Liberty Ranch

by Temperance Johnson

  Katrina was up before anyone, wanting to get the baking and cleaning done for the day, since she hadn’t gotten to it the night before. She liked the quietness of the early morning. A lot of times she and Andrew would share breakfast together before he left for work.

  When he didn't work in town, they would eat with the girls. It helped them start the day on a good note, though it might not end that way. They seemed to enjoy being together for breakfast. The part they didn't like was when Andrew read the Bible every morning. They sat there solemnly and sometimes would interrupt him, but Andrew, with a gentle, firm hand, put a stop to that.

  Izzy walked into the kitchen, wearing a fashionable dress. It was a light pink blouse with a long straight blue skirt. Putting her hair up, Izzy said, "Mornin’, Kat."

  "Morning, Izzy."

  Izzy got the bacon out of the cooler. She looked refreshed after sleeping in the bedroom down the hall. The bedroom was supposed to be Isaiah but he gave it up for her.

  As they were getting breakfast started and talking lightly, Francesca walked in, her hair a mess. She was wearing one dress that Katrina had altered to fit her. It made her look like a young child. "Mornin’," she muttered.

  "Morning Francesca. Did you sleep well?" Katrina asked.

  Francesca was normally honest. She shook her head. "No, not really." She looked at Katrina with those dark, pretty eyes. "Do you still want to adopt us even though we don't really listen? We lie and don't treat you nice. Do you want us?"

  Katrina wasn’t surprised Francesca asked her. She had asked Ellen the same thing about the bad boys. "Yes, I do."

  "Why? Do you like us making your life miserable?" Francesca asked as she shuffled her feet.

  Katrina chuckled dryly. "No, I don't like it, but I pray, and I will help you girls work over the years to get over the bad memories and obey. I want so much for ya'll to become anyone you want to be. Francesca, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

  Francesca looked at her like she was crazy. "I am grown up. I am too old to be adopted."

  "No, you're not. You are never too old to be adopted. Adoption is like being adopted into God's family. You are never too old and in this family, you can do nothing too bad to be kicked out." Katrina gave her a serious look. "Believe me, you can do nothing that some Starry ain't done before. Once a Starry, always one."

  "So I could do nothing that would make you want to kick me out?" Francesca swore. "You know my daddy could come back and kill you all."

  Katrina flinched, "Starrys are used to it being hard. We've never given up yet. We mean this forever and always."

  Francesca gave her a look. "The Starrys reminds me of odd folk."

  Izzy and Katrina laughed.

  Izzy teased, "Now you're getting it. Starrys and Donovans are not normal folk, but we make it through pretty much anything."

  Carlissa and Sara walked in the kitchen looking hungry as usual. Katrina tried to keep some kind of food upstairs so they wouldn't feel afraid of going hungry, but it didn't work. They still acted out in the morning. Carlissa looked at them, grumpy. "What is so funny?"

  Katrina came over to give her a hug and smiled. "Well, we were laughing about our families. I can't wait until you can meet them. I told them about y'all." She gave Sara a side hug.

  Sara looked at her as she pulled away. "We probably ain't staying, so we won't have to meet them."

  That hurt Katrina more than she thought. Had they never known unconditional love? Love forever? Probably not. "No, they know you are staying here forever. They will love getting to know y'all." Neither girl reacted. So she changed the subject, picking up the bowl, “You have a nice soft voice, Sara. Did you know...” She stopped as she saw Carlissa take a hot greased biscuit off the stove. She didn't seem to notice the heat.

  Katrina put the mix down and pulled the hot biscuit out of Clarissa’s hand using her apron. "That was hot." She looked at Carlissa's small red hand. She knew about burns and how they hurt. She took Carlissa's hand, then ran water over it. "What were you thinkin’, Carlissa?"

  Carlissa started screaming, loud and in terror. She fell on the ground and screamed, crying out. "You starve me. You don't care about me. I hate you. I hate you all."

  Katrina regretted how she handled it, though it was an honest question. She put her arms around the young girl and just sat on the floor. Katrina hadn't checked on the table for a note from Andrew. At any moment, he would be in from milking.

