Life, Love and Longhorns (Heart of Texas Series - Book One)

by K. L. Hemley

  Heart of Texas

  Book One

  Life, Love and Longhorns

  by K.L. Hemley

  Copyright © K.L. Hemley 2013

  All Rights Reserved

  KLHemley.com

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  Other titles by K.L. Hemley:

  Fortune Out West: The Series

  Contents

  Chapter One: Life on the Range

  Chapter Two: On the Move

  Chapter Three: Under a Starry Sky

  Chapter Four: The Magic of the Stars

  Chapter Five: Thunderbolts and Lightning

  Chapter Six: Not Out Of The Woods

  Chapter Seven: More Than One Way to Use a Tarpaulin

  Chapter Eight: Indian Territory

  Chapter Nine: Dodge City At Last

  Chapter One: Life on the Range

  Mabel Milton stepped outside, sniffing the air and examining the sky to see what the weather was going to be like that morning. A good dose of rain and the grass would recover from where it had been heavily grazed.

  “Morning, Miss Mabel,” greeted Hank, one of her most reliable ranch hands. “Still gearing up for the cattle drive?”

  “I think so,” nodded Mabel. “We’ll be heading on up the Chisholm Trail, out to Dodge City. If we take most of the herd over that way, we’ll be set for a while. With any luck, we’ll be one of the first out there, so we’ll be able to get the best prices.”

  “Are you still planning on coming with us?” Hank asked.

  “This time, yes,” Mabel told him. “I want to keep an eye on things, make sure we get top dollar when we reach market.”

  “Well it’s got to be better than what you can get around here,” said Hank grimly. “The way things are going, you won’t be able to pay folks round here to take your beef from you.”

  “It’ll get better, Hank,” Mabel reassured him. “It always does. Anyway, we best get the horses ready for the round up. We need to know where we stand with the herds, ready for the cattle drive.”

  “Right you are, Miss Mabel,” said Hank. “I’ll start getting everything prepared.”

  Mabel went back into her kitchen and quickly fixed herself a simple breakfast before putting some food together to have later. Rounding up and branding the cattle was hard work, but she knew that once they got a good system going, they’d settle into a rhythm and they’d soon get the job done if they worked together.

  Tucking her hair into a broad hat, she went out to the stables. Mabel was a striking woman, tall with auburn hair and twinkling green eyes. She’d spent her whole life living on the ranch and when her parents had passed away, there was no question of what she was going to do. The only child, she’d taken over the family business.

  Animals had always been her one, true love. From the moment she’d assisted her father in helping a mare give birth, she’d been fascinated by animals and she’d devoted her life to making sure that the creatures in her care were looked after and healthy. She’d built up a strong reputation in the area and everyone knew that Milton’s beef was the best tasting around. However, taste didn’t make any difference to people when meat was so cheap and money scarce, so she’d taken to regularly driving the cattle to towns where there was a better price to be found.

  Most drivers only went along for one or two journeys, but Mabel had been on a number of drives in her time. She enjoyed the work, hazardous though it was, and she was as good as any man – better, in fact. She usually worked as a pointer, helping to guide the leading cattle in the right direction and working to head off a stampede if something spooked the animals. Although for the most part, cattle drives were uneventful, she relished the opportunity to relax and enjoy the wild outdoors, planning out what she was going to do with the ranch next.

  Mabel went out to the stables where her favorite horse, Pepper, was waiting for her. Pepper whinnied a greeting, recognizing her mistress. “Good morning, old girl,” smiled Mabel. “Busy day ahead of us today. You’ll be done by lunchtime though, so you can have a good rest for the afternoon.”

  Round ups were hard work for both ranch hands and horses alike. Mabel and her team would need three to four horses each to get through the day and they’d all be exhausted by the end of it.

  Mabel mounted Pepper and urged him on. The two went out to the open range where the cattle were allowed to graze free for most of the year. Mabel wasn’t the only rancher to let her cattle graze there – there were a couple of other ranchers who’d come together with her to form an association so that their cattle all grazed together, distinguished by the brands marking their ownership.

  As Mabel approached where her cowboys were gathering in preparation for the roundup, she took a moment to marvel at the site of the hundreds of cattle grazing the valley before her. She never got tired of the sight, the majestic beasts slowly moving around, unbothered by the world around them. They were big enough not to worry about anything and there was nothing more dangerous than cattle stampeding towards you.

  Mabel’s Longhorns were interspersed with the other ranchers animals and her team was going to have to spend the night camping. They weren’t going to be able to finish the job in one day. It was simply too big.

  “Things are looking good, Miss Mabel,” Hank told her as she approached. “Weather’s looking good and we’ve got everything set up and good to go just as soon as you say the word.”

  “No time like the present, Hank,” Mabel told him. “Sooner we get started, sooner we’re done.”

