A Husband for Charli Rae Read online

  “If you don’t want to, that’s okay,” Stanley said to her. “We’ll just wait it out.”

  “I can try,” Matilda offered. “It really hurt when she hit me though,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

  “At least this time you’ll be more ready for it,” her papa said to her. “Try ducking your head so she misses your face this time.”

  <<<<>>>>

  Charli was out in the paddock when Matilda visited the next afternoon. “What do you want Matilda?” she asked impatiently when Matilda came close.

  “I just wanted to apologize for what I said about your Papa the other day,” Matilda said to her, doing her best to put on a contrite face.

  Charli was so shocked she stopped what she was doing and stared at her. “You do?” she asked her.

  Matilda nodded. “I baked you some muffins as a peace offering,” she told her. Charli stared at her again. “There’s no need to look so horrified, I’m a good cook,” Matilda said, feeling a bit defensive about Charli’s reaction.

  “How do I know this is not some kind of trick?” Charli asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “It seems mighty suspicious you coming over here like this to apologize when I’m the one who hit you. Not that you didn’t deserve it.”

  “Oh, don’t be so stupid Charlotte,” Matilda said, getting angry with her. “I should have known it was pointless trying to have a civilized conversation with you.”

  “What would we have in common to talk about?” Charli asked her with a snort. “Now I’ve got work to do, why don’t you run along and find someone to have a tea party with.”

  “YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE YOU KNOW!” Matilda yelled at her, furious with Charlotte’s dismissive attitude. She might enjoy the occasional visit over tea but that didn’t mean it was all she did. Matilda worked hard to keep house the way her Mama had done and Charlotte’s attitude made her just plain mad. She threw the basket of muffins at her and stomped off.

  <<<<>>>>

  Charli was just washing up for the night when Sheriff Johnson rode into her yard. “Can we have a word?” he asked as he climbed her back steps.

  “Do I have the option to refuse?” Charli retorted. Sheriff Johnson raised his eyebrows at her and held his arm out toward her back door. “Figured not,” she mumbled as she turned and stomped inside.

  “Sorry, I don’t have any coffee to offer you,” Charli told him as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

  “I won’t be here long,” Sheriff Johnson told her although he filed her lack of coffee away in the back of his brain. He’d suspected she was doing it tough and the lack of food in the kitchen confirmed those suspicions. There had to be something the townsfolk could do without disturbing her alarming habit of refusing all charity. When her papa had died, she’d accepted the mountain of casseroles that came her way but somewhere along the line she’d made it clear that she’d accept no more charity. Stubborn and proud. Two very dangerous traits for a woman alone in the world like Charli was.

  Charli sighed as she plonked herself in the chair opposite him at the table. She looked exhausted, another thing to cause him to worry.

  “I had a complaint from Stanley Bartholomew that you hit his daughter again,” the sheriff came out and told her.

  Charli was instantly on her feet again. “I did no such thing!” she protested. “She came over under the guise of apologizing. I didn’t even get within ten feet of her. I knew she was up to something!”

  “All right Charli, calm down,” the sheriff said placidly. “It’s your word against hers so I’m not going to take action, but you need to be careful. They clearly have it in for you.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” she asked him desperately. “Can you tell them to stay off my land?”

  Sheriff Johnson nodded. “I’ll have a word with them and ask them to do that but as neighbors, if they have a legitimate reason to enter your land, there’s little I can do about it,” he warned her. “I wish you’d move into town for a time and stay with Martha and Henry. We’re all worried about you out here alone. Your Pa wouldn’t have wanted this for you.”

  Charli’s eyes filled with tears. He was a good man and she could see his concern was genuine. “I can’t leave,” she told him. “This was our dream together. I need to see it through.”

  “To what end Charli? You’re clearly not eating properly and you’re working yourself to the point of exhaustion. Is it really all worth it?” he asked her.

  “It is to me,” Charli told him firmly.

  Sheriff Johnson felt frustrated and a little despondent as he rode back to town. He felt it was his duty to watch over Charlotte but his hands were tied all the time she stubbornly refused his help. He knew of only one other person that could help her but finding him was proving difficult.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Charli was on edge after her conversation with Sheriff Johnson. As an added precaution, she left her Pa’s rifle loaded on the mantle, just in case trouble came her way. She was too anxious to leave the farm, even when she’d collected enough eggs to trade at the general store, worried that something bad would happen in her absence.

  The crops were growing well but one of the piglets became ill. Charli decided to bring it inside so she could nurse it back to health. She couldn’t afford to lose the entire litter, so it also made sense to isolate it from the rest of the pigs. The entire farm hung on the precipice of her successfully selling at least four of the piglets and that was just to make the next farm payment. If she were to have money to continue to feed the litter, and herself, she really needed at least eight of them to survive to market stage. Selling all ten would give her the money she needed to invest in another pregnant sow in order to continue generating an income.

