Damaged Hearts

by Angel Wolfe

  “Well I wondered when you folks would make it here.” James said announcing his presence, hands high in the air. “What kind of questions are you asking here?”

  “Now that you’re back, maybe we should ask you the same question, James is it?” Kat replied motioning for Wolfe to join them. “I was just telling Rick how I have an empty bunkhouse back at the ranch and I’m going to need some help making sure my fence doesn’t “fall down” again after we get the stock back where they belong.”

  Rick arched his eyebrows at her silently asking her what the heck she was doing but didn’t argue the point. “How do you know we can trust these two when they are sitting here red-handed with your cattle pretty much all around them?” he asked instead.

  “Well Rick, James did say that he wanted a warm bed and food in his belly so maybe we can work something out.” Kat began to explain. “I need someone that can help out around the ranch and add another set of eyes and hands in case my stock decides to “roam” half-way across the territory again; plus, being a cook doesn’t hurt either. His cooking is bound to be better than mine.”

  “You could also use someone to do some of the heavier chores and free you up to spend more time working with your stock and training those palominos you’re so fond of.” Rick added

  “So let me get this straight” James spoke up. “You found Frank and I with your missing herd of cattle and now you want to hire us to help watch them and to help you around your place?”

  “Ummmmm, I think that’s pretty much what I said” Kat laughed. “See I have this terrible habit of overhearing conversations and from the information I gathered, neither or you are too happy working for George; not that I can blame you. In fact, if truth be known I’d rather shoot that no account sidewinder as look at him.”

  “Miss Kat?” Frank said hesitantly. “You know’s I aint g..g..got much smarts, what

  wo..wo..would you want my h..h..help for?”

  “Well, here’s the deal Frank” Rick interjected. “Miss Kaitlyn needs some help hauling hay and feed, cleaning stalls and doing a lot of other heavy things that come up that she doesn’t have time for anymore. It’s just been her and her sister taking care of thirty head of cattle and about as many head of horses. Do you think you might be able to lend her a hand?”

  James looked thoughtfully at Frank. Here was the chance he had been hoping would come for the boy, now if he were just smart enough to take advantage of it. He, himself could probably put off the revenge that he had been planning for long enough to help out the young lady and he might even make some friends and find a warm comfortable place to hole up for a couple years.

  “I know one thing Mister; if you all want these beeves outta here and back where they belong anytime soon, we might aughta get them headed in that direction. George is due back here tomorrow and I don’t really want to get caught between the two of you.” James decided.

  “How about you Frank?” Kat asked. “Are you in or out? I could really use the help if you choose to or, I guess we’ll have to leave you tied to the tree waiting for your brother.” She shrugged her shoulders, “it’s completely up to you.”

  “Miss Kat, I d..don’t like trees that much and I’m pr..pretty sure your bunkhouse is warmer and softer then the d..d..dirt.” Frank said nervously looking at Rick before finishing. “If..If it’s ok with him, I think I’d rather h..h..help you.”

  “It’s ok with me Frank.” Rick affirmed. “But you better work real hard for Miss Kaitlyn and not give her any reason to regret giving you a second chance.”

  Kat motioned with hand signals for Wolfe to come sit at her feet. The dog ran over happy to comply. “Ok Wolfe, I need you to go get Angel ok pup?” she said as she rubbed his ears and scratched his ruff. “Go get Angel and bring her here Wolfe. Good dog, go now.” Standing back up, Kat brushed off her denims and announced, “Guess we better go get those cattle moving then huh?”

  She and Rick left the two men to clean up their campsite and plant the appearance of foul play while they went to go gather up their horses and meet up with Angel and Matt. “For what it’s worth Kaitlyn, I think you made a good decision back there.” Rick admitted quietly. “I wasn’t real sure how to turn that into a positive situation if I even could have. You’re one smart lady.” He grinned.

  “Oh my, was that actually a compliment?” Kat giggled. “Thank you kind sir” she bowed almost tripping as she continued laughing.

  “Fine, see if I do that again.” He grunted as they approached the horses that they had left hidden and tied to a tree earlier. Still trying to keep her off balance, Rick gave Kaitlyn a leg up as she mounted Golddust and let his hand linger on her calf a moment longer than necessary inflecting an edge of seriousness. “All joking aside Kaitlyn, I really was impressed by your actions back there. You gave those men an option without stepping on their pride; not many people could have pulled that off. I’m not even sure if I could have. You really are a special lady.” He patted her leg and walked toward Warlock taking up his reins and swinging up on the stallion. “You ready to do this Babe?” He asked with a grin.

  “Hell yeah I’m ready. Let’s go get my stock back home where they belong.” She announced. “And myself too for that matter.”

  ~VI~

  George and Robert rode in silence until they were halfway out of the canyon. George was the first to speak “What was that between you and James back there?” he asked aggravated. “You almost ruined everything just for a chance to antagonize him. I told you a while back, wait a little longer and then you can take him out however you choose; but for right now, we follow the “Boss’” instructions. Once we make our money from the sale of the cattle, James and Frank are done for.”

