Indulgence (161 page)

Waiting as he dismounted from his horse, she said, “May I
help you with something?”

“Yeah,” he began, “you must be Miss Wallace, the judge’s
daughter. I’m Joe Young. Your father just hired me as foreman of this ranch.”

Taken aback by this revelation, Anne regained her composure.
“My father didn’t mention this to me, Mr. Young. I will have to check with him
about this.”

“Naw, Miss Wallace, ya’ don’t have to check. Here’s a letter
he said to give ya’,” he said, handing her the folded paper.

Anne opened it and read its contents. Her father had hired
him; why, she could not guess. The ranch didn’t have that much livestock yet,
so there was no need for a foreman.

“It seems you’re correct, Mr. Young. You may put your things
in the bunkhouse over there,” she said, indicating where the bunkhouse was.
Anne had an uneasy feeling about the man; the way he looked at her. Albert
definitely was not going to like this.

“If you will excuse me,” she began.

“No need for excusin’ yourself missy, you’re gonna be seein’
a lot of me,” Young said to her.

“Mr. Young, let’s get something straight,” she said. “My
father hired you to run this ranch. That does not include me; do not make the
mistake of thinking that. I won’t hesitate to fire you if you get out of line
one time.”

As he walked toward her, Anne resisted the temptation to
back up as he said, “Miss Wallace, there’s no need to threaten me. Your father
hired me, and he's the only one who’s gonna fire me, no matter what. Now you
better get use to me bein' round here all the time. I gotta say it will be a
pleasure seein' you every day.”

“We’ll just see about that,” she said through clenched
teeth. Anne started into the barn to saddle her horse with Young right behind
her. Standing far too close to her, he told her, “Yeah, Miss Wallace, you and
me gonna get to be real good friends.”

he spun around and said, “Stay away from me! Don’t you dare
come near me again.”

“And if I don’t,” he began, “what are ya gonna’ do, tell
Albert Stuart? Got news for ya, missy, I ain’t afraid of him.”

“No,” she seethed, “it won’t be necessary for me to tell
Albert. You’re not worth his time; I can deal with you myself.”

“I’m lookin’ forward to that, missy,” Young said, leering at
her.

“Mr. Young, let me give you fair warning. I do two things
very well. The first one is riding; the second is using a gun. I’m an excellent
shot, and I won’t hesitate to shoot anyone who threatens me.”

“Hey, missy, no need to get all mad and such, I was just
wantin’ to get to know ya’,” Young explained.

“You’re a hired hand and it’s not necessary for you to know
me. Stay away from me, Mr. Young, or I will see you gone, one way, or another,”
she told him.

“I want him fired,” Anne told her father that evening. “We
don’t need him for twenty horses. What were you thinking?"

“I need someone in place to handle the day to day operation
of the ranch, Anne. I hired him, and he’s not going anywhere,” her father told
her.

“Father, he makes me very uncomfortable. He made some
inappropriate suggestions to me. I want him fired.”

“Anne, it was his first day. He comes highly recommended, so
let’s give him a chance. He even worked for Thomas Stuart; now that should tell
you something.”

“I know all about his working at Sky Valley. He was fired
for stealing cattle. I imagine you didn’t know that,” she challenged.

“Actually, my dear,” he said, “I do know of that unfortunate
incident. Personally, I believe it was all a misunderstanding. Now I’m going to
give Mr. Young an opportunity to prove himself. When, and only when, I feel he
isn’t working out, he will be let go.”

“Father, I had to threaten him today to leave me alone.
Doesn’t that tell you anything?” she asked.

“It tells me,” he began, “that you are judging the man
before you know him. I thought you prided yourself on your tolerance of
everyone.”

“Albert is not going to like this,” she said.

“Albert Stuart does not run this ranch! I do!” he said
vehemently. “Now you may be all enthralled with young Stuart, but I’m not. You
listen to him far too much. That’s another reason it will be good for you to be
away from him for a while. You will be able to regain your impartiality.
Something you’ve lost since you’ve been involved with him.”

