A Constant Love (The Hope of Cheyenne #1)

Chapter 1

1

M AY 1888 C HEYENNE , W YOMING

A year after what many people called “the Great Die-Up,” folks were still striving to adjust. Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of cattle and other animals had died. From the plains across the vast prairies to the front range of the Rockies, the blizzards and fierce sub-zero temperatures had claimed many lives. The winter of ’86–87 was now one for the record books—one of those freakish seasons that people would talk about for years to come.

Everyone had a story to tell. Where they were when the blizzards hit. What they did when the chinook wind had come and melted the snow. How they handled the minus fifty–degree temperatures that had sealed the fate of their animals. The memories were still vivid.

For Charlotte Aldrich those memories were particularly painful. She had lost her beloved brother and father that winter. Micah had lost his father as well. Besides Micah, only she and her mother knew that his father had taken his life, however. Charlotte could still remember her mother talking to the sheriff when they came to town with the bodies of their loved ones.

“Wayman Hamilton died along with my men,” she told the sheriff, not completely lying. “Micah’s burying his father at the ranch beside his mother. I told him I’d let you know for the records.” With other human deaths and so many dead animals needing attention, no one questioned the words of Lucille Aldrich. She was widely known for her honesty and reliability. It was the only time Charlotte had ever known her mother to hide the truth.

Mama had said they needed to do this to protect Micah’s good name, and Charlotte was all for that since she hoped it might also be her name one day. Suicide was not looked upon favorably in any area of their lives. The church refused burial in hallowed ground for those who chose to end their days, and people often refused to associate with the families of those who killed themselves. This was a hard burden to carry in the West, where folks needed to be there for each other. An ostracized family was sure to bear the shame and perhaps even retribution that was associated with such things. She supposed that was the real reason her mother was willing to lie for Micah. She didn’t want to see him hurt.

“This is all we can do to help Micah at the moment,” Mama had said to Charlotte late that first night after learning the truth.

Charlotte was so lost in her own guilt and grief that she did whatever Mama told her. She later learned that Micah had set up campfires over the ground where he planned to bury his father in order to thaw the dirt enough to dig the grave. He had sat up all night keeping the fires lit. She imagined the process was slow and arduous, and all the while Micah was so painfully alone.

When they’d come the next day for the burial, mother had suggested he come back to the ranch to stay with them for a while. But Micah refused. He said he needed to be alone to think. He probably figured they needed their own time to consider all that had happened and grieve their loss. Charlotte supposed it was true, but in her mind, the trio needed each other.

Father’s death, as well as Frank Jr.’s, had shaken Charlotte to the core of her being. Her last words to her beloved papa had been harsh and threatening. She could hear them echo over and over in her memories. How could she have been so unfeeling just because he wanted to set her up with a life of ease?

For the first few months after their deaths, Charlotte had suffered nightmares about her father and brother. Mama said it wasn’t at all unusual to have terrible dreams after losing loved ones in such a horrific manner. But Charlotte knew it had more to do with her guilty conscience. She couldn’t bear the truth of the matter. She had sent her father to his death thinking she hated him. How could she ever tell her mother what had passed between them? It would devastate her. So Charlotte bore the truth and guilt alone. She couldn’t even take it to God in prayer.

She and Mama had tried to check on Micah, but so much of the time he was gone that after a while they stopped trying. Charlotte wanted very much to spend time with Micah, but as a sort of penance for how she’d treated her father, she told herself she didn’t deserve to be happy. Weeks turned to months, and by the time Micah had finished helping clear away the dead animals, a year had gone by with only one or two fleeting moments of seeing him.

“We still have to pick up the new chicks after we get what we need in here,” Mama said, going over her list as they stood outside of Armstrongs’ Emporium. Years earlier it had been the Cheyenne Ladies’ Department Store. But after the owner had died—a wicked man named Granite Evans—his daughter sold the store to the Armstrongs and left the area with her husband. The Armstrongs had completely changed the place but still did much to cater to the ladies of Cheyenne.

Charlotte put aside her thoughts from the past and nodded. “And we need to pick up the mail too.”

