The Lone Rancher - By Carol Finch Page 0,5
would approve of her emulating his impressive organizing skills. “Then bring in the furniture. I will direct you where to put it.”
“What about all this lumber?” one of the off-duty soldiers she’d hired called out.
Adrianna gestured toward the storage building west of the house. “Stack it over there, if you please.” Drawing herself up to full stature, she marched onto the porch that surrounded the house. When she unlocked the front door, her spirits suffered a crushing blow. Whatever furniture had once filled the corrupt manager’s home was gone. So were the rugs. Dust covered the floors, staircase and windowsills.
“Oh, my,” Elda crowed as she poked her red head around Adrianna’s shoulder to inspect the place. “Bea, brace yourself, dear. It’s as bad as we thought.”
When Bea elbowed her out of the way, Adrianna stepped aside, but she clamped hold of the petite housekeeper’s elbow, in case she fainted in distress. Sure enough, Bea staggered sideways, as if knocked off balance.
“Lord have mercy!” Bea bleated as her wide-eyed gaze circled the hall and parlor.
“I appreciate everyone’s loyalty in coming with me, but if you want to return to Boston and more familiar surroundings, I will understand,” Adrianna insisted. “I will purchase rooms at the new Château Royale Hotel in town and you can be on the first train east, if you wish.”
Bea strode forward to run her forefinger over the dusty banister. “And leave you in these abominable conditions?” she said, and sniffed. “I stood by your mama and papa and I am not abandoning you. Even if it takes me a month to remove this pile of dust I will get it done.”
“I feel the same as Bea,” Elda spoke up. “Or at least I think I do. Let me have a look at the kitchen first.”
They trooped off in single file and Adrianna sagged in relief when she entered the kitchen to note the stove, pantry cupboards and worktable were where they were supposed to be. She glanced through the dirty window and noticed the summer kitchen stood behind the house.
“I’m staying, too,” Elda announced decisively.
“I insist on a bucket of paint to freshen up these plastered walls,” Bea said as she fussed with a coil of coal-black hair that had worked loose from the bun atop her head. “And no telling what varmints—the two-legged, four-legged and eight-legged varieties—have prowled around this house.”
Adrianna pivoted to face her stoic accountant, who was scrutinizing their new home as studiously as he pored over financial ledgers. “What about you, Butler? Do you wish to return to town and stay at the hotel?”
Hiram Butler drew himself up to full stature—all five foot ten inches—then brushed a speck of lint from the sleeve of his stylish jacket. “I gave your father my word that I would make sure you got off to a good start without him, my dear. I intend to honor that vow.”
Adrianna inwardly winced, wondering if all three devoted employees had made this trip because her father had wrested promises from them on his deathbed.
Adrianna waved her arms in expansive gestures. “You are hereby released from any vow you made Papa,” she decreed. “I intend to make a go of this ranch and to be near Cousin Rosa and her new husband. Boston has nothing for me now.”
“We are staying,” Butler declared after he received nods from Bea and Elda. “You, dear girl, are all the family we have. Besides, I am not going anywhere until I spend more than the passing moment we had at the train depot to determine if that Lucas Burnett character is good enough for our Rosalie.”
Adrianna flung her arms around Butler’s neck and practically squeezed the stuffing out of him. Then she hugged Bea and Elda. “I love you all and I am humbled by your loyalty during this adversity.” She stepped back, blinked the sentimentality from her eyes and added, “And this ranch is definitely an adversity I intend to overcome. The first order of business is to get our bedrooms into a habitable state.”
She spun on her heels to breeze through the empty dining room. “We need a place to collapse after a hard day’s work.”
“That is exactly what we have ahead of us,” Bea insisted. “As soon as I change out of my traveling clothes I will roll up my sleeves and get started on this place. At least our bedrooms will be free of dust by tonight.”
While the threesome directed traffic to have their belongings carted upstairs, Adrianna strode outside