Chapter 7
Grace had a lot to think about on the ride back to town. Once again she had fainted when things got too much for her, and she was annoyed with herself. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried not to fall apart, she always did and ended up being a limp, useless rag.
The only good thing to come from the day was that Mr. Emmerson was so grateful to them for saving his family that he sold them four large sacks of flour at a discounted price.
At least now Grace could start baking. She always felt better when she made something good in the kitchen, and it had been too long since she’d had her hands in flour.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Hunter said as he rode beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said, coming out of her reverie. “Do you think that Jeff will be okay? Isn’t it dangerous, him following that bandit back to his camp on his own?”
“He’s smart,” Robert said. “He’ll keep well back, and then we can pay El Aguila a visit for a change.” He was riding behind them with the two bandits they had captured tied by a long rein behind the horse.
“Are you planning to keep those two with us all the time?” Grace asked.
“All the way back to the town, yes,” Robert said. “Or would you rather they followed Jeff and ambushed him?”
“Of course not!” she said hotly, turning in her saddle to glare at him. “I never said that. I was just wondering if there wasn’t a jail or something they could be left in.”
Robert laughed.
“The nearest proper jail is in San Antonio,” Hunter explained. “I’m sure Robert will be sending them there as soon as he’s gotten the information he needs from them. Isn’t that right?”
There was a moment’s silence and then Robert said, “Sure, of course. I’m not planning to keep them. Prisoners are a lot of work. You have to feed them and keep their cells clean. It’s a nightmare.”
“You won’t be keeping us long,” one of the men said. “Our friends will come for us. They know who you are and where you live in that pathetic little town of yours. It will burn to the ground this time.”
“You know, I don’t recall asking for your opinion,” Robert said, turning in his saddle to glare at the bandit who had spoken. “So shut your pie hole, or I’ll do it for you.”
The man made a rude gesture, and Robert shook his head disgustedly. “And with a lady present and all. Your mama didn’t raise you right.”
“Grace, don’t look at them,” Hunter urged her. “Come on, just concentrate on the track and we can get home.”
Grace frowned at him. “Why shouldn’t I look at them?”
“They’re vulgar,” Hunter said.
“And they’re part of this new world I now live in,” Grace said with a sigh. “I think I’ve spent far too long with my head in the sand. I need to see men like that. Maybe then I’ll stop fainting every time things get scary.”
“You don’t have to change who you are,” Hunter said quietly. “I like you as you are. That’s why I asked you to come here.”
“But I’m no use to you when things go haywire,” Grace said, not looking at him. “What if you had needed me back there? Or if those were your last moments on this earth and I fainted and missed them? I would hate myself for it.”
“You can’t help how you are, but we have Julie, who is the closest thing we have to a doctor,” Hunter said. “Maybe she should take a look at you. Just to make sure that everything is okay and that you didn’t hit your head any of the times you fainted yesterday and today.”
“Sure,” Grace said. She didn’t think a doctor would do much good, none ever had, but she was willing to try for Hunter’s sake.
It took longer with the prisoners walking behind them, but eventually they reached the town. There hadn’t been much progress made on the fortification in the time they had been away. It was still just a shallow ditch that they and the bandits stepped over.
Robert and Hunter went to the sheriff’s office to lock the men in the cell in the back.
“We have to fetch Andrew and Michael,” Hunter said. “They’ll want to speak to our guests.”
Grace nodded. “I’ll take the flour sacks home.”
“No, leave them for me,” Hunter said. “They’re heavy.”
“I can manage,” Grace said with a smile. “I’ve been carrying flour like that for years. Remember, I’ve been working in a bakery all my life.”
“Right,” Hunter said, smiling sheepishly. “Just don’t hurt yourself.”
“I won’t,” she said and gave his hand a squeeze. It felt good to have a husband who worried about her and didn’t judge her for silly things like fainting.
They put all four sacks on her horse’s back, and she led the animal to the house.
Once there, she took the sacks inside one at a time.
It was easy when one knew how to hold them.
The trick was to take them from the horse’s back and put them on your shoulder straight away, not letting the sack touch the floor until it was in the pantry.
That saved her back, and there was no lifting required, just balancing, which was easy.
She could see that the horse was tired, so she decided to take it home. Jeff had walked up the street to the sheriff’s office with the horses, so she went back that way and down the street. She walked until she reached the end of all the houses but couldn’t figure out where the horse had come from.
