Split Trails Ranch

I smiled. "This is me figuratively bowing to your keen business sense. Of course I agree. Now, on to money." I showed her the balance and she was shocked. I explained about the bloated savings account while the operational account was almost empty. I then proceeded to sign papers authorizing Claire access to the money should I be unavailable. I could sense the banker disapproved of allowing a woman unfettered access to that much money, but he didn't know Claire. I made sure we had a copy of the agreement, and another to be filed at my lawyer's office. I again pulled a few hundred out for expenses, giving most of it to Claire.

We met with the lawyer, and once again I was impressed. He grinned at us. "Just so you know, the rumor now is that you manipulated Buck into the agreement before killing him with the intent purpose of taking his wife. It doesn't matter that you had no idea who Buck was, that he owned a ranch, or that he was married to such a stunning woman."

I grinned back at him. "If I had known about her, I would probably shot him a lot quicker. Alas, we are just business partners."

Clare blushed before her spirit rose. "If I had known what kind of man he was, I may have fiddled with Buck's pistol, to make sure he had no chance of hurting Zeke."

We all laughed, and he sorted out the papers for us. I shocked Claire no end when I changed my will, naming Jess and Sabrina equal beneficiaries of any estate I might have should I pass. I also named Claire guardian of Jessica until she reached 21 years of age. She surprised us by crying.

The business concluded, he invited us to a dance being held that evening, a benefit held to help finish a school for the town. The building was almost complete before they ran out of funds. I saw Claire perk up, and knew we were going.

After we left, I had one more stop to make. The gunsmith was very glad to see me. "Did you get the items I asked for?"

"Most of them. Some haven't come in yet. I'll send them along as soon as they get here."

Claire was wandering the shop, looking at the weapons. It occurred to me I didn't know if she knew how to shoot. I asked. "Buck didn't allow guns in the house, except in his office. I think he was afraid of Courtney. I've shot before, but I'm not very good."

I didn't like that at all. I still felt like trouble was coming, and they needed to know how to defend themselves. "Well, I'm not him. I feel women should know how to defend themselves, in case a man is not around. Would you be adverse to the idea of me getting weapons for all our girls?"

"A month ago I would have said no, afraid Henrietta would try to kill you. Now, though, she would probably shoot at anyone who looked at you crosswise."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

I asked the gunsmit for an opinion, and he didn't hesitate. "Double barrel shotguns. You don't have to be a good shot, you just have to be close. Double ought buck would be my choice of shot. It's not as lethal as triple ought, but it puts more lead in the air. A couple of Winchesters to keep them away, and a few pistols if it gets up close and personal."

I almost cleaned him out. Eight double barreled shotguns, all twelve or ten guage except for one I had custom ordered for Sabrina. A smaller version, in .410 guage. I bought all the buckshot shells he had, along with some birdshot, and ordered a couple more cases deliviered to the ranch when they came in. I also picked up the little 32-20 rifle I'd ordered for Jessica. I got four Peacemakers, three Remingtons, and two S&W's, with five boxes of ammo for each. I was almost out the door when he asked if I still wanted the Lightning. It was in .38, not .32 like Jessica's, and he'd also had a custom holster made, with Sabrina's initials in it. It was of brown leather, and not quite as fancy as the rig Jess had, but it would do. It got added to the pile.

Claire was deep in thought as we walked away. "You're expecting troule." It wasn't a question, and I had no intention of lying to her.

"The whole deal with the South side of the ranch, that money Buck was sitting on, yes I do. I got the feeling that wasn't his money, and sooner or later somebody will want it back. I have no intention of giving it to them, so there will be a fight."

"Do you think if you gave them the money they would leave?"

"Not a chance. They've had a good thing going for a while now, and they'll want to continue. If we don't give them what they want, they'll come after us. No, I'd rather bring the fight to them."

She was deep in thought as we walked, and without realizing it she reached for my hand, and held it like a lifeline in a stormy sea.

SPLIT TAILS RANCH , PART 5

She didn't realize she was holding my hand until the girls came running up to us. They stopped and stared before breaking into huge grins. She looked down, flushed to the roots of her hair, and let go. It just wasn't done in the day and time, especially if the woman was newly widowed. It especially wasn't done with the man who had killed her husband.

