Unusual Inheritance (2 page)

Katy Marie instantly threw her arms around
Stormy and held on for dear life. In that instant it was
settled.

“Well it seems you two are going to get on
just fine,” Mr. Biggs chimed in. “Katy Marie why don't you go and
play so Miss Calder and I can get the paperwork done.” The girl
left and Mr. Biggs ushered her to the table in the next room.

Once seated, Stormy spoke. “Mr. Biggs, I can
barely feed and clothe myself. I can take her back home with me to
Cedar Wells, but she won't have the same kind of life she had here
with Aunt Lucy.”

“Take her back! Why would you do that?” Biggs
said in a raised voice.

“I thought that is why you sent for me so I
could come get Katy and take her to raise,” she answered.

“Yes, of course that is true, but I don't
think you understand the entire inheritance,” he said. “Your Aunt
Lucy left you this entire ranch, and little Katy Marie. It was her
last wish that you live here, run the ranch, and raise Katy Marie.
Whoever raises Katy Marie gets to run the ranch, and Lucy wanted
that to be you.”

Stormy stood to her full height of five foot
six and took in her surroundings in a different light. “You mean
all this she left to me?” She could not believe what she had just
heard. Why, Aunt Lucy didn't even really know her. “Why?” she
asked.

“Well, I guess you are entitled to know the
whole story,” Biggs said. “Your Aunt and your mom were very close
once. In fact Lucy, even though she was your mom’s aunt, was only
eight years older than your mom. They were always together when
they were young and when they got older, and got interested in
boys, they both fell for the same guy.

Your Aunt Lucy won Luther's heart and the
girls never spoke to each other again. I think Lucy felt guilty all
these years and wanted to make it up to your ma, but then she
passed away. She wants you to have all this Stormy, so please don't
turn this opportunity down. There is a good foreman here on the
ranch that can run things until you figure out how things are
done.

Okay, here are the papers. Just sign here on
the first page and date and sign on the last page,” he thrust them
in front of her. “Oh yes, now that you have signed the papers, here
is my final bill.” He placed another paper down in front of her.
“Just go to the bank and get things changed over into your name and
bring the money by my office. The bank knows you have the right to
do so and I’ll stop by and have them set the paperwork up for
you.”

Stormy did as Mr. Biggs said and in an
instant went from having nothing to more than she could ever need
or want.

As soon as Mr. Biggs rode off Carmen entered
the room. “Miss Stormy,” Carman said. “Let me show you to your room
so you can freshen up and maybe rest a little before supper is
ready.”

Carmen didn't know how good that sounded.
“Thank you Carmen,” she said. “I am rather tired from the long trip
from Cedar Wells.” Stormy didn't even take time to look at her
room, or any other part of the house. She was so tired she threw
herself across the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. The next
thing she knew Carmen was waking her for supper.

“Oh” she said, “how long did I sleep?”

“About two hours, Miss Stormy. You feel
better now?”

“Yes, thank you. Let me wash up and I'll be
down in just a minute.”

As Stormy entered the dining room she
couldn’t help but notice the table was set with beautiful matching
china, and it was breathtaking. Katie Marie was patiently waiting
for Stormy and jumped up from her chair when she saw her. Long
ribbon-laced pigtails bounced up and down as the child quickly
pulled out a chair for Stormy. Who could resist those big brown
eyes? Already Stormy felt responsible for the little thing.

Katy Marie sat back in her chair. “Hi Stormy,
you feel better now?”

“Much better.” Stormy smiled back at her. “I
just needed a little rest. Who are the extra two plates for,” she
asked.

“Oh, they are for Jed and Jake. They are our
best ranch hands and always helped Aunt Lucy run the place so she
has them take supper with us every night. Not breakfast or our noon
day meal, just supper.” The child rambled on some more, seemingly
without even taking a breath, to Stormy’s amusement. “Aunt Lucy
said it was her way of showing them how much she appreciated all
they did for her on the ranch, but I think she like having adults
at the table.”

