Rebellion in the Valley (8 page)

What she saw was a man on a horse. And he
stared down at her as she floated in the center of the creek. It
was only Duffy, though, so she didn’t budge very far from her
comfort zone.

“Daddy’s been looking for you,” she stated
without much feeling behind the words.

“Yeah? What for? I’ve been tending to
business.”

Hailee shook her head. She had no intention
of telling him why her father was looking for him. “Guess you best
head on back to the ranch and find out what he needs for yourself,”
she told the horseman.

He offered her a lop-sided grin and asked
almost lewdly, “You want some help in there?”

Taken aback by his most inappropriate
question, Hailee refused to allow the man to know he disturbed her
either mentally or from her relaxing bath.

“Nope. I’ve got it handled,” she stood up a
bit to let him see she gone in fully clothed.

“Now why are you bathing with your clothes
on? Don’t you have any sense about you anymore?”

Hailee just snorted and pointed toward the
ranch. “If you would have been home earlier, you would know that
the water pump went down and I got horse manure on my clothes.
Figured it would be easier to see where to clean if I just went in
with everything on,” she explained, although she felt he deserved
no such courtesy.

Duffy’s horse whinnied and began making his
way toward the creek for a drink.

“So the pump’s down, huh? What’s that got to
do with me, anyhow? I don’t know how to fix that problem.”

“Just get on back, so I can finish up here,
will ya?”

Duffy pulled his horse from the edge of the
creek after it had taken its fill and took too long looking at her,
obviously observing the fact that Hailee certainly had grown into
young womanhood as she stood in her soaked dress. He grinned far
too much as he turned his horse and his own head away from her.

P

Just as the men had come to the conclusion
that there wouldn’t be any saving the water pump except a new pin
set, the elusive Duffy came riding up over the farthest hill toward
the ranch.

“Well, look at what we have here,” Tobias
scowled at the man on the horse. “I’ve got half a mind to – “ Bruce
put a hand on his shoulder to indicate he would take care of it
himself.

“Not worth it, Tobias. If he’s going to be
angry with anyone, it’s best that he take it up with me,” Bruce
reasoned. “And besides, I need to tell him a couple of things
anyway. I’ll be right back, fellas.”

The ranch owner walked toward the mounted
Duffy, wishing he would have been a little more considerate of
everyone else this morning.

“Morning, Howard. Where ya been off to so
early on in the day?”

Duffy dismounted his Palomino and tipped his
hat up a tad. “Been into Rosita. Had some business to take care of,
Boss.”

Nodding in understanding, Bruce held a hand
out to the horse, fingers scratching him under his muzzle. “I sure
can understand that, but if you don’t mind, maybe next time, would
you mind poking your head in the door and letting me know you’ll be
gone for a spell? We came across a near-emergency this morning and
a couple of extra hands would have made the chores move faster with
the animals and all.”

A look of protest on Duffy’s face, he turned
his back on Bruce and acted like he was tending to the horse before
speaking up.

“I had business to tend to,” he repeated.

“And I understand that. I don’t have a
problem with that in itself, we all have personal business to tend
to. Any time my workers have needed time away from their duties
it’s never been a problem, has it? I’ve never even given it a
second thought. I guess I’m just asking that you let me know in
advance, that’s all. Tobias thought you might have been sick, so he
even went to your bunkhouse to –“

Duffy’s face shot Bruce a look that he had
never seen before. “He didn’t go inside my house, did he?”

Confused, Bruce answered, “I imagine Tobias
probably did knock first, Duffy, but when he didn’t get any
response from you, he probably just took a quick peek in–just to
make sure –“

“That’s my living space! I don’t want him
nowhere near my place!” Duffy jabbed an angry fist into his palm,
his mood changing from not so good to worse.

Bruce stepped closer to Duffy, aware that he
was now invading this man’s personal space and not much caring at
this point. Speaking in a serious tone, Bruce started in on the
man.

“Hey, what’s really going on here, Howard? If
you have a problem, you best work it out right here, right now.
You’re a valued worker on my ranch, no better and no worse than the
others. Tobias was concerned about you, believe it or not; but for
some reason, it seems like you’ve had a burr on your tail for a
while now. I want to know what’s wrong.”

