Providence (26 page)

“Do you plan on marrying him, or
what?” Jake asked in an exasperated tone.

Kate turned to face him squarely.
She searched his face for a moment before replying. “Jake, I don’t know. I
think I’m falling in love with him
-
no, I
know
I’m falling in love with him, but I’m afraid.” She paused, looking for a way to
explain the fears that filled her. “I know so little about him, except...”

“Except what?” Jake prodded.

“I think he’s leaving, Jake,” she
spoke quietly, her gaze cast down, avoiding Jake’s scrutiny.

“Leaving?”

Kate nodded, “His past is
haunting him. If he doesn’t find his peace there...” she lifted her face to
him. “Jake, what if he doesn’t come back?”

“Does he love you?”

She nodded, “I think so.”

He studied her face. Reaching out
a weathered hand, he smoothed her hair and cupped her chin, “He’ll be back,” he
said firmly.

“Who’ll be back?” came Luke’s voice
from behind them.

 Startled, Kate looked up to
see Luke trying to balance three full plates of food, forks sticking out of his
vest pocket at odd angles. “Oh, my!” she gasped, jumping up to relieve him of
his burden.

“I thought you two might be hungry,
sitting over here all by your lonesome.” He handed one of the plates to Jake,
“Mind if I join you?”

“Sit down, young man. The more,
the merrier, I always say.”

Luke sat, and for a moment no one
spoke as the three of them enjoyed the savory roasted beef, fresh bread with
butter, applesauce, beans, and fried potatoes.

“Do you really think he’ll be
back?” Luke asked between bites.

“Huh, what? Oh, Matt Johnson!”
Kate said, even as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “I hope not. Surely
that last was a show to cover his wounded pride.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Kate. He
doesn’t strike me as the type to make idle threats,” Luke said. “What do you
think, Jake?”

Jake pushed his potatoes around
for a moment, lost in thought. “Johnson’s been around these parts a long time.
He ran cattle here when it was still Indian Territory. He was one of them that
didn’t take too kindly to the government openin’ this area up to settlement,
and he’s never been real choosey about which side of the law he was on.

 “Course he did help us out
in the beginning, him and Will even made a few drives together. I always
believed then that he may have had some other reasons for all that, other than
just bein’ neighborly.”

Jake paused in his narrative, his
eyes fixed on a vision of the past. He shook his head, “I don’t know. I just
rightly don’t know. Seems to me like he’s gotten worse in the past months. He’s
got a look in his eyes now that gives me shivers when I think of it.”

***

After the midday meal, Kate
helped the women clean dishes and pack wagons while they gossiped and chatted
and watched the children. The men returned to the branding corrals amid
good-natured shouts and laughter.

“Walk with me, Kate?” asked
Martha.

“Sure, let’s head up to the
corrals. I want to see how it’s going up there.”

The two women set off at a
leisurely pace. The freshening breeze that held so much promise earlier had
died, and now the warm, moist heat was growing oppressive. Martha carried a
damp rag, running it over her flushed face every few minutes. “I swear I don’t
know how you do this day after day, Kate,” Martha complained. “I would melt,
working out here in this heat. At least I have the cool shade in the store.”

 “Oh, I suppose it’s like
anything else,” Kate laughed, “you get used to it or die.” Though even she
could feel the sweat running in warm rivulets between her shoulder blades, and
the once crisp white shirt she wore was beginning to cling to her damp skin.

“Luke is riding Raven!” Martha
exclaimed as they approached the nearest branding pen.

Kate smiled as she saw the
powerful black horse. Luke handled him skillfully, and she realized they made
an efficient and handsome team. Resting her arms atop the wooden fence, she
watched them approach the herd quietly, though every muscle was tuned and
ready. Luke pointed Raven at a calf, and the horse immediately dropped his head
and began the process of cutting the small black bull from the herd. Kate
marveled again at the agility and cow sense that the horse exhibited. She could
almost believe that Raven enjoyed the work, displaying an air of proud
accomplishment when the calf finally turned and ran toward the ropers at the
far end of the pen.

“Luke!” Martha called, waving to
him.

He rode to the women, smiling
warmly into Kate’s eyes. “Hello, Martha,” Luke said, though his eyes stayed on
Kate.

“Well, hello to you, too, but I’m
over here.” Martha laughed. “Are you men nearly finished up here?”

“Just one more to go after that
bull calf there.”

“Luke, tell them not to cut him.
That’s the one I wanted to leave a bull, I think he’s going to be a good
replacement for Casey.” Kate said.

 Luke nodded and urged Raven
to the branding fire. After a brief conversation, he returned to the rail where
Kate and Martha watched the proceedings.

“We’re going to mother these up
as soon as we get that last calf branded, then push them back out to pasture.
Did you want to turn Casey out with the Angus cows first, or the longhorns?”
Luke asked as he rode up alongside the fence.

“I want him with the Angus. Mike
says he has a new Hereford bull that he’ll loan me to try on the longhorn. I’m
curious what kind of cross that will be.” Kate replied. “He said he could drive
him over in a couple of weeks. What do you think?”

A slow smile spread across Luke’s
sun warmed features as Kate waited for a reply. He sat quietly smiling at her
and gazing into her eyes until finally she couldn’t stand it, “What?” she
asked, puzzled.

“Do you realize that’s the first
time you have ever asked my opinion when it comes to the ranch management?”

“That’s not
-
well, I mean
-
I just...” Kate
stammered, even as she felt the heat rising within her cheeks.

Martha smiled, thoroughly enjoying
her friend’s discomfiture. “Feels good, doesn’t it, Kate, having a man around
to ask?”

“You stay out of this, Martha
Louise Jansen,” Kate said in frustration, but Martha only continued to smile in
a knowing way.

