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  WANTED: HORSE BREEDER

  Barbara Goss

  Silverpines Series

  Copyright: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this book is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without express written permission from the author.

  Copyright © 2018 Barbara Goss

  All Rights Reserved

  Kindle Edition

  Cover design by: Josephine Blake

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  On April 15th 1899, two earthquakes turned Silverpines, Oregon into a catastrophic disaster zone. The silver mine collapsed in the first quake, killing most of the miners. The second quake caused a landslide in the logging camp, nearly killing all the loggers. Rescuers rushed to the scene, and many of them died trying to save the others. The town was in deep mourning. The quakes made many young women widows. It would take time for Silverpines to recover.

  Chapter 1

  White Oak Ranch, Silverpines, Oregon, May 1899.

  “Mrs. Bennett, Mrs. Bennett!” Dexter Bastion yelled as he ran toward the house from the stables. “Come quick!”

  Laura threw her embroidery aside and ran outside to meet the excited stable hand as he skidded to a stop in front of the porch.

  “What is it, Dexter?”

  “The black mare, Nellie, is in labor,” he said in between gasps. “What should I do?”

  Laura stared at the young man for several moments before saying, “Well, you handle it the way you’ve seen Edwin do many times. Do you need water or rags?”

  “I ain’t never done it alone,” Dexter said, grasping his head. “I jest can’t.”

  “Calm down,” Laura touched his arm and gently patted it. “Think carefully. What did Edwin do while a mare was foaling?”

  “Most times I looked the other way, ma’am,” Dexter uttered softly. “I can’t stand the sight of blood and…and that other stuff…” He brushed his medium brown hair from his eyes and Laura could see he was genuinely upset.

  Laura bit her lower lip and thought about what to do next. Dexter would be useless. His main job on the ranch was doing repairs and following Edwin’s orders. He never had been a quick learner, and since his father had been killed while attempting a rescue after the quake, he seemed to have gotten worse. Though he was a conscientious worker, Dexter needed careful instructions, but he did best on manual repair work and general maintenance.

  Her mind whirled. What about Dawn? She was a Chinook Indian whom her father had taken in when Laura was ten. Dawn knew how to start fires without matches and how to clean fish so there were no bones to choke on when you ate them. There was no end to the things Dawn had learned while living with the Indians. Surely Dawn would know what to do to help Nellie.

  “Never mind, Dexter. Go back to the fence you were mending,” Laura said. “I’ll get Dawn to help with the birth.”

  Dexter lost no time dashing back to his job in the fields.

  Laura returned to the house to find Dawn in the kitchen, basting a roast.

  “Dawn, do you know anything about birthing?”

  “Birthing? You mean like a baby?”

  “No, the birthing of a colt.”

  “I saw a dog drop a litter once.”

  “Drop a litter?”

  Dawn shoved the roast back into the oven. “That’s exactly what she did. She squatted and literally dropped six pups, one after the other, right in front of me.”

  “Oh, dear. Well, can you help with our mare?” Laura pleaded. “She’s having a colt. I have no idea how Edwin or Father handled it, and Dexter is no help at all.” She began to tear up. “I don’t know a thing about running a horse ranch, Dawn.”

  Dawn wiped her hands on her apron and hugged Laura. “I’ll come out and see what I can do to help.”

  The two women rushed out to the stables and to their surprise, found the mare cleaning her newborn colt. Laura sighed loudly. “Oh my!”

  “Looks like nature handled it,” Dawn said

  “I guess there’s nothing to do.” Laura crept closer to the stall. “Do I feed it, do you suppose?”

  Dawn laughed. “No, I think nature takes care of that, too, but I do think we should go back into the house and have a little talk.”

  Dawn carried a tea tray into the sitting room and set it down on the highly polished wooden trunk in front of the settee they used as a tea table. She poured the tea and handed a china cup and saucer to Laura.

  “Laura, you need some help around here. We need someone who knows about horse breeding, and how to run the place. Yesterday, it was the broken pump, and last week it was the horse with the broken leg. Dexter's a good worker, but he doesn’t know a thing about breeding, running horse sales, or helping during a birth. He’s young and inexperienced.”

  Laura sniffled into her handkerchief. “I know, and our funds have dwindled down to almost nothing. But who would I get to take Edwin’s place? Even before the earthquake that collapsed the mine, killing Edwin and nearly every man in town, he was the only one around who knew anything about breeding and caring for horses. Then the mudslide buried the lumber camp and killed almost all those men. There just aren’t any young men left in Silverpines to hire.”

  “You’re like a sister to me, Laura, so I’m going to act like one, too, and give you some good advice: you need to find a husband.”

  “Oh, Dawn, it’s much too soon.” Laura wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Edwin has been gone such a short time.”

