Providence (22 page)

She swung her leg over the saddle
and dismounted in a single fluid motion. Handing the reins to Luke, she paused
a moment to stroke Gypsy’s velvety nose. “You did real well today, old girl.”
The mare leaned her head against Kate’s shoulder, and Kate gave her a good hard
scratching on the neck. “Go on, now, we’ll do it again tomorrow,” she murmured
to the horse.

“Thanks, Luke. I’ll go in and
help Mrs. Insley with the food and let her know you’ll be coming along later.
You know how she hates to have her schedule disrupted.” Kate smiled as she
watched the men head to the barn, talking and laughing over the morning’s
adventure.

Luke belonged here. She could see
it in the way Jake treated him, the way Jon looked up to him. His patience and
tenderness with Jo touched her heart, but most of all she felt it within her
soul. Why then did thoughts of Tochoway trouble her? The memory of his dark
eyes burned within her.

“Come on, momma, I’ll race you to
the house!” Jo called as she sped by her mother, skirts flying around her
pumping legs.

“Hey, no fair! You’ve got a head
start,” Kate protested, even as she raced to catch up.

Laughing and out of breath they
reached the porch together, collapsing in a heap on the steps.

 “You’re getting fast,” Kate
said, tousling Jo’s hair.

“I’ve been practicing,” she
announced proudly. “Think I can beat Jeremy on Saturday?”

“Oh, I don’t know, he’s quite a
bit bigger than you. I bet you’ll give him a run for his money, though.”

Jo jumped up and opened the
kitchen door.

“Oh, Mrs. Insley, you have truly
out done yourself. That smells heavenly!” Kate exclaimed as the scent of fresh
baked bread drifted out mingling with the aromas of sweet cherry pies and
gingerbread.

“I just hope there’ll be enough
to feed that crowd on Saturday.” Nana scowled at the pot of beans simmering on
the stove. “Where are the men? I expect they’ll be wanting their lunch about
now.”

“Oh, I’m supposed to tell you
that they’ll be coming late to lunch. They wanted to get that beef ready first.
What can I help you with in here?”

“You can wash yourself up, get
some decent clothes on, and then start in on those vegetables.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kate called over
her shoulder as she marched off to comply with Nana’s instructions.

***

Luke sat on his bunk, the dim
glow of a lantern holding the dark at bay. His body ached from the day’s work,
but his thoughts would not be stilled to let him sleep. His mind conjured
images of Kate riding with abandon across the deep green sea of the prairie,
herding cows, laughing with him. He could see the compelling conviction in her
eyes when she spoke of her faith.

“Lord, I am falling in love with
her. Help me. How do I become the kind of man that is worthy of her love, or of
your love, God?”

He looked down at the Bible
clutched tightly in his hand, and opened it to the sixth chapter of Matthew. He
read the familiar words of the Lord’s prayer, but his eye was drawn to a verse
he had not remembered,
“...your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask Him.”
Another verse echoed in his mind, and he flipped to the
book of Romans, scanning the pages he found the reference in the eighth verse
of the twenty-sixth chapter,
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.

Closing his eyes, Luke prayed,
“Lord, if ever that were true of man, it is true of me. I have been so lost in
this life. Show me, teach me, come and be within me. I need you now. God is it
too late?” Hot tears stung his eyelids as he fought the rush of emotion surging
within.

“Let go,” Kate’s words whispered
in his mind, “let go of your pride.”

 ***

Luke removed his hat and a ran a
hand through his wet hair. They had been chasing wily range cows out of the dense
brush for most of the morning. Jon Smokey had gone to the north and Luke to the
south, while Kate worked to hold the main body of the herd together in the
large pasture. When Kate had said that today would be the hard work, she wasn’t
exaggerating. The sun was high and beat down mercilessly on man and beast
alike. The cows would dodge and run, and it was all Luke could do to head them
off and keep them moving toward the pasture to the east where Kate waited with
the others.

