Ranch Life is Great Read online

  She didn't pause, but answered quickly this time. "Yes. Yes, I hear you."

  "Good. And do you understand what I'm saying?"

  Again, she quickly answered, "Yes."

  "Good. I'm not going to ask you if you'll do what I say, but since I now know you heard me and understand what I said, I will expect you to listen. No more gossiping or starting rumors, or you're going to have a sore bottom for longer than a night."

  She looked up at him, eyes wide. "I'm glad to see I have your attention now. I mean what I say, Elsie. If I hear you telling anyone else, including anyone who works on this ranch, that you think he is in any way involved, you will feel the spanking you get for at least the next day. Do you understand what I just said?"

  Her eyes still wide, she nodded. "Yes, sir."

  "Good." He ended the spanking and gently pulled her up onto his lap, and let her squirm around enough to find a spot and settle into him. When she laid her face against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her, giving her the safe place she needed to settle down. He whispered into her ear, reminding her that he loved her, and held her tight while she calmed.

  Once she was able to breathe and speak normally again, he held her right where she was while they discussed the news Sheriff Fitch had given them. Once they'd finished discussing that, he patted her leg. "I better get you dressed again so you can lie down and rest a little bit before supper. You did enough squirming and wriggling today that I'm sure you have to be tired. Would you be more comfortable resting upstairs in our bed? You may find it more comfortable to rest on your tummy this afternoon."

  She reached back and rubbed her bottom. "It is really sore today."

  "I'm serious about this, honey. I want you to stay off your ankle, but I'm just as serious about you not accusing Theodore of anything until we have evidence. Do you think you'll remember that now?"

  "I think so," she said, reaching back to rub again.

  "Good. Now, do you want to go upstairs to rest a little while before supper? I'll bring you back down when I come back in this evening." She nodded, and he carried her to their bedroom. After giving her a kiss, he left. He told Maria he'd taken her upstairs for a nap, and went to peek in on her once more before going back to the barn. Just as he suspected might happen, she was sound asleep already. He smiled as he watched her sleep a few moments before going back to work.

  Chapter Ten

  It was extremely difficult, but Elsie managed to stay off her foot for the next couple of days. On the following day, right after breakfast as Cade was carrying her into the sitting room for the morning, Sheriff Fitch made another appearance. Cade sent Wyatt out to get the men started on the day's work, while he invited the sheriff into the sitting room to hear the latest news.

  As soon as Sheriff Fitch was seated and Cade was seated next to his wife, he looked over the sheriff. "Good news or bad?"

  "I'll let you decide. Deputy Tillman went to the surrounding towns, looking for the telegraph office that sent the telegram to cancel the order to go to the Wintock Mercantile. He had some luck. The operator at the telegraph office in Springdale said he sent the telegram. The man that sent it said he was Harold Stone."

  "Could he describe the man?" Cade asked.

  "That's where our luck ran out. He said he really couldn’t remember. He didn't remember ever seeing him before, but the man said he had just taken over Wintock's Mercantile in Sherman, so he didn't question it. He had heard about Henry and Velma, so he didn't question someone new running the store. He said he seemed to remember the man being tall, but that was all he could recall about him."

  "Ralph is definitely tall," Elsie said.

  "He certainly is," Sheriff Fitch agreed, "as are a good number of other people. I agree that certainly makes me question Ralph a little more, but it's not enough to serve as any kind of evidence in and of itself."

  Cade nodded in agreement. "Did you talk to Ralph?"

  "I did. I told him I had stopped over to talk to him and he was gone. I said his son said he was visiting a friend in a nearby town. He immediately said it must have been the day he visited George Preston in Ironton. I asked about George Preston, who he is, how he met him, and where he lives. He said he was a friend in Philadelphia, who moved out here just a few years ago. He said he lived on the far end of Ironton, a couple doors down from the livery. He asked why I was asking all these questions. I didn't want to put them on alert yet, in case it wasn't him, so I told him I had a friend named Leo Preston, who was also from Philadelphia, but I lost track of him, and I wondered if they could be related."

