Chapter Five
The ranch, as it developed, was not at all far out of town.
Rachel thought she could have walked back on foot, though it might have taken a few hours to do that.
It was good to know. If she ever decided she wanted to leave, she wouldn’t feel incapable of doing so.
She wouldn’t have to ask him to bring her somewhere. She could just go.
The thought of being trapped anywhere was a dreadful one, especially now that she had escaped from under Nathan’s thumb.
She didn’t even like to think about it. There was a big part of her that wanted to turn and flee right now, before she could find herself embroiled in another set of circumstances like the one she had just left.
And yet, there was something appealing about this place.
She could smell hay and animals, smoke rising from afar.
The clucking of chickens and the soft sounds of cattle came from somewhere nearby.
Grass waved in the wind, and the sun shone bright overhead.
As she slid down from the horse’s back, she turned and saw a split-rail fence, behind which several more horses were cantering about.
Behind them were dogwoods and pines off in the distance.
The sun warmed her face, and even though she wasn’t free at all, she felt as though she was. Maybe being here would be better than being with Nathan.
No maybe about it. Of course this is going to be an improvement. It has to be. After all, God has brought me here. And silently, she thanked Him.
“All right,” Adam said. “This house here is mine.” He pointed to a small but well-kept home. It was smaller than her own family’s house. She couldn’t imagine there would be more than one or two rooms inside.
“Is it just you?” she said.
“Me and Mason,” he told her. “That’s the boy I told you about, but you’ll meet him later.
He won’t have expected me to bring anyone home, and I’d like to speak to him first and let him know gradually.
” He led the horse in the direction of an outbuilding and beckoned her to follow.
“This is the stable,” he went on. “As you saw, most of the horses are out right now getting some exercise, but Chestnut here has had enough, so I’ll put him up. Have you ever groomed a horse before?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Why don’t you have a seat there.” He pointed to a stool. “You can watch. It will be good for you to learn. I’ll be giving you the use of your own horse while you’re here.”
She blinked. “You will?”
“You may need it, and I have more than enough,” he said. “You’re comfortable enough on horseback, so I think I’ll let you use Ghost. I’ll introduce you later. For now, just keep an eye on what I’m doing.”
“When am I going to have time to ride?” she protested.
“You brought me here to be a maid, not to ride horses.” But she took a seat on the stool all the same.
There was something exciting about the thought of having a horse to ride any time she liked.
Her heart pounded as she thought about it.
Racing through the green grass she’d just been standing in, free to go where she liked and do what she wanted…
Don’t think of it like that. You aren’t going to be free to do what you want.
He probably wants you to have a horse so you can do some task or other for him, that’s all this is.
Don’t forget—you’ve escaped Nathan, but that doesn’t mean you’ve gotten free.
Not yet. This is only halfway. You still work for this man.
Her life still wasn’t her own. She had to keep that in mind.
Adam picked up a brush and began to run it all over the horse’s coat.
Rachel watched carefully. If she was going to find herself doing this task, she was going to make sure it was done correctly.
She wouldn’t begin her time here by making mistakes that would earn her reprisals.
Nathan hadn’t liked her, but Adam had no reason to feel that way yet. She wouldn’t give him one.
“You’ll be staying in the ranch hands’ quarters,” he said as he worked.
“Even though you’re not a ranch hand, technically.
It’s a small building, but not too small, several yards behind my house.
You wouldn’t have been able to see it from where we were just standing.
I’ll take you over there after I’ve finished with this and you’ll be able to settle in. You won’t need to do any work today.”
“Who else lives in that building?” Rachel asked, nerves twanging.
It hadn’t occurred to her that she might be sharing quarters with anyone else, though perhaps it should have.
As bad as things had been at home, she had always had a room of her own, a place to retreat to.
Maybe those days were behind her for now.
Suddenly, though she hadn’t been thinking of it at all, she yearned desperately for a bit of privacy.
“It’s only Ruth,” Adam said. “She’s my ranch foreman—well, forewoman.” He smiled fondly. “You’re going to like her quite a lot. She doesn’t take any nonsense, but she’s strong and clever and quite a lot of fun.”
“I’m surprised you have a forewoman.” She traced her toe through the dust on the stable floor. “I feel like most men wouldn’t be willing to hire a woman in that position.”
He shrugged and hung up the brush, then pulled a chisel off a peg. “Maybe some wouldn’t,” he said. “What I care most about is having the best person for the job, and that’s Ruth. You’ll understand when you meet her. The two of you are going to get along well.”
Rachel nodded. Maybe he was right. Maybe she would like this Ruth person. It would be good to have a friend—someone like Edith, someone she could talk to about their shared life.
She felt a pang of longing for Edith. It had been so difficult to leave her behind.
Edith had encouraged her to go, had even given her all the money in her savings jar to get her started.
“You need this more than I do,” she had urged, pressing it into Rachel’s hands.
“You and I have gone as far as we can together. It’s time for you to get away from here and to start your own life. ”
She gritted her teeth. She would remember that. She would do it for Edith’s sake, if nothing else. Her friend had made such a sacrifice to help Rachel get away from the Fosters. Now it was time for Rachel to find her own way forward.