  “You promised me that a long time ago,” Robert complained. “Almost as long ago as you promised me a woman. The old lady is about used up and I want something young and fresh. You said Kat Carson would be an easy catch when you got done with her I could have her but so far you haven’t held up that agreement either.”

  “I told you that you could have what was left of Kat.” George ground out. “AFTER I’m done with her and not until then. She and I have some unfinished business that I really need to get back to.” George self-consciously rubbed his temple.

  Robert started to argue again but having heard enough and deciding that he didn’t want to share anymore after all, George efficiently sliced his knife across his throat shutting him up permanently. “Look what you made me do” George cussed the dead man. “Now I have to find somewhere to lose you plus think of something to tell the “Boss”. What a mess you’ve made of things.”

  Rolling Robert’s dead weight off the horse was easy; finding somewhere to leave the body to make it look like robbery was a different matter entirely. Huffing and breathing hard, George drug Robert several feet away then attempted to wipe out the tracks. He then took the gun out of Robert’s holster, wrapped the dead man’s hand around it, and fired a single shot into the air. Remounting his horse, George took up the lead rope for the packhorse and left Robert’s horse there to forage and hopefully be found by the same person that found the body.

  Kicking his horse into a gallop, George left the area and headed for town thinking of a story that would place him anywhere but here. That woman had a huge lesson coming to her. Everything bad that had happened to him in the past ten years just had to be her fault. If she would have acted like she should have and not gotten out of that small cabin, the “Boss” wouldn’t be all over his ass right now.

  “Oh my god Matt, did that really just happen?” Angel asked horrified, stepping out of the brush where they had hid when they heard the horses coming. “What should we do? We have to find Kat and Rick and let them know what’s going on. Kat’s in some real trouble.”

  At that moment, Wolfe came running up silently snuffing at Angel’s hand wanting acknowledgement. Angel reached down and scratched his ruff as Matt checked to see if Robert was in fact dead. “I’d kill the bastard myself if he wa
sn’t already dead” he growled. “George had better watch his step. You don’t touch what belongs to a Jamison and I have a feeling that Rick has already laid claim.”

  “Laid claim to what?” Rick asked as he and Kat came up from behind Matt and Angel. “I only caught part of that and I’m half afraid to hear the rest repeated.”

  Kat’s face went pale and she sat down heavily on the ground as Matt and Angel replayed what had happened just a short while before. “If you guys had come up any earlier…”

  “They’d both be dead” Rick interrupted. “As it stands now, we need to get the herd back to the ranch. From there, we’ll all sit down and discuss what’s to be done about this new turn of events. By the way, Kat hired a couple ranch hands while we were gone.”

  Matt and Angel looked questioningly at each other but Rick didn’t offer an explanation. Instead, he turned and went back where Kat still sat on the ground. “I take it this has something to do with our earlier issues. We don’t have to talk about it now hon but later you’re going to tell me all about it; and this time I’m not taking no for an answer. This is getting personal and you’re not safe anywhere anymore. I know now is not the time to tell you this but it can’t wait any longer. I love you Kaitlyn Elizabeth Carson and I don’t want anything else bad to happen to you. I realize you’re going to fight me tooth and nail but if I have to move into that bunkhouse myself to make sure you’re safe, then that’s what I’ll do. Now, before you start arguing, let’s go get both you and the cattle home.”

  They readied the horses and mounted up then headed deeper into the canyon. Thirty minutes later, the four met up with James and Frank. Rick and Kat rode up to talk to them while

  Matt and Angel stayed back discussing what they thought of the new recruits. “I’m not sure about having two outlaws living in the bunkhouse right across from your home,” Matt said uneasily. “I mean, what does Kat really know about them anyway. There’s nothing that says they won’t sneak in and kill you both one night and then take all the cattle and the horses.”

  You’re right Matt, nothing says that but you forget; Kat picked them, they didn’t come asking for a job.” Angel argued. “Kat is a great judge of character and if she felt the least bit uneasy, believe me they’d already be dead.”

  “I know I don’t have any right to disapprove but I just can’t help feeling uneasy about it.” Matt sighed. “I guess if Rick doesn’t oppose the idea maybe I shouldn’t either.”

  “It’s ok Matt.” Angel said giving him a close hug. “You care for me so you worry. Just try to remember that we are grown women and occasionally we can make a good decision or two.”

  “Let’s head out!” Kat called to them. “We gotta get this herd back where they belong before someone notices they’re gone from here.”

  The group, now six of them; worked their way down into the canyon where the cattle had been kept. As the horses approached, the cattle began to mill around nervously. Kat picked out Onyx and moved Golddust in to intercept her and get her turned heading in the right direction. Knowing that the rest of the herd would follow, she made quick work of it and headed Onyx towards home.

