Aundy (Pendleton Petticoats - Book 1) (23 page)

“I’m sorry, honey. Do you think Marvin Tooley wrote this?” Garrett asked as Aundy stood with her head pressed to his chest. Although he appreciated the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, he was outraged that anyone would try to threaten her. She had every right to raise whatever she wanted on the farm and if he had anything to say about it, she’d never leave.

“I don’t know. He was quite drunk earlier. I don’t know if he would have come back already,” Aundy said, breathing deeply and stepping away from Garrett. Taking back the note, she stared at it a moment before opening her door.

“Thank you for seeing me home, Garrett. I appreciate it,” she said and walked inside the house. Turning to close the door, Garrett stood blocking the doorframe, looking into the empty house.

“Want me to come inside and make sure everything is fine?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” Aundy said, determined not to let fear override her need for independence. “Thanks again.”

“Aundy, are you certain…” Garrett started to say, but Aundy was quietly closing the door. “Goodnight.”

Trembling in fear, Aundy wanted Garrett to hold her hand, light all the lamps, and promise her everything would be fine.

Since that wasn’t going to happen, she pulled the gun out of her reticule and walked through the house, prepared to shoot if anything moved.

Making it to her bedroom, she lit a lamp and heaved a sigh. Why did the neighbors have such a hard time accepting her sheep? They weren’t hurting anyone. Nik kept them contained. She didn’t go around commenting on the state of her neighbors’ livestock, which included a herd of scrawny cattle, some horses that looked abused, and a pair of mean dogs that had to be part wolf for as vicious as they seemed.

Maybe it wasn’t so much about the sheep but about her, a woman, taking over the farm. Although she had a lot to learn, she was willing to try and gave her best each day to make the place a success.

Deciding there was nothing she could do right then, Aundy changed into her nightgown, blew out the lamp, and prayed.

Chapter Fifteen

Aundy didn’t mention the note she found on the door to anyone the next morning. Nora called right after breakfast to see how she was and she told her everything was fine.

It was fine.

Or it would be when whoever was trying to frighten her figured out she wasn’t leaving, wasn’t selling, and wasn’t giving up.

With renewed determination to ignore whoever was taunting her, especially if it was Marvin Tooley, Aundy did laundry all morning and was hanging the last sheet up to dry when Li suddenly appeared next to her clothesbasket.

“Missy, come eat with us?” Li asked, smiling at her imploringly. She’d eaten a few meals he prepared and the food was always delicious. The thought of not having to make herself dinner was too appealing to tell him no. That, and the fact he looked at her nodding his head, trying his best to make her agree.

“I’d love to, Li. Thank you for the invitation,” Aundy said, offering a genuine smile to her cook. “May I bring something?”

“No. Li cook,” he said, still smiling and nodding his head.

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.”

“Yep, Missy,” Li said, turning to go back to the bunkhouse before stopping and giving her an inquisitive look. “Missy, why wear britches, big hat day you help Li?”

Aundy almost swallowed the clothespin she was holding in her mouth. Snatching it from between her lips and hooking it on the sheet, she looked at Li with raised eyebrows.

In the weeks since she’d met the man, he hadn’t once mentioned her being the person who found him and she hoped, in his pain-induced state, he wouldn’t remember. It looked like he wasn’t quite as incoherent as she thought when she’d dragged him out of the stairwell to her horse.

“I didn’t think you knew that was me,” Aundy said quietly, looking around to see if anyone else was close enough to hear the conversation. It appeared they were alone. “I was trying to buy sheep and no one would talk to me as a woman, so I dressed like a man. I don’t plan on making a habit of it.”

“That good,” Li said, grinning at his boss. “You pretty lady, not man.”

Aundy laughed. “Thank you, I think.”

“Pretty boss lady,” Li said in a singsong voice, making Aundy grin. “Pretty lady. Pretty lady.”

“Can you keep that under your hat?”

“What under hat?” Li asked, looking confused.

“That means please don’t tell anyone I was dressed like a man. The guys wouldn’t take that news favorably,” Aundy said.

“Not tell nobody,” Li said, bowing at Aundy as he hurried back to the bunkhouse. Aundy finished the laundry, then retreated to Erik’s desk for the afternoon.

Completing bookwork she’d put off, Aundy rolled her shoulders and looked at the clock on the mantle across the room. If she didn't hurry she’d be late for dinner and she didn’t want to keep hungry men waiting. Going to the bathroom, she washed her hands and face then tidied her hair before going out the kitchen door and down the steps. She noticed the green sprouts coming up in the garden and decided to spend time weeding soon. Li had already made sure she knew what plants were weeds and what ones were supposed to be growing.

