The Lady and the Cowboy

by Christine Wenger

  She knelt down when she reached the graves. Raven took his hat off and stood beside her.

  The dirt on Carl’s grave was fresh. Nothing grew on it but a couple of small weeds. Caroline reached for a weed and crushed it in her hand.

  After several minutes, she said, “Raven, did you make the cross and carve his name on it?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Thank you,” She sniffed and pulled a handkerchief from the sleeve of her dress. “You did a beautiful job.”

  “Carl was like a father to me,” Raven cleared his throat and helped Caroline up. “I’ve missed him.”

  Caroline wiped her eyes. “I’ve missed him for seven years, but I knew him through the letters he wrote. His letters kept him close to me.”

  “He couldn’t wait to get a letter from you.” Raven put his hat back on.

  “Really?” Caroline asked.

  “He would read them to me over and over,” he lied.

  “He did?”

  “Yes. And his last words were of you. He said, ‘Tell Caroline I love her.’” At least that part was the truth.

  Fresh tears started flowing down her face. “Oh, no. Oh, God…why?”

  She slumped forward. Raven caught her and held her in his arms. He held her gently as she cried.

  She felt good in his arms He had dreamed of holding her just like this. But in his dreams, she wasn’t sad.

  Caroline moved away from him, looking uncomfortable. He wanted to reach for her again, but it wasn’t the right time.

  “How did you know my father?” she asked.

  “We’re neighbors. My ranch, Raven’s Nest, is the next one over. Carl took me in and gave me a job when my own father slammed the door in my face,” Raven said.

  “Your father sent you away, too?”

  “We had a terrible fight when I was young.” His eyes looked sad as he remembered. “I worked for Carl for a few years,” he went on. “Then my father sent for me. He had heard I was here. By then, he was sick, so I took care of running things for him. By the time my father died, we had made peace with each other. He left me the ranch.”

  He looked into her dark green eyes. She suddenly looked pale. Her face turned as white as the snow on top of Hawk Mountain. Something was wrong with Caroline. He stepped closer to her.

  “Everything has been just so…so overwhelming,” she said. “The trip, my father’s death… ”

  Raven caught Caroline easily as she fainted. He carried her toward the cabin. She was as light as a feather.

  He couldn’t stop looking at her. She seemed almost peaceful. He felt uneasy. He knew her peace wouldn’t last long when she found out that Carl didn’t leave her the Lazy Circle T.

  Raven gave the old wood door a push with his boot and entered.

  He put Caroline down on Carl’s bed. He thought that he should loosen her dress and take off her shoes. It would help get her blood flowing again.

  The shoes were no problem. He got them off as quickly as he roped and branded a calf. His big fingers took a while to undo the little pearl buttons on the front of her dress. Caroline’s breath felt warm against his fingers.

  Slowly her eyes opened. The events of the day all came rushing back to her. Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and she tried to wipe them away before Raven noticed.

  Caroline was shocked to see that her buttons were undone. She reached for a patchwork quilt on the edge of the bed, but Raven got it first and spread it over her. “I remember my mother making that,” she said simply.

  In seconds, she was fast asleep.

  Before he left the cabin, Raven couldn’t stop himself from kissing her on the forehead. He felt as if he had known her forever.

  In a way he had.

  Chapter Five

  The hot sun on her face woke Caroline up. It shone through the dusty windows of the cabin. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was, then she remembered clearly. She was in Wyoming, her father was dead, and she had a ranch to take care of.

  She rubbed her eyes, took a deep breath, and locked around the cabin. Not much had changed in the years that she had been gone. The yellow curtains with tiny blue flowers that her mother had made still hung on the windows. The rocking chair was in its usual spot by the fireplace.

  Caroline noticed her father’s things. His hunting rifle leaned against its usual corner of the cabin. His shooting irons, a pair of Colts, were still in his worn leather gunbelt hanging from a peg on the wall by the door. His coat hung from another peg.

  Tears flooded her eyes as she remembered how happy they had been. Then her mother had died, and everything changed.

  Caroline knew that her father sent her away out of love, but she still felt cheated out of those seven years. Now he was gone too, and she was all alone.

  She wiped her tears away. The small cabin wasn’t the big Foxworth place, but it was home, and it was hers to care for. First, it needed a good scrubbing. But before that, Caroline wanted to take a look around.

  “I thought you were never going to wake up!” said a deep, male voice.

  Caroline’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Who?” she said, then she remembered. John Raven. Raven.

  He peeked around the door, then walked right in, as bold as a hungry bear.

  Raven handed her a tin cup. She reached for it as calm as could be, as if a man handed her a cup of coffee in bed every day.

  “What are you doing here?” Caroline asked.

  “I camped by the creek.”

  Caroline looked down, and saw that the front of her dress was open. Quickly, she pulled the patchwork quilt under her chin. She felt suddenly ashamed.

  “Please step out while I dress,” she asked shyly.

  He tugged on his hat brim as he always did. “Yes, ma’am.”

  He smiled as he set his cup of coffee down on the table. Caroline could hear the noise of his boots as he walked across the front porch then down the steps. He was whistling.

