When no answer came, her heart lurched. What had happened to her normally obedient son? Colin. That’s what. Jamie had been terrified of him, and rightly so. Since Colin’s death he’d been gradually coming out of his shell. He wasn’t the same child he’d been six months ago. She didn’t have time to analyze his actions now. She needed to find him.
Lifting her hands to each side of her mouth, she called toward the barn. Maybe he decided to go check on the kittens. She jumped off the porch and headed that way. “Jamie! Come here.”
He could’ve been back home in the city for all the good it did to call him. He either couldn’t hear her or he refused to answer. Her strides matched her anger. He’d be sitting in the house the rest of the day as soon as she found him.
She started into the open barn door when, to the side, she heard, “Psst. Momma.”
There at the corner of the barn, Jamie crouched down as small as he could be. His eyes sparkled and a wide grin spit his face.
She hurried toward him. “What are you doing here, Jamie? I specifically told you to stay on the porch.”
“It’s okay, Momma.” Jamie’s smile never wavered. “I’m playing hide Jamie. I just gotta see. I heard the baby cows crying, but I don’t think they’re hurting them real bad.”
He turned back and pointed. “See that one? He’s going to his momma. He’s okay now.”
Kimberly watched the men turn a small calf loose. The calf scrambled to break free of the ropes that had held it in place. Bawls rent the air while its hoofs stirred up a cloud of dust. The desperate momma mooed her concern from across the fence.
“Jamie.” Kimberly’s voice caught in her throat. From the dust of the pen, a tall figure emerged, heading straight for her. The pounding within her chest blocked the men’s voices and the cattle noises until she heard nothing but the beat of her heart. She didn’t want to be afraid of Travis, but she was. One smile from him weakened every muscle in her body. The hint of a frown caused her emotions to dip as if he’d rejected her. And that was ridiculous. She hadn’t come to the Circle G Ranch to offer herself to Travis, but to right a grievous wrong done to Jamie. She had to keep her son foremost in her mind. She couldn’t let some long-dead attraction sway her from her purpose. She steeled herself for his approach.
“I’ve been watching your son.” He spoke before she could find her voice.
She straightened to her full height. “He hasn’t been in your way. He only wants to see what’s going on. What’s wrong with that? He’s an intelligent little boy with a natural curiosity.”
“I didn’t say he was in the way.” Travis spoke louder than normal. “I said I’ve been watching him for I don’t know how long thinking I’d have to pull him out from under—”
“For how long?” Kimberly leaned forward. “He hasn’t been gone that long. Probably not more than five minutes, if that. I keep track of my son.”
“I didn’t say how long, Kim.” Travis’s voice dropped as he looked past her. A smirk settled on his face. “I didn’t say you don’t keep track of him, either, but I may have to now. I’ll bet you don’t even know where he is right this minute.”
“What are you trying to pull?” Kimberly glared at him. “He’s right here.”
She looked at the corner of the barn where he’d been crouched only a moment ago. “He’s right . . .” She turned from one side to the other.
Jamie’s high-pitched excited voice drifted back to her. “They lassoed ‘em, Gran. Just like real cowboys.”
Kimberly twirled around to find Jamie, his beaming face turned up toward Gran, as he skipped alongside, holding her hand.
“Is that right? Real cowboys, huh?” Gran sounded amused. They disappeared through the barn door.
“Jamie! Where are you going now?” Kimberly turned back to glare at Travis when her son didn’t answer. “Where is she taking him?”
~*~
Travis grinned. He liked the fire in her eyes. He shrugged and tried to look innocent. “The barn maybe?”
What business did Gran have taking a little kid into the barn? Either of them could get hurt. If she had osteoporosis, she didn’t need to be around ranch equipment and barns. Another fall could break her hip and then where would they be?
Kim huffed and stomped after her wayward son.
Travis followed, catching up inside the barn as Kim hollered. “Jamie, where do you think you’re going?”
Gran and Jamie looked down on them from the stairs leading up to Gran’s workroom. Travis thought about yelling too, but figured he’d stand back and let Kim have her say first. She might be mad at him, but she was asking the right question.