Knocking on the bunkhouse door, Dent opened it with a smile, ushering her inside.

“Welcome, Missy. Heard you was joining us for supper,” Dent said, motioning her to the big table, lined with benches on both sides and chairs on each end. Dent escorted her to a chair and held it while she sat down.

“Li was quite persuasive in his argument that I share supper with you,” Aundy said, winking at the cook as he set a bowl of rice on the table.

“We liked his funny Chinese food so well the other day, we asked him to make some more,” Bill said, looking a little sheepish. No doubt, he and Fred were the loudest protestors at eating strange food. “Nik said you wanted to try it.”

“I do,” Aundy said, bowing her head while Dent gave thanks. “I have eaten Chinese food before, though.”

“You have?” Nik asked, giving Aundy a questioning glance as he passed a bowl to her.

“Yes, I have. In fact, I had the opportunity to sample food from all over the world once in Chicago,” Aundy said, her thoughts drifting back to an adventure she experienced with  her parents, brother, and sister.

“Where was that?” George asked, helping himself to a mixture of meat and vegetables in sauce.

“At the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” Aundy said, taking a bite of the food and enjoying the flavors that exploded on her tongue.

“Really? You were there?” Fred asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity. “I heard it was quite something to see.”

“It was. There were all kinds of food booths, and people from every walk of life as well as games and exhibits and rides,” Aundy said, thoughtful as the memories resurfaced. “I think my favorite thing of all was the Ferris Wheel.”

“What’s a Ferris Wheel?” Nik asked, waiting for Aundy to explain.

“It was a ride that could hold more than two thousand people. It was literally a huge wheel standing more than two-hundred and sixty-feet tall. It sat on a monstrous axle and had thirty-six passenger cars attached to the rim of the wheel. People sat, or stood, in the cars and the wheel would take them up in the air and bring them back down to platforms,” Aundy said, using her finger to show how the wheel moved. “At the very top, you could see not only the fairgrounds and the city of Chicago, but for miles and miles past the lake and even into the surrounding states. It was amazing.”

“I want to ride a Ferris Wheel,” Nik said, imagining how wonderful it would be to see so far in the distance.

“Perhaps, someday you will,” Aundy said with a wink.

The men asked more questions about Chicago, the fair, and things she’d experienced. They talked about some of the more interesting things they’d seen in some of their travels and before they realized the lateness of the hour, it was well past time for the last of the evening chores to be completed.

“Goodness, I didn’t mean to distract you boys for so long,” Aundy said, helping Li clear the table. He shooed her away, so she grinned and started to walk out with the men.

“We enjoyed your stories, Missy,” Dent said, patting her on the shoulder as he put on his hat and opened the door. They stepped outside to see a dead lamb hanging from a limb in the cottonwood tree between the bunkhouse and the barn. A note was pinned to the tree by a wicked looking knife, covered in blood.

Aundy screamed and Dent pulled her around, shielding her from the gruesome sight.

“Bill, cut that thing down. Fred, bring that letter over here and the knife,” Dent ordered as his gaze took in the quiet barnyard. Nothing seemed unusual or out of place, other than the disturbing sight in the tree.

Nik ran over to the tree with Bill and bravely held back his tears as he cradled the dead lamb. At least it wasn’t Butter. Laying the lamb gently on a mound of grass, Nik scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the pasture where the flock was grazing with George, Lem, and Hank right behind him.

“I’m okay, Dent,” Aundy said, taking a deep breath and stepping back from her foreman. She couldn’t believe anyone would be so cruel as to kill a helpless lamb and string it up from a tree, but evidently, someone was desperate to make his point.

Reading the note, Aundy dropped it as if she’d been bitten by something poisonous. Rubbing her hands on her skirt like she was trying to wipe off something filthy, she looked around, trying to figure out how she and the men could have missed someone lurking around right outside the door while they enjoyed dinner.

Dent picked up the note and read it, shaking his head at the words.

“I dun tol’ ya but yer two stupid to pay me mind. I’m dun talkin. Say gudbuy to yer stinkin sheep.”

“Glen, run up to the house and call the sheriff,” Dent said, taking Aundy’s arm and walking her toward the house. He’d make sure it was safe and one of them would stay with her until the sheriff arrived.

