Page 24 of Calder Strong (The Calder Brand #5)

Joseph walked into the house. Blake, in his wheelchair, was sitting next to the open liquor cabinet with a glass of bourbon in his hand.

The Dollarhides had saved a small supply of good liquor from pre-prohibition days, which they kept under lock and key.

For most of his life, Blake had rarely drunk alcohol.

But the accident had changed that. Now, if a few sips helped ease his physical pain and mental anguish, Joseph could hardly begrudge him.

But there was a risk that, given free access, he might drink too much.

As a precaution, the key to the cabinet was kept above the doorframe in the ranch office.

When Blake wanted a drink, Joseph would get the key and unlock the cabinet.

But he hadn’t unlocked the cabinet today.

“Dad, how did you get into the cabinet?” Joseph asked.

“I got the boy to help me.” Blake emptied the glass and poured himself another two fingers from the bottle.

“Told him where the key was, and he stood on a chair to get it. See, no harm done. I’ve only had a little.

But damn blast it, I get sick of being babysat.

I should be able to drink when I want to. ”

“Where’s the key, Dad?” With the passing days, Joseph was becoming the stern parent. Sometimes it was necessary, but he knew how much his father hated it.

Blake’s hand shook as he fished the key out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Joseph. His strength was ebbing day by day. Was the decline related to his injuries, or was it simply caused by his broken heart? Joseph could only wonder and worry.

After locking the cabinet, Joseph took the key and put it back above the office door.

Returning to the parlor, he watched his father finish the drink he’d poured.

“We got the big blade installed,” he said, changing the subject.

“It’s working fine. We should be back on our old delivery schedule in the next couple of weeks. ”

“That’s good. It’s about time.” Blake sounded oddly disinterested. “What about your search for a wife? The boy tells me you’ve got a date with the new schoolmarm tonight.”

“That’s right. And the boy’s name is Forrest. I’m glad to hear you’re finally making friends with him.”

“Yes. I’m finding him … useful. He says that your schoolmarm is beautiful and very nice. I think he has a crush on the lady. If I were you, I’d move fast, before some other man snatches her away.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” The same thought had occurred to Joseph. He found Francine enchanting and wanted to know her better. But it was too soon for a proposal.

And shouldn’t love be part of the package? Blake had married the young, pregnant Hannah at his father’s insistence. Only later had a tender, passionate, lifelong love blossomed between them.

But that wasn’t always what happened. Joseph thought of Annabeth, the sadness in her lovely eyes, and the way Silas had talked about her son. The helpless anger he’d felt was still burning inside him, even though there was nothing he could do.

He wouldn’t wish such a marriage on anyone. Love first, then the wedding. That would be the way for him, even with Francine.

“Listen to me, Son,” Blake said. “You know my brother, Mason, has just one child, a little girl. From what I gather, his wife can’t have more.

The Dollarhides need a male heir. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get a ring on that woman’s finger and a baby in her belly before it’s too late.

Everything else will work out over time. You’ll see.”

Joseph sighed. The fact that Mason was actually his father was not to be mentioned in the family.

“It worked out for you, Dad. That doesn’t mean it would work out for me. If I move too fast, the lady could say no. Or she could say yes to somebody else, like Chase Calder.”

“That skirt chaser? He’d make her life miserable. If she’d take him over you, she hasn’t got the sense of a plucked chicken.”

Joseph shook his head. There was no arguing with the man. “I’ve got to go, Dad,” he said. “Forrest is waiting for a ride to his reading lesson. When that’s done, I’ll need to spend some time at the mill and check on the cattle. Patches will be here if you need anything.”

“Remember what I said. When I’m gone, it’ll be your duty to carry on the Dollarhide bloodline. The sooner you get on with it, the better.”

His words followed Joseph out the door as he beckoned to Forrest and went down the steps to his car. What Blake would never know was that the Dollarhide bloodline had already been carried on. But not the Dollarhide name.

For Joseph, the reading lesson had been a pleasant interlude in an otherwise hectic day.

Watching Francine go over the new words with Forrest, he could see that the boy adored her.

It seemed to be a rite of passage for boys, falling for an older woman.

But when Joseph tried to recall his own crush at that age, no name or face came to mind.

