The Cowboy’s Bride Collection: 9 Historical Romances Form on Old West Ranches
Page 18
Of course, both he and Cait had been working from dawn to dusk trying to get more horses ready for the cavalry buyer. Lawson sent a telegram to let Angus know he would be here two days from now. With the extra work, there hadn’t been any time to be alone with Cait.
“Easy, Beauty.” Cait’s crooning voice drifted from the other corral. Jonas couldn’t help himself. He ground tied the sorrel and crossed to the fence where he could watch her at work. He rested his arms on the top board and drank in the sight. He almost missed the soft footfalls in the corral beside him.
“She’s got the gift, hasn’t she?” Angus leaned his forearms on the board near Jonas.
“She does at that.” Jonas watched as Cait crooned to the mare, running her hands over the withers and down the animal’s legs. The skittish black calmed, relaxing under the gentle touch. “I don’t think I would tell Cait, but she’s a much better horse trainer than I am.”
“You’ve changed your methods since you started here.” Angus glanced over at Jonas.
“I like her approach to getting to know the horse before you climb on. She has more success in getting them to listen. They don’t fight so much.” Jonas shrugged. “Of course, I still climb in the saddle much earlier than Cait would.”
“You tame more horses than she does, which we need right now. Those locoweed mounts may never recover enough.” Angus tugged his hat lower. “With the hard work you and Cait have put in since we got the telegram from Lawson, we should have enough stock ready.”
“Then I’d better get back to work.” Jonas tore his gaze from Cait and turned back toward the horse he’d been breaking. “We’ve both been keeping long hours. By tomorrow, I should have at least four more ready to go.”
“Good. I’ll leave you to it.” Angus strode across the corral and slipped through the gate.
Jonas tried to keep his mind on his work, but concern for Angus and the ranch, combined with a desire to be with Cait, stole his concentration. The sorrel seemed to know this and landed him in the dust again. Every bone in his body ached like he was ninety years old. If he kept up this pace, he wouldn’t make it to thirty, let alone a more genteel age.
Jonas had his head under the pump, cool water washing the grit from his hair and face, when he heard hoofbeats—a lot of them—coming up the road. He swept his hair back and wiped the moisture from his eyes. A large contingent of cavalrymen milled outside the corral where Cait still worked. Angus, looking grim, crossed the yard toward them. Dread sat like a stone in Jonas’s gut. He stalked over to join Angus, praying this wasn’t Lawson. Praying he wouldn’t refuse to buy the horses because of Cait.
“Lawson.” Angus held out his hand. The weight inside Jonas grew heavier.
“Sullivan.” The cavalry officer shook hands and then gestured toward the corral. “I thought I was specific when I said I didn’t want any animals trained by a girl. You said you had another trainer coming in to work the horses.”
“I do. This is Jonas Hall. He’s been here for several weeks now working with the animals. We have several head ready to go.” Angus motioned toward the herd of horses as Jonas shook hands with Lawson.
“So, is this a special horse your girl is working?” Lawson asked.
“My daughter is not a young girl. She’s very gifted in training horses.” Angus clenched his fists. Cait exited the corral to stand beside her father. Jonas could see both hurt and outrage warring within her.
“Has she been training the animals you intend to sell to me?” Lawson’s small eyes narrowed farther.
“Yes, she has.” Angus held up one hand. “We needed to get them trained quickly. We lost some of the herd to locoweed poisoning. In order to have enough for you, both Cait and Jonas have put in long hours.”
Lawson’s mouth thinned so that his lips disappeared. The man resembled a starved cadaver. “In that case, we are wasting our time here.”
“What?” Cait stepped forward. Angus placed a hand on her arm. Cait visibly struggled to contain her anger. She swung around, let out a low whistle, and as soon as Poppy came trotting up with her colt, Cait jumped astride and took off. The cavalrymen stared after her.
Lawson’s pig eyes became slits. He looked back at Angus. “She rides without any tack? The horse doesn’t throw her?”
