The Texan (4 page)

“
T
here’s a rider coming!”

Josh was working in the stable when he heard one of the ranch hands call out. He quit what he was doing and went to see who was riding in. He recognized the man as Rick from the telegraph office and figured he was probably bringing news from the lawyer. Les Gallagher had been gone for more than two weeks, and Josh had been wondering how things were going back in Philadelphia.

“Rick, it’s good to see you,” Josh greeted him.

“I was hoping you’d be here,” Rick said as he dismounted. “This just came for you.” He handed over the telegram.

“Thanks.”

Rick rode out again as Josh glanced down at the message in his hand. He wasn’t quite sure he wanted to read it, but he knew he had no choice. Unfolding the telegram, he quickly read the lawyer’s words.

“What’s the news?” asked Burley Thompson, a longtime hand on the Rocking R whose name fit his
size. The big man walked out of the stable to join Josh.

“Looks like things are going to turn out the way Hank wanted.”

“Emmie’s coming back?” Burley asked.

“They’re on their way.”

“I didn’t think we’d ever see her again. I thought her mother would sell the place and be done with it. Is Sarah coming with her?”

“No.” Josh didn’t reveal any of the details of Hank’s will.

“Figures.” Burley had watched little Emmie with her father and knew how close they’d been. “So Emmie’s planning to stay?”

“It looks that way.”

“I’ll let the boys know. It ain’t going to be easy for her. That’s for sure.”

As Burley moved off, Josh stared down at the telegram one more time before stuffing it in his pocket and heading back to work. He wondered how a girl raised back East was going to handle the many challenges of ranch life.

Emmie was staring out the window of the stage at the vast Texas countryside on the final leg of her journey home. She realized as the thought formed in her mind that no matter how many years she’d spent in Philadelphia, the Rocking R was still home to her. She almost smiled thinking of the ranch, but then the memory of her father’s death returned to haunt her, and sadness overwhelmed her again. She’d managed to keep her spirits up during the
trip by telling herself it was just time for another visit, but the game she’d been playing with herself was over now.

This wasn’t just another trip to the ranch.

This time her father wouldn’t be there.

“Emmie, how close are we?” Millie asked. She’d seen the change in her friend’s expression and wanted to distract her. Every passing mile brought them closer to the town of Shotgun—and to the Rocking R. Millie knew Emmie’s sorrow was only going to deepen once she had to face the reality of her father’s death.

“We should reach town within the hour,” Emmie told her.

“Thank heaven,” exclaimed Miss Harriet Adams, the very prim and proper chaperone, who’d been hired to accompany the two girls. The endless hours riding in the hot, dusty stagecoach had taken their toll on the older woman.

Emmie smiled at her, but cautioned, “Once we get to Shotgun, we’re still not finished. From there, we have to make the trip out to the ranch.”

“And just how do we do that?” Miss Harriet asked, looking a bit unsure about what was to come.

“Since we weren’t certain how our stagecoach connections were going to work out, there probably won’t be anyone from the ranch to meet us,” Les said. “I’ll have to see if Will down at the stable has a carriage we can use. If not, I’ll send a rider out to let Josh know that we’ve arrived and we’ll have to wait for him to send someone to get us.”

“And Josh is the foreman, right?” Millie asked.

“Yes. He’s been at the Rocking R for almost a year now,” Les explained. “Emmie hasn’t met him yet, but you all will today. He’s done a fine job of running things.”

Emmie wasn’t sure whether she was glad to hear that or not. Her father should be the one running things at the Rocking R, not a stranger. Not a man she’d never met.

But even as she thought it, Emmie reasoned with herself that her father had hired Josh on, and that said a lot about what Hank had thought of him.

“This is exciting,” Millie said, glancing out the window. “We’re actually here…in Texas.” She had been raised in the city, surrounded by people and buildings. This Western landscape was a far cry from what she was used to, but instead of feeling intimidated, she thought of the trip as a big adventure. She couldn’t wait to get out and explore everything. “So, Emmie, tell me about Shotgun again. What’s the town like? And how did it come to be named Shotgun?”

“Charlie Miller was one of the first settlers here, and he always carried a shotgun. He got elected the first sheriff and was real good at using his shotgun to keep things quiet. Some outlaw who was passing through ambushed him one night, and that’s when the folks decided to name the town after him.”

“Oh, dear.” Miss Harriet gasped. “What happened to the outlaw?”

