by Danni Roan
Quietly she dressed then stepped silently out of her room but she wouldn’t have needed too. Chaz’s clothes were gone, the bedroll neatly packed and the blankets from the night before were folded carefully on top. With a sinking heart she thought that he must have slipped off in the early hours of the morning but then she noted that a small fire still burned merrily in the fire place. Walking to the kitchen she moved the coffee pot onto a round and stoked up the coals, then pulled out the bread and sawed off several thick slices. She then pulled down the bacon, cut off a few generous portions and started them frying in the skillet.
While the cooking got started she moved about the cabin, opening windows and pushing the shutters wide. The breeze that wafted in to join the aromas of the cooking, smelled of wet pine, and fresh grass and clean mountain air.
Removing the bacon from the pan she then fried the bread in the drippings rendering each slice of bread, crisp, and smoky. Leaning out the window she could just see Chaz, leaving the barn where he had obviously just turned his scrawny horse out to graze.
As he moved across the yard, Maggie looked closely at what could only ever be called a nag. The animals rusty coat was a map of rises and valleys as every bone showed through its hide. It’s big nobly knees looked like they leaned too far forward and huge dinner plate sized feet dangled at the end of sparsely haired wiry legs. It’s large mealy mouthed head, looked too big for its skinny neck and its eyes looked sunken and listless. Maggie shook her head but then called out to the boy to come in and eat.
Chaz knocked the dirt off his boots as he came back in. Maggie smiled gently at him as she loaded their plates and poured coffee.
“For a minute, I thought you’d decided to move on. “She mentioned casually.
“No ma’am, I was just checking on Clara you see. She’s my first horse of all my own and well she ain’t much I know but I’m hopin’ I can build her up a little. She’s two years old so maybe I can.” The hope in his eyes touched Maggie's heart and she smiled again as she took her seat.
“Well let’s hope so. Now we’ll give thanks.” Chaz had just about put his toast to his lips and looked completely shocked for the second time since he had sat at her table, but he put his toast down and closed his eyes. “Lord, bless this food to our bodies and give us the strength to do what needs to be done in your world, and help us know how to build up Clara. Amen.” When she finished her prayer and opened her eyes it was too look once more in to the shocked face of Chaz.
“Ma'am, should you ought to ask God to help with your animals? I mean is it alright?”
“Well I don’t see why not Chaz, after all He made them didn’t He and the Bible says that His eye is on even the tiny sparrow. I don’t think God minds what we ask of Him as long as our hearts are in the right place.” For a long moment the boy stared at her and then slowly a soft smile played across his face.
“Well that makes good sense then don’t it? I guess God might just be able to care about a big old galloot like Clara if He can see a sparrow.” And with that they both set to eating breakfast.
After breakfast was cleared away Maggie and Chaz went out to the barn again. He had taken a long wooden stake and tied his rangy mare to it on a long line. She now stood contentedly munching the thick wet grass all around her. “What a good idea.” Maggie said as she studied the whole thing. “Did it take you long to teach her how to keep from getting tangled up? I’ve been trying to figure out what to do when the grass in the corral is all gone. I thought about hobbles but I’ve never used them and I understand horses can still wander off even when they are hobbled.”
“It didn’t take much Miss Maggie, I just had to untangle her a few times and I learned that I want the rope just loose enough that it will swing around the stake without getting curled up. If you want I’ll help you teach your little buckskin. Do you have a name for him ma'am?”
Maggie smiled with embarrassment, then finally answered. Well honestly I’ve been calling him Joshua. She then explained the strange circumstances by which she had gotten the horse and how he was surrounded by a wall of cowboys when she first saw him. Chaz looked bewildered at that so she explained about the walls of Jericho in the Bible and how once she and Joshua got together that wall of cowboys just came tumbling on down. Together they laughed and then walked to the barn to fetch the horse himself. This time she let first Joshua then the mule who she was calling Sampson out through the gate in the barn. Sampson was tethered to a barn pole but Chaz led the little mustang out to fresh grass and pounded a long stake into the soft earth, he then took the pony by the head and led him around the full circumference of his line a few times so that the horse could feel the ropes pull on him then he let him get on with the important job of grazing.