They didn’t come to town often, but after tending to the livestock’s spring needs and planting the garden, Mama and Charlotte were both ready for a day in town. Supplies were running low, and besides that, Mama wanted to hire a couple of extra hands. It wouldn’t be long before they’d have branding, castrating, and dehorning to be done. Mama said it would be good to give Kit some time to get the men trained in case they didn’t have much experience. Not that Kit seemed all that capable. Many a day, Charlotte had found it necessary to step in and take over some seemingly simple duty and show Kit how something was to be done. Twice they’d sent him to Mr. Johnson, a neighboring rancher, to receive instruction. Apparently, Kit wasn’t as experienced as he had led Papa to believe. Still, he was the only one who had stayed on after Papa and Frank died, and he had been a big help on several occasions.

“We’ll pick up Micah’s mail, too, if he has any,” Mama said, still looking at her list.

Charlotte knew Micah never came to town unless it was absolutely necessary. He had hidden himself away at the ranch doing very little since the death of his father. After helping with the cleanup, he’d asked Charlotte and her mother to run his few cows with theirs. He wasn’t sure he could care for anything living. The exception was Duke, his horse. After that, they rarely heard from him. Recent rumors suggested he was drinking and waiting to die. It made Charlotte realize that they needed to do something. She still cared for him—still hoped for a future with him. She wasn’t about to let him just die.

“Oh, and let’s go ahead and eat while we’re in town. I told Nora we’d probably get lunch here.” Mother glanced up and smiled. “Sound good?”

Charlotte thought that might be nice. “Only if we can avoid Lewis Bradley.”

For over a year, he’d been after her to fulfill her father’s wishes and marry him. She’d thankfully held him at arm’s length, declaring she couldn’t even think about something like that during the first year of their mourning. Lewis finally backed down. But now that a year had come and gone, she knew he would soon be after her to marry him. In fact, she was surprised he hadn’t already started calling on them.

“Lucille, is that you?” a woman called from somewhere behind them.

Mama turned and pushed back her sunbonnet a bit. She smiled at the sight of Sarah Cadot. “How are you, Sarah?” she asked, embracing the woman.

“We’re surviving. Not as well as I’d like, of course.”

Mama nodded and released her hold. “Times have been so hard this last year. I’m just glad to see you’re still here.”

“You were smarter than the rest of us. I remember when you mentioned at the sewing circle that summer in ’86 that you were going to encourage your husband to sell off most of your steers due to the drought. I told Bruce at the time that we ought to do something like that as well. But of course, we didn’t, and now we’re still struggling to deal with the losses.”

“So many ranchers in the area just gave up and left. Some lost everything.” Mama looked at Charlotte and then back to Sarah. “Even with our precautions, we suffered loss.”

“Of course!” The woman looked mortified. “Yours was even worse. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that the loss of a herd could ever equal your loss of husband and son.”

Mama reached out and patted Sarah’s arm. Charlotte could see the horror in Sarah’s expression and felt sorry for the poor woman.

“I didn’t take it to mean that. Please don’t feel bad. I wasn’t at all hurt by what you said. God has been so gracious to me, and I have nothing but grace and encouragement for those around me. We must come together and help one another.”

“It’s just wrong for me to bemoan our loss of animals when you lost your dear husband and son. We very much enjoyed their company and friendship. I know that you must be devastated without them. Are you going to sell the ranch and move to town? Is that why you’re here now?”

Charlotte couldn’t hold back at this. “Goodness, no, we’re just here to shop for supplies and pick up feed and new chicks.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, Charlotte. It would be a further mark against this territory if we were to lose you and your mother.”

“I have no plans to go anywhere,” Lucille replied. “Charlotte loves the ranch. She’s done a good job of taking over.”

“I couldn’t have done it without Mama’s help. She knows the signs and weather like no one else.”

“How did you learn about such things?” Sarah asked.

