Thirty-five

Randy stood on the veranda, arms folded, as she watched Jake ride in with Gretta MacBain on his horse in front of him. She smiled and shook her head when she saw that just about every man who’d been working at the homestead was lined up to greet Gretta, all of them nodding and smiling, but respectfully, not whooping and whistling, which Randy knew they very much wanted to do. How often did a notorious, big-city prostitute come onto the J&L? She suspected Jake had told someone to forewarn them about making a fuss.

“Honestly, Daddy can be the most brazen man,” Evie said, stepping up beside her. She put an arm around her mother.

“Jake is just being Jake,” Randy answered. “And I have a feeling he ordered the men to mind their manners. As far as he’s concerned, he’s riding in with a lady.”

“At least it’s Jake she’s with and not Lloyd,” Katie commented.

“Oh, Katie, my brother would never do you wrong, and you know it.”

Both Katie and Evie held their babies in their arms. Brian joined them on the veranda, shaking his head at the sight. “Randy, you have the patience of a saint,” he joked.

“I just know my husband, that’s all.”

Little Jake rode his spotted Appaloosa out from the new barn, charging up to Jake. “Hi, Grampa!”

“You’re getting pretty good at riding that big horse,” Jake told him.

“I’m good as any man,” the boy answered proudly.

“You sure are,” Gretta told him. “Kid, you’ve really grown the past year. Remember me? From Denver?”

“Sure I do! You’re that pretty lady that said nice things about Grampa when those men wanted to put him in jail.”

“Well, you have quite a memory, young man.” Gretta winked at the boy.

“Where’s Stephen and Ben, Grampa?”

“They’ll be here soon.” Jake finally made it to the house.

“Oh my, look at all the rose bushes!” Gretta exclaimed. “They’re beautiful!”

“That’s all Randy’s doing. She loves roses,” Jake told her as he dismounted. He lifted Gretta down, then took her arm and led her up the steps of the veranda. He leaned down and kissed Randy. “Randy, you remember Gretta.”

Randy gave him a look of mock scolding. “Oh, how could I forget the woman who said such nice things about you? I particularly remember how she described encountering you in a men’s dressing room.”

Gretta put a hand to her chest, her eyes wide. “I was only warning him about—”

“We know, and we appreciate the things you did, Gretta.” Randy smiled and reached out to embrace her. “And thank you for all your help.”

Evie was next, walking up and hugging Gretta while holding little Esther on her right hip. “Welcome to the J&L, Gretta. This is my third child, Esther.”

Esther pulled at the hat ribbon under Gretta’s chin and managed to untie it. Everyone laughed, and Gretta gently held the child’s arm and kissed the back of her hand.

“I’m Katie, Lloyd’s wife,” Katie offered next. “And this very heavy baby in my arms is Lloyd’s newest son, Donavan.”

“Well, who could doubt that, with that dark hair and those big, dark eyes,” Gretta answered with a grin. She turned to Evie’s husband. “Doctor Stewart! It’s good to see you again.”

“And you.” Brian shook her hand. “I remember you often brought food to us in Lloyd’s room while he lay near death. We appreciate your help, Gretta. That was a really bad time for the whole family.”

“Well, someone had to help. Heaven knows most of the town was scared to death to even go into that room, the mood Jake was in.” Gretta could hardly believe the welcome she was getting. She glanced at Jake, who still had an arm around Randy while two little girls clung to his legs. He let go of Randy and reached down to pick them up. They wrapped their legs around his middle from each side and hugged him around the neck. “Gretta, the redhead here is Tricia, Lloyd’s daughter. The other little troublemaker is Evie’s daughter, Sadie Mae, and we keep each other’s secrets, don’t we, Sadie Mae?”

Sadie Mae giggled and kissed Jake’s cheek. “We got a secret about chickens!” she said, her dimples showing when she smiled.

Gretta smiled, feeling sick inside. How could she ask Jake what she needed to ask him? She scrambled to make up an excuse for coming here, something different from why she’d really come. But then she had to think of Annie. Her little girl hadn’t been so different from these little girls at one time. Gretta had been so sure Annie would have had a better life than what was happening to her now.

