Fate and Lavender

Fate and Lavender

Suzanne Marsh

Attorney “Ace” Dagget heard the knock on his door; he opened and in staggered Mitch Hardison. Mitch, his face pale, clutched his chest: “Ace, I can’t breathe, I guess you better have my will handy.” Mitch passed away quickly on a cold February day in Fate, Texas. He was buried on the first day of March, and the dust blew on those who were at the funeral. “Ace” Dagget gave the eulogy; as he spoke, he thought about the will he had filed for Mitch. “Ace” had no idea where to search for Michelle Hardison. She inherited the ranch, over one thousand acres of prime land. Mitch left nothing to Michelle’s brothers; Dagget knew the boys, and he was constantly in a court of law for them.

Michelle Haridson read and reread the letter Lawyer“ Ace” Dagget sent to her. It had taken several months to find Michelle, but Dagget was not a man to give up easily. The letter was right to the point:

Michelle,

Your pa passed away on February 27; you must come to fate immediately.

Very truly yours,

“Ace” Dagget, Lawyer

Michelle’s hands trembled as she read the letter one more time. It had been years since she had seen her pa. She promised herself she would one day return to Fate, just not this soon. She became a madame and ran a lovely house in Bowery, in New York City. She and Pa had gotten into a fight, and she ran away, only to be summoned home to Fate, Texas. She packed her ridicule and a trunk with dresses and ladies' items. She then purchased a train ticket; the very thought of having to sit on a train with cinders blowing every which way. She had considered just telling “Ace” Dagget she did not want anything; then she thought of her pa, the mistakes they both made; it was time to rectify them.

The train left Grand Central Depot in New York City, New York. Michelle hated the trains; she arrived in Dallas a month later. She rented a buckboard. Four weeks on that train, now another day and a half to Fate. She kept Dagget’s letter in the pocket of her skirt; she cried as she drove the buckboard. She did not mean to hurt pa, she just wanted some independence. She hated Fate; there was nothing there except a few houses, ranches, and her brothers. A windstorm made travel difficult from Dallas to Fate. Eventually, Michelle stopped the buckboard and waited for the storm to clear. She drove the buckboard into the town of Fate, found Lawyer Dagget’s office. She climbed the stairs leading to his office, knocked on the office door. Dagget opened the door, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost:

“Michelle, come in, come in.” Michelle smiled at Dagget. It certainly had been a long time:

“I received your letter. Where is Pa’s grave? I would like to pay my respects.”

“Your pa is buried under the cottonwood tree in the small cemetery at the ranch. Before

we go to the cemetery, please come into my office, Michelle. There are legal papers you

have to sign. Slowly, Michelle followed Lawyer Dagget into his office. Dagget strode over to the wall safe, opened it, and took out the papers he needed. “Michelle, please sit down. Michelle could not imagine why until Dagget began to read:

“To my only daughter, Michelle, I leave the ranch. Jr can help her if she stays. I hope she

does.”

Michelle was flabbergasted:

“Why? I don’t understand. Why Mitchy? Why did Pa leave me the ranch? My three brothers

deserve it more than I do.”

“Michelle, I can’t answer those questions, I don’t have an answer; however, for the good of the ranch

And your brothers do as the will suggests.

Michelle felt as if her world was collapsing around her:

“I will stay for a year, see if the four of us can make a go of the ranch. I have a buckboard. I will

pay my respects to pa. Thank you, Mr. Dagget.”

Dagget knew Mitch had his reasons, but this made no sense to him. The ranch was worth a small fortune itself. He hoped the four of them could work things out. Michael, the most troublesome of the three boys and the youngest, was sure he would inherit the ranch and all that went with it. He said as much several times when he was drunk.

Michelle rode toward the ranch, mulling over in her mind why Pa must have had a good reason. She pulled the buckboard into the yard; tied the horse to the hitching post. She entered the house, where her brothers were. She walked the horse and buckboard to the barn, where she unhitched the horse from the wagon; put the horse in the stall. She agreed to a year here in Fate; then she would return to New York City.

Michelle began dinner preparations; the front door opened, and in strode Mitchy. He gaped at Michelle, as if she were a ghost:

“Shell, Dagget actually found you? It is great to have you home.”

Michelle smiled: “It is good to be home, Mitchy, it has been a very long time.”

Mark, the second youngest, strode into the house; he was over six feet. He stopped short when he noted Michelle standing there:

“Holy Moses, Michelle, is that really you? What are you doin here?”

Just as Michelle was about to answer a cloud of dust rode toward the barn. Michael heard rumors in town that Michelle had come home:

“Michelle, what are you doing here?” He glared at her, making her very uncomfortable. Michelle hoped Michael was prepared for what she was going to say:

“Michael, Mark, and Mitch, there is no easy way to say this. Pa left me the ranch with the

stipulation that the four of us work together to keep the ranch going. Mitch, Mark, the

longhorns need to be moved to higher pastures. Michael, please, for the sake of the ranch;

Help Mitch and Mark. I know this is not what the three of you thought Pa would do; he

did this, I am sure, for a good reason...to unite us once again.”

