Hidden Truths (51 page)

Clothing rustled; then water splashed.

Rika turned.

Knee-deep in water, Amy paused with her hands on her hips.

"Come over here, where the water's deeper."

Water sloshed as Amy waded deeper into the river, drenching
her thin undershirt until it clung to her body. Droplets of water gleamed on
her bare arms.

Rika curled her toes into the muddy river bottom and forced
her gaze away. "Now push off with your feet and let yourself sink into the
water."

Amy tried and immediately started to dog-paddle, barely
staying afloat.

"Oh, no, no. Not like that. Watch me." Rika sank
into the cool water and swam back and forth in front of Amy. "See? You
pull your arms and legs toward your body, then kick them out, like frogs do.
Here, let me help you." She stepped next to Amy and put her hands on Amy's
hips.

"Um..."

"Try again. I'm gonna hold you up," Rika said.
"Move your arms and legs in a circle and push at the water with your hands
and feet."

Amy shifted her weight forward, into Rika's hands, and
calmed her frantic paddling. "Don't let go," she sputtered into the
water.

"I won't." Rika didn't remind Amy that the water
was only hip-deep.
She trusts me to keep her safe.
The feeling humbled
her and made her feel powerful at the same time. She tightened her grip around
Amy's hips. "Put your fingers together and push with your legs. Yes, yes,
like that."

After a few minutes, Amy found a rhythm with her arms and
legs.

"All right, now try on your own." With an
encouraging squeeze, Rika let go and stepped back.

As soon as Rika's hands vanished from her hips, Amy began to
sink and she lapsed back into her dog-paddling technique.

Rika grasped her hands and pulled Amy against her body.
"I've got you."

Amy's arms instantly wrapped around her neck. Her breath
washed over Rika's bare shoulders, and Amy's body heat seemed to warm up the
water around them. It took a while for Rika to remember that the water wasn't
deep and Amy didn't need her to hold her up.

"Hold..." Her voice sounded breathless, and she
cleared her throat before she tried again. "Hold on to my hands. I'm gonna
drag you through the water to let you practice how to move your legs."

Their fingers entwined in a strong grip.

Rika walked backward, pulling Amy after her. "Move your
legs in circles."

Water splashed as Amy kicked powerful legs.

"Steady. Keep your feet in the water." After a
while, Rika slowed and let her momentum propel Amy past her. She put her hands
around Amy's hips again. "All right, let's try this again. Ready?"

Amy turned her head and peered up at Rika through copper
strands that clung to her forehead in wet ringlets. "Yeah."

This time, when Rika let go, Amy continued to move her arms
and legs in circles. After swimming a few feet, she sought the river bottom
with her feet and straightened. She stared down her body, then up at Rika.
Water dripped into her face, but it couldn't extinguish Amy's grin. "I did
it. I can swim!"

Managing to stay afloat for a few moments didn't exactly
make her a champion swimmer, but Rika didn't say that, not wanting to spoil
Amy's joy. She grinned back. "You sure can."

She wasn't sure who moved first, but within seconds, they
came together in a fierce embrace.

"Thank you," Amy whispered, then let go and
stepped back.

Rika shivered. She could still feel Amy's wet body plastered
against her own. "You're welcome."

*  *  *

A horse whinnied a greeting, and several Appaloosas lifted
their heads and answered.

Luke looked up from the three-year-old gelding she was
training.

A gray mare loped down the hill toward the ranch, moving
smoothly under Frankie. When the horse stopped in front of Luke, she reached
out and let the mare sniff her hand. "So this is the famous Mouse. Nora
told me about her."

"Yeah. That's her." Frankie patted Mouse's neck.
"Your daughter worked miracles on her."

"Want to come in for a cup of coffee? Nora's in the
garden, but I can let her know you're here." Being alone with Frankie
still made her slightly uncomfortable. She never knew whether she should treat
Frankie like a pal or a lady.

Frankie swung down and landed lightly on her feet.
"It's all right. I'm actually here to see you. Mouse needs new shoes, and
I don't like the blacksmith in Baker Prairie. He's too rough with the
horses."

