The Winter's Trail
Page 6
Three weeks later, the house was theirs. They made a trip to a furniture store to buy what they needed and a couple of weekends at garage sales in the city. They had gotten so much stuff at their wedding that it was all stored at the bunkhouse and Juaquin was happy to load it all up and take it to them. He had a special surprise for them too. He had learned to paint from David’s mom and painted a beautiful picture of Rusty and Old Dan running through the tall prairie grass with the sun setting on Pikes Peak behind them. It was a large picture and took the place of honor in the living room. After they were all moved in, Ruth wanted to cook a nice dinner for her husband’s parents. They had done so much for her and even taught her how to cook. It was Saturday and they arrived at her house with Juaquin. The newlyweds ran out to the driveway to welcome them all into their home. Something was in the back of the truck and was covered with a tarp. David tried to peek but was told he could see it after dinner. Dinner was wonderful. Ruth even made a large blueberry pie for dessert. After the last dish was washed and put away, they all went out to see what was in the back of the truck. David’s dad pulled away the tarp and what they saw made both of them cry and hug his dad. There were two rocking chairs for the bare front porch. His dad had hand carved the Ironwood tree on the back of each one and the legs and crossbars looked like branches. He had varnished them so they would hold up to the weather and they were a shiny honey-colored wood. On her seat was their initials carved in a heart. On his seat was the Ironwood Ranch brand burned on it.
They were lifted up and placed on the porch. Ruth sat in her chair and felt like it was made to cradle her body. She closed her eyes and imagined all of life’s events this chair would get her through.
Chapter 6
Years went by, the couple was happy in their house. No children came to them, but they had each other. David still worked at the co-op and weekends at the rodeos. He still wrote in his notebooks and put the pages in the wooden box. Ruth liked the short walk to school. They bought a new truck a few years ago and decided that they really don’t need another car. The weekends that there was no rodeo were either spent at the ranch or in the city stocking up on supplies for both them and the ranch. David’s parents didn’t wander too far away from home. There were more cattle and they had hired a few extra hands.
Curley passed away and the whole town turned out for his funeral. The reception was at the bar and Chet had many stories about his best friend. David and his friends were all in their forties then and all had many stories of Curley and Chet. None of them drank, thanks to the bartender, and they all took a minute to remember their friends who never made it home from the war. Even though he was celebrating his best friend’s life, Chet had a sad look and a couple of days later, there was a sign on the door of the bar. It was closed for good. Chet moved back to his hometown. He said his farewell in the note. He loved Calhan, but it would never be the same without Curley. They served breakfast and lunch everyday over at the auction, so David had to get his cheeseburgers there. Winter came that year and the weather was bad almost every day. Some days, David took the truck out to drive his wife to school even though it was just a block and a half. The prairie grasses looked scrubbed clean from the blowing snow and it was constantly piled up on the fences. The ranch hands were working day and night to keep the cattle in hay and keeping ice out of the stock tanks. David sometimes went out on sunny days to check the fences but didn’t worry too much since the cattle tended to stay close to the house. Rusty was too old to ride then and only wanted to stay in the barn with the dog for company. Old Dan was taller and more muscular and seemed to do better in the snow. There were other horses on the ranch but Juaquin and David preferred this big horse. Late one night, several years ago, there was a phone call. Rusty was down. He was pretty old and had a long life, but David’s mom wanted him to come say farewell to his friend before he passed away. The couple drove in the storm to the ranch and both cried the whole way. Not a word was spoken. When he got there, Rusty could barely lift his head but made an effort when he heard David’s voice. Ruth hugged his neck and whispered her good byes and left her husband to sit in the straw and hold the beautiful horse’s head in his lap. Tears were streaming down his face, but everyone left him to be alone with his best friend until he passed. In the morning, coffee and breakfast were on the table when David came in. Rusty had hung on till dawn and went with a heavy sigh. The whole family and Juaquin sat at the table to say a prayer for the horse that brought such light to the family. Each one of them had loved and been loved by that horse. He was David’s big brother and helped him recover from the war. They were all grateful.
The winter was still cold and snowy. The sunny days were so bright that it hurt your eyes. January was clear and dry but still cold. Perfect weather to go to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. David’s parents had not been there in a long time, so they decided to stay at the Brown Palace Hotel for a couple of nights and make a vacation out of it. They had a great time until the third day. It started to snow, a little at first, but the wind blew too. After the auction that afternoon, they decided to start the drive home. Hopefully, the storm will stop at the Palmer Divide like it usually does and it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way home. The drive was so slow, ten miles an hour in some spots. It took two hours to just leave Denver.
David and Ruth went to the ranch for the weekend. But his parents were on the way back, so they decided to go back to their house. They had to go to work the next day and it was nice to sleep in their own bed.
