COURTSHIP OF THE RECLUSE
LINDA LOUISE RIGSBEE
COPYRIGHT 2017 Linda Louise Rigsbee
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PROLOGUE
Russell Cade rode his horse to the top of theridge and stopped, gazing down at the valley below. It had been along winter, but the valley was beginning to show a little green.Winter wasn't over yet, though, and there would likely be at leastone more snowfall. His small herd of Angus cattle was still in thesouth pasture where they had the protection of a pole barn. Thegrass in the valley needed to grow a little longer before hebrought them here.
He turned the horse and rode back down thehill. It was Friday and he wanted to talk to that girl at therestaurant...Cynthia. He'd been thinking about what he wanted tosay for weeks. He had no idea what her wages were and he didn'twant to insult her with wages that were too low, but he had figuredout what it was worth to him. What he needed was someone to takecare of the house while he was working the ranch. It wouldn't costthat much more for two people to eat than one, and he had plenty ofroom for a live-in maid. He had thought to get an older woman, butever since he had been going to the restaurant, Cynthia had been onhis mind. She was personable and professional. She seemed moremature than the others - not given to inane giggling and gossip.She treated him with respect, never participating in thebehind-the-hand snickering that the others did.
He was well aware that he was an abnormalsort...and equally aware that he wasn't going to change. It hadbeen three years since he came home and found his mother dead inher room. He had been aware that she was miserable alone in thatbig house. She had grown up in a large house with nice things andlots of parties. His father, her first husband, had tolerated herinsatiable desire for socializing almost thirteen years, butultimately it led to divorce. It had occurred to him many times shenever really loved his father. Whether she had finally found truelove or simply matured, she seemed to be content at the ranch whenMr. Cade was alive. Russ had good memories of those days. He lovedeverything about the new set-up, including his step-father. Thesolitude of the wild beautiful country suited his temperament morethan the city had. He enjoyed working with Mr. Cade on the ranch.When Mr. Cade died of a sudden heart attack, Russ had grieved theloss every bit as much as his half-siblings. He had been happy theday he was adopted and was still proud to wear the name Cade. Hisstep-sisters and brothers had not warmed to him, though. It wassomething he learned to accept. He buried himself in school and theranch, further alienating them. They all married and left the ranchwith no intent to return, but he had stayed, helping Mr. Cade untilhis death. His mother inherited the ranch and a modest income untilher death. She left the ranch to him. The others didn't want theranch, but they resented the fact that he ultimately inherited whatbelonged to their father.
At the barn, Cade unsaddled his horse andrubbed him down. He gave him some hay and headed for the house.There he bathed and dressed. A trip through the house assured himthat everything was in order, so he headed to town for a meal and anight out. It wasn't something he looked forward to in thebeginning. It was something he felt he needed to do. Already peoplereferred to him as a hermit. It wasn't that he didn't like people.He simply preferred the open range to an office. Granted, since hismother's death he had pretty much severed contact with the rest ofthe world. Grief and guilt had haunted him long enough, though. Itwas time to rejoin civilization, even if it was only in the form ofa meal at the diner once a week. It wasn't something he wanted todo - at least, not at first. Each time Cynthia came to his tablewith a bright smile and spoke to him, he warmed a little more tothe idea. After a while he began to entertain the idea of a maid inhis home. It would be nice to come in from the range to a hot mealand a smile. It wouldn't be like his mother, who felt obligated tostay at the ranch. Hired help could leave any time they wanted ifthey found the place too depressing. He'd even give them the run ofthe ranch and the loan of a horse to do it. He'd have to findsomeone who liked that type of thing, though. He wasn't sure why hethought Cynthia was a good fit for the job, but he'd find outbefore he hired her. He wasn't going to make the job sound likefun. The house was cold and the only form of entertainment was awall full of books. He had always found them more entertaining thana television. An occasional trip to town to see a movie was all thesocializing he could stand for a couple of months. People were upand down the aisles constantly going to the restroom or buying hugebuckets of popcorn and candy. Sometimes he wondered whether theycame to see the movie or eat. Then there were the parents whodropped their boisterous kids off so they could have an eveningalone. Did the kids act that way at home? He'd rather take a longride through the hills of his three thousand acre ranch. Nothing onthat big screen could compare to its beauty, and the quiet countrywas soothing. He always slept well at night after a long day ofwork on the range.
He was acutely aware that his taste inentertainment and everything else was out of tune with the rest ofthe world. Still, he couldn't withdraw from the world.
