2

Sarah and her sister, Grace, helped Mama serve up the delicious cut of beef, potatoes, gravy, green beans, fresh peaches, and yeast rolls.

Sarah paid careful attention to Mr. Laird Crosby’s demeanor during supper to get a feel for how their negotiations would go afterwards. If the way he devoured Mama’s home cooking had anything to do with his willingness to deal, then prosperity was on their side. But uncertainty assailed her. It seemed he’d checked his previously crotchety manner at the door. Perhaps he was on his best gentlemanly behavior since he was in the presence of ladies.

“Mrs. McKinney, that might have been the juiciest piece of roast beef I’ve ever tasted.” Mr. Crosby patted his round belly as he followed Mama into the living room. He sat down in Daddy’s chair.

Mama said nothing, so Sarah let it go.

All men were to be respected, even if they did speak with some kind of Alabama accent. He wasn’t a native Texan; that much she was sure of.

“Why, thank you, Mr. Crosby. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked for a man.” Mama sat in her rocking chair and smoothed out her skirt. Rex trotted over and sat close to her. Mama put her hand on his furry head. “As you already know, our cattle provide some of the finest beef in southeast Texas—have for years now.” She gestured to Sarah and her sister, standing at the doorway. “Girls, come on in and have a seat. You are as much a part of this as we are.” She reached up and touched one of her faded red curls. “This will all be yours someday when I’m gone.” Her voice cracked.

Sarah wanted to roll her eyes. It was Mama’s new practice to voice her sense of mortality since Daddy died. She didn’t buy into Mama’s poor-little-old-me act. Her mother had survived a divorce and the deaths of her last two husbands. If she could live through that, then selling off a herd of cattle should be an easy day’s work for her.

The middle sister, on the other hand, seemed to thrive on Mama’s newfound insecurities. Most everyone considered Grace Winnie the most beautiful girl on the peninsula, with her enormous blue eyes and angelic features. Of her two sisters, Sarah was closest to Grace, but bless her heart, the poor girl was as naive as they came.

Grace rushed to Mama’s side and lifted her hand. “Oh, Mama, are you getting the gloomies again?”

Mama patted Grace’s arm. “I’ll be fine, honey. Now have a seat.” She patted the straight-backed chair next to her rocker, and Grace sat down beside her.

“Eh, hm.” Mr. Crosby loudly cleared his throat. “Mrs. McKinney, even though it hasn’t been clearly stated to me, I believe I can ascertain the reason as to why you’ve invited me out here to your ranch.”

Mama raised her eyebrows. “Oh? Well, it is the spring, Mr. Crosby. And if I’m not mistaken, the late Mr. McKinney had always invited you to our ranch at this time of year to discuss the purchase of our beef stock. So naturally, I assumed the reason I invited you here was more than obvious.”

“Well, you see now, that’s just the thing, Mrs. McKinney.” The man turned his attention away from Mama and looked at Grace. “Darlin’ would you be a dear and fetch me a cup of warm coffee and some of that delicious-looking peach cobbler I seen on the sideboard?”

Grace looked to Mama, who patted her on the knee. “Go on and get him what he wants.” She left the room.

Mama clasped her hands together and leaned forward to talk to the man. “Now what was it you were saying, Mr. Crosby?”

Mama’s question appeared to catch the man completely off guard as his eyes lasciviously followed Grace’s backside from the room. His neck whipped around to Mama, a revolting smile on his face. “What I’m saying, Mrs. McKinney, is that, if, in fact, you have invited me here to discuss whether I intend to enter into a contract with you…ladies, well then, I’m sorry to disappoint you. You see, ma’am, I’m not exactly in a position to purchase your cattle this year.”

“What?” Sarah jumped from her chair. “But you’ve always bought Daddy’s beef stock. Why would this year be any different?”

Mr. Crosby tightened his jaw and sneered at Sarah. He leaned forward in his chair…Daddy’s chair, and put his hand on his knee. “It’s different, my dear, because you are not Clayton McKinney.” He pointed at Mama and Sarah with two fingers on his right hand. “You two may be McKinneys, but you’re by no means the man of the house.”

