Her Winding Path (Seeing Ranch series) (A Historical Romance Book) Read online

  “All right,” she tentatively responded.

  She stayed where she was as he led the horses through the stable’s doorway, though, opting to study the area from one spot. Though there were plenty of chickens and horses in New York, this was the first time she had set foot on an actual farm.

  Ida Rose strained her eyes, staring into the steadily deepening darkness. The wheat, corn, and potato fields Tom had written about must have been somewhere nearby.

  His throat clearing interrupted her musings. “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Right this way.”

  They walked side by side, heading for the house. Ida Rose’s heart sped up, till she felt as if it were going to burst right out of her chest. Tom’s mother, Elizabeth, waited in the house. The thought had Ida Rose quickly smoothing her hair.

  Please let her like me.

  Tom opened the door and the warmth coming from the main room drew them right in. Flames crackled in the large fireplace and in front of them, a woman rested in a rocking chair. The moment she saw Ida Rose and Tom come in, though, she rose.

  With graying hair and fine lines, she was older than Ida Rose had expected, but the smile on her face immediately created a sense of ease.

  “Oh, how beautiful!” she cried, coming and taking Ida Rose’s hands in hers. “She is just lovely, Tom!”

  Tom rubbed the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. “Mother, this is Ida Rose Lowry. Ida Rose, my mother, Elizabeth Adkins.”

  “Welcome, my dear,” Elizabeth said. “I just made supper. Are you hungry?”

  “Yes,” Ida Rose admitted. “I am famished.”

  “It’s been a difficult day,” Tom added.

  Elizabeth frowned. “Oh, that’s right. The young man… What is his name? He came by and told me that, that-”

  “Luckily, no one was seriously injured,” Tom cut in. “Ida Rose’s bags, however, are trapped in the collapsed general store. I’m going to go back into town tomorrow to see if I can dig them out.”

  “Oh, now, that won’t do!”

  “I will manage,” Ida Rose assured the older woman.

  “I have an extra nightgown you can use tonight.”

  “Thank you very much. That is quite nice of you.”

  After showing her where the wash basin was, Elizabeth rested her hand on Ida Rose’s shoulder and steered her in the direction of the sturdy, wooden table. The room seemed to function as a living area, kitchen, and dining room. A doorway on the far wall led down a dark hallway, which presumably housed the bedrooms.

  In one of his letters, Tom had promised Ida Rose her own bedroom for as long as she wished. She wondered now just how many bedrooms there were, as the whole home did not seem to be very large.

  They took their seats at the table and Elizabeth immediately began loading Ida Rose’s plate with mashed potatoes and meat. The delicious aromas made Ida Rose’s stomach ache. With the excitement of the day, she hadn’t truly realized she was hungry until arriving in the house.

  “I pulled the wool blanket out for you,” Elizabeth told Tom.

  “Thank you, Mother. I may not need it after tonight. It should be warming up soon.”

  Ida Rose shot him a curious look. “Does it get that cold here in April?”

  “In the barn, it can.”

  She stared at him. “You are sleeping in the barn?”

  He gave her a crooked grin and rolled up his sleeves. “In the hayloft. Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be nice and cozy. Plus, I’ll have the barn cats and old Red to keep me company.”

  “Old Red?”

  “He’s the sheepdog. Been around since I was a kid.”

  “I love dogs.”

  Undeniable appreciation filled his face. “There’s something big we have in common.”

  “Yes,” she smiled back. “I suppose there is.”

  He held her gaze for the longest moment, his eyes growing softer. Ida Rose’s chest filled with a strange sensation. It quickly became too much to bear and she had to look away. Luckily, there was meat to focus on cutting.

  A sharp knock sounded on the door, causing Elizabeth and Tom to exchange perplexed looks. “Are you expecting anyone?” he asked.

  She frowned. “I… I don’t think so.”

  Tom stood up and went to the door, but didn’t open it. For the first time, Ida Rose noticed the rifle hanging above the frame there.

  “Who is it?” he loudly asked through the wood.

  “It’s McGraw.”

  Tom quickly opened the door. “McGraw! Get on in here! Are you hungry? We were just sitting down to supper.”

  The man who entered was five or ten years older than Tom, with a thick beard and broad shoulders. The two of them shook hands, then his eyes slid over to Ida Rose. “Mrs. Adkins… Miss...”

  “This is Ida Rose Lowry,” Tom explained. “My fiancée.”

  “Nice to meet you, Miss Lowry.”

  Tom gestured toward the table. “Take a seat. Have some supper.”

  He shook his head. “No, thank you. I can’t. The missus will get worried if I’m not home soon. I just stopped by to talk for a minute.”

