Fall came and the leaves were a bright color this year. The rides were nicer than David had expected. One evening, he arrived back late. It was dark and there were no lights on in the house. Usually, Juaquin left him some dinner and would turn on the lights. After Dan was unsaddled and fed, David decided to look in the bunkhouse. Rosie was outside and seemed upset. He walked inside and saw Juaquin on his bed looking pale and barely breathing. He couldn’t get him to answer him when he asked what was wrong. Then he got closer and saw a bite on Juaquin’s hand. Rattlesnake. He called for an ambulance and they said they would send a helicopter. After David turned on all the lights at the ranch, he went out to check on Rosie. She was still upset. He could clearly see her hooves now and on the bottom of one of them, he saw something that frightened him. It was the remains of the rattlesnake. The horse must have stomped it to death. He got the hose and washed away what was left. He closely examined the horse and was relieved to see there were no bites. Rosie was taken back to the barn after the helicopter left with Juaquin.
He was taken to the hospital in Colorado Springs where they were able to give him anti-venom and saved his hand. It took a while for Juaquin to recover. Rosie never left his side.
David would go to the auction on Mondays. Sometimes he had cattle to sell, sometimes he would buy a bull, but mostly, he went to keep up with the latest ranching information. After the auction, some of his old rodeo friends would go get a burger and coffee at the café there or at the new one on the west side called Roosters. He would head home about two-thirty and would drive by the school to see Ruth. She would walk the short block and a half home and usually had her hands full. On Tuesdays, he would come to the co-op and on Wednesdays and Fridays, he would make a trip to town to the post office. It seemed like a perfect place to catch up with the town news. On Thursdays, he would go to Colorado Springs for supplies and would time his return to drive by the school. Lately, Ruth would be walking slower and sometimes, he would park and help her with her heavy bag of papers to grade. They walked in silence and he would leave as soon as he put her bag on the porch. Her hair had gotten a little dull and seemed thinner. Sometimes she had it down. She always had a ponytail so at first, David didn’t recognize her. Her eyes got a little dark around them and she seemed way too thin. Some days, he missed seeing her but felt she must have had to stay to help a struggling student.
Juaquin got better and was the one who went to town a few days a week, so it came as a surprise to David seeing Ruth one afternoon struggling to walk home. Her hands were empty yet it seemed that great effort was taken to put one foot in front of the other. He sat in his truck on the corner and watched her slowly make her way up the street to her house. She didn’t seem to notice him watching her. When she got to the gate, she stopped and rested her hands on top of the gate then rested her head on her hand. David was about to get out of his truck, but she pushed the gate open and went to the porch. Ruth rested at each step then let herself into the house and shut the door.
The next day, she seemed a bit more normal so he just assumed she was just tired.
It was spring and the calves needed to have vaccinations and brands. That was a very busy time at the ranch, so David and Juaquin only went to town for supplies and hurried right back. Spring was warm and beautiful that year. The trees blossomed and the Russian olives that grew by the fence smelled extra sweet. The grass in all the pastures was a bright green and was getting long fast. Some afternoons, there was a short rain shower and those were the best days for David. He would go up the hill after the rain and just breathe the smell of the rich, wet earth. Sometimes on Saturdays, David and Juaquin would ride to the canyons and enjoy the bright colors of the little cutaways and caves. David loved the canyon; he would come there as a boy to draw and when he started to keep notes, he found solace in the hidden gems. He brought Ruth there and fell in love. The memory was so strong that he wrote about it every time he went there. He sometimes swore he could see her shiny blonde ponytail swing behind her as she ran behind a rock to hide from him. He didn’t think he still loved her or that he missed her. He thought about how she didn’t love him and he sometimes would pray that she would be okay.
That weekend, he got to go to the canyon both days. Old Dan wasn’t a fan of the curves and hidden caves. But he loved time with David. When David would dismount, he would stay close to him. On the second day, they brought Rosie along. She seemed to be very nosey and enjoyed a game of hide and seek. She would hide behind a rock and wait for David to come find her. She would hide her head and think he couldn’t see her even though the rest of her body stuck out the other side. Old Dan would go up behind her and give her a nudge, but she waited for David. On the way home, David got Old Dan up to a nice trot. The wind felt good on his face and right next to him was Rosie. Of course, she had no rider, but she moved very fast. Sometimes she would get ahead of them and stop to kick her front feet in the air as if to say to hurry up. Then she would get very still and wait. When they were abreast of her, she would take off again. Her antics made David laugh.
The next day was auction day. David looked forward to Mondays. He would get a breakfast sandwich at the snack bar and a big cup of coffee. He always tried to get there early so he could enjoy the quiet before the crowd came. From the snack bar, he could see the school. Sometimes he could see Ruth walking towards the doors but not that day. The auction was over around noon and after lunch and iced tea with his friends at Rooster, David headed back towards the ranch. As usual, he drove by the school. He parked on Boulder Street so she could see him and wave but she didn’t show up. He waited a little longer and drove home. That night, he called her but there was no answer.
