A Constant Love (The Hope of Cheyenne #1)

Chapter 6

6

Micah finished scything the weeds that had grown up around the house and flower beds. He had gone somewhat grudgingly into his own reformation, but now that it was well on its way, Micah found he had a much-improved state of mind.

He glanced at his pocket watch and saw that he had just enough time to get cleaned up and make his way over to the Aldrich ranch. He’d promised Mrs. Aldrich that he would join them for supper, and frankly he was sort of looking forward to it, even though he knew she’d want to talk about the ranch. She and Charlotte would both be pleased to see the improvement in his appearance and disposition. At least he thought there was improvement.

Making his way to the barn, Micah couldn’t help but turn his thoughts to Dad. This was the last place they had talked. The last place where Dad had rested before Micah buried him. The place held bittersweet attraction. Many a talk had taken place here in the barn, long before everything went wrong. Micah could remember grooming his horse, and his father stopping in to discuss something related to the ranch. They had plotted and planned on building projects and changes to the ranch in the barn. They had worked together to mend tack and clean equipment. So much had taken place there.

He put the scythe away and paused for a moment to listen. He almost expected Dad to say something—to call to him. When it didn’t come, the pain returned to remind Micah that Dad was forever gone. The last year and four months had been the loneliest Micah had ever known. Part of that, as Charlotte had told him, was his own fault. He could have shared his loss with Charlotte and her mother. They could have borne their misery together, but Micah had been too ashamed. Their men had died trying to save their herd. His father had died because ...

“Why? Why did you do it?” Micah asked the empty barn as if answers could be had.

That was the hardest part of the entire situation. He didn’t know why his father had decided to die. They’d endured so many hard things over the years. Family members had been lost. There were two younger siblings who had died from illness before they’d left Texas. Micah barely remembered them. He had only been a few years old when the baby died in his sleep and then a little older when his brother Dale had died after the two of them had taken measles. Mother had grieved the hardest, but Micah had felt her sorrow deeply as she clung to him, her only remaining child. There were no others to come after that, although Micah later learned she had miscarried twice.

Then Mother had died. That grief was devastating and consuming for a very long time. He knew that loss still. Micah and his father had wandered around the house hardly knowing what to do with themselves. And now with both Dad and Mother gone, it was as though a part of Micah’s life had ended as well. Maybe that’s why he’d been content to hide away and hope for death.

He wiped his brow. The temperatures were climbing high again, and he was sweat soaked. He washed up and changed his shirt, then went to saddle Duke. The horse seemed happy to see him and for them to ride. He knew over the last year he’d neglected the poor beast.

“How are you, boy?” Micah asked, rubbing the horse’s face. Duke was all that was left to him. Duke and endless empty acres of land and a ranch house that wasn’t a home anymore.

Micah thought about selling out. He’d thought about it a lot. Dad had always lived debt free, which was probably all that had saved Micah after that terrible winter. There had been money in the bank, and by utilizing what they’d already laid in store for the winter, Micah had found it easy to forgo trips to town until summer. He remembered the first time he’d gone to Cheyenne after the Aldrich men’s funeral. It had been about a year ago. People who knew him had been so kind—offering all sorts of condolences, along with excuses for why they’d not come visiting.

He had been thankful that the cleanup of dead livestock and reconsideration of future plans had kept most folks too busy to worry about his being alone. The pastor had come out to the ranch a couple of times, but Micah had pretended not to be there. The second time, the pastor had left a short note of encouragement. Micah still had the note pressed in his Bible. After that, the pastor had been too busy with other poor souls to make another visit.

Before he knew it, Micah arrived at the Aldrich place. His thoughts had kept him occupied for the ride over, and still he had no solution as to what he should do regarding the ranch or his life. If Mrs. Aldrich expected answers, she would be disappointed.

Mack and Lucky came out to greet him, barking and running back and forth in front of Micah’s horse. He smiled and thought about getting himself a dog. Maybe that would offer him a little company and help him ease back into being more social.

