Unusual Inheritance (7 page)

Jake took the hat from his hands and laid it
on the table. “I know, I know, but the truth is I was hoping to
solve this problem before you found out about it. I didn’t want to
lose my job over this and so I just brushed you off when I could,
to give me more time to investigate”. He too sighed. “If you want
to fire me Stormy I’ll understand. But I’m hoping that you will
help me find out who is taking the cattle and the supplies that are
also missing. I’m not as concerned about the supplies, but a thief
is a thief and we need to catch whoever it is.” He added.

“Keep investigating for now and don’t say
anything to Jed. If he is the one we don’t want to tip him off.”
Stormy stood, indicating she was through talking for now. Jake put
his hat back on his head and headed out the door.

Stormy was more confused than ever. Whom
could she believe? Both men had stories that sounded good but one
of them had to be lying. She had to play along with them both and
hope the guilty party slipped up. One thing she was sure about is
that she had to find the answer quickly before the ranch lost all
of its cattle.

Stormy could hardly hold her eyes open the
next morning. No one in the house knew it but after dark she was
sneaking outside, hiding a small distance from the bunk house. She
constantly starred at the bunkhouse door to see if anyone left. In
fact, she had done this for two nights in a row now with nothing to
show for it. But she wasn’t going to stop until she found out who
was behind all of this.

So again tonight she would go out. But she
certainly was going to have to have a nap first, she thought to
herself.

The day went on as a normal day with nothing
exciting happening, and frankly she was glad for it. She was bone
tired and just wanted this mess to be over. Strange thing was it
was almost comical. Jay was watching her, she was watching everyone
else and Jake was watching Jed. Come on! Could it get any funnier
than that? Or least it would be funny if it wasn’t so awful. Anyway
she was going to lay down a few hours before supper and then try to
act normal when Jed and Jake came for the evening meal.

Stormy slept until she felt Carmen shaking
her and call her by name. “Miss Stormy, Miss Stormy, you sick or
something? Suppers ready. You come down now.”

Stormy nodded, yawned and pulled herself to
the basin to wash her face. Here we go again she thought, but for
now she would put a smile on her face and go down to dinner. Katy
Marie deserved a normal household.

Supper went along quite smoothly. Jake and
Jed actually got along for once and no one seemed to notice the
sideways glances that were being exchanged when the other wasn’t
looking. “Well guys, I hate to leave you but I’ve got to turn in
early tonight. I’m a little bit tired,” she yawned and kissed Katy
Marie goodnight.

“Goodnight Stormy,” Jed said.

“Yes, goodnight Stormy,” Jake chimed in. “We
will see ourselves out. Don’t worry about a thing,” he added.

It was dark and a little chilly, but Stormy
had taken a blanket with her. Last night she nearly froze to death.
She could set on one end and throw the other end over her
shoulders. She would stay out of sight, but where she could see if
anyone entered or exited the bunkhouse. As the hours went by she
must have fallen asleep because about 12 o’clock midnight something
woke her. At first she didn’t realize where she was and then she
heard the creaking of the bunkhouse door. She couldn’t see who it
was and needed to get closer; but if she did they might see her
too. A shadowing form was moving toward the barn where the horses
were kept. Someone was about to saddle up and ride on out and she
was going to be right behind them.

Before stormy could even think about
following close behind the shadowy figure someone threw a sack over
her head and tied a rope around her. Then she was hoisted up onto a
horse in front of someone. She tried to scream but they quickly
bound her mouth as well by tying a bandana around the sack that was
over her head.

They rode for quite a while before stopping.
Men roughly pulled her from the horse and took her into some kind
of shelter. She couldn’t see it yet but could tell she was inside a
building of some kind. Then she heard Rowdy, one of her younger
ranch hands tell the other man he would go get the boss.

Within minutes Stormy, still squirming to
release herself from the chair she was tied too, heard voices. The
voice she heard sounded familiar. But it couldn’t be him! In fact,
she heard two familiar voices and the shock of it sent her mind in
a tailspin! Stormy inwardly moaned as her heart felt betrayed. She
was angry at herself for being so naive. Her trust in men certainly
wasn’t very good!

