Chapter 13

Molly thought about various arguments she could make to Jonas as to why Sarah should get married much sooner than he had decreed.

She even thought about telling him the truth, at one point, but went back to other threads of thought when she imagined what he’d say and do.

In the end, it was something else entirely that rearranged Jonas’ plans.

It was an evening, cool for once, and almost dark when Buckshot stood up from where he was reading by lamp light and said, “Horse coming.” Molly was in the kitchen trying to get a Dutch oven clean that had been soaking all day, and the children were in their rooms. Jonas was dozing in his favorite chair, but bounded up, alert, reaching for the rifle on the wall.

“Hello the house,” came a male voice from outside.

Jonas cocked his ear. “That sounds like Rocklin,” he said. He went to the door and opened it. The sun wasn’t down yet, though it was dark enough in the house that the lamps had been lit, and Jonas could see that it was indeed Brad Rocklin.

“Take a light,” said Jonas, using the traditional western invitation to get off a horse and be welcome. “Mighty late to be out riding. Thought I’d see you some time.”

Brad took off his hat and limped up on the porch. “Long ride,” he said shortly.

“I saw your boy a week or two back,” said Jonas. “He asked for my daughter’s hand.” He expected that was why Brad was there, though it did seem odd he’d come so late in the day.

“Yes,” said Brad. He looked uncomfortable. “That’s part of why I’m here.”

“Hello Mr. Rocklin,” said Molly brightly as she came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. She still had on her apron. “Won’t you come in? Can I get you a cool drink? Did you eat on the trail?”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” said Brad. “But I ‘spect I’d better just get on with what I came here for.”

“You against the wedding?” asked Jonas, his voice tense.

“No,” said Brad. “Bobby pretty much said he was going to do it, and it didn’t matter what Amanda and I thought.”

Jonas smiled. He felt better about being railroaded into giving away his daughter.

“What then?” asked Molly. “Is something wrong?”

“I believe so,” said Brad. He looked even more uncomfortable.

“Do you want to sit down?” asked Molly, trying to make the man more comfortable.”

“I don’t know,” he said.

Jonas was impatient. “What’s on your mind then Rocklin? Spit it out.”

Brad took a breath. “It appears...” he said slowly, “that both of my daughters are ... with child.”

It was so silent that a stranger might have thought he’d gone deaf.

“Oh Lord,” said Buckshot from his chair.

Jonas didn’t like where he thought this was going. “Well, that’s a shame,” he said. “But what does that have to do with us?”

Brad sighed. “The girls wouldn’t say anything at first. Amanda noticed that they hadn’t...” he looked at Molly and flushed. “They hadn’t ... um...”

“I know what you mean, Mr. Rocklin,” said Molly gently.

“Thank you,” said Brad, obviously relieved. “Anyway, once Amanda suspected, she told me, and I ... asked them some questions.”

“I bet you did,” said Molly.

“Well ... after we got past them denying it, I got a little insistent I guess, and ... well ... it seems that they think it was your boys who got them that way.” He looked very tense.

Jonas’ face got dark. “That’s preposterous!” he said. “My boys don’t even know your daughters!”

“Jonas?” came his wife’s voice.

He waved a hand at her. “I don’t know what you think you’re trying to pull here Rocklin, but I’m not buying one bit of it. No sir. You can’t hang this on my sons!”

“Jonas!” said Molly loudly.

“What?” he turned his face to her.

“I think we need to talk to the boys about this,” said Molly.

“Why!” snarled Jonas.

“Jonas?” Buckshot spoke.

“What do you want?” asked Jonas unhappily.

“You remember the first time we met mister Rocklin here? ‘Member when we went there looking for Sarah?”

“Yes, but what does that...” started Jonas hotly.

“You remember the way Pete looked at that girl?”

Jonas closed his mouth and looked stunned. Then he frowned.

“Yes I remember that, but they haven’t been around those girls.”

Molly spoke up. “I’ve been wondering where they go in the afternoons. They said they were out looking for coyotes, but they haven’t brought a single pelt back.”

Brad spoke. “A while back Frank caught up with us on the trail, after your daughter was back. He asked me if he could court Enid. I didn’t think much of it, what with them separated and all. But we keep somebody at the ranch ... to keep an eye on things while the flock is up in the high meadows.

The girls volunteered to take week shifts. I wondered about that too. I didn’t put two and two together, though. I should have.”

Jonas went to his chair and sat down hard. Then he stood up.

“Boys!” he yelled harshly.

There was the sound of doors opening and closing, and Frank and Peter walked into the room. Each one was wearing only pants. They found four adults staring at them.

“What, Pa?” asked Peter. He looked curiously at Brad.

“Hi, Mister Rocklin,” said Frank.

“Sit down boys,” said Molly.

Frank looked pale. “What’s wrong? Has something happened to Enid?”