Ah.
She could handle this. "I can shoe her for
you, no problem."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary. If you would just lend
me your equipment, I can do the rest."

"Let's do it together," Luke said. She led Frankie
over to the ranch's small blacksmith's shop. While she worked the bellows and
fired up the forge, she watched Frankie pick up Mouse's left front leg and
cradle it between her knees. With practiced movements, Frankie cleaned out the
hoof. Then she removed the old shoe and trimmed the hoof walls before she
smoothed the ragged edges with a file.

"You've done this before," Luke said.

"Many times," Frankie answered. She looked up at
Luke. "Surprised?"

Luke shrugged.

"I bet people take it for granted that you can shoe a
horse," Frankie said.

"Yeah." No one blinked an eye when Luke shoed a
horse, but she knew Frankie got different reactions. A sudden realization came
to her. "You enjoy this."

"Shoeing a horse?"

"Surprising people by being unconventional."

"Guilty as charged." Frankie's grin made her look
more like a mischievous boy than a middle-aged woman.

Maybe this was the biggest difference between them. Luke had
never wanted to stand out. All she wanted was to fit in and be seen as just
another rancher.

Luke heated a new horseshoe and then hammered and shaped it
on the anvil until she thought it would fit Mouse's hoof. Mouse held still
under Frankie's steady grip as Luke placed the shoe on her hoof.

"I just saw Amy and Hendrika," Frankie said over
the sizzling sound.

"Yeah, they're painting one of our line shacks."
Luke drove the first nail into the wall of Mouse's hoof.

"Um... That's not what they were doing."

With the second nail clamped between her lips, Luke looked
up and lifted an eyebrow.

"They were standing in the middle of the river in their
underwear, hugging each other," Frankie said.

Luke nearly swallowed the nail, then spat it out.
"What?"

Sudden lines of concern appeared on Frankie's brow.
"Nora told you about..." She hesitated. "...about Amy,
right?"

"Yes, but I didn't think there was anything going on
between Amy and Hendrika." Was there more going on than just infatuation?
Did Amy have deeper feelings for Phin's bride? And did Hendrika return those
feelings?

She couldn't ask Amy. Fathers didn't ask
their daughters that kind of thing.
How ironic.
Luke was trapped by the
lie that had always given her so much freedom.

"I don't think there is," Frankie said.
"After a second, they quickly let go of each other and Amy backed away.
She's not ready to accept that part of herself."

Luke pounded in the last nail, carefully channeling her
frustration into the physical work. "Was it easy to accept for you?"
Luke asked.

Frankie filed off the nails' sharp edges, set down Mouse's
foot, and straightened. "Lord, no. After my father died and my brothers
chased me away, telling me they hated me..." She shook her head, her gaze
searching the horizon. "For a while, I didn't care if I lived or
died."

Luke rubbed a spot above her heart. "I'm sorry. I don't
want Amy to go through that."

"She won't have to go through it alone," Frankie
said. She patted Luke's shoulder in a comradely way. "I wish I had parents
like you and Nora."

"But I can't help Amy much since she thinks I'm a
man." Luke clamped both hands around the hammer. "How can I tell her
she doesn't have to hate a part of herself when I'm hiding that part of myself
from her?"

Frankie's friendly pat softened and became a comforting
caress to her shoulder. For the first time in Luke's life, another woman was
touching her as if she was just one of her female friends. It felt strange, but
Luke appreciated it anyway.

"You're doing the best you can under the
circumstances," Frankie said.

Luke put her hand on Mouse's back as if to steady herself.
"But it's not enough." She kicked at the old horseshoe lying on the
ground. "I need to do more to help Amy."

"More? What more can you do?"

The words seemed stuck in her throat, and Luke forced them
out. "We think it's time to be honest with my girls about who I am."

Frankie pushed back her hat and stared at Luke. "That's
huge, Luke. Are you sure?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to help my daughter accept
herself. What kind of parent would I be if I let Amy suffer and kept my secret
for my own selfish reasons? Compared to you and Tess, who live your lives as
openly as possible, I feel like a coward sometimes."

