The following material is an extract from NOT JUST ANY MAN, A Novel of Old New Mexico, Copyright © 2018 Loretta Miles Tollefson. Published by Palo Flechado Press, Santa Fe, NM

A Note about Spanish Terms: This novel is set in northern New Mexico and reflects as much as possible the local dialect at that time. Even today, Northern New Mexico Spanish is a unique combination of late 1500s Spanish, indigenous words from the First Peoples of the region and of Mexico, and terms that filtered in with the French and American trappers and traders. I’ve tried to represent the resulting mixture as faithfully as possible. My primary source of information was Rubén Cobos’ excellent work, A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish (University of New Mexico Press, 2003). Any errors in spelling, usage, or definition are solely my responsibility.

CHAPTER 38

It’s a long two days. Gerald and Ramón try to busy themselves with organizing the campsite, cleaning their equipment, and caring for the mules. Ramón snares a couple rabbits and cooks them, then scrapes the skins and begins the initial tanning process while Gerald chops enough firewood to last them a month.

Late in the afternoon of the second day, a small boy with black hair hanging in his eyes shows up. He carries three small white envelopes, one for Gerald and two for Ramón. When Gerald opens his, he reads:

Mr. Locke,

It would be my pleasure to speak with you tomorrow morning on a matter which I believe to be of some interest to you and my daughter. It is my understanding that what I have to say will be to your mutual benefit.

Yours,

Jeremiah Peabody, Esquire

Gerald’s forehead wrinkles, then he grins. What a formal man. What a generous man. What a good man. If all goes well, this man will be his father-in-law.

Gerald takes a deep breath and swings toward his gear, pushing away the anxiety in his chest. Peabody has the right now to know about his ancestry. Suzanna may say she doesn’t care, but surely her father will.

But first things first. He needs to brush his coat and clean his boots. And perhaps a haircut—

But his planning stops instantly when he sees Ramón’s face. The other man stares blankly at the mountains beyond, shaking his head.

“What is it?” Gerald asks.

Ramón lifts a white square of paper. “She has decided that we must wait two years.” He looks at Gerald, his lips twisting. “I told her I was willing to wait for her. I thought perhaps six months.”

“Perhaps she will change her mind.”

Ramón gives a little snort. “Once that woman decides a thing, that is an end to it.” He lifts the letter helplessly. “That fact was once a comfort to me.”

“Why so long?”

“She will not leave el señor. Not just yet.” He glances at the note. “She says that with la señorita marrying, it is important that she stay. She must find a suitable replacement for herself and train that person to care for him properly.”

“Yet Suzanna will go.”

“She says it is her wedding gift to la señorita, that she may go freely, without worry for her papá.”

“She is a good woman.”

Ramón nods glumly. “She is.”

“So you have time to prepare a home for her.”

The other man nods. “That is true.” He nods to the other envelope. “This is from el señor, asking me to come and speak to him on the day after tomorrow.” He grins ruefully. “It is doubtless to ask about my plans.”

“And what are your plans?” Gerald stops. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. It’s just —”

Ramón lifts a hand, waving Gerald’s apology aside. “I will provide for her as would any other man. By the sweat of my brow. A little trapping, a little labor in the fields.”

“I know I have no right to ask,” Gerald says. “But would you consider throwing in with me? Going with me to make homes for our wives in the black valley?”

Ramón raises an eyebrow. “Will la señorita go with you?”

It’s not the only question about his future that remains unanswered. He doesn’t yet have Jeremiah Peabody’s approval of his suit. But Gerald steels himself against his anxiety about his appointment with Suzanna’s father, and nods. “I think so. But it’s not a thing for one man to do alone. It would be good to have your assistance. Your partnership.”

“I can bring little silver.”

“But much experience and knowledge of the land. I’d want us to be true partners. You can give Encarnación a home with your portion. And one near Suzanna, which I think they would both like.”

“After two years,” Ramón says glumly.

“Who knows? She might decide to make it shorter. A woman is always free to change her mind.”

Ramón chuckles. “If el diós grants me a miracle.” He holds out his hand. “Partners,” he says. “Gracias, amigo. And I can provide the cooking until Chonita joins us. When she does come, I’m sure she will be delighted to have more than one person for whom to cook.”

“Thank you,” Gerald says, taking his hand. “Thank you, my friend.”

They grin at each other, delight in their eyes.

“They said ‘yes,’” Gerald says wonderingly. For a moment, the anxiety lifts and he breaks away, swinging his hat in the air. “They said ‘yes’!”

Copyright © 2018 Loretta Miles Tollefson

Thank you for your interest in Not Just Any Man. You can access other free chapters here. Want to get future chapters in your in-box? Sign up to follow me via email.

If you would like an ebook or print copy of this novel, it is available from your favorite brick and mortar store as well as Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your favorite ebook retailer.