Appaloosa Blues (Sisters of Spirit #8) (12 page)

She felt like she'd stepped into the edge of a tornado and been briefly hurtled out of control. To regain her equilibrium, she took several deep breaths. Looking again at Adam, she found him watching her, a look of determination on his deeply tanned face. Did he have some secret plan he wasn't telling her about?

He slid back the bars of the corral and sent Murray in to bring out the cattle. "Ride up to the fork and head them toward your gate."

There were about ninety head left, reluctant to turn away from the lush pasture and go down the trail. They kept Adam, Jo and Murray constantly moving, turning them back, until they settled down to be driven where Adam wanted them to go.

Just like me, thought Jo. Adam directs, and willy-nilly I go. What's worse...I want to go.

At the fence corner Adam edged slowly around the cattle and opened the gate, while Jo and Murray herded them through. Once in their own pasture, they scattered like school children let out for recess, kicking up their heels in a show of spirit, seeming to know this was where they belonged.

The Hereford bull moved slower because of his great weight and dignity, pausing to look backward.

"Yes, take a good look," said Adam. "I'm closing this gate, so don't go tearing it up again."

"He's sizing it up."

"I hope not." Adam laughed as the bull shook its massive head and trotted off into the timber. "He's had himself a fine romp. That should last him a spell."

She looked at Adam, standing at ease in the open gateway looking over the results of their morning's work, with his horse and Murray by his side. His far-seeing eyes swept over to include Jo in his assessment, appearing to her wary mind to be a man supremely confident — like the bull, a conquering male.

He stood relaxed, competent, checking out the area, making sure everything that needed to be done had been done. A man's stance, legs shoulder-width apart, hands on hips, head up.

A hint of a smile crossed his face along with a touch of mischief as he continued his leisurely contemplation of her. An extra warmth in her cheeks warned her she was blushing, however faintly, acutely conscious of herself under his exploratory gaze.

She felt the warmth from her face suffuse her body and dropped her eyes before his. A job well done and a woman lined up for summer...and both before breakfast. The man should be satisfied.

      "Here's your jacket back. Keep wearing those T-shirts. I like 'em." He untied it from his saddle and held it out. Riding over, she accepted it with a murmur of thanks, avoiding his perusal. As she turned around to tie it on behind her, his hand rested lightly upon her sensitive thigh, compelling her to meet his eyes which were now dark and compassionate.

"One more thing, Joanna. Call me if things get rough or if you need anything, especially encouragement." The deep timbre of his voice stressed his concern for her and offered support. "You understand?"

His hand was gripping her leg more tightly now, all business, serious, intent on getting his message across. "Anything. Don't hesitate. No matter how minor."

"Yes...and thanks." Although, if he'd thought about it, she never had hesitated to call on him for help, ever since she was a child. He should know that by now.

“You’ll need my cell number,” she said, and gave it to him. He entered it into his phone. “Let me have yours.” She needed to be able to call him if their plans changed.

He told her and she put it in, memorizing it as she did so.

Nodding assent, he led Rocket through the gate and closed it. "See you soon, love. Remember to think of me."

"So long, Adam." She wheeled Paca around and galloped through the woods.

Think of him! How could she do anything but? How was she ever going to stay emotionally uninvolved? He was doing this solely for Karen and Johnny. She had to remember that.    It wouldn't be wise for her to lose her heart to this charmer. If she got involved with Adam, she'd never recover. He had too strong an influence upon her. Hopefully, once she spent more time with him — got used to him — her emotions would be more controllable.

Her agitated thoughts telegraphed themselves to Paca, and the little mare broke into a nervous run, too fast for the rough terrain. It forced Jo to fight her own feelings to regain self-control, at the same time pulling Paca down to a steady gallop.

"Karen, dear sister, you'd better marry Johnny after all this," she said aloud. Paca's ears flicked back to catch the words.

It felt like she had a raw spot on the inside of each shinbone, just above her boot tops. She eased the mare into a fast walk, and kicking one leg over the horn, rode sideways, protecting the sores.

Glancing at the position of the sun, Jo reckoned the time to be about eight a.m. Fifteen minutes more and she'd be home. Hunger gnawed at her, overwhelming her with tiredness, making her almost faint. Maybe after she ate breakfast, she could gather her thoughts.

The wonderful thing was that the burden of helping Karen and Johnny was no longer hers alone. Adam had shifted the responsibility to his broad shoulders when he took charge.

His idea had a good chance of working. She had talked to Gramps about Adam yesterday. All she had to do was continue to keep his name to the fore. The first thing she'd do was mention how Adam freed Paca from the barbed wire. How would Gramps react?

A meadowlark sat on the fence line adding its own personal music to brighten the morning when she reached the gate that would put Paca and her onto the road home. The gate was open.

She was certain she had closed it behind her last night. Ranch kids always closed gates behind them, and she hadn’t been away that long. It was a good thing the cows were in Adam’s pasture and not this one, or they’d be out in the road. She closed it behind her, looking at the tire tracks in the dirt. Someone had driven in and not closed it.

