Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“I can’t believe that after all this time, after all the things that have happened, you’re not pressing charges against Rory,” said Sheriff Wayburn.
“He’s my brother and Emily says no damage was done to her.”
Ben looked straight at Rory.
“If she’d have said otherwise, there wouldn’t be a jail strong enough to keep me out. I would make him pay for what he’d done. But I trust my wife and believe her. Rory corroborates her story, so not pressing charges is fine with me.”
Sheriff Wayburn shook his head.
“You know, I could keep him and charge him with the kidnapping whether you press charges or not.”
“What kidnapping?” asked Emily.
The sheriff narrowed his eyes.
Okay. Take him home and don’t let me see him in here again.”
“No sir, you won’t see him again. I promise,” said Ben.
Rory shook his head and rolled his hat brim in his hands before shoving the beat up Stetson onto his head.
“You won’t see me for nothin’. I’m turning over a new leaf, sheriff. I’m a new man. I promise.”
Ben clapped his hand on Rory’s shoulder.
“With new responsibilities.”
Rory looked at Ben. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready all my life to take my place as a Logan, and now, I can. What do you think Jane will say? Will she hate me?”
Ben removed his hand from Rory’s shoulder and got up from the cot in the cell.
“No. Why would she hate you? She doesn’t care about the J Bar L Ranch. She has enough of her own troubles on the ranch they own, though they really are doing very well.”
Emily held her hands in front of her.
“Rory, I want you to come home with Ben and me. It’s time you started being a Logan…being part of this family.”
“I’d like that very much.”
She turned to the tall man with the badge on his chest who stood beside her.
“Sheriff Wayburn, would you let these two men out of this cell, please?”
The sheriff let out a long breath, sighed, and dug in his pocket for the key.
“I guess I might as well. Cassie is never going to believe this.”
“Cassie?” asked Emily.
The sheriff opened the cell door.
“My wife. She’s another one of Maggie Black’s mail-order brides for Caleb, but turned out she was right for me.”
“Another bride for Caleb? How many did he have, before Maggie?”
The sheriff laughed.
“She tried to set him up with three other brides.”
Emily pressed her hand to her throat.
“Oh, my.”
“The thing was,” said the sheriff, pocketing the key to the cell door. “Maggie was unconsciously putting him together with women she knew he wouldn’t like.” He chuckled. “Turned out she was already in love with him and sabotaging his chances of finding any other woman for a wife.”
“I must ask Maggie about that,” said Emily, amused at the story.
“When you do, you can watch her turn bright red, though not as bright as her hair.”
Ben put his arm around Emily’s shoulders. “Luckily for me, Sally knew just who to send.”
That’s a very nice thing to say. Maybe there is hope he’ll love me after all.
After they were outside the jail and on the way to the buckboard, Emily looked Rory up and down.
“Do you have a clean change of clothes?”
He looked down at his garments.
“These are the cleanest I got.”
“Ben, let’s stop at the mercantile and get Rory some new clothes to go with his new found family relationship.”
“Good idea.”
In the mercantile, they found Rory three sets of clothing including shirts, pants, under garments, and socks. Plus they purchased him a sheepskin coat and a brand new Stetson.
“When we get home, I want you to take a bath and brush your teeth. You’ll be a totally different person when you meet Jane. We’ll be going over for Sunday dinner, day after tomorrow,” said Emily.
“While we’re here, we might as well get tomorrow’s supply order and save a trip back to town,” said Ben.
“Sounds fine to me,” said Rory.
“Me, too. Then I can do tomorrow whatever chores I missed doing today. Rory, take your bath in the bunkhouse. I need the kitchen to prepare supper.”
Rory smiled at Emily. “Sure. As a matter of fact, it’ll take half an hour or more for them to get your supply order ready. I’ll visit the bathhouse here and put on some of them new duds you bought me.”
“That would be great. Thank you,” said Emily.
“Taking a bath is the least I can do for my new sister-in-law.”
