by Tammy Barley
With murmured thanks, Jess drew it around her, buckled it, and settled the heavy sidearm at her hip. “I’m going to the cookhouse,” she said.
“Jess.”
Wary, she hesitated.
“We’re going to have to talk about this—what’s between us.” The deep timbre of his voice wended through her, as did the meaning of his words. Even so, she gave no indication of just how deeply her thoughts had become absorbed with him. Without giving an answer, she turned and walked out.
***
Jess woke before dawn and quietly dressed, anxious to begin her new job caring for the stable horses. She hadn’t heard Jake’s footsteps in the hall or on the stairs, so she assumed he was still asleep—for a little while longer, anyway. Jess quickly twisted her hair into the long braid she always wore, then pulled on her boots and gun belt and hurried from her room.
Jess ducked into the small kitchen to grab a biscuit from the covered basket Ho Chen replenished each day. Taking quick bites, she slipped out the door and hurried to the stable.
A lantern had already been lit, and it hung on a square post, throwing dark shadows and pale yellow light over the stalls and ceiling high above. At the far end, the doors stood open. A wagon stacked with hay sat beyond them.
Popping the last bite of biscuit into her mouth, Jess brushed off her hands and moved down the rows of stalls, grinning like a goose. Eager foals were nursing while their mothers stood passively, their eyes drowsy, as if they were still partly asleep.
Her heart light, Jess stopped before the stall of her own horse. As soon as Meg saw her, she walked over and lowered her head to be petted. “Good morning, girl,” Jess murmured, running her hands along the warm, velvety fur under her mane. “I’m sorry I haven’t been to see you lately, but that’ll be different now. Yes, it will,” she crooned softly.
“I thought you wanted to feed the horses.” Startled, Jess turned to see Jake beyond the high gate of a stall across the way, grinning in his lopsided way. “Now I see you’re only going to pet them.”
“I guess it’s a habit I never outgrew. Pet them first, while they’re still restful. There’s no better way to begin a day.”
“For them?”
Jess scratched Meg lightly under the chin. “And for me.” As she watched Jake, she attempted to discern his mood, but she found none of the previous day’s fervor there—only the calm she had come to enjoy.
Still, since they would apparently be spending a part of the morning together, she faced her single concern head-on. “Is there anything you intend to talk to me about?”
The horse behind him stretched out its muzzle and nudged Jake’s shoulder. Jake took the hint and rubbed its nose. “Not today.”
At his relaxed manner, Jess felt her momentary uneasiness melt away.
***
Lone Wolf had told Jake that he would need the heart of a warrior to save Jess from her fear of love. Jake watched her treat the Appaloosa to a nibble of grain. Jess possessed a rare and natural beauty. Most men would press after what they wanted, ignoring the needs and desires of their women. He was not like most men. If it was indeed a warrior’s heart within him, then it was, above all, a heart of patience.
Jake knelt down to wrap the leg of the horse he’d been inspecting before Jess entered the stable, trying to hit upon the moment when that thrumming organ in his chest had taken charge of his will. He loved Jess. He had long known that she stirred something inside him—something more than admiration, more than caring—but until now he hadn’t put a name to it. He loved her. Jake stilled, allowing that realization to settle in.
It was dangerous to feel so much for Jess, dangerous for him to risk losing someone again. And how was he supposed to let Olivia go? He would never forget her or their little Sadie.
As Jake continued to wrap the horse’s leg, he recalled additional reasons he’d been fighting this feeling for months: Jess refused to see him as more than a friend, she was determined to leave the ranch as soon as possible, and a group of murderous fanatics wanted her dead.
Loving her certainly did complicate matters.
But then, nothing worthwhile ever came easily.
He tied off the bandage and stood up. For now he would keep his feelings to himself so that no one would question Jess’s honor. He pushed open the gate of the stall and closed it behind him. He held out an arm, inviting Jess to go before him, and they started together toward the far side of the barn, where the hay wagon awaited them.
