Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Jace turned away from the cows. They were no longer his concern, but when he got to the ranch, he’d send someone to check on them. Dianne hadn’t known the cows from bulls, nor had she seen the blood. Not that she needed to if she had a competent foreman.
He reviewed the cowhands who’d been working at the ranch.
There were two wet-behind-the-ears boys.
They knew cows well enough but were too young to manage the ranch.
But there were others to choose from. Ernie.
Well, he was cantankerous when it came to disagreements and often at odds with the others.
Slim was a loner. His favorite job was spending the summer at a line cabin.
Of the other two—Jace shook his head. The best of the pair would be Al.
He was the ideal foreman, except he liked to spend his wages at the saloon in the mining camp.
Chet had warned him against drinking on the place.
He honored Chet’s orders simply because Chet spoke with authority and Al recognized Chet would have no trouble letting him go.
No, Jace couldn’t leave Dianne with someone like Al in charge who wouldn’t care whether or not she allowed him to consume alcohol on the premises.
There had to be someone. A notice in the newspapers might interest the right man for the job. In the meantime—well, it wasn’t his concern.
“There it is.” He stopped and let her have her first look at the place.
The two-story log house sat on the hill overlooking a pretty valley.
Wildflowers scattered across the grass like drops of colored paint.
On the same slope but slightly downhill and behind the house were the corrals and what was left of the barn.
Ashes filled Jace’s heart at the sight.
“Oh.” One word, but so warm and approving.
Of course, he knew she’d like the place. What was there not to like? Apart from the barn.
“What a pretty spot. Every bit as lovely as Chet described in his letters.” She leaned forward as if she could urge him to a faster pace.
Eddie pressed to their shoulders. “We’s here?”
“Yes, son. We’re home.”
The word ached through Jace. It could no longer be his.
Skip raced toward them, barking a warning, black ball of fury.
“Dog, it’s me.”
Recognizing Jace’s voice, the animal whined and wriggled from head to toe. They drew up in front of the house. Eddie started to scramble down before the wheels stopped turning.
Dianne grabbed her son. “Wait.”
“It’s Skip. I wanna see Skip.”
She held on to her squirming son. “What have I told you about strange animals?”
The boy subsided. “I not run up to him.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll wait until I’m down, and then you’ll hold my hand.”
Jace could have informed her Skip was too well-mannered to lunge at the boy or even growl at him, but it was more interesting to watch her deal with her son.
When Eddie understood he had no choice but to wait for the adults, Jace helped Dianne and then lifted Eddie from the wagon. He squatted beside Eddie.
“Skip, come and say hello.”
The dog wriggled toward them and pressed against Jace, begging for attention. Poor animal must be missing Chet something fierce.
Eddie raised a hand, then remembered his mother’s warnings. “I pet him?”
“I think Skip would like that.”
When Eddie patted the dog’s head, the silly thing lay down, begging for a tummy rub. Eddie laughed and obliged the dog.
“He likes me, Mama.”
“It would appear so.” She smiled, obviously pleased her son had this enjoyment.
After watching the dog and boy, Jace straightened. “Let me show you your new home.”
Calling Eddie to her, she followed Jace up the wide wooden steps and across the generously-sized, covered veranda, which needed sweeping.
A job that normally fell to him. He opened the door, ignoring the broom waiting inside, and stepped back to let her enter the small entranceway with hooks for coats on one wall.
Apart from that and the broom, the room was empty.
“Chet called this the company door. Everyone else comes in the side entrance.”
He opened the inside door to reveal the sitting room, as Chet had called it. A wide burgundy sofa was flanked by two matching armchairs in front of bookcases full of books. The stuffed furniture faced the fireplace.
“Oh my.”
Was she really at a loss for words?
“It’s so big and welcoming.” She touched a chair as she passed to the window that overlooked the veranda and the road they’d just traveled.
Easing back on his heels, Jace waited while she and Eddie circled the room, looking out each window and taking in the view of the valley. She ran her finger along the top of the bookcase and paused at the closed door.
“Go ’head. Open it.” He joined her as she stepped into the small room. “Chet thought if he married, his wife would use it for a day nursery or a sewing room.”
She laughed. “And what would you call it now?”