  "Did he believe you?"

  "I think so. He told me more about George's family, and said he was a friendly sort of man. He said he was sure George wouldn't mind my stopping in and asking about Leo. He asked why I stopped in that day last week, and I told him I just wanted to check and see if he's feeling better and to tell them if they needed anything, to feel free to ask. He thanked me, and I left."

  "Did you see if this George Preston exists?"

  "I did. He does exist and he did say Ralph visited him last week, but he couldn't remember exactly which day."

  Cade sighed. "So what do you think? Do you think it's possible he went to Ironton one day last week and Springdale another day last week?"

  "I don't know. If he's ill, like they're saying, I wouldn't think so."

  Elsie looked from one man to the other. "Couldn't he have done both the same day? Springdale is what; an hour and a half to two hour ride from Sherman?" Both men nodded. "It wouldn't take long at all to send a telegram. And Ironton is about the same, maybe a little longer from Sherman. I don't know for sure, but wouldn't it only take about an hour to get from Springdale to Ironton? So if he left fairly early in the morning he could go to Springdale, send the telegram, and be in Ironton before noon, couldn't he? I don't know how long he visited his friend, but he could stay a couple hours or so and still be home before the store closed."

  "I hadn't thought of that," the sheriff said. "I was thinking if he's been ill he wouldn't do both in the same day."

  "Maybe that's what he hoped. If he did send the telegram, maybe he thought if he visited his friend the same day, people would just assume he wouldn't have been able to do both."

  Cade nodded. "That would throw a lawman off the path. Dan, you said he'd been ill. Is he still ill, or is he better now? I know you said he looks thin and pale, but is he saying he's still ill?"

  "Theodore told me his father has been ill for the last couple years. He said he's starting to feel a little better now, but doesn't get out much and has to rest a lot."

  "So you wouldn't think of him going to both towns in one day," Cade said.

  "But that doesn't mean he couldn't have," Elsie said.

  "She's right," Sheriff Fitch said. "He may have, and that would sort of give him an alibi. I wish I would have thought to ask George Preston what time he was there."

  Cade thought a few moments. "Did you ask him about your friend, Leo Preston? Was he for real, or did you make him up?"

  "No, I really did have a friend named Leo Preston. I did ask about him, but he wasn't familiar with a Leo." After a few seconds, he ran his hand through his hair. "He did say, though, if I knew who his parents were he may be able to help. He said he has several cousins that have children, and he knows his cousins' names, but not all of their children."

  Cade smiled. "Is there any way you can come up with his father's name? Or maybe make one up?"

  The sheriff took a moment to answer. "I usually keep letters, or at least the last one I get from people so I have an address for them. I think he mentioned his father in his last letter. I'll look and see if I can't find that letter. That will give me a reason to go back and talk to Mr. Preston again. I'll ask him if they had dinner or supper together. Maybe I can tell him I'm concerned about his health and ask if he's eating okay."

  "That sounds like a good idea," Cade said. "I had another thought, as well. I assume Ralph and Theodore have a horse or two
?"

  "I know they have at least one, yes, and they have a buggy. They may have two horses, I'm not sure. Why?"

  "Do they keep their horses at the livery? Would Tom at the livery know if Ralph took the horse out last week once or twice, and for how long?"

  "Probably. I'll give that some thought and come up with a reason to ask Tom about it without arousing suspicions. Well, that gives me a couple more things to check now. I'll let you know what I find out."

  Cade thanked him, and they all got on with their day.

  * * *

  A couple days later, as Cade carried Elsie to the couch after lunch, she had a request. "After supper tonight could we go out to the barn for a little while? I haven't seen any of the animals I was working with, and it's driving me crazy. I know you said they're all doing fine, but I sure wish I could see them again."

