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Chapter Four

Nash scowled at her over his son’s shoulder. “Tell you what?”

“That my sister had children?”

“Didn’t know that you’d care.”

Was this what Ruby deserved? She took a deep breath and composed herself. Why would he think any differently? She hadn’t shown concern until now. His mother hadn’t made any cutting remarks yet, but there was still time. Ruby cast her a cautiously apologetic look, but her anger at Nash’s callousness simmered.

“Ruby, this is Claire,” Georgia said, and raised the hand that the girl held. “That’s Joel. Children, this is your aunt Ruby. She’s your mother’s sister.”

Ruby couldn’t have been more surprised at the matter-of-fact introduction.

Nash turned and headed for the buggy, with Joel looking back at her over his shoulder.

* * *

Georgia didn’t miss the tension between her son and her late friend’s estranged daughter. Nash had set his jaw in that stubborn way he had.

“There’s a bag with lemons under the seat, Nash,” she called after him.

He waved a hand in acknowledgment, and set the boy on the horse’s back while he unharnessed it and led it to a spot in the shade of a tree.

“I’ll make us lemonade and we can chat,” Georgia suggested.

“I’ll help,” Ruby replied. The three females headed into the house.

Georgia noted the wet porch floor and the basket of clothing that needed to be hung up, but Ruby walked straight past them and held open the screen door. She resembled her mother and sister, but her features were stronger, more vibrant. Any other woman would have tamed her hair into a braid or a tight bun to do laundry, but Ruby’s was loosely gathered into a tail by a faded red kerchief, with long spirals framing her face and trailing to her shoulders.

“I’m a little out of practice in the kitchen.” Ruby located a pitcher and a few glasses. “These might need washing. Everything’s still dusty. I’m working on it.”

She was a strong-looking young woman, competent, not frail or delicate as her sister had been. Her strength had nothing to do with size, though she was taller. Her appeal was in her complete lack of guile or airs.

Claire was obviously reluctant to release her grandmother’s hand, but Georgia gave her an assuring smile and gestured for her to take a seat.

“Where’s the other chair?” Claire asked, calling attention to the missing piece of furniture. Georgia glanced at the spot where it had been.

“It got broken,” Ruby replied simply. “How old are you, Claire?”

The child looked first to Georgia, her hesitation obvious. Georgia gave her an encouraging nod.

“Six,” Claire answered.

“And Joel?” Ruby asked. “How old is he?”

“He’s three,” Georgia replied.

“Still just a baby.” Sadness tinged the young woman’s voice.

Georgia had visited Laura and Pearl often, and they had been to her home many times. She knew they hadn’t been able to reach Ruby, so had to assume the new arrival had only just learned of the deaths of her mother and sister. Georgia didn’t understand her motives, but was sure coming back to this news had been shocking.

“The children have been staying with Nash’s father and me, so Nash can run the ranch. I bring them to see him as often as I can, and he comes to dinner on Sundays.” She paused, realizing she had no idea what this woman’s plans were. “You’re welcome to join us this Sunday.”

Ruby appeared surprised at the invitation. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

Georgia was curious to know what had brought Ruby here now, after all these years, and whether or not she planned to stay, but she didn’t want to bring up a sensitive subject in front of Claire. She touched the little girl’s shoulder. “Why don’t you run up and get the doll you wanted from your room?”

“Oh, yes’m.” Claire darted from the kitchen.

Ruby had heated water and was washing the pitcher and glasses. Georgia took a clean towel from a cupboard shelf to dry them.

Ruby gave her a cautious, but straightforward look. “You must be surprised to see me.”

Georgia nodded. “More than a little.”

“Your son doesn’t want me here.”

Georgia could only imagine how Ruby’s sudden arrival had surprised Nash. They had all wondered about her, but he had been here with Pearl and Laura all along, so undoubtedly he had more questions than anyone else. “The last few years have been difficult for him. He has strong feelings about all of it. About you.”

Ruby paused with her wrists over the enamel basin, suds dripping from her fingers. “All I wanted to do was make things up to my mama and Pearl. I came back to ask Mama’s forgiveness and to start over.” She shook her head, sending curls swaying. “Nash hates me for making things harder for them—especially harder for Pearl.”

Georgia was aware of her son’s resentment. “Hate is a strong word.”

“But it’s the right word in this case.”

Georgia had no idea what was going on inside Ruby’s head, but she knew her son well enough to know he’d directed a lot of anger toward the woman who’d unknowingly left all the care of her mother to his wife, and later to the kindness of his neighbors. “He’s going to need some time.”

The back door opened and closed, and Nash set the bag of lemons on the table. “We’re gonna wash up at the well.”

Joel rode his father’s hip as Nash headed out again.

Ruby took the lemons from the bag and found a cutting board. “He told me you called on my mother. Were you friends?”

Georgia nodded, not wanting to reveal more than Ruby was ready to hear. “We became good friends, yes.”

“Do you hate me, too?”

“Of course not. I barely know you.”

“You know what I did.”

Her frankness was surprising. “You headed out on your own and you sent money home.”

Ruby met her gaze with penetrating blue eyes, eyes like her mother’s, but more full of life and expression. “Mama told you that?”