  “How are things in town? Did you just leave there?”

  “I did,” he slowly said. “There’s a meeting tomorrow at noon so a plan can be made for rebuilding, but...” Mr. McGraw glanced at Ida Rose, then quickly looked away. “Step outside with me for a minute. I promise I’ll make it quick. You have supper to get back to.”

  The tightness in his voice made Ida Rose sit up straighter. The two men went outside, Tom closing the door behind them.

  “Salt?” Elizabeth asked, smiling. The fact that there was a secret conversation happening outside seemed not to bother her in the slightest.

  “Yes, thank you.” Her throat thick, she salted her potatoes. The men’s muffled voices could be heard through the door, but no words were distinguishable. Just as she began wishing she could eavesdrop on the conversation, the door opened and Tom was back.

  “Where did you go?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Just out front.” He smiled as he took a seat.

  Ida Rose tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. He just wanted to share news about the earthquake.” Tom looked away as he spoke, which only made the tension in Ida Rose’s stomach grow. He was lying. She knew all the signs and had already noted that Tom usually looked her in the eye while speaking to her.

  Whatever news Mr. McGraw had brought, he had deemed it inappropriate to share in front of the women. Ida Rose surreptitiously checked out Elizabeth as she ate. If it were not for the other woman, she would be questioning Tom as if her life depended on it.

  And maybe it does.

  Earthquakes. Bandits. What was next?

  With supper finished, Elizabeth waved off Ida Rose’s offer to help with the dishes. “You must be tired. Tom, show the girl her room.”

  “It’s right this way,” he explained, taking an oil lamp from the table and slipping down the short hallway.

  She had been right about her estimations on the cabin’s size. There were two bedrooms off the hall, both rather small.

  “This is my room,” Tom explained, going to the one on the left and setting the oil lamp on the wardrobe. He quickly stumbled over his next words. “But you’ll be staying here yourself, of course—as long as you like.”

  With two windows and a large bed laden with blankets and pillows, the spot seemed cozy enough.

  “Thank you. It is wonderful. I do hope you will be comfortable in the hayloft.”

  He nodded in confirmation. “I sleep out there a lot in good weather anyway. It’s nice.”

  “Tom...”

  The flickering light danced across his face, momentarily stealing Ida Rose’s sanity and making her forget all about what she was going to say. He gazed back at her, his chest rising sharply.

  “Yes?”

  With a mental shake, she gathered her thoughts. “Mr.
McGraw… What was he really here to talk to you about?”

  Tom slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip, looking as if he was debating whether to answer.

  “Please be honest with me.” She looked straight into his eyes. “I know that I am new here and do not understand much of what is happening, but knowing as much as I can will really put me at ease.”

  Tom sighed. “A nearby homestead was attacked by bandits. They didn’t kill anyone, but they took everything they could, including all the horses.”

  Each word was another stab at her heart. Despite the fear filling her, she kept her features calm. “How close?”

  “About twenty miles away.”

  A slow exhale left Ida Rose. Twenty miles. That was farther than she had expected. Still, even the slightest talk of bandits was too much talk.

  “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Mother.”

  “I understand. Thank you for telling me.”

  His eyes softened. “You really don’t have to worry. They won’t come here. Outlaws don’t stay in one area for long. They run the risk of getting caught if they do.”

  Ida Rose nodded. The assertion made sense.

  His eyes flicked around the room. “Do you need anything?”

  She took a deep breath and inspected the room herself, thinking about it. Elizabeth had already laid a nightgown out on the bed. There was a washbasin in the corner. Nothing lacked.

  Except for company. On one of the most terrifying days of her life, the very last thing Ida Rose wanted was to be alone. She would stay up the whole night if that meant not facing a minute of solitude.

  “No,” she forced herself to say. “It appears that I am quite settled. Thank you.”

  He slowly nodded, his own hesitation to leave seeming to be there. “I am glad you’re here, Ida Rose.”

  Her heart fluttered. “I am, too, Tom.”

  “Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  He left, closing the door behind him. The silence of the room pressed tightly against Ida Rose, so like the silence of the collapsed general store. A shiver running through her, she quickly crossed the floor and opened one of the windows. The fresh air flowing through it, though brisk, gave her a sense of freedom.

  Excepts bandits could climb through.

  Gasping out loud, she quickly shut the window and locked it. Walking backward, her legs hit the bed and she collapsed into sitting.

  Bandits or earthquakes? Which was she to fear?

  Or was it really the lonely silence of the room that got to her the most?

  4

  4. Tom

  Chapter Four

  “Are those them?” McGraw pulled two dust-covered bags from the general store wreckage.

  “Must be.” Tom reached over and took them in his hands, testing their heavy weight as he did so.