Just then the door opened and in walked two
men, one right behind the other. Right before Stormy was about to
speak her eyes got a good look at the man coming in last. It was
him! The peeper from the watering hole!

Oh dear, was she having dinner every night
with the one man who had seen her half-dressed? Her face turned red
at the thought. She stood but before she could introduce herself,
the large burley man in front spoke.

“Howdy Ma’am, my name is Jake Renner and I'm
the foreman here at the Double LL. You must be Lucy's niece.” He
placed his hat on the rack to his right and continued. “We heard
you were coming, but didn't know when.” He spread his arm out wide
in the other man’s direction. “This here is my right hand man and
best wrangler, Jed Rivers.”

Jed quickly took the lead. “Nice to meet you
Ma’am,” he said as he took off his hat. “Boy Katie Marie, something
sure smells good this evening,” he added, turning to pinch the
little girl’s nose gently.

Katie Marie giggled. “It's Carmen's chicken
and dumplings.”

It seemed that Jed was not letting the cat
out of the bag and so she wouldn't either. At least he had enough
manners not to embarrass her by sharing their little encounter. Her
eyes could not help but notice he cleaned up right nice. Now that
he was without his hat on she could see he had black hair to match
those brown eyes and bronzed skin. Without anything else said they
all sat down to supper with Jed keeping Katie Marie entertained and
Jake making small talk. Once supper was over there was an awkward
silence that was finally broken by Jake Renner.

“Miss Calder, may I call you Stormy?” He
asked.

“Of course,” she replied. “I'm sure you and
Aunt Lucy were on a first name basis. I see no need for that to
change.”

Jake stood and looked at Stormy. “If you
aren’t too tired I'd like to talk to you about the ranch.” Stormy
rose and followed Jake to the ranch office. He sure seemed nervous,
Stormy thought, for a man who has been running the ranch and
helping Aunt Lucy for such a long time. Maybe it’s just my nerves,
she decided, still unsure of her authority.

“When Lucy got sick she asked me to help her
with the day to day bookkeeping of the ranch. That was about six
months before she passed. I usually come in here about three times
a week to work on things. I’ll continue to handle things so you
don't have to worry about anything,” he added. “I know what’s going
on so you can just enjoying getting to know Katy Marie and your new
surroundings.”

Stormy surprised herself with her response.
“That's not necessary Jake. I want to be involved with the day to
day operation so I can learn.” Something in her gut told her he
didn’t want her to see those books, so that is exactly what she was
going to do.

“Well,” Jake stammered a little. “It’s just
boring stuff. You should just let me take care of it.”

Somehow his words ruffled her feathers
and she wasn't about to let a man start telling her what to do now.
“Mr. Renner, I mean Jake. As I said your services won't be needed
for this anymore. I'll look things over and if I have any questions
I'll just ask you.”
Something was going on
here and I’m going to find out what it is
, her mind
screamed aloud. He looked as if we’re going to protest again, but
thought better of it.

“Okay, but if you change your mind, all you
have to do is ask.” He forced a smile, stood, and called to Jed
that it was time to leave.

Stormy looked toward Jed who was staring at
her intently, just as he had at the watering hole. She didn't know
what was going on in that mind of his, but it was probably nothing
good. Jed nodded, but without another word grabbed his hat and left
with Jake.

After they left Katie Marie beat Stormy at
two games of checkers and then they both went to bed. It had been a
long day and if tomorrow held as many surprises as today, Stormy
didn't know if she could handle it.

In the morning light Stormy took in the
lovely curtains and furniture in her room. It was obvious this had
been her Aunt's room because her things were still in the closet.
Carmen had told her to use anything she wanted and the rest could
be packed away.

Stormy ran her fingers over the rich mahogany
four poster bed, still finding it hard to believe this all belonged
to her now. The closet had pants for horseback riding and dresses
that made hers look like rags. After trying on the clothes she
found some things that she could wear and folded everything else in
a neat pile for Carmen to donate at the church.

The room also had a dresser with a mirror,
and a wash stand with pitcher and bowl. It was the nicest room she
had ever been in. She had to pinch herself to believe it all
belonged to her now.

