A Heart Renewed (13 page)

Two weeks later, well into the Arizona Territory, Julia realized the nightmares had stopped.  Despite traipsing across the wilderness, she felt safe for the first time in over a year.  Ever since her father died, she was on edge at the Star C—even before Reuben became violent towards her.  But now she felt safe on the trail with Adam.

During the day in the silence, she had too much time to think.  She was still angry that God would allow this tragedy to befall her.  If God was so loving, why would he allow her to be raped, to be ruined?  Why would he stand by and quietly watch as Reuben beat her?  Was that how a loving God acted?  Especially since He had the power to stop all of it.  What kind of twisted being would refuse to use their power to help someone in trouble?

Then, she thought of a verse she remembered from childhood. 
In this world you will have trouble.  Or something like that.  Seems like an excuse for the all-powerful God to do nothing.
  Well, if she was going to be left on her own, she would just rely on herself—and maybe Adam.

Growing weary of her own thoughts, she started a conversation with Adam to distract herself.  “Tell me why you brought your horses all the way out here.”  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him sit a little straighter in the springboard seat of the wagon.

His green eyes lit with excitement as he responded, “Well, when I told my pa and ma about my plans to move to Will’s ranch to work with the horses, Pa told me he thought I earned the pick of the horses as payment for the years of training I put in at home.  He told me I could pick any two I wanted.  So, I picked one good stud and one good mare, both known for the quality of their offspring.  I was glad he let me take them.”

“Why?”

“When I first got the idea to strike out on my own, I really wanted to start my own horse breeding and training business.  I thought about going west, but the most important thing was that it would be my own.  I started discussing the idea with Pa and he suggested it might be better to start working for someone else or even partner with them, so the expense wouldn’t be so great in the beginning.  When Caroline mentioned that Will had made it to the Arizona Territory, I got the idea to write and see if he would be interested in working with me.  If I was in a better position, I would have asked to be a partner.  But as of right now, I only have two horses and my skills.”

She nodded.

“It was several months before I had any kind of reply.  In truth, I wrote one letter and he sent one in return.  But, I trust Will and am sure the final arrangements will be beneficial to both of us.  He even said he started the buildings and purchased a few horses specifically for breeding.”

“Sounds like a dream come true,” Julia said trying to keep the sadness over her situation from her voice.

“Not quite.  I hope the experience I gain and the wages I earn will eventually let me run my own place.  This is a good start.”

She was quiet for several minutes.  In danger of returning to her heavy thoughts, she started the conversation again.  “I thought that all this time Will never wrote to me.”

“You had no letters?  I thought you were close.”

“We were—are.  But, I only received his first letter stating that he made it safely to his new home.  I wrote to him all the time, almost weekly at first.  But, when I never received any response month after month, I thought maybe he forgot me.”  Looking off to the distant flatlands, she continued.  “Then, the night I left, when I was going through Reuben’s desk for the money, I came across a stack of letters from Will addressed to me.  Reuben had them this whole time and he kept them from me—and he had opened them.”

“I’m sorry.  That was wrong.”

“I know it was.  All I can think is that Reuben has been doing his best this last year to manipulate me and get me to do his bidding.”

“Do you have the letters?”

“No.  I was too frightened to leave any indication of where I was going.  I knew Reuben would notice them missing.  But, I’m glad to know that Will wrote.  Judging by the stack, he wrote a lot.”

Adam reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.  The action propelled her to get out some of her pent up thoughts.

“Did you know Reuben tried to force me to marry Mr. Norton?” she asked.

Shaking his head, he replied, “I only knew that you were engaged, not any details about how it came to pass.”

“On more than one occasion, I told Reuben I was too young to marry.  At first he suggested names, or invited various associates over for supper.  He would seat me next to the men and try to force me to talk to them.  With Hiram, something was different.  Reuben arranged a dinner party where Hiram was scheduled to be one of the guests.  That morning, Reuben and I got into an argument.”

Julia paused as tears began pooling in her eyes.  “I remember telling him that Hiram was too old, more than twice my age, and that I was not interested.  That is the first time Reuben hit me.  He slammed me up against the wall and warned me that I should listen.  But, I was too stubborn.  I didn’t want to marry that lecherous man.”

Adam’s voice was soft when he spoke.  “Julia, you did nothing wrong.  I think it is perfectly acceptable for a woman to choose her husband and not be forced into a horrible situation.”

She snorted in disgust.  “Too bad Reuben didn’t see it your way.  That night, without ever asking me for my hand, Hiram and Reuben very publicly announced my engagement.  Hiram pressed for a quick wedding, undoubtedly because he was concerned that I would run.  I thought about it then.  But, Caroline and I came up with the idea of the scene at the church.  I needed a public denouncement that could not be refuted.  Otherwise, I would only be buying myself a few weeks or months.  Of course, you saw the outcome of that day.”

Looking down at her hands she grew silent.  A part of her wanted to confess everything, but she knew it was not appropriate.  She had shared too much already.

Growing nervous, she laughed off the seriousness of what she shared.  “I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”

Adam reached across the seat and put his arm around her shoulders.  The comforting action brought a new wave of tears.  He sat there silently, letting her cry it out.  When her tears subsided, Julia straightened in the seat.

“Thank you, Adam.”

“You are very welcome.”

Gideon Bates watched Julia Colter—er, Larson—from across the circle where he camped with his new employer.  For now, he was working as a teamster for one of the freighters hauling goods from Santa Fe to Prescott.