“From what my father told me, the townsfolk got up a posse and went after him.”

“Did they catch him?” Millie asked.

Emmie wasn’t sure her traveling companions were ready to hear the truth, but she told them anyway. “Yes. They tracked him down and strung him up.”

“Strung him up?” Miss Harriet repeated, confused in her innocence.

“They hanged him,” Les spoke up.

“Gracious me.” Miss Harriet looked sorry she’d asked.

“But don’t worry, Miss Harriet,” Les assured her. “Things have been pretty peaceful in Shotgun for a while now.”

“That’s good news,” the older woman said, relief apparent in her tone.

They fell silent again as the stage continued on its rough, jarring ride toward town.

“There’s Shotgun,” Emmie told them as she caught sight of the buildings in the distance some time later.

Miss Harriet took a quick look out the window. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t the forlorn grouping of run-down-looking buildings she saw about a mile off. She’d expected a town—a city. She sat back, troubled, but taking great care to keep her expression pleasant. From the looks of things, her job was going to be quite a challenge. After all, she supposed, they didn’t call it the Wild West for nothing. She just hoped the Rocking R Ranch was a bit more civilized-looking.

Millie was glad the trip was over. It had been a long, hard one, but now the really difficult time was upon them. She looked over at her friend and gave her a reassuring smile. “I wish we were here under different circumstances,” she said softly.

Emmie nodded, her eyes full of sorrow. “So do I.”

The stagecoach rolled into town, leaving a trail of dust swirling behind it.

Les climbed out of the vehicle first, then turned to help the ladies descend. They stood in front of the stage office, looking most out of place in their fashionable traveling clothes. The coach driver threw their bags down, and Les quickly stacked them on the wooden sidewalk.

“Why don’t you wait here at the office while I check with Will about getting us a carriage?”

“I need to send a telegram to my mother to let her know we’ve arrived safely.”

“I’ll take care of that for you,” Les offered.

“Thanks.”

He moved off as they started inside.

Millie stopped, though, fascinated by her first look at a real Western town. She wanted to see as much as she could before they left for the ranch. “Could we walk around a bit?”

“Sure. Mr. Gallagher will probably be a while.”

Emmie led the way, showing them where the church was and the school. They’d just come up to the dry goods store when Paul Mason, the owner, stepped out.

“Why, Emmie! Carol!” he shouted back to his wife. “Emmie’s here!”

Carol Mason came hurrying outside. “Oh, Emmie, we were hoping you’d come back. We’re so sorry about your pa.”

“Thank you. So am I.”

“Are you doing all right?”

“As well as I can be,” she answered a bit evasively, drawing a curious look from Millie.

Paul went back inside while Carol stayed out to talk.

“Who’ve you brought with you?” Carol asked, looking at the strikingly pretty blonde and the middle-aged woman with Emmie.

Emmie quickly introduced everyone.

“Well, nobody believed it at the time, but it looks like your pa did the right thing, making a partner out of that gunman Josh Grady,” Carol said, turning the topic back to the reason for Emmie’s return. “Just think where you’d be without him right now.”

“Gunman? Partner? What are you talking about?”

“Your pa didn’t write you about Josh?” Carol asked, giving Emmie a surprised look.

“I knew we had a new foreman.”

“Dear me…I guess you’ll be finding out soon enough now. Well, excuse me, I’ve got to get back to the store.”

“What was all that about?” Miss Harriet asked as they started walking back to the stage office. “What was that woman suggesting?”

“And why don’t you like her?” Millie asked perceptively.

“Mrs. Mason is the town gossip.”

“Oh.”

“She just has to know everybody’s business—but I don’t understand what she was saying about the new foreman.” Emmie frowned. “I’ve got to talk to Mr. Gallagher about this—now.”

Les drove the carriage up to the stage office just as they returned.

“Were you giving them the scenic tour?” he asked Emmie as he got down and started to load their bags.

“I thought they’d be interested in getting a look at our town,” she said.

Les helped Millie and Miss Harriet climb up into the carriage. When they were seated, he turned to Emmie to give her a hand.

“I think we need to have a talk before we go anywhere,” Emmie said.

“What is it?” Les asked, sounding concerned at her tone of voice.

She stepped away from the carriage and walked off to the side of the office, leaving him to follow. She wanted their conversation to be private. She turned and confronted him when she was certain they were alone.

“My father left the Rocking R to me, and I’ve come back here to run it.”

