Gray Horse promised to continue to care for the remaining stock until Jamie could come back, and wished them well on their journey.
“There’s one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Jamie said as he mounted. “Do you ever see Storm?”
“Your father’s horse?” Gray Horse asked. Jamie nodded. “He is out there, running wild. He steals the mares, but we will take their foals when they are ready. No one can get close to him.”
“Perhaps I’ll give it a try, after I find Jenny.”
“It should be you. You are like your father.”
Jamie flashed his grin, then shoved his hair back before putting his hat on. He and Chase rode out of the village and headed west.
Part Three
Wyoming Territory
1860
Chapter Nineteen
“Don’t know what they’re so happy about,” Jamie grumbled and tossed his chin towards the whooping cowboys on the other side of the herd. Chase’s dark eyes peered through the dust kicked up by the cattle and watched as one of the hands chased down a steer that had wandered off. “They act like finding one stray is equal to rescuing the entire herd.”
Chase shook his head at his friend’s complaints. As soon as they got the herd in, the two of them would have to head back out again to do the job that had been theirs since they had arrived at the Lynch ranch three years earlier. Chase was one of the best trackers around and could find most of the hiding places the other cowboys missed. The only time his tracking skills had failed him in the years since they’d left the orphanage had been during the search for Jenny. Her trail had ended in the mountains west of Denver that autumn after she disappeared, and there had been no sign of her since.
Chase and Jamie had wandered back to St. Jo after wintering with the Kiowa. No one had seen her. They were heading west again when they had come across Cat Lynch and rescued her from a stagecoach robbery. She had suggested that they come to the Lynch ranch in the southeastern corner of Wyoming. They had told her about Jenny, and she’d assured them that her father could help.
Jason Lynch and his daughter Cat were waiting on a knoll for Jamie and Chase to catch up with them. They could see Cat scanning the riders, looking for Ty. The judge had hired Tyler Kincaid the spring after Jamie and Chase had arrived, and Cat had been head over heels for him since day one. Ty had left his home in North Carolina and gone west after a nearly fatal fight with his older brother; the strife that was threatening to tear the nation apart had already worked its poison in his family, setting brother against brother. The judge had known his grandfather in law school and had taken the soft-spoken, well-educated young man in. Ty had quickly shown his worth, pulling his weight, not giving anyone a chance to accuse him of being soft from the affluent childhood he had known. Cat had taken one look at his sandy brown hair, serious blue eyes and long, lean frame and decided that he was the man for her; she just had to convince Ty of it.
Cat was used to getting what she wanted, although she was not the spoiled brat she was reputed to be. She was the only daughter of a man who had married late in life, more to carry on his name than for love. Jason Lynch had loved once, but the girl had disappeared from his life without a trace, much the same way Jenny had from Jamie’s, which made Jason feel a special bond with Jamie that he did not share with the rest of the so-called orphans he took in and put to work. When he had heard the story of Jenny’s disappearance and the fruitless search for her, he had hired detectives to track her down, and put up fliers with her likeness in every town between Denver and St. Jo, but there had been no news. They had found no trace of her. Jamie didn’t mention her much anymore, but he still felt a constant ache, like a wound that would not heal. Chase talked of her at times, and Jamie knew he dreamed of her; he heard his friend say her name in his sleep sometimes. Jamie never dreamed of Jenny, but he still had terrifying nightmares about being on fire, and kept his distance from flames of any sort.
Jamie and Chase urged their horses up the knoll to where Jason and Cat waited. “Did you get them all?” the judge asked. He was tall and slim for a man over sixty; his face was lined and bronzed, his full head of hair more silver than the golden brown it had been. His blue eyes were still sharp and missed nothing, much to Cat’s dismay. He had encouraged her many times to be patient where Ty was concerned, but she was more inclined to charge in, full speed ahead.
“I’m sure you’ll let us know,” Jamie said, flashing his grin. He took his hat off and shoved back the mass of hair that fell over his eyes, then wiped some of the dust away with his bandanna.
