by Danni Roan
“Well, they seemed to be all wrapped up with each other again by the time we left,” Reg answered with a wicked grin, making Billy chortle.
“That's a strange tale for sure,” Benjamin said. “We’ll take turns keeping guard tonight. You two should go get some shut eye.” He smiled at Lexi, the girl who had been like a niece to him her whole life. All of the girls of the Broken J were like family. “You did good, both of you," he added.
A minute later, Lexi’s grandfather, Isadoro Leoné, walked over and wrapped his arms around his girl. “How did it go with your Nona?” he asked quietly, wondering if his wife of more than thirty years had come through the danger in her usual brisk manner.
“She was amazing Grans,” Lexi said with a wicked grin, “I even think she’ll be friends with Ray now.”
Lexi laughed, as her grandfather’s soft cinnamon colored eyes grew wide. “Now that will be something,” he finished as he kissed her cheek.
The dark man, no taller than his granddaughter, shook his graying head. “Bianca never ceases to amaze me. I can’t wait to get home and see her.”
After supper, Lexi washed her face and hands, then headed for her bedroll. It would be wonderful to just sleep away the stress and weariness of the day’s ride. She knew that the next few days would be easier going because at least the herd would move slowly, but at the same time, she felt like they couldn’t get to Casper quick enough.
She had just walked around the big freight wagon where she would bed down for the night when she saw Reg making his way back to the fire. His now familiar face broke into a wide grin when he saw her and he pulled his hat off politely.
“I sure am glad we made it.” He spoke, his voice quiet in the soft night. “I have to admit I was a little worried along the way.”
“Yes, it is a relief to be with the rest of the family,” she replied, looking up at him. It was strange how tall he seemed when his brother was so much shorter. For a long moment, they stood there silently absorbed in their own thoughts. “Thank you for all you did for me,” Lexi finally broke the silence, “and my family.”
Reg smiled as her kind words trickled into his mind. “Anyone would have done the same,” he commented shyly, feeling awkward and yet pleased by the simple thank you. As silence stretched between them again, he finally put his hat back on his head, looked at her with a smile and said, “Good night then,” before walking off toward the campfire.
Chapter 2
Dawn had barely broken over the wide-open prairie when the herd started moving again. This time to keep a closer eye on the outlaws, they had been bundled into Hank’s big red freight wagon and bound snuggly to one of the handful of chairs the furniture builder had brought along to see if he could sell them in the burgeoning town.
“Eric, you ride Scooter today,” Fiona told her adopted son. “You don’t need to be around men like this.”
The boy’s bright blue eyes sparkled as he gazed at the surly captives, but he did not argue and was soon mounted on his small, but intelligent, mule.
To everyone’s surprise, Cathleen offered to guard the prisoners and picked up the heavy shotgun with a confidence that made even her husband raise a brow.
“I watched daft dairy cows my whole life. How much harder can this be,” she chortled, accepting a hand up into the wagon bed. “Besides, a load of buckshot to their posteriors might brighten their disposition a little.” Her quick smile belied her words, but Benji had no doubt that the woman would shoot first and ask questions later.
The drive was bound to be long, but it felt good to be outside. Lexi rode a fresh horse from the remuda, giving her bay a chance to rest as it ambled along with the herd under Walt’s watchful eye. The longtime wrangler of the Broken J was a short wiry man with a head as bald as an egg and a cheerful disposition, and she was glad to leave the big horse she called Gabe with him.
For a long time, Alexis was content to ride along beside the red freight wagon, watching as the two huge Clydesdale horses pulled the contraption over the rutted path with ease. She’d take, the time to chat with Fiona, passing the time and discussing the imminent arrival of the next member of the family. Fiona, always kind and cheerful, was delighted to be expecting. Hank, on the other hand, seemed to get more nervous every day.
