Chapter 12 [Next Afternoon]

[Rancho Rivertree]

Manolito threw the shovel out of the cellar hole. Toil had stretched his shoulder and leg muscles. Sweat beaded up across his face. Accomplishment and Satisfaction prompted a grin. He walked the length and then width of the cellar hole. His hand slid across the dirt wall. ¡Muy bien! This will keep food cool in summer. Perhaps it may even offer other uses? I do wish Buck could have stayed longer. He shrugged.

"Think we're done?" Blue wiped his face with the handkerchief.

"Si. I do believe we are." Manolito drank deeply from his canteen. "Ah! ¡Bueno!" He capped the canteen and passed it to Blue. "Cold drink after a hole well dug."

Blue raised an eyebrow at the pun. "Yeah. You can say that." He took a couple of gulps. Then he capped the canteen and returned it. "Getting late."

Manolito glanced skyward. "We still have enough light to ride back, Amigo." He put the ladder against the wall. "Now we climb up. Just be careful. I do not wish to explain to Victoria or Penny if you fall."

Blue nodded. He climbed up out of the hole. Then he steadied the ladder as Manolito did the same. He surveyed the waterfront area. "It's a start."

Manolito put a finger up. "Patience, Compadre. We will have our rancho yet. Wait and you will see." He headed down the hill. "BART!"

Bart stuck his head around the shack's right wall. "Yeah, Manolito? You guys set?"

"Si. See anything?" Manolito collected his blanket and bedroll. He rolled them together and brought them out to Makadoo. "Get what you need. We should ride soon." He signaled to Rafael. "Keep careful watch!"

Rafael nodded. He waved to the new padron.

"Now we are ready I think." Manolito got up onto Makadoo's saddle. Seeing his two the same, he started down the trail toward the Chaparral and the fiesta to come….

[High Chaparral—An hour and a half later]

Mercedes wiped flour from her hands. She looked about the kitchen. A tres leches cake and a chocolate cake cooled on the counter and awaiting Frosting's sweet cover. A vanilla cake heated through in the oven. She sipped on a glass of water. She allowed herself a smile.

Ricardo regarded the works in process. "I followed the aroma down the stairs." Scrutiny considered the cooling treats. "You have been busy."

"Si, Papa." Worry ate at her. "I wish to help prepare for tomorrow. I can do something while I wait for Manolito and the others." She bit her lip.

"He and the others worked hard yesterday." Approval warmed his eyes and smile. "The cattle were in the new corral. The cellar will be dug this afternoon. We begin construction on the hacienda in three days."

Anticipation tapped her fingers across the counter. She grinned. Her feet tap danced across the floor.

He chuckled. "That is the look you used to have on Christmas morning." He shook his head. "Ah, Mercita. I am glad you are happy. It will be hard work."

"I am ready, Papa. Manolito and I will do what we have to." Purpose strengthened Vow's tone.

"I believe you will." He embraced her. Then he saw Penny slicing beans for the next day's feast. "And you are busy as well? You two!"

"You should see her tend a blacksmith forge or clean a horse's stall, Papa." Mercedes smiled at their niece.

"We're all family. We should help each other," Penny deflected. She set the bowl of finished green beans aside. "Maybe we can have a garden at the Rancho?"

"A garden?" Surprise narrowed his eyes.

"It is not desert up there," Mercedes pointed out.

"We can raise some of our own food. It will help with money," Penny added.

He nodded. "Indeed it will. Muy bien, Penny. I will be interested to hear of your harvest." Granted desert ranchos offered few prospects other than grass huddled around water sources. Diversification, however, could not only help the new rancho to survive but to flourish as well. If only you'd stayed and heard this, Lupe. Then again, you'd frown at our daughter and niece using their hands.

"I trust you approve of their ideas, Don Ricardo?" Victoria carried a fresh loaf of bread into the kitchen. Expectation arched an eyebrow.

"Si. Have they talked about the garden with you?" he supposed.

"Of course. I think it is a wonderful idea. Manolito and Blue agree. Besides you have to pay for materials. Do you not? Why not some seed? I would suggest seedlings as well." Victoria turned to Mercedes. "Show him." A smirk spread across her face.

"¡Si!" She brought out a small tin cup. "Do you see, Papa?"

He glanced at a few dozen apple seeds. "Are those apple seeds? You want to grow trees?"

"Si, Papa. We can have a small orchard. Your orchard back home inspired me." Mercedes grinned at him. "Mama and you will have your own part of our rancho!"

Pride warmed his heart. "Gracias. That sentiment means a great deal to me. I wish I had known before I left Rancho Vega. I would have brought a few saplings with me." Then Inspiration struck him. "Un minuto!" He rushed off toward the stairs.

"Where's he going?" Penny frowned.

"Papa's not angry, Penny. When he has that look, he has an idea of his own," Mercedes assured her.

Victoria grinned. "Let him do what he has to. I think I know what he's doing." She set the bread on a plate and covered it with a towel. Expectation and Deduction shot theories through her mind.

He descended the stairs at a slightly slower pace. He had a bunched up handkerchief in his right hand. "I believe you should see this." He set the cloth on the counter and opened it.

There another dozen apple seeds sat for their consideration.

"Papa?" Mercedes wondered.

"They're seeds like ours. We can try to grow more trees," Penny supposed.

Realization prompted a nod from Victoria. "Those are from your orchard, Don Ricardo."

"Si. Esos son un poco de Rancho Vega. Que seran fructíferos." He embraced his daughter and great niece.

Victoria wiped a tear from her eye. After all of the tension, it comes together at last! She couldn't wait to tell John.

At that moment, two shots echoed from the watchtower.

"That should be Manolito and the others!" Mercedes set the special seeds onto another cloth and wrapped it closed. "Here is your handkerchief, Papa. Gracias." She kissed him on the cheek. A special smile added emphasis to Gratitude's expression. She set the seed bundle in the cup with her others. "Vamanos." She hurried out the front door.

"I ain't keeping Blue waiting!" Penny ran out right behind her.

"I am glad her mother cannot see this." He scratched his head.

"I would rather have una hacienda felicisima than one without love or feeling, Don Ricardo. Even Papa would agree," Victoria declared. "Let us see what Manolito and Blue have done." And with that, she led him out the door….