  Caroline jumped out of bed, dressed quickly, and combed her hair. She looked around for a bucket of water to wash her face, but there was none. She headed outside to the pump.

  Caroline couldn’t believe that she had slept so long. She remembered how Raven unbuttoned her dress, and her heart beat faster as she thought of his gentle touch, and the feel of his large fingers brushing against her. Her face became warm again, and her stomach fluttered like a hummingbird.

  As she walked back toward the cabin from the pump, the object of her thoughts moved toward her.

  “There are some things that need to be fixed around here,” Raven said, pointing at the barn.

  “I know. I was just going to see what needs tending to first,” Caroline said. “My father must have been sick a long time to let things go the way they have. Was he, Raven?”

  Raven didn’t have the heart to tell her that the Lazy Circle T barely broke even from year to year. That the men who worked on the ranch had long ago been dismissed. She could never know that he was the one who sent her money when Carl didn’t have it.

  “Carl was sick on and off for a long time,” Raven said.

  “I wish I’d known. I would have come home much sooner. You were his friend, Raven. I wish you had told me.”

  “Carl didn’t want that.”

  Raven realized that he was just as concerned about Caroline as Carl had been. “You shouldn’t be out here alone. When word gets out that you are by yourself, every no-good saddle tramp and outlaw will ride by. I don’t like it.”

  “Thank you for worrying about me, but I know how to use a gun, and I can take care of myself.”

  “When did you learn how to use a gun?” he asked.

  “My father taught me before he sent me away” Caroline explained.

  “You were eleven years old Have you shot since then?” Raven asked, his voice a little louder than necessary.

  “No.”

  “Could you shoot a man if you had to? Or a wild animal?” He was shouting now. “I’m worried about you being out he
re all alone. There’s a lot you don’t know, Caroline.”

  “I’ll learn,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Raven, I thank you for your concern, but I’m not a weak woman. I may look like a lady after my years away. But this ranch is in my blood. I can work the land and take care of this place as well as any man. It’s all I thought about during those lonely years away from home.”

  “You think you can run this ranch all alone?”

  “I am sure going to try.”

  “I told you that you need help,” Raven said. “I can’t stay out here all the time. I have a ranch to run.”

  “I don’t need any help, and no one asked you to stay here.”

  Raven crossed his arms and shook his head. “Just like you didn’t need any help in town? What if that man showed up when you were alone?”

  She turned away and didn’t answer.

  “Caroline, if it’s money you need, I can help you. I promised your father I’d take care of you,” Raven said.

  Before he could say any more, Caroline changed the subject. “Raven, are those the Lazy Circle T cattle? I can’t see the brand from here.”

  “They have my brand, Caroline. Those are my cattle grazing out there”

  “Then where are the Lazy Circle T cattle? And where is my horse, Rosebud, and where is Buddy, Rosebud’s new colt?”

  “Um…uh…I’m taking care of your cattle and Rosebud and Buddy I moved them to my ranch when Carl died,” Raven mumbled.

  “Well, thank you, but you can bring them back now. I can take care of them. If need be, I’ll hire some help.”

  Raven shook his head. His long black hair moved about his shoulders. “No, Caroline. It’s just too much for you now.” His blue eyes showed his concern along with something else, something that made Caroline’s pulse race.

  “I am grateful for all you’ve done, but please don’t worry about me anymore,” she said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do here. I’m sure that you have things that need tending at Raven’s Nest. Won’t your family be missing you by now?”

  “No one will miss me,” he said quietly.

  His eyes gave him away. Caroline realized that Raven was lonely too. She didn’t know what to say, so she changed the subject again. “Well, if you’d be so kind as to bring back my cows, I’ll bother you no more.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What if I buy your cows from you, and you can go back to New York? Or you can stay in town. You could buy a nice house there with the money I’d give you for them. ”

  Caroline was disappointed. She was sure Raven understood how much the ranch meant to her. “But this is my home. It means everything to me. I’ve been away for so long. I’m never leaving again.”

  “I will see that you get a good income no matter where you live. I promised Carl that I would take care of you, and I never break a promise.”

  “And that’s how you would take care of me? By sending me away? That’s just what my father did.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Well, I’m not going, mister. I’m staying here on my ranch. Now, when are you going to bring me my cattle and my horses?”

  “I’ll return with your cows at roundup time in the fall. They are mixed in with several other herds, so I can’t return them to you now,” Raven answered.

  She had to admit that she was glad she didn’t have to take care of them right now. Fixing up the cabin and the barn would require all her time.

  “Fine,” she said.

  “I’ll come by in a few days with Rosebud and Buddy and see how you’re doing,” Raven said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Good-bye, Caroline.” He tugged at the brim of his hat, easily mounted his horse, and trotted away from her.

  “Good-bye. And thank you, Raven.”

  * * *

  She watched him ride away until she couldn’t see him anymore. She already felt lonely without him. Even the day seemed to lose its sunshine.

  He was such a strong man, yet he was gentle with her. He was also the handsomest man she had ever laid eyes on. He made the gentlemen in New York City seem very dull.