“Yes. I know.” He looked puzzled. “Those were the orders in his will.”

“Then who is Josh Grady, really?” she demanded.

“What do you mean?” he asked in confusion.

“Carol Mason said—”

“Oh, Carol…”

“Yes, Carol,” Emmie said heatedly. “She just told me this Josh is part owner of the Rocking R!”

Looking shamefaced, Les quickly explained what her father had done in offering Josh a partnership.

“And just when did you plan to tell me all this?”
Emmie demanded, surprised to learn about her father’s shortage of cash and his decision to take on a partner.

“I was going to explain everything once we were out at the ranch and you’d already met Josh. I thought it would be better that way. Now I realize I was wrong. I should have told you up front.”

“Why didn’t my father tell me? He wrote to me and let me know we had a new foreman—”

“He probably didn’t tell you the rest of it then for the same reason I waited. He wanted to introduce you to Josh first. Josh is a good man. He was a big help to your father, and he’s been running things since—”

Emmie looked up at the lawyer, sorrow and pain deep in her eyes. “I think we’d better get out to the Rocking R.”

E
mmie remained quiet for most of the carriage ride to the Rocking R. What she’d just learned from Mr. Gallagher troubled her. The ranch was her inheritance. She’d traveled back to Texas planning to take over running it. She was deeply disturbed to learn that this man—this Josh Grady, a man she didn’t even know—was part owner.

In a way Emmie was a little bit glad for the distraction of her anger, for it kept her from facing the reality of what was to come next. As the miles passed and they drew closer to the Rocking R, Emmie could no longer ignore the heartache she was about to face. She was returning home—and for the first time ever, her father wouldn’t be there.

She told herself she was strong.

She told herself she was her father’s daughter.

But even as she girded herself emotionally, she knew it was going to be painful entering the house and not finding him there waiting for her with a smile and a big hug.

Millie sat across from Emmie in the carriage,
watching her. She could see the haunted look in her friend’s eyes and understood why she was so silent. She didn’t try to engage her in conversation, for she knew this was the most difficult part of the whole trip for Emmie, and there was nothing she could do to make it any easier.

It was Miss Harriet who, after riding in the carriage for nearly half an hour with no sign of civilization in sight, broke the silence. “When are we going to get to the ranch? Is it much farther?”

Emmie looked over at the elderly lady and managed a slight, ironic smile. “We’ve been on the Rocking R for the last fifteen minutes.”

“Oh, my,” Miss Harriet said, truly surprised. “Then where’s the house?”

“Just a little farther on—a few more miles.”

“The Rocking R is certainly a big ranch,” the chaperone said in amazement. “I don’t know quite what I was expecting. My experiences with country living back East were limited to visiting farms, and this is certainly nothing like a farm.”

“Yes, it is big. It’s over forty thousand acres,” Emmie explained.

“Goodness.” Miss Harriet looked around with more interest now.

It was only a short time later that Emmie told them, “We’re here.”

Emmie had described the house to Millie, but Millie was still impressed by the sight of the large two-story home in the distance, with all its outbuildings. Millie could see a group of ranch hands gathered around the corral near the stable.

“I wonder what’s happening?” she asked.

Emmie saw them, too. “Hard to say from this far out, but someone could be breaking a horse.”

“There’s some kind of excitement going on,” Les agreed when he heard a rousing cheer go up from the cowboys. “Let’s go see what it is.”

Josh got up slowly from where he’d been thrown yet another time. He picked up his hat and angrily knocked the dirt and dust from his clothes before jamming it back on. He knew he was going to be hurting tomorrow, but right now that didn’t matter. All that mattered was breaking the defiant black stallion. The look in Josh’s eyes was steely as he squared his shoulders and started after the horse, which had moved off to the far side of the corral and was standing there staring back at him.

“What are ya goin’ to do now?” called out Steve, a young, smart-mouthed hand.

Josh didn’t even glance his way as he answered, “I’m going to ride him.”

The men watching heard the fierce determination in his voice and knew the stallion had thrown Josh for the last time. They watched as the foreman slowly picked up the reins and then, talking softly to the stallion in a low, calm voice, moved to mount up again.

Josh swung up into the saddle, ready for another rough ride. The stallion didn’t disappoint him. Even though the horse was obviously tired, he put up another good fight. This time, though, Josh managed to hang on. It wasn’t easy, but he stayed in the saddle.
The stallion charged toward the fence and then stopped quickly and bucked as hard as he could, spinning around in his effort to unseat the man who was trying to break him, but Josh was as hardheaded as the stallion.

