Chapter 92

Eli knew he had to get over to the women as soon as he could. He saw them laughing and talking with Analisa, pointing now and then toward where he stood. Even Sissy, Miranda, and Grandmother were huddled with the young Mexican woman, whispering and laughing. When Catt and Eva pulled her aside, they were laughing aloud and Eli knew it was time to go.

“I see all of you have met Analisa. I hope you’ll make her welcome. I’ve asked her to work for us when we get back to Tulsa,” Eli told them when he walked over to hug Rose first, then each of the women.

“Miranda told us about it as soon as she introduced Analisa, Eli,” Rose said as he hugged the others and they not only welcomed him back, but thanked him for making the long trip to rescue Rosa, and for bringing Analisa back with them.

“I have some really good news for the family, and I see Jon David making his way over here, so we’ll both tell all of you about it,” Eli told them. He knew this would take the talk away from Analisa for now and have the women excited about getting to travel again.

“What’s your good news, Eli? We already know you and Moses made a deal to buy the herd of cattle from Manuel and his family,” Miranda told him.

“Well, while we were in Las Cruces, New Mexico waiting to get the cattle loaded on the trains, I had a chance to meet the owner of the new fancy hotel down there,” Eli started out.

Analisa interrupted, smiling at him when he looked her way, “Eli met the owner of the hotel after they refused to serve Willis at the table with him and the others, and he stormed from the dining hall.”

“Thank you, Analisa. He never tells the real story about him losing his temper. Dad just tells the parts he wants us to know about,” Sissy told her and the women laughed as Eli stood waiting to continue his story.

“As I was trying to tell you, I met with the man and while we were talking, he told me that the mayor of the town had told him who I was and that he wanted to discuss some business with me.” Eli stopped and looked around, as he always does, wanting them to urge him on.

“What was the nature of the business, Eli?” Clarissa asked, knowing this was what he waited for.

“He asked me to buy his hotel.”

“Eli Crow, did you buy a hotel way off down there in Las Cruces, New Mexico?” Rose asked.

“I sure did,” Eli answered and smiled.

“Tell them the rest of it, Dad. You’ve teased them enough already,” Jon David said, smiling when the women looked at him.

“Well, let’s hear it, Dad. What else did you do?” Sissy spoke up.

“Turned out that he owned a whole chain of twenty hotels scattered all over the United States and he wanted to sell all of them.”

“And you bought all of them, didn’t you, Eli?” Tin Yu said immediately.

“All twenty of them. With two more set to be completed this fall and three more planned with property in place to build on.”

“OH MY LORD!” Rose screamed, as the women laughed and began asking more questions.

“Rose, remember The Wyandotte we stayed at?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Eli, did you buy that one too?” she asked as she hurried to hug him again.

“Yep, we’ll own that one too. That is, as soon as Jon David, Amanda, Joe and Sissy get down to New Orleans to close the deal.”

The screams and laughter covered the ranch place, causing the others to look over to see what was happening.

Joe, Doc, Jefferson, and Howard walked over at that time to get in on the news.

“Joe, you and Sissy better get some clothes packed, you’ll be leaving here shortly for Little Tree so you can catch a train to New Orleans,” Eli told him and watched Joe’s eyes get bigger and bigger as he looked from Eli to Sissy.

Jon David and Amanda were already making plans as fast as they could talk. They pulled Joe and Sissy close as they hurriedly planned their trip.

“Dad, we don’t have enough clothes for a trip like that. I only packed buckskins for Joe, Chane, and me,” Sissy told him as she turned away from the huddle.

“I’ve already given Jon David enough money to buy all of you some new clothes. You and Amanda can’t be staying in the private suite at that fancy hotel in New Orleans wearing buckskins,” he told her.

“Eli, you never cease to amaze me,” Jefferson said as he stepped up to shake Eli’s hand.

“Jefferson, you and Rose, and Howard and Lorene better get ready to travel some too, along with your young daughters. I want all of us to start enjoying some of the finer things that have come our way in the past few years.”