She was expected to wear black in mourning for a year, but she steadfastly refused. "To do so would honor the bastard, and that's not going to happen." As a compromise she wore muted brown and dark blues. It didn't matter, because she looked spectacular in everything she wore.

The girls stopped staring and blurted out what they were going to tell us. "We've been thinking. We both have a Daddy now, but we don't have a mother. I know she's your sister and I'm a stranger, but we'd like to call you mother, or Momma? May we?"

Tears sprang into her eyes, and she knelt, opening her arms. They piled in, giving her a tremendous hug. When they finally broke, Sabrina smiled. "Is it all right then? We call you Momma?"

"That would please me greatly, my babies. I, in turn will introduce you from now on as my daughters. Now come , my children, and escort us back to the hotel. We have news."

We walked sedately down the boardwalk. Claire had the girls firmly under her arms, and they were hugging her every chance they got. I enjoyed the view greatly. The moment was broken by the sound of a strident and jarring voice.

"Zeke Walters! I heared you was in town! Why ain't you been to see me yet?"

There she was, the whore that had started the whole series of events that led me to where I am now. She was almost sedately dressed, carrying a couple of boxes. Whores are people too, I guess, and they sometimes walked the street, visiting the stores. They weren't always welcomed but they were tolerated. Claire took one look and sent the children to gather everyone in the lobby.

"Miss Delilah," I said in acknowledgement. I looked over at Claire, surprised to see her grinning. That couldn't be good.

"Honey, where are your manners? Introduce us." 'Honey?', where did that come from? I liked the sound of it though.

"Miss Delilah, this is Claire Benson of the Split Trails Ranch, my business partner. Miss Claire, this is Miss Delilah, a local...business person."

Claire actually shook her hand. "It appears I must thank you madam. Apparently you are the thing my husband valued enough to lose his life over, leaving me free to live mine. I think I came out ahead, do you not agree? Oh, and I think I can speak for Zeke here when I say he won't be requiring your services anytime soon." She put her hand possesively on my arm to drive home her point.

This was indeed a strange conversation, one I wanted to end quickly. I note Delilah looked like she had aged five years in the weeks since I'd seen her, but that could be because I was seeing her in the daylight through sober eyes. She'd lost a tooth, right in front, and had the remnants of two black eyes. Disappointed customer, I'd wager.

Delilah couldn't resist. "There's always next time, Zeke. Perhaps you won't be as distracted then."

The steel in Claire's voice came through. "There will be no next time. Zeke has his hands full running the ranch and seeing to the needs of four rather attractive women and raising two daughters. I'm sure he'll have fond memories of your time together, but that part of his life is over. Isn't that right, Zeke?"

"Yes dear," I said, trying to hide my grin. "I will remember you fondly, Delilah. You're the reason I'm where I'm at today. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude." I held out a twenty dollar gold eagle, more than she could make in a week in her profession. She didn't hesitate to take it, running her hand over my palm.

"If you ever change your mind..."

I thought fire would shoot out of Cliare's eyes, as she snatched my hand back. "I'm quite sure he won't! Good day, Miss Delilah."

She practically dragged me down the street. "What was that all about?"

She rolled her eyes. "Men are idoits. My husband was, you are, I'm sure all your male relatives have impared reasoning. I guess I need to draw you a picture. We'll be having that discussion after the dance."

She let go of me just before we got to the hotel, stalking regally into the lobby. Our crowd was gathered, wondering what the news was.

"There is to be a dance tonight, a fundraiser for the local school building. We have been invited to attend. Men, make sure your suits are clean, your boots polished,and make be clean shaven. Girls, with me. We must prepare."

Brad and I grinned. We were pretty good dancers, our mother instructing us in the social graces expected of a young gentleman. The rest of our crew were in good shape. Jessica wanted to learn to dance, and it seems Courtney could play the piano, so we spent two nights a week teaching her and Sabrina, and taking turns with the rest of the ladies. Bud and Sonny had no clue, but the ladies patiently walked them through, even though they had bruised toes the first week. Bud tended to partner with Sissy, and they moved well together.

