Married To Claim The Rancher's Heir

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She mumbled something as she snuggled her head deeper into the pillow her hands were tucked beneath. He’d seen sleepy people before, but she hadn’t been able to stop yawning or keep her eyes open. For a moment, he’d wondered if she was going to fall asleep leaning against the door.

He reached across her and pulled the covers over Ruby, who was also sleeping soundly, and then carried the kitten out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“They’re exhausted,” he told the kitten. “Texas is a long ways from here and not an easy trip.”

A touch of chagrin rippled over him, but not so much it erased the smile from his face. She’d be mortified when she woke up and realized she’d been walking around in nothing but her nightgown. Walking down the back staircase, he almost laughed at the thought of letting her think there had been enough light for him to see through the thin material she’d been wearing.

Chapter Five (#uabfeb87e-1082-5413-8a00-f7c2702eb915)

Gabe didn’t reenter the house for hours, and when he did, it was to see if Janette was ready to travel to the train station. He had everything in order for the delivery of the cattle to take place even if he hadn’t yet returned from Hays. Judge Schofield might not be in town. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case, but if it was, it could be a week or more before he and Janette returned to the ranch.

Closing the front door, he noted the things sitting on the floor. His traveling bag and one other—Janette’s.

“I’m assuming you’re ready to go?”

An odd flutter happened inside him as he glanced up. Janette and Ruby were walking down the stairs. Ruby carried the kitten while Janette carried a small traveling bag. The two of them looked...natural. Like they belonged on that staircase.

“Yes,” he answered, trying to shake the odd inner sensation. “It’s time.”

“We’re ready,” she said.

Gabe wasn’t sure if it was his smugness or his own preplanning that made him want to smile, but either way, he nodded. His plan was in place and pretty well fail-proof. Reaching behind him, he twisted the knob and opened the door.

“Come in, Mrs. Snyder.” As the woman entered the house, he said, “This is Miss Parker and Ruby.” Turning to Janette, he said, “Miss Parker, this is Marietta Snyder. Her husband, Milt, is my foreman, and Mrs. Snyder runs the school for all of the children on the ranch.”

The surprise in Janette’s eyes was just as he’d expected.

“School?” she asked, looking at him. “Ruby isn’t—”

“I’m fully aware she isn’t old enough for school yet,” he said. “But she is old enough to get to know the other children. Mrs. Snyder has agreed to help Rosalie look after Ruby while you and I travel to Hays.” Leaning a bit closer to her, he quietly added, “I figured a distraction might make the parting easier.”

“A distraction?” She drew in a deep breath and leveled a glare on him. “That isn’t necessary, Mr. Callaway.”

“Excuse me, Gabe,” Marietta Snyder said. “Would you mind if Miss Parker and I had a moment alone?”

Marietta didn’t wait for his response, perhaps because she’d already told him she might need a moment to speak with Janette. He merely glanced toward Janette, daring her to deny Marietta’s request.

“Ruby?” Marietta continued, “Would you go with your uncle Gabe and show my daughters your kitty? They’re on the front porch.”

Ruby nodded and Gabe lifted her into his arms. His stomach flipped at the change in Janette’s glare. How it had turned to astonishment. Almost as if she’d expected him to play fair. He didn’t like that. It made a part of him feel as if he was rubbing salt in her wounds. That wasn’t the case. Hays was no place for a child. It was a rowdy town, and he truly had no idea how long they’d be gone.

He carried Ruby out the door and set her down on the porch, where Marietta’s two daughters stood. They were a tad older than Ruby, but still young enough she’d enjoy playing with them.

“Ruby, this is Sara and Beth,” he said, not certain which Snyder girl was which, but figured they’d let Ruby know. “Do you want to show them your kitten?”

She nodded and held out the kitten for the others to see. Sara and Beth came closer, and he stepped aside as the girls engaged Ruby in a conversation. She didn’t appear the least bit shy. Just like her father. Max hadn’t been shy either.

He watched the girls but kept glancing at the door, wondering how long it would take. Second thoughts, those that said perhaps he should have simply told Janette Ruby was remaining behind, kept coming forward. She wouldn’t have liked it, but that’s what he usually did, and few people questioned his orders. Janette was different, though, and he hadn’t been overly sure she’d have obeyed.

After waiting what seemed long enough, he was about to grasp the knob when the door opened. Marietta smiled and nodded as she walked onto the porch. Janette didn’t look his way as she exited. She walked directly over to Ruby and then led her a few steps away. Kneeling down, Janette spoke too quietly for him to hear, but Ruby was nodding and smiling.

“Here, you can put these in the wagon,” Rosalie said, pulling his attention off Ruby and Janette. “I packed plenty of food, so share with the others on the train.”