  Cade sat down beside her to talk. "Honey, I know you're getting restless, and I know you miss the animals. But Doc's coming back to check your ankle in three days. You've been doing really well. I can't take you out there. It just wouldn't be safe. You have to be able to stand, and move out of their way when they move. If you think about it, I know you'll agree. Just three more days, okay?"

  She tried to work up a good argument, but she couldn't. She knew he was right. She was just so bored sitting on the couch all the time, she was about to scream. She nodded, and returned the kiss he offered before going back outside, but she just couldn't settle down. For the next hour she fussed and fidgeted. She couldn't get her mind into reading, or needlework, and she wasn't a bit sleepy. All she'd done for almost two weeks was lie on the couch. She was going to go crazy if she didn't find something to do.

  She was lying on the couch feeling sorry for herself, trying to think of something different she could do to break her boredom, when she heard a noise outside. She sat up straight and listened. Sure enough, she heard it again. She called out to Maria, but got no answer. When she heard it again, she didn't hesitate, but got up and held on to furniture as she hobbled over to the window to look out.

  She looked outside, but didn't see anything unusual. As she was looking, she heard something again, and saw a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head in that direction, and what she saw nearly caused her to fall. Not far from their front porch was a copse of trees. Among those trees was a cougar! She'd only seen a cougar one other time, and it was when she and her family had gone on a trip. They were in a stagecoach, and the driver stopped the coach. He warned everyone inside that a cougar had been tailing them, and he didn't like the way it was acting, so he was going to shoot it. He warned them so they wouldn't be alarmed when they heard a shot.

  After that encounter, she read everything she could find on cougars. She learned that they seldom go around humans, unless they had rabies or were hungry and hadn't been able to find or catch prey, for whatever reason. Around a ranch or farm they usually remained hidden. If they were close to the house or barn they were often injured and having a hard time hunting. Animals in or around a barn provided easier prey for an injured cougar. But the reading had warned that once a cougar finds easy prey in or around a barn, they would likely continue hunting those animals.

  Elsie knew she couldn't just sit idly by with a cougar this close to the house and barn. It would be hunting and eating the cats at the barn, which Cade said were good around the barn because they kept the rats at bay. Rats liked to eat the feed for horses and milk cows. The cougar would also hunt and kill their calves and foals. She worked with animals that had been attacked by such animals. She certainly wasn't going to allow a cougar free reign in this area.

  The information she read indicated cougars didn't often attack people, but did occasionally, particularly if they were caught off guard. Elsie didn't know where Maria was at the moment, but she didn't answer when she'd called for her. That could mean she was outside, out behind the house tending the garden or doing the laundry. If she was, it certainly wasn't safe having this cougar so close.

  Without giving it a second thought, Elsie limped over to the gun cabinet in Cade's office, which was the next room over from the sitting room. She got the rifle and a few shells, and went to the window to look out as she loaded the gun. Sure enough, the big cat was still there, crouched down and looking all around. She considered going to the door, but was afraid the door opening would scare the cat off, and she didn't want that.

  She could actually see it really well from the window she was at, so she decided that would be as good a place as any. She set the rifle on the table beside her and opened the window just enough to be able to get the end of the rifle out. She picked up the rifle and put the end of it out the window and aimed. She was able to get a really good angle on it from where she was, so she lined the shot up carefully, and shot.

  She hadn't shot a rifle that often, and it had been a year since she'd last shot one. The shot that rang out was louder than she remembered, and it scared her. She started shaking. She looked out and saw the cougar was down. She'd obviously hit her mark. She should go out and check it to make sure it was dead and not just injured, but with her sprained ankle, she decided against it. There was nothing to hold onto for her to hobble out to it, and if the animal was just injured, she wouldn't be safe with a sore ankle. So she decided to stay where she was and keep an eye on the animal. If it got up and tried to limp off, she could take another shot at it. Otherwise, she would have Cade check it when he came in for supper.