Micah climbed down and greeted each of the dogs with a scratch behind the ears. “Hello, you two. That was quite the welcome.” He loved on them for another couple of minutes, then secured Duke in an area of shade. The dogs danced around him as Micah made his way to the house. Charlotte greeted him at the door. Smiles and welcome for him, reprimands for the dogs.

“Go on, Mack, Lucky. Go lay down.” She looked back to Micah as the dogs moved away. “Good to see you again, Micah.” There was a gentle beauty about her that Micah had always been drawn to.

“Come on inside out of the sun. It’s at least a little cooler in the house.” She stepped aside and motioned to him.

“Must be ninety degrees out here,” he said, glancing upward. There wasn’t a single sign of rain or weather change in the cloudless skies. He pulled his hat off and followed her into the house.

“Mama made some lemonade and used the last of the ice. We’re hoping to make a trip to town for more in a few days.” Charlotte took his hat and placed it on a table by the door.

“We’re sitting in the front room with all the windows open. The flies are terrible, but we’ve each got a swatter and a fan.” She grinned. “I can give you one too.”

Micah smiled. She really was the only cheer in his life. Since she was a little girl, Micah had found Charlotte to be a joy. Frank Jr. said that his little sister could wrangle a smile out of their father on his worst day.

“Look, Mama, it’s Micah. I told you I heard someone ride up.”

“Micah, I’m glad you could come join us for supper. Nora’s using the outdoor kitchen. She’s worked on her famous beef stew all day, and also made a chocolate cake.”

“I don’t know when I last had chocolate cake,” Micah said, taking a seat. Charlotte immediately poured him a glass of lemonade.

He drank down about half of the glass in one swig. Charlotte refilled it before she put the pitcher on the table.

“How’s it going at your place?” Mrs. Aldrich asked.

Thinking about that for a moment, Micah took another long drink. The ladies waited for his answer as if they had all the time in the world.

“Well, I’ve tidied up a bit. On the outside. The inside wasn’t as much of a problem. Outside, I’d let things go untended, and now I’m fighting it back into order. Had two rattlers to kill. They were keeping cool in the deep grass.”

“Did you eat the meat?” Mrs. Aldrich smiled. “I remember your father liked rattlesnake meat.”

“He did, but I certainly didn’t,” Micah replied.

“I never liked it either.” Mrs. Aldrich laughed and shook her head. “I’ll be glad when the sun goes down. Winter was tough enough and definitely cold. Now we’re roasting and wishing it would cool down again. Frankly, I prefer cooler weather to hotter.”

“I do too,” Charlotte said touching her glass to her cheek. “I gave long thought to doing my chores in my bathing costume.”

Micah almost spit out his lemonade at this. Charlotte laughed at his reaction. “That’s exactly why I didn’t do it,” she added. “I figured everyone would be shocked.”

Mrs. Aldrich chuckled. “They would have been especially taken aback had I joined you. Instead, I settled for this simple cotton blouse and lightweight skirt.” She held up her arms. “But I rolled up my sleeves. Sorry I lack formality for your visit, Micah.”

It was his turn to laugh. It felt foreign and good all at the same time. “You never need formality with me. I think you both know that by now. And as you can see, I left my coat and tie at home.”

“I see and approve,” Mrs. Aldrich replied. “But moving on to something of real importance, I’m curious. Did you attend the last Stock Growers Association meeting?”

Micah shook his head. “Didn’t see any real reason to go.”

“We wanted to,” Charlotte interjected. “But you know how they feel about women. They keep telling me I need a husband to handle business. Mama and I have kept a herd alive and a ranch running smoothly, not sure why they can’t give a woman credit and let her hear their ranching news.” She shrugged. “Rich Johnson promised to bring back word of anything important, but it’s not the same as being able to be there to ask questions.”

“They don’t believe women should be ranching alone,” Charlotte’s mother declared. “I asked for Charlotte and I to be admitted in place of Frank and Frank Jr. but was told that was impossible. I was hoping to hear more about plans for the ranches to start cultivating their own grain and hay.”

