“I do, Michael, and you acted with great discretion on that occasion,” said Elizabeth, her eyes twinkling. “You backed out like a gentleman and didn’t start laughing till you got to the house.”
“Sure and the neighbors must have heard me howling.”
“Well, I certainly did.”
Michael climbed into bed next to his wife and pulled her close. “Ah, Elizabeth, it shouldn’t have surprised us, raisin’ such a romantic child. I might have laughed at her and that foolish man she named her colt after…but ‘tis the way I feel about you, mo muirneach. I couldn’t live without my life, I couldn’t live without my soul.” He punctuated his words with soft kisses and with a throaty moan, Elizabeth gave him a passionate response.
Their lovemaking was perhaps less frequent these days than during their first years together, but it never failed to amaze them how deeply they satisfied each other’s desires. Just when Elizabeth thought she could not feel any closer to Michael, a night like this would come along and surprise her.
They lay awake in each other’s arms for a while afterward. Michael had just begun to fall asleep when Elizabeth shifted, and sitting up against the pillows, said: “What do you think is going to happen with Nelson Mackie, Michael?”
“Ah, Elizabeth,” Michael groaned, pulling himself up beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders, “why are ye thinkin’ of that amadan now?”
“I can’t help it. He’s bought off two small cattle ranchers and intimidated the Vigils right off their land. He’s talked to you twice now, hasn’t he?”
“Yes. The first time butter couldn’t melt in his mouth. The second, well, he was a bit more ‘persuasive,’ ” said Michael with a touch of sarcasm.
“Eduardo has seen some of his men up in the hills, hasn’t he?”
“Just ridin’ through, Elizabeth, I’m sure. But he can’t intimidate me the way he did the Vigils, and he knows it.”
“We have worked so hard these past nineteen years, Michael. But with all that, the valley has been a good place to be and we have good neighbors, whether they are sheepherder or cattle ranchers. Then that snake arrived, bringing his hired guns with him. The only problem we ever had before Mackie was the little bit of rustling people did back and forth, and that’s almost over.”
Michael smiled. She was right. Fences had gone up slowly in the valley and the small cattle ranchers were always ‘borrowing’ from their neighbors, till their neighbors ‘borrowed’ back.
“It has been good to us, this valley. And it still will be, Elizabeth.”
“I hope so, Michael, but I am worried about how far Mackie will go to get his way. From what I have heard about his men, especially Juan Chavez…please be careful, Michael,” she said passionately.
“I am always careful, a ghra. You know that. It won’t come to outright violence. Mackie is too smart for that.”
“I wish I felt as sure as you do. And if it does, why, he owns the sheriff in Raman, we all know that.”
“I have seen enough fighting to last me a lifetime, Elizabeth, but if it comes to it, I’ll fight back. We will call in a Federal marshal if we have to.” Michael sighed. “But we are lucky, I’m thinkin’, that we have Gabe Hart.”
“Gabe? He is so quiet and gentle with the horses. He doesn’t say much about himself, but I think he is a good man, Michael.”
“Oh, I think he is too. But for a good man and such a hard worker, he surely has wandered a lot. ‘Tis odd he hasn’t settled down with one outfit.”
“Maybe he just never found the right one for him. Maybe he’s found it now,” she added with a smile. “He should be working with horses, he’s so good with them. And you certainly needed the help.”
Michael slid down and pulled her in front of him. “You finally got your way, a ghra.”
“You work too hard, Michael, for a man your age.”
“A man my age! Ye’re talking like I’m white-haired already.” He was quiet for a moment and then continued. “But you were right, Elizabeth. I did need someone like Gabe around.”
* * * *
Over the next month Michael came to appreciate his new hand even more. The work with the yearlings was proceeding well. They were all broken to the halter except the runt. Gabriel had begun to lunge the two-year-olds, except for Night Sky. But he had finally gotten a halter on the black and was able to lead him around like the yearlings.
Late one afternoon Michael returned from a visit with Eduardo and sat on the corral fence watching Gabriel with Sky. He still needed oats to catch him and halter him, but he did that to the accompaniment of a low, sweet whistle and Michael knew that soon the horse would respond to just the whistle.