Angus grinned as he watched his daughter ride away. “Cait can do anything with that mare. In fact, she can do anything with most any horse she’s trained.” Jonas wanted to tell Angus to be careful what he said to Lawson. He didn’t trust the officer.
“I’ll take your herd on one condition.” Lawson didn’t take his gaze from Cait’s retreating back. “You sell me that mare and foal along with the horses you have ready.”
“I can’t sell that mare. She belongs to Cait.” Angus shook his head as if to emphasize the words. Jonas wanted to shout an objection. Instead, he began to pray. Cait would never forgive her father if he sold her horse, but without the sale of the herd they would lose the ranch.
Tears tracked down Cait’s cheeks as Poppy trotted over the hills north of the ranch. The colt gamboled beside them, his stilt-like legs still a bit awkward. A rabbit jumped up in front of the colt and bounded away. The baby leaped into the air and almost tumbled to his knees when he landed. Cait wasn’t sure if he wanted to run away or give chase, but his antics made her laugh.
She swiped the moisture from her face and slowed Poppy to a walk. She felt a nudge of some sort inside her, as if she should be doing something, but couldn’t quite figure out what. Cait frowned in thought as Poppy meandered over the dry hills.
Thoughts of Jonas made her smile. She could see him stopping in the middle of his training, bowing his head for a few minutes, and then resuming his work. Praying. Jonas had been praying. Realization made Cait’s mouth fall open. She should be taking this time to talk with God. Wasn’t that what Jonas encouraged her to do? Anytime she had a problem, or if something went right, she should talk to God about it. “God doesn’t just want to hear from us when we’re in dire straits. He loves to hear from us anytime.” She could see the enthusiasm that lit Jonas from within as he shared with her.
“Okay, God.” Cait hesitated. Should she climb off the horse and kneel on the ground? Would God be mad if she talked to Him in the wrong way? The reminder of Jonas stopping his work to pray gave her clarity. God wanted to hear from her. If she talked to Him from her heart, He would listen.
“God, You know how much this ranch means to my dad. He’s worked so hard. My mother and my baby brother are buried here. Please don’t let us lose this ranch.” She closed her eyes as memories of her mother and baby brother, lying together in the bed, cold and gray, washed over her. She’d been so young when they died, yet the memory and accompanying hurt still came from time to time.
“If You can help Lawson to change his mind and buy the horses, please do that. If not, maybe we could sell them some other way.” She swallowed hard. “And, if I’m not asking too much, could you help the poisoned horses so we don’t have to put any more of them down.” Her heart ached at the thought of the horses that had been shot because they were too sick and dying anyway. She turned Poppy toward home.
Back in the pasture, the comforting scent of horse had Cait leaning into her mare for a moment before turning her loose. The colt, anxious to nurse, trotted beside his mother, reaching his nose toward her udder. The cavalrymen were gone. The herd of horses was still here. Cait tried to ignore the ache of loss as she realized her father would lose his dream of keeping the ranch. She trudged toward the house wondering how anything could be worse than this.
The aroma of stew and fresh-baked bread filled the house. Cait breathed deep, her stomach growling. She heard the low rumble of men’s voices—Jonas and her father. She couldn’t face them right now but headed for her room to clean up. Her limbs seemed to be made of stone, too heavy to carry.
“Cait, as soon as you wash up, come for supper.” Angus didn’t sound as upset as she thought he would. There was a tone to his voice,
but Cait was too tired to worry about the meaning.
Jonas stood and held her chair when she entered the dining room. His hand brushed her shoulder as if giving her silent encouragement. She touched his fingers with her own.
“Eat, Caitie.” Angus sliced a piece of bread for her.
“Did Lawson leave?” Cait picked up her spoon to stir the stew. The rich aroma soothed her.
“He and his men are bedding down about a mile from here, over by the stream.” Angus nodded in the direction of the tiny stream that was still flowing through their land. “They’ll be back in the morning.”
Cait swallowed her bite of bread so fast she almost choked. Hope spread through her. “So they’re buying the herd after all?” She couldn’t help the excitement that built inside her. For some reason, Jonas didn’t seem happy. Cait wondered why. Was he upset that his job here had ended? She hadn’t thought about what he would do after he finished working for her father. The notion dampened her delight over saving the ranch.