“Always do.” He took the traveling bags and the food basket from Rosalie. By the time he’d loaded them in the back of the wagon, Janette was walking down the steps.

She didn’t say a word, but the scowl on her face told him what she thought of him at that moment. He stepped forward to help her as she started to climb into the wagon.

As he took her hand, second thoughts hit him. “You can take a moment to say goodbye,” he said. “We aren’t in a hurry.”

She climbed up and let go of his hand. “I’ve already said goodbye,” she said, twisting her skirt about as she sat down on the seat. “Dragging it out will only make it harder on Ruby.”

“For once we agree on something.” He walked around the wagon and grabbed the brake block from behind the front wheel before climbing onto the seat. The kitten escaped Ruby’s hold, and as all three girls squealed and started chasing it along the porch, he flayed the reins over the horses.

He steered the horses through the ranch yard and then onto the road that would soon turn north and take them to the train stop. “Ruby will be fine,” he said when the silence made his spine tingle.

“Do you always find someone to do your dirty work?”

He glanced her way, expecting a glare. Instead all he saw was her profile as she stared straight ahead. She was wearing the same dress as yesterday, the one with lace all around her neck, but she’d wrapped a scarf around her neck, to prevent further irritation no doubt. The bottom edge of her face was still covered in a red rash.

Knowing full well she was referring to Marietta convincing her to let Ruby stay behind, he answered honestly. “No, I usually do whatever needs doing myself, but this time I figured you’d argue and we might miss the train.”

She pinched her lips together and closed her eyes.

“Figured right, didn’t I?”

Her sideways glance was cute enough, saucy enough to make him laugh. Not chuckle, but laugh like he hadn’t in some time.

She huffed out a breath. “I do not find the situation funny, Mr. Callaway.”

“Neither do I, Miss Parker. I’m just happy I won.”

“You may have won this battle, Mr. Callaway, but the war isn’t over.”

He laughed again. “You say that like a true solider, Miss Parker.”

“My father served in the Plains Calvary,” she said, sitting up a bit straighter. “He was a captain and in charge of a regiment of troops across the western part of Kansas.”

The name that immediately appeared in his mind had him asking, “Captain Jonathan Parker?”

“Yes, Captain Jonathan Parker was my father. As I’m sure Anna told you.”

“No, she didn’t,” he said.

She eyed him critically. “She didn’t?”

“No, but I knew your father. Met him on more than one occasion when I was young. He made the first deal for Triple C beef cattle to be delivered to Fort Wallace with my father. I continued to sell cattle to the fort until it was decommissioned last year.”

She was looking at him oddly, as if she didn’t believe what he was saying.

He had no reason to lie but did give a quick nod. “We were all saddened by the news of his death, especially my father. They’d been good friends.”

With a shake of her head, she asked, “Anna never mentioned him to you?”

“Not that I recall.”

“Then what did you two talk about?”

He shrugged, not really able to recall that either. “A blizzard hit shortly after Anna arrived at the ranch. I was busy making sure our losses were minimal to do much talking.”

“What losses?”

That winter, that blizzard had changed many things. Not only in his life. Ranchers and settlers all around them were devastated. Max’s deserting him during that time had left a burning pile of anger in his stomach, and it flared again. It wasn’t as hot or raw, but it appeared, and made him draw a breath to combat it. “Cattle. Most of our cattle were on open range for the winter, and when the snow finally stopped falling, it was up to our bellies. The men’s and the cattle’s. The wind blew drifts taller than the buildings. We had a he—a heck of a time just getting from the barns to the house, let alone getting hay out to the pastures.”

“What did you do?”

“We shoveled,” he answered. “Shoveled and shoveled. But we still lost a lot of beef.” Carcasses had littered the ground, and in many ways, he was still recouping from that blizzard. That winter. Max’s desertion. Some of the other ranchers who had been in the area hadn’t been as lucky as he. They’d lost everything, called it quits and moved on. Without even bothering to clean up the mess left behind.

The hand she’d pressed to her chest made her appear genuinely concerned. “Do you get a lot of snow here in the winter?”

“Normally, no. I’d never seen anything like it and hope to never see it again. We grow more hay now and other crops for winter feed and have fenced in the winter grazing pastures so the cattle aren’t so widespread.” Recalling all that had happened, he added, “It wasn’t just the snow, it was cold. Way below freezing. Cattle froze to death right where they stood. It wasn’t just here either. That blizzard swept from Canada to Texas.”

“My heavens. I don’t recall hearing about a blizzard like that.”

“It didn’t reach that far east. Didn’t hit Kansas City. I suspect it would have been reported in the newspapers, but maybe not.” Nodding in the direction ahead of them, where the windmill that filled the water tower for trains was becoming visible, he said, “The train froze to the track.”