The last thing she intended to do was pay him any mind. The banker was driving away, kicking up more chalky dust into the heavy air. Lee headed off to the barn. Most likely to talk with Mr. McKaslin, who was likely tying the cow to the back of his wagon now.
If only they had enough money in hand. Joanna wistfully glanced into the blinding shafts of June sunlight. She would have liked to have milk for the children. But beggars could not be choosers, and she was glad for what they did have. As she hurried around to the door, she spied the garden beginning to crisp beneath the harsh sun. Shed have to remember to give the vegetables an extra watering after she was through in the kitchen.
While she dished up another plate, she caught sight of Mr. McKaslin returning from behind the barn with their Jersey cow on a lead rope. Something about the man caught her eye. Shed seen him in church, of course, but he was the type of worshipper who arrived at the last moment, kept to the back and slipped out before the final hymn. There was a sadness to him that hung over him like a storm cloud. It was that melancholy that kept him from being truly frightening.
Had she offered him a meal? She couldnt remember. Her mind was a muddle and she felt frayed to the last thread. She put more fuel in the stove and more water to heat. She went to the back door, but Mr. McKaslin was already in his wagon and driving off, the cow trailing behind. Before shed blinked twice, there was only a dust cloud where he had been.
Daisy stood leaning at the rail with those wide blue eyes of hers even wider. Whys Uncle Lee all packed up on the horse?
Packed up? No, hes probably out back in the fields, gone to chat with Mr. McKaslin. Dont you worry about it, honey. She set the plate on the table. Here, sit down and eat your dinner.
Okay Daisy said in one long, drawn-out sigh.
As Joanna brushed a comforting hand over her daughters head, a movement caught her eye. There, against the background of the growing wheat fields and the fading patches of red on the barn, was Lee astride Pas horse. Daisy was right. There were two bulging packs behind his saddle and a satchel hung over the saddle horn. Lee had his black hat drawn low and didnt look her way.
James glanced nervously over his shoulder. Ma, wheres he goin?
Im sure to settle a few business matters in town, is all. A punch of apprehension hit her square in the stomach. Something was very wrong. She forced a smile into her voice for the childrens sake. Stay right here on the porch, eat your dinner, and Ill get you a surprise for dessert.
Theres dessert? James swiveled toward her, his uncle forgotten. Honest?
Is it cake? Daisy asked with a fork halfway to her mouth.
Youll have to wait and see.
Lee rode out of sight behind the house, and it was hard to keep her step natural as she headed straight to the kitchen. The moment the door slapped shut behind her she rushed through to the front yard. Lee didnt look behind him, but his back stiffened, so he had to know she was hurrying after him.
Lee? She had to keep her voice low so the children would not be able to overhear this. Lee? Where are you going?
Away. He bit out the word, then appeared annoyed as he reined in the horse. Truth is, I sold the place.
You what? She couldnt be hearing him right. Maybe it was the lack of sleep last night and the emotional upset over the funeral. It was all the hard kitchen work in this stifling heat. Yes, thats what it was. For a moment there, I thought you said youd sold out, but theres still the crop in the fields.
I sold it, too. The banker said youve got until nightfall to get out.
Get out? There was something wrong with her mind. She could hear Lees words, but her brain was not making sense of them. Surely he didnt sayYou want me to get out of the house?
You cant live in it if it belongs to someone else. The banker bought the place for his sister. Shed like to get settled tonight.
Tonight? The earth began to spin. Lee, what about the children? You arent putting us out, are you?
You arent my lookout. Theyre your ragamuffins, not mine. Im not beholden to them or to you. Pa left me this place fair and square. Its mine to sell.
But before Pa died, you said Not only was the earth spinning, but it was tilting, too.
No, this cant be happening. This cannot be right. She had to be ill from the heat, that was it. Her mind was fuddled from too little sleep and too much worry. Y-you said we could live here.
I know what I said. Lee glared down at her. I came to help you take care of the old man. The crops are still doing well in the fields because of me. The banker met my price and I took it. Leave the pigs and the chickens when you go. Theyre part of the sale, too.
But Her brain seemed stuck on that word like her feet to the dirt. Its not right. You just cant
Sure I can. I only came back here for the money. You know I never held much regard for our old man. He was a louse.
