her eyes. The feeling she got when she looked
back was epic. Everything on her mind seemed to melt away like
butter and suddenly she desperately did want to trust him.

Jed appeared as if he were about to lean in
toward her, but again, thought better of it. “Okay, well, I must be
getting back to work. See you at supper… Stormy. “His voice
softened as he spoke her name.

The softness was not lost on Stormy. Good
Lord, what was happening, she wondered. No man, especially a man
she wasn’t even sure she could trust, had ever built up such
emotions inside her before.

Supper time brought only Jed to the table.
Jake sent his apologies that he had other business to take care of.
It was wonderful. Just Katy Marie, Jed, and Stormy; like a real
family, Stormy caught herself thinking. One look at Jed and she
knew he would be a great dad. Thoughts like these suddenly caused
Stormy to blush, and that blush wasn’t missed by Jed.

“What are you thinking,” Jed asked.

“I was just admiring how good you are with
Katy Marie.” She answered.

“Well, it’s easy to be nice to this little
one,” he smiled as he tugged on her pig tails. “She is a great deal
of fun, and I might add, a great checker player.” He smiled.

“Yes, let’s play checkers.” Katy Marie
squealed with delight.

“Oh, just one game, then I’ve got to get to
bed. I’ve lots of chores to do around here tomorrow.”
Katy Marie had already run for the checkers and checker board and
was on her way back to the table. The heated checker game took a
mere 20 minutes and it was obvious that Jed let her win. Although
he acted like it was killing him that a little slip of a girl had
beat him, he was having the time of his life. Katy Marie beamed
with pride when she won and then quickly said. “Don’t worry Jed.
I’m sure you will get better at it”. With those words both Jed and
Stormy broke out in a roar of laughter.

“Nite everyone,” Jed said as he grabbed his
hat from the rack.

“Nite, ”Stormy answered and then locked
the door behind him. Stormy tossed and turned all night just
thinking what her next move should be.
Please dear God, don’t let Jed be stealing from the
ranch
, she prayed silently in her mind.

Chapter Ten

Stormy watched the clouds as they formed
heavy smoke colors that mushroomed up into a big mass of darkness.
Looks like a huge storm coming so better get ready for it. It was
mid-October now and although most days were still warm, the nights
were cold. It was hard to believe she had come here only three
short months ago. So much had happened, yet Stormy was happier than
she had ever been before. She had a home and a purpose now. Katie
Marie needed her and that was enough.

A gust of wind brought Stormy into action as
she closed the shutters on all the windows. She was thankful that
Katie Marie had stayed home from school with a tummy ache. At least
she didn’t have to worry about her being at school when the storm
hit.

The rains came down in a torrent as strong
winds blew hard against the ranch house. Carmen was up in Katy
Marie’s room keeping her calm. Stormy was busy making sure there
were plenty of matches and candles to deal with the early darkness
of the rooms. At that moment the back door burst open and Jed
practically flew over the threshold. Quickly he turned and bolted
the door shut. His clothes were dripping with rain and his boots
tracked mud across the kitchen floor.

“Got caught on my way from the old barn to
the stables,” he explained as he took off his hat and shoes as an
after-thought. “Sorry for barging in, but the rain and wind were
beating me up pretty bad,” he grinned at Stormy. “Carmen is going
to kill me when she sees her floor!”

She could not resist Jed or anything he
wanted. “Well we wouldn’t want that. Come on in and wait it out
with us girls.”

He was soaking wet and started to shiver.
“Let me go see if there is anything upstairs that you can put on.”
Stormy left the room as she spoke.

Soon she was back with a blanket and told Jed
to take off the shirt and wrap up in it. “It’s all I could find
since no man has lived in the ranch house for a long time.”

He nodded, took off his shirt and gave it to
Stormy. Her eyes never left his bare chest and she found herself
blushing in the dim light; glad Jed could not clearly see her
flushed face.

Thunder and lightning shook the skies and
rattled everything in the house. It was a bad one. She prayed the
livestock were safe. It was so loud she almost shouted at Jed. “How
long do you think this will last?”

“Don’t know, but at least we aren’t caught
out in this mess.” He yelled back. Stormy was standing close to Jed
so they could hear each other over the roar of the heavy rains
hitting the roof. A loud ear piercing bang sounded as lightning
struck the fence pole at the entrance to the ranch and lightening
filled the sky. Stormy jumped and Jed instinctively reached out and
caught her. He held her tight and comforted her with soothing words
she could barely hear as the entourage of thunder kept clapping
overhead.

She let herself revel in his arms and stayed
there for quite a long time. After a while the thunder and rain
slowed to a nice steady rain; the kind good for crops and a nice
fresh smell. The raging storm in the sky was over but now there was
a raging storm inside her; one that still needed to be
quenched.

“Stormy, there is something I need to tell
you,” Jed started, but Stormy never found out what it was. A loud
knock at the door stopped any confessions Jed had been about to
make. Jed opened the door to find Jake standing there.

Jake was in a hurry. “The corral was struck
by lightning and one side is on fire. We need help now.” His eyes
took in the blanket and bare chest, but said nothing for now.

Jed threw down the blanket and grabbed the
still wet shirt from a chair. Both Stormy and Jed ran from the
house to the corral and worked together to help ranch hands save
the other three sides. Some of the horses had bolted, but when the
storm was completely over they could easily be found.

After Stormy was back at home, she wondered
how Jake knew Jed was with her during the storm. And she also
wondered what the man she had started to trust with her heart was
about to reveal.

