Rachel's Cowboy

by Judy Christenberry

  He looked at her sharply. “You don’t think you’re rushing things?”

  “No, I don’t. We’ve finished all the antibiotic packs and she hasn’t run a fever for three days. She’s getting bored and restless in bed. I think she’ll do better for the variety.”

  “I could move my television into her room.”

  “That would be nice of you, J.D., but she’s not going to stay in that bedroom all day. She’s going to join me in the kitchen for lunch.”

  He frowned. “Is she eating real food?”

  “What did you think I was feeding her?” Madge asked with a grin.

  “Soup, I guess.”

  “No, she eats real food. Why?”

  “I thought I’d have lunch in today. I’m going to be working close by. A warm meal and a good fire would keep me going in that cold wind this afternoon.”

  “Terrific. I’m sure she’s tired of seeing only my old face all day long. Come in for lunch.”

  He really had planned on joining Madge for lunch before he heard about Rachel’s getting out of bed. He told himself that over and over again. Then he got angry with himself. It was his house. He owned it now. He and the bank. If he wanted to come in for lunch, he could.

  But at noontime he approached the house with trepidation. What if Rachel got upset at seeing his face? Madge would have some questions for him in that case. Using the facilities in the closed-in porch, he cleaned up before he came into the warmth of the kitchen.

  “Oh, good, you’re here,” Madge said with a cheerful smile. “I told Rachel you’d carry her to the table so she could save her energy for eating.”

  “And she was okay with that?”

  “Of course. She’s waiting for you,” Madge assured him as she bustled around the kitchen getting their meal ready.

  J.D. rapped softly on the closed door of Rachel’s room.

  “Come in,” she called.

  He pushed open the door and found her sitting up in bed, her hair in a neat braid and lipstick on her full lips. She looked good, and suddenly the thought of holding her body against his was making him very nervous. He should have eaten with the men. “I’m here to carry you to lunch. Ready?” Not that he was anymore.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He started talking as he approached her, hoping to distract her from his nervousness. “You’ve improved a lot in one week, Rachel. I guess Madge knows what she’s doing.”

  “Oh, yes, I think so.” She shoved the covers back and slid her long legs over the side of the bed. She was wearing a pink nightgown and a matching robe that complemented her lipstick.

  Staring straight ahead, he slid his hands under her legs and around her shoulders and lifted her against him. “But you still haven’t gained much weight.”

  At his remark, Rachel turned to give him a look, and her mouth was mere inches from his, way too close for his comfort. He whipped his head straight as she said, “I’ve been eating as much as I can.”

  “Maybe I’ll start you running laps around the house to build up your appetite.”

  “I wish I could,” she whispered.

  “Soon, Rachel, soon.” He didn’t add that when she got that well, she’d be heading back to Dallas and her sophisticated life. But he knew it was true.

  When they reached the kitchen, regret and joy warred within him. He could finally walk away from the temptation of touching her, but his arms felt lonely when he put her in the chair Madge indicated Rachel should use, the one closest to the fireplace, where a cheery blaze was flickering. “We don’t want you getting sick again, child.”

  J.D. took the seat next to her. Madge raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She started them off with bowls of homemade tomato soup.

  Rachel took her first spoonful and looked up in surprise. “I didn’t think I liked tomato soup, but this is delicious.”

  “Thank you, Rachel. It’s my own special recipe.” Madge passed some slices of garlic toast to go with the soup.

  “I’m glad I’m not having to worry about calories right now,” Rachel said.

  “You have to worry about getting enough of them,” J.D. remarked.

  Madge changed the subject. “How’s the calving going?”

  “Things have slacked off. It’s almost as if the cows are waiting for bad weather because they know it will cause us more problems.”

  “I doubt that’s true, J.D. After all, it’s not a picnic for them, either,” Madge assured him with a chuckle.

  “Have you watched the weather reports today? I feel something in the air.”

  “I heard it this morning. There’s a front coming in, but they don’t think it’ll be that strong. It’ll lower the temps a few degrees, maybe produce some showers.”

  “Maybe that’s what I’m sensing.”

