by Leann Harris
She welcomed his words. “I’d like that. I’ll check with Mike later to see if he registers.” She knew he needed to face the past, but it frightened her, nonetheless. She stepped closer. “Be careful, Caleb.”
Her words seemed to startle him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had someone say that to me.”
His comment awed her. “Surely your brother told you to be careful.”
Caleb cupped her chin. “Kaye, you’re talking about guys. I knew he wanted me to come back safely, wished me God’s speed and protection, but guys don’t say ‘be careful.’ Did any man in the army tell another to be careful?”
“Sure they did. Well, they’d wish them luck. Or say ‘Watch your back,’ but— Okay, it’s a girl thing.”
He smiled down into her eyes. “Thank you. Your words mean more than you know.”
“You have my prayers, too.”
He brushed his lips across hers. “But I will say, this is a new experience for me, coming home to a ranch full of people. One in particular.”
His words wrapped around her heart. She nodded and stepped back, then watched Caleb drive down their driveway.
His comforting words reassured her, but the voice of doubt whispered in her ear: you’ve seen this before.
“But this is a different man. A good one.”
* * *
Caleb pulled into a gas station in Ardmore. After gassing his truck, he bought a large coffee. He checked Razor to make sure the horse was doing fine. “Last leg of the trip, Razor.”
He climbed into the truck and headed out. Kaye’s warning, asking him to be careful, found its way straight into his heart. Her words had taken his breath away.
In her smile, he could see a future. A woman who a man could depend on.
But was he the right man?
Did he want to be the right man?
Yes, he wanted to try.
So how was he going to do that? He didn’t know, but he was going to come up with a way.
* * *
After settling Razor into the temporary stall, Caleb checked in with the business office. The afternoon quickly passed, with several old friends welcoming him with open arms.
Once the rodeo began, Caleb saddled Razor and walked him to a waiting area by the arena. He paused and checked the cinch on his saddle before he mounted Razor. “Okay, Razor, you ready, boy?” Caleb patted his horse’s shoulder.
Razor nodded and they rode into the arena. The announcer came on the PA system.
“Okay, folks, next up is the saddle-bronc riding. And welcome back Caleb Jensen as one of our pick-up riders tonight.”
The announcer’s words caught Caleb by surprise, since the pick-up riders weren’t normally acknowledged.
The audience began clapping, as did the cowboys gathered around the pens at the end of the arena. Caleb felt their welcome and support. No one threw an accusing look at him. Only understanding and admiration did he find in those eyes. He rode out into the arena and lifted his hat, acknowledging their applause.
Riding back to his spot, he settled himself on Razor, focusing on his job. The paralyzing fear he expected didn’t appear, but a peace and assurance from above filled his heart.
“Thank You, Father,” he whispered before the metal gate opened and the first horse and cowboy jumped into the ring. It was the last time he had to think for the next hour.
Chapter Twelve
The day passed quickly, filled with endless last-minute details for the rodeo, leaving Kaye no time to stew over Caleb’s absence. A week before the scheduled rodeo, it seemed everyone came out of the woodwork. Two radio stations wanted interviews. Last-minute registrations poured in.
Kaye moved her files and Joel’s computer to the small office on the fairgrounds formerly used by Ken. He helped her access the internet so she would be up and running. During the day, there was a continuous stream of people who stopped by, asking questions.
That night after dinner, Joel finished going over his arrangements for the coming weekend. As Kaye walked into the dining room, she heard her brother whistling. She stopped. She hadn’t heard her brother whistle in a number of years, but as she recalled, while he was growing up, the man always whistled.
“Hey, Sis.” He frowned. “Anything wrong? Something happen with the rodeo?”
“No.”
“Then what?” He appeared truly puzzled.
“You were whistling.”
He sat back in his chair. “I was, wasn’t I?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard you whistling since we were kids.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. He remained quiet for several moments, then finally said, “I guess you’re right.” He went back to finalizing the plans for the rodeo.
Kaye sat at the table and buried herself in the schedule, making sure she knew what needed to be taken care of each day before the rodeo.
Kaye didn’t know when Joel left, but Gramps stuck his head in to say good-night.
“Don’t stay up too late because I think you’ll probably get some early-morning calls and you’ll need a clear head.”
“Thanks, Gramps.” He turned away, but Kaye called out, “Gramps.”
He stopped.
“I have a question for you. When was the last time you heard Joel whistle?”
“Today.”
“No, I mean in the time I was gone, did he whistle like he used to do when he was growing up?”
Gramps walked into the room and sat down. She could see him thinking about the question. “Now that you asked about it, no, I can’t remember him whistling. But he has been the past couple days.”
Kaye stood. “That’s what I remember, too.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I think that maybe this rodeo is something that Joel needed. Maybe he lost part of himself when he had to come back and take over the ranch.”
“You might be onto something there.”
“Of course, maybe I’ve been thinking too much and it’s time to go to bed.”