When he returned to the barn it was to see Maggie feeding a carrot to the mammoth mule and brushing him down with a matted old curry comb. Feeling important he walked up and patted the mule on the haunches. The animal twitched his ear but decided he would tolerate the boy, at least for now.
“Well Ms. Maggie, it’s too wet to do any plowin’ today but I reckon I can show you how to harness up yer mule and teach you some of the basics. That sound alright to you?”
An hour later Sampson was starting to lose patience with the process of being harnessed and then re-harnessed so Chaz decided to see what they could have him pull and see how he worked. Together they, he and Maggie, moved back to the storage area and began lifting tarps off of the equipment. There was a sturdy plow, a hay mow, and a small high wheeled cart that could be used for either transport or for moving hay. This Chaz pulled out and showed Maggie how to attach the harness. Then he led the mule out into the bright spring air. Sampson, who would have rather been eating grass with his stable mate bulked a little but when Maggie snapped off a bit of carrot for him, he decided a little work might be in order. For the next hour or so, Chaz and Maggie drove the cart around the property, then brought it back to the barn and unharnessed Sampson. They then turned him out on green grass trusting that he would stay with the other animals as Chaz moved his horse to fresh grass and together they walked back to the cabin to warm up the left over stew from the night before.
In the next two days the garden patch dried out and with Chaz’s help Maggie plowed her kitchen garden and several long furrows for corn and wheat. Sampson at first sulky about working under harness, soon fell in to step when he was given a new treat of old biscuits. Together, woman and boy planted tomatoes, onions, carrots, peas, runner beans, potatoes, turnips, beets, and a few more kitchen staples.
Maggie was thrilled at the work they had done, and despite the black earth caked beneath her finger nails relished the labor. Little by little the stock became comfortable with their surroundings and were now safe to stake out on new grass each day. They had just moved Joshua one afternoon when a large white tail sprang from the woods and leaped across the high grass. Maggie looked after the beautiful creature longingly. “I don’t suppose you know how to hunt do you?” She asked Chaz plaintively.
“Well sure ma'am. I can hunt, but I ain’t got no gun. I can also trap rabbits and such.” Maggie smiled and nodded toward the cabin. Once there she presented Chaz with her rifle. He gazed at it with love in his eyes and whistled low.
“I ain’t never used nothing like this before. I reckon I can get a deer pretty easy with this but we should probably wait a few days so I can get used to it.”
Days turned into two weeks and still Chaz worked with Maggie around the farm. Finally, one night at dinner she decided to ask him about his plans. His horse who was still too big boned for her own good was indeed filling out and she thought he might be feeling restless and want to move on. They were finishing their coffee after supper that night and as the crickets started to chirp Chaz leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“You sure got a good place here Ms. Maggie.” He said wistfully. “I been farmin’ my whole life an’ I ain’t never seen better. My pa was a farmer you see, but he never amounted to much,
then he went and got hisself killed in a drunken bar fight. Our neighbors took me in but with so many mouths to feed already, I had to work twice as hard just to get something I could eat. When I was old enough I left there and hired myself out on another farm what didn’t have so many youngins. That old man though he sure was mean an’ soon enough I moved on. My last place I worked like nothing you can imagine but at least the old man was fair. He paid me for what I did and when I’d had enough I askt him if he’d sell me that mare. She weren’t shaping up to nothin’ so he sold her to me cheap; got a real bill a sale an’ everything. First real thing I ever had I could call my own. That’s when I found you here.” He gazed across the table at Maggie. The soft light filtering through the windows lighting her face. “I’m just wondering if you’ll be wantin’ me to get movin’ soon too.” He said with finality.