“Eli, I’ll never know how you can go off on a trip and suddenly buy into something like this when no one else even knew it was for sale,” Howard said as he shook Eli’s hand.

“Howard, I just have a habit of being in the right place when a deal is about to happen, I reckon,” he told him.

“Jefferson and I have some really good news for you, now that you’ve told the others your news,” Howard told him.

“What have you two been up to now?” Eli asked, grinning at them.

“We were riding over east of where the next drilling rig is being set up and saw four men walking across Pecan Ridge property. When we rode over to where they were, we found out they were surveyors for the railroad.

“Would you believe, the railroad mainline has been completed to within a mile of the Pecan Ridge’s east property line?” Howard told him.

“They sure work fast when they set their minds to it, don’t they?” Eli responded with a grin.

“Eli, that’s not all. They’re already laying track for that first spur you wanted down toward the middle of the ranch, and the men we met were surveying for the spur that will run to the new oil and cattle loading facility just east of Don’s home here,” Jefferson added.

“When can we expect to start loading oil from down here? This is way sooner than we ever thought it would be.”

“They told Smitty that they would have the spur completed in two months. He and James and Leon have already sent word back up the line to have our new tanks and supplies shipped down here from the warehouse in Tulsa as soon as the last spur track is laid,” Jefferson told him.

“We need to get Jud in on all of this. He’s the one who’ll head up this operation down here. Don will have his hands full with the ranch and planting more hay and corn for market.”

“Jud has been out there with them since they started planning and staking out the loading facility, Eli. You’d think he already knew all about the business the way he helps the men,” Jefferson told him.

Jon David, Amanda, Joe, and Sissy left by wagon shortly afterward, with one of Don’s men driving them. Jon Jr., Chane, and Shawn were waving and yelling back at everyone until they were out of sight. As soon as Shawn learned Chane and Jon Jr. were leaving, he asked his dad if he could go with them.

They had hurriedly packed their meager belongings with plans to buy more clothes along the way. The company check books and all his legal papers were in Jon David’s leather business satchel. He’d checked everything twice with Amanda’s help, to make sure they had everything they’d need to close the deal on the hotel chain.

They planned their return up through Houston, then north to Tulsa on the Katy, on their way back from New Orleans.

In preparation for a big supper to feed all those gathered at Pecan Ridge, earlier in the afternoon the Mexican women began cooking their dry beans and grinding corn to make the corn flour dough for tortillas.

Their chilé con carne had been cooked and processed long before the trek across New Mexico and Texas was forced upon them. They had many wooden shipping crates filled with small bricks of chilé con carne, ready to break apart and chop up before being added to a pot of boiling water.

The hot water would dissolve the animal fat which had been cooked with the dried tomatoes and peppers, mixed with dried beef, fried in bacon grease. They had drained and cooled this mixture before pressing it into bricks. The suet could then be stored for months, and used for cooking as needed. The more red chili peppers and chopped onions now being added to the cooking mixture, the spicier the chilé, once it was cooked. To add strength and thickness to the chilé, they used more of their suet.

They had prepared their own salsa with tomatoes and peppers, boiling the mixture down to a thick sauce, then stored the many gallons of spicy, savory mixture in earthen jugs for later use.

Today was a day of celebration and the Mexican women broke out the stored food supplies.

While Cookie and his woman helped the Mexican women cook in the outdoor oven and open fire spit, the Robinson brothers played their music, accompanied by Jubal Hooker with his ever improving harmonica.

The four vaqueros brought their weathered, dusty guitars from the carts and joined the circle of musicians as they sat around tightening strings and tuning guitars.

Now and then, one, and sometimes three of Manuel’s young daughters would dance across in front of them on the bare ground surrounding the outdoor tables and oven.

They swished their long flowing skirts with one hand while waving overhead with the other. They danced barefoot as they laughed and tried to lure the Kansas boys out to join them.