When Gabriel had finished walking and trotting him around, he walked over to Michael.
“ ‘Tis a great thing to have a horse that responds to a whistle, Gabe. It saves a man from chasing the bugger early in the morning.”
“I always thought it saved time in the long run,” agreed Gabe with his quick smile.
“Caitlin just about had him halter broke before she left, ye know.”
“She did a good job with him. He’d be unbreakable now if it wasn’t for those early days. She’ll be coming home at the end of this week, won’t she?”
“She will, thanks be to God. I can’t tell you how much her mother has missed her.”
Gabe had come to know Michael well enough to tease him a little. “But not you, Mr. Burke?”
Michael laughed. “Even more than her mother! What about your family, Gabe?” he asked after a moment. “Do ye miss them?”
“I do, Mr. Burke. But my sister Sadie has kept me in touch. We write back and forth. If she didn’t hear from me every few months, I think she’d come tracking me down till she found me and gave me a good scolding.”
“My sister Cait’s like that. She makes sure I know what is going on in Mayo and I keep her in touch with what has happened here.”
“Women are good at that, aren’t they?”
“And thank God they are, boyo. We all need to feel connected, but men don’t work at it like they do.”
They sat on the fence rail quietly for a minute, watching Sky trot around the corral. Then Michael said, with a studied casualness: “So, ye’ve never gone home for a visit, Gabe?”
Gabe looked over at his employer, who had a bland look on his face.
“If you mean could I go home, Mr. Burke, yes, I could. I’m not wanted in Texas.”
“ ‘Tis a long time not to see your family.”
“The problem was, I was wanted in Texas all right,” Gabe continued bitterly, “but not the way you mean.” Gabe surprised himself. He had never told anyone about May. But there was something about the way Michael had asked him: there was no pressure on him, just an invitation to be forthcoming if he wanted to be. “My stepmother was…uh…interested in me.”
“And how old were ye then?”
“Eighteen.”
“That’s a hard thing for a young man to deal with,” Michael said.
Gabriel was touched by the quiet sympathy in Michael’s voice. “I didn’t want my pa to know. It would have hurt him too much, so I just ran off. So did she, two years later, with the man they hired to take my place,” said Gabe with a bitter laugh.
“Ye never found any New Mexico woman to settle down with?”
“There was one, once.”
And it is clear ye’re not going to tell me about her, thought Michael. I can’t imagine ye trust women much, boyo. But he wasn’t going to pry any more than he already had. “You’ve heard about what’s going on in the valley?”
It sounded like a complete change of subject, but Gabriel knew it was not.
“I have. That first day I rode in I could tell there was trouble when I met Eduardo and his shotgun. He wasn’t too friendly till he knew I wasn’t working for Mackie.”
“I’m glad Eduardo sent ye here, Gabe. Elizabeth was right. I needed a man good with horses.” He hesitated. “I may be needin’ a ma
n good with a gun. And one who isn’t running from the law, if we have to call in a marshal,” he added in the same matter-of-fact tone he’d been using all along.
“I’m not running from any law, Mr. Burke. I’ve never done anything they could arrest me for,” responded Gabe. “But I guess I’m as good with a gun as I am with horses,” he added.
“That’s good to know, boyo.” Michael slid off the fence. “Well, I guess we’d better be washing up for dinner.”
Nothing much had been said, but both men understood what was unspoken: Gabe had thrown in his lot with the Burkes, whatever trouble arose.
Ten years running, thought Michael. If it isn’t a woman or the law, then what’s kept ye on the move?
Chapter Four
“Hurry up, Michael, The train arrives at noon.”
“I am hurryin’, Elizabeth. Ow! Now I’ve nicked meself, you’ve got me rushin’ so. We’ll be in Grants in plenty of time.”
Elizabeth smiled when she saw the bit of sticking plaster on her husband’s chin.