The next day was co-op day. He needed to get some pellets and treats for the horses. Also, he needed some rope for Old Dan’s bridle. He stopped again on his way home and Ruth wasn’t there. By Friday, he became concerned and decided to ask Barry at the post office if he had seen her. Barry and Ruth were good friends ever since he helped her to decorate the house on Boulder Street. He would know about her. Maybe she was on vacation. When he walked in, he could tell something was wrong. Before he could ask, Barry started talking. Several times he had to tell him to slow down. Barry said that Ruth had missed school for a few days, but yesterday, she went. It took her almost an hour to walk the block and a half and she was late. Someone had to open the door for her and when she walked inside, she collapsed. The fire department sent paramedics, but they were afraid to move her. A helicopter came to the fairgrounds and very carefully, everyone who could helped to carry her to the waiting helicopter and gingerly loaded her on it. They were afraid to jostle her or do anything that might make her stop breathing again. David’s eyes were wide open and he had to make Barry repeat the story before he understood. He told David that they took her to Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs and he should go as fast as he can. He was crying as he begged David to go. He handed him the phone to call the ranch and let Juaquin know and asked him to call him when he knew something. Ruth was Barry’s best friend and he was so worried. David had the new truck and was able to get there in less than forty-five minutes. He checked in at the main desk and found out Ruth was in ICU. He didn’t like hospitals and the alcohol smell made him nauseous, but he hardly noticed it that day. He almost ran to the ICU and when he arrived, he spoke with the nurses before they let him in to see her.
The nurses told him that Ruth had become run down for years. She had a few things that made her ill but never recovered. David was shocked. He lived with her and never knew she was sick. Then they said that her job and working in the summer took its toll. She became so sick, run down, and weak that she developed pneumonia. She tried to rest but thought she was needed at work. That was when she collapsed. He asked how she was at that moment. The nurse shook her head and said they couldn’t even tell him she would make it through the night. David entered the room. Ruth was on a respirator and looked so small, frail, and weak. He sat down and held her hand. It was cold
and so small. He started to talk to her. He told her to get well. To fight and get strong and he would be there to help her. She was not alone. After a while, she opened her eyes and managed to squeeze his hand back. He stayed all night with her, only leaving her side to get a drink or call the ranch. He even gingerly laid down on the bed next to her then held and comforted her. He tried to get all of his strength to go and help her make it through the night. He still loved her and didn’t know it until he held her in his arms and prayed for her.
About midnight, the doctor came in and listened to her lungs. He told David she was improving and to keep praying. David prayed through the night and fell asleep holding her in his strong arms. Two days later, she was breathing on her own and had a tighter grip on his hand. Juaquin came to the hospital with clothes for David and sat with Ruth while he showered and changed. Ruth was feeling well enough to sit up a while and her face lit up for Juaquin. He brought his guitar and played a little song he wrote about a silly horse who eats peanut butter cookies. This made her smile.
As she got stronger, she decided to talk to David. She told him how tired she was and it got worse for her. How she cared for her students, but found that she had nothing left to give at home. She knew she wasn’t well, she had to admit to David that she kept it from him. His mother was a very strong woman and nothing got her down. Ruth was embarrassed to admit her frailty. She said the weekends at the house would be spent resting so she could make it to work and she lost that battle. She was sad about losing him. She cried everyday but was so ashamed to admit it. David just held her hand and said it’s okay. After a while, they both could smile at each other. They understood.
Ruth continued to get better. David went home to get things ready for her. He told her that he wanted to make her well and asked her to come home with him. She agreed and told him how grateful she was. After ten days, she was allowed to go home with David. Juaquin and David went to get her and take her home. Juaquin got her clothes and personal things from her house. He opened the refrigerator to clean it out and saw there wasn’t anything in there. He was so surprised. He would make sure Ruth ate and was determined to feed her till she got all her strength back and was the pretty girl David brought to the ranch. The nurses fussed over Ruth that morning. She was on death’s door and then a miracle happened. They brushed her thin golden hair and put it in her signature ponytail. She said she hadn’t had one in months and it felt so good. Her dress was too big and the nurses pinned it in the back so she wouldn’t look so thin. They met the truck in front of the doors and David carefully lifted her out of the wheelchair and into the truck. Juaquin placed pillows around her to keep her steady and they slowly made their way back to the ranch. The road crews heard she was going home and had graded the dirt road to rid it of washboards and make her ride smooth. The neighbors made food and brought flowers. It was good to have Ruth at Ironwood again.
David called the school and said her recovery was most important and she would probably not be back for the rest of the year. They were so concerned and asked him to give her their best. When he hung up, he felt bad that she would probably never return to teaching. Her health and happiness were more important. He just didn’t have the heart to say it out loud to them yet.
