“Cole!” Sadie screamed and raced for them. “Stop! Justin, no!”
Justin leapt to his feet and dove at Cole, tackling him to the floor.
The fire, fed by splattered kerosene, crawled up the heavy drapes on the only window in the room. Both curtains on the ten-foot window were engulfed almost instantly. Heath hesitated for just one moment. Should he break up the fight or keep the house from burning down around their ears?
He went for the fire while another fist thudded.
“Cole! Justin! Please!” Sadie’s high-pitched screaming was almost lost in the crackling fire. Heath yanked the curtains down and stomped on them.
Fire crawled along the floor in a path between the lamp and the overstuffed couch. It’d been splattered with kerosene too, so it’d go next.
“Sadie, leave them!” Heath shouted, stomping the fire frantically. He saw Cole roll, and now Justin was on top, slamming a fist into his brother’s face. “Don’t let the couch burn.”
Heath’s heavy denim pants blackened at the hem, and he knew they were seconds away from bursting into flames. Burns were a brutal kind of pain, and fire left terrible scars. Heath had seen his brother Seth’s scarred back, so he knew just how bad it could be.
Another line of fire headed toward a basketful of kindling. He rushed to the window and threw it open, reached for the smoldering drapes, ignored his burning hands, and hurled the curtains outside. He shoved his head out the window to make sure he’d heaved the burning fabric far enough to clear the house. No sense starting the outside of the house on fire.
Satisfied, he charged the basket of kindling. He whipped it out of the path of the hungry, crackling blaze and set the whole basket on top of Chance’s desk.
With no time to think it out, he tore his shirt off his back and beat at the fire. Sadie had grabbed a small rug and was pounding on the fire heading toward her tumbling, punching brothers.
“Stop punching each other and help us, you two fools,” Heath roared. He didn’t stop his own combat to see if they heard him. He fought back the fast-moving yellow-and-orange monster and almost had it beat when a sudden dash of ice-cold water landed on his head.
“What?” He gasped and stepped back to see Rosita had just doused the fire and him with it. She’d saved half of the bucketful she’d thrown on him for Sadie’s part of this fight. Rosita seemed more careful with Sadie.
“Step back.” Rosita must have used that voice in Sadie’s childhood, because her obedience was instant. Rosita doused the last of the flames, then picked up a second bucket. Heath looked around, wondering where it was most needed.
Rosita dumped it out with unnecessary force right on top of Cole and Justin.
The shouts separated the two men.
“Both of you—on your feet.” Rosita’s voice could have commanded a cavalry unit. “If you don’t, I promise you I’ll throw the buckets at your heads next.”
Justin swiped his hands across his eyes. Cole shook his head, and water flew everywhere.
“You fight like children while your home burns down?”
“Burns down?” Justin was on his feet instantly, Cole only a step behind.
They blinked at the blackened carpet and the smashed lamp, and both men had the sense to look sheepish.
Heath pulled his shirt back on and found burn holes that showed his woolen shirt beneath enough that it wasn’t even decent to wear. Embarrassed to be standing in front of Sadie and Rosita in his longhandles, he tore the charred shirt off in disgust. “You’re a pair of fools to fight like that and say ugly words to each other.”
Both brothers whirled on Heath and glared at him, their chests heaving. Maybe the next fist thrown would be at him. Well, he’d say his piece, and if they started swinging, he wasn’t in any mood to turn the other cheek.
“You have no choice but to live together. Starting today. Your pa says you’re to sleep tonight under his roof. That’s why he didn’t want you riding away before you heard his will. If you leave, ownership of the ranch goes to your cousin Mike.”
Sadie looked at her brothers, fearful and sad. She seemed so alone, the only one of the Bodens using her head right now.
Striding over to the desk, Heath moved the kindling box, then rolled up the parchment and set it aside, wishing he were anywhere but here. He braced his hands on the desk and leaned forward, furious. He almost hoped someone swung on him.
