She Was Sold Beside Her Sister, The Cowboy Said “You’ll Both Have A Home With Me”

Chapter 5

The prairie greened around the Aurora, and with it, something in Eliza loosened. Mornings she spent in the study, where she had transformed Garrett’s books into a thing of beauty — every column balanced, every letter answered, every debt tracked. Afternoons she helped Mrs. Beale, and evenings she sewed with Rose in their room, or read from the library until the lamp ran low.

Rose flourished. Her voice came back, her laughter with it. Under Mrs. Beale’s patient hands she learned to bake bread that made the whole house sigh, to mend, to embroider. “She’s a natural,” Mrs. Beale said more than once, and Rose’s cheeks would go pink with pleasure.

And Tobias — Toby — found more and more reasons to pass by the kitchen door.

One afternoon in late April, Eliza looked up from a letter to see Garrett in the corral with a young mare who wanted nothing to do with him. The horse threw her head, sidestepped, rolled her eyes white. Garrett just stood there, talking low and steady, moving closer inch by inch. When he finally slipped the halter over the mare’s neck and stroked her jaw, the animal stood trembling and still — and Eliza realized she’d been gripping the windowsill.

“He’s got a way with the difficult ones,” said a voice behind her.

Eliza jumped. Mrs. Beale set down a tray of coffee, a knowing smile tucked into the corners of her mouth. “I didn’t mean to startle you, dear.”

“You didn’t,” Eliza lied, stepping away from the window. “He’s patient. With the horses.”

“With everything,” Mrs. Beale said, settling into a chair. “Mr. Maddox has always been able to see past fear to the heart of a thing. It’s what makes him a good rancher.” She paused. “And a good man, whatever he tells you.”

Eliza poured two cups of coffee. “He mentioned his sister once. It seems he carries a great deal of guilt.”

Mrs. Beale sighed — the long, settling sigh of a woman who’d carried the same weight herself. “Adelaide was four years younger than him. Their mother died bringing her into the world, and their father wasn’t much for raising children, so Garrett raised her himself — fed her, taught her to ride, danced with her at her first ball. When she married badly, and ended up in trouble after her husband died…” She shook her head. “He’s never forgiven himself for not being there. He was on a cattle drive, you see. He couldn’t have known.”

“A heavy burden,” Eliza said softly.

“Too heavy by half. But that’s Garrett — responsible to a fault, for everyone but himself.” Mrs. Beale sipped her coffee, and her eyes were kind and sharp at once. “It’s why he bought your contracts, you know. He couldn’t save Adelaide. But he could save you and your sister.”

Eliza watched Garrett lead the now-calm mare across the yard, one hand resting on her neck like a benediction. “We’re very fortunate he was there that day.”

“Perhaps fortune for all concerned,” Mrs. Beale said, and rose to leave, and from the doorway added, almost to herself: “This house has been empty too long.”

The words followed Eliza the rest of the day, and they followed her to town.

Garrett had announced he needed supplies, and asked if the ladies would care to ride along. Rose was delighted. Eliza, remembering the auction — remembering the platform and the crowd and the gavel — felt her chest tighten, but she nodded. You can’t live your life afraid of a place. The town looked different in the spring sun, though. Flowers in the window boxes, fresh paint, children’s laughter in the schoolyard. The general store smelled of coffee and leather.

And then the whispers began.

“That’s the ones from the auction. Living out at the Maddox place. I wonder what kind of work they really do…”

Eliza’s cheeks burned. She’d known this would happen. Two unmarried women on a bachelor’s ranch — of course the town would talk. She turned to retreat to Garrett’s side when a woman’s voice cut through the store, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I think it’s disgraceful. Debt auction or not, a respectable man doesn’t keep two young women under his roof without proper chaperoning.”

A thin woman in a costly dress, her face pinched with pleasure at her own cruelty.

Garrett had gone rigid at the counter, but before he could move, Mrs. Beale swept through the door, arms full of parcels from the milliner’s, all smiles. “Mrs. Farrow! How lovely to see you. I’ve been meaning to invite you out to the Aurora to see our new parlor curtains. Miss Rose has such a gift with a needle — she’s been a blessing, truly. And Miss Eliza has finally made sense of those dreadful account books. I don’t know how we managed without them.”

The shift was instant. Respectability, offered like a cup of tea, and Mrs. Farrow had no choice but to drink. “I… Mrs. Beale, I didn’t realize you were in town—”

“Just picking up a few things. And I wanted to speak to Reverend Aldritch about the church social.” Mrs. Beale lowered her voice, but not by much. “Garrett has generously offered to host it at the ranch this year. You and Mr. Farrow will come, won’t you?”

Mrs. Farrow could only nod.

From the corner of her eye, Eliza saw Garrett’s shoulders drop. When they’d loaded the wagon and started home, Mrs. Beale patted Eliza’s hand. “The place has been too quiet since—” She stopped. “Since I’ve been busy with the ranch expansion,” Garrett said smoothly, and something in the way he and Mrs. Beale glanced at each other told Eliza there was a story there — a story no one was ready to tell.

That night, lying awake, Eliza turned the unfinished sentence over and over in her mind.

Too quiet since what?

And for the first time, she wanted not to be safe — she wanted to know.