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They left the chairs and returned to the boardinghouse.
Spring arrived home still smiling at Garrett’s reaction to her revelation. Having come to the conclusion that she did indeed care for him in a way that had to be love, and spring it on him as a surprise, made the moment memorable. Her humor deflated seeing her grandfather seated atop his old wagon.
Sighing, she parked and walked over to him. “What can I do for you, Ben?”
Clad in the worn, shaggy buffalo coat he wore no matter the weather, he asked, “Did your brother tell you I’m dying?”
“He did. I was sorry to get the news.”
“I’m leaving you everything I own.”
She stared. “Why?”
“Who else is there? Your brother’s already married to Queen Midas and doesn’t need my money. Odell will be joining me in the grave soon. So, you’re it. All my land, mining interests, water rights, gold, back-East investments, and the rest. Had a lawyer do up the papers. They’re in a deposit box at the bank.”
“I don’t want it.”
“I don’t care, and if you’re dumb enough not to take it so you can have a better life, shame on you.”
“Do you hear me? I don’t want it.”
“Did you hear me? I don’t care.”
He slapped the reins down on the backs of his mules and the rickety old wagon rambled off.
Snarling, she watched him go.
She walked into her cabin wanting to punch something. Instead, she made coffee. When it was done, she carried her cup of the brew outside and sat on the back porch. That he would leave her everything was not something she’dexpected. Granted, she could use the financial boon because for the past few years poverty had been pinching her like a pair of too-small boots. With profits down from the horse business, she’d have no hogs to slaughter and sell this autumn. There was no extra money to purchase piglets, let alone the feed necessary to raise them and fatten them up.
But considering her anger at Ben, would accepting make her a hypocrite? She hadn’t asked him to leave her anything, so did that make a difference? She didn’t know. She’d had no idea his holdings were so vast. Saying yes would potentially make her a pretty wealthy woman. A part of her hoped he’d come to his senses and change his mind so the matter would be out of her hands, but there was little chance of that occurring. Once Ben set a course there was no going back. His decision that placed her eighteen-year-old self on the path that would become her life stood as testament to his stubborn resolve. She wondered if this was his way of apologizing. He certainly owed her something for putting her through hell, and as he’d plainly stated, she’d be dumb to turn down a gift that would make life easier. Outside of nuns, priests, and Jesuits, no one in their right mind chose to be poor, not even hypocrites.
After going back inside, she washed her cupand set it on the counter. The cabin interior echoed with silence. In the past, it had been companionable. Now something seemed missing and that something was Garrett. His presence drifted in the air like an unseen spirit, as if the cabin had become his, as well. It was an odd sensation, but not an unpleasant one. She felt that if she went to his room and knocked on the door, he’d set aside his book and respond. He’d been a constant companion lately, her partner, and she’d grown accustomed to having him near. In a few days he’d be returning to the place he called home, yet, during the past few weeks, she’d come to consider this cabin his home. They’d shared meals, conversation, passion, and she admitted that in the back of her mind, she worried he’d go back East and decide not to return. If so, she’d mourn what might have been then retrain herself in how to be a woman alone. For the moment, however, she looked forward to tomorrow evening and the night they planned to share.
Later, as she prepared for bed, she opened the door to his room and looked inside. Most of his belongings were still there. In a corner by the wardrobe were the new boots he’d been unable to remove on his own the day she rescued him from the storm, and the memory of thatencounter evoked a soft smile. Who knew he’d work his way into her life and heart so effortlessly, and that she’d be changed as a result? Her eyes lingered on the bed. Some women might be comforted by sleeping in their love’s bed while he was away, but Spring thought that pretty sappy—she hadn’t been changed that much. After closing the door, she walked through the silence to her own room.