  “When you’re in a situation where you’re running out of options, you do what you must.” Dawn sipped her tea just like Laura’s mother had taught them: dainty sips with her pinkie pointed in the air. Laura’s mother had emigrated from England and had taught them all the social graces before she died seven years ago. Laura’s father, Albert, had died just six months later, leaving everything to Laura, who was just seventeen at the time. Fortunately, she had already been betrothed to Edwin when her father died. They'd moved the wedding date up, and he’d been handling the ranch ever since. She'd married Edwin two months before her eighteenth birthday.

  Dawn was short and thin, but with a strong structure. She wore her ebony hair in a braid wrapped around her head, which gave her a regal look. Her face was pleasant, though her nose was a bit long for her to be considered beautiful. Laura had always thought Dawn pretty because she loved her. Dawn had been brought up with Laura who was only a year younger than her. She’d been overjoyed when Dawn had joined their family. They'd shared secrets, built forts, fished, and shared a bedroom, even though the house had four of them.

  Laura’s father had saved the life of White Eagle, the ailing Chinook chief, by using medicine designated for horses. The chief had been so thankful, he'd gifted her father with an orphan from the tribe. The chief had told him she’d make an excellent slave. Her father had neve
r held Dawn in bondage but had raised her along with Laura. Eventually, she was hired as a paid housekeeper, since she’d been doing most of the duties since Laura’s parents had died, anyway. Dawn had tried to refuse the pay, but Laura had insisted. Sometimes, they worked side by side, but Dawn did most of the housework. Dawn had told Laura, many times, that she'd loved the work and would feel guilty if she didn’t work to pay her way.

  Dawn patted Laura’s hand. “The Chinook often remarry the same day their spouse dies. Usually, the husband's brother marries the widow. Does Edwin have a brother, by any chance?”

  “The same day? Are you sure?” Laura shook her head. “Edwin had one brother but he’s married.”

  Dawn nodded. “Didn’t you tell me you spoke to Betsy Sewell? Did you ask her how she met Mr. Sewell?”

  “Elizabeth someone-or-other arranged it,” Laura said. “I have her name and directions upstairs, but—”

  “I think you should act on it.” Dawn set her cup down gently. “Seriously, Laura. We can’t run this ranch alone.”

  “If I place an ad in that paper, Groom’s Gazette, Betsy told me about, I could ask for someone with horse breeding experience. The paper's published in several states, so there’s a good chance someone out there will respond.” Laura tapped her chin with her index finger as she thought. “I might even get lucky and find a man who isn't hard on the eyes, as well.”

  “Laura!” Dawn exclaimed, and then she burst out laughing. “Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

  Laura laughed with her. It was the first time she’d laughed since Edwin had been killed. They’d been fortunate the quake hadn’t done more damage than to crack a few walls and break a few dishes and lamps at White Oaks. A shed had collapsed, but that was the extent of the damage they’d suffered. The town and area around it got the brunt of the quake. White Oaks was three miles from town.

  Silverpines remained in mourning. Nearly all of the men had been at the lumber mill or at the mine at the time of the disasters. A good number of the rescuers had been killed, too. The town was full of widows and fatherless children.

  What choice did she have? She could either look for a husband like Betsy had or lose White Oaks Ranch and spend her life alone.

  “Is Caro still napping?” she asked Dawn.

  “She must be, or she’d be crying for you,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “The tragedy's changed her, Laura.”

  “She’ll get over it.” Laura looked up at Dawn. “Won’t she?”

  “I hope so. She won’t even walk into a room without you. She thinks you’ll disappear, like her father.”

  “The poor little angel,” Laura said. “I’m going to have a talk with Fannie Pearl about it. She’ll know how to handle Caro and my dilemma.”

  Fannie Pearl had been married to the late and beloved Minister Paul Edmonson. She lived in a small house on the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue. Laura lifted her dress to climb the front steps and knocked lightly on the front door with her gloved hand.

  She’d been receiving good advice from Fannie for years. Fannie was one of the town’s most adored citizens and was the first person many in town thought of when in need of comfort or counseling.

  The door opened slowly and cautiously, and Laura saw large, brown eyes peer through the slit of an opening before Fannie flung the door open to give Laura a welcoming smile.

  “Laura Bennett! Come right in. You’re a sight for these old, tired eyes. I just put water on for tea. You have perfect timing.”

  “Hello, Fannie Pearl. You’re looking well, if not a bit tired.”

  “Oh, well,” Fannie replied, leading Laura to the sitting room. “I’ve been counseling so many mothers and widows that I haven’t been sleeping well at all. I feel their hurt, for I know the heartbreak of losing a loved one. Thankfully, my husband died peacefully, and I had time to say goodbye. The town’s widows never had that chance.”

  “I know the feeling, too,” Laura said, though she didn’t feel as sorrowful as most of the widows in town. She knew why, but no one else did, except for Dawn. She mostly missed Edwin where the ranch was concerned, rather than as the love of her life. They’d been close friends since the schoolroom. She’d loved him, of course, but Edwin had been a difficult husband.