Not deciding is sometimes as good of a plan as deciding something, he thought.  Other than a brief note to Reuben to let him know he had caught up to Adam Larson and Julia, Gideon hadn’t determined his next move.  He was still pondering what would be best for him.  He wasn’t entirely certain he could trust Reuben to pay him if he did return with Julia.

But Larson didn’t need to know that.  So for now, he would just watch.  See if the answer to his quandary didn’t present itself.

Chapter 9

Colter Ranch, Arizona Territory

October 10, 1864

“Boss, got two letters for ya,” Owens said as he entered the stables after making deliveries in town.

Will had just returned from riding with the herd for the day.  He set his saddle in its designated spot and walked over to take the letters from Owens.  Turning both letters over, he noticed one had additional writing on the outside.  He concentrated, but the words danced on the envelopes like meaningless symbols.  Shoving them in his pocket, he continued removing the bridle and blanket from Jackson.

While he suspected one of the letters was from Adam Larson, he had no idea who might have written the other.  His sister Julia had yet to send him a letter.  As time went on, he grew more concerned about the lack of correspondence from her.  Over the last few weeks he was not able to shake the sense of foreboding whenever he thought of her.  Something was wrong.  It didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t write at all in over a year.  They had been far too close.

Laying the brush aside, Will led Jackson into his stall.  Once he fed and watered the horse, he left the stables to find Hannah.  He did not want to wait until after supper to find out the contents of the letters.  Peeking in the kitchen, he did not see her.  Walking back outside, he found her sitting on a blanket near the lake working on her mending.  It was a lovely day, warm enough to soak up the sun, as Hannah was doing now.

When his shadow fell across the blanket, she looked up.  She set aside her mending and moved to get up.

“Stay, I’ll join you,” Will said, pulling the letters from his pocket.  He handed them to her with a heavy sigh.  He was growing tired of not being able to read.  “These came today.  Would you please read them for me?”

“Of course.  It looks like there is one from Adam Larson and one from Jethro Pace.  Which would you like me to start with?”

“Which one has the writing on the outside and what does it say?”

“The one from Mr. Pace.  It says, ‘Saw Adam and Julia Larson.  They should arrive soon.’”

“What!”  He jerked the letter from Hannah’s hand. His jaw tightened as he stared at the writing.  It was still jumbled to him, but that couldn’t be what it said.

When he looked up from the letter to Hannah’s face, shocked eyes greeted him.  He handed the letter back.  “Are you sure it says ‘Adam and Julia Larson’?”

“Yes, I’m certain.  Do you want me to read the rest or not?”

At his nod, she opened the letter and read:

Dear Boss,

I just wanted to thank ye for yer help in Santa Fe.  After you and the boys left, I met me a fine señorita and got married.  She helps me with the thangs that are too difficult one handed.  I am working on Alexander Morrow’s ranch.  He said he met ya.

Thanks for taking good care of me and leaving me more than a fair sum.

Regards,

Pace

Will was glad to hear his former hand was settled and able to work in Santa Fe.  It was just the note on the outside that bothered him.  What did he mean by Adam and Julia Larson?  Julia didn’t marry him did she?  She was too young to get married.  He frowned at the thought.

“What’s wrong?  Isn’t the news from Mr. Pace good?” Hannah asked.

“Yes, the news from Pace is good,” he said, expelling his breath in a rush.  “Please read the other letter.”  Maybe something in Adam’s letter would shed some light on the situation.

“It is from Adam Larson.  Isn’t he the young man you said would be coming to help with the horses?”

“Yes.”

“He says: ‘I apologize for the delay in returning your correspondence.  An urgent matter required my immediate attention.  However, I wanted to let you know that I am already on my way and hope this arrives before I do.  Julia is with me.’”

Will’s frown etched deeper.  “Does it say anything else?  Is that it?”

“That’s all.  He just signed his name at the end.”

Will stood and paced back and forth with his hands fisted at his side.  “What does he mean Julia is with him!”

His mind conjured all kinds of reasons for the two cryptic letters. 

“And Pace’s letter, what did he say on the back again?”

Turning the letter over, Hannah confirmed, “Adam and Julia Larson.”  She paused a moment.  “Oh.  You don’t think they got married do you?”

“She’s seventeen!  She’s too young to get married.  What was she thinking?  I can’t imagine Reuben would have agreed to such a thing.”  Then again, maybe Reuben did not know.  Maybe Julia and Adam ran away together.

“But, we don’t know for certain.  Neither letter says anything conclusive.  Perhaps Mr. Pace was mistaken.  He obviously wrote his note in a hurry.”

Still pacing, Will shook his head.  “Explain to me under what circumstances the young Adam Larson would be referring to my sister by her first name?”

“There are a number of reasonable explanations.  First, the letter seemed hurried.  It seemed rather short for a response about working at the ranch.  Didn’t you tell me your two families were rather close?  Wouldn’t that be reason enough?”

“That is still no reason to be so familiar with my sister!”  He knew that was what really bothered him—the thought of Larson being, well, familiar with Julia.

“Will, please sit.  You are making me nervous.”

He stopped pacing and took a deep breath.  Slowly, he lowered to the ground, sitting across from her.  Looking directly into her eyes, he aired his concerns.  “I’m just worried.  Julia is so young.  I don’t want to see her get hurt.”

Hannah took his hands in hers.  “Your
sister
is coming.  That is a good thing, no matter who else she might bring with her.  And Mr. Larson is coming to help with the horses and expand your business.  Won’t it be nice to see them again?”