“Come in and have some lemonade, Gretta,” Randy told her. “How long will you stay? You most certainly need to stay at least one night. We have plenty of guest bedrooms. And how on earth did you get here if you had to take Jake’s horse to make it all the way in?”

“Oh, I came by train and then a buggy. My companion, Sam, brought me. You remember Sam from the cattlemen’s ball, don’t you? He was with me that night.”

“Oh my, after all that happened, I’m afraid I don’t remember Sam,” Randy answered, leading Gretta through the door. “Where is he now?”

“He’s on his way in with Lloyd, Ben, and Stephen. They stayed behind to pick up their fencing tools.”

“I didn’t want her sitting around in the hot sun,” Jake told Randy, “so I brought her on in.”

Randy just grinned. “How nice of you. And didn’t the buggy have a canopy?” she teased.

Jake winked. “Of course it did, but that’s not the same as being in a big, cool house like this and drinking cold lemonade.”

“I accept your explanation, Mr. Harkner.”

Jake leaned down and kissed her again, and Gretta couldn’t get over how beautiful Randy was, but just as Jake had warned, she was too thin. It made her sick to realize what had happened to the woman. She could only imagine how Jake had reacted when he’d realized Randy had been taken. The rage she’d seen on his face when Lloyd was shot was bad enough.

There followed complete bedlam, as always when the entire Harkner family was together. Gretta just watched. Little Jake came inside and hurried over to hug his grandfather, asking to go along the next time to help dig postholes. Lloyd finally arrived with Ben and Stephen, and after taking time to wash off the sweat and put on clean shirts, they all came inside, along with Sam, who was also royally welcomed. Sam greeted everyone and then bowed out, insisting he would stay at the bunkhouse, and Evie sent him off with a glass of lemonade.

Gretta was amazed at the family’s open friendliness. She felt nothing fake about any of it as they sat her down to the table and served lemonade and pie.

“You must be tired and dying to cool down with a bath,” Randy told Gretta. “The guest bedroom down the hall has a toilet and washroom attached. I know what a long ride it is from the train station clear across the J&L to reach the homestead.”

“Oh, this ranch is so beautiful,” Gretta answered. “Jake pointed out a few places, but of course it would have taken days to show me all of it. But from what I saw, it’s just magnificent. I’m so happy for all of you. And Lloyd, I can’t get over how healthy you look.”

“Yeah, well, my wife takes good care of me,” he answered, winking at Katie.

“Apparently so, considering the fact that Katie is going to have another baby,” Gretta joked. “At least that’s what Jake said.”

Katie blushed, and Lloyd took her hand. “A man has to have some reason to get well fast,” he answered. “I mean, look at her. Any man would heal fast for this.”

Katie covered her face. “Please change the subject!” she begged.

Esther sat in a high chair next to Jake, eating pieces of a biscuit. She suddenly got squirmy and made a face, wanting out of the chair. She reached for Jake, who pulled her out and hugged her close. She put her head on his shoulder and sucked her thumb, looking sleepy.

“Well, I was just about to have a cigarette. I guess that’s not going to happen,” Jake said, patting the girl’s back.

“I can take her and put her down, Daddy,” Evie offered.

“No. Let her fall asleep this way first, or she might fuss.”

Gretta didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the sight. She’d watched Jake Harkner put a gun to a man’s head last summer and pull the trigger. She’d seen a terrible darkness in his eyes, and even the Denver police had been afraid of him. He’d locked himself in Lloyd’s room and was determined to be the one to nurse his son back to health, and warned the authorities that anyone who tried to stop him would die.

Yet there he sat, refusing a cigarette because he held a little granddaughter in his arms and insisted he would hold her until she fell asleep. She’d never known a man of such contrasts, or such a close-knit family.

“I’ll show you to your room now, if you like,” Randy told her when they finished eating. “You can rest and freshen up before supper. We’ll make it a family dinner, and then one of the men can show you around the homestead. I have no doubt the hired hands will fight each other over who gets to give you the grand tour.”

Ben and Stephen giggled at that one.

“You gotta see our new barn!” Little Jake added. “I can show it to you.”