The following morning, Michelle was up with the birds; she found a pair of blue jeans and a checkered shirt at the bottom of her closet. She realized that was where she had left them when she and Pa had argued; here she was in her old bedroom. Pa had kept everything just as she left it. She hurried down the stairs into the summer kitchen and began preparing bacon and eggs for breakfast. Mitch and Mark joined her in the dining room:

“Where is Michael?” Mitch glanced at Mark:

“Did anyone check his bedroom?”

“No.” Suddenly, there was a roar, then thundering of hooves. Mitch and Mark raced out the front door to catch a glimpse of Michael, herding the horses for a remuda:

“I am taking these horses; I intend to sell them. I don’t have any interest in remaining

here at the ranch. Pa must have been out of his mind to give the ranch to Michelle.”

He turned his back, spurred the young sorrel horse. Mitch and Mark turned to Michelle:

“We are going to stay; you are going to need help with the ranch; it is our home too.”

Michelle felt relief flow through her slim body; she was angry and hurt by what Michael had stated.

Mitch and Mark sat at the breakfast table, thoughtfully poring over the ledgers that Michelle had found in the safe. “Michelle,” Mitch began:

“We are going to need a remuda of at least ten horses. The long-horned and Angus cattle can be

run to Kansas City. There is a big profit to be had from cattle these days. We can drive the

cattle up the Chisholm Trail to the Great Western Trail into Kansas City, Kansas. That will

give us money to operate the ranch.”

Michelle listened to Mitch:

“Yes, I agree. We need money to continue operating the ranch. Pa left a couple of thousand,

which is not enough. I am going with you two; I can ride just as well as both of you.” When Michelle used that tone of voice, the brothers paid attention. Early the next morning, Mitch and Mark went to the small pasture where the horses were kept. Mitch felt the anger welling within him; Michael had taken all the horses. The rode back to the ranch, Mitch ran in:

“Michelle, Michelle, where are you? We have a problem, Michael took all of Pa’s horses.”

Michelle had planned for this contingency somehow; she knew Michael would take all the horses. He was angry; he had hoped to inherit the ranch, but Mitch had other ideas. They rode into town hoping to find at least ten horses at the blacksmith’s shop. They lucked out, leaving with fifteen horses. Sam the blacksmith gave them the horses on credit.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing; Michelle, Mark, and Mitch saddled their horses. The horses whinnied as they approached the cattle. The cattle drive began; they headed north toward the Oklahoma Territory. Two days out, a dust storm hit; they rode with bandanas over their noses to keep the dust out. The cattle spooked one night, and a stampede ensued.

They entered the Indian Territory on the fourth day; they noted a few Indians, hoping they were Choctaw. Unfortunately, they were not Choctaw, they were Arapaho; Mitch motioned Michelle to scout ahead. Mitch and Mark loaded their rifles and waited. A tall, heavy-set Indian rode into their camp:

“Where is the woman?” he asked. Mitch and Mark raised their rifles:

“She is scouting. What do you want?” The Arapaho sighed;

“My people are hungry; we need maybe two or three of your cattle.”

Mitch and Mark knew that was a small price to pay to leave the Indian Territory with their scalps intact.

They agreed, cut out three heads, the Arapaho thanked them, and rode off:

“Mitch, that was too close.”

“Yeah, Mark, I know.”

Michelle rode back into the camp:

“Near as I can tell, we should be in Kansas in another six weeks. There is a small town up

ahead, and we can stop there. We need to clean up, get some food, and a bed for the night. They

have a corral that we can rent for the night to bed down the cattle.”

The brothers were pleased; she had thought of everything. There was a cafe in town, and they ordered steak, mashed potatoes, and dessert. The cattle drive was going well.

Six weeks later, they found themselves in Kansas City, Kansas, and Michael. Mitch saw him through the barbershop window. Mitch hoped he would not cause any more trouble than he already had. Michael had seen Mitch through the same window; he knew they had driven cattle from Fate, Texas. Was there money he could steal? He had squandered all the money from the sale of the horses on women. He decided he would wait and see where they went. Michelle had saddlebags draped over her long, slender arms, Michael noted as she strode toward the bank. He thought: ‘Those saddle bags contain money. I could hold them up, take the money, and no one would be the wiser.’

Michael rode out of town, found a good place for an ambush,h and waited patiently. His patience was rewarded two days later when the two brothers and their sister rode innocently by. Michael pulled his bandana over his face, his Colt .45 ready for action. He attempted to disguise his voice, but they knew it was Michael. He pointed the Colt at Michelle: “GIVE ME THE MONEY AND NO ONE GETS HURT.” Michelle had a derringer she had carried since she bought the brothel; she fired. Michael fell from his horse. Michelle felt the tears welling in her eyes, and she turned to face her brothers:

“Now, I have committed murder.” Mitch held her as she cried:

“Michelle, if you had not shot him, he would have shot us, that ain’t murder.”

They rode silently for a few hours as they thought about Michael. They had buried him under a cottonwood tree off the trail. They arrived back in Fate, and Michelle decided she preferred Fate to New York City; she was going to stay. The ranch began to show a better profit under the brothers and her management.