by Emily Woods
While they were still alone, Kate decided to mention the teacher and see if she could start something there. It didn’t occur to her that she was just as bad as Luke with her interfering.
“Miss Sanders seems nice. Do you know her well?”
John blinked a bit and his mouth twitched, but he shook his head. “I don't say more than hello and good-bye. I heard a little about her from my friend on the school board. He told me this is her first job, but that the kids love her.”
“I can see why, although the older boys probably have a hard time concentrating. Half of them, if not more, are probably in love with her.”
John grunted a little, but said no more. However, a contemplative look came over his face and he didn’t speak much the rest of the way home.
“How was the ride?” Marge asked as soon as they returned.
“Great! A few more times, and I think I'll be able to take her myself.” Kate felt confident of this.
John nodded his agreement and then headed out to join Thomas. Marge looked after him thoughtfully. “He seems to be in better spirits today. I guess he liked riding out with you.”
Kate shook her head. “I think it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the schoolteacher. I'm pretty sure she's sweet on him.”
Although she didn't comment, Marge seemed to be considering this. “And that doesn't bother you?”
“No! Why should it?” And then she realized something. “You and Luke encouraged him, didn't you? I wish you hadn't. It was not very pleasant having to turn a man down.”
“Oh, I didn't. I leave you young people to sort yourselves out, but I can't speak for Luke. I did see him talking to John a time or two. I couldn't say about what.”
“But why on earth would Luke encourage him toward me?” The issue bothered her more than she could say, even though she wasn't sure why.
“Ah, who knows why men do the things they do? You'll have to ask him yourself.”
“Oh, believe me. I intend to.”
After a few more rides out with John, Kate felt ready to take Maddie on her own. John wasn't too eager to let them go at first.
“Are you sure? The trail is a bit tricky in places.”
“Yes, you've shown me. Thank you for everything, but I know you have your own work to do, especially now when the rest of the men are away.”
He conceded to that and went on his way after breakfast. However, when it came to time to actually leave, Kate found she was hosting a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
“Let's go, Mama!” Maddie declared from atop the horse where Kate had put her.
Now she was having second thoughts. Although she'd ridden with Maddie three times, John had always been there to oversee the getting up and down part. Now she was going to have to manage it on her own.
Before she could scold herself, she shook her head and mounted up behind Maddie. “Here we go!”
Chapter 13
Luke couldn't shake the ominous feeling that had hovered over him like a shroud since almost the moment they'd left. Although business in Miles City had gone well and they'd gotten a good price for the cattle, he didn't feel great. He missed the ranch more than he ever, and he was pretty sure he knew why.
His feelings for Kate had become very clear to him during his absence…and he'd left her with John, someone he'd been pushing her toward for the past several weeks. Without him there, they would have every opportunity to spend time together. Although that had been his plan, the idea now soured his stomach.
But what could he offer her? Sure, he was part owner of a flourishing ranch, but what about everything else? His heart had been broken so badly that he wasn't even sure if it was capable of loving again, not the way that Kate deserved to be loved.
He found himself pushing the hands hard to get back home.
“Uh, Luke?” Thomas approached him one evening. “The men are kind of complaining. They want to relax a bit on the way home, not ride harder than on the way out.”
The comment was innocent enough, and he knew that he was being unreasonable. Approaching the group that circled the fire, munching on stale biscuits and cans of beans, he gave them an option.
“I'm finding that I want to get home as soon as possible, but that's no excuse for riding you all so hard. I'm going the same distance tomorrow, but you can take it at your own rate. Thomas and Jake know the trail well. You can go with them.”
Several of the men looked relieved, but Thomas didn't seem too pleased.
“Uh, I'll be going with Luke, so Jake will have to take the rest of you.”
“No,” Luke argued. “You need to stay with them. This is my decision.”
He knew that sometimes the trail could be tough, so they needed to stay together. He was taking a risk going on his own, but that was his problem. Apparently, the men didn’t feel the same way. In the morning, he was surprised to find all of them ready to go.
“We talked it over, boss, and we want to stick together,” Thomas declared. “We expect you have your reasons for wanting to get back, so we'll respect them. In any case, we’d hate to see something happen to you.”
In his already emotional state, Luke was worried that he would start blubbering at the sentimentality, so in an effort to conceal his feelings, he barked out, “It's your choice,” and then mounted his horse and turned away from the group, galloping off and leaving them there stunned, all except for Thomas.
“Yeah, it's as I expected. He's got it real bad,” the younger man said with a grin. “Let’s go fellas. I suspect we’ll be riding hard again today.”
The next three days, the men rode their horses so hard that they arrived back two days before they were expected. When the homestead was in sight, Luke urged his horse to run even faster. He promised himself to give her extra brushing and treats in return for pushing her now.