  Sleeping was difficult with a squealing pig in the house, but she had to do what needed to be done. The constant stress and lack of sleep were beginning to wear Charli down. Just as she finished feeding the pigs, she spotted two riders coming up the front road. Sensing trouble, she scooted inside and grabbed her pa’s rifle from the mantle.

  As they got closer, Charli recognized the riders as Stanley Bartholomew from next door and Norman Banks from the bank. She stepped out onto the front porch; the rifle aimed on the pair of them.

  “PUT THE GUN AWAY CHARLOTTE!” Stanley barked at her. “We just want to talk; we mean you no harm.”

  “I believe the Sheriff told you to stay away from me,” Charli called out to Stanley.

  “He did no such thing,” Stanley said to her. “Now put the gun away before I pull one of my own.”

  Charli lowered the gun but kept it in her hands. “You can say whatever it is you came to say from right where you are,” she said to them. “Come any closer and I’ll shoot.”

  “Mr Bartholomew would like to make you a very generous offer on your land Charlotte,” Mr Banks said to her. “It’s enough to clear the loan and give you some left over,” he told her. “I think you should at least hear him out.”

  Charli raised the gun again and pointed it at Stanley Bartholomew. “The farm is not for sale and never will be,” she told him. “Now get off my land before this gun accidentally goes off in my hands,” she warned him.

  “All I’m asking is for you to hear me out Charlotte, you don’t have to decide anything today,” Stanley told her.

  Without even realizing what she was doing, Charli pulled the trigger on the gun. She hadn’t braced herself for the kickback and ended up on her backside on the porch while the men in front of her shouted and kicked their horses into action, riding away. Charlotte sat there in shock for quite some time, fearful that she’d actually hit one of them. She was still there half an hour later when Sheriff Johnson rode up, looking very unhappy.

  “What the hell happened out here?” he asked her as he helped her to her feet.

  “I don’t know,” Charli said, her eyes filling with tears. “The gun just seemed to go off of its own accord.”

  “I’m taking you into town, to Martha,” the sheriff told
her when she began to tremble. “You’re in shock.” He lifted her up onto his horse then climbed up behind her, wrapping his arm securing around her middle to hold her steady.

  “I can’t leave the farm,” she told him as he headed toward town. Charli knew she should put up more of a fight, but she simply didn’t have the energy.

  “I’ll come back later and feed the animals,” Johnson told her.

  “One of the piglets is in the house,” Charli said, not wanting the lone piglet to starve to death in her absence.

  “Why?” Johnson asked her. Of all the crazy things Charli had done since her Pa’s death, now she had animals inside the house?

  “It’s sick,” she said as tears began to fall. Everything around her felt strangely out of focus. Like she was looking down on what was happening rather than being a participant. “Did I hit one of them,” she asked, her lower lip wobbling as the full import of what happened began to come back to her.

  “The bullet nicked the edge of Stanley Bartholomew’s ear. There’s a lot of blood but I think he’ll be fine,” he told her. “You, on the other hand, are in a pile of trouble.”

  “He was trespassing on my land,” Charli protested as several tears ran down her face. She brushed them away angrily, not wanting the sheriff to detect any sign of weakness. Charli knew she had to remain strong. It was the only way to save the farm.

  “Did he threaten you in any way?” Johnson asked her.

  “He wants to buy the farm,” Charli told him. “Why would he bring the bank manager to make an offer on the farm? He’s trying to intimidate me into selling. Am I going to jail?”

  “Not today,” Johnson told her, concerned with the way she was trembling in his arms and beginning to ramble. “Right now, I just want to make sure you’re all right,” he told her. “But you may have to front a judge on this. You shot at a man who was not threatening you in any way. He has a witness to corroborate his story. There’s only so much I can do to help you.”

  Charli was sobbing by the time they arrived at the General Store. Sheriff Johnson rode straight up to the back door and carried her inside where Martha began to fuss over her. He gave her and Henry a brief rundown on what had happened and told them not to let her out of their sight. His plan was to return later for a full statement, once she’d gotten over the shock.

  By the time the sheriff returned, Martha had managed to get some tea and a little soup into Charlotte and she was fast asleep upstairs. “The girl is exhausted,” Martha said, her eyes dark with worry.

  “I’m not surprised,” Johnson responded. “She’s working way too many hours, not eating properly and sharing her house with a piglet. “If she’s not careful, she’s going to make herself seriously ill. I’ll come back in the morning to talk to her.”

  When he returned the next morning, Charli was gone and Martha was in tears. “I didn’t even get to feed her a proper meal,” she told him. “When we got up this morning, she was already gone.”