“I grew up on a farm in Illinois. The land and weather have always been of the utmost importance to me,” Mama replied. “My grandmother used to take me out with her to the garden and into the orchards or to feed the animals. She’d show me clouds and teach me about their purposes. She’d tell me how to watch the animals and how I could get an idea about what was going to happen by how they fed and watered and how their coats changed. People have been paying attention to such things since the time of Jesus on earth. He even mentioned it in Matthew sixteen when He spoke of watching the color of the skies and knowing what the weather would be. I’ve just always been able to watch these things and have a good idea of what is coming.”

Sarah shifted her basket. “I remember quite a few people thought it was going to be a terrible winter back in ’86 when that first November snow piled up, while others scoffed at it.”

“They did indeed, but not me. I knew the cold and snows were going to be bad. That’s why we sold off even more of the herd. Frank shared our concern at the stock growers meeting, but it fell on deaf ears. Well, for the most part. There were some who heeded the warnings and managed to save themselves some of the grief. I just feel so bad for all the ranches that faced ruin. Just tragic.”

Mama looked at Charlotte. “I suppose we’d better get back to our tasks. Sarah, it was so good to see you. I would imagine we’ll be able to make it to church more often now that the weather has warmed. Maybe we’ll see you next week.”

“That would be great.” Sarah raised her basket. “I’m off to find my own list of goods.” She turned and headed back down the street. “See you soon.”

“We’d better get to it, then,” Mama said, moving toward the store’s entrance. “I’m getting hungry.”

“They took a table at Ludwig’s,” the young man told Lewis Bradley.

“Thank you.” Lewis got to his feet and pulled on his coat. “You take care of those files I gave you earlier. I’m going to lunch.”

The man gave a nod. “Yes, sir.”

Lewis had heard earlier in the day that the Aldrich women had been spotted in town and figured that sooner or later they would pause for lunch. He had been thinking of taking a trip out to the ranch to see Charlotte, but this would work out all the better. He could pretend to be stopping in for a meal and just happened upon them. Hopefully, they’d invite him to join them, and then they could all chat and discuss the future.

He made his way up Hill Street ... no, it was Capitol Avenue now since the capitol building resided at the north end. They’d changed it just the year before, and Lewis was still trying to get used to it. A lot was changing in Cheyenne and would continue to do so. This town was slated to rival Denver and Chicago. He felt as eager as the founding fathers to see this happen and praised them for their actions. Now, if they could just get enough voting individuals to persuade Congress to give them statehood. It shouldn’t be all that hard. After all, they’d given women the right to vote back in ’69. Statehood was critical, as it would afford them many benefits including federal representation. As it was, the United States government decided what was to become of the Wyoming Territory. The people of Wyoming had no say. But Lewis knew the people living around him. They wouldn’t allow such things for much longer.

Just as Lewis wasn’t going to let Charlotte Aldrich refuse him any longer. They should have been married last year. Her father had wanted it that way, as did Lewis. They needed this union, just as Wyoming needed statehood. And while Wyoming might have to wait, Lewis wasn’t going to, and so it was with renewed determination he made his way to Charlotte Aldrich.

Ludwig’s was a respectable restaurant where women were encouraged to take a meal on their own. Situated safely between two banks, it offered delicious meals prepared by a French-trained chef who hailed from Savannah, Georgia. Lewis had eaten there on many occasions and was happy to make his way there once again.

He was recognized at the door and greeted quite warmly by the host. When he explained he’d come to join his fiancée and her mother, Lewis had no difficulty in being shown to their table.

“Lewis, what a surprise,” Mrs. Aldrich said, glancing up from her menu.

Charlotte gave him a weak smile. “Lewis.” Her tone suggested annoyance, but he didn’t care.

“Ladies, how wonderful to run into you. I had planned to come visit you soon. It’s been far too long since we last met.”

The host was already pulling the chair out for Lewis to join them. Lewis glanced from Charlotte to her mother. “Might we dine together?”

“Of course,” Mrs. Aldrich said, returning to her menu.

Lewis knew that neither were overly happy to see him, but he counted on their impeccable manners. They wouldn’t refuse him a place at their table.

“You both look well. I’m certainly happy to see you in such good health.”