As she rode along, Lexi watched the cowhands moving around the outskirts of the herd, pushing any stragglers back into the main bunch and watching for the few who kept trying to turn back toward the home range. In the far rear, riding drag, she could just make out her other brother-in-law, Will Robinson, as his long, straight form faded in and out of the dust kicked up by nearly two hundred cows.
Will had married her oldest sister Katie, but Katie was still back on the ranch with their little girl, Mary. Lexi smiled thinking about how Will and Katie almost never had a chance at happiness, but that in the end things had worked out. Today she could see that the dark-haired ranch foreman was riding the colt he called Duster that been a wedding present from her uncle Brion, who lived in the Wind River Mountains. The flashy liver chestnut gelding with the wide white blaze and white stockings was starting to shape up into a fine cow pony.
Continuing her survey of the drive, she also noticed Reg riding off to the side of the herd, following the ranch’s other hand, Stephens. She couldn’t see it from where she was, but she was sure that Reg was puzzling over how to move cattle to market. Lexi could almost see the tiny ridge between his brows that appeared when he was in deep thought. As if he could feel her gaze on him, Reg turned his chestnut pony toward her and lifted a hand.
Lexi blushed. She couldn’t remember ever blushing in her life, but she could feel the heat on her face. Even as she lifted a hand in return, she couldn't understand what possibly had brought that on.
Chapter 3
Alexis caught the smug grin on her sister Fiona's face, and schooled her features to indifference. It was true she was thinking more and more about the young farmer who had come to work the new wheat endeavor at the Broken J, but it was not for the reasons her sisters seemed to believe. She was sure that if she were attracted to the young man, she would know by now.
When Reg had arrived at the ranch, she and her sister Isabella had known that their father's intentions were no only to acquire more skilled labor, but to present eligible young men for his daughters.
Lexi herself had discovered the subterfuge one evening when she descended the back stairs that skirted her grandparents room on her way to get a drink of water. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the letter her father had been reading to the others in a husky whisper had intrigued her and she had listened, slowly putting the pieces together in her mind. She smiled, realizing that her older sisters, despite their own marital status, had never suspected their father's intentions.
Still they were happy; even her twin Isabella had married Reg's younger brother, knowing full well what the rest of the family had been up to. For a moment, Alexis furrowed her brow, hoping that her closest sibling was happy and that she and Taylor had worked out their differences. They had seemed to be alright when she and Reg had started out after the herd.
"Lexi?" Fiona called from the wagon bench. "Is something bothering you?"
Alexis smiled reassuringly to her older sister. "No, I'm fine," she said, "just thinking, that's all."
"You seem to do that a great deal," Fiona said, but her voice was kind.
"That's 'cuz Lexi's smart," Eric piped up as he trotted Scooter up next to her.
Fiona ruffled the blonde hair of the boy. He was growing so fast. She wondered why he'd opted to ride his rangy mule so close to the wagon today instead of following the cowboys or keeping Billy company. She worried he was a little too fascinated by the bound men in the back of his father's large, red wagon,
"I don't know how smart I am, Eric," Lexi began, "I just know I like to learn new things. The world is an amazing place and we should always be learning. Who knows what will be discovered in the next few years."
Again, Lexi not
iced Reg in the distance, but this time he was clinging to his saddle horn as his nimble mount dodged after a wily cow that had bolted from the herd. She smiled despite herself. Apparently Reginald Ogden shared her love of learning, but she knew he would be paying for this particular lesson with sore muscles tonight.
"I'd better go help out," Alexis called to her sister, then turned her pony toward the herd, years of experience in the saddle making her movements fluid and effortless.
Reg Ogden waited for his pony to finish its job before easing his grip on the saddle horn. He had hung back most of the morning, watching the other cowhands wrangle the herd. After long study, he thought he was ready to deal with the demands of a cattle drive and turned his horse toward a maverick that had darted out of the main bunch.