  Within minutes, though, that plan changed, as well. Maria came running down the steps, yelling. "Elsie, Elsie, are you okay? What happened?" Elsie heard her run into the sitting room. "Oh, no. Elsie, where are you?"

  "I'm in Cade's office," she yelled back.

  She had just started explaining what happened, when Amos came charging into the house, rifle drawn. "Miss Elsie, Miss Maria? Are you ladies all right? Where are you?"

  "We're in Cade's office, Amos," Elsie yelled back.

  He was soon in the office, rifle still drawn, looking all around. "It's all right, Amos," she tried to assure him. "We're both fine."

  "But I heard a shot. What was it? Is someone out there?"

  "No, the shot was from me. I shot out the window."

  "What in tar-nation for?"

  "There was a cougar, and it was too close to the house and barn."

  "A cougar? Are you sure? You don't often see them this close to inhabited buildings."

  "But if you do, it's not a good thing, is it?" she asked.

  "No, it sure ain't, but you don't see it often. We've never seen one around this house or barn. Are you sure it was a cougar?"

  "I'm pretty sure it was. It's out there, if you want to go look at it. I've been watching it and it hasn't moved since I shot it, so I assume it's dead, but be careful if you go out there until you know for sure."

  He hurried over to the window to look where she was pointing. He saw the cat lying on the ground and his eyes shot wide open. "Well, I'll be DAT-burned. The color's right for a cougar and it sure is big enough. I'll go check it out."

  "Be careful, in case it's just hurt," she warned as he turned toward the door.

  He was just about to the front door when Cade came charging in, his rifle out. "Amos, what's going on? I heard the shot and hurried back. Are the ladies all right? What happened?"

  "Boss, maybe you best come with me, because you won't believe it if you don't. The ladies are fine, but you need to see this."

  Cade cocked his head to the side to look at him, but followed him outside. Amos had his rifle at the ready, so he kept his ready, as well. As they neared the copse of trees, he squinted, looking ahead. "What the hell is that? It looks like a mountain lion. How did it get there?"

  They'd gotten close enough that it should have made some kind of movement if it was still alive, but it didn't flinch a muscle. Cade had his rifle trained on its head, while he reached out with his foot and moved it. When the cat didn't move, they knew for sure it was dead, and both men lowe
red their guns.

  Cade looked over at Amos, eyebrows raised. "Miss Elsie shot it out the window," is all Amos said.

  Cade looked from Amos to the mountain lion, and back to the house. "What was a mountain lion doing this close to the house and barn, and how did Elsie know it was there? She's supposed to be resting her ankle on the couch."

  "Those are both questions I can't answer," Amos said. "All I know is she told me she shot what she thought was a cougar, and there is, in fact, a dead cougar between the house and barn. I call them mountain lions, but whatever you want to call it, it's dead, and I'm glad it is because it's too damn close to the house and barn both."

  "You're absolutely right about that," Cade agreed. "It was much too close. I'm glad she saw it and I'm glad she shot it, but now what am I supposed to do? She was supposed to be on the couch resting her ankle. Do I take her to task for getting up and putting weight on her ankle after the doctor told her to stay off of it, or do I thank her for saving our calves and foals, and hold her tight and tell her how glad I am that she's all right?"

  Amos laughed. He looked at his younger boss and smiled. "Yes."

  Cade turned to look at his cook. "Yes? That's it, just yes? Yes, what? Do I take her to task, or thank her and tell her how glad I am that she's safe?"

  "Yes, you do all three," Amos said, "and you make sure she knows you mean it all three times." He turned to go back to the barn, but stopped. He turned back around with a smile on his face. "You're a lucky man, Cade. You got you a really good little woman for a wife. Good luck this afternoon, though." He again headed toward the barn, but stopped again and turned one last time. "Oh, and when you get done telling her all three of those things, and making sure she knows you mean each one of them, tell her I said nice shot." He chuckled as he walked back to the bunkhouse.