Maggie looked at the young man, a boy no more that fourteen if he were a day. He’d filled out over the past two weeks and she suspected that like his horse he never quite had enough to eat his whole life.
“Chaz she said kindly. “You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. I can’t pay you, but you can make a start here and if you’re willing, you could be my partner. For now I just want to get the house and outbuildings snug and tight, and get food put up for the winter. But later, I’d like to get a few head of cattle. My father always did well raising cows here. Sold them down in Sawbrush and made enough. If you’d stay and work with me and help me do that, part of this place could be yours. When I was six my mother died giving birth to a little brother I could never know. You could be that little brother I never had if you’re willing.”
A long silence hung between them stretching on even as the shadows of the mountains reached out to cover the little cabin. Then with a wide smile on his face Chaz stood and reached across the table to shake hands. Maggie stood and smiling took the boys hand.
“Well next time we get into town we’ll make it official then.” Maggie added with a smile. “So what will we do tomorrow?”
For the next two weeks Maggie and Chaz worked non-stop on the farm and the buildings. Tiny shoots began springing from the garden and they watched closely to see what was growing and if it needed weeding. Clara began to pick up weight on the deep green grass growing so freely around the farm and with little or no work to do she was really starting to fill out. Even her oversized head and feet seemed to look more appropriate for her tall frame. Chaz explained that she was part draft horse and that she would be really big when she was fully grown.
He also felt that between her and Sampson they would be able to pull their weight around a working farm. He explained that he would try to train them to work together when hay season came in. To Maggie she realized more and more how much of a blessing the young man was. Now instead of looking uncomfortable at meal time when she prayed, he bowed his head and waited calmly before eating. He had even asked her about her Bible one day when she was reading. It was amazing how just the right person had come into her life at just the right time, and she thanked God every day for her blessings.
Chapter 3
Each day Maggie's supplies shrunk by a portion of two. Her carrots were completely gone now and she was nearly out of flour, salt and lard for biscuits. It was quickly becoming evident that she would have to go back to Saw Brush for supplies and this would be a wonderful opportunity to see a lawyer about adding Chaz’ name to the deed. She had now been in her mountain home for over eight weeks and she felt healthy and strong again. The fresh air and sunshine had burned a rosy glow in to her cheeks, and burnished her hair with copper highlights. Her hands so pale and frail only weeks before, were strong and agile. Her arms had become corded with muscle and her whole frame though still thin looked healthy again.
At supper that night they decided that they would leave for town the following day and stay there through the weekend. Maggie counted out her money carefully and could see that with her wise spending previously she would be able to get supplies and even a few extras in town. Chaz to her surprise even had a few coins of his own and assured her they would be used to restock since he knew he was eating his fair share. Preparing everything for the night before, they turned in with the excitement of a child at Christmas.
The sun was not even touching the eastern sky line when they moved out of the barn. Chaz, having no saddle rode bare back while Maggie sat somewhat guiltily on her hand tooled one. Sampson happily clopped behind in his pack saddle with empty panniers nipping at fresh shoots of grass and branches as they moved. Coming up to the split in the mountain face, Maggie dismounted and tied Sampson’s lead to Joshua's saddle then showed Chaz how you could cut through the narrow gap and come out on the other side.
Throughout the day as they rode, they talked about the town they were headed to, the trail ahead and as they neared the town toward evening, they started seeing farmers, ranch hands, and cattlemen riding to or from Sawbrush. Chaz, having seen very few towns was eager to get there and see what it was like. He had his head full of items he wanted to look at and things needed for the winter. He chatted happily about ideas on how to help stock up for the winter. Just as night fully fell they rode up to the livery stable.
Tinkling music could be heard pouring from a saloon down the street and several horses stood tethered to hitching post along the main drag waiting patiently for their owners to be ready for the ride home. It was a Friday night and the town was busier that other days of the week. Maggie dismounted stiffly and patted Joshua’s shoulder. He nuzzled her, probably hoping for a stale biscuit or better yet a carrot. Hearing them the old hostler shuffled out of his quarters at the front of the barn. With a start he recognized Maggie and her mount.
