Chapter 19

19

U nable to take his eyes off Lorinda holding their son on the front porch swing, Franklin walked from the barn to the house. "Michael really likes to be outdoors, doesn't he?"

Her smile was brighter than the evening sunlight filtering through the trees. "Yes, and it's cooler out here right now than it has been all day."

The empty space beside her drew him, but if he was going to keep his promise, he couldn't sit there. He ambled to the rocking chair on the other side of the front door. He pulled it out from near the wall until it was close enough for him to prop his feet on the railing.

Franklin had gone to the barn to work when they finished fixing the rooms they would share to put some distance between them. He made a conscious effort to concentrate on everything else besides this woman he'd married, and he'd been fairly successful. But with her sitting so near, an awareness that she was his wife teased his senses.

He cast a glance at her. "We got a lot done today, didn't we?"

"It helped that Mrs. Oleson left plenty of food for us in the spring house, so I didn't have to cook...and of course, those cream puffs you bought were especially good." She looked down at her son when he grasped one of her curls in his fist and pulled. "Michael is so much more aware of his surroundings now."

"Yes, he is." Franklin wished he was the one holding the silky strand of that golden curl in his hand. How can I be jealous of a baby? He'd dreamed about running his hands through her curls since he'd discovered she was a widow.

Lorinda met his gaze. "I'm glad we finished fixing up the rooms before Mrs. Oleson got back from town."

"And I'm glad it makes you happy." He shifted to get more comfortable in the hard wooden chair. Ahhh . He looked out across his property, thanking God for his blessings. "Listen, Lorinda. This is your home. If you want to change things around anywhere else in the house, you can. Maybe do different curtains, change the colors of the rooms, anything at all." The woman deserved it since he had no intention of giving in to his desires to make theirs a real marriage. Besides, she didn't want that kind of relationship, even if he was questioning his choice in the matter.

Surprise lifted her eyebrows as she stared at him. "Why, thank you, Franklin. I might do some of that...over time...but nothing right now."

"And if there's anything you want added to the house, just let me know." He watched her as she looked out across the property as he had only a few moments ago. For a while, a comfortable silence reigned between them.

"I was intrigued by the wash room and water closet at the hotel." She turned her attention back toward him. "Would it even be possible to have something like that in the house...out here so far from town?"

Well, he wanted her to feel a part of the ranch and house, and she took him up on his suggestion. He stared at the mountain peaks surrounding the ranch, making mental notes of just where the best springs were located. It would take some doing, but he figured it might be possible.

"I'll try to find out what all it'll take to do that." As he glanced back toward his new wife, he noticed a small cloud of dust on the road leading to the ranch house. "Looks like someone's coming. Maybe Rusty and Mrs. Oleson. 'Bout time they got here."

Lorinda stood and held Michael against her shoulder as she peeked around the vines growing on the trellis behind the swing. "I think she may have been giving us more private time."

"I wholeheartedly agree that we need private time." Had he really blurted out his feelings? He glanced at Lorinda, taking note of the blush coloring her cheeks at his words and what they indicated. He hadn't meant to embarrass his wife.

He got up and went down the steps. "It is them. I'll help Rusty unload the wagon."

He assisted their housekeeper down, then grabbed a heavy wooden box from the back and hefted it onto his shoulder before following her to the house.

After she climbed the steps up to the porch, Mrs. Oleson reached for Michael. Lorinda relinquished him to her and opened the front door. While the housekeeper cooed and talked to the baby, they started inside.

"Where do you want this box?" Franklin caught the door with the toe of his boot and waited until his wife preceded him. "Something smells really delicious."

"In here." Mrs. Oleson led them into the kitchen, and he set his burden on the table.

"The Ladies' Glee Club prepared our supper."

Lorinda reached for the baby. "How nice." She pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Franklin loved watching the two of them. His son would be well cared for by his loving mother. What more could he ask? He wouldn't let himself go down that road, because he knew there were many things he would want to ask of her...but couldn't.