Gramps went to his room. Kaye walked into the kitchen to get a drink of tea and saw Joel sitting outside on the picnic table. She grabbed another glass, filled it with tea and took it out to her brother.
“Thanks, Sis.”
“What are you doing out here?”
“I thought I’d check on the horses in the barn and just wanted to enjoy the evening. All that paperwork is a royal pain.”
“Hey, welcome to my world.”
He shook his head.
“I have a question for you.”
“Okay.”
“Do you ever miss the rodeo circuit? You gave up on your dream and came back here to take care of the place. Did you ever resent having to come home?”
He rubbed the back of his neck; his brows dipped. “Well, I haven’t thought about it that way.”
“You had to stop chasing your dream to take care of me and this ranch, then I turned around and left the instant I could.”
Joel wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “No, I didn’t resent it. You’re my sister and I couldn’t just leave you to try to run this place yourself.”
“But I left you.”
“Sis, I’m proud of all you accomplished in the army. And no, I never resented it.”
“But you’re whistling.”
His brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“You were whistling in the dining room. You did it when we were growing up but quit after Mom and Dad died.” She waited on his answer.
“You’re right, but I don’t have any answers for you. But know this, I never held it against you that you left. I was proud when anyone asked me about my sister, the captain.”
Later, when she w
as in her room, she wished she could give her brother his dream back.
* * *
The rodeo final would be held tomorrow afternoon. As Caleb and Razor had worked tonight, there had not been a single instance where Caleb didn’t feel in control. He had only received thumbs-up from the cowboys at the coliseum, or “glad to see you back.” What happened before wasn’t an issue.
As Caleb took care of Razor after the rodeo, a certainty sprang to life in him that his time as a professional pick-up rider was over, and he looked forward to the next stage of his life as a married man and rancher. And the only woman he wanted as his wife was Kaye. No, Captain Brenda Kaye.
He walked back to his trailer and called the Kaye ranch.
“Hey, Caleb. How’s it going?” Joel asked.
They exchanged pleasantries for several minutes. Finally, Caleb said, “I called to talk to Kaye, not you.”
“I’m a Kaye.”
“And I’m done talking to you. I’d like to speak to your sister.”
“I’m hurt.” The feigned outrage turned to laughter. Joel shouted, “Sis, pick up.”
“Can you take a message?” she called back.
“No, I can’t take a message. I think Caleb wants to talk to you.”
Immediately, the extension picked up. “Hello.”
Caleb closed his eyes, enjoying the sound of her voice. “How are things going?”
“It’s a true test of my army training. I can see why Joel decided to sucker me into doing this. How did things go there?”
“When I got in that ring with Razor, waiting for the first rider and horse out of the chute, I felt a peace, a healing peace. Things went smoothly and all the cowboys welcomed me back. It was like old times.”
“That’s good.”
Her lack of enthusiasm confused him. “I talked to Jack Murphy, the rodeo stockman. There’s been a delay, but he said he’d arrive next Friday morning. He should have feed with him, but the feed store in Peaster has volunteered feed, so just remind them to have it there on Friday morning.”
“I’ll do it.”
“How are you, Kaye?” He worried about her reaction to his being gone.
“I haven’t had time to think. You can’t imagine how crazy things are. But I’ll say, though we’ve had a couple hiccups, folks have been generous. When plans change, people have gone with it.”
“Maybe I should’ve stayed.”
“It was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
That was his strong Kaye. “There’s something I want to talk to you about when I get back.” He wanted to spill his guts, but doing it for the first time, he wanted to be face-to-face with her.
“What?”
“When I see you in a couple days, I’ll tell you.”
* * *
The next day, the Saturday before the rodeo, local participants came to set up their booths. Most of the ranchers worked from sunup to sundown and didn’t come to town in the middle of the week to socialize, or in this case, work setting up displays. Kaye arrived at seven and had a full morning.
“Kaye, are you here?” Billye called out.
“I’m in the office,” Kaye replied. The door to the office stood ajar. Kaye looked at the clock. It was noon. No wonder her stomach rumbled.
Billye pushed the door open farther and walked in. Amanda, Stewart and Branigan came in with her. The office was almost too small for two women, two kids and an Irish wolfhound.
Kaye stood. “Hey, friends, are you here to decorate?”
“We’re here to help Mom,” Amanda piped up. “She needs our opinions.”
Kaye smiled at the little girl. “I see. Do I need to go and unlock the booth?”
Amanda nodded. “Yeah, it’s closed.”
Kaye went back to the desk, saved her work and exited the program. She grabbed the keys Ken gave her yesterday.
As they walked, Amanda wrapped her hand around the dog’s collar and he guided her. Wooden stalls lined the edge of the fairgrounds north and south of the stadium, and half were filled with people working on their displays.
“I wanted to see how I could present the boots Jason is bringing,” Billye explained. “He called me last night and said he was driving in for the rodeo. He’s going to bring a few samples of other work he’s done.”