  Rick sat in the saddle just watching in amazement once again. That woman could sure work cattle, he whistled then laughed as he noticed Wolfe having a ball helping to drive the herd towards the mouth of the canyon. Within minutes, the six people and one dog threaded their way through the herd keeping them bunched up and moving at a slow but steady pace. Kat and Angel rode point, leading and keeping the cattle moving in the right direction. Rick and Matt kept mostly to the middle chasing any stray cow or calf that thought they could break away from the main herd. Frank and James rode drag, the dirtiest least favored position of any cattle drive; doing penance for taking part in the theft. Kat permitted her mind to wander as she let Dusty take charge of keeping the stock moving.

  She still wasn’t sure what or how she was going to tell Rick about her earlier life. Between her mother’s private hell and hers, she had quite a lifetime of misery to explain to him about. With her history, she might not have to worry about what Rick thought for long though. After all, how many men wanted a used or damaged woman? That’s the way she felt about herself after having been raped when she was just thirteen. It seemed family history just had to repeat itself; first her mother had been raped by the sheriff resulting in Kat being conceived and then thirteen years later after her step-father and her mother had been killed, Kat herself had been kidnapped by the man who was her father, and given to George as a play toy. He had used her every possible way he could before she managed to club him in the head with a kerosene lamp and escape away from that little cabin that had been her prison for over two weeks. That was the part she didn’t want to tell

  Rick. What kind of mother would she make with a past like that? After all, if her own mother couldn’t put her past behind her, how could she think she was any different? She knew one damn thing for sure though, it was not any kind of life to offer a child. Kat shook her head to clear her thoughts and decided she would worry about that when the time came. Until that point, they had cattle to get home and a bunkhouse to move her new hands into.

  “You sure have been quiet, Sweetheart” Rick said approaching. “Whatcha so deep in thought about?”

  “Oh a little of this and a little of that.” Kat answered evasively. “I’m thinking that we should put this twenty head in the same pasture with the others. It won’t be much longer before they are ready anyway; with any luck I can get them all covered when it’s time and get Coal back to you within a couple weeks.”

  “Sounds like a sound idea to me.” Rick replied. Once we get everyone and everything settled in at your place, I’ll go check on my kids and stock then be back to your place again by dark or shortly thereafter.”

  After making plans, Rick quickly dropped back in the herd avoiding the argument that he knew would be coming, only to be antagonized by Matt. “So what are you going to do about her?” he asked, “I know that look in your eyes and I know it’s only a matter of time before you decide you can’t live without her.”

  “I’d like to marry her and give her a baby of her own instead of returning these twenty head of cattle to breed” Rick answered. “Maybe that would keep her busy and keep her outta trouble for a little while.”

  ~VII~

  George rode straight to the front of the sheriff’s house the next morning and flung his reins over the hitching post. He ran up the stairs and began beating on the front door. Within a matter of seconds, Simmons opened the door and looked down at him grumpily. “What seems to be the problem sir? You seem to be quite agitated and beating the door into splinters will not help your situation.”

  “Let me in Simmons, I need to see Henry right away. Things are not going at all as he had planned.” George pushed his way past the butler.

  Marie was coming down the stairs as George barged in. “Well hello Mr. Jenkins, how are you doing today?” She smiled politely.

  “Marie, where’s your father?” George asked impatiently not bothering to take the time to admire her pretty frame as he normally did. “I need to speak with him now and he’s not going to be happy.”

  “You know father does not tell me his schedule Mr. Jenkins. I, a mere female am not entitled to that much information. “Would you like to stay for a bite of breakfast while you wait for him to return? I’m sure he won’t be gone too terribly long.” She added stifling the urge to shout at him for being so horridly rude to her; a lady did not shout.

  “I don’t have time for food Marie. If you see him, tell him that I went to look for him at the jail and then I’ll be at the Tumbleweed.” He turned and stormed out the door much the same way he had come in it.

  “Well, I never!” she huffed. “Simmons, please have Willie ready the buggy; I must go post a letter and go to the General Supply for Cook. I do believe I have lost my appetite for breakfast.”

  Marie marched upstairs to change into her driving clothes summoning her ma
id as she went.

  She had spent two long, hard years out east at finishing school becoming the lady that her father had wanted her to be after her mother had passed away. Her hard work though was paying off. The duties of a sheriff’s daughter in an up and coming town like Franklin were becoming more and more demanding every day.

  Tomorrow she had luncheon scheduled with the mayor’s wife and daughter Frances. They were due to start planning the town’s annual Welcome to Summer bar-b-que and dance and needed to get a head start on the Fourth of July picnic.

  After allowing Susie to help her change, she checked her appearance, grabbed up her reticule and driving gloves, and went back downstairs. Stopping by the kitchen to get the list from Cook, she sneaked a pinch of bread dough savoring the yeasty flavor as she skipped out the door and to the buggy. She adored shopping almost as much as she enjoyed baking. She picked up the reins and slapped the horse lightly as she happily set off across town for the store. Johnson’s had such a lovely assortment of items that she could spend half the day looking at them all. Today however, she needed to hurry so she could get back to help Cook prepare dinner. Father was expecting guests after all.