Mama waved her hand at Sarah. “All right now, Sarah. Let’s all calm down, and see if we can work this out.” Sarah returned to her chair, and Mama turned her attention to the smug faced man. “Mr. Crosby, I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning. Of course, we’re not the man of the house, but we’re all that’s left.” She held up a hand in question.

He sat back in Daddy’s chair and crossed his legs as though he owned the place. “I see what you’re saying, Mrs. McKinney, but as far as I’m aware, you may not even be the legal owner of the Longhorn stock, since Mr. McKinney is no longer alive.”

At that moment, Grace came into the living room with a steaming cup of coffee and a saucer of Mama’s peach cobbler. “Here you are, Mr. Crosby.” The way she politely handed them to the nasty man and even went as far as to smile at him made it obvious she hadn’t been listening to the conversation. She returned to her place next to Mama.

He winked at Grace before setting the coffee on the side table. “Why thank you, darlin’.”

Mama continued, a bit more frustration in her voice than before. “I’m sorry, Mr. Crosby, but how can you possibly think I’m not the legal owner of my own husband’s cattle?”

Mr. Crosby took a huge bite of cobbler and didn’t mind talking with his mouth full. Bits of cobbler shot from his mouth as he spoke. One of them would have to clean the floor later. “Well, ma’am, do you have any papers showing that the beef stock has been left in your name? Perhaps you are in possession of your late husband’s will. Because I don’t know for sure, but Mr. McKinney may very well have…say, a brother with just as much claim to the cattle as you do.”

Uncle Jasper’s face appeared in Sarah’s thoughts. He wouldn’t lay claim to Daddy’s cattle and leave them penniless. He wasn’t that kind of man. He was good and kindhearted like Daddy. How did this disgusting man know anything about Daddy’s brother? What kind of game was he playing?

Mama looked at Sarah. She hoped her mama could find a source of support in her eyes. She turned back to her aggravator. “The only one who might have more entitlement to the cattle than I do would be my daughter, Sarah, here. As you know, she is my late husband’s only heir.”

Mr. Crosby picked up his coffee from the table and took a long, loud sip. “Is that right, Miss McKinney? You are your daddy’s sole heir?” He wiped coffee and sweat from his lips.

Sarah stiffened her back. “That’s right, I am.”

Having devoured the cobbler in only a couple bites, he put the empty dish on the pedestal table next to Daddy’s chair. “Well now, Miss McKinney, seeing that you claim to be the sole owner of the MK Ranch, I suppose I should be talking to you then. If you don’t mind me asking, would you tell me how old you are, my dear?”

Sarah scowled at the pompous man. Righteous indignation swelled inside her. “Why, I’m seventeen and a half. Not that it’s any of your business. And for your information, I never claimed to be the sole owner of this ranch. The ranch belongs to Mama.”

A self-satisfied smile crept upon Mr. Crosby’s face. He adjusted himself in the chair, coffee cup still in hand. “My, my, but you’re just a child. How do you plan on running this ranch all by yourself? I heard about all your hands running out on you. Such a pity.” The man clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Sarah flinched with every sound from his mouth. Her bottom lip began to quiver. How on earth could he know about the ranch hands leaving? Had he been snooping around in their business? Might he even have had something to do with them leaving? “Mr. Crosby, I’ll have you know that we’ve managed to handle our affairs just fine this far.” Sarah’s cheeks burned. “Now, are you going to make us an offer on our beef or not?”

“All right, now. Calm yourself down, and we’ll talk.” He held his coffee cup out toward Grace. “Would you mind getting me another cup of coffee, darlin’?”

Sarah hated the way the man talked to them. It was typical for Grace to stay out of the conversation. She was more suited to chasing after the neighbor boy and reading the latest fashion magazines than running a cattle ranch. She was normal…not like Sarah. Grace took the coffee cup and smoothed back her long, beautiful hair. With her gaze on the floor, she silently left the room.

Mr. Crosby smiled at Sarah, infuriating her. “Well, now, I suppose I’m willing to make you all a proposition, seeing as me and your daddy were such close friends and all.”

Sarah wanted to wretch. This man was never a close friend of her daddy’s. He only did business with him because he always offered the most money for the cattle.

The despicable man turned his attention to Mama. “You see, June…you don’t mind me calling you June, now, do you?” Mr. Crosby chuckled, causing his belly to bounce.

