Free Crazy Woman Creek by Virginia Welch Page A

pulled his hat down a little lower in front of his face. Lenora pulled her frilly blue bonnet from behind her back and tied it with a bow under her chin.
    “What happened to his wife?” said Luke, taking Lenora’s arm and guiding them toward Olathe’s.
    “She died of sepsis about two weeks ago. Sad. They have six children, five boys and a girl, Anneke, who is the youngest. She’s nine.”
    “That is sad.”
    “The funeral was sadder. James and I attended. All those big boys crying, the little girl inconsolable, and Mr. Aeschelman looked so lost. He still looks lost.”
    “I know that sorrow.”
    “You do?” Lenora stopped walking and faced him.
    “My ma died when I was little.”
    “I’m very sorry to hear that, Deputy Davies.”
    Luke nodded a thank-you and started walking again. “I’m long over it. I remember only a few things about her.”
    “How old were you when she passed?”
    Luke intentionally slowed his pace to have more time with Mrs. Rose. He was torn between speeding up his investigation, because she must get back to the ranch before sunset, or slowing it down to draw out his precious minutes with her. He dawdled also because he didn’t like the thought of her riding alone in her wagon the nine miles back to her ranch. The Territory was a wild place, dangerous for everyone but particularly for isolated ranchers whose spreads were far from town. Bands of Cheyenne and Sioux still troubled settlers in the area despite the fact that the U.S. government had established a military presence nearby, Fort McKinney, a year earlier to deal with the threat. Lonely and often intoxicated soldiers from the fort were problem enough when it came to a beautiful woman making her way about town without an escort. Luke winced when he thought of what a Sioux or Cheyenne warrior might do to an unprotected woman alone on an isolated ranch.
    “I was six.”
    “Deputy Davies, you speak with a touch of southern. Where do your people hail from?”
    “I was born in Tennessee. My ma’s folks lived there. Pa and Ma had a sheep and cattle ranch.”
    They stepped off the boardwalk onto Main Street, and Luke took Lenora’s arm as he guided them across. He helped her step up onto the opposite boardwalk, tipping his hat to fellow shoppers they passed.
    “How did you come to be in Wyoming Territory?” said Lenora.
    “Pa was lonesome a long while after Ma died. One day he decided it would be better for all of us to be near his folks, just outside Fort Laramie. Eight years ago he sold the ranch and moved us seven boys back here.”
    “Seven boys? Your father never had to hire help.”
    “Nope.”
    “Why didn’t you stay on the ranch?”
    “Good question.” Luke paused to think before answering. “I guess I was looking for excitement, a change.”
    “I remember feeling that way about coming here,” said Lenora.
    “I bet your folks had a hard time letting you go,” said Luke.
    “My mother took it the worst. I have no siblings, and Mother had a whole life planned for me. I assure you, Mother’s castles in the air didn’t include a cattle ranch in Wyoming Territory.”
    Luke glanced at the delicate woman on his arm and wondered how young she was. From the smoothness of her cheeks and her elaborate way of dress, she couldn’t have been much out of her teens. It must have been very difficult indeed for her parents to put her on a wagon bound for the many dangers of the untamed West, so far from civilization.
    “Have you written them about your husband’s disappearance?”
    Lenora took a deep breath and pursed her lips. “I have not.”
    Luke gave her a studied look. “You’re alone here Mrs. Rose.”
    “Yes, that is true. But I see no reason to distress them so early in the search.”
    “I understand your thinking, but the earlier you contact them, the earlier they can help you. I could arrange for a message to reach them. Fort McKinney has telegraph.”
    “I appreciate your concern, Deputy Davies, but that