  “You can tell when a change in the weather is coming?” Rachel asked, her eyes widening.

  “Not always, but there are signs. Some of the old cowboys can almost call it to the hour. They have rheumatism.”

  “Oh.”

  “I think he’s teasing you, dear,” Madge said.

  “I’d like to hear you say that when old Bluey is within earshot.” J.D. laughed when Madge’s cheeks reddened.

  She jumped up from the table. “I think our sandwiches are ready.”

  Rachel watched as Madge opened the oven and took out three plates. “You cooked our lunch already on the plates?”

  “Goodness, no. I just heated them up to be sure J.D. had a warm lunch before he went back outside. This is the roast beef I cooked for dinner last night. I just melted some cheese over it.”

  “It sounds delicious. Now I wish I hadn’t eaten all my soup. I’m not sure I have enough room for this.” Rachel stared at the hefty sandwich in front of her.

  Madge got a butcher knife and cut Rachel’s sandwich in two. “Try to eat half of it. We’ll make J.D. eat the rest.”

  “You won’t mind?” Rachel asked, looking at him for the first time.

  He gave her his sideways grin. “I don’t normally complain when someone gives me more food, Rachel. Especially on a day like today. That wind blows right through you.”

  Rachel shivered and both he and Madge jumped, immediately trying to make sure she was warm. J.D. got up and put more wood on the fire and Madge offered to put a blanket around her shoulders.

  “No, I’m fine. I was just thinking about the wind J.D. was describing.”

  “If I told you about the blizzards we have, you’d be huddling before the fire,” he told her with a smile.

  “You don’t really have blizzards, do you? In Texas?”

  “Yeah, we do. Not too often, but the weather is much harsher here than it is in the Dallas area,” J.D. assured her. Then he turned to Madge. “When is that front coming in?”

  “They said sometime tonight, but they’re not always on target.”

  “That’s for sure,” J.D. agreed with a snort of laughter.

  Suddenly a staticky voice interrupted their meal. “J.D., we found a bunch of mamas and babies huddled in a group. We’re starting them toward the barn.”

  J.D. leaped from the table to the counter, where he picked up a walkie-talkie. “Good job. I’ll meet you halfway. Give me your location.”

  When he finished the communication, he turned to Madge. “I’ve got to go.”

  “I’ll wrap up the rest of your sandwich,” Madge said. She moved to the counter with his plate and began doing so. J.D. grabbed his sheepskin-lined jacket and shrugged into it.

  “Don’t you have a scarf to go around your neck?” Rachel asked.

  “A scarf? What do you think I am, a sissy?” J.D. asked as he buttoned up his coat. Then he took the wrapped sandwich from Madge, kissed her cheek and slammed his hat on his head before heading outside into the cold air.

  After a moment of silence, Rachel shivered again. “I can’t believe it’s March and this cold.”

  “Sometimes we have a warm March. You just never know. Have you finished eating?”
<
br />   Rachel shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so. I don’t have any room left. But if you’ll wrap up my sandwich, I’ll have it for dinner. It’s delicious.”

  “Thanks, honey. Ready to go back to bed? I think a nap would be a good thing.”

  “I think you’re right,” Rachel agreed.

  THE NEXT MORNING, Rachel woke up around nine. She knew Madge would’ve been up for hours, hard at work. Feeling guilty, Rachel slid from bed and went to the bathroom without disturbing the woman.

  When she came back to her bedroom, she found Madge waiting, a tray in her hands.

  “How did you know I was up?” Rachel asked in surprise.

  “I heard you. Slip back into bed and eat your breakfast.”

  She did as Madge ordered, scanning the tray as it was put in her lap. “Mmm, hot chocolate. And scrambled eggs. This looks so good, Madge.”

  “Good. Clean your plate,” Madge ordered with a smile.

  “Did J.D. get off all right?”

  Madge looked surprised. “Lands, yes, child. He was out of here by six-thirty.”

  “Oh, yes, I remember. He’s an early riser.”

  “A rancher has to be. I’ll be back in a few minutes to get your tray.”