That was odd. Horses weren’t in the habit of appearing out of thin air. There had to be a stable or something nearby, but for the life of her, she couldn’t see it.
A man was walking down the street, whistling to himself. He spotted her and came over.
“Hi there,” he said brightly. “You look lost.”
“I am,” Grace said. “I’m Grace. I just arrived yesterday with Hunter. Um, we borrowed horses this morning, and I wanted to return this one, but I didn’t know where to go. Jeff came up the road with them, and he never said where he got them.”
“Well, you’re in luck, Grace who just arrived yesterday,” the man said. “I’m Kyle, and I gave the horses to Jeff this morning.” He grinned. “Let me take Buttercup from you. It’s still a bit of a walk to the farm.”
“I’d like a walk,” she said. “If you don’t mind me tagging along.”
“Not at all,” Kyle said. “Actually, you should meet Anita. She’s my friend Kevin’s wife. I have a feeling you two will get along well.”
“You do?” Grace asked. “It will be nice to meet some other folks here.”
“Oh, don’t worry. They’ll throw you a welcome-to-the-neighborhood party one of these days,” Kyle said. “They do it for everyone.”
“That must be a lot of parties,” Grace said.
“Not as many as you would think,” Kyle said. “We haven’t really grown much since the refugees arrived. I think the bandits constantly bothering us keeps folks away.” He stopped speaking suddenly and looked worried. “Hunter did tell you about all of that, right?”
She nodded. “Oh yes,” she said.
Kyle let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. Kevin didn’t tell Anita until she was here and neck deep in it all, as some might say, and she was none too happy with him.”
“Gosh,” Grace said, not sure what to make of it all. So Hunter wasn’t the only one who had downplayed the bandit problem to his bride-to-be. Men, she sighed. They meant well.
They walked on for a while until they finally reached the farm. A blonde lady was in the yard, bringing in her laundry. She looked up as Grace and Kyle came into the yard with Buttercup.
“Anita, this is Grace. She’s Hunter’s new wife,” Kyle said.
Anita smiled and came walking over to Grace, her hand extended. “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Grace. Welcome to the town. I’m sure one of these days we’ll decide on a name. I’m kind of partial to Hope.”
“No one wants to call it that,” Kyle said. “I’m hoping for Trouble. It fits. This place is nothing but trouble.”
“Oh, go on!” Anita said, shooing Kyle away. “Go tend to Buttercup.”
Kyle laughed and led the horse away.
“I’m sorry to drop in like this unannounced, but I just wanted to return the horse and thank the owner for the use of it,” Grace said.
Anita returned to her laundry, taking it down one bit at a time.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she said. “The horses belong to the town in general, but Kyle looks after them. He loves them more than he loves anyone or anything. He has a way with animals. I think they’re on the same planet as he is.
” She said it with a smile and Grace chuckled.
“Does he live here with you?” Grace asked.
“No, he’s got his own cabin a little way down the road, but he might as well live with us,” Anita said. “How was the journey out?”
“Horrible,” Grace said. “I really don’t like trains. They make me ill.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anita said. “If you like, I can take you to Julie. She can fix just about anything that ails a body.”
Grace shook her head, helping to fold a sheet off the line. It smelled of detergent and sunshine, two of her favorite things. “I don’t feel sick anymore. It was the motion, I think.”
Anita nodded. “How do you like your house? Hunter was very particular about designing it, or so Kevin, my husband, says.”
“He did a lovely job,” Grace said. “I like it very much.”
There had to have been something in her tone because Anita stopped folding things and eyed her. “It doesn’t feel like yours though, does it?” she asked.
Grace shook her head. “I feel very out of place there.”
Anita nodded. “I understand. I had the same problem here. They mean well, the men, but they forget that women like to build their own nests, so to speak. We want to choose our drapes. We want to make our quilts and cushions. We want to put our stamp on the place we call home. Stepping into a place that is fully furnished, set out the way they like it, it’s a little like stepping into a complete life that has no space for you. ”
That was it. That was precisely how she was feeling.
“What did you do about it?” Grace asked.
“I did what any sensible woman would do,” Anita said. “I changed a few things slowly, here and there, and eventually made it my own.”
“And your husband? How did he feel about it?” Grace asked.