***
Shortly after Jake and Jess had begun carrying in giant forkfuls of hay, several other ranchmen entered the stable. Once the horses were fed, Jake and the cattlemen met outside the rear doors, where Jake assigned them the day’s tasks. Some of them saddled up, then rode out to see to the cattle; others went to mix manure into the garden, grumbling at the indignity of it. Still others were sent to plow firebreaks—just a yearly routine, the men hurriedly explained to assure Jess. There were also minor repairs to be done to one of the corral fences, cows to be milked, troughs and water barrels to be filled, and so on.
While Jake finished speaking to the men, Jess went to fill a bucket from the pump. She returned to water the rosebush just as the group was breaking up.
Jess bent over to lift the bucket. Growing thoughtful, she tucked a loose wisp of hair behind her ear and glanced aside at Jake. He was writing notes in his little book.
“Bennett?”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you keep a rosebush?” Though Jess carefully kept her eyes on the bush, she felt him tense beside her. She knew she was breaking one of the cattlemen’s unspoken rules about not prying into another’s private matters, but the presence of the rosebush had gnawed at her for quite some time. She turned to him, almost wishing she hadn’t brought it up, but since she had, she pressed on. “I’m sorry, Bennett, but when we were first at the ranch together, you rode off with what looked like two rose stems in your hand. Another time when you left, the stems had buds. When you go, the men behave as though you’re invisible, and they treat the rosebush the same. What’s more, I have the feeling you’re intentionally trying to keep something from me—something that has to do with the roses.” Her voice softened. “I’d just like to know what’s going on, Bennett.”
Jake tucked his notebook and pencil away. “Let’s go for a ride,” he said.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were galloping east past the Paiute village and out onto the open range. The few cattlemen they saw were far off. When they had gained a great enough distance, they reined in and stepped down.
Jake looked out over the sage plains, then finally glanced down at her, his eyes lightly guarded. He began in a roundabout way. “Has it occurred to you that maybe I like roses?”
“Is that why you brought me out here? To tell me that?”
Jake inclined his head, acknowledging her incredulity. They began to walk, leading their horses behind them. “When was the first time you saw this land?”
Jess’s brow wrinkled as she thought back. “Ambrose took me riding several times before he left to go back East. Mostly, he took me into the mountains, or we’d race in the valley. Lake Tahoe was the farthest I rode.”
“What about outings with your folks?”
“With all the work there was to do? No, my father rarely wasted time on leisure. That isn’t a complaint,” she explained. “That’s just who he was.”
“Sundays?”
“On Sundays, we went to church and had dinner together—Ho Chen saved his best surprises for Sunday—then my father spent the afternoons at the store. Since there was always work to be done, I’d often go with him.” Sensing his disapproval, she defended herself with a deflection. “Well, it’s no different here. The men don’t work as hard on Sundays, but chores need to be done, the same as every other day. During roundup, there’s a month of no rest at all.”
“This is the life we all chose. The men work when they want, they leave when they want, and they go into town about o
nce a month to let loose.” He glanced at her, his eyes teasing. “You haven’t had a break since you’ve been here. Do you want to go into town with them?”
“Hardly. No, I think I’ll just stay here. Nate told me that Hiram once rode his horse straight into a crowded saloon, boasting to the townsmen that real men don’t walk—they ride, even into an alehouse. He said the horse nearly trampled the sheriff.”
Jake shook his head. “I’d nearly forgotten about that. Hiram had to work six months to repay the money it cost me to bail him out that night.”
They both laughed.
The black carriage horse that Jake had ridden out suddenly snorted and danced sideways, jerking against his tether. Meg skittered away from him.
Jess figured they had been startled by a rodent or some other creature. The black’s behavior reminded her to ask Jake about his progress retraining the carriage horses. She did so with a tease of her own. “You didn’t appear to be wearing as much dirt to supper last night as you did to the snake-killing. Did the horses get tired of throwing you?”