  Katrina thought she would try something new. She began singing “Amazing Grace” as Carlissa continued to scream and fight. Francesca set the table for breakfast while Sara started beating the bread, like Katrina had been teaching her. Izzy sang with Katrina while putting breakfast on the table.

  If only her family could see her now. What would they say? As she held her baby girl, keeping her safe from herself, she felt God's peace.

  This is My Beloved child. Love and Raise her to serve Me, good and faithful servant.

  Yes. I will, my Lord. Katrina thought. She felt such love for this child. It was powerful and magnificent. She felt like she could do anything with this kind of love. She could do anything if God was with her.

  AS THEY SAT AT THE table for breakfast, Carlissa began shoving food into her mouth. She acted like she hadn't eaten in days. However, Katrina acquiesced to her behavior as long as she remained calm.

  Isaiah, Katrina’s brother, ate with them this morning. He had been avoiding them like the plague.

  "Katrina, how did you know Sara had a nice voice?" Francesca asked. “If you are deaf?”

  Katrina smiled softly and looked at Sara. "Well, I can read her lips. Everyone's lips are different. Sara has a soft, quiet voice from what I noticed."

  Francesca grinned. “Her voice sounds like that, so what is my voice like?"

  Katrina chuckled at her youthfulness. "Your voice is sometimes teasing and sarcastic. It is hard, but still feminine. It holds a little Spanish accent and when you’re mad or passionate, it comes out more."

  Francesca dipped her head. "You're right. No one ever noticed anything but what came out of my mouth." She swore, then asked like nothing was wrong, "Do you want me to call you ma now?"

  Katrina didn't notice her brother's face and just replied to Francesca’s question. "If you want to, that’s fine with me, my dear. Do you want to?"

  Francesca shrugged. "I still feel too old to call you that, but I'll think about it."

  "I hardly ever called Ellen ma because I was her oldest girl," Katrina told her. "But I don't think it's what you call the person as much as what they mean to you."

  Sara spoke up. "Did you ever call your real mother, ma?"

  Katrina glanced at Isaiah, who had known their parents longer. But he was much younger when they lived together, so they didn't have any shared memories. Katrina only had a few personal memories of her parents, and they weren't pleasant ones. She looked back at Sara, took a sip of coffee, and explained, "Aww, no. I didn't know how to talk until I left home."

  Francesca's eyes shone. "But you got a second ma." Her smile seemed real. Glancing at red-faced Isaiah, she frowned, sensing his anger. She ran a hand over her hair; a sign that she was uncomfortable.

  Katrina saw Isaiah pull at his collar and his face redden. The tension in the room grew thick. “You can’t be real to raise them!” He yelled.

  Andrew narrowed his eyes at him. “Yes, we are.” Then added, "Isaiah, we need to head out early to get to the auction today."

  Isaiah got up and stormed out.

  Andrew stood ready to follow him. He smiled at the girls. "Why don't we make a day out of it. Would you girls like to come along?"

  Katrina took his cue and acted like all was well. "Yeah, I was going to look for goats and maybe some chickens."

  Francesca smiled. "I've never been to an auction before. Sounds like fun."

  Carlissa spoke up, "Could we get a puppy?"

  Katrina looked at Andrew, and he nodded. "We can get one soon."

 
Carlissa screamed, "I want one now!"

  Katrina stood and looked at her. "Well, you will have to wait until later because they don't sell puppies at the auction."

  Andrew also stood next to Katrina. "You will wait because we told you to."

  She screamed again, "I told you I don't want to wait!"

  Katrina looked at Izzy and signed to her, "Watch the girls for me."

  Izzy nodded.

  Katrina looked at the girls and said, "I'm going to the barn with Andrew for a minute. If you wouldn't mind, please help Izzy clean up so we can go to town early."

  Andrew took her hand, and they headed out to talk to the younger, furious brother. “I can’t believe he is reacting like this.”

  Katrina frowned. “He doesn’t like change and he came to the plantation late in life. And he wanted to live here before he found his own place.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He should know better.” He slammed the barn door.