The hands could hear the piano, and one told Brad he was classically trained, but hadn't touched a piano in years. Brad told Courtney, and she immediately confronted him when he came in, odering him to the parlor when he was cleaned up. She let him noodle on the days we weren't practicing until he got his skills back.

Claire surprised us all by having the piano moved out onto the wraparound porch on Thursday evenings. The hands would come in, eat, and gather in the yard as Wilhelm played. He'd come with his parents from Hamburg when he was a child, and sitll had a trace of an accent. He would play for awhile, and then Courtney would take over. When they played waltzes, I would gather up Claire and spin her across the yard. Bud would dance with Sissy, showing off his skills. Brad usually had Henrietta and Paris partnered with Carlos. Carlos would get out his guitar, surprisingly knowing a few of the classical pieces. Then he would play a few Spanish songs, singing in his high clear tenor. He taught Henri a few of the milder Spanish dances, and they would show us all up as they flew through the steps. Jessica and Sabrina would drag the cowboys out, making them dance. Some were pretty awful.

The second week Courtney made an announcement. "Gentlemen, it has come to our attention that some of you cannot dance. As representatives of this ranch, you are expected to be competent in all skills, so tonight, we start lessons. You do not have to particpate, but when we go to barn dances, do you really want to be the ones sitting on the sides while your partners are twirling some pretty young thing across the floor? Now, those who want to learn step up."

They formed a line, not one refusing. It was pretty funny at first, but soon enough they got the hang of it. Thursday night became a big thing. Sissy and the girls would prepare an extra good meal, the boys would clean up, line up, and the music would start. We would be done by nine, as everybody needed their sleep. I noticed the crew seemed to be a lot neater than before, and seemed a more closeknit group. I said as much to Claire.

"Zeke, you're a good man, and there's not a lot you don't know about cattle. But you're a man, and you don't really consider everything else. That's why you need us. We'll keep the crew balanced, make sure they understand they belong here. You have to admit, things have run a lot more smoothly since we got involved. If nothing else, you'll have the best dancers in the territory. It's why I send the girls out with snacks. Everything we do binds them to us tighter, makes them more loyal. Some of the boys just stayed to watch you fail. That's not working out so well for them, is it?"

I wanted to kiss her right then, in gratitude. In honesty, I had begin wanting to kiss her in ways that had nothing to do with gratitude. Claire was a fine figure of a woman. She'd lost her girlish figure, and the only word I can think of to describe her is lush. Her body was very well rounded, a really nice bust tapering to a narrow waist before flaring out into a very nice bottom. As nice as her body was, I was attracted to her mind just as much. In all my life, I don't think I ever met a smarter person. Many of the things implemented came fom her, and they almost always improved life on the ranch.

Not that the others didn't have ideas. They always followed Claire's lead, and little Sabrina even came up with one that pleased the ladies no end. She came to me one day, holding a book, almost stuttering in excitement. Jess and she seemed to be joined at the hip, if you saw one, you saw the other. She finally got tired of her stuttering.

"Sabrina! Calm down. Show Daddy what you found."

It was a history book. I had a system in place. If anyone could find reading material and bring it to the house, I gave them a bonus. It didn't matter if the newspaper was two months old, we always found something worth remembering in it. I paid a premium for books and magazines. This book came from an engineer who had gone broke. I bought his whole collection, thinking they would never get read. Sabrina and Jessica had a habit of reading all we got at the urging of Henri, to improve their skill and expose them to things they couldn't find in a primer. They roared through everything, dazzling us with information at the dinner table.

She finally got her voice to work. "Daddy, could we please build this?"

The book turned out to be on ancient plumbing techniques. One chapter dscribed in detail how the Romans heated their houses with hollow ceramic pipes that ran through the floor of every room, the heat being pushed through the pipes by natural invection. I filed that away for later. What she wanted me to look at was a bath system based on waterfalls. The water was piped in to an overhead tank, and could be heated by the sun or a small furnace. A person stood under the tank and pulled a chain, that released the water through small holes in a large spout. It was kind of like standing in the rain, except the rain was warm. It beat the heck out of having to heat massive amounts of water for their Saturday night baths.