Rosa was sitting beside Albert, her arm interlocked with his as she clasped his fingers with hers. She had yet to leave his side and Albert was fast falling for the pretty, dark haired beauty. She spoke better English than he did, with a soft accent that he could listen to forever.

She would laugh and shout in Spanish at her sisters as they danced and celebrated the safe return of their sister Rosa, and all those who went across the border to rescue her.

Rosa looked around for Analisa and saw her sitting next to Marshal Crow and his wife, Miranda. Miranda was wearing one of the Mexican blouses and a long flowing skirt almost identical to the one Analisa wore. Her face was flushed and her long dark hair was combed to fall to her hips in back.

They were laughing and talking together like old friends when Analisa looked up to see Rosa wave her free hand over her head.

“Come dance with me,” Analisa said as she jumped up and kicked her sandals off her feet. She bent forward to pull Eli’s hand. Her dark hair, combed out long and silky like Miranda’s, now fell loosely over her shoulders to cover Eli’s arms.

He looked from one to the other.

“I’m not getting out there with that fast Mexican music playing, no way,” Eli said, pulling back when Miranda and Analisa each pulled his arms.

“Please, Eli. Come dance with me to the Mexican music. You know you can do it. Then I want you to dance with Analisa. Please?” Miranda said, then leaned over to whisper in his ear.

Eli stood up quickly, a look of shock on his face as he looked from Miranda to Analisa. Miranda was smiling at him, Analisa was looking from one to the other, waiting.

“Are you sure?” Eli asked, standing close to Miranda, looking at Analisa.

“I’m very sure, Eli. Have I ever lied to you?”

“No, but this is far-fetched, Miranda. You mean Rose, Sissy, Clarissa and the others want this to happen?”

“Yes, even Grandmother, Amanda, Tin Yu, Catt, Eva, and all the others too. But on one condition.”

“What condition would that be?”

“That Catt, Eva, and I have your babies at the same time!”

“Miranda...”

“Come dance with us, Eli. Come show the family, all of your friends, and hired hands that Marshal Eli Crow can still kick up his heels at thirty-two years of age.”

“I’ll do it, Miranda, I’ll dance with you and Analisa, but we’ll have to talk about this other stuff later.

“No offense, Analisa.”

“I’m not offended, Eli. Dance with Miranda, then when I see how you and she dance, I will dance with you. We will have plenty of time to talk about those other things before we do them.”

“Miranda, you and Analisa have been talking to Rose, Clarissa, Eva, Catt, and Sissy too much already. I know how they can talk.”

“Eli, just look at Analisa. Look at her face, her long black hair, her dark eyes, her big beautiful breasts. Isn’t she pretty? She would be a beautiful young mother and just think what your son or daughter, or even both, would look like with Analisa as their mother. Just think of your next four babies and how much fun you’d have watching those beautiful babies grow up together on Crow Ridge.”

“Let’s go dance, Miranda,” Eli said as he took one more long look at Analisa, then gripped Miranda’s arm as they skipped toward the wide, smooth dusty spot where the Delgado sisters were dancing.

Over the past years, Miranda had taught Eli to dance as well as any man she’d ever seen. Even her Grandmother had danced with him and told him he was as good as the best there was back in Kansas City.

He seemed to glide across the dance floor, never dipping or bobbing his head or body as he danced. Today, he held Miranda’s left hand high as they danced around the circle to a fast foxtrot with the lively music the men were playing.

For the next one, the Robertson brothers broke out into a slow version of the swing Miranda had taught all of them. The Robertsons had named it The Cherokee Swing, since they had played with a few younger Cherokee musicians in Tulsa who called it by the same name. The vaqueros and Jubal found their places as the Robertsons started playing. In no time, they had harmonized their instruments and were making music as if they played together all the time.

Miranda and Eli were good dance partners, since she had worked with him on the steps over and over. He knew just when she would come out of her turn and she knew he would always catch her hand as she did. They danced smoothly together, he with his back straight, his head high. Her with her feet always moving when he would twirl her three or four times before catching her to start another round of dance moves involving the swing step she loved.