Mama didn’t say a word, and by the look on her face, she was in shock from his brazenness.

“When I received your message, I was surprised. I found it hard to believe that you invited me—a single, and might I say, wealthy man—all the way out here from Galveston Island just to talk about…cattle.”

Mama’s chin dipped down, and her eyes narrowed. “Excuse me, Mr. Crosby, but what exactly are you implying?”

“Why, I think it’s mighty clear to everyone here.” He began to laugh softly. “What I’m saying is that when a newly widowed woman invites a man to her ranch, one can only assume she has other business in mind besides just selling cattle.”

Mama shook her head.

Sarah stood, her fists clenched at her sides.

He held his hand out to Mama and chuckled. “Now listen to what I have to say, June. I have an idea in mind that would solve both our problems. It seems to me you’re in need of a man who knows something about cattle. And I just happen to be a man with certain needs of my own. Now you don’t want to lose your late husband’s herd and his ranch too. What do you say, June? We could go to the courthouse tomorrow and make it legal.”

Mama sucked in her breath and grasped at the collar of her wrap. “I’m not going to marry you. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man in Texas!”

Grace walked through the living room door holding Mr. Crosby’s coffee in her hands.

Sarah walked toward the man, her face a fiery crimson. “I don’t know who you think you’re dealing with, Crosby, but we’re not a bunch of ignorant bumpkins like you may think! Now get out of my daddy’s chair.”

Grace dropped the dainty cup and saucer of coffee. The hot liquid poured out, and some splashed onto her skirt. The china shattered into pieces on the floor. She gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

Mr. Crosby got out of the chair.

Mama rose and approached the man. She moved Sarah to the side and wedged herself between him and her daughters. Anger seeped from her eyes. “Sir, I’m not the kind of woman you think I am, and you have no business coming into my house and accusing me or my daughters of anything but wanting to sell my late husband’s cattle.”

Mr. Crosby took a step back, almost falling into the chair. He righted himself and stuck his stubby finger into Mama’s face. “Now wait just a minute there, ma’am. It’s not me, but you that’s out of line. Here you are inviting me, one of the most eligible bachelors in Galveston, to enjoy a lovely dinner with a house full of young, single ladies.” He reached up and twisted the right side of his long-handle mustache. “Humph. For all I know, it might be you who’s looking for another husband. After all, if I’m correct in my thinking, Mr. McKinney was your third husband, wasn’t he? And to think, your poor old husband is barely cold in his grave.”

Sarah could see the blood drain from Mama’s already pale face.

Grace put her arm around Mama and helped her to a chair. She looked ready to faint.

Sarah could take no more. When Mama was safely sitting down, she marched to the front door and swung it open. Rex followed after her. She pointed outside and turned to Mr. Crosby. “Get out!”

Laird Crosby stomped to the door, pushing past Sarah. Before he walked out, he turned and pointed at Mama. “Woman, you better think long and hard about what I’m saying. Ain’t nobody in their right mind gonna buy from a widow woman without a legal will and her brood of…of…banty hens.”

It was hard to hear anything the man said with Rex barking and growling at him.

He shoved the door open the rest of the way and departed.

Sarah slammed it behind him with all her might.

Grace knelt at Mama’s side and comforted her. Sarah collapsed onto her daddy’s chair and rubbed the side of her face. Rex sat firmly in front of her and whimpered.

“What are we gonna do, Mama? If Mr. Crosby won’t buy our stock, then who will? We’ll be stuck with a pasture full of fatted cattle and no buyer.”

Mama raised her head and pulled a crumpled white handkerchief from the waistband of her skirt. She wiped away her tears and stiffened her jaw. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.” She swiped at her nose with the handkerchief.

Sarah held her hands up in question and aggravation. She shook her head. “What plan, Mama? Don’t you see we’re in big trouble here?”

“Now calm down, Sarah Jane.” She turned her attention to Grace. “I need you to go to the train depot first thing tomorrow morning.”

Grace put her hand on Mama’s knee. “Yes, ma’am. Who do you want me to wire?”

“I need you to send a wire to your Uncle Jeremiah’s law office in Galveston.”

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief at Mama’s words. If anyone would know what to do, it would be her uncle, Jeremiah Logan.