"I believe there's a pot of stew and cornbread still warm from the oven. Marjorie made her famous dried apricot fried pies for dessert." Mrs. Oleson started removing things from the box. "There's even a pot of butter and one of honey."

Franklin's stomach started rumbling like a thunderstorm. He was sure everyone in the room could hear.

Lorinda laughed. "How thoughtful of the ladies, especially since everyone did so much to make our wedding special." She glanced at him with an amused twinkle in her eye. "And we know Franklin's ready to eat."

"Isn't he always?" Mrs. Oleson winked at him and laughed.

With an atmosphere in the home like this, maybe they really could feel normal again...hopefully soon.

"That was delicious." Lorinda excused herself from the table, then carried her dishes to the dry sink. "If I keep eating like this, I'll be as big as the barn."

Franklin chuckled and the sound rumbled through her, almost causing her to drop her load. "I can't imagine that ever happening. Especially not if you work as hard as you did today."

An expression of confusion captured Mrs. Oleson's face. "Why did she work hard? The house was clean, and she didn't have to cook lunch."

He stood. "Mrs. Oleson, Lorinda and I want to discuss some things with you."

Lorinda studied their housekeeper, hoping she wouldn't find any hint of hurt or anxiety. "Yes, let's go into the parlor. We can wash the dishes later."

Mrs. Oleson took a seat on the settee, and Lorinda joined her. Franklin sat in the matching wingback chair.

"What's this all about?" The older woman's tone of voice sounded tentative.

He smiled at both of them. "We just wanted to talk about a few changes that will take place because we're married."

Mrs. Oleson nodded and clasped her hands in her lap.

Lorinda patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You're very important to all three of us." She felt some of the tension drain out of the older woman.

Franklin leaned back in the chair. He looked comfortable and satisfied.

"You know that as my wife, Lorinda will now take a greater part in the running of the household."

"But I don't want you to feel that we don't need you." Lorinda nodded toward the hallway. "There'll be times when I have to take care of Michael...and other things. And you're not finished teaching me how to cook. We'll depend on you…a lot."

A slight smile lifted Mrs. Oleson's lips.

"And," Franklin boomed, "you're the only grandparent our son will ever know. That's very important."

The smile blossomed until it wreathed her entire face. "I'm blessed to fill that role. He is such a dear."

Franklin's ebony eyes sparkled, and that curl fell across his forehead. If they'd been alone in the room, Lorinda would have reached up and brushed it back. Once again, she wondered how it would feel to do that to her husband. Just the thought made her breathless.

"We rearranged the rooms we'll share, and I'll be the one to clean them." She watched her husband nod in agreement. "I'll probably take over more of the cleaning. We want you to enjoy being Michael's grandmother."

"Another thing I want to do..." Franklin garnered both women's attention. "...is turn two of the rooms across the hallway from your bedroom into your own private quarters. A larger bedroom and a parlor. You can have privacy when you want it, and you can take part in our family's life when you desire."

His words did make the change sound loving and kind. Lorinda hoped that would be the way the older woman heard it.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Mrs. Oleson glanced from one to the other. "I knew this marriage would change some things. And I'm so glad Franklin finally found someone to love him...and someone he could love. But I never dreamed of these changes. A suite of rooms to myself. And I'll get to keep cooking and helping with the house. It's more than I imagined. Thank you."

Lorinda put her arm around the older woman's shoulders. "And my new life is more than I ever imagined it would be."

And also much less than I really desire it to be. She felt like such a fraud in so many ways. Hiding things from this dear woman. The truth about their marriage and the real reason they rearranged things so she wouldn't discover it. Guilt became a heavy burden for Lorinda to carry, and her spirit bent under the load.

As hoofbeats approached the house, Franklin glanced toward the window. Sounded like one rider, and he was coming fast. Who could it be so late in the evening?

"Ladies, please excuse me." He eased out of the chair. "I need to check it out."