The two battled on.

Les had intended to drive the ladies straight up to the house, but there was so much cheering going on out at the corral, he drove there first.

Burley saw the carriage coming and called out, “Hey, boys! Emmie’s here!”

At his shout, the ranch hands glanced over to see the lawyer pulling up in the carriage with Emmie and two other ladies. They forgot all about Josh’s fight with the stallion as they hurried over to welcome Emmie home.

Burley reached the carriage first.

“Burley!” Emmie greeted him with a warm smile. He had always been one of her favorite ranch hands. She knew the gentle giant had a tender heart.

At her greeting, the big man didn’t hesitate, but went straight to her to lift her down from the carriage with ease.

“We heard you were coming,” he told her. He looked back up at the carriage and asked, “Who’d you bring with you?”

“This is Miss Harriet, our chaperone, and my best friend, Millie,” Emmie said, quickly introducing her companions. Then looking up at the ranch hand, she told them, “And this is Burley. He’s worked here on the Rocking R for as long as I can remember.”

“That’s right, I have. I’ve known this pretty lady
since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. We used to call her ‘Little’ Emmie, but not anymore. It’s nice to meet you,” he returned.

Emmie smiled, remembering Burley’s affectionate nickname for her when she was a little girl.

Les climbed down to help Millie and Miss Harriet descend from the carriage while Emmie went to greet the other ranch hands who’d come over to welcome her home.

“We’re real sorry about your pa.” Burley’s mood turned solemn as he spoke up for all of them.

“Thank you,” Emmie said sadly, looking at the men who’d been so loyal to her father. “I’m still having trouble believing he’s gone.”

“So are we,” one of the other men offered in consolation.

“Is Josh around?” Les asked Burley He knew this was going to be the hardest moment of her homecoming—going up to the house and finding her father not there—and he wanted to get the introductions over with so she could have time alone to adjust to all the changes in her life.

Burley gave him a wry grin. “Who do you think’s riding that bronc?”

As he spoke, everyone looked back toward the corral. Josh was still in the saddle. While they were watching, the stallion gave one last weak buck and then gave up the fight.

Josh had been so caught up in breaking the horse that he hadn’t realized the ranch hands were gone until that moment. Glancing around, he spotted the
carriage. Les and the three women standing beside it were talking to Burley and the other boys. Josh reined in and dismounted.

“Here he comes now,” Les said to Emmie.

Emmie looked over toward the corral. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting of the partner her father had taken on—an older man, maybe, someone closer to Hank’s own age, but the sight of the tall, lean, ruggedly handsome cowboy striding their way unsettled her. There was something about him—an air of confidence and control, and even an edge of danger—that said he was a man to be reckoned with. She remembered what Carol Mason had said about him in town. She’d called him a gunman. Emmie wondered if Josh really had made his living with a gun before he’d come to the Rocking R. She waited, more than a little tense, while he approached.

As Josh drew near, it took him only a moment to recognize Hank’s daughter. Hank had a portrait of her in his office, and the young woman standing before him was as pretty as her picture. Josh had been worrying about what was going to happen when she showed up, and now that day had come. Hank had told him all about his wife’s ultimatum and her decision to live in Philadelphia, and Josh figured Emmie was going to be just like her mother—a lady who couldn’t handle the harshness of ranch life. If she was, she wouldn’t last six months at the Rocking R, let alone the two years she needed to stay. Coming to visit her father once a year had been one thing. Actually living on the ranch day in and day out was
another. As pretty and ladylike as she looked, he didn’t think she’d last.

Les was the first to speak. “Josh, good to see you.”

Josh went to him and shook his hand. “Les. I see you made it back in good time.”

“Yes, we did. Let me introduce you.” He quickly made the introductions.

“Hello, Miss Ryan,” Josh said respectfully. He could see the wariness in her regard and realized that the lawyer must have already told her about the partnership.

“Mr. Grady,” she returned. “I understand we have a lot to discuss.”

“Yes, we do.”

Burley looked from Josh to Emmie, wondering at the unspoken tension between them and why they were being so formal with each other. He knew that was going to have to change real quick; they had a ranch to run.

“Shall we go on up to the house and get out of this heat?” Les suggested, breaking the awkward moment.