“Say what you will,” she began, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m
not going back to school, so you might as well get use to the idea. Just keep
Young away from me. I will not hesitate to defend myself if I feel threatened.”

She would have to tell Albert, and he would be furious. He
was to be out of town on business in a few days and now would be reluctant to
go because of Young. However, if she didn’t tell him, he would be even angrier.

*****

Albert came calling later that evening. When he dismounted
Diablo, Young sauntered out of the bunkhouse.

“What are you doing here?” Albert asked.

“I’m the new foreman; the Judge hired me today,” Young
responded.

Albert went to the front door and knocked, watching the man
as he stood leaning against the hitching post. Anne opened the front door,
giving Albert a kiss. As he entered, he asked, “What is your father thinking,
hiring Young? Didn’t you tell him the problems we had with him?”

“Yes, Albert,” she said taking his hand, “I did, but father
is adamant about giving him another chance. He already makes me uncomfortable.”

“Let me speak to your father,” Albert said.

“He isn’t going to listen.”

“Anne, let me talk to him,” Albert said forcefully.

“All right, but you won’t get anywhere with him. I’ve
already tried,” she explained.

Entering her father’s office, she announced, “Father, Albert
would like to speak to you.”

“Come in, Albert. Good to see you.” John Wallace stood,
shaking his hand.

“Sir, I believe you’ve made a mistake hiring Joe Young. He’s
a cattle thief and who knows what else,” Albert explained.

“Albert, as I told Anne, this is my ranch. Whom I employ is
no one else’s concern. While I appreciate your opinion, this is my decision,
and I would like you and Anne to respect it,” he said.

“But, sir,” Albert began, “I don’t think. . .”

“Albert!” the judge yelled, “I don’t want to be rude, but
this is none of your business.”

“Sir, it is my business. I’m concerned for Anne’s safety
with him around. He doesn’t respect women, and he’s not to be trusted,” Albert replied.

“Let me worry about that, young man. While you seem to be
under the impression that only you can see to my daughter’s well-being, you’re
wrong. She has been under my protection all of her life, and no harm has come
to her,” the judge responded.

“She has been fortunate up until now,” Albert continued. He
was furious that this man was putting her in danger. Albert had to make him
realize this.

“Albert, because you are Thomas’ son, I’m going to overlook
your rude comments and behavior. However, be warned, I will not tolerate any
more of your conduct. Anne is my responsibility for now. I don’t feel she is in
any danger, and until I do, Young stays!”

Anne knew Albert was ready to explode as she said, “Please
Albert, let’s go for a carriage ride.”

Albert stood glaring at her father, unable to understand why
the judge was being so stubborn and would not listen to reason.

“I didn’t bring the carriage, Anne,” Albert said through his
anger.

“Well, then,” she began, “let's have our new hired hand
hitch ours up. After all, he’s being paid to do more than lounge around the
bunkhouse,” she said as she started for the door.

“I’ll see to it, Anne. I want a word with him anyway,”
Albert told her. “Wait here. I’ll come for you when it’s ready.”

Walking out the door, Albert donned his hat. Approaching
Young, he told the man, “I would like a word with you while I get the carriage
ready.”

Following Albert into the barn, Young said, “Couldn’t get
the judge to fire me, could you, Stuart?”

“Don’t worry about my conversation with the judge, Young.
I’m warning you, do not go near Anne. I don’t have any idea why he hired a
convicted criminal, but I will be watching you. Anne will tell me if you do or
say anything out of the ordinary to her. If you value your life, stay away from
her,” Albert told the man.

“Don’t be threatening me, Stuart. You’re not on Sky Valley
now,” Young said.

“Just remember what I said,” Albert replied.

After leading the horse out of the barn and hitching him to
the carriage, Albert went to get Anne. When they left, he asked, “Why would
your father hire Young?”

“I don’t know, but something isn’t right. My father has
never hired a criminal. His feeling has always been they could not be trusted.
He’s up to something. I just know it,” she told him.

“Anne, stay away from him until I can figure out what’s
going on. I just warned him to keep away from you. If he bothers you in any
way, I want to know. I warned you about going into Carson City alone, and your
father hires the most contemptible man in the town to work right here,” Albert
said, shaking his head.

