Season of Fear by Christine Bush

yelling and hollering and riding off in anger, temper, and fights. And then we had all the problems and pain with Mrs. Laura's death, which was more than any being needs to go through in a lifetime.
    "And then time went by and things settled down to a kind of sad tension, with everyone frustrated and nervous and ready to explode.
    "The last few months have been the first time in years that life has had any semblance of happiness around here. The kids smile occasionally, the place runs smoothly, the help is not running off and quitting right and left, because of vicious rumors, and Mr. Alex has been the calmest and most content that I've ever seen him."
    "Well, that sounds good to me, Cookie. I can't see what you're banging pots about."
    "It all began when you arrived, you know. The family settled down to normal, more or less. When the town heard an outsider had come and stayed, and that life went on as usual, it started something. Folks weren't so hesitant to work out here at the ranch. The girls in the house are content, some of the ranch hands have been staying overnight in the bunkhouses, instead of making the trek back to town at night.
    "It's like the past is finally dead and buried, as it should have been a long time ago. And Mr. Alex."
    Cookie paused and gave Robin a long pensive look. "Well. I'm not sure I know quite why, but Mr. Alex is a much happier man. Not without his problems and memories and frustrations, mind you, but for a long time it seemed to me that he didn't know which end was up, what was important in life. And now, looks like gravity has taken over again. Looks like he's got his feet back on the ground."
    Robin's stomach felt full of butterflies. Was cook suggesting that this, too, was because of her? She didn't have the nerve to ask.
    "But now, into the center of this newfound calm around here, thunderclouds are beginning to gather. It's the calm before the storm. You mark my words."
    Robin looked at her questioningly. "But why? I don't understand."
    "That's because you weren't here five years ago when this ranch erupted, Robin. Or you would see the problem.
    "First Mr. Herman and Mrs. Lisa arrive for a visit. Alex hasn't seen them for five years, since their last visit. Which was the same time as Mrs. Laura's fatal accident. There was only one other additional person here at that time, Deborah Rankin, an old friend of Laura's, and a long-time admirer of Alex's. She's a troublemaker and one of the slyest women I've ever laid eyes on.
    "A telegram arrived early this morning saying that she'll be arriving tomorrow around noon for a few weeks visit. I can't quite figure out why. First of all, it's a coincidence that she should arrive at the same time as Herman and Lisa after all this time. Secondly, I'm puzzled that she should send a telegram from Seattle saying that she is arriving in town today, when someone I know spotted her here in Hamilton only two weeks ago. She stayed at the hotel, and made no attempt to get in touch with anyone on the ranch as far as I know. So what is she up to?"
    Robin sat staring straight ahead, trying to digest the meaning of what she had just heard.
    "How I wish this whole mess had been settled once and for all, Robin. How I wish that we didn't have to live with these fears and doubts and feelings that the whole world could blow up any moment. But you see, the stage is set, the characters are all arriving, the old feelings will all come to the surface and get everyone on edge, and I have a feeling that there will be an explosion around here like none you've ever dreamed of.
    "I'm so scared, Robin, darned scared. What is happening around here?"
    But Robin had no answer for her, for the same question was rattling on relentlessly inside her own brain. What was happening around here?
    "Oh, my, Deborah's coming." Sara's voice was breathless and anxious as she appeared at Robin's bedroom door a few hours later. She was still in her bathrobe, long glistening black hair streaming