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107 Tamale Ridge by: Chuck Cusimano

She felt more comfortable with Juan Torres than anyone including her father. That is until

Gideon Thacker came along. Juan Torres had just shown up one day riding a good-looking

horse wearing an Americano brand. Francisco asked him a few questions and took him on as a

ranch hand. He was good at repairing the horse equipment, such as saddles, bridles and the

harness for the wagons. He eventually became the one to be trusted to see that things around

the rancho hacienda were done. He and Rosemarie became friends and she grew to love him

and trust him as a father. He always seemed to have good advice and used good judgment

about most matters. He is the one that taught her to dance. There was to be a dance one

evening and she did not know how to dance. She told Juan and he took it upon himself to teach

her. He showed her how to waltz and also how to polka. She remembers that night, how her

father looked at her. He did not know his daughter knew how to waltz. It made her heart soar

with happiness when her father asked her to dance with him. That was possibly the most tender

moment she ever remembered sharing with him. The next day he was back to being Francisco

Guerra. Cold, hard and short tempered.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

The days were getting shorter and the work on the new cabin was nearly done as far as the

outside and not a moment too soon. The snow could come anytime. We had a small skiff on

the ground this morning when we got up but by ten o’clock, it was all gone except a little that

remained in the shaded areas.

I would go to Newberry sometimes as often as once a week and get the mail and what we

needed as far as supplies. We were doing good when it came to meat and some vegetables but

we were always needing sugar, flour, salt and coffee. I had brought several pigs back from

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