“I’ll be okay,” she told him. “I’ve had to deal with men
like him before.”

“When were you exposed to men like that?” Albert asked.

“We visited Washington before we came here. There are a
great deal of unsavory men running our country. I was able to avoid them, just
as I will avoid Young,” she said. “Now I don’t want you worrying, Albert. I’ll
be fine.”

“I can’t imagine what your father was thinking when he hired
him,” Albert said.

After taking her home and putting the carriage away, he
headed back home. Arriving there, he found Thomas sitting in the great room,
reading. “Father,” he began, “may I talk to you about something?”

Thomas seemed to be taken off guard. “Of course, what seems
to be the problem?”

“I’m not sure,” Albert began. “Judge Wallace has hired Joe
Young as his ranch foreman. I tried to tell him about Young, and he definitely
did not care what my feelings were on the subject. Anne had already told him
everything I did before I arrived.”

“That doesn’t sound like John,” Thomas said.

“I don’t believe John is the same man you use to know,”
Albert stated.

“I’m starting to believe the same, Albert. I’m ashamed to
tell you that I contacted an attorney in London when John wrote and told me he
and Anne were coming for a visit. I thought it rather odd that after fifteen
years or so he suddenly wanted to renew old acquaintances. The information I’m
receiving from the attorney is most unsettling.”

“What is it? Does it involve Anne?” Albert asked.

“I haven’t gotten everything back yet, but from what I
gathered, it does involve Anne. She, however, is unaware of her part in this.”

“Would he put her in any danger?

“Right now, Albert, I can’t say for sure. I would rather
wait until I have all the information. Then you and I will sit down and go over
everything. Then we’ll decide what, if anything, we need to do.”

“Albert,” Thomas Stuart began, “I know you don’t want to go
to San Francisco right now, but you’re the only one who can close this sale
with the army. They have worked with you and won’t deal with anyone else.”

“Father, you have to understand my reasons for not wanting
to leave Anne right now with Young working there.”

“I do, son, but you can’t watch over Anne twenty four hours
a day. Her father is there, and he won’t let anything happen to her,” Thomas
replied.

“You have more confidence in John than I do,” Albert said.
“I don’t trust that man, and with the reports you’re getting back, it’s only a
matter of time until I have to tell Anne what type of man her father is.”

“Anne is over here most of the time anyway,” Thomas began.
“I know she stays away from there just to stay clear of Young. You know your
brothers and I will see to her while you’re gone. I really do hate the fact you
have to go, Albert, but we’ll take care of her.”

The next morning, Albert rode over to the Wallace ranch Anne
had named
The Oaks
. She had described to Albert the area outside London
it was named for. “It’s beautiful there. During the fall, when the leaves are
turning, it looks as though the entire countryside is ablaze. I always loved it
there.”

Anne came out to meet him when she heard him ride up.
“Morning, Albert,” she said smiling up at his face.

“Good morning, Anne,” he replied as he alit from Diablo,
giving her a kiss. “I thought we would go riding today. We need to talk about a
few things.”

“All right, let me go change. There’s coffee on the
sideboard, help yourself,” she replied.

Albert had gone into the dining room to get coffee. As he
was gazing out the window, the man he was concerned about walked out of the
barn. He saw Young start toward the house until he saw Albert’s horse. Albert
watched as the man mounted and rode away.

“I’m ready,” Anne announced as she entered the room.

Smiling at her, Albert sat his cup down and took her arm as
they left the house. She waited as Albert saddled her horse. Neither knew they
were being watched. Shortly, they were on their way down the road away from the
ranch.

When they arrived at the bluff overlooking the lake, where
they always went when they needed to talk, Albert wasted no time telling her he
would have to go out of town. “I hate to leave right now, but I’m the only one
who can close this particular deal. I don’t feel right leaving you with
everything that has been going on.”

“Albert, I’ll be fine. I’ve had to be alone and deal with
people like Young before. I’ll be all right until you get back. I’ll just stay
very close to the house or ride over to visit your family. He just makes me
nervous the way he’s always staring at me,” she explained.