Thirty minutes later, Rory walked into the mercantile and Emily swore if she hadn’t seen it for herself, she wouldn’t have recognized him. He’d managed to get a haircut and a shave, too.
He smiled at her and ducked his head to look at his feet.
“You look very nice, Rory. Thank you.”
Still smiling, she saw that he’d also cleaned his teeth. They still weren’t white, but she saw they were a lot whiter.
All in all, she had to admit, the man cleaned up well and she could see more of Ben in him now that his scruff of beard was gone. They had the same jaw line as well as that attractive dimple.
Rory and Ben finished loading the wagon. Emily buttoned her coat for the change in temperature. From the heated comfort of the store to the outside was at least a thirty degree difference.
Rory mounted his horse while Ben helped Emily onto the bench seat. Then Ben climbed in beside her and picked up the reins.
“Are we ready to go?”
“Yes, sir,” said Rory.
“Yes,” replied Emily.
Ben cracked the whip over the horse’s heads and they were off, headed toward home.
Emily was glad to be home. After the wagon pulled into the ranch yard, Rory dismounted, wrapped the reins around the hitching rail and then helped Emily down.
“Thank you, kind sir.”
“Sure thing.”
He grabbed a sack of flour and followed her into the kitchen.
As the kitchen was empty, she walked over to the pantry door and held it open.
“The flour bin is the one nearest the wall.”
Ben came in carrying two twenty-five pound sacks of sugar.
Once the three of them had all the food stuffs put away, Ben and Rory drove the wagon to the barn and unloaded all the grain for the animals before returning to the house.
When they entered the kitchen Doris was at the sink peeling vegetables while Emily made yeast rolls for supper.
“Something smells great,” said Rory.
Doris’s head whipped around at the sound of Rory’s voice.
“What’s he doing here? You can’t bring that…that…bastard into my house.”
Ben walked to his mother.
“First this is my house and now part of it is Rory’s. I understand why you did the things you did, given the situation, but I’m taking a different stance. Rory is here as a Logan and part of the J Bar L Ranch. Father would have wanted it that way and you know it.”
She pointed at Rory with her index finger.
“Your father knew better than to bring his by-blow into my house and you should know better, too.”
Ben waved a hand in Rory’s direction.
“Hasn’t Rory suffered enough for circumstances that were not of his making?”
“No. You should have killed him when you found him with…her.”
Emily watched as Doris’s gaze blazed with fury. She jutted her chin toward Emily.
“I’m not you, Mother. I’m my father’s son, too.”
“Thanks for standin’ up for me,” said Rory. “I know it ain’t easy for ya.”
Ben turned toward Rory.
“I’m trying to do what my father would have wanted.
What our father would have wanted. I know it’s not the way things are done in this day and age, but I like to think, Father would be happy.
He spent the last years of his life miserable, thanks to my mother and I like to think your mother helped him forget his misery if only for a while. ”
Rory nodded and looked at Ben but words weren’t needed. Soon his gaze wandered to Emily.
“How did you meet Emily? I heard she was one of them mail-order brides.”
“She was.”
Ben watched his wife. She was determined to make a life for them here and to include Rory in the family, even after the incident. She was strong, kind, and beautiful. He’d gotten so lucky when they’d sent her to him.
“Hmm. Now that y’all gave me a future, maybe I can get me a wife, too.”
“I don’t see why not. You should go see Maggie,” said Ben.
“I think I just might.”
Ben looked over at his mother. She hadn’t said anything else but her back was ramrod straight and she chopped the vegetables with a bit more energy than was required. From the side of her face he could see, she wore a frown.
She turned a little, looked at Rory and then at Ben, muttered something he couldn’t understand and went back to hacking the vegetables. He couldn’t even call it chopping any more.
“Is there something I should say to Miz Doris?”
Rory must have noticed her stance as well.
Ben shook his head.
