Chapter Seven

Elizabeth was still fuming when she walked into the house a short time later. She was mad at herself for believing that Brody was different. For letting herself believe that Brody would be the type of man that would see her for what she really was, instead of just seeing her as a baby making, house cleaning, meal cooking woman.

"Your father wants to speak with you, Elizabeth." Anita said when she heard Elizabeth stomp into the house.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, in no mood to continue her argument with her father, and unhooked her gun belt, "I would like to get cleaned up first," she replied, looking down at her sweat and dust stained clothes.

Anita shook her head, "He said to send you up to his office the moment you came in."

Elizabeth sighed with defeat and nodded, "Okay, Anita."

"I'll have a warm bath waiting in your room when you get done speaking with him, sweetie."

Elizabeth gave her a grateful smile and then slowly made her way up the stairs, toward a conversation she was sure she didn't want to have.

She knocked on her father's office door and his once deep and strong, but now weak and raspy voice, said, "Come in."

Elizabeth pushed the door open and saw him, sitting behind his desk in his black suit, looking over paperwork. The look on his face was a mixture of nervousness and determination when he looked up at her.

"How did the fence repairs go today, dear?" he asked with a warm smile.

Elizabeth pulled off her hat and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from where he sat, "Good. Though the south pasture will take at least another two or three days. I didn't check in with the other hands to ask how the other pastures looked."

"That's good, dear, he mumbled clearly distracted as he looked down at his old, weathered hands lying on his desk. "I'm sorry about our argument this morning."

"I am too pa," Elizabeth replied. "I don't like to fight with you."

"Grant stopped by today and he was disappointed when you weren't here."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and counted to three to help quell her temper, "Pa, I'm really getting tired of saying that I'm not gonna marry him."

"I'm dying, Elizabeth, very soon, and I would like to know that my daughter is married and running the ranch that I worked so hard to build."

"Pa, I don't have to be married to do that! I know this ranch like the back of my hand. I can run this ranch better than anyone else and you know it." she insisted, her hands jerking and motioning to emphasize her words. Ernest sighed, took a drink of the scotch from the glass on his desk and then leaned back in his chair, "The fact remains, my dear, that though you know a lot about this ranch and how to run it, you are still only a woman and men will take advantage of you."

Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Only a woman?!" she demanded. "I can handle any man that might come along hoping to take advantage, pa. I don't need a man to protect me!"

"With his money and reputation, Grant could give you security. You know as well as I do that even a ranch as large and successful as ours could be wiped out with one bad drought."

"Pa..."

Ernest cut her off with a firm shake of his head, "I'm tired of you fighting me on this, Elizabeth. I have seen you and Grant together. He makes you smile and you seem to enjoy his company."

"As a friend," she countered.

"Friendship is a good start. Many marriages have been based off of much less."

"Pa, I want a love like you and mama had. I want to marry a man who loves me so much that he can't picture his life without me and I want to love a man so much that my heart hurts with it. I don't want to just marry a man because it's convenient or will give me security. Don't you understand that?"

Ernest sighed and the room was silent for a moment, only his harsh breathing filling the empty space, "You don't know what you're talking about, Elizabeth. You've been raised without ever having to worry about where your next meal is coming from or whether or not you'll have a roof over your head. Security is everything." He looked away from her and at the picture of her mother that was still hanging on his wall. "And you shouldn't put so much stock into what your mama and I had."

This last statement had Elizabeth's argument against security dying on her tongue, "What do you mean?" she asked warily. Her pa had always told her stories about what a great love he and her mama had had. Full of passion, laughter and joy. Why did he suddenly look so sad?

"I've been lyin' to you all these years about your ma and me," he said hesitantly. "We never even met until our wedding day and though I grew fond of her over the two years we were together, there was never any love, dear. At least not the kind of love I told you was there. Dear, that kind of love only exists in those dime store novels."

Elizabeth felt as if the rug had just been pulled out from under her. She had lived her whole life, wishing for the kind of love her parents had had, only to find out now that that love had been a lie.

"Why would you tell me all those stories? About you and mama watching the sunset together on the hilltop every night? Or going on horse rides across the prairie and getting lost in each others arms at the river....."