“Ranchers and cowboys aren’t going to take very well to being farmers.” Micah had heard that argument all his life. Either a man handled livestock, or he handled soil. You didn’t do both.

“I think the ranchers are coming to see that they’ll be out a great deal of money if they don’t find a way to do both. Like I told Charlotte, having grown up on a farm, I realize that both are very specialized duties. I see no problem, however, in hiring farmhands as well as ranch hands.”

“I suppose that would be the only way to really make it work. Even so, you’ll have a constant irritation running between the two camps. I doubt you can peaceably bunk them together,” Micah said, trying to picture how that might ever work. “I don’t think either group would ever truly respect the other.”

“They need to learn,” Mrs. Aldrich said, looking thoughtful. “Both feed the people, and both need each other. The Great Die-Up proved that. Had we been better prepared with our own hay and grain, we might have saved the cattle and sheep.”

“Still, the summer of ’86 was a drought. You wouldn’t have grown anything, much less enough crops to get through the winter that followed. We’re a water-poor area; I have doubts about growing much of anything out here.”

Charlotte nodded. “Micah’s right on that point. If Papa hadn’t brought in hay from California and Oregon, we wouldn’t have had anything extra for the herd.”

“I know,” Mrs. Aldrich replied, nodding, “but I’m convinced it’s the way things need to go. Rich Johnson told me that more and more ranchers are seeing the truth of it. I’ve been in touch with my cousins back in Illinois. I’ve asked for their advice about planting out here. One of them did farming in southeastern Colorado, so I think he can speak to us about what we might need to do. The landscapes are similar, from what I’ve heard him say. We don’t have the water, nor the humidity, so growing things will be harder. Water is always going to be an issue.”

“Supper’s ready,” Nora announced from the open doorway. She grinned. “Micah Hamilton. You’re a blessing to see.”

Micah got to his feet and smiled. “Good to see you too.”

Mrs. Aldrich and Charlotte stood. “We can continue our discussion over dinner.” She gave Micah a motherly smile. “Glad to see you’re filling out a bit.”

This made him chuckle. “Nora’s pies will do that to a man.”

Micah followed the women into the dining room and helped each with their chairs. It was the first time in a long time that he actually wanted to be where he was. Their company was like a balm.

Mrs. Aldrich had Charlotte offer grace. Micah bowed his head and tried to show respect as she prayed. He was still fighting his anger where God was concerned. He supposed most of his dismay came in knowing God could have kept his father from taking his own life and yet did nothing to stop it. God could have kept the hard winter from happening, and He could have kept Mother from dying. There were so many things that God could have done. After all, He was omnipotent. Micah had been raised to believe God was able to do anything. So why had He done nothing?

“Amen.”

He hadn’t heard her prayer but caught the final word and looked up pretending to have been in complete agreement as he gave a slight nod. The food was quickly passed around, and Nora came in to refill the lemonade pitcher before taking a chair at the table. Micah wasn’t surprised at this. Since the death of the men, Charlotte had mentioned that the women often ate together.

“Nora, this is wonderful. I’m so glad we settled on stew despite the heat.”

“Well, I had little desire for killing a chicken,” Nora replied. “I’ve always hated killing any living thing. My husband used to manage that for me. But the heat really makes it a miserable job.”

“I’ve never minded. It was always just such a part of farm life.” Mrs. Aldrich handed Micah the platter of meat. “I taught the children to take care of those kinds of things themselves too. I never wanted them to be reliant on others for those basic tasks.”

“Well, having the beef readily available in the cellar was perfect. You’ll have to thank Rich again for me. I was sure surprised that he brought it over.”

“Said he had a hankering for steaks and his boys did too,” Mrs. Aldrich replied. “Figured he would spread out the meat among friends so that none of it went bad.”

Micah took up the large serving spoon and gave himself a generous portion of the stew. The thick gravy dripped over the side of the serving bowl as he went back for another serving before handing Charlotte the spoon. Nora had baked biscuits to go with the main course, and Micah couldn’t remember when he’d been happier to put food in his mouth. The aromas and flavors were an absolute delight.