“You may not like how he’s gone about it, but your pa is a good man. I’ve only worked here a few months and I already figured that out. If you’ve known him all your life”—he bellowed the word and hammered the side of his fist on the desk—“and haven’t figured it out, then you’re both idiots. Your father loves you.” It was odd to speak of love in all this turmoil, but it had to be said. “In the middle of all your fussing, try to remember he loves you. It may feel like a trap, but nothing could hold you here if you didn’t love this land. You’re lucky.”
“Lucky?” Cole and Justin said the word in unison, crossed their arms, and glared at Heath.
“That’s right,” said Heath. “I speak as a man whose father didn’t love him and didn’t care if he brought his children together. In fact, my pa did his best to keep us all apart.”
All three of the Bodens looked at him, maybe startled by the personal statement, but Heath didn’t care if he was stepping on the toes of their fancy, rich boots. Suddenly he was furious with all of them, Sadie included.
“You are fools if you don’t know what you have in a father’s love.” Calling them fools made his words worse than they might have been, but he didn’t regret a single one of them. “Yes, lucky. Blessed. You’re all blessed. And part of that blessing is that, starting right now, you’re locked up here at the ranch until one year from today. If you’re really that stubborn and selfish that you can’t do that for a pa who loves you, then you’ll lose everything and you’ll all deserve it.”
Heath slapped both hands down flat on Chance’s desk and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.
5
Sadie watched Heath storm out, shocked and oddly thrilled. It took a real man with a heavy dose of courage to speak that way to his bosses.
And Sadie had lived her whole life surrounded by real men. Both her brothers were strong, and her pa as well, and had spines as tough as the Rocky Mountains. All three were hard and smart and decent.
She’d hardly ever met a man who could match them. Heath Kincaid was such a man.
All three of the Bodens could be considered Heath Kincaid’s boss, and certainly a word from any of them would send him packing. And if they did, Heath would ride off and find a job punching cattle somewhere else and be a top hand.
That wasn’t the real reason Sadie had no interest in seeing him go. But the real reason was murky, and she didn’t want to see through the fog just yet. For right now she only knew Heath was good for the CR.
She stood there, watching after him, and wondered how she could arrange to see him again.
“Justin.” Cole’s much calmer voice turned Sadie’s attention. “Living out here doesn’t suit me, but I’ll do it. I know as well as you that we have no choice in the matter. We have to save the CR.”
Heath’s fury seemed to have drained the last of the anger from the room.
Justin nodded, scowling. His lip was bleeding and he was soaking wet. “You’re not the only one who has to sacrifice for this, you know.”
Cole’s dark brows slammed down over eyes that were puffy and would probably be black in the morning, his calm broken. “What sacrifice are you making? I’m giving up a house and my independence. Sadie’s giving up a job she loves, a job she believes God wants her to do.”
Sadie didn’t remember agreeing to stay, but neither of her brothers expected any trouble from her. They just assumed she would cooperate. Assumed correctly—but neither of them was worried about what she might decide. She was tempted to do something to scare the life out of them, like saddle up and ride away.
&nbs
p; “I’m gonna have to do something as hard or harder than either of you,” said Justin.
Cole shook his head. “No, you’re not.”
“What are you doing that’s so hard, Justin?” Sadie faced her brother.
“I’m going to have to live with the two of you!”
Sadie and Cole both took a threatening step forward. Then Justin grinned.
Sadie went from furious to giggling in the twinkling of an eye.
Cole chuckled, then broke out into a full laugh. The three of them laughed so hard, Sadie realized, that it was too hard. Their emotions were wrecked by what they’d lived through today, and as quickly as she’d started laughing, she started crying.
She buried her face in her hands. Strong arms came around her and she looked up to see Cole holding her.
“He does love us, baby sister,” Cole assured. “You know how he’s always talked of leaving this land as a legacy to us. Heath was right about that being a blessing. It’s right to do this for Pa and Ma both. I wonder what Heath went through to make him say such a thing.”