  Hank nodded and gave the orders to the team to begin the mammoth task of rounding up the cattle. He was leading the team that would be cutting the cattle once they were sorted into groups, and the whole crew would be involved in roping and restraining the young calves needing branding and castrating.

  Mabel urged Pepper into action and the pair raced towards the cattle, beginning the dance of sorting the cattle into smaller, more manageable groups. Once they were finished with the cows, they’d then round up the wild horses in the area, breaking in the more mature animals so they could be used around the ranch. That was Mabel’s specialty – she had a way with the horses that got them doing whatever she wanted them to do. She was gentler in her methods than many of the cowboys and as a result, her horses were more reliable and easier to work with.

  Soon Mabel was immersed in the task at hand. There was no chance to think of anything other than the work at hand and she worked with her ranch hands, rounding up, lassoing and branding the cattle, the number of animals that had been sorted gradually increasing so that they had a stronger sense of what the herd was like.

  They took breaks in shifts, grabbing a quick bite to eat and changing horses at the same time. It was hard on the horses and they were replaced at regular intervals to make sure that no horse was worked too hard.

  Mabel was kept busy, running around checking on animals that were looking under the weather and deciding on the best course of action. She’d gathered around herself a strong team of men who knew how to handle cattle with a swift and sure hand and together they worked effectively to round up the herd. The cowboys who were going to come on the cattle drive with her were young, leaving the more experienced men to watch over the ranch while they were traveling across country.

  By the time they settled down to camp for the night, Mabel was worn out and gratefully wolfed down the simple meal the designated cook had prepared for the team.

  One of the men began picking out a tune on a fi
ddle, a lively song that had everyone’s toes tapping before breaking into a few well known tunes everyone could sing along with. Mabel closed her eyes. These were her favorite times, safe and secure among friends, working the land she called home.

  The next morning, they were up with the dawn to finish off rounding up the cattle and Mabel was pleased to see that they were going to have a good 2,000 head of cattle to drive over to Dodge City. She left her team to complete getting the cattle together and went back to the ranch to oversee the final preparations for the cattle drive.

  As she rode towards her house, she could see that there was someone standing outside talking to Jonas, her cook. Mabel didn’t recognize the tall, attractive stranger and she wondered who the man could be.

  “Miss Mabel,” greeted Jonas, as she reigned in Pepper. “This here’s Jesse Lockwood. He’s the man who’s moved into Old Man Smithers’ place in the next valley.”

  “Please to meet you, Mr Lockwood,” smiled Mabel. “And welcome to our humble home.”

  “Thank you,” replied Jesse, touching the brim of his hat in response. “I was just saying to Jonas here that I was planning on driving my cattle over to Kansas shortly and was wondering whether there’d be an opportunity to pool resources.”

  “Well you’ll have to hurry if you want to travel with us,” Mabel informed him. “We’re planning on leaving in the next few days, just as soon as we’ve finished branding the calves and getting everything together. We’re taking 2,000 head with us, so there’s room for a few more and we can always do with good wranglers.”

  “I’ll be a pointer,” Jesse told her. “My days of watching over the horses are long since behind me.”

  Mabel raised an eyebrow. “I’ll be working point,” she replied. “My herd, my rules.”

  “Well since it’ll be our herd, I guess that settles it,” Jesse smiled. “We both take point.”

  Mabel wasn’t so sure about that. She had no idea about Jesse’s skills whereas she’d been working with her team for some time. Still, if they were both heading to the same place at the same time, it made sense to work together.

  “We’ll see,” she murmured noncommittally. “Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on the chuck wagon. I need to make sure that all the supplies are properly packed, ready for the trip. We’ll be heading out in a couple of days, with or without you, so I suggest you get home and make ready yourself.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about me, Missy,” grinned Jesse. “My men and I are more than ready whenever you are. You just say the word.”

  He nodded his goodbye to Jonas and then easily pulled himself up onto the back of his horse in one, swift movement. Raising a hand in farewell to Mabel, he urged his horse away and the two were soon lost to sight.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about him,” said Mabel. “Something tells me he’s going to be more trouble than he’s worth.”

  “I don’t know, Miss Mabel,” said Jonas. “We could do with a few extra pairs of hands, with the loss of Ross and Justin. It’ll be good to have some fresh eyes to help keep a lookout over the herd.”

  “True,” conceded Mabel. “Still, I think we need to keep Mr Lockwood firmly under control. Perhaps find some other jobs for him to do on the trail so he’s not in my way.”

  Jonas chuckled. “More like a case of removing temptation, eh Miss Mabel?”

  Mabel blushed and glared at him. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” she said coldly before leaving him to continue packing supplies.

  Chapter Two: On the Move

  All too soon, it was the morning of the cattle drive and Mabel woke up with the nervous fluttering of excited butterflies in her stomach. Although most drives were uneventful, there was always the chance of something going wrong and it was crucial that she got the best price possible for her cattle to set her up for the coming year.