“No,” he said agreeably, “they just realized they couldn’t breathe as well through all that dust I was raising.”
Jake paused in mid-grin, his eyes snapping up to stare over her head.
Suddenly, both Meg and the black pranced uneasily. Startled, Jess scanned the desert.
Far off to the east, a wide dust cloud rose, rolling swiftly toward them. A low rumble rose with it.
Meg jerked violently against the reins. The ground beneath them trembled with the force of the hoofbeats. Jess hurried toward Meg, knowing they were in danger before Jake could voice it.
“Mustangs!”
Instantly, Jake was beside her. Without another word, he helped hoist her into her saddle. Jess whipped the reins over Meg’s head. The terrified horse shot out at a run.
In moments, Jake and the black overtook them, and Jake used the ends of his own reins to whip Meg to her maximum speed.
Jess wanted to look over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the herd of mustangs, but she didn’t dare. They were close enough now to sound like thunder.
As they neared the ranch, an army of mounted cattlemen sped toward them, loaded down with extra ropes and lassos tied to every available strap on the saddle and slung over their shoulders.
Seeing Doyle approaching on Cielos, Jake pulled his mount to a rapid halt. Jess fought Meg to do the same.
“Get into the house, Jess!” Jake ordered, trading horses with Doyle in a blink. “Warn the others to bolt the doors on the barn and the stable! I’ll be back as soon as I can!”
“You’re going after them while they’re stampeding?” she shouted, incredulous, as men shot past, their exhilarated eyes fixed on the hunt.
“They’re only horses, Jess,” he shouted back. “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll let you feed them!”
She couldn’t help grinning at that. “I’ll hold you to it!” she answered. When he held Cielos back for her sake, she yelled, “You’d better go get my herd, Bennett!”
“Yes, ma’am!” He flashed her a valiant smile, then spun the stallion about. In a churn of hooves, he was gone.
Jess ran Meg in the opposite direction. She rode into the yard beside Doyle but found no one left to secure the buildings. Everyone had gone after the mustangs.
At the barn, Jess leapt down. She shut the big doors and dropped the bar in place to keep them from being forced open by the frightened cattle within. Her foot barely touched the stirrup before she whirled Meg to secure the stable.
Across the compound, Doyle called out to Ho Chen, who hurried into the cookhouse.
Suddenly, Jess remembered the Paiute women…Red Deer. “No!” Jess ignored Jake’s order to take shelter in the ranch house. She ran Meg all the way to the Indian village.
“Red Deer!” she called. “Two Hands!”
Red Deer hurried out of her dwelling. “What is it, Jessica?”
“Mustangs!” Jess gasped. “Wild horses,” she said to Red Deer’s look of confusion.
“Yes, our men went to help catch them.”
“You don’t understand! They’re coming this way!”
Red Deer wailed something in Paiute, and the women and children hurried over in alarm. “There is a mining cave we can go to for safety!”
Red Deer instructed the others and shouted for Two Hands. He appeared, leading an old gray-haired man.
Jess prayed the cave was close, knowing they might not make it in time.
The older boys came at a run with the remaining horses and helped the old man and Red Deer to mount. Jess pulled Two Hands up behind her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
Red Deer led the way. Jess kept her gaze locked on the growing dust cloud until they reached the partially boarded-up mining tunnel. After helping everyone dismount, Jess and the older boys raced back for the young mothers and children who were farther behind.
Jess arrived at the mine with the last young woman and gave her an arm and a stirrup to help her dismount. The mustangs were coming on fast, flanked by rows of cattlemen.
They were less than a mile off, by her calculation, and galloping headlong for the ranch buildings despite the men’s efforts to make them turn.
Jess spun Meg toward the compound, blocking out the warnings of the others to take shelter in the cave.
The first of the mustangs entered the yard just as Jess stopped in front of the house. Tearing her hat from her head, she leapt down and smacked Meg with it, having no choice but to send the mare running, hoping she could find her
again later.