“Well ain’t you a sight for sore eyes now, and still riding that ornery cuss I see?”
Grinning he reached out a hand to Maggie who shook it happily. Charlie she said quietly, we’ll be in town for a couple of days and would like to stable the horses if you don’t mind. We’ve got an extra as you can see this time” she added pointing at Clara. “This is Chaz” he’s like my little brother I guess you could say. The old man turned his rummy eyes on Chaz and extended a hand.
“Well any friend of this young lady is a friend of mine, bring them critters in side and we’ll get them tucked up for the night.”
“Would you mind terribly if I stayed here as well tonight?” Chaz spoke. He had already insisted that he would not stay in the hotel and spend extra funds when he could sleep perfectly well in the hay loft, as he had done most of his life.
“Sure, sure.” Said Charlie and together they moved off with the horses to get them settled while Maggie started toward the hotel on the other side of the main drag.
Stepping up on the board walk, she began making her way along the building fronts. Most shops were closed for the night but some windows had bright lights blazing through them and men could be seen coming and going through their doors. Maggie had just passed one building that was obviously a saloon: Loud music played, and bright light spilled out of its open windows and door. When a drunken cowboy stepped through the patch of light on to the board walk; spotting her, he raised his hand and reaching out grabbed her by the arm.
“Well, what have we here?” the man drawled, his speech somewhat slurred from drink. “Come on over here darling...”
“Unhand me!” Maggie demanded trying to pull away, but the cowboy only chuckled and tightened his grip. “Stop!” She shouted as she was pulled steadily closer to her assailant, squirming and struggling.
Just as the cow puncher had pulled her almost to him, heavy boots rang down on the boards of the walk way, and the ring of spurs, echoed under the covered roof. “I believe the lady said leave her be.” A voice that rang with authority sang out. For a moment the cowboy hesitated, trying to focus on where the voice had come from in his drunken haze. Just then a tall bearded man stepped out of the shadows with a threatening gleam in his dark eyes. The cowboy seemed to sober in a moment and released Maggie's arm. T
hen tipping his hat and mumbling an apology ducked back into the abode from which he had come.
The tall stranger turned toward Maggie as she pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “Ma'am are you alright?” his deep voice asked as he looked intently at her.
“I’m fine, oh, yes, fine; thank you.” She mumbled and turned to walk away.
“If you don’t mind my asking ma’am, why are you in this part of town at this time of night? It might not be considered safe for a respectable lady to be traipsing around town at this hour.”
“Traipsing!” Maggie demanded. “Traipsing? I am not traipsing. My brother and I just came into town and I was simply walking to the hotel. How was I to know that it wasn’t safe to walk through a town on an evening without being accosted? “
The tall man smiled, showing a line of even white teeth then tipped his hat. “Well if you’ll allow me to accompany you to the hotel then, I’ll see that you are bothered again.”
“No, thank you. I’ll be quite alright.” Maggie said sharply and turned to walk on down the sidewalk. Despite her protest the tall stranger fell into step with her anyway.
“I’m Devon Vane.” He said by way of introduction.
“Well thank you very much Mr. Vane, but I’m sure I’ll be just fine on my own now, good night.”
Still the infuriating man continued to walk next to her down the side walk. Turning her chin up to the stars, she simply kept walking. It was nothing to her if some stubborn cowboy insisted on walking in the same directions as she. But Maggie was wrong if she thought the man would stop there. Far from it he not only walked her all the way to the hotel, making infuriating small talk, but he also escorted her right up to the front desk and then informed the clerk that he and the young lady would like coffee in the dining room. Too embarrassed to argue Maggie accompanied him but not before informing the night clerk that her brother, and she described Chaz, would be joining them as well.