Georgia nodded. “We spent a lot of time together. She told me many things.”

Claire returned clutching a rag doll. “The sheets aren’t on my bed.”

Ruby appeared flustered and brushed hair from her face with the back of a wet hand. “I didn’t realize that was your room when I chose a bed last night. I used to sleep there when I was your age.”

“You did?”

Ruby dried her hands on a length of toweling. “I washed all the sheets today, though, so I’ll leave them clean for the next time you sleep in your bed again.” She turned to Georgia. “I’d like to talk more when there’s time.”

Georgia gave her a long, considering look. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Ruby wasn’t sure what to make of the older woman’s lack of animosity, compared to her son’s, but she was thankful. No doubt Ruby would run up against a lot of people with the same negative opinion of her, so she might be smart to develop an even thicker skin.

It took a few minutes, but Ruby found a glass juicer and washed that as well. She then set to squeezing the lemon halves. “I have no idea how much sugar to add. I don’t even know if there is any.”

Georgia carried a chipped cup to the pantry and returned with it full. “This should do it.”

Nash came back and set a ragged square of ice near the sink. A few pieces of straw stuck to the surface. Georgia rinsed it off, found a mallet and chipped ice for their drinks.

When the lemonade was ready, they carried their glasses to the front porch. Ruby waited until the family was seated in what she assumed were their usual places before taking a seat on a nearby bench. An awkward silence followed.

“When did you get here?” Georgia finally asked.

“About dusk last night.”

“She slept in my bed,” Claire said to her father.

Nash didn’t look at any of them.

“How did you arrive?” Georgia asked.

“I rode in.” Ruby gestured to the corral, one end of which was visible from where they sat. She’d let her mare out that morning. “The Duchess is in the corral.”

“What about your belongings?”

“I had a couple of trunks shipped to the station in Crosby. I don’t own much that’s of use on a farm, though.”

“Ranch,” Nash corrected.

“I saw the mares ready to foal,” she replied. When he didn’t respond, she turned to Georgia. “Are your family all ranchers?”

“My husband owns a grain mill.” She glanced at her son, and Ruby picked up on something between them that made her wonder about his own family relationships. “Our daughter’s husband works there, too. Nash is the only horseman.”

When Joel got up and headed for the porch stairs, Nash followed. “Want to go see the horses, buddy?” He turned to his daughter. “Come to the barn with us, sweet pea.”

Claire glanced at her grandmother.

“Go with your father,” she encouraged. “We’ll be leaving shortly, and he wants to spend time with you.”

Claire set her doll on the porch swing beside Georgia and joined her little brother.

“She reminds me of Pearl,” Ruby said.

Georgia picked up the rag doll and absently smoothed its yarn hair. “She’s definitely the spitting image of her mother.”

“Not only her looks,” Ruby said softly, “but the way she’s so hesitant about everything.”

Georgia studied her. “Pearl was a good wife and mother. We all loved her.”

Ruby still heard no accusation in her tone or the appreciative statement. She glanced at the horse in the shade. “She was a good daughter, too, I guess.”

“She was devoted to your mother.”

Of course. Pearl had always done everything it took to please their mother. She hadn’t torn her stockings or misplaced her school books. She’d been a good student and had dutifully helped pull weeds, cook and put up vegetables and preserves. Ruby could still see them together in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on a cake.

Her sister must have been a comfort to their mother. “How long was Mama sick?”

“Several years. There were times when it seemed she got stronger, but then she’d get weak again.”

Ruby had missed it all. The good days and the bad ones.

She’d been gone from home only a year when she’d realized her blunder. She had the freedom and independence she’d always craved, but there were no glamorous jobs for girls like her. She’d always been overly optimistic and impetuous, and more times than she cared to admit, those traits had landed her in tight situations. Leaving home with overblown dreams had been the most monumental of her rash mistakes, but she couldn’t run back to the place she’d escaped. There had been nothing here for her.

She’d been convinced she wasn’t cut out for a mundane life of cooking and cleaning and going to church. School had been torture enough—all those tedious days trapped inside and chained to someone else’s schedule. The world was too big and exciting, and life too full of possibilities to miss out on by following all the rules.

Besides, Ruby Dearing was not a quitter.

So she’d taken unglamorous jobs in saloons and gaming halls, avoiding crude advances and barely getting by, until eventually she’d joined a theater troupe and traveled. Sometimes the pay was good, other times just adequate. But she’d persisted.

If, at some point along that path, she could have swallowed her pride sooner and come for a visit... But there it was. She had held on to her dream until it was nothing more than a dirty rag. And now it was too late. She had always fallen short.

“Your mother loved you very much,” Georgia said.

Ruby had never doubted her mother’s love. Laura Dearing just hadn’t known what to do with her. “I was a disappointment. Even when I was here I wasn’t a pleasing child. I missed my father too much. I didn’t fit in with Mama’s routine or her plans. Not like Pearl.”

“Nobody’s perfect, Ruby. And everyone is different.”

She could wallow in self-recrimination or she could do something to make up for lost time. “Is it too late to plant a garden?”

“Probably not. Ours just went in a week or so ago.”