Jamie looked like a kid heading toward a candy store. His dark eyes sparkled as bright as his smile. “To the barn loft, only Gran says it isn’t much of a loft anymore. I like this place, Momma. It’s funner than Omaha.”
That’s when Travis realized Gran wasn’t holding the railing. The stairs had been built flush against the barn wall on one side and she’d been trailing her hand along the wall so Jamie could hold the railing. “Gran, you can’t go up there.” Travis ran to the steps and started up. “There’s nothing for you to hold on to. What if you fall?”
Gran laughed.
She was about to fall down a flight of stairs and she laughed.
He reached her side with Kim right behind him. “What if it’s your leg this time? Or your neck?”
Gran had the audacity to pat his arm and smile. “Travis, I’m perfectly fine. I know you think these old bones are brittle, but that isn’t true. If it were, more than my arm would’ve been broken. You’d have been in the same fix as me if your sheep knocked you off balance.” She nodded across the barn. “Let me tell you, that post over there doesn’t give an inch.”
“That’s another thing.” Travis stood his ground. “Red takes good care of your sheep. You don’t need to anymore.”
Kim’s soft touch on his arm burned like a brand. “Travis, why don’t you discuss this in private? Your—you’re scaring someone.”
Travis looked down at two big brown eyes peeking out from under Kim’s arm and swallowed his concern for Gran. Had he been yelling loud enough to scare Jamie? “Hey, I’m sorry, Buddy. I’m not mad. Gran and I were just talking about when she broke her arm. See that post over there holding up the loft on that side of the barn? She fell and hit her arm against it when one of her sheep pushed her.”
Jamie nodded and eased from Kim’s side. Good. No need for him to be upset. Kim smiled and looked up the stairway. He turned. Gran had reached the top. She stepped through the door into the room Gramps built for her before Travis was born. His granddad had always joked that she needed a special place to get away from him. She claimed this was her escape from the world. A place where she relaxed and used the wool from her sheep to make beautiful things.
“I’ve got a pen full of calves to brand.” Travis scowled and stomped the rest of the way up the stairs muttering about women and kids always slowing his work.
Gran grinned. “Then why don’t you go do that? Jamie and I will be fine right here. We’re going to watch from my window. We want to see what real cowboys act like.”
Travis snorted. “Real cowboys, huh?”
Gran laughed. “That’s what I said.” She nodded toward the window. “Look there.”
Jamie knelt in front of the window, both arms folded on the sill, with his nose pressed against the glass.
Something inside Travis twisted. For a second the little boy at the window became his son. His little Steven. His heart felt the weight of grief that he refused to acknowledge. What good did it do? His son was gone. He’d never come back. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kim move close to Gran and everything righted. “Okay, that might work. Now that you’re up here will you stay a while?”
“I’ll stay a while.” Gran repeated his words with a grin.
He refused to be baited. He strode across the floor. “You want me to raise that window for you, buddy?”
&n
bsp; Jamie glanced up at him and nodded. Travis lifted the window, letting in fresh air flavored with a barnyard scent. The voices of cattle and men invaded the room. Travis looked at Gran. “Sure you want this open?”
She crossed the room to stand behind Jamie and looked out. “Of course, we do. How else will we get the full effect? This is better than TV.”
Kim joined them and Travis watched her for the revulsion he’d seen far too often on Rosalyn’s face. Instead a soft smile curved her lips before she looked up at him. “I’ve never seen real cowboys in action. It is better than TV. I doubt you’ll be able to pry Jamie from here until they quit.”
Gran chuckled and turned to her rug loom. She ran her hand over a half-finished rug. “I haven’t been up here in far too long. The church ladies are putting on a mission’s auction in July. If I had two good arms, I’d finish this and donate it.”
“You don’t though.” Travis headed toward the door. He didn’t have time for this nonsense. “Kim, I’ll walk you down the stairs.”
“Just a minute.” Kim stopped beside Gran and touched her rug. “This is beautiful. Both my arms work. Is it hard to learn?”