  Rachel snuggled down under the covers and sipped the chocolate drink, feeling guilty that she had such warmth and comfort while J.D. was outside in the raw wind that buffeted the house.

  When she finished her breakfast, she slipped out of bed again and carried her tray to the kitchen.

  “Land’s sake, Rachel. I would have come to get it. That’s too much for you to do.”

  She shook her head at the housekeeper. With graying-brown hair, Madge looked to be about sixty, but she was fit and strong and had boundless energy.

  “Oh, Madge, I’ve done so little, and you’ve cared for me. And I am getting stronger. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “No, no, child, you get back in bed where you’ll be warm. Maybe you should do a crossword puzzle out of that book I bought you. It will keep your brain working.”

  Rachel agreed and went back to her room. But she felt locked out, like a child looking through the window of a candy shop. Everyone here on the ranch was so busy, so…involved. Even when she was working, she was still uninvolved, just standing there in a certain pose, not doing something productive.

  But she supposed she’d cause more trouble than she would help if she insisted now. She was still weak. Instead, she started working on the crossword puzzles, with the television playing in the background.

  When the words “snow, possibly heavy” caught her attention, she looked up at the TV. Raptly she listened as the meteorologist predicted that due to temperatures much lower than originally forecast, there was the possibility of at least six inches of snow.

  Rachel scrambled from her bed and went into the kitchen. “Madge, the weather report has changed. It’s going to be colder and there will be snow!”

  “What?” Madge asked. She immediately turned on the small television she kept in the kitchen. As soon as she confirmed the forecast, she picked up the walkie-talkie. “J.D., this is base, come in.”

  “Yeah, Madge, what is it?”

  “The weather report has changed. Now they’re saying temps in the twenties and six inches of snow.”

  “Damn! I should’ve known. Get the nursery ready, Madge, just in case. When is it supposed to hit?”

  Madge told him it was predicted sometime in the afternoon, around three to four. Then she signed off.

  “The nursery? What’s he talking about?” Rachel asked.

  “It’s that small pen on the outside porch. We keep the babies in that pen sometimes, so they won’t freeze to death.”

  “But wouldn’t their mothers keep them warm?” Rachel asked. “I don’t know much about cows, but—”

  “The calves we keep in the pen don’t have mamas. Some cows don’t make it through birth.”

  “Oh, poor babies.”

  “I’ve got to get the bottles ready after I fix up the porch.”

  “Can I do something to help?”

  “The bottles are in that last cabinet on the top shelf. Why don’t you get them down for me?”

  Rachel was pleased to have something to do, but it didn’t take long. Then she went to the inner porch, a place for J.D. to clean up before coming into the kitchen. She peeked through the door to the outer porch and discovered Madge trying to tie down a canvas cover on the north end.

  “Can I help you, Madge?” she called.

  “Don’t come out without a coat,” the housekeeper warned.

  Rachel hurried back to her bedroom and pulled on jeans, a flannel shirt and a sweater. Then she grabbed her coat and stuck her feet in boots. She hurried back to the porch.

  “I’m all bundled up, Madge,” she announced.

  “I’m struggling because the wind is so strong. We have to tie down the sides so this tarp won’t blow away,” Madge explained.

  After tying the north end, they fastened the east side, the longer one.

  “Do we leave the south side uncovered?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes, so they can bring the babies in. Now I’ve got to spread the hay out.”

  There was a bale of hay on the porch, and Madge began to tear off handfuls and toss them into the small pen nearby. Rachel copied her.

  When they’d finished that chore, Madge got out a heater and plugged it in not far from the pen. “That will start making the place warmer in a few minutes. Now we’ve got to go fix the bottles.”

  Rachel was delighted to be included.

  Chapter Four

  “Boss, you want me to take the calf up to Madge?” Bluey asked when J.D. dismounted in the barnyard.

  “No, I’ll take it up. Can you give my horse some oats while I’m gone? How are things here?”

  “Just fine. We’ve got a barnful of mamas and babies.” The old cowboy eyed the small red-and-white animal in J.D.’s arms. “That one’s kind’a tiny, ain’t it?”