It was around 2 am when they both heard pounding on their front door. Ruth got to the door first and looked out. She saw Barry, the postmaster, on the porch. She opened the door and saw what a blizzard it was outside and pulled him inside. He only walked a few feet from his car to the porch and was covered with snow. She grabbed a blanket off the couch, dusted him off, and took him to the kitchen where David met them. When Barry was dried off and warmed up, he told them he had his police band radio on. He couldn’t sleep and decided to listen in. There was a terrible accident on Monument Pass and several people were killed. He heard that someone from Calhan was in the accident. He knew David’s parents were on the road that day and he asked them if they had called them to say they got home okay. Ruth said nobody called and went to the phone to check if it worked. They heard the dial tone and as she was putting the phone back in the cradle, they heard a loud knocking on the front door. David went to the door and noticed flashing lights outside. There was the local state trooper and the El Paso County sheriff deputy that also lived in town. They both came in and David invited them into the kitchen. Before they could start talking, Ruth and Barry started to cry. David’s parents were driving home and came upon an accident. They both got out of their car to offer some assistance and were struck by an out of control semi. They both died at the scene.
David sat down and started to shake. Both officers knew his family well and gave their condolences and asked if there was anything they could do. Ruth asked them to stay a while with them and made coffee. No one rested that night. Barry made breakfast for all of them and kept the cups full. Ruth sat as close to her husband as she could and fought to not fall apart. Her husband needed her and she loved this family so much. David just sat and shook. Sometimes he would talk about his parents and even talked about breaking the promise to his mom about the bull ride. He had a hard time believing any of it. The trooper offered to take him to Colorado Springs the next day and set it up for noon. They wanted to try to get to the ranch to tell Juaquin in the morning.
The next morning, the snowplow came down their street to help them get out to the street. The sheriff’s car and trooper’s car fell in behind David’s truck and they followed the snowplow all the way to the ranch and even to the house. Everyone left and David and Ruth talked to Juaquin. He was heartbroken but told the ranch hands and rode to town with the kids. When they came into town, the whole town turned out on the streets to wave flags and show their respect.
For the next few months, the ranch was run by Juaquin and the ranch hands. He would go to town for food and supplies and check in at the feedstore with David. Finally, a lawyer in Colorado Springs called David. He wanted them to come to his office with Juaquin to read the will. Time had passed, but it was now time to talk about the ranch. The three of them met with the lawyer and he read the will. His parents left him almost everything. Juaquin got two horses and the old truck. They also wanted him to stay at the ranch for the rest of his life if he wanted to. The loyal ranch hand took a rather large bandana out to dry his eyes. David’s dad left the big kitchen table and the bench at the top of the hill to his beloved daughter-in-law. His mother left her some jewelry, pots, and pans. She also left her the handmade quilt she slept with her first time at the ranch. All of it meant so much to Ruth.
David got the money his dad managed to save and the ranch. He wasn’t sure he wanted it. The lawyer put his arm on David’s shoulder and said he knew it’s hard, but he should go to the ranch, get familiar with it, and make the decision. He was ready to put the ranch up for sale, but didn’t want David to make a decision he would regret later. David promised Juaquin he would be there all next week. He had some thinking to do. Juaquin understood but felt compelled to tell David that the ranch missed him too.
Saturday was shopping day, so he and Ruth stocked up the truck and made the drive to the ranch. It was a very pretty drive south of Calhan. There were other ranches, all neighbors of theirs. The road was hilly and it seemed they saw a different view with every hilltop. It takes about an hour to get there on good days, down the highway, and a left turn on a dirt road. Today was sunny and it seemed that the drive was very short. Soon, they saw the cattle in the south pasture. Then they got to the hand-carved gate and David stopped to get out and open it. He looked up at the massive carving of a tree that his father had done. Below the branches was the word “Ironwood,” and on the trunk was the brand. He had kept it varnished and it was a soft honey color. David had never really studied it before and noticed the details, the leaves, and knots in the branches. Ruth drove the truck through the gate while he stayed behind to close it back. Just as he latched the gate, he could see Old Dan slowly walking down the road. Juaquin had trained him to go get the mail when he heard a vehicle. David’s mom sewed a pocket in his horse blanket and would put a carrot in the pocket. When he got the mail, the mail delivery person would take out the carrot, feed it to Old Dan, and replace it with the mail. When the horse saw it was David at the gate, his ears perked up and he started to run. David was so happy to see his buddy. His soft, brown, velvety coat felt unusually good under his hand and for the first time, he noticed the horse’s brown eyes had flecks of gold in them and seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. He got in the truck and reached through the window to grab the reins. They slowly went up the drive and when they got to the porch of the house, David pat Old Dan while Ruth went inside to find a replacement carrot. The horse still had to go get the mail. When he left, David slowly carried the groceries into the house. Juaquin had been in there and opened the curtains and put on a pot of coffee for the two of them. David thought it would be hard to look around, but he started to feel comforted. It was as if his parents were just up on the hill and would be back any minute. Ruth started to get things ready to make dinner. Tonight, it would be his mother’s recipe for fried chicken. She missed them so much. She was cooking while David made a fire and