  He probably had all the women in Dry Creek chasing him.

  Caroline walked toward the cabin to change out of her dress and put on her father’s work clothes.

  She had a lot of work to do today, and she was going to enjoy it.

  Chapter Six

  Two hours after Raven left, Caroline admitted that she did need help around the ranch. A lot of help.

  Two days later, when she looked at the growing list of things to be done, she knew she was in trouble.

  She was too proud to say it out loud, but deep in her heart, Caroline knew that Raven was right. She couldn’t do it all. The heavy rain the night before proved the cabin needed a new roof. So did the barn.

  As much as she didn’t want to, Caroline had to go back to Dry Creek and go to the bank. She needed a loan to buy some supplies. She would have to hire some men to fix both roofs and make some other repairs.

  She would buy some corn seed. She wondered if it was too late in the season to plant. She didn’t know, but she would certainly find someone to ask in town.

  She was so tired of eating canned beans and peaches. Chickens. She needed some chickens for eggs. She closed her eyes and dreamed of fried chicken.

  She understood she had forgotten a lot in seven years. Her parents had taken care of so many things for her. There was a lot she didn’t know. That was hard to admit.

  Caroline would also never admit to anyone that she was scared of being alone, especially at sunset.

  The howling of the wolves and the other night sounds scared her. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since Raven left. She was alone as far as the eye could see. Raven was her nearest neighbor, and he was miles away.

  Caroline missed her father. She also thought of Raven often. She missed him, too. She missed his smile and his laugh. She liked his low, deep voice and the way he sometimes teased her. She wanted to get to know him better.

  She tried to put Raven out of her mind. There were too many other things to think about and do!

  Right now, she needed a loan.

  * * *

  The drive to town was hot and dusty. All Caroline could think of was taking a nice cool dip in the creek. She loved to listen to the water rush over the stones. She was beginning to forget the luxuries of New York City life.

  Caroline left the wagon at the Dry Creek Livery. She’d have to return the horses and wagon to Raven soon, but until then, she was glad to have them.

  She walked to the bank and asked to speak to someone about a loan. Soon a short, skinny man with glasses and a head of pure white hair appeared.

  “I am Sidney Greengate, the bank manager. What can I do for you, young lady?” he asked.

  His smile was friendly and warm, and he smelled of peppermint and cigar smoke.

  “I’m Caroline Trask. You may have known my father, Carl Trask.”

  “I sure did, Miss Trask. I was sorry to hear about his death. He was a good man—a very good man.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Greengate.”

  “Your father talked about you every time I saw him. I’m going to miss him. Yes, Carl Trask was a good man.” He led her to a door with Bank Manager on it in black letters. “What can I do for you, Miss Trask?”

  “I would like to take out a loan. It will only be for a little while, you understand. I will pay you back when my cattle go to market.”

  He didn’t answer, but opened the door to his office.

  “Sit down, please.” He pointed to a large wooden chair, and Caroline sat down.

  He took a seat behind his big wooden desk and pulled a piece of paper from the top drawer. He dipped his pen in ink and waited. “I’d like to help you, Miss Trask. Now, how much would you like to borrow and what do you intend to use as collateral?”

  “Collateral?” Caroline asked. “What’s that?”

  “Something of value you put up to insure you will pay the bank back,”
Mr. Greengate said. “If you don’t pay the loan back, I take your collateral.”

  “My cattle. I will put my cows up as collateral.”

  The banker shook his head. “I have more cattle put up as collateral than all the stars in the sky, Miss Trask. I can’t take any more.”

  “I’ll put up the Lazy Circle T then.” Caroline nodded. “I’ll put up my ranch.”

  Mr. Greengate put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. “But it’s not yours to put up,” he said quietly.

  Caroline’s mouth dropped open. “What did you say?”

  Mr., Greengate let out a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. I thought you knew.”

  “I don’t understand, Mr. Greengate. What are you talking about?” Caroline found herself getting warm. Her heart beat fast. Something wasn’t right.

  “I thought you knew,” Mr. Greengate said again.

  Caroline’s voice shook. “Who is the owner of the Lazy Circle T if I’m not?”

  The banker answered reluctantly.

  “John Raven owns the Lazy Circle T. Your father left it to him in his will.”

  “Raven! I don’t believe it.” Caroline shook her head and blinked back tears. “Why would my father leave the ranch to Raven and not to me?”

  “You’ll have to ask Mr. Raven that, Miss Trask.” The banker stood up. “I wish there were something I could do.”

  “Just tell me who has my father’s will, Mr. Greengate. I want to see it with my own eyes.” Caroline stood up. She felt dazed and confused. She needed to get some air.

  “Eli Hart, the lawyer. His office is across the street,” said Mr. Greengate, opening the door for her.

  Chapter Seven

  Caroline knocked. She pushed opened the door to Eli Hart’s office and found a man sitting behind a desk. He was bent over some papers and didn’t notice her come in.

  “Mr. Eli Hart?”

  He looked up, surprised. He peered over his glasses at Caroline. “Yes. Who are you? What do you want?”

  “I’m Caroline Trask. I’d like to see my father’s will.”