A smile spread across Gran’s face. “If you want to learn, you can.”
“I’d love to, but I don’t want to impose.”
“As if you could.” Gran patted Kim’s arm. “We’ll find time tomorrow when the dust isn’t flying and it isn’t so noisy for your first lesson.”
“That would be wonderful.” Kim turned toward Travis. “Right now I’d better start thinking about lunch.”
Travis stopped at the door, and walked with Kim down the stairs. At the door leading outside, she stopped and met his gaze. “She isn’t that fragile, Travis.”
He frowned. “Who, Gran?”
“Yes.” She touched his arm and pulled back before her fingers settled. His arm burned from the brief contact. “She needs the freedom to be herself. You can’t put her in a bubble and keep her from harm. What are you so afraid of?”
“Nothing.” He turned toward the door and the streaming sunshine. “I just don’t want to lose her, that’s all.”
“You aren’t going to. It’s just a broken arm.”
He shook his head and his heart constricted. She couldn’t know how he felt. She didn’t know how much loss he’d suffered in the last seven years. So many gone in such a short time. “People die, Kim. You should know that. Even young people. You lost your husband. I . . .”
No need to go there. He looked away. “I’ve got to get back to work and so do you. Make something light but filling for lunch. Sandwiches and soup maybe. The men don’t need a heavy meal to weigh them down while they work. Save the meat and potatoes for supper, okay? I’m guessing the whole crew will be there tonight again. We’ll probably be working late.”
At her nod, he walked away. He’d been gone at least fifteen minutes. The men would be ready to string him up if he didn’t pull his weight, and he didn’t blame them. For at least the hundredth time in twenty-four hours he wondered what Brent had been thinking when he sent Kim. So she could cook. She wouldn’t stay long. She’d get tired of whatever game she was playing and then she’d go back to the city where she belonged. A city girl didn’t belong on his ranch. Rosalyn had taught him that.
He glanced up at Gran’s window and saw two faces at the screen. The boy didn’t belong here either. Steven’s death had almost killed Gran. She didn’t need to get attached to another little boy. He didn’t either, and he wouldn’t if he could figure out how to stop the process.
Chapter Seven
Sunday morning dawned clear and warm. Kimberly watched Travis storm from the house and head toward the barn with Trixie running alongside. She waited at the door of her little cabin until he disappeared inside the huge double doors. Was he angry because Gran insisted Kim have Sundays off? Or because she and Jamie were going to church with Gran? Maybe he wasn’t angry at all. He could be in a hurry. Oh well, Travis Graham wasn’t her concern.
“Okay, Jamie, let’s go get Gran.”
He caught up with her and grabbed her hand. “When we get home, can I play with Trixie?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure you can if she’s here.” Kimberly held the van door for him then got in and drove to the main house. Gran came out before she had the gear shift in park.
Gran didn’t mention Travis and neither did Kimberly. Before they reached the end of the long drive to the road, Jamie popped up against the back of the bucket seats and leaned between them. “Hey, Momma, you didn’t wait for Travis.”
Kimberly slowed to a stop before turning and giving her son a stern look. “Buckle your seatbelt, Jamie, and don’t worry about Travis. I assumed he didn’t want to go with us.”
Jamie flopped back in his seat and fumbled with the seatbelt buckle until it snapped. Kimberly turned on the gravel road leading to town.
“Travis needs to go to church too, Momma. Don’t he, Gran?”
“Oh, yes, he certainly does.” Gran smiled over her shoulder at Jamie. “And he will one day soon. That’s my prayer, and I believe God will bring it to pass.”
“I’ll invite him. That’ll make him want to come, won’t it?” Jamie asked.
Gran nodded. “That just might help, Jamie.”