They were almost to the back porch when Aundy came out of the trance she seemed to be in and realized Dent was taking her inside. She stopped walking and pulled her arm away from his hand where it had been on her elbow, guiding her along.

“No, Dent,” she said, taking another step back. “I need to go check on the rest of the sheep and Nik.”

“The guys will take care of Nik and watch out for the sheep. We’ll put someone on night watch from now on until this thing settles down. Don’t you worry, Missy,” Dent said, trying to be reassuring.

Aundy would have run off to the pasture except Glen hurried down the back steps, talking as he approached them. “Sheriff is sending someone out right away. He asked if Aundy would wait in the house for him. Said something about looking at the note from yesterday.”

“What note?” Dent asked, giving Aundy a probing glare.

“That tattletale Nash,” Aundy said, storming up the steps with Dent and Glen right behind her.

“What note?” Dent asked again, wanting to grab Aundy by the arm and give her a shake. Sometimes the woman was too independent for her own good.

“When I came home last night, there was a note on the door. Garrett was the only one who saw it. He must have said something to Deputy Rawlings,” Aundy said, walking to the front room where she plucked the note from a galvanized pail she used to hold discarded papers to burn in the stove and fireplace.

Unfolding the wadded piece of paper, she turned up the lamp on the desk and handed the letter to Dent.

He read it and compared the handwriting to the note they’d just found, deciding both notes appeared to be written in the same hand.

“Glen, check the house, would ya?” Dent asked. Motioning for Glen to look in each room and make sure the house was secure, he and Aundy returned to the kitchen. Dent set the warning letters on a corner of the table.

“No one wants to hurt me, just my poor little sheep,” Aundy said, banging the coffee pot as she filled it with water and slammed it on the stove. She stoked up the fire and put a kettle of water on to boil as well, assuming it was going to be a long evening.

Dent was surprised to see her anger about to boil over. He’d expected her to be frightened, tearful, but not this angry. He was plenty mad for everyone.

“I hope Nik is okay,” Aundy said, muttering more to herself than Dent. When Glen returned to the room and nodded his head, Dent asked him to keep Aundy company while he went back out.

“Keep her in the house,” Dent whispered to Glen as he opened the kitchen door.

Aundy watched him leave and frowned at her hired hand. “You don’t have to stay here and keep me company. I’d much rather be out there, so I’m sure you would as well.”

Glen stood watching Aundy pace around the kitchen, feeling his own nerves twisting tighter with each step she took. He had to do something to calm them both down. “That’s okay, Aundy. I don’t mind keeping you company. Anything I can do to help around the house? Maybe we could find something to work on until the deputy comes. You need shelves hung or anything repaired?”

Aundy was right. Glen would rather have been just about anywhere other than in the house with her at that moment, but he was grateful she was mad and slamming things around instead of crying hysterically, which is what he assumed most women would be doing after seeing the lamb in the tree. Just thinking about it made a cold shiver slither down his spine. Anyone who could do that was capable of just about anything.

“Want I should call Garrett and have him come over?”

“Absolutely not,” Aundy said hotly, glaring at Glen as she stirred something in a bowl. He’d noticed she liked to bake when she was upset. It worked out well for the men, since it meant cookies, cake or pie for them.

“How about I…” Glen didn’t know who was pounding at the front door, but as he hurried to answer it, he didn’t care. Any interruption was welcome.

Almost any.

Glen could have done without seeing the pretty-faced Ashton Monroe standing on the doorstep, dressed in an expensive tailored suit with brocade vest and fancy tie in place. Glancing at his feet, Glen was gratified to see, for once, Ashton’s boots weren’t polished to a shine that reflected his face.

“Where’s Mrs. Erickson?” Ashton asked, barging his way inside. “I just heard the terrible news and rushed right over.”

“How could you hear the news? We barely discovered it ourselves,” Glen said with a narrowed gaze.

“You know how the phone line buzzes with all the latest gossip,” Ashton said, looking around the room, expecting Aundy to materialize. When she didn’t, Glen sighed and walked Ashton to the kitchen where Aundy was dropping cookie dough onto a baking sheet before sliding it in the oven.

“Ashton? Now isn’t a good time for a social call,” Aundy said, rinsing her hands and drying them on a dishtowel.

“I realize that, my dearest Mrs. Erickson,” Ashton said, sidling next to her and taking her hand. Leading her to the table, he held out a chair for her. When she reluctantly sat down, he gallantly dropped to one knee, looking at her with tender eyes. “I heard about the tragedy that befell one of your sheep and rushed right over knowing how distraught you’d be.”