  “Yeah, Bluey, it is. I’m not sure it will make it. But maybe Madge can pull it through. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  J.D. spared a hand to settle his hat more firmly on his head before he braved the cold north wind. Mixed in were tiny bullets of ice that dug into his skin. He hurried for the back porch of the house, but it was awkward to run with both his arms wrapped around the calf.

  As he approached the porch he saw Madge’s old hat and grinned. He’d threatened to buy her a new hat and she’d refused, saying her hat was special. He hoped having it made her calm because he’d need all her skills to pull this calf through.

  “I brought you a new patient, Madge,” he called as he lowered the tiny calf into the pen. The head wearing Madge’s hat turned and he almost fell off the porch. “Rachel!”

  “Oh, J.D., that one is so little. Did its mother die, too?”

  “Uh, yeah. What are you doing out here?”

  “I’m helping Madge with the babies. She showed me what to do. Hand me the new baby. I’ll hold him while I feed him. He’s so tiny.”

  “Madge!” J.D. roared. His summons brought results; Madge came running.

  “What’s wrong? What is it, J.D.?”

  “Have you lost your mind? What’s Rachel doing out in this storm?”

  Rachel and Madge exchanged a look. Then Rachel said, “I’m not out in the storm. I’m on a sheltered porch with a heater two feet away from me.”

  “But you shouldn’t be out here!” J.D. exclaimed, glaring at her for daring to be reasonable.

  “J.D., I’m not that useless. I can help,” Rachel said stiffly.

  J.D. noticed Madge waving him away. He couldn’t believe she was telling him to leave. He gave it another shot. “This has nothing to do with your usefulness, Rachel. I’m trying to do what’s best for you.”

  “We know, J.D.,” Madge said gently. “Now be on your way and find us more babies to care for.”

  Rachel reached for the latest arrival, already cooing to
it, as if it were a real baby. J.D. stood a moment longer, watching her rub the baby calf and coax it to suck the milk bottle.

  Madge awakened him from his trance. “J.D.”

  “Right.” He walked away from the porch, returning to the wild weather outside to look for more stranded calves.

  “I THINK YOU SAVED that baby’s life, Rachel. I didn’t think he’d learn to take the bottle.”

  “Do you think he’ll make it, Madge?” Rachel asked, her gaze on her favorite calf.

  “Yes, I do. I wouldn’t have had the time to cuddle him like you did. I’m so glad you’re here.”

  A smile broke across her face as she sat back on her heels. They’d been on the porch with the calves for hours, but Rachel felt nothing but elated. “That’s such a nice thing to say. I’ve enjoyed it so much. For the first time in a long time, I’ve done something useful.”

  “Surely your modeling is useful.”

  “Not very. How desperate would you be without seeing a picture of some woman posing in clothing they want you to buy?”

  Madge helped her up from the porch floor, and together they went into the kitchen. “But you make lots of money. I’ve read about models making millions.”

  Rachel gave a bitter laugh. “In my dreams. I’m not a high fashion model, Madge. I’m a print model. I’m in the catalogs, or the flyers that come with your monthly bill, trying to get you to buy more. I’ve made decent money, but not all that much. After my mother stole my savings, I was flat broke. But Jeff, Rebecca’s husband, recovered about twenty-five thousand for me and I’ve been working hard ever since to put some money away. I have no retirement funds except for my savings. And models don’t have long careers.”

  “But you’re so pretty. I’m sure you can model for many more years.”

  “I’m not pretty now. I was under such pressure I lost too much weight and got run-down. That’s why I caught pneumonia.” She took off her coat and sat at the table Madge had set for lunch. When had she had the time? “You should see my twin. She’s expecting a baby and she just glows.”

  “Was it strange, finding out you had a twin?” Madge asked as she brought Rachel a cup of her tomato soup.

  Rachel took a sip before she answered. “In some ways. But I always had a feeling something was missing. I tried to ignore it, but I finally understood it when Rebecca and I were reunited. Even Vanessa, my youngest sister…we’re all so much alike.”