 “Actually, I think the
Hereford would make an excellent cross on the longhorns, only thing I’d worry
about are the heifers. The calves might be a bit big for those first timers,”
Luke continued. “We could get around that by cutting the heifers out and
keeping them down here with your old longhorn bull for their first calves, and
turning Mike’s bull out with the older, bigger cows. I think that might be a
workable solution.”

“You’re right. Will you take care
of cutting the heifers out and sending the rest back to pasture?”

Luke nodded, and with a brief tip
of his hat to Martha, he turned Raven on his haunches and loped back to the
working fires.

Martha flashed a smug, knowing
grin at Kate.

Kate sighed. “You’re right. It
does feel good to have someone I can intelligently discuss the day-to-day
management with,” she said earnestly. Then with a wicked gleam in her eyes, she
added, “A good ranch foreman comes in handy for that.”

“Oh! You are so exasperating,
Kathleen Shaughnessey!” Martha stomped her foot, raising a small cloud of red
dust. “When are you going to give up and admit to me that you’re falling for
him?”

“When the moon turns to blue
cheese and that cow over there jumps over it!”

Kate breathed in the rich scent of
sun-warmed earth as she picked through dark leaves, finding the yellow squash
below. Snapping them from the vine, she placed them in a basket that was
rapidly filling with ripe produce. Cucumbers, tomatoes and squash jumbled
together in colorful profusion. She and Nana would be busy the next few days
canning, drying and preserving the bountiful harvest to see them through the
winter. Jo worked nearby, pulling carrots and chatting to her doll who rode
along in the small wagon that groaned beneath its succulent orange burden.

 Jake had left that morning
to inspect the fields planted in corn and oats, and the hay meadows to the
east. Jonathan worked in the barn making sure the hay mow and the rakes would
be ready to begin the cutting that was rapidly approaching. Luke rode the fence
lines and managed the herds, already beginning the selection process of two and
three year old steers, aged cows and weaker heifers to be sent to market in the
fall. Keeping the herds viable and managing the growth of the herd in relation
to the available grazing land was a vital concern in the management of the
ranch.

Kate sat back on her heels with a
sigh, stretching her aching back and wiping the sweat from her brow. Even as
she longed for the cool days of autumn, to see the changing color of the leaves
that signaled the approach of colder months, she was struck by a pang of
sorrow, knowing that Luke would be leaving then.

He carried a burden that went
deeper than his relationship with his father, Kate was certain of it even though
he never mentioned it. They had developed a deep friendship in the weeks since
the branding. Riding together in the early mornings, or sitting alone on the
porch in the evenings after a late supper, they talked of many things, the
ranch and its needs, their past, their families. Kate had learned much about
this man who had entered her life, but she sensed there was more, something
held deeply within, a scar so painful that he not let go of it to her or even
to God.

She thought of her own scars,
physical scars, painful and hidden in shame. What would Luke think if he saw
the disfigured flesh of her arms? Were his emotional scars any less painful?
Lost in thought, Kate was startled by a shout from Jo.

“Momma, Momma, look! Someone’s
coming.”

 Kate stood, shading her
eyes against the midday glare of a relentless sun. She saw two riders
approaching from the south, red dust billowing around them in a great cloud. As
they grew closer, she realized they were driving an enormous red bull with a
white face, short horns and a ring through his nose. She smiled and waved at
Mike Hall, gesturing toward the corrals, where they could safely pen the
Hereford until Luke’s return.

“Jo, run and tell Nana to get
some lunch ready for Mike and whoever is with him. We’ll be down in a few
minutes.”

“Yes, Momma,” Jo answered and
scurried off to find Nana.

Gathering up her skirts, Kate
hurried to the corrals. Mike was just closing the gate as she arrived. The bull
snorted a few times then dropped his head to graze on the sparse grass.

“That is a fine looking animal,
Mike,” Kate said.

“He does real good for us, and if
you like what he produces for you, I’ve got a son of his out of a good Hereford
cow that I could make you a real good deal on,” Mike offered.

“I may just do that,” Kate said
appraising the massive creature before her. Turning to the other rider, Kate
exclaimed, “Michael, it’s so good to see you! I thought you were firmly
ensconced in your business up at Kingfisher. Look at you, all grown up and
married, too, or so I hear!”

“It’s good to see you, too, Mrs.
Shaughnessey.” The Hall’s eldest son smiled broadly.

“What brings you down this way?”

 “I just wanted to bring
Annie down to see the home place and meet the rest of the family,” Michael
replied.

“I understand congratulations are
in order for you two.” Kate smiled.

“Yes, Ma’am, the little one
should be here early this fall,” Michael replied. Kate sensed a note of pride,
but thought she saw a momentary shadow pass over his features.

“Well, I guess that makes you a grandpa,
Mike, and a new one of your own coming as well.” Kate shook her head as she
turned to Mike, who was beaming with pride. “How about some lunch? Mrs. Insley
should have a little something ready at the house.”

“That sounds like just the
thing.”

“Why don’t you put your horses in
the pen on the other side of the barn. There’s water and hay there,” Kate
suggested, “then come on down to the house.”

“We’ll be there shortly,” Mike
said taking the reins of his horse and heading for the barn.

***

Stopping at the garden to
retrieve the basket of vegetables, Kate continued on to the house. Nana had
placed a table on the porch adorned with a fresh white cloth. Pewter plates
were stacked neatly to one side while platters of bread, smoky sliced meats,
bowls of curded cheese, relish and fresh fruit vied for attention in the
center. Jo was busy spreading muslin cloths over the platters to keep away the
ever present flies, and Nana carried a pitcher of milk from the spring house.
Kate marveled again at the bounty the Lord continued to provide.

“Hi, Momma, who’s here?” Jo asked
brimming with curiosity.