“We politely refer to it as the junk room.” Aside from the desk in the corner where Chet kept the ranch records, it’s where odds and ends collected that they’d never gotten around to putting away or finding a place for.
There’d never been a need to. Of course, Dianne could do whatever she wanted with the collection—winter coats could be in the bedrooms, empty crates should be in the cellar, or one of the storage sheds, and old newspapers could be burned. “I expect you’ll want to clean it out.”
“Maybe.” She stepped from the room. Her shoes clicked on the polished wooden floor as she crossed to open the double doors separating the sitting room from the dining room.
He grinned at her gasp of pleasure.
“Jace, this is amazing.”
“You mean the table? It’s big enough for twenty people. But mostly, it was Chet and me, and we sat at one end.”
“He really was expecting a large family.”
“He liked to entertain. Several times a year, he invited all the ranchers and businesspeople from town.” Who would do that now? It sure wouldn’t be him.
No wall closed the dining room from the kitchen, and she approached the stove and cupboards, opening doors and checking the contents. One door led to the pantry. Another opened to the cloakroom off the back entry. Her examination complete, she turned her gaze to the stairs to the upper floor.
“I’ll show you the bedrooms.” He ushered them up steps to the hall. Five doors closed off bedrooms and a large closet. At the first doorway, he hesitated. “This was Chet’s room.” Having no desire to confront harsh evidence of the man’s passing, he stepped back without opening the door.
Dianne studied him, her eyes full of compassion.
She could save her sympathy for someone who deserved it.
Eddie broke free and raced down the hall, skidding to a halt and sliding several inches. “Look, Mama, I skate.”
“Eddie, no running in the house.” But she didn’t even look at the child.
Her gaze never flickered from Jace.
He must turn away lest she guessed at the pain roaring through him.
Steeling himself, he turned to the next door.
“I slept here. I’ll clean out the room before I leave.
” The next two rooms held bare mattresses on steel bed frames—a wide one in the first, two narrower in the second.
“They’re only used when there’s company.
Which isn’t often though there were a few who stayed overnight when they came for those gatherings I mentioned.
” He’d been bombarded by memories and regrets long enough.
“I’ll show you the outdoors.” His boots clattered on the wooden steps as he hurried to the main floor and waited for her at the side entrance.
With her permission, Eddie joined Skip in the yard, both animal and child happy for the company.
“I’m sure we’ll be wonderfully comfortable here. The house is lovely.” In the yard, dirt billowed up in a gust of wind, catching her attention.
Of course, her gaze went farther. Past the bunkhouse and storage sheds to the pile of rubble.
“What happened there?”
“That used to be our barn.” Each word dropped like a large stone to the pit of his stomach, heavy and bitter.
“Looks like it burned down.”
“That’s what happened.” The weight on his conscience pressed against his teeth so he couldn’t hold back the words. “That’s where Chet died. It was my fault.”
Ignoring the steps, he jumped to the ground and marched away. Every thud of his boots hammered the words deeper into his head and heart. It was my fault. All my fault.
“Jace. Jace. Wait.”
He didn’t slow down. Not even when her footsteps thudded after him.
Dianne gathered up her skirts and raced after Jace. He couldn’t drop an announcement like that and then leave without explanation. “Jace! Wait!” But he hurried on as if he hadn’t heard. Or didn’t want to talk to her.
Skip barked at Eddie’s side as they trotted after her.
Jace’s long legs covered ground faster than she could, but that didn’t deter her. She would catch him sooner or later by sheer determination.
Two young men—or perhaps they could better be described as boys—stepped from a long narrow building—she guessed it to be quarters for the hired man. What did they call it here in the West? The word came to mind—the bunkhouse.
Their interest stopped Jace in his steps. “Howdy.” Jace’s greeting held a husky tone.
The taller of the boys nodded and responded, the gaze of both boys taking in Dianne and Eddie.
She made sure Eddie stayed behind her. The dog remained with him.
Jace rocked back on his heels and appeared to struggle to remember his manners.
“Mrs. White, these two brothers work for the ranch. Lee—” He indicated the taller one who stood to the front.
“And Cal.” They both had bronzed skin and hair as black as the finest coal. She guessed they had Native blood.
The boys nodded and greeted her politely.
Jace glanced past them to the building’s interior. “Where are the others?”