Everything she’d once thought tedious and unbearable now seemed like a lifeline to the stable life she had thrown away. “I’m going to get the house clean. And then I’ll plant a garden. I need to learn how to cook and put up things for winter.”

She didn’t miss the sympathetic look Georgia cast her way, but the woman replied, “I’ll help any way I can.”

“It appears you do enough already, what with the children in your care.”

“I have help at the house. If you need me, all you have to do is ask. Don’t be shy.”

“Shy isn’t one of my traits,” Ruby said with a smile.

Half an hour later, she trailed behind as Nash and his mother led the children to the buggy. When they reached the conveyance, Claire hugged him around the knees. Gently, he loosened her hold and hunkered down to look into her eyes.

Georgia deliberately stood a distance away to give them privacy, as did Ruby, but their words were still audible.

“I miss you so much, Papa.”

“I miss you, too, Claire.”

“I love Grandma and Grandpa.”

“I know you do. But it’s still hard to be away from home for so long?”

Claire nodded.

Nash wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “It’s hard for me, too. Thank you for being brave and helping with Joel.”

Claire nodded, and they hugged. Nash stood, picked up his little boy and kissed his forehead. “Thank you for being a good boy for your grandmother, Joel.”

Joel hugged his neck, and Nash peeled him away to lift both children up to the buggy and then assist his mother. He bent forward for Georgia to kiss his cheek, and she waved a friendly goodbye to Ruby.

Georgia led the buggy away. Nash straightened his shoulders in a deliberate motion, as though fortifying himself and keeping a lock on his emotions.

Ruby stood a few feet away from him on the grass in front of the house. “They’re beautiful.”

He turned slowly, his dark gaze ruthlessly taking in her features, her rumpled shirtwaist, her hair. He had a couple days’ worth of growth on his chin and upper lip, but his black hair barely touched the collar of his laced shirt. His eyes were so brown they were nearly black, his brows two angry slashes above. “I have work to do.”

“I have questions I’d like to ask.”

“Can they wait?”

His dismissal was even more abrupt than previously. The visit with Claire and Joel had clearly set him on edge. Ruby nodded and glanced toward the stables. “Who cooks for the hands?”

“We cook outdoors. In the bunkhouse if the weather’s poor.”

“I wouldn’t mind cooking for all of you. Might make things easier if you didn’t have to do it yourselves.”

His expression was unreadable. “You can get our supper then. Most days there are three of us.”

She might have said something else, but he’d already turned away and headed for the stables. After taking the glasses inside, she finished hanging her clothes on the line. The sheets were dry by then, so she made up the beds. She tried to put herself in Nash’s place and imagine how difficult the past few years had been. When she looked at herself the way he’d seen her, she couldn’t blame him for holding her absence against her.

Resigned to leaving her old room to Claire, Ruby opened the windows in her mother’s room, mopped the plank wood floors and shook the rag rugs. An upholstered chair with long fringe covering the legs sat between the two corner windows. Beside it a basket held skeins of yarn and knitting needles. Underneath them she found squares of fabric.

Ruby picked up the unfinished piece on top and looked at the white rectangle looped on the needles. She didn’t remember her mother knitting, but back then Laura had been busy with feeding and clothing two children and caring for a house. Perhaps this had filled her time after she’d become sick.

Next, Ruby cleaned and polished the furniture, which consisted of an old armoire with calico curtains on the doors and two small drawers at the bottom, a wood chest at the foot of the bed, a dressing table and chair, and the bureau.

Before placing the ivory comb back on top, she ran her thumbnail across the teeth once more. She could never get the tiny teeth through her curly tresses, but she liked looking at the comb her mother had used for many years.

Ruby got a fresh pail of water and tackled the coal stove in the other corner. Her mother had always set a vase of wildflowers atop it in the summer. Maybe Ruby would look for some spring flowers later.

In the bottom of the armoire she found the quilt that had always been on Laura’s bed, shook it out the window and spread it over the mattress. Grandma McWhirter had made it for Mama as a wedding gift. Daddy hadn’t stuck around any longer than it took to sire two daughters, but the quilt had been here for as long as Ruby could remember.

A resounding slam echoed up the stairway.

“Ruby!”

She straightened and hurried out into the hallway.

Nash stood at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up. “What in blazes are you thinking, woman?”

“About what?”

“About flapping your drawers for all the world to see!”

She came down two steps. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the clothesline. A rancher from Hope Valley came out to look over one of my mares, and your nether wear is hanging in plain sight. It’s indecent.”

“What am I supposed to do with my underwear to get it dry?”

Obviously exasperated, he took a breath and expelled it. “Be discreet, of course. Tuck it in between the sheets and towels. That’s what Pearl did.”

Ruby set down the pail she held and flounced down the stairs. “Well, forgive me for doing my laundry. I had no idea my drawers would get you all in a dither.”

His complexion reddened and it wasn’t from embarrassment. “I’m not in a dither. I’m a businessman trying to conduct a sale with a respectable gentleman who doesn’t care to see your drawers.”

“Then do your business and leave me to mine.” She moved past him and hurried along the hall toward the back door. The front door slammed again.