“You look very fine this morning, me darlin’,” said Michael, exaggerating his brogue as he put his arms around his wife and gave her a kiss. There was a knock on the door and Elizabeth tried to pull away, but Michael kept her by his side as he called, “Come in.”
“Good morning, Mr. Burke, Mrs. Burke. The horses are all harnessed,” Gabe told them.
“Thanks, Gabe. Ye have the supplies all packed for Eduardo?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll start up after I’ve worked the colts.”
“I appreciate it, Gabe. Usually I’d send Jake, but there’s too much for him to do here.”
Gabe watched them drive off. They sure were excited to have their daughter coming home. This Miss Caitlin Burke must be something.
* * * *
Michael and Elizabeth had an hour to wait in Grants before the train arrived, and Michael spent it pacing back and forth on the platform till people started to look at him strangely.
“Michael, come and sit down next to me,” said his wife.
“I can’t sit, a ghra.”
Thank God they heard the train whistle a few minutes later, or Elizabeth couldn’t have stood it much longer.
Two drummers got off and an elderly woman. “Where is she?” muttered Michael.
At last they saw the conductor helping a very sophisticated young lady down the steps. She was wearing a burgundy lawn dress with a chip straw hat charmingly tilted to one side. She took a coin out of her reticule and handed it to the conductor and stood there, calmly waiting for someone to find her.
Elizabeth’s throat was aching. It was Cait and how happy she was to see her. And oh, how different she looked from the rough-and-tumble country girl they had sent off to Philadelphia.
Michael went up to her and tipping his hat, said, “May I help you with yer bags, miss?”
“Oh, Da!” cried Cait and flung her arms around her father.
Thank goodness she hadn’t changed that much, thought Elizabeth as she hurried over.
Father and daughter pulled away from each other and Elizabeth could see that Michael’s cheeks were wet, as were Cait’s. She opened her arms and her daughter let herself be enfolded in them. “Oh, Ma,” she said shakily, “it’s been so long.” Elizabeth nodded and hugged her daughter even tighter.
“Well,” said Michael, clearing his throat, “is this all ye have?”
“No, Da. There’s another valise that the conductor is bringing. I have a few more things coming home than I did leaving.”
“I guess so,” said her mother, stepping back and looking at Cait’s dress. “And all so fashionable they’ll put us all to shame, I’ll be bound.”
Cait blushed. “This was a going-away present from Susan Beecham,” she said, smoothing the burgundy lawn. “And I have bought a few dresses with the money I made helping out the younger girls.”
“Sure and ye’ll be the belle of the valley, Cait,” said Michael, picking up her bags. “Just wait till the next dance. We’ll have to drive off all the young men. Unless there’s one you especially like!”
“Now, Michael, we just got her back,” scolded Elizabeth. “I want to enjoy her being home first, without thinking of when she’ll be marrying.”
Cait felt a pang of guilt as she listened to her parents. It was going to be hard to tell them that they only had her for the summer and that her marriage would come sooner than they thought.
When they got to the wagon, Elizabeth said, “You sit up front next to your Da, Cait.”
“I’m fine in the back, Ma.”
“No, no,” said her mother, climbing into the back seat, “that way I can enjoy both of you.”
Elizabeth was relieved to hear Cait’s enthusiasm as she chatted about her train ride and the terribly spoiled eight-year-old who’d gotten on at Chicago and terrorized the train. And the drummers, whose attentions she’d been able to discourage quite well, thank you. And the antelope she’d seen in Kansas and the awful smell of Dodge City. “I am glad we raise sheep, Da,” she said with a laugh.
“I prefer the woolly buggers meself, Cait.”
The sophisticated eighteen-year-old didn’t completely disappear, however, thought Elizabeth as she listened to her daughter chatter on. Cait had matured and was clearly able to act the young lady, but her eyes were sparkling as she recognized familiar landmarks on the road and pointed out any changes she noticed. She was still their Caitlin and Elizabeth breathed a prayer of thanks that she was home.
They drove through town on their way to the ranch. There was a group of cowboys standing around in front of the bank.
“Who are those men, Da? They don’t look familiar to me.”
