The Rancher Inherits A Family

James loaded the makeshift steps and, with an agile leap, seated himself and clucked to the horses. “I’ll take you in a roundabout way out of town, Miss Brewster, so you can see a little more of Cowboy Creek.”

“That’s thoughtful, James,” Evelyn told him.

His route first took them east to Lincoln Boulevard, where he turned the team left and headed north past the schoolhouse and an elegant two-story home.

“That’s the Gardner place,” Evelyn said. She narrated the tour as they went as far north as Sixth Street, then turned south onto Eden, the main thoroughfare. She pointed out everything from the grand opera house to the bakery, where the enticing scents of cinnamon and yeast drew sighs from the boys.

Only once they passed Aunt’s Mae’s boardinghouse did Marigold get her bearings. Then, after a few more blocks of seemingly thriving businesses, they headed south, out of town.

“It’s so flat here,” Tate said. “Where are the trees?”

Marigold had thought much the same for days while the train crossed the prairie with little more than short grasses in sight.

Seth reclined against the blankets, his forearm crossed protectively over his side. “You’re right. What you see for miles and miles is little bluestem and buffalo grass. They withstand drought.”

“What’s drought?” Harper asked.

“No rain,” Seth explained.

Marigold studied the terrain from beneath the brim of her bonnet.

“A couple of horticultural societies started up recently, teaching Kansans about forestry,” Seth told them. “It’s possible to grow trees, but it’s not easy. The dogged wind makes the soil all the drier.”

Tate held onto his hat as a strong gust threatened to take it.

“You’ll see a few trees when we get to the ranch.”

His effort to talk to the youngster touched Marigold. She glanced at him, and when his gaze met hers, she quickly looked away. She’d thrust herself into the midst of strangers in a peculiar land, and now she had to make the best of it.

* * *

She hadn’t known what she’d expected, but White Rock Ranch consisted of acres of spring grasses, freshly plowed fields and pastures with grazing horses. Barns, corrals and a dormered two-story house with covered porches along two sides came into view. A row of eight-foot elms stood to the west of the house.

“That’s a big house,” she said to no one in particular.

“It came with the ranch,” Seth told her. “There’s a soddy out behind where the previous owners lived until they built this one. My brother told us about the land as soon as the rancher came to him for help selling.”

“Did you plant those trees?” Tate asked.

Seth sat forward and inhaled sharply. “I did.”

James lowered the tailgate and jumped into the back of the wagon to assist Seth. He and Mrs. Halloway helped him down to the ground.

“Until we get more beds, I’ve given the boys your room with the bigger bed,” his mother told Seth. “Miss Brewster will have the far bedroom, and you’ll be sleeping in the room off the kitchen for now.”

“Sounds busy.”

She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “It’s convenient.”

“I’d prefer a bed out here.” He made his way up the porch stairs to a rocker and sat.

“I’ll arrange it.” Evelyn reached the door and gave Marigold a resigned smile. “He’s made up his mind. I’d be wasting my breath to argue.”

“I’ll help you with the beds and the cooking.”

“There’s plenty of room,” she assured Marigold, “but the rooms aren’t all furnished yet.”

James carried in Marigold’s and the boys’ bags and left them as directed. Marigold carried Peony’s carrier into the room she’d been assigned. She sat on the narrow bed, lifted the cat out onto her lap and squeezed her eyes shut. Only a year ago she was living in the comfortable home her parents had left to her and her sister, teaching in a well-appointed school, helping care for the niece she adored. Memories of her sister, Daisy, and her niece, Violet, assailed her. They’d been on their own because Daisy’s husband had contracted gold fever and disappeared for months at a time, but they’d had each other. With both of them working, they’d been able to support themselves and care for Violet. Life would never be like that again. She might as well resign herself to the unfortunate fact.

She could have stayed in her family’s home. She would have managed. But every room, every corner, every furnishing had held bittersweet memories. The reminder of her loss was too great to bear. She’d cared for her parents until their deaths, and because Daisy had never had a home of her own, Marigold had been thankful for her company and happy to help care for Violet. After Daisy’s death, she and her niece had clung to each other—until Violet’s father had come for her.

Marigold had no legal right to her sister’s child. Violet had cried, and Marigold had encouraged her to be brave when all she’d wanted to do was cry herself. Later, she’d done plenty of that in the hollow house in which she’d been left alone.

It had been time to leave. Start over. Make her own decisions. The teaching position in Cowboy Creek had sounded like a grand adventure.

She glanced around. The room was clean, the quilt-covered bed comfortable enough, the pine chest of drawers and washstand adequate. She would meet new students and be up to the challenge of teaching them. Teaching brought her joy.

She had much to look forward to.

* * *

“Ain’t neither caterpillars.”

“Are so.”

“No, they ain’t. Caterpillars ain’t brown.”

“Some are. Go on, touch ’em.”

Seth listened to the loud whispers, wondering what the boys were talking about. He’d been dozing on the narrow daybed his mother had instructed James to set up on the porch. She and Miss Brewster had made it up with crisp fresh-smelling sheets and a thick quilt, and he’d succumbed to Dr. Mason’s herbal concoction and the rigor of the ride home.

His lip tickled, and he swatted at it. The tickle under his nose came again, and this time when he swatted, he came away with a skinny arm. He opened his eyes to find he’d captured Harper Radner. The boy’s wide dark eyes stared back, but his fascinated gaze was fixed on Seth’s upper lip—specifically his mustache.

“What are you boys up to?”

“Harper said you got caterpillars on your lip. I said nuh-uh.”

Seth grinned. “Well, you’re right smart, Harper. What fella would want caterpillars on his lip? What if they fell into his supper?”

The five-year-old scrunched his face into a mask of distaste. “Ewwww!”

From the other side of the porch Tate guffawed.

Seth released the boy’s arm. Harper backed up, spotted an empty bucket, which he turned over for a stool, and sat a few feet away from Seth’s bed. “I’m gonna sit here and watch for a while.”

“I have a chore for the both of you. There’s a shed out behind the house. Go back there, leave the door open for light and find me a couple of lanterns. I’ll want them when it gets dark.”

“To see your way to the privy?” Harper asked.