She watched as Adam used the chisel to clean Chestnut’s horseshoes. He pointed to a bag that hung on a peg. “There are some carrots in there,” he said. “Would you like to give him one?”
She found that she wanted to. Adam was difficult to read, but the horse was easy enough. She pulled a carrot from the bag, walked over, and offered it to the big animal. He ate it out of her hand, his lips tickling her palm, and Rachel couldn’t help giggling.
“He’s just a big sweetheart,” Adam murmured as the horse finished his snack. Then he turned to Rachel. “All right. Are you ready to see the house where you’ll be staying?”
Rachel drew a deep breath and nodded. The idea of that house had become a bit intimidating in her mind, but she knew it was the closest thing she would have to a home for a while. Better to get a look at it and to go ahead and start settling in while she could.
She got up from the stool and followed Adam out of the barn.
The sun was just starting to get low in the sky now, and the air was cooling.
She couldn’t believe how much had happened, that this was the same day she had gone to the fair.
That just a few hours ago, she had been standing in front of everyone in town while Jennifer smirked at her, having just knocked lemonade all over the most precious dress she’d ever owned.
And now, here she was, walking across an open stretch of land, past the little house Adam had pointed out to her when she had arrived. She caught a glimpse of a larger house in the distance. So this was to be her new home.
It was longer than the main house, probably taking up twice as much space, but as they approached she could tell the depth wouldn’t be more than a single room.
What would it be like to live in such a place?
She could only imagine that she would feel cramped and confined.
But on the other hand, at least she wouldn’t be sharing space with the people she was serving.
She would be living with this Ruth woman, whoever she was, but to have a whole separate home from anyone who felt empowered to tell her what to do…
Maybe this is going to be better after all.
There was no porch on this house, no steps leading up to the door. Adam approached it and knocked.
“In case Ruth is here,” he explained, turning back to Rachel. “But I doubt it. She should be out managing the ranch right now. I suspect you’ll meet her later this evening.”
Rachel nodded. “That’s fine,” she murmured.
Adam waited a moment, but nobody answered the knock, so he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
It was dim inside. There were windows along the back of the house, but curtains had been drawn over all of them. As she had surmised, the whole thing was one big room, although there was a door at the far end that might lead to a bathroom.
There were a few beds and end tables lining the walls, but only one set looked occupied.
Most were bare mattresses, but the one on the very end had a pillow and a quilt.
On the end table, there was a battered paperback and a half-empty bottle of whiskey, along with a few hairpins.
Rachel stared for a moment, trying to imagine the woman who lived in that corner. What must she be like?
“You can have this bed, if you like,” Adam suggested, pointing to the one at the opposite end of the room.
“That way you and Ruth can each have as much space as possible. It’s just the two of you right now, and I don’t anticipate taking on any more female hands right now.
The men have a building on the other side of the property, quite some distance from here.
” He turned to face her, resting a hand on the bed he had offered her. “Will that be all right for you?”
She nodded. “This is fine.” She walked over to the bed and set her suitcase down on the bare mattress, pressing her lips together. “Will there be…bedclothes?”
“Of course,” he said. “Ruth will loan you her spare set until we’re able to purchase you some of your own. I’ll be able to go into town in the next couple of days and see to that. In the meantime, though, I think you’ll be comfortable.”
He rubbed the palms of his hands on his pants and looked around as though trying to find something else to say, but nothing seemed to come to him, and after a moment, he returned to the door and put his hand on the knob.
“Consider this place your own while you’re here,” he told her. “This is your home, so you don’t need to seek my permission for anything you do here.”
She wasn’t sure she could believe that. It sounded like the kind of thing a person might say to try to be welcoming, but then, when he saw that a change had been made to his property, he would get angry.
She remembered all too well a time she had brought wildflowers into her room at home and put them in a vase.
When Nathan had discovered it, he had all but lost his mind, and had thrown the whole thing—vase and flowers—out into the yard before ordering her to go clean it up.
He’s trying to make a good impression, but I won’t take him at his word. I’m not going to treat this place as if it’s my own home. That’s almost certainly a trap of some kind.
She walked over to the bed that would be hers and sat down gingerly on the edge of it.
“Can I get you anything?” Adam asked. “Anything you need, until Ruth gets back and is able to help you get the bed set up?”
“No,” she said quietly. “I’m fine. Thank you.” She looked down at her hands in her lap.
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Dinner will be in an hour and a half,” he said.
“I’d like you to come and join us at the house at that time, but if you’d prefer to have the rest of the evening to yourself, you’re welcome to stay here, and I’ll have Ruth take something back for you.
Either way, I’ll ask you to come up to the house in the morning just after sunrise so that you can begin your work. ”
Rachel nodded without looking up. “I’ll be there.”
A moment later, she heard the sound of the door closing and knew that she was alone.
She lay back on her unmade bed and stared at the shadowy ceiling.
In the course of just a few hours, her whole life had completely changed, and now she had no idea what to expect from the future.