The first thing he saw was Marge hanging up the laundry. Although he loved her like a sister, she wasn't the first one he wanted to see. Then the wind blew the sheets and there she stood, her hair glowing in the bright sun and a smile on her face. His heart nearly burst out of his chest. How had he been so blind until now? What would he do if she and John were attached? What if they were in love and planning to get married? A lot could happen in twelve days.
If his worst suspicions were confirmed, he would have to leave. That was all there was to it.
“Goodness!” Marge exclaimed when he was all but upon them. “You nearly gave me a fright. I heard horses but thought it must be a gang out to rob us. How ever did you get back so fast?”
He got down and strode forward, but then halted in front of the two of them and frowned. What had he been planning to say? What words would come out of his mouth and make Kate fall madly in love with him?
“We had good weather,” he said, his eyes never leaving her face. That probably wasn’t going to do it. Kate smiled a little, but he knew he had to say more. “And we were looking forward to getting home.”
Her smile increased, and she tilted her head to the side. He found the effect adorable, especially because he was quite certain she didn’t realize how appealing she looked. “I'm afraid we don't have much for your supper,” Kate told him apologetically. “We were planning something special for when you returned, but you caught us by surprise.”
Of course he didn't care about that. “Whatever you have is fine,” he said, almost impatiently. Why wasn't he able to say anything more impressive? “What did you do while we were gone?”
Too late, he realized that the question sounded more accusatory than inquisitive. Kate glanced at Marge, a small frown marring her lovely features.
“Not too much, but I'm taking Maddie to school by myself now. John was kind enough to show me the way back and forth enough times until I felt confident to do it by myself.”
A sharp remark was on the tip of his tongue, something biting about John, but he managed to hold it back. She didn’t deserve that, and neither did John for that matter. “That's good,” he ma
naged instead, his voice strained. “I'm sure Maddie's happy about that.”
Now Kate beamed at him and launched into a story of how Maddie had persuaded her to stay at the school one day and meet all her friends. She ended up helping out with some of the younger ones and the teacher had been so grateful that she asked if Kate had the time to help out once or twice a week.
“I told her I'd have to ask Aunt Marge about it first.”
“And of course I said yes. Even if she's not being paid, it's a wonderful opportunity, don't you think?”
Luke wasn't sure what was going on. “You're going to be a teacher?” He shifted from one foot to the other. His horse was nickering a little behind him, reminding him of the need to cool her off and brush her down.
Kate pinned up the last of the sheets and then laughed a little. “Not quite, just a volunteer. There is so much to do, you wouldn't believe it.”
“But surely the teacher is being paid for her work. She shouldn't be asking you for help.”
Kate picked up the basket and shrugged. “I want to. And besides, I like her.”
He wanted to know more, but the hands were now approaching. He'd been the first one in, but only by about ten minutes.
“Let's talk more later, okay?” he said before she could disappear into the house. “There's something I want to say.”
The words nearly choked him. When was the last time he'd asked a woman to spend time with him? It felt like a hundred years or more. To his great relief, she didn't ask him any details but merely nodded, if a little coolly.
“Well?” Thomas said, getting down from his horse and approaching him. “What did she say?”
“What?” Luke glared at him. “What are you on about?”
Thomas took a step back and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Never mind,” he said quickly, turning to grab the reins of his horse and bring her to the barn. He retreated quickly, but not fast enough to hide the grin on his face. In his present state of mind, Luke couldn't understand why he would behave so strangely, but he didn't have the energy to care. Right now, all he wanted was a bath to wash away two weeks of grime and then think about how he was going to convince Kate that he was the right man for her.
As it turned out, he never had a chance to talk to her. John came back with the news that two of the calves were down, so Luke, along with Thomas and John, went out to see what the problem was. An hour later, they had them in the barn and were treating them for colic by placing a tube down their throats, thereby relieving the excess gas buildup.
“Good thing you spotted that, John,” Luke praised his friend a little begrudgingly. He might be sore at the man, but that was no reason to not commend him. Besides, if there was anything between him and Kate, Luke only had himself to blame. “How did you know?”
John shook his head a little in disbelief. “I've been reading those books you gave me since you asked me to be foreman, and one of them talked about how a colicky calf will kick at its stomach when there's gas inside. I saw these two doing that and realized what was going on.”
Luke grunted and then couldn't help but smile when the two creatures leaped to their feet and began calling for their mothers. Of course the cows had followed the men to the barn and were now bellowing in response. As soon as he opened the barn door and reunited the mothers and their offspring, the four ran off as though completely offended. John laughed and slapped Luke on the back.
“That's gratitude for you, ain't it?” he guffawed.
Luke forced a laugh but wondered how he could extract the information he so badly wanted. “Everything else going alright?”
“Yeah, fine. Another three births, all uncomplicated. No problems with pests either.”
Since they were now alone in the barn, he screwed up his courage and asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for days. “And what about Kate?”
At first, John didn't seem to comprehend. “She's fine. She and Maddie are both good.”