The boss spoke first. “Well let’s see about
taking this sack off her head for a start. She’s not going
anywhere,” the man said, taking off the bandana as he did so. He
then pulled off the sack and Stormy confronted her captor face to
face.

“It’s…..it’s you! How could you be involved
in this?” she sputtered. “Mr. Biggs, you’ve been Aunt Lucy’s
attorney, and friend, for years.”

Mr. Biggs waved his hand in the air. “No
matter,” he replied. “Do you know young lady how many years I’ve
handled all the money and other riches of people, yet never having
enough for myself? You see, they don’t mind spending money on
horses or cattle, but when it comes to attorneys we are just a
necessary evil. After all the things I did for people not one of
them really appreciated it.” He snorted and walked off.

Stormy could not believe the other voice she
had recognized was old Benjamin, her stable hand. “Benjamin, how
did you get mixed up in this?” Stormy turned toward Benjamin, who
was building a fire in the cabin. It looked like she was going to
be here for a while.

Benjamin slowly walked over to Stormy, a
menacing look in his eyes. “Shoot, Ma’am, you have no gall darn
idea what it’s like for me, so shut your mouth,” he almost spat the
words. The contempt in his eyes scared her, and she said no
more.

Biggs entered the cabin again and Benjamin
spoke. “What we gonna do with her, boss? If you plan on killin her,
get one of the young bucks to do it. I don’t have the stomach for
it,” he added.

“We don’t have to kill her. The rest of the
cattle will be ours by tomorrow morning and we will head out with
them by tomorrow afternoon. I left a couple of our men at the ranch
to keep Jed and Jake busy and out of our way. We will just keep her
here and if she gets the ropes loose it’s still a long walk home,
if not…well, we can’t worry about everything,” Biggs threw back his
head and laughed.

Biggs turned to Stormy and ripped her dress
from her body. Only a few remnants remained as she sat there half
dressed. “Don’t worry my dear, I just need these clothes to leave
elsewhere and throw anyone off the track that might be looking for
you. Like the sheriff and his dogs.”

Soon everyone had left the cabin and stormy
was alone. With most of her clothes gone she was happy that old
Benjamin had at least built a fire. She forced herself to breath
normally so she wouldn’t pass out from panic. As more time went by,
Stormy ached from being tied to the chair. She had almost given up
when a tiny sound caught her attention. Within seconds her eyes lit
with recognition. She saw Jed at the window pane peeking through.
His fingers were to his lips motioning for her to remain quiet.
Moments later, his movement deliberate and fast, he entered the
cabin and untied the ropes.

“Honestly Stormy! Down to your underpants
again?” Then he realized maybe someone had touched her. It was a
frightened man that asked the next question. “I’m sorry, did they
hurt you?”

“No, they didn’t hurt me. They just wanted my
clothes to keep the sheriff’s dogs busy should someone report me
missing.”

From outside she heard another voice. It was
Jake! “Come on Jed, before someone sees us,” he whispered.

They had both come for her. How could she
have been so wrong about these two? They must have gotten together
and figured it out. She never suspected Mr. Biggs and Benjamin.
There would be a few ranch hands that had hell to pay as well.

Guess maybe she wasn’t as grown up and smart
as she thought she was, but now was not the time to be thinking
about it. Stormy stifled a moan as she walked to the door where
Jake led her to the back of the cabin. There she saw the men’s
horses, waiting to help them with their escape.

They walked on foot and quietly led the
horses a good ways from the shack before mounting them. Jed spoke
first. “Jake, take Stormy to the Turner ranch where she will be
safe and then go and get the sheriff from Possum Junction. Make
sure he brings a big posse with him. We will meet at the place we
agreed on”. Jed gave the orders, but Jake didn’t seem to mind.

“But what about Katy Marie and Carmen,”
Stormy began.

“I’ll ride back to the ranch and sneak them
out while it’s still dark and get Carmen to meet you with Katy
Marie at the Turners. We don’t have much time, it will be light
soon,” he looked at the night sky as he spoke, then added. “And if
you ever do anything as fool hearty as this again, Stormy Calder,
I’ll take you over my knee and whoop the tar out of you! No wife of
mine is going to run around like a crazy woman getting herself into
trouble.” His expression showed the fear he must have felt at her
capture, yet his eyes showed the love he felt for her as well.

