“Well, if you two are done fightin’ I’ll be havin’ my breakfast,” Blake intervened.
“You’ll be having your breakfast on your head if’n you’re not careful. And you be sure to watch the door, boy. We only have so many hinges.” Leona served heaping spoons of hash browns and eggs with bacon and toast.
“Kid, what are you up to today?” Jack asked.
“Those two heifers still haven’t calved after last week’s branding. I thought I’d go to the south end and check on them.” When he was younger it had bothered him to be called kid, but he hardly noticed anymore. Only when it was a serious matter did Blake hear his given name.
“Sounds good. I’m going to run over and check the downed fences like Leona suggested.” He nodded his head toward Leona and winked at Blake. “When you’re done, why don’t you come on over and we’ll see what we can do.”
“I’d like to ride today, if that’s okay.” Blake had some things he wanted to sort out and thinking was always better on the back of a horse.
“Sure enough. I’ll take the flat-bed.”
As Blake ate, his eyes wandered. The white kitchen walls were simple, but Grandma’s hand sewn curtains touched them with home. Silver pots of all sizes hung from the frame he and Grandpa had fastened to the ceiling last summer. Leona was not quite five foot so it had to be hung low. Blake and Grandpa at over six foot were forever hitting their heads on the bean pot and swearing, but Grandma loved it. So it stayed. What a home they had made for a lonely little boy. Angry words were never spoken here, perhaps a few cross ones, but bitterness, never. In Blake’s opinion, love was felt here like no other place on earth.
“Thanks for breakfast, Grandma,” Blake put his dishes in the sink and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you at lunch. Do you need anything from outside before I go?”
“Nope. Sure don’t. I’ll be out and about soon. Thought I’d go into town and buy a new pair of boots.”
“Lord, woman, what the hell do you need a new pair of boots for? You have thirty of ’em stacked in the closet as it is,” hollered Jack.
“What are you yelling about? Besides I said I thought. Doesn’t mean I will!”
Before Blake got cornered into saying something, he headed out. He shut the screen door lightly, hoping they wouldn’t notice. About twenty feet away he could still hear them hackling. Doesn’t mean I will. Whew. Yes it does, he thought. They’d probably be red. Grandma loved red.
• • •
“Would you stop shouting for a minute?” griped Leona after she was certain Blake was gone. “And listen. I wanted Blake to skedaddle so I could talk to you, alone.”
“About what?”
“Kate.”
“What about her?”
“Blake’s got a burr under his saddle about her. That’s what.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, you heard him say that he wanted to ride. That always means he’s got some thinking to do. And Kate is what he’s thinking about. I know ’cause I saw a letter to her on his dresser this morning.”
“Did you read it?”
“Oh, for heavens sake. No, I didn’t read it!”
“Why not?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“Oh. Horse shit. If you wanted to, you would have read it.”
“Well I didn’t. But, I got an idea on how to help ’em out.”
Jack didn’t necessarily like the look in Leona’s eye. “What’s your idea?”
“For you to talk to him. Tell him how it is with men and women.”
“And how is it?” Jack’s eyes joked.
“You know.”
“I do?” He shook his head.
“Yes.” Leona whacked him on the back of the head with a potholder. “Would you just talk to him?”
“Yes, dear. I’ll talk to him,” Jack crossed to the door, not having a clue as to what to say to Blake.
Leona followed.
“I’ll see you this afternoon. I think you ought to get some boots. Make ’em red.” Jack winked. “I love you.” Jack leaned down to kiss her.
“I love you too, old man.” She stood on tip-toe and kissed him back. Smiling all the while inside knowing exactly what color of boots she was going to buy — red, white, and blue. They’d be wonderful! She could hardly wait.
• • •
The sun was about halfway up the horizon when Blake arrived at the pasture. He saw right away that one of the calves had been born. Just at the edge of the feeding pen in the shelter of the fence a little red and white face peered at him. The little feller stood up on wobbly legs and struggled slowly to his mother’s side. Watching them made Blake smile. It sure was nice to see a miracle once in a while.
Not wanting to bother the new calf too much Blake turned about to search for the other heifer. She was moving slow, but looked like it would be another day or two. All was well here so he headed to the north pasture at a quick gallop. Need Kate, need Kate resounded with the beat of his pulse and his horse’s pounding hooves all the way there. How? How? Was the question Blake kept asking.
“Hey, kid,” Grandpa called when he arrived.
“Hey, Grandpa.”
“Damn! That Steve character sure made a hell of a mess!” Jack wiped his sleeve across his brow.
“You’ve been working hard for a while. Let me have a go.” Blake took the wire cutters and barbed wire from Jack’s hands.
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?” Jack grouched more to himself than to Blake.
It was hell getting old.
“How was the talk at coffee this morning,” Blake encouraged. Knowing that all Jack needed was a little prompting and he would talk for an hour about a conversation that lasted five minutes in the coffee shop.
“Hell, we didn’t do much talking.” Jack tried to figure how the devil he was going to do what Leona had ordered. Just say something, he thought. “How’s that little pony doing?”