Stormy decided to wear the riding pants and
shirt and looked herself over in the huge mirror. She didn't have a
large mirror, like this one, at her home in Cedar Wells. The
reflection that stared back at her was a slim, brown-haired woman.
No longer could she act as a scared little girl. She had big
responsibilities now and for some reason it was suddenly very
important to her that she be able to handle them all.

There was so much to learn and her first
stop, after breakfast, would be checking out the ranch by horseback
and introducing herself to the hands. She was going to prove to
Jake and Jed she could run this place as good as any man. If Aunt
Lucy could do it, so could she. With her head held high she headed
down to breakfast with Katy Marie before her day of work began.

The stables smelled of hay and animals, yet
appeared to be kept up quite nice. Jose, a stable hand, had saddled
her a different horse to ride so old wobbles could rest. As much as
she loved old wobbles it was great to have a young spirited horse
under her again.

According to Carmen the ranch had over four
sections of land so there was no way she could see it all today,
but she wanted to ride around the acres within ten miles of the
house and try and get a feel of the land she was now responsible
for.

The grasslands, perfect for raising cattle,
stretched for miles and miles. The beauty of it all was staggering.
Every so often a clump of trees brought shade for the cattle and a
lushness to the land that filled her with pride. For the first time
since her parents died she had something and someone who needed
her.

Piercing rays of sun began to beat down on
her after hours of riding through the pastures so Stormy headed
back toward the ranch house. She hadn’t ridden far when she saw a
group of men in the distance, heading toward the north part of the
ranch. They sure seemed to be in a big hurry. They could be her
ranch hands, but maybe not. She wondered what was up. There was
only one way to find out. She dug her heels into the gray mare and
took off. Just as she was gaining on them she was cut off by Jed
Rivers, as he pulled his horse up beside her. She reigned to a
stop, irritated by the delay.

“Afternoon Ma’am,” Jed tipped his hat. “Going
to a fire? You want to have that horse step in a hole and break its
neck?”

“Not that it's any of your business, but I
was following those men that were riding out to the North Pastures.
I wondered if something was wrong because they seemed to be in such
a hurry.”

He glanced in their direction, a troubled
look on his face. “I'm sure it's nothing for you to worry about,
Ma’am. Probably just some strays needing brought in or
something.”

Stormy saw a look on his face that made her
think he knew the truth was not even close to what he just told
her, but it was too late to catch up or find them now. What was he
covering up?

Jed recovered quickly. “Are you enjoying the
ranch so far? It's a beautiful place, don't you think?”

His questions surprised her. “It's lovely and
I'll let you know right here and now Jed Rivers that I intend to
learn everything I need to know about the Double LL. I’m going to
make sure this ranch stays a success. It's the least I can do for
Aunt Lucy.” Her words were filled with determination.

Jed studied her for moment then continued.
“Well, guess I'd better get back to work, Ma’am. See you at
supper.” He tipped his hat and rode off without another word.

Yeah, she could hardly wait! And why did it
irritate her so that he called her Ma’am, instead of Stormy?

It had been two weeks since Stormy arrived at
the Double LL and it amazed her how much there was to do. It didn’t
take her long to figure Aunt Lucy’s accounting method out and she
was painstakingly studying every sale and purchase over the past
year. Math had always come easy for her, so figuring the profit and
loss each month wasn’t that hard. A few entries looked a little
suspect and it looked like she would have to speak to Jake after
all.

Carmen carried the bushel basket with wet
clothes out back to hang on the line. As usual Carmen was singing
as she worked, and Stormy followed her outside. “Carmen, here let
me help you.” Stormy took the bed sheet from Carmen’s hands.

“Miss Stormy, you have too much to do to be
helping me. Laundry is Carmen’s job.” Carmen tried to take the bed
sheet back from Stormy.

“Nonsense! We all live here and should help
each other. Besides laundry is one thing I’m an expert at” Stormy
said. After all she had been doing it for a living for almost a
year now.