Buckshot turned away. Under his voice he said “Oh Lordy, Lordy.”

Molly took over. “Yes, in a manner of speaking, something has happened to Enid. When was the last time you saw Enid, Frank?”

Frank looked like he might fall down, and sat quickly.

“Well ... um ... I don’t rightly recollect,” he said weakly.

“Well you better start recollecting young man,” growled his father.

“Jonas, please let me handle this,” said Molly.

Jonas looked at her and blinked. She went on before he could object.

“Enid is pregnant, Frank,” she said bluntly.

Frank’s mouth opened and then closed. It opened again.

“Oh,” he said.

“And so is ... Elizabeth?” she looked at Brad. He nodded.

Peter sat down too.

“I don’t suppose you boys know anything about that ... do you?” asked their mother, in the same tone of voice she might use to ask them if they’d cleaned their rooms.

Frank was breathing fast, almost panting. Peter just sat, looking stunned.

“Speak up!” yelled Jonas.

Frank looked at him, and then at his mother, and then at Brad. Gripping the arms of the chair he stood up. He still looked pale, but his knees were stiff and his fists were tight.

“I love her,” he said.

Peter stood up.

“Me too. I love her too.” He looked around. “Beth I mean. I love Beth.”

Jonas looked like he’d been kicked in the crotch.

Molly sighed. Based on what she thought about Bobby, and the kind of family she knew it would take to produce such a fine young man, she wasn’t concerned with the fact that her boys were interested in their girls. But this wasn’t quite the way in which she might have wished things would proceed. “How long has this been going on?” she asked.

Neither boy was prepared to answer that question. They hadn’t thought about that, or the consequences of what they’d been doing. Like a lot of young men, they’d just done what felt good and more or less hoped for the best.

“A long time, I guess,” said Frank.

It was touch and go for a while longer, but eventually the story came out. Frank told them about his visit to the high meadows to give them news, and how Enid was there alone, and how ... somehow ... it had just happened. He looked so helpless that his mother reached out and touched his hand with hers.

Peter explained how he had gone to the Rocklin ranch to tell Beth that the Sheriff wasn’t coming, and how he had reacted, and how she had reacted, and how he wasn’t sure either how it happened, but it had.

They admitted they’d been sneaking off to see the girls for weeks, which was actually determined to be months, but they hadn’t thought anything like this would happen. That caused all the adults to roll their eyes and look at each other.

“What do we do now?” asked Peter finally.

Jonas started to say something, but didn’t.

Molly rose to the challenge. “Jonas, didn’t you say something about how Bobby and Sarah are thinking about homesteading some land between our two spreads?”

Jonas nodded miserably.

“Well, then, why couldn’t there be three homesteads?” she asked.

Brad looked at her and nodded. She smiled at him.

Jonas wasn’t quite ready to agree. “Those girls snared my boys,” he said sullenly.

Molly’s face got tight. “Jonas Collins, you know good and well it takes two. They’ve got to do the right thing and you know it.”

He slumped. “I know ... I know. But I don’t have to like it.”

Molly spoke patiently. “Think about it, Jonas. All that open range between our ranch and his? Anybody could come along and homestead it. But if our sons ... and Bobby ... if they claim that land, our ranches ... our family ... will stretch for over sixty miles.”

Molly knew her husband. She knew the right buttons to push. He frowned, and then brightened. “There is that.” he admitted. He thought some more and his shoulders straightened. He faced the two boys, who were still standing, still nervous, but able to hear their mother’s idea just as well.

“You will marry those girls,” pronounced Jonas in a voice that brooked no argument. “You will marry them and make a good home for them. Is that clear?”

Both boys nodded so hard that Buckshot wondered if their heads would fall off. He let out the breath he had been holding for what seemed like forever.

“I’m going to bed,” said Jonas. “My head hurts something awful.”

Molly stepped forward. “I’ll be along in a little while dear,” she said soothingly. “Mister Rocklin will be staying the night with us.” She looked at Brad and he smiled and nodded once. “While I get him a room ready, I expect he’ll be wanting to have a talk with his ... sons-in-law.”

Both boys looked at Brad. They didn’t look very happy.

“I’d like that very much,” said Brad. “There are plans to make.”

Later, in the bedroom, Molly combed her hair while Jonas lay on the bed grousing.

“I knew sheep would ruin this country,” he growled.

“Those girls are getting good husbands,” said Molly, trying to get him out of his funk.

“Those girls are stealing my sons,” moaned Jonas.

“Your sons have stolen something from those girls,” countered Molly.

“You sound awfully happy about this,” complained Jonas.

Molly stood up and dropped her nightgown on the floor. She stood proud before her husband, her breasts, breasts that would soon be feeding a baby, thrust out at him. She walked over to the bed, her hips moving up and down like those of a mountain lion.