Like lightening, the pony had lowered its head and dashed after the offending animal, darting and dancing to maneuver the longhorn back in line. It had been all Reg could do to stay in the saddle as he was tossed around like a sack of feed. Surely, with practice he could learn how to actually be a part of the process instead of simply being along on the ride.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Alexis, her bright brown eyes sparkling in the dazzling day, watching him and he felt the heat rising along his cheeks and pooling in his ears. He had always been prone to blushing and the fact made him blush all the more. His mother swore it was because of his red hair, but that did not make it any less embarrassing.
Who ever heard of a grown man blushing like a schoolchild? He hoped Alexis wouldn't think less of him for his lack of cattle driving skills; after all, he had been hired on as a farmer, not a cowhand.
Easing his mount away from the dust and noise of the herd, Reg pulled off his hat and swiped a warn bandana across his face and hair. The day had turned progressively hotter and he knew that by noon it would be baking out here.
Wyoming was a beautiful state but the summers could be dry and hot. Not for the first time he thought hard about the state. He smiled to himself, remembering that he and his brother had actually come from what was known as the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Just one of life's little ironies, he guessed.
Thinking of his brother, he wondered if his more impulsive sibling had finally settled things with Alexis' twin, Isabella. He knew he could not do anything to mend the rift between the two lovers, but that didn't mean he didn't worry. On top of pondering how that situation would resolve itself, he planned to send back East for their mother once the herd reached Casper. He had responsibilities and needed to keep his head on straight.
When Pastor Jed had told him and Taylor about the job with Joshua James, they had left their mother with her sister and headed to Wyoming as fast as they could, but they had all known that was only a temporary arrangement. He wondered what his mother would think of the James family, and more specifically of Alexis.
He let his eyes drift over the herd again only to see the young woman, dressed in men's clothing, pushing a cow back toward the herd from a low rise. Her long dark braid lifted and fell on her back from the rhythm of the horse’s movements, but she sat in the saddle with ease.
For long moments he studied her, observing her seat in the saddle, her hands on the reins and her posture when the cow pony moved to direct the wayward cow. She did not seem to struggle to stay in the saddle at all.
Lifting his hat from his head, he ran a hand through his russets colored hair and frowned. Maybe Lexi could teach him how to herd cows. She was a smart woman, someone who, like himself, enjoyed learning new things. Surely, she would understand his desire to learn a new and useful skill. With a soft grin, he turned his pony toward the far side of the herd of cattle as they drifted across the prairie.
Lexi didn't notice as Reg turned his dun horse in her direction. She was busy aiming her own mount toward a white cow with a black stripe down his mottled back and horns that spanned nearly six feet. Accustomed to working with cattle from an early age, she quickly turned the steer back and let her horse settle into an easy walk on the outside of the herd.
"You seem to find that easy," Reg's voice caught Alexis by surprise as he trotted up behind her.
"I've had practice," she offered with a smile.
Reg ran a hand along the back of his neck. "Well, I've been studying on it and I can see what's happening and what to do, but I seem to be a split second behind my horse when it comes to chasing cattle." He cast his eyes out over the dust of the drive as the cattle strung themselves across the prairie in a loose line behind the lead cow.
"You have to get a feel for it." Alexi spoke, her eyes still on the long horn cattle moving slowly toward the town of Casper. “You learn to see signs that a cows going to bolt.” Lifting a hand, she pointed toward a young steer on the far side of the herd that had just raised its head slightly and rolled its eyes. "Like that one," she said as in the same instance the animal trotted toward a grassy rise and was immediately turned back by Stephens.
"They don't give many clues, but if you watch you'll figure it out."
Reg smiled at the young woman riding along beside him. "You know a lot about cows."
"Not as much as the men, or even Katie. She used to ride with Pa all the time before she got married."
"Do you enjoy it?" Reg finally asked, puzzling over a woman working cattle.
"I've never really thought about if I liked it or not." Lexi turned her coffee colored eyes toward him. "I've just always done it." She was quiet for a few minutes before she continued, "I guess I like being useful, and honestly I enjoy the freedom of the open range, but it isn't something I'd like to do every day."