Jess bolted onto the porch. The front door flew open, and with a powerful arm, Doyle yanked her in and shut the door.
Her breath came in pants as she collapsed against the wall. “Thank you,” she breathed.
Doyle stared down at her. “I thought you done lost your mind, riding off like that.”
“I had to get back here. I had…to see the mustangs.”
“Well, I suppose there’s no sense scolding you. You weren’t harmed none.”
Together, they went to the front window and watched those bold, beautiful creatures of the wild thunder past, their glossy coats bright with morning sun. Their necks were stretched out, and their thick tails were streaming behind them.
“They hardly seem real,” Jess whispered. “They’re like a dream come to life.” She pressed her hands to the window as the last few galloped by. They turned toward the creek, directed by dusty men with lassos raised.
As soon as they had passed, Jess rushed to the door, but a word from Doyle stopped her. “You best wait, Jess.” For words so calmly spoken, they held sufficient warning to halt her. He hadn’t moved from the window. “It’ll be safer after a while.”
Jess returned to his side and watched as the cattlemen whistled and waved the kicking, thrashing mustangs through the open gate of the largest corral. When Jess saw them nearly contained, she danced impatiently, bringing a grin to Doyle’s face. “Like a child waitin’ for Christmas,” he murmured.
The instant the corral gate was closed, Jess was out the door and crossing the yard at a run, her hat flying out behind her on its strings. She leapt up onto the lowest rail of the fence, her eyes taking in the buckskins, duns, sorrels, paints…and Meg. She lifted her gaze to search out Jake.
He looked over at her from amid the boisterous backslapping of his men, and when she waved to him, he returned the greeting. In the next instant, she was drumming the top rail with her hands, giggling with unbounded pleasure. Jake separated himself from the merriment of his men, guided Cielos around the corral, and stopped beside her.
Jess smiled at his unshaven, sun-bronzed face. He gestured with a casual tip of his hat. “Your horses, ma’am.”
“I wanted to come out and see them so badly, I thought Doyle was going to have to sit on me to keep me from doing it,” she laughed.
“I wanted you to ride with us. You’re good with horses, but I have more to teach you about
the wild ones first.” He surveyed the spirited herd. “Now the boys and I will have twice as much work to do with all these ponies to break to the saddle.” The dark eyes met with hers. “Your plans for this place have just gotten a big nudge forward.”
All at once, Jess remembered their Indian friends in the cave. “Jake, I moved Red Deer and the others to an abandoned mine until the horses passed.”
“Then let’s get them.” He turned Cielos for her, lending her his hand and the stirrup as Jess swung up behind him. As soon as she secured her arms around him, they rode out.
“You did right,” he said over his shoulder. “The ponies were headed for the village, but we were able to turn them before they overran the camp.”
“They sure have minds of their own.”
“Yes, indeed. This whole territory is their backyard. They probably know the terrain better than I do, and when they stretch out in open places, they go like a whirlwind, running for the thrill of it. The ranch horses, now—they do as much standing as running. They can get close to the wild horses because most of them are descended from mustangs, but they can’t keep up for very long.”
Jess knew the mustangs that Jake and the others had caught were less than half of the thundercloud that had rumbled toward them.
“You cut only thirty or forty from the herd.”
“We’ll keep only the four- and five-year-olds. Anything younger isn’t ready to train. Anything older is too stubborn, and we don’t take mothers with young. But the four- and five-year-olds will do well. The Indians are especially cunning at trapping them, then lifting them out like prairie chickens.”
Jess smiled behind him. “I’ve learned a lot from the Paiutes,” he added.
As Jake and Jess approached the mine tunnel, they found the Indian women and children already on their way home. Their husbands had come to assist them.
Spotting Red Deer, Jess quickly slid down from the saddle and hurried over to tell her and the others about the magnificent horses she had seen. Red Deer related her story to Two Hands and to those who couldn’t understand English well enough. Many of the women gathered excitedly around her, thanking her for coming to warn them and begging her to tell them more about the mustangs.