  Sheriff Johnson gave an exasperated sigh. The girl was mighty stubborn that was for sure. “I’m going to have to go out there to take her statement. Want me to take her something?” he offered. He’d make her eat it too, even if it meant he had to put the girl over his knee. He was about at the end of his tether with her.

  “Oh Sheriff, would you?” Martha asked. “Henry has promised to take me out there later when we close the store, but I’d feel so much better if she ate a decent breakfast. Come in and let me fix you something as well,” she offered.

  <<<<>>>>

  “I don’t believe I gave you permission to return to the farm,” Sheriff Johnson said sternly when he found Charli fixing the door to the makeshift barn. Having used whatever materials they could get their hands on, it was a very basic structure that looked like it might fall down at any moment.

  “I don’t believe you told me I couldn’t,” Charli retorted, making his hand twitch. She had no idea how close she was to getting her backside tanned.

  “Come inside,” he commanded her. “Martha sent breakfast and I need a statement.

  “Can we do this later, I’m kind of busy,” Charli responded.

  “We can do it from my jail cell if you’d prefer,” Johnson threatened her. He was at the end of his tether and if locking her up was what it took to protect her from herself, he was prepared to do that. At least in jail she’d be given three square meals a day.

  Charli huffed but put down the tools she was using and headed toward the house. It was obvious the sheriff wasn’t going to put up with much more from her so she decided the best thing to do was co-operate. She didn’t even put up a fuss when told to sit and eat the breakfast Martha had sent for her.

  “What happens now?” she asked him when he’d finished taking her version of the events of the day before.

  “Stanley Bartholomew has decided he wants to consult a lawyer before he decides whether or not to press charges,” Johnson explained to her. “That will take him a few days. If he does press charges, you’ll have to appear before the judge when he’s next in town.”

  “And?” Charli pressed him.

  “He could give you a slap on the wrist or a fine or jail time,” Johnson told her. “There’s no way of knowing.”

  Charli’s eyes filled with tears. “The farm won’t survive me going to jail,” she told him. Not that she had the money for a fine either.

  “You’d better hope the judge is in a lenient mood then,” Johnson told her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sheriff Johnson returned two days later with Stanley Bartholomew’s lawyer. Charli didn’t really want to talk to them, but the sheriff made it clear she didn’t have a choice.

  “Mr Bartholomew is willing to drop all charges against you in exchange for one night in jail and selling the farm to him,” the lawyer explained to her.

  “He can’t do that can he?” Charli protested to the sheriff.

  “He can try,” Sheriff Johnson told her. “You are not obliged to accept his offer.”

  “He’s offering you a very reasonable price for the place,” the lawyer pointed out. “If he were to wait for the bank to foreclose, he’d be paying a much lower price and you would receive nothing. It’s a good deal, you should take it.”

  “Maybe I should consult my own lawyer first?” Charli responded, watching the sheriff carefully to try and gauge his reaction to the whole situation. “You’re paid to tell me it’s a good deal for me, even if it isn’t.”

  The lawyer’s eyes narrowed but a glare from the sheriff told him he needed to tread carefully. “By all means,” he agreed with a nod as he made one last ditch attempt to convince her. “The offer for the farm is only valid until you go before the judge. If you haven’t agreed by that time, you’ll get nothing.”

  “Without the farm I have nothing anyway, so what is there to lose?” Charli responded angrily. She was getting mighty tired of everyone trying to tell her what to do. Why couldn’t they all just leave her alone and allow her to farm?

  “As you wish ma’am,” the lawyer said formally. He knew Stanley was not going to be happy with the fact that he hadn’t succeeded in convincing the girl to sell.

  <<<<>>>>

  There was no way Charli was going down without a fight. She refused to be bullied into selling the farm, particularly to someone like Stanley Bartholomew. Her only choice was to take her chances with the judge. Surely if she explained her case clearly, the judge would understand the mitigating factors and go easy on her.

  Sheriff Johnson arrived at the farm around noon the day the judge was due to arrive. He hadn’t given Charli a date as he didn’t trust her not to disappear on him. Not that he thought she’d go far, but if he couldn’t produce her for her court appearance, it was going to reflect very poorly on him.

  “Pack a bag Charli, I have to take you in,” he told her. “The judge is due to arrive any time now and I’m supposed to have had you in custody this whole time,” he explained to her.

  “Is my hearing today?�
�� she asked him.

  “I won’t know if it’s today or tomorrow until I speak with the judge but if I don’t have you in custody when he arrives, we’re both going to be in trouble.”

  “What about the farm?” she asked. “I can’t leave it unattended overnight, who knows what Mr Bartholomew will do.”

  “If the hearing doesn’t go your way, he’s likely to get the farm anyway. I can’t see him trying to do anything to sabotage you at this point.” the sheriff said to her.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Charli said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. Sheriff Johnson found his palm itching once again. Someone really needed to take her in hand.