The weather had a chill to it, but the fields
smelled fresh after the downpour. It was almost the season to get
the rest of the fall crops brought in as well as making
preparations for the upcoming winter. As soon as the grounds dry
from the rain they should get started. Carmen showed Stormy what
needed to be done from the home front and the ranch hands would
take care of the rest.

It was Saturday and Stormy had insisted Katy
Marie help her hang out the laundry. Even children need to learn
some responsibilities, Stormy reasoned. Although some of the
grounds were a bit muddy, the sun was shining brightly and it would
dry the clothes in no time. They were almost done with the chore
when Stormy felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She had
the strangest feeling she was being watch. If it was Jake following
her again she would soon put a stop to it!

Katie Marie screamed. “Help. Stormy…” But
before Stormy could get around the sheets hanging on the line, she
too was grabbed from behind. She fought and struggled but to no
avail. Soon she was dragged to a horse and thrown over it. She
could see Katy Marie being hoisted up on another. Oh dear God! It
was Indians! They were being taken by Indians. She never thought
she would wish for Jake but right now she would gladly take being
stalked by him. The last thing Stormy saw was Carmen in the top
bedroom window screaming her head off. Carmen would tell Jed and
they would come get them. Yes, Jed and Jake would rescue them.

The ride was fast and furious as five braves
left the ranch with Katy Marie and Stormy. All kinds of things were
going through Stormy’s mind and most of them were too horrible to
dwell on. She had to get Katy Marie free, she just had to.

After a few hours ride the Indian camp came
into view. Immediately she and Katie were taken into a large tepee.
Their hands were now tied behind them and their feet bound as well.
So far Katie Marie was scared speechless and so they had not been
gagged. Stormy gave her a look that cautioned her to remain
quiet.

More hours went by and finally a squaw came
in. She offered them food and untied their hands. Stormy new there
was a guard outside or the woman wouldn’t have untied them. Katie
Marie ate and drank like she was starving to death. Stormy drank
but didn’t have much of an appetite. The squaw said nothing, just
gestured for them to eat.

When the woman left, Stormy spoke. “Katie
Marie, you need to continue to keep quiet as much as possible. I
don’t know what they have planned, or why they took us. Maybe if we
act brave they will respect us and tell us why we are here.”

“Okay, I’ll be good”, Katie Marie sniffed,
wiping away a tear from her eye.

The tepee was larger than Stormy had imagined
it would be and the many furs on the ground made it warm and soft.
Maybe they won’t kill us, she hoped. At least not Katy Marie! Why?
Why did they take them? Stormy crawled to the front of the tepee
and peeked through the flap. She was right, there was one brave on
each side of the doorway and they were armed with spears. There was
nothing to do but wait. Wait and pray.

Back at the ranch Carmen’s blood curdling
scream brought half the ranch hands to the house. “English, Carmen,
speak English,” Jed kept repeating to Carmen. She was so upset she
had reverted to her native tongue and it took a while to calm her
down.

“Injuns…Injuns took my Katie Marie and Miss
Stormy!” she cried out.

“Indians,” Jed repeated. “Why there hasn’t
been Indian trouble in these parts since 1865.” “Which way did they
go?” He continued to grill her.

Carmen pointed in the directions the braves
had taken Stormy and Katie Marie and Jed and half the ranch hands
loaded with guns, ammo, and food road away from the ranch in less
than 30 minutes.

Tracks were not hard to follow after the rain
as most of the ground was still damp. Within hours Jed and the
ranch hands were closing in on the camp. Jed knew that it would be
best for just one of them to go in under the white flag and speak
with the chief. He tied his bandana to a stick and slowly started
toward the camp, knowing the lookouts would either let him through
or kill him on the spot. He was praying for the first option.

Out of nowhere two braves appeared, taking
the reins from his hand. They were in control now and would be
leading him the rest of the way. He was brought to the chief’s
tepee and pulled down from his horse. They guided him inside the
tepee where the chief and a few of his council were sitting around
the fire. Once given permission by the chief, Jed sat down.

The chief spoke broken English so Jed
explained he had come for the woman and the child because they
belonged to him. “Why did great chief take woman and child,” he
asked

“Men from ranch come and take wedding gift
cattle for my daughter, so I take your women. Women…no worth… same,
but…but me must take one for the other.” The chief explains that
it’s a matter of saving face.

“Why does great Chief Running Bear think we
took wedding cattle?” he asked, then added. “I know nothing of
this, and we have lived in peace for years now. I want to still
have peace.”

The chief says men from ranch were recognized
when cattle went missing. A frown passed over Jed’s face as he
realized this might be true.

“Would chief return woman and girl if white
men bring you eight cattle? Only four were taken, but we would
bring you eight. It would be an honor to give you eight and show we
are sorry.”

The chieftain drew a deep breath on his pipe
and consulted with his council. Soon he said. ”We make trade, but
you must bring cattle here first.”

“Agreed, but I must speak to the woman before
I go.” At the nod of the chief a guard showed Jed the way to where
Stormy and Katie Marie were being held.

Jed entered the teepee and Stormy and Katie
Marie both jumped up and threw themselves around him. “Are you
girls alright?” He asked as he looked them over.

“Yes, we are okay. What is going on? Why are
we here? They haven’t told us anything.” Stormy said.

Jed explained about the cattle and that he
had agreed to trade them for eight head.

“You are trading us for eight head of
cattle?” She exclaimed with hands on her hips indignantly.

“Stormy, be quiet! You are lucky I’m getting
to trade for you at all and you aren’t going to end up as the third
wife of some brave!” he said, a little irritated.

“Sorry,” Stormy said. “I’m thankful you are
here. Let’s go.”