  “Of course you do,” Fannie said. “You make yourself comfortable, dear. I’ll bring us some tea.” She walked to the kitchen door, turned her head, and called, “I might find us some sweet cakes, too.”

  When Fannie had left the room, Laura thought about how fond she was of her. She was a tiny woman with dark hair that was slowly being replaced with white, mostly encircling her sweet face. She wore wire-rimmed spectacles that always seemed to slip down her nose.

  Fannie returned with a tea tray complete with the promised sweet cakes. After the tea had been poured, Fannie said, “So, what shall we discuss today?”

  Never putting herself in the capacity of the counselor and making her visitor feel needy, Fannie always made her sessions seem like friendly chats, which made Laura feel at ease. Fannie was a wise woman.

  “I’d like to talk about Carolyn. She won’t let me out of her sight, and the only time I can leave the house is when she’s asleep. I think she fears that if she loses sight of me, I’ll disappear like her father did,” Laura confided. “I’m not sure how to handle the situation.”

  Fannie took a drink of her tea and set her cup down. Her expression was thoughtful. “Laura, it will take time and patience, I’m afraid.”

  “And right now, I have neither.” Laura sighed and took a sip of her tea.

  Fannie gave Laura a sideways look of curiosity. “Why don’t you have the time?”

  “Edwin used to run a horse sale every spring and every fall. Without them, we have no income. As it was, he’d taken the job in the mines to hold us over until spring. My resources are running out. I have to do something.

  “Dawn thinks I should contact the woman who found Betsy Pike a husband. She would run ads in this special newspaper. What do you think? Isn’t it too soon?”

  Fannie set her cup down, folded her hands on her lap, and said, “It’s not too soon. Forces of nature have created unusual circumstances. It’s not as if we are in Boston or Philadelphia and every society woman will gossip if we don’t wear black and mourn for a year. This is the West, and times are hard. Men and women have to do whatever they need to in order to survive.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I think finding a husband is an excellent idea. I hear The Groom’s Gazette is an excellent place to find one, and the correspondence will keep your mind off your other problems. Elizabeth Tandy will take good care of you.”

  Laura sighed. “I always feel better and more self-assured after a visit with you.”

  Fannie smiled. “I feel the same way after your visits. Just seeing you enter my home with worry lines and leave relaxed and smiling makes me feel blessed.”

  “Thank you,” Laura said.

  “For what? Being a friend?” Fannie laughed.

  She sobered a bit and added, “I also think having a man around the house will help little Carolyn, too.”

  “Do you think it would?”

  Fannie patted Laura’s hand. “I do. She may feel more secure. And don’t forget prayer.”

  Laura slowed her horse down as she approached home and saw two strange men in the doorway of the stables, talking to Dexter. Seeing the strangers, knowing neither her father nor Edwin were there, gave her a chill down her spine. She tied her horse and walked to where the men were standing.

  “Howdy, ma’am,” the taller one said after removing the cigar from his mouth. The end of the cigar was soggy, and Laura hoped her disgust didn’t show on her face.

  “I’m Bart McMann, and this here,” he pointed to the shorter man, “is my cousin, Otis Farley.”

  “How do you do,” Laura mumbled. The hair on her arms stood straight up. The men looked shifty to her with their long scraggly hair. Their clothes were a bit wrinkled and soi
led, one was smoking on a soggy cigar, and the other had just spit out a mouthful of tobacco, barely missing her boots.

  “Yer man, Dexter, took us on a little tour of the ranch, and we like what we see,” Bart said. “We’ll give you five hundred dollars for the whole ranch, stock and all.”

  Laura forgot her fear and spoke up with confidence. “I’m not selling and certainly not for that price.”

  “Best offer y’ll get,” the man called Otis said. “This town'll take years to recover. You’d best get out while ya can.”

  Laura put her hands on her hips and tried to sound forceful. “I want you both off my property at once.”

  “We hear ya ain’t got no man ‘round the place. This ranch'll fall to ruin being run by a woman,” Bart said.

  “The lady told you to leave,” Dexter said in his loudest and most threatening voice.

  As the men rode away, Laura noticed they both had rifles strapped to their saddles.

  Chapter 2

  Double U Ranch

  Laredo, Texas, May 1899.

  Maxwell Winters sat on his front porch steps, his head in his hands “I can’t stay here in Laredo anymore, Jake.”

  “Just because Catherine's marrying Joe Mercer instead of you?” Jake lightly punched his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, Max, shake it off. There are plenty of other women you could have.”

  “I know that, but I can’t stay in the same town and run into her and Joe all the time. I couldn’t bear it. I love her, Jake.”

  “If she were worthy of your love, Max, she’d never have double-crossed you by running off with Joe. She’s fickle, for heaven’s sake.”

  “That’s true, but it doesn’t help.” Max stood. “I’ve always wanted to go further west, maybe mine for gold or silver.”

  “So, you’re just going to run with your tail between your legs?” Jake asked. “That’s so childish.”