They rode along together companionably for a while, neither interrupting the other’s thoughts.
"You really want to learn to wrangle cows, don't you?" Lexi finally asked.
Reg lifted his gray-green gaze to hers. "I think it would make sense for me to learn how, yes, it doesn't make sense to have people who can't do at least a little of everything needed on the ranch. I know my job is largely to see about the wheat, but I can learn to do other things as well." He paused and scanned the wide horizon before speaking again. "I guess when it comes down to it, I just like learning."
Lexi smiled. She often felt the same way. The world was such a fascinating place and so many people had set down their thoughts and accounts of what they'd seen or done. It was wonderful to pick up a book and understand what they had to say, to see what they had seen.
With a soft smile, she watched Reg ride off, intently observing the cattle in the late afternoon sun.
Chapter 4
"Help! Help!" The screams of a man in obvious pain rousted the drivers and family alike in the darkest part of the night.
"Get this damn critter off of me," the voice wailed, as shuffling noises approached the large red wagon and the skinny outlaw came dashing out of the night, the thin form of the mule, Scooter, close on his heels, teeth snapping.
"Get 'em off! Get 'em off!"
Benjamin Smith, the old foreman of the Broken J, stood with his rifle in hand but smiled at the spectacle before him as he watched the skinny outlaw scramble into the bed of the wagon with his companions, the back of his faded britches all but missing.
Scooter, on the other hand, trotted up to Benji looking pleased with himself and stretched out his pale gray nose for a pat. You just never knew what the ugly little critter would get up to next, and to Benji that was a good thing.
As Hank hurried to re-tie the hands of the outlaw, Benji relaxed enough to pat the scraggly mule on the neck. A moment later, a somewhat dazed looking Walters ambled into camp.
"That scallywag done conked me on the head," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his bald plate. "I took him out to relieve himself and he done knocked me cold."
"Good thing we have a guard mule, I guess," Benji could not keep the chuckle out of his voice, even as the others who had come on the run began ambling back to their bedrolls.
"Here, Uncle Walt," Fiona called, getting to her feet awkwardly, "Let me
have a look."
The lean horse wrangler of the Broken J walked toward the young woman he considered family on bowed legs, leaning down for her to examine the injury. "It doesn't look too bad," Fiona said a moment later. "You'll have a lump for a few days, though."
Benji patted Walt on the shoulder as he gingerly placed his hat back on his head and turned toward his blankets, knowing Benji would sit the next watch. Casper seemed a long way off.
"You did really good," Eric was saying to his mule as he led him away toward the front of the wagon again. The boy had all but given up on tying the animal with the rest of the stock for the night. It never did any good anyway. Since the mule, a gift from Uncle Brion, had arrived on the Broken J, no one had been able to keep him where they put him.
The early morning sun found both cattle and people pushing on toward Casper. Eric perched on Scooter, eying the outlaws who eyed the mule with malice. Billy, the old chuck wagon cook, urged his team in behind the freight wagon and made a show of adjusting his old shotgun against his knees.
"I reckon a pepperin' of buck shot might keep them yahoos from causin' anymore trouble," he called to Eric. "You go on and push up along with your Pa now," he added with a wink.
Alexis held back, riding drag, but keeping an eye on things through the thick dust kicked up by nearly two hundred cows. Beside her, this time mounted on a thickset red dun gelding, Reg watched the trail ahead.
"I'll be glad when we get that lot to Casper," the thoughtful young man commented. "They're bound to keep trying to cause trouble, and that one Ms. Deeks called Mayhew looks like a nasty character."
Lexi turned her attention to the young man beside her. "I'm sure Uncle Benji will be extra careful after what happened to Walt last night. I'm afraid we don't have much experience with men like this, though."
"Wyoming is growing fast, especially since gaining statehood this summer. I'm sure there will be more of their kind coming along with those who just want to start a new life. It seems that where ever a man builds something, there is always someone who thinks they have the right to take it from him."