"Lies," he said looking ashamed. "Your mama hated the horses and we never watched the sunset together."

"Why....?"

"I don't know why I lied, Elizabeth. Maybe it was because I wanted you to have beautiful stories to think of about your mother or maybe it was because I was ashamed of the fact that I bought her and I didn't want you to think less of me."

"You bought my mother?!" she demanded, rising to her feet and throwing her hat on his desk. "I'm nineteen years old pa! Why are you just now telling me this?"

"Because!" he exclaimed, though his voice was too raspy for his yells to rival hers. "I didn't think that telling you those stories would hurt anything but I know better now. I've given you false hopes and expectations of a love that doesn't exist." Elizabeth shook her head with denial.

"It does exist, pa...."

"No it doesn't. It's just something that people make up for those novels to give other people false hopes. Don't you see?? You already have more than most with Grant. You have friendship, fondness and security. And you'll have a man here to help you run the ranch."

"Pa, I don't need a husband to run the ranch. I can do it on my own." Ernest ruffled some papers on his desk and mumbled something so quietly that Elizabeth could not understand him.

"You'll have to speak up, pa. I can't hear you agreeing with me," she said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"Unless you marry Grant the ranch will never be yours," he said, meeting her gaze with his own stubborn eyes.

Elizabeth fell down hard in her chair as her legs gave way. She couldn't seem to form a coherent thought or draw a breath as she stared at the man across the table. The man she had idolized her whole life. The man who was now telling her that her ranch would not be hers unless she did as he wanted.

"What.... What are you talking about?" she managed to gasp around the lump of dread in her throat.

"My will states that unless you're married to a man I approve of when I die, the ranch will go to someone else. I've made arrangements with that someone that you still be around to stay on and run it but......"

"HOW COULD YOU!?" Elizabeth screamed loudly enough that even the ranch hands were sure to hear it outside. She rose to her feet and stared at her father with fire in her eyes. "This ranch is my life! I have busted my ass for my entire life to prove to you that I can run it! You have no right to take it away from me! I live and breathe this ranch! It should be mine!"

"Then marry Grant!" Ernest insisted, fighting back the tears that wanted to come to his eyes. He didn't like doing this to his daughter but he knew it was best for her.

Elizabeth stared at her father. The man who hours ago she would have sworn would never hurt her and couldn't believe that he had just ripped her very heart from her chest. What would she have if she lost this ranch? Nothing. She wasn't made for life anywhere else and she would NOT live here and run this ranch if it belonged to anyone other than her or her father. Tears wanted to gather in her eyes but she forced them away. Cowgirls didn't cry. Her father had taught her that lesson very well.

Ernest came around the desk and tried to take her hands in his but she jerked away, feeling suddenly cold and dead inside.

"Elizabeth, this is best. Marry Grant."

Elizabeth shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying, "I hate you." she hissed and then she turned on her boot heel and stormed from the room.

Ernest sank back down in his chair and quickly drained the remaining scotch in his glass before looking up at the picture of Amelia hanging on the wall. He looked into her green eyes, that seemed to be calling him a fool even now, nineteen years after her death.

"You know I loved you just like I always told the girl I did, honey, but I had to make her think those were lies or else she was going to throw her whole life away waiting on a dream that probably won't come true."

He shook his head and looked down at his desk as a coughing fit him and left him gripping the desk for support. He prayed Elizabeth would see things his way soon or else the ranch was going to be Braxton's before too long.

***

Elizabeth sunk down completely in the hot water and thought about drowning herself. Surely that would be a better fate than marrying a man she didn't love. She couldn't believe her pa had done this to her. She had thought the man loved her but how could he? No one who loved her would take away the one thing that she lived and breathed for. She rose back up as her lungs began to burn and saw Anita standing in the doorway watching her.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to come in and jerk you up by that pretty hair," she said with a small half smile.

"Did you hear all that a while ago?" Elizabeth asked, biting her lip.

"The whole ranch heard that," Anita replied gently as Elizabeth stood up and she wrapped her in a soft cotton robe. "Your pa is just trying to do what he thinks is best, sweetie."