But you said
In this world, youve got to look out for yourself and no one else. Its the only way to survive. Lee gazed down on her with pity. He pulled his billfold from his shirt pocket. Here.
She stared at the twenty dollar bill he held out, the end flapping in the brisk scorching wind. The truth hit her like dry lightning. You really sold the land and youre keeping all the money.
Its legal. Pa left everything to me. You know that.
But you said you would stay to farm. You promised. You gave your word.
Yeah, well, I hardly expected you to help me out if you knew. Since she didnt take the money, Lee tossed it at her. The wind snatched it and blew it away like a dry leaf. It stuck to the wall of sticker bushes growing along the road and flapped there, helplessly trapped.
Joanna gulped hard. She fisted her hands, fighting to stay calm. Getting upset would not make this easier. You lied to me. Lee, youre my brother.
Half brother. Take my advice and start packing. That bankers not a nice man. Hell put you and your young ones out by force. Do you want that?
A bead of sweat rolled down her spine. She shook her head once, but the horse was already trotting away, kicking up bits of earth and small rocks. In the matter of a few heartbeats, all that she could see of her brother was a thick cloud of dust.
Hell put you and your young ones out by force. The image of that tore through her and, without thought, she moved forward. She snatched the twenty dollar bill from the bush, ignoring the bite of scratches across her knuckles. She added the bill to the money Mr. McKaslin had given her. The sun was already sinking in the sky, the day more than half over. She had a lot to do if she wanted to spare her children any unpleasantness.
Woodenly, she stumbled into the kitchen, checking through the open window to see them seated at the little battered wooden table, comfortably finishing their meals. The wind puffed Jamess dark hair straight up like one big cowlick. Daisy sat as dainty and as dear as a princess.
Lord, please help me to manage this well. For their sake. She might have prayed further for shelter and work and somewhere to go, but shed learned from experience that the good Lord did not hear many of her prayers. So she kept them simple.
Whats for dessert, Ma? James had hopped off his chair and stood at the window, happily watching her through the mesh screen.
You sit down and watch your sister, handsome, and Ill bring you both big pieces of cake.
Cake! I knew it. Delight rounded his sweet face and he dashed the short distance back to his chair.
Thats my answer, she realized as she found a knife and went to work on the cake hidden in the cellar to keep cool and fresh. This will be an adventure, a special trip. Not a scary life living out of the wagon. They would be explorers, like in the book she was reading to them, a few pages at a time, at night.
She swallowed all her fears and worries, put a smile on her face and cut two huge slices of cake. Her mind was busy making plans of how to pack and what they would take as she pushed her way through the screen door.
Two darling faces turned toward her in sheer delight. Cake!
She knew from sad experience that the Lord might not provide for them, but she would find a way.
Chapter Two
If it wasnt one problem to deal with, it was another. Aiden McKaslin drew his horse to a halt and squinted into the long rays of the setting sun.
Sure enough, there at the edge of his property, just inside the boundary fence, was a squatter. A covered wagon huddled in the shelter of an old maple. Judging by the fraying cover, it had seen better days. The smoke from a newly lit fire rose thick and unsteady from a tidy circle of stones.
What with the glare of the sun, and the shadows the tree made on the ground, he couldnt see a living soul. Just two horses nipping at the growing grass.
He yanked his Winchester from the saddle holster by its barrel and cocked it with one hand. Aiden carried the weapon mostly for the wild predators that got to eyeing his livestock for dinner now and again. But when he ran into trouble of the human sort, he was doubly glad he always rode armed. Hed had trouble like this before, and experience taught him that squatters were mostly criminals.
He hated trouble, but the law was a good five miles away, so he approached the camp with caution, studying the lay of things with a careful eye. There was wearing of the earth around the stubborn tufts of grass at the creek bank. The careful sweeping of footprints out of the dirt seemed to be a clue that whoever was staying here might not want to leave a sign of how many of them there were. The trampled grass around the wagon was another hintstill fresh, but with significant usage.
What if the men were dangerous? Aiden drew his horse to a stop and considered. He was out in the open now. Too late to retreat. Trouble like this had occurred early last year, and a ranch hand had been shot and left for dead by squatters. Theyd never been caught. Thankfully, the hired man had survived.