  Katrina hadn't seen him this mad in a long time, but she understood his feelings towards Isaiah. He had no right to do that to her children. This was their decision. Not his. He called for Isaiah.

  Isaiah walked out of the stalls looking equally upset with his face red and hot. "How could you want those girls to stay forever? You hardly know them. It has only been a couple weeks."

  "It is our choice. What does it matter to you?" Andrew told him.

  "What does it matter?" He yelled. "I live here too, last I remember! I gave up my bedroom for Izzy because of them. Now I have to give up my home for them. You should have told me before tellin’ the girls."

  "You're right, we should have told you. I am sorry for that." Andrew looked at him. "It doesn't matter now. We are raising the girls."

  Isaiah's mouth dropped open. "Why? You don't know what they will do to you or your life. That little redhead hates both of you."

  Katrina stood next to Andrew and took his hand. "I know they don't like us right now, but we love them. I want to give them a home and to show them a little bit of love. We talked about this before."

  Andrew spoke, his voice steady. "Katrina is right, we want to show our daughters what love is."

  "They are so messed up. How can you love them? They got problems as big as the gulf." Isaiah ran a hand through his dark red hair, his green eyes glaring at them. "This is so messed up. It’s nothing like we planned when we came here. What will the rest of the family say about this?"

  "Some things have to change, and this is one of them," Andrew told him.

  Katrina spoke up. "It's not like you want to fit in. You don't come to anything besides church. What do you want?"

  "When the rest of the Starrys come and life will get back to normal," he told her angrily. “I don’t want to trust the Alexanders or any other neighbor just to lose them.”

  Katrina saw the hurt in his face. It scared him to let someone get close again and just lose them like they lost Ellen and their tummy parents. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Isaiah, but you can trust these people. They are good."

  "It doesn't matter." He paused. "What will the family say about this?"

  Andrew stated the facts. "I telegraphed them and they like the girls."

  Isaiah looked at them with such hurt and anger. "You told our family that lives five hundred miles away before you told me."

  "You don't visit us in the evenings anymore. You only come by for meals. How are we supposed to tell you?" Katrina told him honestly.

  "It doesn't matter." He looked at her with disgust. "I don't want them here. That Spanish girl is a whore, for Pete's sake."

  Katrina didn't see what occurred, but the aftermath was visible. She saw Isaiah on the ground holding his jaw and Andrew standing over him holding his fist. Katrina took Andrew's arm, trying to calm him.

  "You ever say something like that about my daughter again, you won't be talking for a long time," Andrew spat at him.

  Isaiah stood up, still holding his jaw. "Fine, pick a bunch of girls over your own kin. Have it your way," Isaiah yelled as he stormed out.

  His words stung Katrina more than she wanted to admit. He was her only blood brother, and he had turned his back on her again.

  Andrew put his arms around her. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the world. He held her while she wiped her tears on his shirt like so many times before. She felt Andrew pray for her as he held her. And she did the same as she cried for her brother and her broken daughters.

  Chapter 9

  Walking into the kitchen, Izzy heard yelling coming from the parlor.

  "I don't feel like it," Francesca yelled.

  Katrina yelled back, though not angrily. "I don't care what you feel. It needs to be done."

  Izzy walked in at the right moment, as Katrina looked at her in relief. The girls needed to know Katrina was strong enough to handle their anger. Izzy looked at Francesca and spoke in Spanish. "Do it now! For your ma. She needs your help to show the other girls how to work."

  Francesca glared at her and started doing her chores.

  Katrina stared at Izzy wondering how she did that.

  Izzy shrugged and signed, "You can do it. Just hide more of what you are feeling and don't show them that you are bothered by what they do. If you reveal all of your emotions, then it shows them that they won the battle. You can do this."

  Katrina nodded and signed, "I needed to hear that." She paused. "You don't sugarcoat things, do you?"

  Izzy signed while Katrina watched her, "Nope, it does no good."

  "Thanks a lot." Katrina chuckled, then signed, "I just don’t know how to get them to do anything."

  Izzy signed back, "Have you ever worked with cattle?"