Cole met her eyes, then turned to Justin. “Sadie and I are here to stay. Maybe we’ll like home so much we’ll stay forever, and you won’t ever get rid of us.”
Justin laughed, but it had a ragged tone. Sadie looked at him. His eyes were moist, yet no tears fell. Or if they did, he could blame it on the bucket of water Rosita had thrown. This was the toughest of the tough men.
Justin extended his hand.
Cole let go of Sadie with one arm so he could shake hands with his little brother.
Seeing their hands entwined made Sadie reach out and rest her hand on top of theirs. “We’re united then. To save the CR.”
“Yep. Just like Pa wants us to be, the old coot.” There was affection in Justin’s voice when he said it. “It won’t always be easy to get along, but I wouldn’t want to live here alone anyway, with Ma and Pa gone for who knows how long.”
There was a stretch of silence, and Sadie was thinking, at least for Pa, it might be forever. She suspected they all were thinking the same thing.
Finally Justin broke the silence. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Her brother sounded sincere, and Sadie realized he really meant it.
Alonzo Deval came running into the room, looking so upset it made Sadie’s heart lurch. Had someone else been hurt?
“I just heard about your pa. They said he’s been taken away.”
Sadie relaxed a bit. Alonzo had become a good friend. His concern helped to dispel what remained of the tension in the room.
“I’m so sorry he was hurt.” Alonzo strode up to Justin and grasped his shoulder. Sadie and Cole stepped away to avoid getting run down. Instead he turned sad eyes on them. “He’ll heal. Chance Boden is a strong man, and he won’t let this get the best of him.”
He reached out a hand to Cole, who shook it with a nod. “Thank you.”
Then Alonzo turned to Sadie. An uncertain look flashed through his eyes then. As if he couldn’t stop himself, he pulled Sadie into his arms and gave her a brief but firm hug.
Sadie held her breath. Alonzo always had a strange effect on her. With his black hair, black eyes, and sharply sculpted face, he was so handsome it was almost startling. But she’d never quite been able to define how she reacted. Was she interested or just able to appreciate his good looks? Somehow it sent a shiver of some deep memory through her, though she had no idea why.
Alonzo had made it clear, in a very proper way, that he would welcome her regard. Even so, she’d kept her distance. Now, however, she quietly let him hug her.
Stepping back, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t proper.”
Justin slapped Alonzo good-naturedly on the back. They’d become good friends, which was part of why Alonzo had been given the job of ramrod, second in charge after John. He’d even joined the family for Sunday dinner once. He was as good a cowpoke as any on the ranch. He lacked John’s years of experience, but he had the speed and strength of youth. He was as tough as a strip of old leather. Another strong man.
“I saw John. He’s all torn up about this and he took a few hard hits in the avalanche, too.” Alonzo’s eyes glinted with worry. “He agreed to go back to his cabin for the day. Which tells me how hard he’s taking it. Chance is his best friend.”
Much as Alonzo had become Justin’s best friend.
Justin would be taking over until Pa returned. John would remain foreman, yet maybe it was time for a new generation to take the ranch onto their shoulders. Alonzo was the right man for that job.
Sadie felt the balance of old against young. Experience against strength. For a moment her whole world tilted.
“I’ll make sure things run smoothly outside.” Alonzo was burdened with his concern for Pa. “Is there anything else I can do for any of you?”
“Thanks, Alonzo,” Justin answered. “You know how things run around here. I’ll be back at it soon.”
“You okay, John?” Heath had waited a long time, letting himself calm down, before he headed for the foreman’s cabin, where he was now standing outside the door.
Besides John, only Alonzo had his own quarters. The rest of them, ten men this time of year, lived in the bunkhouse together.
Roundup was in the spring. They did a big cattle drive in the fall. Right now the cattle they hadn’t sold were grazing and the need for hands was slight. Heath had signed on in the spring, and cowpokes were mostly wanderers. So it’d been easy to be kept on over the winter.