  It was important to strike the right balance between speed and not pushing the cattle too hard. It was possible to cover up to 25 miles per day, but Mabel had discovered to her cost that if you worked them too much, they’d lose so much weight that they were almost worthless by the time you reached the final destination. She was planning on hitting a steady pace that would see them to their destination in a couple of months.

  Jesse Lockwood had been over to the ranch a few times in the run up to the drive, making sure that they were ready to travel together. The more she’d seen of the man, the more he’d exasperated her. Her whole life, Mabel had always been treated as one of the team. The fact that she was a woman was always neither here nor there. Either you were useful on the ranch or you weren’t and Mabel made sure that she was always incredibly useful from a very early age. But Jesse had a way of patronising her that set her teeth on edge.

  There was one time when she was riding round the cattle, making sure that they were going where she wanted them to and Jesse came up and started shouting advice at her. Of course, this distracted Mabel and the more he told her what to do, the more flustered she became and the less capable she was.

  “You’re going to need to do better than that if you’re going to come on the drive with us,” laughed Jesse, as Mabel missed roping a steer for the third time.

  “I’d be doing just fine if you weren’t sitting there laughing at me,” she seethed, making Jesse laugh all the more as she eventually managed to get the rope round the beast’s head.

  Finally she told him angrily, “if you’re so good at this, why don’t you show me how it’s done?”

  Irritatingly, Jesse did just that, proving himself to be more than adept at handling both his horse and the cattle. Watching him deftly guiding the horse as he focused on the cattle, she had to admit to herself that he cut a fine figure, his well-toned body working in unison with his horse. He was going to be an asset on the trail all right – if she could keep herself from throttling him when he became too annoying.

  At last, the day of the drive arrived and Mabel surveyed her team before they left. There were twelve of them traveling together, which meant that the remuda was over seventy horses to make sure that they had enough to see them through to Dodge City comfortably. The cowboys would be working in teams, taking shifts to ensure that the cattle were watched over round the clock to head off any stampedes before they could get started and stop anyone from stealing their precious cargo.

  Jonas was coming with them to cater for the journey. He was going to be driving the chuck wagon, as well as take care of any medical emergencies. Mabel had seen him in action a few times and there wasn’t anyone else she would rather have by her side in a crisis.

  Jesse had agreed that since she had the bigger herd to transport, Mabel would be the trail boss, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn’t going to show as much respect for her authority as he should. She wished that he hadn’t insisted on coming with them – she was more than capable of ensuring his cattle arrived at market safely and needing to keep Jesse in check was an extra complication she could do without.

  “Are we ready, Miss?” asked young Ned, the boy who was going to be taking on the role of wrangler. A youth of only 18, this was his first cattle trail and he’d been clearly excited about the prospect of traveling such a long way from home, although he’d been doing his best to conceal it for fear of coming across as the inexperienced lad he was.

  “We are indeed,” nodded Mabel. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  At her signal, the cowboys urged their horses into movement and began the job of motivating thousands of cattle into moving as one in the direction of Dodge City.

  For once, Jesse kept his smart comments to himself as they all focused on getting the herd going. As they built up momentum, the cattle naturally fell into a long line, which would cover over a mile while they were on the road. For the most part, the cattle knew what they were doing and the natural leaders of the group would instinctively head to the front, leaving the others to fall into a casual line behind them.

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sp; Mabel and Jesse worked together, co-ordinating their movements with hand signals to make sure that they were both working towards the same goal. At last, they were officially on the road, Jonas and Ned bringing up the rear, Jonas focused on the mules pulling the wagon that contained not just their food and water, but their bed rolls and other supplies, while Ned kept careful watch over the remuda, eager to bring forward horses when they were needed.

  Mabel was in her element. This was what she loved doing – being out in the open, working closely with the animals that she loved. It was often said that she seemed to know what they were thinking and there was many a time that she’d managed to spot a hazard before anyone else just from the way the cattle were behaving.

  “Did you know that you bite your lip when you’re thinking hard?” called over Jesse jovially. “It’s most endearing.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” Mabel replied curtly. “Now do you think you could do your job?” What was wrong with the man? Didn’t he know that they needed to be focusing on the herd, not idle chatter? She thought he’d claimed to be experienced and know what he was doing.

  “I work so much better when I have someone to talk to,” explained Jesse. “Especially when it’s someone as beautiful as you.”

  Mabel restrained the urge to poke her tongue out at him and pull the ugliest face she could. “Oh please, Mr Lockwood,” she said. “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but where I grew up, we work first and talk later.”

  “Tell me more about where you grew up,” Jesse urged. “Come on, Miss Mabel. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us and you can’t seriously expect us to ride in complete silence.”

  Mabel sighed. “There’s not much to tell,” she answered. “You’ve seen where I grew up. The ranch. It was my parents’ and they left it to me when they passed. My mother died after a short illness and my father followed her not long after, of a broken heart it was said.”