Duffy’s head reeled.

What was this talk of him
being a common ranch hand? A worker,
like
all the rest of them
?

“You’ll find out in due time,” was all that
Duffy revealed.

Bruce cocked his head to one side; he had
never seen this side of Duffy before, and it made Bruce think hard
about how to deal with the new situation he could see brewing.

“Do you have a problem with me, or with
somebody else on the ranch? Because if I can help you, I would like
to help get this straightened out.”

When a couple of uncomfortable minutes had
passed, Bruce shook his head, ran a hand through his hair.

“Look, Duffy. I know you just came from town,
but I’m gonna ask that you head back in and sign at the store for a
new pin set. We need to get that thing functioning by dark tonight
so we can take our leave for the hunt at daybreak. It’s a
Coalbrookdale, and we need both the pin and the seal. Just sign for
it and tell Jake I’ll send someone in to pay up in a few days.
Maybe you can do some more thinking and come back ready to talk to
me.”

Wanting to say something he knew his boss
didn’t want to hear, Duffy opted instead to reach for the reigns
and hoisted himself up. He gave Bruce one last look before
galloping off.

When Bruce removed the thumbs from his eye
sockets, Hailee stood before him, dripping wet and out of
breath.

“What was that all about, Daddy? He’s really
starting to worry me.”

P

“Dang it all to fiery heck!”

The look on Duffy’s face told the story of
how he felt inside; the words spewing from his mouth filled in any
gaps anyone might have had.

“Why in the world nobody else could have gone
into town for these parts is beyond me,” the grumpy man mumbled
aloud, although nobody else was around to hear him complain about
matters. “Least it gives me the chance to get away for the whole
day,” he gave his Palomino a nudging of the boot. Duffy let his
eyes settle in on the Lodge poles and remembered when he was a kid,
when his folks had prepared a family picnic area under one of those
trees on the property they owned. Those days felt like they
happened a million years ago.

As the muscles in Duffy’s jaw tightened with
thoughts of being just another one of the common ranch hands, the
man flinched in his saddle. A drop of sweat found its way down his
temple; the sun overhead reminded him of what he’d seen in the
creek earlier; too bad that Tobias was in the way.

P

Business in the kitchen had not slowed down
very much with the pump being out of commission; if anything,
Richard found himself scrambling around even more than usual trying
to come up with ideas for lunch and dinner minus the ingredient of
water, the task proving to be more difficult than he figured it
would be.

As he piled a few food items on the table, he
had to hand it to himself. ‘Not bad, guess we won’t starve after
all,’ he thought aloud.

Sourdough bread from the day before, some
cheese and apples, plus the cookies he’d put up a few days earlier.
Thank goodness for cows-there would be something wet to wash it all
down with.

The man turned to grab his knife from the
oversized canning jar he kept most of his knife collection in and
checked the edge of the blade. The cook’s mouth turned up on one
side, he frowned, and poked it back into the canning jar.
Continuing the search until he pulled out one with a sharp serrated
blade, Richard offered the loaves of bread a satisfied grin and
began to work on slicing them up for the cheese sandwiches he
planned on serving. Out of the corner of his eye, a blonde-headed
girl caught his attention when she entered with one of her books,
walking without bumping into anything as her eyes never even left
the printed pages.

“Hi, Richard,” she offered without looking
up. “What are you doing?” Finishing the chapter, Hailee pressed the
open book to her chest and sighed. “Sometimes my stories just pull
me in and I forget where I’m at. Can you imagine living in Ireland
or walking on a real beach?”

“I’ve never been outside America, but when I
was a kid, my grandmother lived in California, and I got to spend a
whole summer at her house. We went to the beach every single
weekend,” he reflected.

“No kidding,” she perked up, tugging the book
even closer to her bosom. “That must have been wonderful! What do
you remember the most?”

His nose sniffed the air. “The smell, to tell
you the truth. It didn’t really smell very good.”

Hailee’s head cocked to the side. “You’re
kidding me.”