“We were just discussing the farming ideas,” Mrs. Aldrich told Nora.

The older cook nodded. “Hay and corn, wasn’t that what you figured?”

“I believe so, but I’m still receiving information from my cousins. They’re checking in with some agricultural experts in Chicago. They’ve recently been out this way doing studies of the land. I’m very interested to hear what they have to say.”

The conversation went on regarding ranching and farming until the food was eaten and everyone was ready to step outside to enjoy whatever breeze was available. Strangely, the winds had been absent of late, which only served to make things feel warmer.

“Micah, I do hope you’ll check in with Kit and the boys,” Mrs. Aldrich said, taking a seat in her rocker on the porch. “Rich wants to hold roundup the first of July. We need to have the cow-calf pairs brought in, and I don’t think Kit has even started to make preparations. I told Rich we could do roundup here. That way Nora and Charlotte and I can help with feeding everyone and taking care of injuries. I was hoping maybe you could talk to Kit and explain what he needs to do. Last year, as I recall, he wasn’t much use to anyone.”

Micah gave a nod. “Of course. I’ll talk to him, but shouldn’t you or Charlotte be the one to give the orders?”

“If he would listen to us.” Mrs. Aldrich shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong. He does listen to a certain extent, but he’s not used to heading up an event like this. Last year, Rich and his men headed up everything. Kit just needs experience and guidance, and we’re doing our best to offer it, but he tends to have the same mindset of the men in the Stock Growers Association. Women have no place running a ranch. And our knowing more than he does seems to irritate him all the more.”

Micah frowned. “I’ll try to convince him otherwise, then.”

“Would you also consider helping out with the roundup? After all, you know your way around such things. I know Rich would be very appreciative.”

The thought of once again participating in a roundup sent an icy finger down Micah’s spine. He and Dad had always enjoyed getting together with the other men. The shared labor was one benefit, but the camaraderie and good times was yet another. There had always been laughter and storytelling at every roundup Micah had ever attended. It was hard to even think of laughing again, but it was time. Time to put aside his grieving.

“I’ll help in any way I can.”

Mrs. Aldrich smiled. “I knew I could count on you, Micah. That will be so beneficial to Charlotte and to me. If we know you’re out there looking after our best interests, we can focus on other things.”

Charlotte looked at him and smiled. “It’ll be so good to work all together again.”

After supper, Micah went out to the bunkhouse and found the boys cleaning up after their own meal. Nora had already collected her platters and bowls. He motioned to Kit, who followed him outside.

“Wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Mrs. Aldrich has some plans for roundup and asked me to help with it.”

“I’m the foreman. She should have talked to me.”

“Maybe if you were doing the job you were hired to do, she would.” Micah looked around the yard. “Things aren’t in order like they should be. You either don’t know your job well enough or you’re counting on those women to pick up the slack you’re leaving.”

“I oughta bust you in the face for talking to me that way.” Kit stepped close and puffed up his chest.

Micah shook his head. “You don’t want to fight with me, Hendricks. I’ve got well over a year of anger and rage pent up inside.” He fixed the man with a hard look, and Kit stepped back. “I just came out to let you know what Mrs. Aldrich wants you to do.”

“And what is it she wants?”

“Rich Johnson plans roundup on the first. She figures we’ll all do it together and have one big gathering here. That way we can just round up all the cow-calf pairs and not worry about separating them out.”

“That’s a lot of extra work to put on us,” Kit replied.

“Extra men to help with it too. Johnson will come and bring his crew. And not to make you feel particularly grumpy, but those men know what they’re doing, and this bunch could learn a lot. You could as well. We’re going to do right by the Aldrich women, Hendricks. You’re going to learn how to be a foreman if it kills you.”

Kit frowned. “If he wants to do it on the first, that’s just a couple of weeks away.”

“So you’d best get to rounding up those cows and calves.” Micah shook his head. “You should have been keeping a better eye on them. You should have been doing a lot of things, and from now on you’ll change your ways.”

“Or what?” Kit asked, once again throwing his shoulders back as if ready to fight.

“Or you’ll be fired.”