walked around the house. The smell of apple pies and fried chicken floated around the house and he found his mouth starting to water. He built the fire and took a long look at the carved mantle above the fireplace. It was similar to the gate. A big tree with leaves. Today, he noticed something he had not seen before. Hidden in the leaves was a tiny squirrel. He went into his room and got out the wooden box with the notes. He had left it there because he wrote fewer notes and would just deposit them during his visits. On the sideboard was a large pack of new notebooks and a note on top of them in his mother’s handwriting that simply said “David.” He took out a notebook and found a hand-sharpened pencil in the box and sat in his dad’s big chair and started to write in his tiny print on both sides. By the time Ruth said it was dinnertime, he had filled two books with memories of his mom and dad, and he seemed to feel a little better. His mother was right; he would know when he needed the notebooks. Juaquin took the homemade fried chicken to the ranch hands and came back to share dinner with his best friend. The mashed potatoes and gravy were steaming and the chicken was crisp. There was pie and coffee. It tasted just like they all remembered but to David, it was his mom’s slice of heaven. He couldn’t remember tasting anything so good. He loved his wife for doing that. David didn’t feel like talking at first but when Juaquin started to tell Ruth stories of the parents, her husband chimed in. Soon, they were all laughing and sharing funny memories. After dinner, they sat in front of the cozy fire while Juaquin played a few songs for them. He had learned some new things and it surprised David when he played some Chris LeDoux songs. He ended his day feeling better, and some of the deep sadness had lifted. His taste buds came alive over dinner. He was looking forward to what the next day held in store for him. He and Ruth had a big decision, but when he gazed at her sleepy eyes and the half smile on her lips, he knew what her decision would be. He only hoped this wouldn’t let her down.
The next day, David and Ruth had coffee on the porch like he had watched his parents do. The sun was coming up on the plains and the tall grass seemed to be waves of orange in the morning breeze. The ranch came alive in stages. The chickens and dogs were first. Juaquin fed them all and they were awake and active. It was warm that morning. As the sun got over the horizon, the horses were moving about and getting ready for the morning work. Old Dan was saddled already and turned loose to go to the house. He got a withered carrot from the root cellar for his effort this morning. David made a mental note of bringing a large bag from the feedstore for his faithful horse. Ruth was wanting to ride that day but knew her husband wanted time alone. She went inside to take the fresh biscuits out of the oven and make a large amount of sausage and egg sandwiches. She wrapped several up along with cold chicken for David and filled his canteen with cold freshwater. He would be gone all day and would need the energy. Juaquin got a big pan of sandwiches for the ranch hands and they rode off to tend the cattle. There were so many calves this year and they needed to all have a check up and get a brand. Work went on at the ranch. He wished David luck and asked him to stop and see what they were doing while he was on his ride today. David went inside for a new notebook and pencil then he and Old Dan left. The two of them would be making decision
s today and there would be a lot of writing in his notebook. Ruth joked that she needed to put notebooks on her list of supplies. She kissed her husband and left in the truck to go get supplies. As she walked to the truck, David watched her. They had been married for years now, but he never got tired of seeing her in Ropers and jeans. Her signature blonde ponytail blew in the breeze and he took out his notebook. The first thing he wrote was how much he loved her and how he hoped she would have that ponytail forever. She turned to wave at him and he swore her blue eyes sparkled to reflect the sunlight. That day, he noticed things at the ranch he never noticed before. Her eyes were one. The large front door with the tree carved in it was the other. He never noticed how majestic yet welcoming it was. Old Dan smelled of hay and carrots and his soft velvety skin made David think of the velvet drapes in the living room. They took off towards the fences and would cut back to the north pasture where all of the calves were. The smell of the damp grass and the sun on his face made David smile for the first time since his parents died. He stopped at the bench under the big tree and made a note in his book. The first day’s ride was as if he was seeing the ranch for the first time. The sights and smells. He rode along the fence and then turned towards the pasture. The grass wasn’t tall yet but smelled sweet and was very green. He arrived at the pasture and spent time roping and branding calves. Separating them from their mothers was a trick, but Old Dan was up for it. He forgot the horse knew his stuff. Soon, he was yelling and waving his hat and laughing at the calves with the other hands. He had forgotten how nice that was. They wound it up and as they headed in for lunch, he decided to ride some more. There was so much to see on the ranch. He rode by the east fence where there were some old buildings and some new haybarns. His dad was going to take the buildings apart to use the old barnwood in his woodworking shop. David had not gone into that little building yet. He stopped and made a note to get it done and while he was doing that, he made a note of how the hay from last year still smelled sweet and how the warm sun and slight breeze felt on his face. He ate his lunch while sitting on a bale of hay and watched Old Dan snack on it too. What a beautiful horse he had. He was a cocoa-brown sorrel and was taller than Rusty had been. His back was broader and David had to buy him a better fitting saddle. He went to the feedstore in Kiowa and found it on sale. It belonged to a young Morgan and was big enough for Old Dan’s broad back. His hair was very shiny in the afternoon sun and was soft as velvet to the touch. The white star on his forehead was more of a cream color. David’s dad said it looked like a marshmallow in a cup of hot chocolate. His hooves were also bigger than Rusty’s were. His step was always sure.