Gretta smiled. “I’d like that just fine, Little Jake. Do I need to wear boots?”

“Yeah, you better. Grandma has boots. There’s horses in there, and horses go to the bathroom a lot,” he added with a giggle.

More talk. More laughter. More warmth. Randy showed Gretta to the guest room, a large, pleasant room with pine-board walls and floor, checkered curtains, and a lovely quilt on the bed.

“We have electricity now but no phone yet,” she told Gretta. “We do have running water. Jake insisted on that. He’s done so much to help relieve me of extra work, and we have Teresa, a Mexican woman who does so much around here. Jake refuses to allow me to do the cleaning, and he insists Teresa help me with the bigger family meals, though I really don’t mind doing it myself. I love to cook.” She walked over and fussed with one of the curtains.

“That man loves you to death, doesn’t he?” Gretta said, watching her.

“He is incredibly good to me, and loyal, which is why I’ve stayed with him for nearly thirty-two years.” She held Gretta’s gaze. “You and I never really talked much back in Denver, what with Jake and me sitting by Lloyd’s side day after day, both of us in so much grief. I just thought I’d explain that I understand why he gravitates to women like you. You understand the kind of life he once led, and when he was little, he sometimes lived with prostitutes, and they protected him from his brutal father.” Randy folded her arms. “So if you wonder why I don’t get upset when I see something like my husband riding in with you on his horse, that’s why. He has this deep-down eternal gratitude for what your kind did for him, how they protected him. I trust him implicitly. And please, when I say ‘your kind,’ don’t think I’m looking down on you or insulting—”

“I understand, Mrs. Harkner. And you have to be the luckiest woman alive having a husband like Jake.”

Randy smiled sadly. “Jake would say quite the opposite. He’s never appreciated his own worthiness. He blames himself for everything bad that happens to this family.”

Including what happened to you last winter. Gretta watched her eyes. This woman who loved and protected Jake Harkner like a fierce mother grizzly was wondering why she was here. Her defenses were up, not because she didn’t trust Jake, but because she’d lived too long worrying she’d lose him in a different way…to violence. She felt as though someone was stabbing her in the gut, because what she wanted might indeed bring violence to the man. “He’s a good man,” she said aloud. “One of the best I’ve ever met. And you’re wondering why I’m here.”

“I am, Gretta. I have this terrible feeling it has nothing to do with your profession. That doesn’t worry me at all. Women like you are no novelty to Jake, and you’re too smart and respectful to have come here to flaunt yourself to the men. You wouldn’t do that in front of the family, but you also aren’t here just to visit, or you would have written first. Does Jake already know why you’re really here?”

Gretta turned away. “No. But I’m sure he realizes it can’t be just for a visit.” She faced Randy again. “I’ll have to tell all of you together. This evening after supper, if that’s all right. And…maybe you should send the children off somewhere to play and look out for one another then. I have to talk about something that maybe they shouldn’t hear.”

Randy sighed, rubbing at her eyes. “All right.” She walked past Gretta to the door.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Harkner,” Gretta told her. “This is something that can’t be helped.”

Randy stood at the doorway. “Please call me Randy. I know you’re a good twenty years younger than I am, but Mrs. Harkner just makes me feel even older.”

Gretta met her gaze and shook her head. “You are an incredibly beautiful woman, Randy. And in more ways than I will ever be.” She smiled nervously. “And like you suspect, I’m not here just for a visit, and it has nothing to do with my profession, at least not directly.”

Randy closed her eyes against a growing terror. “You’re going to take Jake away from here, aren’t you?”

Gretta rubbed her forehead. “I honestly don’t know. It will be up to him.”

Randy turned. “I need him, Gretta. I can’t live without Jake.”

Gretta folded her arms over her middle and turned away. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I have no choice.”

Randy fought back tears. “I’ll have Sam bring your things. And if you want Sam to stay in here with you, it’s all right. It won’t shock any of us.” She walked out.

Gretta watched after her. Jake was right. There went one tough woman. “You’d fight tooth and nail and more for that man if you thought you had to, Randy Harkner,” she said softly, smiling. “And here I am, about to ask you to let him risk his life…for the daughter of a whore.”