“Those are Nelson Mackie’s hands,” Michael replied shortly.
“Nelson Mackie?”
“He’s been here a little over a year, Cait,” said her mother. “He bought land west of us and runs over five thousand head of cattle.”
“Five thousand head! That’s a lot of cattle for around here, Da.”
“It is, Cait, and he’d be happy to push off any small ranchers he could to make his spread bigger.”
Cait heard the anger in her father’s voice. Just as she was going to ask him another question, she saw Mr. Turner, the banker, open the door for a short, stocky man in a well-cut gray suit. Mr. Turner shook his hand enthusiastically and Mackie, for that’s who she assumed it was, walked over to where his horse was tied. When he saw the Burke family going by he lifted his hat and waving it, started walking over to them.
“Damn the man,” muttered Michael. “Can’t he be leavin’ me alone on a day like today?” He reluctantly pulled the horses up.
“Hello there, Burke. This beautiful young woman must be your daughter just home from school. Mrs. Burke. Miss Burke.” He greeted them in a friendly enough manner, thought Caitlin.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Mackie,” Elizabeth said politely.
“Nelson Mackie, me daughter, Caitlin Burke.”
Caitlin extended her hand and Mackie shook it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Burke,” he said. “I am sure your parents are glad to have you home from…?”
“Philadelphia, Mr. Mackie.”
“Ah, yes, Philadelphia. Well, lovely young women are scarce around here, Miss Burke. I am sure you will have no shortage of admirers.”
“Thank you, Mr. Mackie,” said Cait, with a blush of embarrassment.
“We’d better not keep the horses standing, Michael,” said Elizabeth, sensing the anger that was building in her husband. “Good day, Mr. Mackie.”
Mackie tipped his hat to them and Michael slapped the reins on his horses’ backs.
“He seems like a nice enough man, Da.”
“Ay, he seems so, Cait. But let’s not be spoilin’ this beautiful day with talk of the likes of Mackie.”
When Cait had arrived in the East, she had felt it to be almost another country. Now, although the train ride had given her another chance to absorb the change in scenery, hom
e seemed the different country. How could one nation hold such extremes? she wondered. And how could she hold on to the memory of Philadelphia as she was claimed by the high desert that held all her memories?
“Look, Da, there’s the rock I used to climb with Jimmy Murdoch. And there’s the road down to the Begay hogan.”
“And here’s the turnoff for the ranch,” said Michael, “in case ye’ve forgotten it!”
“Oh, no, I could never forget it. Not after riding out for the mail every week.”
When they passed the far pasture, Finn whinnied at the passing wagon and trotted over to investigate.
“Are you busy training the yearlings, Da? And where’s Heathcliff? He must be ready to be saddle broke by now.”
As Michael hesitated, not wanting to tell her about the black on her first day back, Cait looked over at him and back at her mother and smiled. “It is a rather silly name for a horse, isn’t it, Ma? I’m embarrassed at what a child I was when I left.”
When you left, thought Elizabeth. And what are you now, Caitlin? She smiled to herself. Her daughter was a young woman, of course. Why was it so hard to accept how a mere two years, though it had felt like forever at the time, had changed her daughter?
“You can always change his name if you want to,” said Michael. “He’s probably in the near pasture so Gabe can work with him.”
“Gabe?”
“Gabe Hart, our new hired hand, Cait,” said her mother. “Your Da finally took my advice and got himself some help with the horses. Some good help.”
“Why, you said you’d never let any bronc buster near your horses, Da!”
“And I wouldn’t. But Gabe works them gently, like I do. He’s done a fine job, so far, halter-breakin’ the yearlings and trainin’ the two-year-olds.”
Caitlin felt cheated of something she thought was supposed to be hers. Her horse was hers to train. She’d had him following her around before she left. Of course, she hadn’t expected her father would actually ignore the horse for almost two years. He would have had to be halter-broke. Maybe lunged a little. But a complete stranger working him? She decided there and then she wasn’t going to like Gabe Hart and she most certainly wasn’t going to have him training her horse.
Journey of the Heart Page 4