Page 59 of A Steadfast Heart
How had that gone so wrong?Kaitlyn watched the boy disappear, her heart aching for all the pain this family was grappling with. She didn’t know how to even start fixing the problems they faced.
Family sticks. That was what Drew had told Jo. This was Kaitlyn’s family, and she was sticking.
She glanced toward the men gathered by the horseshoe pit, found Drew standing to the side. He looked so tired. So far, she’d brought more trouble than help to the ranch. She could change that, if only she could get her inheritance. She could use it to help him with supplies to build on the homesteads, to relieve some of the burdens he carried.
She sighed. Fixing finances was a lot easier than repairing broken hearts.
* * *
“The bull is worth twice that.” Drew kept his voice steady with effort, his mouth so dry he was surprised he got the words out at all. He’d hoped to find someone to buy his bull in the visiting time after church, but he needed a better price than this.
Wilson wasn’t a bad sort, and his ranch probably had no more to spare than the McGraws’ did.
Or he knew the deadline for proving up the McGraw homesteads was only three weeks away. Three weeks, and they only had the studs up. Plus, they had used all the wood they’d chopped. They needed the money the bull would bring in—needed it to have any hope of finishing Ed’s cabin.
Drew pushed the uncharitable thoughts away. Times were tight for everyone these days.
Wilson shrugged. “I’m sorry, Drew, but that’s all I can spare. I could throw in some logs, but I can’t cut them until ranch work slows.”
Drew grimaced. Ranch work didn’t slow until winter, far too late to do him any good, at least for Ed’s homestead. He’d work around the clock, but swinging an axe in the dark while exhausted would be sheer stupidity. Not that he hadn’t considered it. “I’ll think about it. Meantime, I think Ed is looking for me.”
Wilson scanned the crowd, noted Tillie pulling Ed in their direction, and shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s hard when they want your attention every second, but enjoy it as much as you can. You’ll miss it when it’s gone.”
“That I will,” Drew replied, then made his way toward Ed. His brother pointed Tillie toward the Boutwell family. Tillie took off toward her friends, and Ed ambled toward Drew, bumping into a diminutive redhead in the process. Rebekah Edwards. Drew smothered a smile as the two glared at each other. You’d think they would have learned to ignore each other by now.
Ed signaled Drew to meet him away from the crowd. He must have heard some rumors. Drew sighed. He’d asked his brothers to listen for news about Kaitlyn or Michael but had hoped they would hear nothing.
Looked like that was asking for too much.
He joined Ed, then looked around. No one seemed to be paying attention except Rebekah. Her sharp gaze noted their movements. They’d best be careful, or she’d convince her boss to print Kaitlyn’s family issues in the local paper.
Drew moved closer to Ed, then gestured toward Rebekah. “I see your schoolroom feud is still going strong.”
Ed frowned. “She’s a pill.”
“A dangerous one if the story of Michael’s telegram is circulating.” Drew kept his voice low. Rebekah stood several yards away, but she had sharp ears.
“It’s circulating, but as irritating as she is, she doesn’t print gossip. And she doesn’t control the paper anyway. She just wants to.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Besides, she’s probably only wondering where Isaac is.”
“Maybe.” Drew glanced around, then gestured for Ed to follow him to a more isolated spot. “No one can hear us from here, so tell me what you heard about Kaitlyn.”
“Nothing much about her. Just whispers that drop off if any of our family gets near. But Jack did tell me something about the Tates.”
Ed’s frown grew deeper, and Drew felt a cold trickle of unease. This wouldn’t be good. “What about them?”
“Seems no one has seen or heard from them for more than two weeks.” Ed glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone had moved closer. “Talk around town is they pulled up stakes and left.”
Drew winced. The Tates had always kept to themselves, but that was a long time for no one to hear anything. Plus, they had agreed to let the McGraws use their land for grazing. Without it, he’d have to buy hay, and then where would the money for Ed’s cabin come from?
He forced himself to take a deep breath. Panic wouldn’t serve him well. “They can’t have left. Last month, they were almost ready to prove up their land.”
Ed shrugged. “I don’t know. It’d be odd for them to leave when they were so close to proving up, but two weeks is a long time for no one to hear from them.”
“Maybe they’re sick. Or something happened to put them behind on planting. Or…well, it could be a hundred things.”
“Either way, Jack asked if we could check on them after we get home. He said it would be a while before a deputy would be free for the trip.”
Drew suppressed a sigh. One more chore in his never-ending list. Still, something might really be wrong, and he couldn’t ignore that possibility. They’d have to leave soon to have time to ride over. He glanced toward their wagon. “That’s strange.”