“I’m not worried. Chase will find them no matter where they are,” Jason said. Cat was moving restlessly in her saddle, still scanning the herd and the riders around it.
“He’s riding drag,” Chase said, and she took off towards the back of the herd.
Jason opened his mouth to stop her but thought better of it and let her go. “If she wants him bad enough to eat dust all the way home, then I’ll let her get a taste of it,” he said.
Chase and Jamie grinned. The romance between Cat and Ty had provided a lot of entertainment for the hands on the Lynch ranch, and this latest episode would provide more fuel for the teasing the group heaped upon Ty when Cat was not around. They heard a whoop from the other side of the herd and saw Zane waving his hat in the air at Cat’s fading figure. Zane would be sure to bring up the fact that Cat had ridden drag with Ty, and his cheeky comments would keep them laughing through the evening.
Zane was a charmer who loved hard work but constantly complained about doing it, usually making whatever woman who happened to be around feel sorry for him. He had a wide grin, hazel eyes, straight light brown hair and a way with women that amazed those around him. He was constantly finding willing companions, sometimes in the most obscure places, and his sexual exploits were a legend among the female residents of Fort Laramie. Cat and Grace, who cooked for the hands, had proven themselves immune to his charm, and he treated them with the respect due to a sister or aunt.
Jake was riding behind Zane and looked up to see what the noise was about. Jake was the most dangerous one of the group, he was deadly with the two guns he wore on his hips. He was quiet and brooding, but also sensitive and caring with those he felt close to. He was slowly opening up to the men who lived and worked with him, but there were times when something would come over him, and then they knew to leave him alone. He had finally told them about the repeated beatings his father had given him and his mother, which explained a lot. His reputation with his guns had become a problem for him. Gunslingers were always wanting to prove they were faster than Jake, but so far no one had been. He had pale blond hair that he wore long, like Chase’s, and light blue eyes that could turn to ice with a blink. He considered the group that lived at the Lynch ranch to be his family now and would defend any one of them to the death.
The rider at point was Caleb. Caleb was the quiet one, always listening intently to the goings-on around him. Caleb was devoted to his fellow hands and supported them all; he also had an amazing talent for drawing. He had drawn the likeness of Jenny from Jamie’s description, and her brother was amazed at how true to her it was, even though Caleb had never seen her. He would sit and sketch people as they talked and worked. Many times Jason had told him he was wasting his talent working the ranch, but Caleb swore he didn’t want to be anywhere else.
The ranch was over the next rise, and Grace would have supper ready for them. Jason would count the herd, and the next day Jamie and Chase would go for the stragglers while the rest worked the stock, branding the calves, cutting out the ones that would go to market after growing fat on the summer grass. Tonight, however, they would rest and talk and eat, and maybe Jamie would not wonder about Jenny and where she was and what she was doing. And later, when everyone was asleep, he would sneak into Grace’s cabin and lie in her arms after they had exhausted themselves making love.
Grace took the pan of biscuits out of the oven at the same time that the herd came over
the long ridge to the north. She heard the whooping and hollering as the hands urged the cattle on into the huge pen beside one of the many outbuildings that made up the Lynch spread. She walked out onto the porch of the small cabin that served as the dining hall and her home, placing a hand over her eyes to shield herself from the sun that hung low in the sky. Her brown eyes scanned the multitude of cows, horses and riders rolling down the hill and spotted a flash of copper in the dust surrounding them. She smiled to herself, looking forward to the night ahead and the secret romance she was having with young James Duncan.
Grace had been born onto a rich plantation on the banks of the Mississippi thirty-odd years before. Her grandfather had been alive and had ruled the place with an iron hand, doling out a small allowance to his irresponsible son, Grace’s father. Her mother had died in childbirth, and her father had brought her to the plantation to be raised by his own nanny. When her grandfather had died, her father had quickly gambled away his inheritance, leaving the plantation and all his other properties to be auctioned off to pay his debts. Grace and her father had wound up on the street. He had taken to the riverboats, dragging his teenage daughter along. Grace quickly learned the card games he played, helping her father cheat others to support themselves.