Emmie girded herself for what was to come. “Yes. I think Miss Harriet could use a cool drink right now.”

“It is a bit hot here in Texas,” the chaperone agreed, busily fanning herself.

“You coming with us, Josh?” Les asked.

“I’ll be along,” Josh told him. He wanted to check on the stallion again and clean up a bit before meeting with Emmie.

The three women accompanied Les to the house
and went up the steps to the wide, shaded front porch.

Emmie hesitated at the top of the steps, her gaze fixed on the front door. In her heart, she expected her father to come rushing out and give her a big hug, as he always did when she came home, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen. She drew a ragged, steadying breath as she led the way inside.

“Here we are,” she announced, entering the front hall.

Millie and Miss Harriet followed her in and gazed around the spacious hall and up the wide staircase that led to the second floor. It was obvious her father had spared no expense on the house.

“Do you want me to show you around?” Emmie asked.

“Please,” Millie said. “I’ve heard you talk about the Rocking R for years, and now I’m finally here.”

“I’ll wait for you in the sitting room,” Les said, leaving them to their walk through the house.

Emmie was just starting toward the back of the house when Kate, her father’s cook and house keeper, came rushing from the kitchen to welcome her home. Kate was the wife of one of the ranch hands.

“I thought I heard you,” Kate said, going straight to Emmie to embrace her. “How are you?”

Emmie fought back tears. “I’d be a lot better if Papa were here.”

“We all would, honey,” Kate said sympathetically as they moved apart.

Emmie quickly introduced everyone, and they chatted for a moment longer before Kate went back to the kitchen. Emmie continued showing Millie and Miss Harriet the rest of the house and let them pick which of the guest bedrooms they wanted to stay in. The only rooms she didn’t take them into were her father’s office and bedroom. Those doors were closed, and she was glad. She wasn’t ready to go into either room yet. She would do that later, when she was alone.

They were on their way back to join Les in the sitting room when they saw two of the hands coming in with their trunks. Millie and Miss Harriet decided to go back upstairs with the men so they could show them where to put the trunks. Then the women would settle in for a while and unpack. Emmie went on into the sitting room to speak with the lawyer privately.

Les looked up from where he was sitting on the sofa when she came into the room. “Well, we’re here,” he said.

“Thank you for everything,” she said earnestly, taking a seat across from him. “I really appreciate how you handled all this.”

He was sympathetic as he looked at her. “I’m just sorry you’re returning home under such sad conditions, but I know your being here meant a lot to your father.”

“It means everything to me. The Rocking R…it’s my life now.” Her voice was hoarse with emotion.

“You are truly your father’s daughter,” Les told
her with a gentle, encouraging smile. “He always said the same thing about the ranch. You know, he was very proud of you, Emmie.”

“I hope I can make him even prouder of me now.” The tears she’d been fighting overwhelmed her, and she gave in to her grief.

Les had just gotten up to hand her his handkerchief when Josh appeared in the doorway.

“Sorry I took so long. I…” Josh began, but he went silent at the sight of her crying.

“Please join us, Josh,” the lawyer said. When Emmie regained control, he returned to sit on the sofa. “This is a hard time.”

“I understand,” Josh said, coming into the room.

Emmie managed to look up at the man her father had taken on as a partner.

“You and I need to talk,” she managed.

“I agree.” Josh sat down on the sofa with the lawyer, facing her.

“I know my father thought highly of you. He wrote to me and told me you were the new foreman. However, I didn’t find out until today that you actually became my father’s partner.”

“Les explained to me that your father wanted to tell you about our partnership when he introduced us, and I’m sorry it didn’t happen that way.”

“So am I,” she agreed sadly. “I just find it hard to believe that he took on a partner.”

“Your father and I had known each other for a time, and he had offered me a job a while back. I wasn’t much interested in ranch work then, but I
changed my mind this last year and decided to see if his offer was still good.”

Wondering about his life as a gunman, Emmie watched him carefully as she asked, “What kind of work did you do before?”

Josh had known that his past would come up at some time, so he decided to tell her straight out and get it over with. “I was a bounty hunter.”

“The gossip in town said you were a gunman,” she challenged.

He managed a tight smile as he answered. “There were days when it was hard to tell the difference, and that’s why ranching started to look good to me.”

“So you’re through with all that now?”

“That’s right. When I came to see your father, we made the agreement that I could buy into the ranch thirty percent and stay here and work it with him.”