Heath almost laughed every time he heard the word winter when applied to the New Mexico Territory. Most folks here had no idea what a real winter was.
Hightree swung the door open. He looked grim, and Heath lost every trace of humor. Instead he held up a coffeepot in one hand and had a small pan of stew in the other. “You didn’t come to the bunkhouse for supper. I thought you might like some company.”
John stood silently for too long, looking from the food to the coffee to Heath. Finally he stepped back and said, “C’mon in. Food sounds good. And company sounds better. I’ve been alone with my thoughts long enough.”
Heath stepped into the small cabin. It had everything a man might need, except a wife and children. But Heath didn’t know much about the ranch foreman and thought maybe there was family back along the trail somewhere.
The stove had a fire flickering in its potbelly. The food he’d brought was warm, and keeping it that way was a good idea. The night was chilly, and strong coffee and steaming stew would surely hit the spot.
John quietly set a plate on the table. “You eaten yet?”
“Yep, but a cup of coffee would taste good.”
John grabbed two tin cups and set them in place as Heath poured the coffee and put both pots back on the stove. Then John dished himself up some stew, and both men sat at the table in silence while John ate.
Heath nursed his coffee and got himself a refill just as John finished his meal. “This place gonna be all right with Chance away?”
John didn’t jump right into saying yes, which Heath took as a bad sign. “Lot of history to this place. It goes way back.”
“Boden moved here in the fifties, right?”
“Yep, but it’s a lot older than that even.”
“Older than the boss? How can that be? Did anyone even live out here besides the Indians back then?”
“The CR is what’s left of a huge land grant held in partnership by an old Spaniard named Don Bautista de Val and Francois Chastain. That’s Mrs. Boden’s pa. He was a French-Canadian fur trader, born in Canada, but he lived on the American side of the border, in the Rockies, most of his life. Bautista was a Mexican citizen. Chastain was riding with Bautista when they found a man cornered by some bandits and saved his life. The man ended up being a powerful man, and he arranged the land grant on the condition that Chastain become a Mexican citizen.” John finished his coffee and got up to refill his cup, then topped Heath’s off.
“After the Spanish-Americ
an War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 drove the Spanish and Mexicans out. Then the Compromise of 1850 drove the Texans out. All these old land grants predate those border shifts. There were a lot of folks who tried to claim that no one holding a Spanish land grant had any legal standing, especially two Mexican citizens in the United States of America. The New Mexico territorial governor demanded they become American citizens. Bautista was a wealthy, powerful man back in Mexico City. It enraged him to be told he had to give up his citizenship. He walked away from his half of the land and went home. Chastain was born in Canada, then moved to the United States, then down here to what was then Mexico. Becoming American didn’t bother him much. So he changed his country for the fourth time in his life and hung on, but he was still a little too Mexican to suit the governor and there was always trouble. And here came Chance.” John’s face took on a smile. His pride in his boss was clear.
“Chance, an American born and raised, from Boston, Massachusetts, no less, wanted land of his own and had a lot of money to spend. The Don was gone; the trapper looked to be losing everything. And did I mention that Chastain had a beautiful young daughter?”
Heath grinned. “Nope, you didn’t mention that.”
“Veronica Chastain. I was just a newcomer here. Chance had been here only a little while before Frank Chastain got shot. Señor Frank knew he was dying. He had hopes for Chance and his Veronica, but it was early days and no real courting had begun. He believed a man from Boston could hold the land, so he forced a marriage between them on his deathbed. Although it was a mighty advantageous marriage for Chance, there was no doubt he was interested in Veronica. Cole was only knee-high to a grasshopper and needed a ma. They made a nice family.”
“Cole isn’t Veronica’s son?”
“Not by blood, but you’ve never seen a ma love a boy so much.”
“So having an American in the family helped.” Heath nodded. “Makes sense, I reckon.”
He had no idea of the politics of Spanish land grants, yet he knew Chance Boden, knew his toughness and how smart he was. Heath could well imagine Chance ending up owning the whole thing.
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