“Nothing you can say or do will change her opinion of you, so I wouldn’t even try. You’d be doing her a kindness if you stayed away from her as much as is possible.”
“All right. I’ll do whatever you think best.”
Emily pulled the tray of golden brown rolls from the oven.
“Are you boys ready? Ben, please get the butter, several plates and knives.”
Ben got the requested items and returned to the table.
Emily put the tray on the counter to cool. She got half a dozen rolls from the hot pan and placed them on a plate, which she took to the table.
“Would you care to join us, Doris?” asked Emily.
“Not with that trash at the table.”
“A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed, Mother.”
Doris slid all the vegetables she’d chopped into a pot, added water and put it on the hot stove. Then she left the kitchen in a huff.
“Will it stay this way with yer mama?” asked Rory. “Maybe I should stay in the bunkhouse.”
“No,” said Emily. “You’re a part of this family and will be treated as one. You’ve suffered enough for your father’s indiscretion. Ben and I won’t compound that by treating you as any less than family.”
“Thank you, Emily. I don’t know how you can treat me so nice after what I did.”
“You didn’t do anything that horrible. You kidnapped me and didn’t kill me. For that I’m grateful. You only wanted what you saw as your right and given your background that is understandable. Now,” she turned to Ben. “What are you starting Rory with tomorrow?”
“He gets to do your chores…gathering the eggs, milking the cows.”
“I’ve never milked a cow.”
“Don’t worry,” said Emily, proud of her knowledge. “I’ll show you.”
“After supper I’ll show you to your room,” said Ben.
“Unless you have something to do before we eat, why don’t you show him upstairs now? He can take his new clothes and put them away. We’ve got another hour before the roast is ready.”
“What about the soup or whatever mother was cutting vegetables for?”
“That’s for tomorrow’s stew. We won’t eat any of that tonight. It needs to simmer, so you can show him around the J Bar L.”
“I pretty much know where everything is. I’ve been watching the ranch for a lot of years now.”
Ben laughed.
“I suppose you have but seeing it from afar is different than seeing it up close and as something that is part yours. When you belong to a place, the feeling is different.”
“All right, let’s go.”
Emily stood and cleared the dishes from the table. Ben stopped her progress to the sink in mid-kitchen and gave her a kiss.
“Hmpft,” said Doris as she re-entered the kitchen.
Ben sighed and shook his head.
Rory smiled.
“I’m glad you found someone you can love.”
Ben’s body became stiff and he stepped away from Emily.
“Let’s go.”
He walked out the kitchen door and Rory followed.
Poor Rory, he doesn’t even know what he did. Ben still doesn’t believe he loves me, but Rory seemed to see something between Ben and me. Could it be love? Would I even know Ben’s love if I saw it?”
Doris turned to face Emily as she put the dishes into the sink.
“You dare to bring that whelp into my house.”
“First, this is not your house. Your husband made sure of that. Second, Rory is Ben’s brother and he’s entitled to part of the J Bar L as his birthright. Third, don’t even think to threaten me in my house. That’s right. My,” she pointed at her chest. “house and don’t you forget it.”
Doris’s face drained of color for a moment and then turned red with anger.
“I’ll not have it. I don’t care what Ben says, this is my house. Mine. And you two won’t bring that…that…bastard…into my house, much less let him live in it.”
“Who will stop us?” She put her hands on her hips. “You? Doris, don’t you understand? You live here by my leave. If you continue with this attitude, I’ll have no choice but to have you moved to the barn. Ben can make you a nice room there. I won’t have this anger and hate around my baby.”
“You can’t stop me. Not you,” she pointed at Emily. “Nor that baby you carry will keep my Joseph from me.”
Emily’s eyes widened.
“His name is Ben.”
“What?”
Doris blinked her eyes and shook her head.
“What?” she repeated.
Emily had a creepy feeling about Doris’s slip, but just shook her head. “Nothing.”
Doris thought Ben was her dead husband Joseph. Who does that make me?