“Little Lady? Oh. She’s doing great. She’s really smart.”
“When are you going to give her to Kate?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’d better get a move on it.”
“I know. It’s just she won’t listen to me. I tried talking to her.”
“Stop trying and do it.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Hell, yes it is. How do you think I got the woman I married? Gave her flowers? She’d have thrown them in my face. No sir. I found what her heart wanted and gave her that. Boots! Yes sirree!” Jack nodded, clearly remembering the first pair he’d ever given her. “Now mind you she didn’t take to them right away. In fact she hated them. I got those in my face. Wrong color. Next pair. They were red. Now that was the winner.”
“Kate doesn’t want boots.”
“No, you fool. It’s not the boots or the horse or anything like that. It’s the heart. Find what’s in her heart. What her heart wants. It’s the finding that’s the loving. Not the gift,” Jack finished feeling like he had done pretty darn good for an old goat. He chuckled and his gaze went distant.
Blake shook his head. He knew both that sound and the look that went with it. Grandpa was thinking about Grandma. He was still in love with her. “I’ll try, Grandpa.”
• • •
He didn’t exactly chuckle, but almost. His new disguise was going to work great on these small town hicks, he thought as he adjusted his bow tie. Especially here. He nodded as he twirled a single long stemmed red rose. The crisp Colorado air did nothing to refresh his mind, the beauty didn’t touch him — only anger. Only blood.
CHAPTER 5
“Okay, that’s enough for today,” Kate yelled from her perch on the white pole fence. “Why don’t you come on over?” She smiled at the three girls an
d two boys who made up her beginning horsemanship class as they each slowed their horses and walked to her.
Every other Saturday Kate taught three horsemanship classes. Out of the novice, intermediate, and advanced, this class was her favorite. Sure, she loved to see the flying lead changes and roll backs her other students could do with their mounts, but she loved this class the best. It was really special to see her students’ hesitant movements become confident while their patient mounts went from confused tag-a-longs to willing partners.
“Miss White? My mom said you went parasailing out in California last weekend.” Riley asked from atop his big roan. “What’s parasailing anyway?”
“Was it fun?” asked Beth.
“Yeah, was it?”
“Was that city man nice?” asked Laura.
Kate looked at their smiling, expectant faces and smiled herself. “Yeah, he was nice and it was fun, kind of like flying. Not as fun as sitting up here on this cold fence grinding dirt with my teeth, but — ”
The group giggled.
“Anyway, who can tell me what we learned today?” Kate asked them.
“We learned about lead changes,” Kevin answered as he wiped his face with the back of shirtsleeve.
“What are they?” Kate grinned, knowing Kevin would get an ear full when he got home.
“We use gentle pressure with the reins and leg to guide our horses in the direction we want them to go.” Cathy looked up into the air visualizing the motions and repeating Kate’s exact words.
“Great, now before you go. Keep your heels?”
“Down,” the group replied.
Kate nodded. “Keep your face?”
“Up.”
“And?”
“Keep a leg on each side and your mind in the middle,” the group chorused with serious determination. They all felt honored to have such a phrase applied to their own lives. Rough stock competitors in the rodeo used the adage.
“Which means?” Kate asked and laughed as they each gave their own interpretation.
“Look where I’m going.”
“Pay attention.”
“Don’t look at my hands.”
“Keep my feet in the stirrups.”
“Don’t let go of the reins.”
“You did great today. Go ahead and cool down your horses.” Kate paused. She saw Luke out of the corner of her eye leaning against her truck, smiling. Waving at him, she went back to what she was saying. “No grain and no water yet. I’ll be over in a minute to help.” Kate made sure that each student made it out the gate and was on the way to the stables. “Hey, Luke, I didn’t know you were coming,” Kate said as she jumped down.
“I had to see you.” Luke pulled her to him.
“I’m almost done. Been here long?”
“A little while. Did you enjoy the rodeo?” He kissed Kate’s hand.
“Yeah. I won.” She smiled.
Luke nodded. “I talked to Ranae. She said you’d be here. So I thought I’d come over and see if you were hungry.”
“Starving. I haven’t eaten since Green River, and that was just a muffin when I filled the tank.”
“That’s Utah, right?”
Kate laughed. “You wanna hang around? You can come meet the kids.”
“I’m not exactly dressed for horse play.” Luke flipped up the lapel on his suit jacket.
“No, I guess not.” Kate laughed. Luke was always so clean-cut and neat. She liked having him as an addition to her life. She was tired of cowboys and their empty promises.
Well, one cowboy, anyway.
“Do what you need to. I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes?”
“Sure. I’ll get the kids on their way, then check on Lady Bug. You can at least meet her before we eat.” Kate stood on her toes and kissed Luke’s cheek. “I’ll hurry.”
• • •
Who the hell is that guy? Blake wondered. He’d been watching his niece in Kate’s horsemanship class and was standing near the watering trough. He’d have rather sat up on the fence beside Kate, but he figured he’d give her some space. He was pretty much forced to because she still wasn’t returning his phone calls. He’d even tried to find her after the rodeo in Utah, but couldn’t.