He narrowed his eyes, watching a
particularly cagey momma cow. She broke hard to the left, attempting to circle
back toward the thicket that he had just driven her and several others from.
Rio jumped at Luke’s prodding and cut the cow off before she managed to make it
into the brush.

An hour later they finally had
the herd together in the deep green pasture. The three riders stopped in a
shady grove to make a quick lunch of Nana’s biscuits and bacon.

“Hey, Luke, isn’t that where we
built the bee gum?” Jon asked, indicating a copse of trees to their left.

“Yep, it sure is. Want to take a
look?”

“Bee gum?” Kate asked puzzled.

“C’mon, I’ll show you,” Jon said.
Running ahead, he disappeared into the trees.

 Luke stood and reached out
to Kate. Helping her up, he drew her close, gazing into her amber eyes he bent
his head and kissed her tenderly. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Kate
Shaughnessey.”

She reached up and placed a
finger over his lips, then tracing the line of his jaw, she nodded, unable to
speak.

Taking her hand, he placed a kiss
in her palm, and curled her fingers around it. Then he wiped a smudge of dirt
from her forehead and laughed, “Only
you
could still be so charming
beneath such a thick layer of grime.”

“Oh!” Mortified, she reached up
and tried in vain to wipe away the dust of the trail, finally joining Luke in
helpless mirth.

Leaving the horses to graze in
the shade, they walked arm in arm through the dense thicket and into the
clearing where Jon waited impatiently at the bee gum. “What’s so funny?” he
asked.

“Nothing,” Kate replied
dissolving again into a fit of laughter.

Puzzled, Jon looked from one to
the other. Realization slowly dawning on him, his face was transformed by a
wide grin, but he said nothing.

“Let’s see how busy these bees
have been.” Luke changed the subject. “Stand back, they’re apt to be pretty
mad.”

 Kate didn’t have to be told
twice and moved quickly to the edge of the clearing. Luke loosened the top of
the gum, and carefully lifted the lid straight up. Golden combs dripped honey
and angry bees buzzed in protest. Kate’s eyes were wide in amazement. “What in
the world?”

“We built it,” Jon crowed
proudly.

“We surely did,” Luke confirmed,
“but it’s not quite ready yet. We need to give it a few more weeks to become
well established before we take any.” Luke replaced the lid snugly in the gum,
slapping at a few bees trying to sting his neck.

They hurried back to the horses,
and mounted up to push the longhorns back to the ranch. Jon and Smokey worked
one side of the herd, keeping the cows and calves from bolting and trying to
run, while Luke and Kate watched the rear and the other side alternately. They
rode slowly, attempting to keep the cattle calm as they moved them steadily
eastward toward the ranch.

 Soon the cows seemed to
settle in to a measured march in the hot afternoon sun. Luke rode slightly
behind the herd pushing them forward. He could see Kate and Gypsy riding out to
the side, keeping them from straying too far to the south. Suddenly a small
brown and white calf darted in front of Kate bawling frantically. Luke could
see Kate fighting the reins as Gypsy spooked. An enraged bellow filled his ears
as the mother cow bolted from the herd. She charged straight for Gypsy, caught
between cow and calf. A deadly toss of her head and five foot horns gored the
frantic mare in the side. She reared up too late as her bowels spilled forth. A
scream rent the air as the horse crumpled to the earth.

Kate jumped from the saddle as
she began to fall and landed unhurt beside the dying animal. The cow continued
on to the lost calf stopping several yards beyond the woman and her horse.

“No, Gypsy! No, God, no!” Kate’s
plaintive wail pierced his heart. She knelt beside the mare who had been her
friend and companion through the lonely months after Will’s death. “Gypsy, oh
Gypsy, I’m so sorry.” Tears streamed freely down Kate’s cheeks as she stroked
Gypsy’s neck to calm the dying horse. Flecks of foamy sweat stained the soft
brown coat, and a crimson pool spread slowly around them saturating the air
with the coppery scent of blood. The mare’s struggles grew weaker, until
finally she lay utterly still, eyes wide, nostrils flaring.