At the end of the lesson, Francine brought out a well-worn dime novel, which she presented to Forrest. “This is for you to keep. I know you can’t read it yet. But you can look for words you know. When you know enough of them, you’ll be reading the story.”

Forrest gazed at the cover, his grin almost splitting his face. “Wow! See that gunslinger behind the rocks? Now, that’s a real cowboy story.”

“Look at the title,” Francine said. “Can you sound it out?”

The boy’s face was a study in concentration. “ T … O … M … That’s Tom!”

“Right. Now try the other name.”

“ M … I … X ! Oh, boy howdy, that’s Tom Mix! My favorite cowboy! Thank you, Miss Francine! I never had my own book before. This one is the best!”

He looked as if he wanted to kiss her. Joseph had to chuckle. It was easy to see how a man—or a thirteen-year-old boy—could fall in love with this woman.

“I think you should marry Miss Francine,” Forrest remarked on the way home in the car. “She’s pretty. She’s nice. And you need a wife.”

“Maybe Miss Francine doesn’t want me.” Joseph drove past Jake’s Place, thinking of the evening ahead. He wouldn’t be fool enough to propose. But he planned to get a kiss from the lady. That would tell him a lot.

“Why wouldn’t she want you?” Forrest fingered his paperback book as if it were a rare treasure. “You’re rich. And I can tell she likes you. That’s why she offered to give me lessons, so you would have to bring me.”

“Aren’t you the smart one?” Joseph had thought of that but couldn’t be sure. Maybe Francine was just being helpful. “Actually, I could use your help tonight,” he said. “When I take Miss Francine out to dinner, I’ll be leaving my father alone. Could you stay with him and make sure he’s all right?”

“Sure. He’s teaching me to play checkers. Maybe we’ll have a couple of games.”

This was good news. Joseph had hoped that the boy would provide some company for his father. “I’ll probably be home before his bedtime,” he told Forrest, “but if he wants to go to sleep and I’m not there, he might need a little help.”

“I can help him. I’m stronger than I look.”

“Good. If he’s too heavy for you, you can get Patches out of his cabin. One more thing, and this is important,” Joseph said. “No more liquor tonight. Not even if he asks you for the key. You can tell him I said no. Understood?”

“Understood.” Forrest was leafing through the pages in his book, probably looking for more pictures. “When can I be a cowboy? I want to ride horses and sleep in the bunkhouse and do cowboy work.”

“We’ll see about that when you’re older, if you’re still around here then.” The three cowboys, one a part-time bunkhouse cook, chewed tobacco and used language that would make a prostitute blush. They wouldn’t be the best influence on a young boy. For now, Joseph would keep Forrest apart from them.

Before going back to the mill, Joseph gave Forrest tools, nails, and slabs of wood and put him to work mending the walls of the chicken coop.

The ranch had lost two hens to a crafty weasel whose fluid body could squeeze through the smallest opening.

The challenge of stopping the varmint should keep the boy busy for the rest of the afternoon.

Joseph found everything running smoothly at the sawmill.

But the cattle operation was a different story.

A section of fence was down. A spring calf had been caught in the wire and killed by coyotes.

Two cows and their calves were missing and needed to be rounded up before the fence could be mended and the calf’s partly devoured carcass buried to discourage the coyotes from coming back.

After Joseph had given the cowboys a tongue-lashing, docked their pay, and threatened to fire them, he barely had time to make it back to the house, shower, and dress for his dinner date with Francine.

He left Blake and Forrest sharing a game of checkers. They would be all right, Joseph told himself. Patches would be there until after supper, when he would retire to his cabin. If anything were to go wrong, Forrest could run out back and find him.

His spirits rose as he drove down the switchback road and past the mill, which had shut down for the night. He was looking forward to a juicy steak dinner with a beautiful companion sitting across the table. And he hadn’t forgotten about that kiss.

Francine greeted him at the door, dressed in the apricot gown she’d worn to the dance. She gave him a radiant smile and took the arm he offered. Her lilac aroma swam in his senses as she sat close to him in the car for the short ride to the restaurant.

“Thanks again for giving Forrest that book,” he said, making conversation. “I think he’s got a schoolboy crush on you.”

She laughed. “He’s a smart boy. Keep him on the right track, and he’ll go far in life.”

“I don’t know about that. All he wants is to be a cowboy.”

“I know you got him out of jail. Do you plan on keeping him around?”