“Who do you think you are, Jed Rivers?” She
spat back.

Jed pulled his horse up next to hers and put
his lips to her ears. “Honey, I’m the man whose going to take care
of you from now on so git,” he slapped the hind end of her horse
and sent her on her way.

Jake saw the exchange, smiled, and then
spurred his horse to catch up with Stormy. He nodded, knowing an
understanding had come to the two men.

Jed got Carmen and Katy Marie up and out of
house without a hitch and right before dawn. Next he went to the
old creek bed about a mile from where Biggs and the men were
holding the cattle and waited for the sheriff and his posse.

The Turner family was great and couldn’t have
been more welcoming, especially since they were woken in wee hours
of the morning. Stormy paced the floor praying that Jed and Jake
would be alright. The two men she had distrusted the most were out
there risking their lives to save her ranch!

It had already been four hours. What was
going on? Was Jed alright? All these thoughts were driving Stormy
crazy. Katy Marie was busy playing with the Turners little girl
Sarah, and Carmen was helping Mrs. Turner cook a big meal for when
the men returned. Mr. Turner had insisted on riding back with Jake
to help, so the women were all alone.

Two hours later Stormy was standing outside
looking for any sign of the men or the sheriff. Finally she saw a
cloud of dust and knew horses were coming her way. She prayed it
was good news. If anything had happened to Jed she didn’t know what
she would do. She was in love, and knew it for sure. These hours of
waiting on news tore at her heart and she knew then what she had
been afraid to admit. Jed Rivers was the man she wanted and the man
she loved!

Soon she saw the men. It was Jed, Jake, and
Mr. Turner. “Praise God Almighty,” she breathed the words softly.
Stormy ran to Jed and he immediately got down from his horse and
pulled her into his arms.

“Thank God you are alright,” Stormy signed.
“I’ve been so worried about all of you. Did the sheriff show up?
Did you catch Biggs and his men?” she bombarded them with
questions.

“Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you
everything,” Jed turned her to walk by his side. It was like they
had an understanding and she was right where she was supposed to
be; right by his side. He should have told her how he felt sooner,
but knew she didn’t fully trust him and so he just patiently
waited.

Well, even though she certainly knew how he
felt now, they would still need to have a talk and get everything
out in the open. After all, you can’t marry someone you can’t
trust, and he was going to marry Stormy Calder. His mind was made
up and he would make it happen.

It was almost dark by the time the four of
them reached the Double LL. Bone tired Carmen and Katy Marie went
to bed instantly, but it was time for Jed and Stormy to talk. It
couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

Stormy fixed them both some coffee and handed
a cup to Jed. He put the coffee down, took her cup from her hands
and placed it on the table as well. He reached out, placed his
hands on her shoulders and pulled her close. “Stormy Calder, I love
you. I realize you may not feel the same way, and I’ll wait until
you do, but Stormy, I mean to have you for my wife.” He spoke
nervously.

“Jed, I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, but I was
so confused and didn’t know who to trust. But Jed, I realized that
I can’t live without you either. I love you too,” she smiled
timidly.

Jed responded as he pulled her even closer.
“I don’t have much to offer you Stormy.”

“Oh Jed, that doesn’t matter. I may not have
anything to offer you either. You see, a few days ago I received a
letter from a man claiming to be a relative of Katy Maries. As you
know, Aunt Lucy’s will stated that Katy Marie live here on the
ranch as long as she wants. I’m not really related to her, so the
will might be contested. I may not even own this ranch legally or
be able to raise Katy Marie. If those people really are Katy
Marie’s relatives they may be entitled to the ranch. Oh Jed, I
can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m scared”

“Stormy, you should have told me as soon as
you got the letter. Don’t worry my love, we will figure this out
together and we will fight for what Aunt Lucy wanted you and Katy
Marie to have,” He soothed her. Then he gently tilted her head and
spoke softly. “Don’t you think it’s about time I saw you completely
out of those underpants you’re always showing off?” His smile
looked tasty and a little bit wicked.