So he thought he might as well stay out of sight. That option was out of the question, now. He didn’t like how that city guy was all duded up in his fancy suit and shiny shoes. He especially didn’t like how he watched Kate walk away with that sly, smug damn-she’s-cute-and-mine look on his face. Knock the front row of his teeth out, how ’bout that? Blake kicked at a clod of dirt and walked after Kate. The only person she ought to be kissing was him.
• • •
Kate smiled for the first time in twenty or so hours. Luke was just what she needed to get over Blake. There were so many days he’d ruined. No more! I’m going to enjoy the rest of my college days with Luke. We’re going to … well, who knows, but we’re going to do it, she thought. I can laugh with Luke. And dance. And eat. And I don’t have to worry about Blake and his lies. Or his broken promises. Or his strong arms or his smooth voice. Or his — damn! I’ve got to quit this, Kate chastised herself.
As patiently as she could manage, Kate got the kids to cool down their horses, water them and put them away. She had to repeat several times how to follow the horse’s hair with the currycomb and to walk on the left side so the horse didn’t get confused. She was pleased that she had to remind her students less and less to thank the horse for the hard work. She was as glad to see them wrapping their little arms around the horses’ strong necks as she was to feel those same arms hold tight to her waist. With the final good-bye and promise to see them next Saturday, Kate looked at her watch. She had fifteen minutes before Luke would be back, and she still had a few more things to do.
Early springtime birds chirped their evening songs as Kate walked the distance to the practice pen. The ground beneath her feet was so familiar it felt as if it were her own. She had walked this path since she was nearly fifteen. She’d been so determined to get a job at Waldman Stables that she’d have ridden anything to prove her worth.
“I’ll ride anything you have, Mr. Waldman,” Kate’s fifteen-year-old voice pleaded.
“There’s no mister around here, kiddo. If you find one, you let me know. My name’s Pete. Pete Waldman. And what d’ya mean — ”
“I want to work here. I’m good with horses. I know how to work with them when they’re lame. I know how to train them to lead, to saddle, to barrels. I’m learning how to rope, so I can do that pretty soon, too. Pete.”
“What do you know about them?” Pete stretched his bulky six foot frame to its largest.
“I know I love ’em.” Kate stretched her five-foot-four-frame to its tallest.
“Well, good to know. When can you start?”
Kate laughed at her memory as she folded her arms over the top rail of the pen. She owed Pete and Susan Waldman a lot. Not only did she have a job here to help pay for Lady’s board, but she worked for Susan at the college in town. She wanted to make sure they never regretted all they had done for her. So she took extra care as she checked the latches on the practice pen gate and the round corral. She slowed her step as she walked the perimeter leading back to the stables. Her eyes scanned the ground for stray trash or wire, anything that might injure a horse.
Finding nothing, she paused a moment to massage the tired from her arms and stretch the muscles in her back and legs. She’d stayed in Utah just long enough to cool Lady down and hear if she’d won. Then she packed up and drove home. Blake was in the bareback event, and she didn’t want to run into him again. She’d been up almost twenty-four hours. But she didn’t complain, didn’t even feel like it. The hours meant she was living the rodeo life. What were a few hours of sleep when she was living her dream,
chasing cans and following the white lines on the highway?
She felt lucky, in fact that she was even still able to rodeo. She’d almost lost the chance when her mother had her first heart attack. Selling the ranch, the horses, and watching her mother’s strong body age to a frail shadow of itself, was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Being able to keep Lady at Waldman Stables and continue to rodeo was a blessing that Kate wasn’t about to forget.
The white-capped mountain peaks turned red in the fading light. The Sangre de Cristo range or the blood of Christ showed its namesake this night. Waldman Stables set out of town enough so that Kate could see all the mountains that surrounded the high valley. Their purple shades gave her peace as she wound her way between the watering trough and practice pen back to Lady’s stall. A small breeze floated across the Rio Grande river. It brought with it the scent of newly blooming prairie flowers and young shoots of grass that grew at the edge of the river. The bright white pole fences linking the sables to the tall indoor arena grayed in the dusty twilight. Just outside Lady’s stall a yellow light bulb shone a golden welcome to Kate, as did the candid smile of the cowboy who stood beneath it.
“Hello, Kate.”
The fading light, the purple mountains and Blake’s voice held Kate captive. The last time they’d been together below a sky with the moon just rising, had been after a rodeo years ago and they’d been dancing. They’d held onto each other as if the stars were their candles and the moon their wine. The only music playing was a waltz their hearts swayed to. The other dancer on their midnight dance floor was the summer breeze. It winked at them and teased them into kissing. Laughing and snuggling into their sleeping bag, the kiss grew. Kate could still feel Blake’s lips on hers and his body warm above her. Her heart cried a little. The birds sang their last song as they roosted for the night. The world beyond the circle of light grew black and damp. Kate never felt so lonely.
“Guess you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here?”
“It’s late, Blake. I’m tired.”
“Not too tired to be kissing that city feller.” Blake could’ve kicked himself. He wanted to talk to her, not fight.
The Wanting Heart Page 4