I told the girls to say nothing, and got our resident carpenter in on it. We ordered a couple of galvanized stock tanks and all the piping we would need. There was a small waterfall about a half of a mile from the house, perfect for our purposes. We set a series of pipes to convey the water to the tanks, in a spot that got full sun. The first tank was usually warmer, and as the water level dropped, the second tank filled it. You usually had about two hundred gallons before the water got cold. We deliberately misled the ladies, telling them it was a new watering system for the cattle.

We built a bathhouse under the tanks, including a changing room and a cupboard for towels. The floor was concrete with a small drain set into the middle, the waste water going into a holding pond. The water usually evaporated in the summer. Paul rigged up the heads from four watering cans I'd found, so it really was like standing in a warm rain.

The girls got to try it first, and I grinned listening to them laugh and play. They probably used up all the water in the first tank playing, but it was worth it. Since I was the only one around, they came out in their petticoats, carrying their clothes. Sabrina was only eleven, still a child, but Jessica was starting to get a woman's shape. She was going to be a real heartbreaker when she got older. I had a vision of lovestruck boys mooning around. They shimmied into their riding skirts and blouses and ran to me. The hugs and kisses flew, and the time and expense was worth it just to see their happy faces.

We rode up to the house later, and I gathered the women. "Sabrina has found a way to make our lives better, and I followed her suggestion. She will tell you what you will need. Please follow her without question, all will be revealed when you get there."

They were buzzing with excitement, wondering what was going on. They gathered a change of clothes, and we rode out to what I called the bathhouse. Once they understood what it was the clothes flew in the changing room. I sat under a tree on watch, listening to the squeals and laughter. To save water, they bathed two at a time. They came out, all but Claire, hair shining from the products Sabrina had me buy. No lye soap for my girls, no sir.

They all gave me hugs and kisses on my cheek. Henrietta seemed the most grateful. "You know, I hated you for a while. But then I found out how my brother was. I think I always knew, but refused to admit it. You're probably the best thing that ever happened to us."

Then she planted a kiss on my lips, and it wasn't exactly what you would call sisterly. I looked up to see Claire frowning. I was shocked to see her in her pantaloons. I had to revise my opinion of her body. It was beyond stunning. She slammed the door, obviously pissed.

I saw a lot of butt kissing in my future. Then I got a vision of being able to actually kiss her butt, and got even more flustered.

All this happened about two months after the first time we all went to town. I realized of all the girls, the only one I could see was Claire. I was a little confused, wondering if she could stand a life with the man who killed her husband. She was sending out subtle little signs, a touch here, a kiss on the cheek there, always when we were alone or with just the girls.

I grinned, thinking back to the dance. The girls were dressed to the nines, even Jess and Sabrina. We were at least presentable in our cleaned suits, hair slicked back, boots shining. Claire hadn't outright asked, but she'd hinted how much more handsome I'd be cleanshaven, so the handlebar went. Brad, Carlos, and the rest of the crew just grinned, and once when my back was turned I heard a bad falsetto "Zeke's so handsome now! I think I shall swoon!'' I whirled around but the whole crew had all found something fascinating to look at that was nowhere near where I was standing. They couldn't hide those grins, though.

The dance was just a short walk, and we strolled along, the girls chattering happily, the guys grinning because they were in such good company. Claire had her hand on my arm, and each of the girls had a hand. We made a pretty good looking family, in my opinion.

The room was huge and still a little crowded. There was punch and little nibbles on a table, and a band consisting of a guitar, a mandolin, and a fiddle. There was a piano in the corner, but no one knew how to play it. I was sure Courtney would be sitting in front of it before the night was out. Wilhelm was one of the lucky ones, and I knew he'd be spelling her. They had dressed up as best they could, wearing what Courtney called their 'company shirts.' She'd made one for every man on the ranch, bright red, double breasted with brass buttons. The name of the ranch was embrodried on one breast, their first name on the other. The girls told me they'd done that because a lot of them were the same size, and they didn't want squabbles to break out. They'd gotten red scarves to match on their own. They cut quite a figure, especially when it became known they all knew how to dance. There was a lot of jealous cowboys that ended up watching while our bunch monopolized the ladies.