Elizabeth Lane - The Widowed Bride

Dutchmans Creek, Colorado
May 1920

T he sooty cobweb stretched from the chandelier to the high ceiling, a good four feet out of reach. Lurking near its center was a spidera monster with long, prickly legs and a body as big as a copper penny.

Ruby Denby Rumford glared up at her adversary. Shed always had a mortal dread of spiders, but she couldnt let this one get the best of her. If she wanted to attract good tenants for her boardinghouse, the place would have to be spotless from floor to ceiling. The spider had to go.

Circling warily, she plotted her attack. She might be able to reach the web with the broom. But if she knocked the spider loose, it could end up anywherein her hair, in her face, down her blouse Ruby shuddered as she weighed her options. The only way to make sure the creature didnt land on her would be to capture it first.

A dusty Mason jar with a lid sat on the kitchen counter. That would do for a trap. But shed need something to climb on. Ruby sighed as she surveyed the rickety cane chairs that had come with the old boardinghouse. Maybe she should have paid four-fifty for that stepladder at the hardware store. But buying the property had taken almost all her money. Until the rents started coming in, she would need to hoard every cent she had left.

Moving a chair to the center of the room, she tried standing on the seat; but the spider was still out of reach. She needed something morethat wooden crate in the corner might do. Placed on the chair, it would raise her a good eighteen inches.

With the crate in place, Ruby retrieved the jar and prepared for battle. She could do this, she lectured herself. A woman whod fired three bullets into her raging, two-hundred-pound husband at point-blank range should have no trouble facing down a creature the size of her thumb.

Hollis Rumford had deserved to die. Even the jurors had agreed after theyd heard how Hollis had abused her and threatened worse to their two young daughters. At the urging of the best lawyer in the state, theyd acquitted Ruby on grounds of self-defense. But her wealthy friendsmostly Holliss friendshad been less forgiving. The Springfield, Missouri, social set had cut her off cold.

Exhausted and needing a change of scene, shed fled to Europe with her little girls. A few months later shed returned to discover that her late husbands estate had been gobbled up by creditors, leaving her with little more than a pittance.

There was nothing to do but pull up stakes and make a new start.

Dutchmans Creek had been a natural choice. Rubys brother Jace, her only close kin, had settled on a nearby ranch. He and his spirited young bride, Clara, were expecting their first baby. Theyd urged Ruby to come to Colorado so their children could grow up together.

Ruby had welcomed the invitation. Shed seen the town on an earlier visit and been captivated by its peaceful mountain setting. Shed always been close to Jace, and Clara was like a sister to her. But she had no intention of becoming a burden to them. Whatever it took, shed vowed, she would find a way to provide for herself and her children.

The vacant boarding house at the south end of Main Street had looked like an answer to her prayers. She and her daughters could live on the main floor and rent the four upstairs rooms for a steady income.

Only now was she beginning to realize how much shed taken on.

She was glad shed accepted Claras invitation to take the girls for the week. Mandy and Caro were having the time of their lives on the ranch, riding horses, climbing trees, bottle-feeding orphaned calves and gathering eggs in the chicken coop.

Meanwhile, their mother had a spider to dispose of.

Clutching the jar in one hand, she hitched up her narrow skirt and hoisted herself onto the edge of the chair. Her brother had offered to come and help her get the place in shape. Ruby had turned him down out of stubborn pride. Jace had already done enough for her, risking his life and freedom to protect her after Holliss death. It was time she learned to manage on her own.

Holding her breath, Ruby mounted the crate. Her knees quivered as she steadied her balance on the wooden slats. Seconds, that was all shed need to do the job.

Close up, the spider looked bigger and nastier than ever. Steeling herself, Ruby twisted the lid off the Mason jar and positioned it below the creature. A little more stretch and she could use the lid to maneuver it inside. Heart pounding, she eased onto her tiptoes

A wooden slat splintered beneath her weight. Thrown off balance, Ruby lurched upward. The jar shattered against the floor as she grabbed for the chain that suspended the small chandelier. Miraculously, the chain held. But her thrashing feet had toppled the crate and chair, leaving her to dangle above the wreckage. The distance to the floor wasnt all that far, but falling could land her on a splintered board, a jutting chair leg or shards of broken glass.

The web was empty now. The spider, she realized, could be anywhere. Panic clenched Rubys stomach. Her grip was getting weaker, and she had no safe place to fall. There was only one thing she could do.