“Thank you.” Lucille Aldrich put down the menu. “You also appear well, Lewis. How is your aunt and little daughter?”

“Good. Good. Veronica is nearly two.”

“Time flies by quickly.”

“It does indeed,” Lewis said, looking to Charlotte. “And in keeping with that, I was hoping we might be able to discuss our engagement.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Not in a public restaurant. It isn’t done that way.”

“I didn’t mean to offend.” He gave them an apologetic nod. “I simply wanted to set a date when we could discuss the matter. I’ve wanted to honor your mourning period—”

“And we greatly appreciate that, Lewis.” Mrs. Aldrich smiled. “It hasn’t been easy to think of other things in light of our losses.”

“Yes, losing my wife and leaving the baby motherless ... well, it certainly hasn’t been easy. I know that little Victoria would surely be blessed to have you as her mother, Charlotte. My aunt Agnes does her best to care for Victoria, but she’s elderly and not particularly fond of children.” He hoped his tone was sorrow-filled enough to strike the right chord with the Aldrich women.

But before either could reply, the waitress arrived to see if they were ready to order.

“Give us a few more minutes,” Mrs. Aldrich said. “I’m not sure either of us are as hungry as we thought.”

Lewis was surprised by this but said nothing. Obviously the mood he was hoping to set had been dissolved. Still, the matter was critically important, and getting some sort of pledge or agreement was absolutely necessary.

“Your dear departed husband wanted very much for this marriage to take place,” Lewis finally answered. “I want it to happen as well.”

“Lewis, I’ve told you on many occasions that I have no interest in marrying you,” Charlotte said, shaking her head. “I don’t like to discuss such intimate matters in a public setting, but if that is what you desire, then so be it. Your arrangement was with Father, not me.”

“I wasn’t trying to force you to discuss this in public,” Lewis said, trying to calm matters. The last thing he needed was her putting her foot down and refusing to even hear him out. “Might we arrange for a time at the ranch?”

Mrs. Aldrich gave a sigh. “You know it’s a busy time for us, Lewis, and since there really doesn’t seem to be anything that needs to be discussed, I would rather not commit to such a meeting. My husband may have had ideas for what he wanted to happen, but now he’s gone, and Charlotte is of age to make up her own mind about the important aspects of her life.”

To his surprise, Mrs. Aldrich pushed back from the table and rose. “Now, if you’ll forgive us, Charlotte and I will take our leave.”

She gave him no excuse or reasoning for their departure, simply exited the room before Lewis could even think to rise. The audacity of the woman!

He sat there for several minutes wondering what he should do. The waitress returned to the table and asked after the women, but Lewis was in no mood to explain. He got to his feet.

“I’m afraid something has come up.” He fished out some coins and handed them to the woman. “Here. For your trouble.” Although she’d certainly not done anything that merited gratuity, Bradley knew there would be people watching him.

Lewis retrieved his hat and headed outside. Traffic had picked up just in the short time since he’d been in Ludwig’s. When he was finally able to cross the street, he couldn’t see any sign of the Aldrich women anywhere. Not that he would have followed them. There was no sense in stirring up ill feelings. He needed to convince Charlotte to honor her father’s wishes for them to marry. Lewis needed them to marry and to do so quickly. He was nearly out of money.

Willa’s money.

He thought of the petite brunette who had such a timid spirit that she seldom ever offered him any trouble. Why couldn’t all women be as complaisant and easy to live with? He hadn’t loved her any more than he loved Charlotte Aldrich, but she had been companionable and well-trained.

Lewis had been sorry to see her go, but her money remained, and that made things acceptable. The problem was the poor investments he had made before the winter of ’86. Convinced that cattle were a new way to make easy money, Lewis had bought a small ranch hoping to hire someone to manage it for him. Everyone assured him that cattle were the way of the future, and that they would be a never-ending resource if managed well. But no amount of management could predict the weather, and Lewis had lost everything. Other investments had suffered as well, and little by little Lewis had watched his wealth slip away.

Now the money was nearly gone, and he had his image to uphold. No one could know of his troubles. No one. And if Charlotte would simply marry him ... no one would need to.