"A coward? You?" Frankie shook her head. "If
you were a coward, you would have left Nora behind in Independence when you
first met her. Only you can decide what to do, but please know that Tess and I
will be there to support you in any way we can."

Luke stared into warm brown eyes. While Frankie still confused
her, she had a feeling that Frankie understood her as few other people did.
Maybe they could be friends. "You know, I want to say thank you, but I'm
not sure if I should shake your hand or kiss it."

"Lucky for you," Frankie said and grinned broadly,
"I have two hands, so you could do both."

Their laughter chased away part of Luke's tension.

In companionable silence, they finished shoeing Mouse.

*  *  *

Dusk settled over the ranch like a blanket. Rika let her
gaze sweep over the hills in the distance, then the familiar contours of the
ranch buildings until her gaze landed on the old oak next to the main house.

A swing dangled from one of the thick branches, and Rika
imagined little Amy flying higher and higher, shouting at her papa to push her
faster. But right now, the swing swayed gently back and forth.

Nora sat on it, not holding on to the ropes. She leaned back
against Luke, who stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her, swaying with
her. Every once in a while, he bent to press a kiss to the top of her head.
Their lips were moving, and Rika imagined them whispering words of love to each
other.

The creaking of the door made Rika wrench away her gaze.

Amy stepped onto the veranda. She stopped when she noticed
Rika. "You waiting for Phin? He's still in the office with Nattie."
She pointed over her shoulder.

"They're spending a lot of time with each other,"
Rika said. While Phineas collected her for a short stroll every night after
supper, he spent hours with Nattie every day.

"Just discussing the breeding program. You don't need
to be jealous."

"I'm not." It was the truth. While she worried
about her future and about Phineas keeping his promise to marry her, her
heartbeat didn't pick up at all when she thought about Phineas with another
woman.

Amy nodded and leaned against the veranda post next to Rika.
She smiled as she watched her parents. "They look like a courting couple,
don't they?"

"They're still in love with each other," Rika
said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. All her life, she had thought
love wasn't real, just something naïve fools dreamed about. But there was no
denying the love between Amy's parents. It radiated off them like heat from a
cast-iron stove on a cold winter night. Watching them together made her long
for love too, and she knew she wouldn't have it with Phineas.

Quit wishing for what you can't have. You've never done
it before, so why start now?

She cursed the Hamiltons for making her aware of love. It
was as if she had suddenly become aware of a lack, a hole inside of her after
having thought herself complete all her life.

"Sometimes I wonder what makes some people fall in love
with the right person while others are never lucky enough to have that,"
Amy mumbled, staring straight ahead at her parents.

The misery in Amy's expression hit Rika like a punch to the
ribs, robbing her of breath. "I'm sure you'll be one of the lucky ones one
day too." She wanted that for Amy more than she wished it for herself.

Amy turned her head and met Rika's gaze.

For long moments, Rika looked into eyes that appeared like
mossy forest lakes in the falling darkness.

Then Amy averted her gaze. "I don't think it's possible
for me."

"Why shouldn't it be?" Surely there was at least
one man who could appreciate Amy's gentle strength and her passion for the land
and its animals?

Amy didn't answer.

*  *  *

Luke pressed a kiss to the skin of Nora's neck and let
herself be comforted by Nora's warmth and their gentle swaying.

Humming, Nora leaned back and rested her head against Luke's
chest.

Over Nora's head, Luke watched the two young women on the
veranda. In the falling darkness, she couldn't make out their expressions, but
their bodies were pointing toward each other even while they stared off into
the night.

"You all right?" Nora asked. Her voice vibrated
through Luke, soothing her like a favorite lullaby.

"Did you ever think Amy might feel more than friendship
for Hendrika?"

Nora craned her neck to look at Luke. "A bit of an
infatuation, maybe. Amy's a passionate young woman, after all, and she hasn't been
around women her age much. Nothing to worry about, right?"

"That's what I thought too, but I watched them together
and Frankie saw them too and now I'm not so sure." She glanced toward the
veranda again. Amy and Hendrika looked at each other, keeping eye contact for
an intense moment. Was this really just random infatuation that could have been
directed at any woman who came along?