“They are buying the herd.” Angus cupped his coffee mug in his large hands. “Lawson wanted to buy only the horses Jonas broke, but we convinced him to buy them all.”
“That’s wonderful.” Joy rushed through Cait. God had answered her prayer. “Does this mean he’ll be okay with me training the stock in the future?”
Angus shifted and didn’t meet her gaze. He wasn’t telling her something. Jonas lifted his head to look at her. The sorrow in his eyes dampened her excitement.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Cait placed her spoon back in the bowl of stew and folded her hands in her lap. She braced herself for the worst, although she couldn’t imagine anything worse than losing the ranch.
“Caitie.” Angus cleared his throat. “Caitie, the only way Lawson would agree to buy the herd… well, I had to agree to sell Poppy and her colt to him, too.”
Cait froze. Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She couldn’t breathe.
“Caitie, if we don’t sell to him, we lose everything. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.” The torment in her father’s voice told Cait how hard this decision had been. But, Poppy? Poppy?
She jumped to her feet. Her chair crashed to the floor. She raced out the door. Heavy footsteps pounded behind her. Jonas. She whirled around, and he engulfed her in his embrace.
Chapter 9
Jonas, I prayed, but God didn’t hear me.” Cait trembled in his arms. Jonas leaned his head against hers and tightened his hold. God, give me the right words. You know how I love Cait. She’s so new to knowing You, Lord. Help me encourage her.
“Cait, sweetheart.” Jonas had to stop and consider how the endearment sounded. How many times had he dreamed of holding Cait and talking to her as he had to no other girl. Thank You, God.
“Cait, God loves you, and He did hear you.” He felt her shudder in his arms.
“Then why did this happen? Why do we have to sell Poppy? I know Papa didn’t want to but felt he had no choice.” Cait tilted her head back, her lips soft and full. Kissable.
“I don’t know for sure.” Jonas placed his fingertip across Cait’s lips to halt her questions. “I don’t know why God allows some things to happen, but I know He loves us and will watch over us. He wants us to learn to trust Him. Do you remember last Sunday service when the pastor talked about the scripture in First Timothy that says to not trust in uncertain riches?”
She nodded. “He said to trust in God, who gives richly all things to enjoy. I’ve thought a lot about that verse and how God has given me so much to be thankful for, things I took for granted until now.”
“That’s right.” Jonas kissed her forehead. “Trust Him, Cait. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try. It hurts so much to lose Poppy. She’s more than a horse to me; she’s a friend.” Tears glittered in Cait’s eyes.
“Let me be your friend.” Jonas kissed her temple. “Cait, I know I messed everything up years ago, but I’ve changed. Can you see that?”
She nodded. He snugged her tight against him and kissed her. He ran his fingers over her hair, loving the silken feel and wishing he could take out her braid. “Cait, I promise to never leave you again.”
“Jonas.” Cait pulled away. She stared at him as if she’d never seen him before. He wanted to ask if she felt the same for him that he felt for her but feared her answer. In the past weeks since he’d been here, his feelings for her had deepened to the point he didn’t know what he’d do if she rejected him again. She raised up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his, stealing his thoughts.
Jonas noted the drop in temperature when Cait shivered in his arms. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed her arms to warm her. “I should let you go inside.”
She started to pull away, but he stopped her. He’d been encouraging Cait to trust God, but he hadn’t been trusting. God had been nudging him to ask Cait to marry him, but Jonas had been holding back out of fear of rejection. He took a deep breath and went down on one knee. Cait’s eyes widened.
“Cait, I came here wanting to win your love. I hurt you years ago, and for that I’m so sorry. I want you to know I love you more than I can ever say. Will you have me? Will you be my wife?” Jonas dug in his pocket for the ring that had belonged to his mother and held it up. The stone glinted in the moonlight.