He peeked between the lacy curtains, blowing in the cooling breeze. Thomas Walker was supposed to be with the other hands checking the herds scattered in several different pastures on the ranch. Franklin wanted an inventory of how many beeves they had, and which ones would be on the cattle drive to Frisco to meet the train headed to a Chicago packing plant. Some needed moving to other grazing land. He wanted them fattened before the drive, even if it wasn't a long one.

A sharp knock on the front door drew him from the parlor. He opened the door. "Everything all right, Thomas?"

"We need to talk." The expression on his foreman's face was grim, and his tone ominous.

Franklin heard the women visiting quietly. He didn't want to upset them before he knew what was wrong. "You can come into my office, or we can talk outside."

"I'm too dirty to come into your house, and I've been in the saddle most of the day. How about if we just walk."

"Fine with me. Wait right here."

Franklin went back to the doorway to the parlor. "Thomas has returned from the pastures, and we're going to take a walk." He smiled at his bride. "It might take a while. Don't wait up for me, Lorinda." No need to alarm them unnecessarily.

He and his foreman ambled in the shade of the tall trees as the sun made its final descent behind the peaks.

"So what's happened? Is someone injured? Do we need to head out to help him?"

"No…no injuries." Thomas seemed to be taking plenty of time to choose the right words.

He'd been that way as long as Franklin had known him. But he also didn't raise an alarm, if there wasn't anything to worry about.

"You know we've been trying to find that man...or men…who might have murdered Mike Sullivan...and may be the arsonist. We thought whoever it was moved on."

That caught Franklin's attention. "Did you find someone?"

"Not really. But the numbers are lower than we expected. Some of our cattle are missing."

Not good. Franklin frowned. "Do we know how many?"

"Hard to tell." Thomas stopped and stared toward the mountains. "Seems to be a few from each part of the herd... You know, scattered out a lot. Maybe he hoped we wouldn't notice they're gone. But there are too many more missing than in other years."

Franklin needed the money from the beeves to carry them through the winter. They'd be able to make it all right, but he'd have to curtail extra spending if the herd was too small.

"So did you get all parts of the herd counted? Will we have enough for the drive?"

Thomas rubbed his hand across his stubbled chin. "I sent the men in teams of two or three to do the counts. Had 'em cut the cows with calves and then count all except the breeding bulls. Our numbers are down by about a fourth, but still plenty for the drive."

"That's a relief." Franklin huffed out a deep breath. He started walking again, and Thomas joined him. "When we were out at the RM Ranch today, picking up the baby, Rand mentioned things had gone missing around their place. Stella had baked two pies and set them on the windowsill to cool. When she came downstairs from taking care of their baby, one pie was missing, pie tin and all. Other things, too. Food missing from their spring house, which is farther from their house than ours is. Things like that."

Franklin stopped and sat on a stump, and Thomas rested one foot on a log that waited to be chopped into firewood. "That's the next thing I was going to tell you. All the supplies have disappeared from a couple of line shacks. Everything–furniture and pots and pans included."

"Looks as though we have a thief in our midst. I guess the person could be the same one that murdered Mike and burned his cabin." Franklin took out his pocketknife and started cleaning his fingernails. "But it could be someone else entirely. Were there tracks you could follow?"

"I sent a couple of guys to try to find some, but they soon returned when the trail led to an outcropping of rocks. Couldn't pick it up again at either place." Thomas took off his hat and twirled it in front of him. "I have most of the men following the fence lines to see if they can find a place where the cattle could have gotten out. They'll be fixin' any broken places and report their findings to me. I'll let you know."

Franklin got up and clapped his foreman on his shoulder. "I know I can depend on you. Why don't you go ahead and spend the night in the bunkhouse? And I'm sure the women can rustle up something for you to eat."

"I ate with the men at the chuck wagon before I came. But I would enjoy sleeping in my bunk. I'll head out early in the morning."

"Sounds good to me."

While his foreman headed toward the bunkhouse, Franklin hurried back to the house. He wasn't going to worry the women with this information. They should be safe here at the ranch house. He'd make sure at least one or two hands were close-by at all times.

He didn't want to risk losing his beautiful bride so soon after their wedding.