It happened in an instant, no
more than the blink of an eye, but the image would be forever seared on Luke’s
memory. Spurring Rio forward, he stopped hard beside her, swung out of the
saddle, and caught her in his arms as she turned to him. Burying her face
against his chest, she wept. Her hat had come loose and lay on the ground a few
feet away. He stroked her hair, cradling her against him until at last she
rested quietly against him.

Her emotions spent, she tuned a
tear-stained face to him, “Luke, we have to ... I don’t think I can....”

 “Shhh...I know. I’ll take
care of her.” The mare was dying and in pain. Luke knew that Kate would want
her suffering ended quickly. Looking up, he could see Jon, wide eyed and
scared, but working valiantly at his post to keep the herd from bolting.

“I’m afraid a shot right now
would send those cattle into a runaway stampede. They’re already nervous over
the smell of blood.”

Kate nodded, waiting.

“Take Rio. You and Jon get them
moving on down to the pens. It’s not much further. I’ll be along.”

Staring into his eyes, she nodded
silently. Taking the reins, she mounted the large gray gelding. He watched as
she stoically gathered the errant cow and calf back into the herd, then she and
Jonathan moved them over the ridge and down into the hollow where the ranch
lay.

***

Kate rode stiffly on the
unfamiliar horse. She concentrated on the task at hand to block out the pain
that suffused her. Though she could see Jonathan stealing glances in her
direction, he kept his attention well focused on the cattle.

A shot rang out behind them. Kate
froze, then let out a long shuddering breath knowing that Gypsy no longer
suffered. One of the lead cows bellowed at the sound, but the herd plodded
along toward the pens ahead of them.

 Jake waited at the gates,
and she could see the worry on his face as he realized there were only two of
them bringing the herd in. She saw him sit up and look beyond them. Glancing
over her shoulder, she could see Luke coming down the knoll, carrying her
saddle.

***

Kate stood in the purple
twilight, watching the medicine hat mare grazing in the deepening shadows. She
heard Luke’s quiet step as he joined her at the corral fence.

“Does she ride?” Luke asked.

“I think so.”

“You’re thinking about using her,
aren’t you?”

Kate nodded, her gaze fastened on
the mare. “Thank you, Luke, for what you did today. You’ll never know how much
that meant to me.”

“Kate, I...” Luke faltered.

“I miss her.” A single tear
trickled slowly down her cheek. “I miss her kind eye and willing ear. She was
always ready to listen to my troubles, never once passed judgment on me.” Kate smiled
at the memory. “Her presence in my life was a precious gift, and I will always
cherish the memories I have.”

Luke brushed his hand against her
cheek, catching the glittering tear. Cupping her face in his strong hands he
gazed into her eyes. Kate’s heart raced even as an overwhelming sense of peace
flooded her soul. He bent and kissed her, slowly, tenderly. She could feel the
awakening of emotions long dormant, and returned the kiss with all that was
within her.

“Momma, Momma, wake up!” Jo’s
voice cut through the sleep-induced haze in Kate’s brain.

“What is it?” she asked, trying
to focus in the dim room, worry already knotting her stomach.

“It’s branding day, Momma, hurry,
get up.” Jo bounced beside the bed, her bare feet making the floorboards creak
and her pale nightdress floating eerily in the shifting moonlight.

“Jo, it’s the middle of the
night,” Kate protested. “You need to go back to bed for a bit.”

“Oh, no, Momma, it’ll be light
soon. I know it will. Can I wear my blue dress, can I, please?” Jo pleaded.

A rooster crowed in the distance,
and Candy bounded in adding her barks to the growing cacophony in Kate’s room.
Peering through the window, Kate saw a faint glow on the eastern horizon.
Sighing, she sank back on the pillow.

 “Sure. Why don’t you go
ahead and get dressed, then get your basket and go collect the eggs,” Kate said
finally, waiting for Jo’s reaction.