  Considering a roof had collapsed on them, the outside of the bags had managed well. Whether any valuables in them had been damaged remained to be seen.

  “How is the young lady doing?” McGraw asked as the two of them clambered back down to the ground.

  Tom remembered Ida Rose at breakfast that morning, how pale she’d looked, and the bags under her eyes. “It was rough on her.”

  “Of course.” McGraw scratched his beard and thoughtfully looked across the street, where a crowd of men was gathering near the sheriff’s office. “She’s darn lucky.”

  Tom only made a noise of agreement. If her tired face had been any indication, Ida Rose didn’t seem to feel the same way.

  “Let’s get on with this,” McGraw said, nodding at the group.

  By the time they crossed the street, Sheriff Mayes had taken his place on the porch. “There will be a sheet posted by my door. Any man who can spare his time fixing and rebuilding can write his name down there. We’ll make a schedule, too, and get to each building as fast as we can. I heard someone suggest we do our own kind of hotel-raising, and that sounds like a fine idea. Get it done in one day, have the womenfolk bring dinner. We’ll make do just fine.”

  “What about the bandits?” someone asked from the crowd.

  The question immediately prompted murmurs, with everyone turning and discussing the situation with their neighbors.

  Tom put Ida Rose’s bags down and stepped along the side of the crowd, curious to hear what the sheriff had to say.

  Sheriff Mayes lifted his palms, signalling for everyone to calm down. “I understand the concern, but consider something: these attacks are happening way out in remote areas. If we stick together in Shallow Springs, neighbors looking out for neighbors, then any criminals passing through will just move right on by. They won’t be looking to stir up trouble in a town that don’t stand for it.”

  More excited murmuring erupted.

  “Some of our farms are just as remote as that one that was attacked,” a ranch owner named Waters said.

  Sheriff Mayes was quick. “That makes it all the more important that we look out for one another. Check in on neighbors. Now’s not a time to be unfriendly.”

  That seemed to calm the group a small amount, but the tension was still there, seen in crossed arms and furrowed brows.

  Tom thought about his own farm, sitting several miles outside of town, his mother and future wife there all alone, save for the hired hand, Eddie—a scrawny fellow of seventeen who was only there during the day.

  His insides itched something awful and he wanted to get back home right away.

  “I’m gonna get on,” he told McGraw.

  “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “You don’t, either.” Tom gave him a firm shake, gathered Ida Rose’s bags, and took off for his wagon.

  The whole ride back, he leaned forward in his seat, inspecting the familiar land around him in a new way.

  His world had always been safe, easy to understand. Within one day, it had turned upside down. An earthquake. Outlaws. And a mail-order bride shaken to the core.

  He wasn’t about to share any of his fears with Ida Rose, though. She was scared enough as it was. Luckily, Tom had practice keeping a calm demeanor. He’d been his mother’s rock since he was ten years old. Even if he was riled up on the inside, keeping a calm demeanor was his greatest skill.

  Not until the farm came into view, Eddie trailing along the edge of the alfalfa field, was he finally able to take in a deep breath. The young man came forward to help unhitch the horses and Red bounded from around the corner of the barn, pink tongue hanging from his mouth.

  Tom glanced all around, looking for Ida Rose.

  “Did the meeting happen?” Eddie asked.

  “Mm-hmm.” He slipped the bridle from Chestnut and handed it over to Eddie before moving on to Acorn, who was already stomping a hoof impatiently.

  “There’s a sheet to sign up names for fixing up the town. You can go on and add yours when you get a chance. I already did.”

  “What about the farm?”

  “The town can’t wait.” He thought about it for a moment. “You and I will go on separate days. That way, one of us is always here.”

  He led the horses into the barn while Eddie fetched them some fresh water. While at one time, it would have been all right, now, the thought of leaving Ida Rose and his mother all alone at the farm just didn’t sit right.

  Did Ida Rose even know how to fire a shotgun?

  And his mother…

  Tom rubbed his face with his palms. She’d done good the night before, considering what she was often like these days. Still, she wasn’t about to get any better. The doctor had made that clear more than once before.

  From here on out, it was about managing whatever happened next.

  He’d have to share the truth with Ida Rose soon. The longer he waited, the worse it would be when he did tell her.

  “Hello.”

  Tom whipped around, finding Ida Rose standing at the edge of the barn. Despite the worrying he’d just been doing, the sight of her brought on a wave of relaxation. It seemed there was no up
set that couldn’t be quelled by the appearance of a beautiful woman.

  “Hello there. I got your bags. They’re right outside there.”

  “I saw. Thank you.” She stayed where she was, fingers lightly pressed against the frame.