Kimberly concentrated on driving and missing the rough spots in the road. Ten minutes later they neared the city limits of Bow Creek, a small town of less than two thousand. She followed Gran’s directions to the church with no trouble. The entire town was less than a mile square. She wouldn’t likely get lost here. They found a place to park in the lot and walked toward a sprawling brick building with a sign in front. Bow Creek Bible Church.Everyone welcome. A list of scheduled services followed. At the bottom were the words, “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
“How’s your arm, Mrs. Good?” A teenage girl serving as greeter held the door open for them.
“Fine, Debbie. Gettin’ better every day.” Gran gave the girl a smile and a quick one-armed hug before leading the way inside. She answered the same question and introduced Kimberly and Jamie several times before they settled in a pew midway up the aisle.
“Hi, Aunt Linda.” A very pregnant young woman slid in beside Gran and hugged her.
Gran told Kimberly, “This young lady is Beth Reynolds. She’s one of Travis’s many cousins around here. Beth, Kimberly Burris and her son, Jamie, are staying at the ranch to help me since I banged up my arm. They’ve become very dear friends.”
“Hi.” Beth smiled. “I’m glad someone’s staying with Aunt Linda. I’m glad to meet you.”
“Thank you. I’m pleased to meet you.” Kimberly liked Beth’s firm handshake and her wide smile.
“You’ll be in the young adult Sunday school class. If you’d like, I can show you the way. And is this young man Jamie?” Beth turned her smile on Jamie who sat between the two women.
“Yes, this is Jamie Burris, my son.” Kimberly answered for him.
“Jamie, I’m very glad you’re here.” Beth shook his hand and held it a moment longer. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “You look just like . . .”
Kimberly’s heart jumped when Beth paused. She should’ve known someone would see the resemblance to Travis. Just because he couldn’t see the obvious didn’t mean other people couldn’t. She stared at her hands clasped in her lap and waited.
“Like you’re six years old. Am I right?”
“I’m almost seven.”
Kimberly’s breath rushed out with a burst of laughter. “Jamie turned six three weeks ago.”
Beth grinned. “Is there ever a time we’re content with our age?”
Gran patted Jamie’s knee, but didn’t comment.
Organ music began and Beth pushed off from the seat to stand. “I’ll escort you to your classes after opening service. You can’t miss me. Just look for the blimp in the back.”
After a short service for opening prayer, announcements, and one song, Kimberly and Jamie headed toward the ba
ck with all but those who stayed for the senior adult class. After dropping Jamie at his class, she and Beth went on to another room at the end of the hall. Folding chairs were arranged in rows facing a podium in front of a blackboard. Kimberly relaxed when everyone welcomed her with smiles and handshakes. She counted almost a dozen in attendance.
Beth introduced the tall man who had saved her a seat. “Kimberly, this is Lee Reynolds, my husband. He’s also the county sheriff and a good friend of Travis.”
Kimberly shook hands with Lee before taking the folding chair next to Beth.
Elliott and Jason from the ranch came in and Jason dropped into the seat next to Kimberly with a wide smile. “Hey, glad to see you here today.”
“I came with Gran.” Kimberly shifted in the folding chair. “I didn’t realize you attend here, too.”
His grin became a bit sheepish. “I come once in a while. Elliott’s always here, though.”
Elliott leaned forward just enough to see past Jason and give her a wink. “You’re a good influence on him, ma’am.”
“Yeah,” Jason didn’t seem to mind the ribbing. “I can always use a good influence. Now you’re here, maybe I’ll start coming regular.”
Kimberly laughed. She might like Jason if she got to know him, but she felt like slamming her foot on the brakes when he looked at her as if she were the only woman left over. She had no intention of starting a relationship with anyone, least of all an employee of her son’s father. But she couldn’t tell him that, so she faced forward, opened her Bible to follow the Scripture reading, and tried to ignore the man beside her.
After Sunday school, she slipped away from Jason, stopped at the primary class, and waited for Jamie. They walked together to the sanctuary while Jamie showed her the papers he’d colored.
Worship service began with several praise choruses. Kimberly joined in, letting the words and melody soothe her spirit. She stood for the reading of God’s word then sat with the others after a middle-aged man in the congregation prayed, asking God’s blessing on the service.
A New Life Page 6