Aiden would rather deal with dangerous wildlife anyday than a pack of armed criminals.
Then he saw something in the dust by the right rear wagon wheel. He leaned forward in the saddle, squinted a bit and realized it was a small, crudely carved wooden horsea childs toy. A childs toy? Not what hed figured on finding here in a squatters camp. Then he heard a rustle, and a puff of dust rose from beneath the wagon.
He lowered the hammer and the rifle. Is your pa around?
A round face peered between the spokes of the wheel. Nah. He rode away to heaven.
Aiden studied the wide brown eyes and dark hair sticking straight up, recognizing the child. The widows kid who had lived on the neighboring ranch for a spell. Probably another sad story, he figured as he dismounted. He was learning that life was full of sad stories. Even though hed lost his heart long ago, and there was nothing but an empty hole where it had been, he steeled himself. He didnt want to feel a thing, and he knew this situation was going to be full of sadness. Your ma then?
She said not to talk to nobody. Shh, Daisy. There was more rustling and the boy drew back.
To his surprise, a little girl with white-blond hair held back with a bright pink ribbon crawled out from beneath the wagon bed. She brushed the dust off her skirt primly. Ma didnt say I couldnt talk to nobody.
Aiden couldnt rightly say that he wasnt affected by that cute little girl. Such a wee thing, not much to her at all, and living out of a covered wagon. The little boy crawled out, too, looking annoyed with his younger sister. He drew himself up tallhe couldnt be more than seven or eight years oldand scolded his sister for not minding.
They hadnt been living here long, Aiden decided as he glanced around. Everything was neat and tidy, and a womans presence might explain the swept dirt. While he didnt have the best opinion of most women, hed learned even the worst of them liked to dust and sweep with a vengeance.
The little boy was shaking his finger at his sister. Ma said to stay hid. You oughtnt to be talking to strangers.
Are you a stranger? The little girl gazed past her brother and straight into Aidens eyes.
He choked a little, feeling a gnawing of something in his chest. He didnt like it. He didnt like feelings. Life was too hard for them. A smart man didnt give in to them. He set his jaw tight and answered between clenched teeth. Your brother is right. You ought to mind him.
Oh. The little girl wilted like a new seedling in a late freeze. Do you know where Ma is?
No. Shes not here? Did she go off and leave you? There it was. Fury. It roared through him unbidden and with a power that he hadnt felt since
Excuse me. A womans voice carried like a gunshot on the wind. Step away from my children.
He did as she asked, so as not to startle her. But as he pivoted on his boot heel to face her, he steeled himself a tad more. He still wasnt prepared for what he saw. Exhaustion was a mask obscuring her young face. Her dress was clean and proper and pressed, and her soft blond hair braided casually in one long tail that fell over her shoulder. The air of her, the feel that hung over her like a cloud, was pure hardship.
His emotions werent ironclad enough, because he felt the tug of pity. And more. The fury remained, digging deep. This is my land, maam. You cant go leaving your children alone here.
I didnt leave them alone. I was down at the creek.
As she strode to the crest of the rise, he could clearly see the two five-gallon buckets she carried, one in each hand. She was a tiny thing, and water was heavy. He was striding toward her before he realized he was moving at all.
There was fear in her eyesfear of him, he realized, as he yanked the first bucket out of her hand. She drew back fiercely, sloshing water over the rim and onto her faded skirts, clutching the remaining buckets handle with a death grip.
Give me the water. He tucked his rifle against his forearm and held out his free hand.
Her eyes widened at the sight of his rifle, pointed downward at an angle toward the grass.
Women. He ought to have remembered what they were like, having once been married. He did his best to keep his annoyance out of his voice. I use my rifle for defense, nothing more, maam. Now, give me the bucket.
She swallowed visibly, as if she were about to hand over a potful of money. He had frightened her more than hed realized.
Shame filled him and he took care when he lifted the heavy bucket from her small hand. He cleared his throat, not at all sure how to say what he had meant to say. Talking had never been his strong suit. He hefted the heavy water buckets and lugged them toward the camp, where both little children watched him wide-eyed. Anyone could see they were well-behaved, that their ma was doing a good job raising them up.