It took some strength to prevent himself from reaching over and throttling the man. “I meant,” he continued through clenched teeth, “did you follow my advice?”
“Oh, that.” John looked down at the dirt floor and kicked at it. “Sort of, but she didn't seem too keen. I suspect she's still nursing a broken heart or some such. She hinted that her last marriage wasn't great and so she wasn't looking for another man.” Then the frown fell off his face. “But that's no matter. You know that schoolteacher? Kate's been scheming to get the two of us together. I think that's why she took on the job, to get to know her a little better and speak on my behalf. I'm hoping to talk to her myself pretty soon.”
All Luke's worries evaporated and his body sagged in relief. “That's good to hear, John. I hope it works out,” he said sincerely. With one obstacle cleared, he only had to talk to Kate and see if there was any chance she might feel the same way about him as he’d come to feel about her. He looked out into the night and saw that the house was already dark. The women were already asleep, so his confession would have to wait another day.
That was fine with him. One more day wouldn't hurt.
Kate tossed in her bed that night, unable to find a comfortable spot. Her mind kept going back to the brief encounter she'd had with Luke in the afternoon. He'd said he wanted to talk to her, but the opportunity had never arisen. Right after dinner, there had been some kind of emergency with the calves, and he hadn't returned. Finally, at ten-thirty, she'd given up and gone to bed.
However, the clock in the hallway ticked relentlessly, louder than ever before. The sound had never bothered her in the past, but now it chipped away at her nerves so badly she had to put a pillow over her head to drown it out.
When sleep did finally come, her dreams were filled with Luke's face. It was pinched and worried as though he had a confession to make about something. Was he finally going to tell her about his past?
She would have to wait until tomorrow to find out…if tomorrow ever came.
Chapter 14
After dropping Maddie off at school, Kate hoped to run into Luke and talk, but he had gone out to check on the calves. Her mood was already unpleasant because Maddie had been fussing on the way to school. She didn't quite catch what the problem was because her mind had been preoccupied with Luke.
“Please keep still, dearest,” she'd said through gritted teeth. The term of endearment wasn't quite as meaningful when it came in such a surly tone, but she was trying hard to keep her wits about her. “We're almost there.”
“I want to play with Sarah,” she'd whined, her lower lip protruding.
“And so you shall. We'll be early enough for you to have some time before school, and you'll see her all day long, won't you?”
“That's not what I meant!”
The schoolyard had come into view and Kate never thought she'd been so happy. She dropped Maddie off and then quickly returned to the ranch, but her hastened journey was in vain. Luke wasn't there.
“He tells me he wants to talk and then disappears,” she grumbled as she attacked the floor with the broom. “I suppose he just expects me to be around whenever he's good and ready. I should just make myself scarce!”
Of course she wouldn't do such a thing. For one, she wasn't a vindictive person, and two, she really wanted to find out what he had to say.
“With my luck, it'll just be something about the cattle drive,” she groused to herself.
“Did you say something, dear?” Aunt Marge called from the other room. “I couldn't hear you.”
“Nothing,” she called back, shaking her head in annoyance. “I should saddle up Starlight and go find him. That would be the best thing to do. Otherwise, I'll just stew all day!” But she didn’t do that either. With her luck, she’d get lost in some far part of the homestead.
The men were far out on the range, so they'd taken their lunches with them. Marge and Kate sat across from each other, eating sandwiches in the lonely kitchen.
“Sure does feel different w
ith just the two of us, doesn't it?” her aunt commented. “Can you imagine I was all by myself on days like this before you came. I can't hardly remember those times, though. I hope you know how happy I am that you're here.”
The emotions that had been churning her from the inside out suddenly exploded in a sob. Once she allowed herself to let go, she couldn't stop. Instantly, Marge was at her side, wrapping her in a warm embrace.
“Oh, dearest girl. What is it? Can you tell me?”
It took a few minutes for her to calm down, but when she had some control over herself, she tried to explain.
“You're so good to us,” she started to say through her tears. “And I don't feel that I'm grateful enough for all the blessings we've been given.”
“Sweetheart, I couldn’t care less about that, and besides, I know you’re grateful.”
“That’s not what I meant exactly. I should be thanking God, but I'm still angry with Him for taking my parents, my home, and even my husband, even though that wasn’t the same.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Kate inhaled deeply and then let it go. “I never told you how Roland died because I was so ashamed. He-he took his own life because a series of investments went bad. He owed quite a lot of people money and I guess he had some kind of breakdown. I never thought he would do such a thing. He always seemed like a strong man to me, maybe too strong.”
Marge moved to sit on the chair nearest Kate. Even though she’d released her from the hug, she continued to hold her hand. “I got the impression from your father that he was…overbearing. I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but honestly, my dear, some men just can't stand themselves and take it out on people around them. Then, when they realize they are the ones to blame, they can't bear it. I think perhaps that's what happened with your husband.”