"Pa is trying to take away what should be mine. Everybody knows it should be mine. Ask Cookie or Frank or Thomas or Braxton! They'll all tell you that I'm more than capable of running this place. Hell even Brody might admit to it!"

Elizabeth didn't see the guilty look that washed over Anita's face at the mention of Braxton. Elizabeth sat down on the edge of the bed and Anita sat beside her and started to run the brush through her long blond hair.

"I know that," Anita whispered gently.

"What should I do?" Elizabeth asked helplessly as she rubbed her face with her hands. "I don't love Grant but I do love this ranch and the thought of losing it just because I'm not married makes me want to die."

"Do what your heart says," Anita replied with a small shrug. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the older woman's vagueness. It wasn't like Anita to be vague about anything. She was always very straightforward. Elizabeth felt Anita's soft, padded arm close around her waist and she leaned into the older woman's warm, comforting embrace and breathed in the scent of the bread Anita had been baking all day.

"My heart says the ranch should be mine either way."

"Sweetie, even if the new man owns the ranch, your father made arrangements for you to be running it. Nothing will change except the name on the deed."

"You don't think I should marry Grant?" Elizabeth asked. "Just the other day you were pushing me to give him a chance."

Anita frowned and went back to brushing her hair, "I changed my mind. If you don't love him then don't marry him. Let someone else take over the deed. You'll run the place either way."

"No," Elizabeth said with a mixture of sadness, acceptance and resignation. "I won't let this ranch fall into hands that aren't attached to a McCready's arms. My father built this ranch, I've worked it for as long as I can remember and if marrying Grant is what I have to do to make sure I keep working and owning it then that's what I'll do." She gave Anita a sad smile, "After all, true love only happens in storybooks, right?"

"Elizabeth, I...."

"Please leave. I want to be alone." Elizabeth said gently as she took the brush from Anita and stared down at her bare feet on the hardwood floor.

Anita stood from the bed and smoothed her dress over her ample frame, "Okay, sweetie. Do you want me to talk to your father?"

"No," Elizabeth replied, not looking up from her feet. She had a callous on her big toe from her boots. She wondered what Grant would think about that, "I'll tell pa in the morning."

***

Anita walked out onto the back porch and snuck into the darkness of the yard. She could hear men laughing in the bunkhouse and the sound of crickets chirping in the grass. A coyote yipped in the distance and she pulled her shawl tighter around herself despite the heat.

She tiptoed to the giant oak in the yard and leaned against the rough bark, waiting for him to come.

"Anita, love," Braxton's voice filled her ears and her old heart skipped a beat. She turned and there he was. So tall. So strong. So handsome. She had never thought she'd find love but this cowboy was just what she'd been waiting for. After twenty-five years of working at the same ranch, he had finally come to her and admitted his feelings just a few months ago and she had never been happier.

"Braxton," she said as breathlessly as a love struck school girl.

He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately, stealing her breath, before looking in her eyes and frowning, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're not going to get the ranch, my love." she said sadly.

His light blue eyes turned cold, "Why not?"

"She agreed to marry Grant. The ranch will go to her."

"That just won't do," Braxton said rubbing his handlebar mustache with his hand.

"I wanted to finally own this place. Have a maid to cook and clean for me instead of me cooking and cleaning for everyone else," Anita said with a pout.

Braxton ran his finger down her cheek, "You will, love. I promise you that. I'll put a stop to this marriage."

Anita froze, "You won't hurt Elizabeth will you? I want the girl out of the way but not dead."

Braxton smiled reassuringly, "I would never harm Elizabeth." he promised. "I'll just send her on a vacation and by the time she returns, daddy dearest will be dead and the ranch will be ours."

"Ours," Anita mused with a happy smile. "That sounds good." Braxton grinned and kissed her lips hard before pulling away, "I have to get to town and do some things. Get some plans arranged."

"She said she's telling Ernest in the morning that she'll marry Grant and I'm sure Ernest will want the wedding to be as soon as possible," Anita warned.

"Don't worry, Anita. I will take care of everything, my darling. You just keep me informed on what their plans are."

She smiled, "Of course." He ran his calloused thumb over her cheek and then turned and walked away. Anita watched him until he disappeared into the barn and then she hurried back into the house before anyone realized she was missing.