Handing her a platter of sliced bread,
Richard motioned for her to lay a dishtowel over it. “No, it
smelled terrible! Like rotting fish and old socks,” he laughed. “If
you think the stalls smell bad, multiply that a few times over and
toss in a bushel of old fish to boot.”

Almost on cue, Tobias opened the door and
stepped in, running a hand through his hair after he removed his
hat. “We’re having fish tonight? When did you go fishin' without
me?” he teased his favorite gal.

Richard grunted. “No fish. Someone’s been
reading, not fishing. But it sounds like a good idea if anyone
wants to load me up with a basketful,” he hinted with wiggling
eyebrows.

“It’ll probably have to wait til we get back
from that cat hunt,” came the reply. “I think I’ll spend the rest
of the night getting ready to be gone for a few days.”

The sad droop in Hailee’s posture didn’t go
unnoticed.

“Speaking of getting things done, the water
pump is a big deal; that’s gotta be the first thing we get situated
before we can even think about leaving. Doesn’t look like it’s
gonna happen today, either, the way Duffy’s taking his ever-lovin
sweet time getting back with that pin and seal,” he tapped his
fingers on the counter top. “I’ll get on it first thing in the
morning, unless by some miracle the man slinks back in before
dark.”

Hailee frowned and opened her mouth to say
something about the creepy way Duffy had looked at her and the rude
manner he’d spoken to her earlier, but after recognizing that look
on Tobias’ face, she opted to keep her thoughts to herself.

‘Guess I better not add even more kindling to
this campfire,’ she reasoned.

“Chin up, we won’t be gone that long,” Tobias
promised, thinking her facial expressions reflected her feelings
about her father leaving. “And if we’re lucky, the cat won’t work
us over too bad,” he teased.

“Ha ha. Not funny.”

Richard’s knife sliced through a few peeled
potatoes, creating vegetable circles. When the pile grew big enough
for his taste, the taters found their way into a cast iron skillet
he’d already prepared with hot bacon grease.

Speaking a bit louder to be heard over the
potatoes crisping in the skillet, Richard reached over for the bag
of salt and asked Hailee to refill his containers.

P

Standing in front of the man holding the
smoking branding iron, Duffy pulled his wallet out. “So what’s this
gonna set me back?”

“Well, you threw the shoe pretty clean, so it
shouldn’t be too bad. If you want to go grab yourself a bite to eat
down there at the saloon, I bet I’ll be done by the time you get
back. We can settle up then,” he confirmed.

Duffy stuffed the wallet back in his pocket
and nodded. “See ya in a bit, then.”

The heavy wooden door creaked when his
shoulder shoved against it, and then the whiff of roast beef and
chicken hit him. On his way to the bar at the back of the room, and
with boots clacking against the old planked floor, Duffy gave a nod
to a couple of men he knew as he strutted by them.

The sign above the bar had been repainted
since he’d been in the last time; it was easier to read now. A bit
for a drink of beer, two bits for a drink of whiskey, unless you
order food. Five cents with paid meal.

Duffy was absolutely going to eat.

He didn’t have the chance to eat twice in
town in the same day, but maybe once a year. He aimed to take
advantage of the situation; and once those mine shares paid off, he
would be doing this more often, maybe even paying for a meal or two
here and there for someone else. A grin emerging across his face,
Duffy leaned back a bit in his chair and figured he might as well
give the folks a little preview of what was to come.

Once the saloon owner’s wife waddled to the
table with his bread and cold roast beef, she wiped her hands on
the pale blue apron tied about her thick waist.

“Want anything with your beer? We have some
cheese and salt pickles,” she offered.

He glanced down at his plate. “Well,” he
rubbed his chin. “Sure! I’ll take some,” he told the woman.
Reaching down for a bit of meat and bread, he wasted no time
shoving it in.

Glass platter nearly licked clean, Duffy
flipped four bits on the table. “You can keep the change,” let the
woman know.

Duffy pushed his hat back enough to get a
good look at the sky; he figured it was time to head on over to the
store to pick up the pin and seal. Sure as anything, Bruce would be
waiting to get that pump going again. Not that he could blame the
man, but he did feel the stab of resentment of being the go-get-it
person instead of someone else. A younger man who hadn’t put in as
many years as he had, for instance.