They stopped before the first stand inside the fairgrounds gate. Kaye unlocked the door and showed everyone how the awning opened.
“Are you and the ladies’ auxiliary happy with this location at the fair entrance? You’ll catch all the traffic. Have you talked to them since you saw it yesterday?”
“I have and they’re okay with it, but a few mentioned they wanted to stop by today. They have a lot planned.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Several other people showed up and wanted to look at their spots. When Kaye walked back to the front, Billye waved her down.
“Okay, I’ve seen what I needed to see.” She turned to Kaye. “I can’t get my brain around the fact that the famous Jason Kelly wants to come and give away a pair of his boots. He wants to personally draw the winning slip, and that way he can measure our winner.”
“Perfect.”
“Jason told me something interesting yesterday.” Billye smiled, much like a cat who’d eaten the canary. “He told me you ordered Caleb a new pair of boots. He’s bringing them with him when he comes to the rodeo. So what gives?”
Kaye wanted to shush her friend. “I ordered Caleb a pair of boots as a surprise,” Kaye said casually, trying to throw her friend off the scent.
The kids were playing with the dog. “And why would you do that?” Billye’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“I wanted to do something nice for him after all the work he’s done.”
“Are you ordering Joel a pair of boots, too?”
“No.”
“C’mon, friend. Spill the beans.”
Kaye didn’t want to talk to her brother or grandfather about what was going on in her heart, but it might be nice to talk to her friend about it. “I think— No, I know—I’m in love.”
Billye squealed and threw her arms around Kaye. Her kids stopped and looked at their mother.
“It’s okay, kids. Ms. Kaye told me something neat.”
The kids went back to playing. Billye crushed Kaye in a bear hug. “I’m so glad.” When she pulled back, she started to smile at her friend but straightened when she noticed Kaye’s expression.
“Being in love should make you over the moon. Why aren’t you dancing and smiling?”
“You’re right. I should be giddy.”
Billye waited. “But you’re not. Why?”
“Caleb took the job in Oklahoma City.”
“Did he just up and leave without talking to you?”
“No. The rodeo booker called Caleb two different times. He turned him down, but I encouraged him to go.”
“And he did. What am I missing?” Billye gave her a look that said “c’mon.”
“I guess I’m letting my experience with my ex color things. I’m scared.”
“You think?”
Kaye felt stupid and insecure.
“Oh, sweetie, you need to stop worrying. I’ve met Caleb numerous times and I haven’t ever heard anyone say anything bad about him.”
“But what if he decides to continue on the rodeo circuit, gone thirty weeks out of the year?”
“Kaye, if I thought every man in this world was like my ex...” She shivered. “Thankfully, not all men are like him. Caleb, well, the man seems like the salt of the earth. He’s the guy you’d want in your corner.”
“Kaye, there you are.” The ladies from the auxiliary society walked into the fairgrounds. “We want to see where we’ll be and make plans. Hey, Billye.”
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Kaye pointed to the booth. “Right here, ladies. I’ll leave you all to discuss how you want to decorate.”
Those were the quietest moments of Kaye’s day.
* * *
A continuous stream of people came by the fairgrounds the rest of the day, checking out eleventh-hour details. Laurie, Mike and Nan also stopped by and updated her on what their final numbers were. Kaye felt at home, dealing with all the different details. After fielding the twentieth call over the past couple hours, she hung up and looked out the office window and froze. The sky had darkened in a way that sent chills down her spine. Spring in Texas brought tornadoes, hail and rain. They could use the rain, but—
She raced out of the office and glanced at the rolling sky. In the distance, she thought she saw a funnel cloud dip out of the massive thunderheads. There were several people on the fairgrounds getting things ready.
Suddenly, the emergency-warning horns went off. Kaye heard Billye calling her kids. Billye ran toward the office.
“Have you seen Amanda and Stewart?” she asked.
“No.”
“I told them they could play fetch with the dog, but I can’t find them now.” Billye shook with fear.
Kaye grabbed her friend by the shoulders. “You check out the area by your booth. I’ll check the other end of the field where the stock pens are.”
People scrambled to take cover. The wind kicked up and the sky turned a greenish black. Kaye raced to the other end of the fairgrounds, yelling for Amanda and Stewart.
“Here,” a voice sounded on the wind.
Kaye looked around and saw the two kids coming up from the creek bed at the end of the parking lot. Amanda had her hand around Branigan’s collar. Stewart held the other side of the dog’s collar.
The wind nearly knocked the kids over. Kaye heard the telltale roar of the tornado. She raced to the kids and pulled them farther into the gully. “Lie down.”
The kids stretched out and Kaye lay beside them, her arm across their backs. Branigan lay on the other side of Stewart.
Between the sirens and the roar of the tornado, Kaye couldn’t hear the children’s cries, but she could feel them shaking with fear. “Lord, let me keep these kids safe as I couldn’t keep those women in Baghdad,” she breathed.