Her father had lost his life over a card game, leaving Grace to pick up the deck and make her own way, using her natural beauty and feminine wiles to win whenever possible, and cheating when necessary. She had done well—well enough to begin saving money to buy her own place. She had known that her beauty would soon fade and she would need another way to live. Then she had met a gambler, an attractive man whose background was similar to hers and who had fallen on hard times for the same reasons. She had thought herself in love with the man, but soon found that he had a violent temper when crossed. She had tried to leave him, but he’d found her and left her beaten and scarred for life. He had slashed both of her high, classic cheekbones with his knife, leaving scars that marred her smooth skin from her temples to the comers of her mouth. He’d also taken her savings and disappeared into Texas, leaving Grace alone and unable to support herself.
Jason Lynch had found Grace on a visit to New Orleans, working as a maid in the hotel where he was staying. He looked beyond the scars, saw the educated, refined lady and brought her to Wyoming to take care of his hands. He found her to be an interesting opponent in chess and enjoyed her talent for cards and conversation. For her part, Grace was grateful that he required nothing more of her. She knew her choices were few, and some men would not let her scars keep them from enjoying her womanly attributes. She was still a beautiful woman, her features elegant, her dark brown hair abundantly curly and bright, but the scars were there, and she was always conscious of them, until Jamie showed up.
Chase had remarked soon after they began working at the ranch that he knew he would never starve with Jamie around. His friend had a way of charming every cook west of the Mississippi. Jamie had sat down at the table, shoved his unruly mass of hair back off his head and dived into a plate of beef stew and homemade bread, grinning at Grace the entire time he was eating. She had an uncontrollable urge to run her fingers through the mass of russet hair that kept falling over his eyes, and felt absolutely giddy inside when he complimented her on the meal. She had a long talk with herself that night about acting foolish and being practically old enough to be his mother, but she still felt flustered every time he flashed his grin at her.
Then one day, some weeks later when they happened to be alone, he had asked her about her face, and she had asked him about his, and they had wound up in each other’s arms. She knew it wouldn’t last, was surprised their affair had gone on so long, and was determined to enjoy it while she could. Jamie was a sensitive lover, giving, she felt, more than he got, and Grace was happier than she had ever been in her entire life. She suspected that Jason knew, realized that everyone else did, but nothing was ever said except for an occasional nudge or wink, so she didn’t worry about it. The men were discreet, and everyone seemed to be happy for them, so it went on.
The hands came stomping up the steps, slapping dirt off, trying to edge each other out of position at the washstand as they splashed off the dust from the trail. The smell of fried chicken and biscuits was making each and every mouth water as the men made themselves presentable for dinner. Cat elbowed her way to the table, sliding onto the bench between Ty and Caleb, her green eyes sparkling in her smudged face.
“Will you join us?” Grace asked Jason as he stood on the porch, his hat in hand.
Jason looked in at the wild group busily passing bowls and slopping servings onto plates. “No, I think I’ll take my meal up at the house.” He put his hat on and stepped off the porch. “I don’t suppose you’ll be up for a game of chess later?”
“No, it will take me a while to clean up after this bunch.” Grace leaned against the post as Jason mounted his horse for the ride up to the main house. It had been built on a ridge to the south, facing away from the outbuildings hidden in the small valley. He tipped his hat and rode off, and Grace went in to tend to her brood.
They were all attacking the meal, an indication that the food was good. They were too busy eating to make conversation, until Zane looked up from his plate at Cat, who was sitting across from him at the long table.
“I’m surprised you can eat anything tonight, Cat,” he commented with a smirk.
“Whyzat?” Cat said around a biscuit that she had smothered in honey.
Jamie and Chase grinned as they waited for Zane’s retort.