“Jonas.” Cait touched a fingertip to the ring. Her full lips rounded then parted in a smile. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Jonas slipped the ring on her finger, leaped to his feet, and pulled her close again. “Cait, I love you.”
“I love you, too, Jonas.” Her sweet kiss made it almost impossible for him to say good night.
The next day, Jonas kept his arm around Cait as she watched her favorite horse, herded along with the rest of the stock away from the ranch. He felt tremors running through her as she stayed strong. She would refuse to break down in front of Lawson and his men.
He could also see how hard this was on Angus. He knew he was breaking his little girl’s heart, but there was no other choice. He’d tried again to change Lawson’s mind, but the man wouldn’t budge. The little palomino colt gamboled along beside his mother, oblivious to all the heartache in those left behind.
“Cait, I…” Angus lifted his hat and ran a hand over his hair. “I’m just so sorry. I know how much you loved the mare.”
“It’s okay, Papa. We had to save the ranch. There will be other horses.” The moisture in Cait’s eyes and the hollowness of her cheeks told a different story. Jonas thought he would give anything to keep her from this hurt.
“With all this sadness, I hear there is some good news.” Angus smiled at Jonas. “Caitie told me you proposed to her last night and she said yes. I believe that is worth a bit of celebration.” Angus clapped Jonas on the shoulder. “Come up to the house and we’ll make some plans for the wedding.”
For the rest of the afternoon, Jonas listened to Cait, Angus, and Martha discuss plans for the nuptials. Angus insisted they marry soon and live in the main house.
“Papa, we can wait and build our own house or see where Jonas wants to go.” Cait sent him a shy glance.
“I’d love to stay here and help with the ranch. I have nowhere else I’d rather be.” Jonas squeezed Cait’s hand. She had relaxed some but still hadn’t returned to her normal sassy self. That might take awhile. In the meantime, as they had been talking, he’d been thinking. A seed of an idea had sprouted. He might have a plan to bring the light back into Cait’s eyes.
The days flew by. Cait hadn’t been this busy when she’d been training horses all day, frantic to get done in time for the cavalry buyer to show up. To tell the truth, she would much rather be out working with the horses, sweating and getting dirty, than inside helping Martha sew her wedding dress and plan a party.
She never realized all the details that went into a wedding. The dress. The cleaning. The food. No wonder women only married once. Who would want to do this over again? Not her, that was for sure. The only bright spot in her day was the ev
ening when she and Jonas would go for a walk after supper. The evening cool. Her hand in his. A few sweet kisses. Her cheeks heated as she thought about how much she enjoyed those kisses.
Most of the time she didn’t think much about Poppy. At least, that’s what she’d told her father. She hated for him to feel guilty over something that couldn’t be helped. Although she confided in Jonas that she missed her mare, she tried to make light of the loss. If only Keira were here. She’d always been able to tell her sister anything, no matter how petty or self-serving, and Keira never judged her.
Tonight, she would sit down and write to Keira. Even if she didn’t post the letter, she could put all her feelings and angst into the missive. Maybe doing that would relieve the deep sadness she couldn’t seem to shake.
“Ouch!” Cait stuck her pricked finger in her mouth. God, if You cared, You would deliver me from this sewing. As she thought the prayer, Cait realized how selfish she sounded. She shouldn’t bother God with such trivial matters as her dislike for feminine arts.
“Here, let me have that before you ruin it altogether.” The housekeeper reached for the dress and the tin of beads. “Tomorrow I can finish sewing on these beads and maybe even straighten up a few that seem to have wandered away from the pattern.” She winked, and Cait knew the woman understood this wasn’t Cait’s favorite pastime. Far from it.
She was outside gulping in fresh air before she realized God had answered her prayer. Cait laughed. “You do care. I know You do, God. I can see it in a hundred ways. Thank You.”
Picking up her skirts, Cait almost flew across the yard to the barn. She slowed before she reached the building as the realization that Poppy wouldn’t be there to greet her hit home. This happened every time. Every. Single. Time. She still ran to the barn with the expectation of seeing her mare, and the baby, only to have disappointment crush her.