Ruth was so happy to be home. For a few weeks, she remained indoors but every chance he got, David would open all the windows and doors to give her fresh air. Juaquin took on the role of cook and soon, Ruth’s strength started to return. Rosie heard Ruth’s voice and would go to the house everyday as if to stand guard over the woman she loved. After two weeks, David started to carry Ruth out to the porch to sit in her rocker. She was still unsteady on her feet but being in David’s strong arms gave her strength. David would spend hours brushing her long blonde hair until it finally started to get that familiar shine. At night, he would rub her thin shoulders and then hold her until she fell asleep. Then he would just lie there, count her breaths, and give thanks that she was alive and with him. While Ruth was on the porch, Rosie would sometimes come up the steps and put her head on the lap of the woman she loved. She was more like a big puppy instead of a horse. But she was so gentle and sometimes Ruth would fall asleep with her hand resting on Rosie’s face. When that happened, Juaquin would come out and carefully lead the horse back to the barn. It didn’t help, because a few minutes later, she would be back to watch over Ruth.
Ruth got stronger every day and even put a few pounds back on. The doctor would come out to Ironwood to visit her and was amazed at the progress she was making on her journey from death’s door. She was able to walk to the porch by herself and to feed carrots to Rosie. Summer was coming, the breeze was warm and the sunsets were spectacular. David would sometimes drive her up to the bench on the hill to watch the sunset over the Rockies. She would be exhausted but happy as she held his hand and rested her head on his broad shoulders.
On the day David heard her singing in the kitchen and saw she finally put her Ropers back on, he went out for a long ride. He took two notebooks that day and filled them up with feelings. All the things that happened the last few years without Ruth, how he told himself it was okay, and how for two years he never wrote a word about her as if she never existed those two years. If he had written about her, he would have seen he still loved her and would have fallen apart. Now he couldn’t get enough of writing about her. He sat on Old Dan and wrote on the front and back of each page in tiny perfect letters. He sharpened his pencil with his father’s old pocketknife and when there was only an inch left, he took another from his pocket. David would let Old Dan eat some prairie grass and would look all around. When he had almost filled both books, he started to cry. He knew what he had to do. If he didn’t say something to her, he would burst. His heart was full and he remembered his mother told him to let it out before it made his heart burst.
It was late in the afternoon when he finally got back to the house. He didn’t see Ruth on the porch. He took Old Dan to the barn, removed his saddle, brushed him, and got him fresh food and water. As he turned to leave the barn, he heard a soft familiar giggle coming from the corral behind the barn. He looked in Rosie’s stall and saw she was missing. As he stepped out into the corral, he stopped and ducked back into the shadow of the barndoor. He could see Rosie. He also saw Ruth. She was walking the pretty red horse and every once in a while, Rosie would stop and nuzzle Ruth and tickle her neck with a lick. Ruth would giggle like he remembered and reach into her apron pocket to get a big carrot and feed it to Rosie. David didn’t want to interrupt them playing, so he backed up and went back to the house. Once there, he put his notebooks away and made two tall glasses of sun tea and went out to sit in the rocker on the porch. Soon, he saw Ruth walking towards him with her golden hair swinging behind her. Her Ropers were dirty and her apron pockets were empty. She was beautiful in her jeans and Ropers and all he could do was smile. Ruth’s face lit up when she saw the still handsome cowboy holding out a glass of cold tea for her. She started to sit on her own rocking chair and changed her mind. She sat on David’s lap. After taking a long cool drink, she put her glass down and wrapped her arms around his neck. He noticed she put a few pounds back on and no longer felt like a good wind could carry her away. Ruth kissed his cheek and told David how she spent her day and how all of a sudden, she felt better than she had in years.
She wanted to thank him, but when she looked into his beautiful eyes, she could only say how much she loved him. She said if he didn’t love her back after all she put him through, she understood, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. David stood her up and stood in front of her. He took her trembling chin on one hand and made her look at him. He told her that she never needed to apologize for saying how she felt. The new rule in the house was to speak up and no one will judge. Then he told her that he never stopped loving her and was so scared he would lose her for good. And if it was okay with her, he wanted to say how he felt now. With that, he got on one knee and said he never could exist another day without her and if she wo
uld be his wife again, he would protect her from anything that would come her way again. He wanted to love her until the day he died.
Ruth was so happy, the words just squeaked out. “Yes” came in little whispers and got louder and louder.
Two days later, the minister and Juaquin were on top of the hill witnessing them tell each other just how deep their love went. The only other witness was Rosie. It wasn’t the cowboy wedding they had the first time but that time, they both asked God to help them to remember that moment and to get them through hard times. They knew life would go on…
As they finished their private vows, Ruth reached into her skirt pocket and took out an envelope. She handed it to her husband and he read it then gave it to the minister to deliver. It was a letter to the principal at the school. Ruth resigned.
Chapter 8
The ranch was booming; beef commercials were all over televisions. David had full-time help and the teenagers from surrounding ranches came to work for him during busy times. Summer was always busy, he even hired a cook for the summer. It was the guy named Robert who cooked for events at the fairgrounds and for the rodeo. He cooked basic foods but surprised them with pasta dishes or fried chicken. He was well known for his smoked turkey, so David made him an offer and put him up in his dad’s old workshop. He built a kitchen in the one-room house and put in a bed and bathroom. Amazing things came out of that workshop and it showed all over the ranch, from the front gate to the chairs and even the hand-carved hat pegs in the tack room. Now it was put back to use and just in time.
The Winter's Trail Page 8