“You sleep in the house?” Sierra asked.
“Yep. Me and Jack . . . and Thor. Consuelo, her parents and brother have their own house in the flats at the bottom of the butte. They have the biggest of the stone cottages Jack built for Lucky Five hands and muleskinners and families. Rudy has a place in the flats but takes meals at the house. He could have taken a room here, but he likes his own space. Doesn’t like all the stairs either. The other single guys live in the bunkhouse and get fed at the chuck house nearby.”
“How many cottages do you have here?”
Jordy pictured the cluster of homes in his head. “I guess there would be nine in all. I’ll show you tomorrow if you like. It’s like a little town out here. Discourages the Comanches from pestering us, but most of them are going to Fort Sill now, so that problem’s about done.”
“What do you do with so many hands?”
“Well, I said muleskinners lived here, too. The Lucky Five has a freight hauling business that headquarters out of San Angelo. A lot of the waggoners double as hands during round-up and hands get called into the freighting enterprise when ranch work slows down. That way they have year-round jobs. Appeals to family men.”
“I had no idea my grandfather was such an entrepreneur. Lucky Five. Where does that name come from? Do you know?”
“Oh, yeah. Rudy will give you the long version of the story if you ask. The ranch was a Spanish land grant, but all the Spaniards who tried to settle it got killed by Comanches or, if they were lucky, got run off. In 1846, the year after Texas became a state, Jack met up with the grant holder in Austin. Jack was a Texas Ranger then. The owner was offering the place for sale at fifty cents an acre. That was $10,750 more or less for the 21,500-acre grant. Jack had half of what he needed squirreled away. He’s always been careful with his money. Not tight, just careful. Anyhow, he tried to get Rudy to go halves with him, but Rudy didn’t have the money and didn’t want to own anything anyway. He will tell you that property is a burden.”
Sierra said, “That can be true sometimes.”
“Yes, I suppose that can be the case. Anyway, Jack found a bank in Austin that would loan him the rest and take a mortgage on the grant. He went to meet the owner and close the deal and another fella shows up at the same time and matches the offer. The seller could have conducted an auction, and Jack wouldn’t have been able to come up with another dollar, but the seller was a man of his word. He said they would settle it with a roll of the dice. Highest total wins. Five dice. Other guy rolls and comes up with twenty-four total. Jack rolls and gets all fives. Jack buys a ranch that forms a wedge between the North and Middle Concho rivers. That’s how Lucky Five came about. If you hadn’t noticed, the brand consists of five dots as they would appear on a face of a dice.”
“But he was still a Ranger after I was born. That’s what Papa said.”
“The ranch was nothing but grass, buffalo, and Comanches for the next fourteen or fifteen years. He had chances to swing by and look it over at least once a year, and he sketched out plans for buildings around the site of this house that was built by the first Spanish settlers—or what was left of it after the owners got burned out by Comanches or Kiowas. He didn’t move onto the place until just before the War of the Rebellion. He would have been closing in on fifty-five years old then. It was shortly after he picked me up. That’s enough of the story for now.”
“But how did you come to be with him?” Sierra asked.
“If you stick around more than a day or two, I’ll tell you about it.”
“You sound like Jack Wills is going to kick me down the road.”
“Not Jack. He’s the kindest, gentlest man I know. He has a long fuse, but he is not buying your granddaughter story, not even near to it.”
“And what about you? Do you believe me?”
“I’ve got no basis to say yes or no. It doesn’t matter one whit to me. All that matters is what Jack decides. Whether you are or not, you have got a reason for playing the granddaughter card. I will be interested to find out what it is.”
Chapter Five
There were more diners at the supper table than Sierra had expected, nine in all: Jack, Rudy, Jordy, Rusty Dobbs the foreman, herself and the four members of the Cortez family. Josephina and Consuelo set the food on the table but joined the group to eat like members of any family might. Consuelo’s father, Enrique, spoke English albeit with a thick accent and engaged in conversation about the day’s accomplishments and tomorrow’s plans. It appeared that he was responsible for repair and maintenance of the ranch buildings and corrals. Fourteen-year-old Juan was attentive and spoke little but ate ravenously and did not appear uncomfortable with the adults. It was obvious they had all shared many meals at this table.
Jordy had pulled back a chair for her when she entered the dining room and then sat down beside her. She ignored the odor of cow manure and stale sweat he sent her way, wondering if he noticed her own unpleasant scent. At least he made her feel less self-conscious.
Jack had introduced her by name to those she had not already met, offering no other explanation. Dobbs,