“All that dust you was eating today, riding drag with Ty.” Elbows nudged stomachs as the group waited for Cat to explode, but she just tilted her nose up and gave Zane a look that said she would remember she owed him one.
“I don’t know why anyone would ride drag on purpose, unless they were blind or stupid or...” Zane raised his eyebrows quizzically at Cat.
“Or what?” Cat asked, “If you’ve got something to say, then say it.”
Ty put his fork down and looked at Zane. “You got something to say, Zane?” he asked. Ty was tired of the jokes and tired of holding Cat at arm’s length all the time.
Zane grinned around his food. “Nope, I was just wondering.”
“Wonder all you want to, just leave me out of it,” Ty said.
“Me, too,” Jake added. “I’m tired of hearing your mouth runnin’ all the time.”
“What did I do?” Zane began, but Grace put an end to the debate by placing a pan of blackberry cobbler in the middle of the table. They attacked it with their usual gusto, and the conversation turned away from Ty and Cat.
“Hey, Grace, did you know that Chase has an Indian name?” Caleb said.
“Why, no, I never really thought about it.” Grace looked at Chase, who was sitting in his usual place next to Jamie. “What is it?”
“Chase the Wind. Jamie shortened it to Chase. He said it was more practical.”
“Yeah, I can see why,” Jake snorted.
“That’s an interesting name. How did you come by it?” Grace asked, ignoring Jake. The others all leaned forward to listen. Chase didn’t talk about his past much, and they knew that it had to be different from their own upbringing, so they were attentive to his every word.
“I think it sounds romantic, especially since you have been following the wind, trying to find Jamie’s sister and all,” Cat said.
Zane batted his eyes at Cat, who threw a biscuit at him. Ty frowned at the two of them and turned to Chase. “What would our names be if we were Kiowa?” he asked Chase.
Chase leaned back on the bench and folded his arms, studying his companions. “I don’t know, some of you are easy, some are hard.”
“Do Jamie,” Cat said.
“That’s easy. Grinning Fox.”
Jamie grinned and shoved his hair back.
“How about Caleb?”
Chase raised his head to study the dark-haired, dark-eyed artist. “Eyes Like A Hawk because he sees everything.�
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They all expressed their approval. Somebody suggested Jake.
“I would just call him Wolf.”
Jake smiled, something he did not do much, to show his approval. “Do Zane,” he said.
Chase had to think about that one for a while. “Whines Like A Dog.”
“I do not,” Zane protested as they all erupted into laughter. “Come on, you can do better than that.”
“Give me some time,” Chase laughed. “Cat is easy. She has cat eyes, so she already has her Kiowa name. Cat.”
Cat curled her hand up like a claw and hissed at Zane. “Watch out, Dog, I’ll get you.” Zane acted afraid as Cat turned to Chase. “How about Ty?”
“I don’t know. I really need to think about that one.”
“What about Grace?” Jamie said, his dark blue eyes smiling on her as she cleared the table.
“White Swan,” Chase said, and Grace smiled at him. Jamie nudged his friend under the table to say thank you, but Chase didn’t feel it because suddenly Jenny was floating through his mind.
What name would you give me? she asked inside his head, and names started pouring into his mind.
“I’ll talk to you all later,” Chase said and suddenly rose from the table, trying not to place his hands over his ears as the words tumbled around in his mind. Beloved, he thought. Soul mate. Lover. Chase walked to the corral and leaned across the fence. The moon was climbing in the night sky, and he wondered if Jenny was looking up at the same golden orb above. “I know you are out there,” he said to the moon. “I know we are meant to be together.” Up in the hills the mournful cry of a coyote rang out, bringing the ranch dogs awake to join in the chorus. He heard the sounds of the men washing up. Zane, Jake, Ty and Caleb were all heading to town for some female companionship; Jamie was getting ready for his rendezvous with Grace. He could hear Cat muttering to herself as she went to the main house; Ty had sent her on her way, frustrated as usual.
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