  "Of course, I have. Well, a few times," Katrina spoke.

  "The girls aren't used to hard work, so let them get used to it by working cattle with them. Andrew can show them the tricks. We need to do that before fall anyhow. Just do it sooner," Izzy explained.

  Katrina thought about it for a moment. "I'll talk with Andrew about it. They have to get better at riding."

  Izzy nodded. "I'll take Fran out today. Why don't you take the little girls out on a ride? I have a good saddle for Carlissa, and Sara will be fine in the saddle. She has a good body shape for it."

  Katrina nodded.

  Izzy added shyly, "You're not offended by me telling you what to do?"

  Katrina thought about it. "Not really. I lived with Gloria and Julia for a long time. They can both be bossy. And then Susan moved in and you know how she is, so I am a person who just goes with the flow."

  Izzy laughed. "Oh, you might change after living a life with these three little angels." Izzy knew Katrina's life would get much worse before it got better.

  Before stepping outside, Izzy grabbed her jacket, knowing she might need it where she planned to go. Heading to the barn, her eyes adjusted to the bright sun.

  "What are we doing out here?" Francesca asked, still upset for having to finish her chores.

  "Why don't you figure it out, girl? You look smart enough to me," Izzy answered back. She pointed to the saddle. "Get me that tack and I'll show you how to saddle the paint." Poder and Phoenix stood tied to the hitching post.

  Francesca grumbled as she obeyed. Izzy patiently showed her how to saddle. She was becoming more comfortable around horses.

  Izzy grabbed Phoenix’s white mane as she mounted. The horse was a palomino and was thick as well as tall. He was white up to his knees with a white blaze down his face.

  Francesca sat on the horse like a statue as her horse picked up speed as they rode out of the barn.

  "Do you want to try something?" Izzy said. Remembering how she felt the first time she ran on a horse.

  Francesca nodded slowly. "Sure, why not?"

  "Hold onto the saddle’s horn and tighten your legs." Multiple times Izzy showed Francesca how to hold her legs, but she still held them like she had no control over anything. "Lean a little forward like this," Izzy explained, as she dug her fingers into Phoenix's white
mane. As the wind blew, Izzy got a whiff of him. She loved his smell because it brought a comfort. Waiting for Francesca to follow, she smiled at her, saying, "Now hang on and say yeehaw."

  Francesca smiled, knowing what was coming, and nodded.

  Izzy's horse took up a ground-eating gait. Glancing behind her, she was pleased to see Francesca laughing. Izzy rode well despite not having ridden in a while. Phoenix also knew this land better than she did. Izzy could remember riding from the time she was two years old, sitting on the horse behind her brother or cousin. She thought that what she experienced was typical of how every child grew up. At a young age, she found out why she rode the range with the cowboys. Her pa had hit her when her brother or cousin weren’t there to protect her. She decided it was better on the range. By the age of six, she was riding her own pony and cooking for her cousins. Horses were safe. They didn't tell secrets and never left an owner when they were needed. Phoenix was there at the worst times. Glancing again behind her, at the edge of the open field, Francesca was still smiling. She pulled Phoenix up at the river.

  Izzy smiled back and dismounted. "You rode very well."

  Francesca tried to dismount the same way and fell to the ground. She just stood up and brushed herself off, not caring. "I suck at riding. This mare is just dull."

  Izzy ignored how she dismounted and liked how Francesca got right back up like nothing happened. "No Liberty horse is dull, honey. They are just well trained," she told her. "Actually, your pa trained that mare."

  "When can I ride Poder?"

  Izzy knew Francesca hated asking, but she didn’t have much of a choice. If she didn't let her ride Poder soon, she might ride him by herself and that would be a big mistake. "I'll ask Andrew what he thinks. But with how you rode today, you can ride him soon."

  Izzy took off her stockings and boots, then waded through the water, letting her divided skirt get wet.

  "What are you doing?" Francesca asked as she sat on the ground.

  "Cleaning out the dam, I noticed it the other day when I was finding more stray cattle," Izzy told her as she moved the branches from the dam.