The sun rapidly burnt off any remaining cool air and by the time they reached the barn, Paca was sweating liberally.

Her mother was already to leave for Pendleton, so Jo gave her a quick hug. “Take care of Jenny and the baby, Mom. And tell Tom and her ‘Hello’ for me.”

“I will. Take care of your Grampa. I left a list of his medicines. You’ll need to count them out for him each day, or he’ll forget if he did it or not. Doctor doesn’t want him taking double one day and none the next.”

“I will, Mom.”

Her mother left and Jo showered and changed and ate. She had the housework finished by the time Karen came home from work. Gramps came in with a bucket of fresh peas to shell for supper.

"What did Adam say?" Karen whispered eagerly, as the elderly man stepped into the laundry room to wash his hands.

"He thinks I should start by just talking about him. I guess now is as good a time as any," Jo whispered.

They resumed their natural volume as Gramps re-entered the room and sat down next to them at the table to help shell.

"These peas taste super," Karen said.

"Thanks, young'un. Although if you two keep eating 'em like that I'll have to go pick some more," he complained good-naturedly.

"I don't know why we bother cooking them," Jo claimed. "They're delicious this way."   She popped a pod-full in her mouth. "How does Mom manage to stay so trim?"

Their grandfather shook his head. "I imagine it's because she puts it on the table for the rest of us to eat."

"Last night, Gramps, when I came in from my ride—"

"Before I forget," he interrupted, "I'm supposed to tell you Saturday night is fine with Peter. Seven p.m."

"Huh?" Jo's mind was centered on Adam, so she missed her grandfather's meaning.

"Saturday night at seven." He reached for some more pods. "Peter Johnson called this morning trying to reach you but you weren't home yet — so I told him what you said."

"Oh — the date with Peter Johnson." She had forgotten all about it. What would Adam think?

Karen's shocked face prompted Jo to give her a quick nudge with her foot to keep her quiet. Thinking swiftly, she decided she'd better keep the date. What excuse could she possibly give? To refuse it now would make things more awkward with Gramps. She didn't dare wonder how awkward Adam would be, especially after forcing that promise from her. "I'm sorry, Gramps, it took me a minute to tune in. Thanks for arranging it for me."

"No trouble at all," he said, beaming happily. "Glad to do it. Marv hopes he will take over the farm in time. He has a lot to learn, but Marv says the boy's smart. Peter's mother took him to Portland when she divorced his dad, but he's come back now. You could do a lot worse, Jo."

"Really, Gramps, I'm only going out on a date with him."

"Never know. Doesn't hurt to speculate. He'll get Marv's ranch some day."

Karen was visibly upset, so Jo brought the subject back to Adam. "Anyway, Grampa, I was trying to tell you why I was late last night."

"That's nothing new."

"This time I had a reason. I was riding Paca in the mountain pasture and found the bulls fighting. They had—"

"Trahern's bull...and ours?"

"That's right. They had torn—"

"Which one won?"

That stopped her line of thought abruptly. "I don't know, Gramps. I think I interrupted them before they'd settled it. Anyway—"

"What's he doing, putting his bull out in that pasture next to ours?" he demanded indignantly.

"I expect the same thing we're doing, Gramps. Breeding cows so they'll calve next year. Are you going to listen?"

The old man sputtered, offended. "I been listening."

"Well, I rode Paca into the middle of some barbed wire...the bulls had torn up some fencing and I didn't see—"

"That was how you got scratched."

"Yes. Adam helped—"

"Adam!" he yelped. "What was he doing there?"

"I ran and got him."

Her grandfather exploded in anger and astonishment. "What? You did what?"

Jo held her breath.
Adam, you should be here and take some of this heat
! "I needed help. He was closest—"

"I told you to stay away from him! I don't even want to hear his name around here, especially from you. Understand?" He slammed the peas angrily into the bucket. "That wild Adam...he's the worst of the lot."

"But Gramps. Adam cut Paca loose from the wire. I couldn't. I'd never have made it down—."

"No!"

"Yes!" Jo insisted, almost in tears as, for the first time in her life, she defied her grandfather. "She'd have cut herself to ribbons. I'd have never made it down and back in time...she'd have killed herself. As it was, he—"

The old man slapped the table so hard with the palm of his hand that the pans jumped, along with both girls. "Him! He spies on this place, up there on his mountain top."

"But Gramps—"

"Don't forget they killed your grandma. Murderers! All of 'em! Keep away from 'em!" Agitated, he pulled himself to his feet and stomped out of the kitchen around the house towards the corrals.

The girls looked at each other, eyes wide with worry.

"He was breathing awfully hard, Jo. D'you think he's all right?" Karen jumped up to peer out the screen door.

Jo covered her face with her hands and took a long breath. The encounter had shaken her deeply.
How was her grandfather faring?
She joined Karen at the door and watched the old man walking down toward the corral.

"I think—I hope—he just went to see Paca."

"He sure can't stand Adam. Imagine thinking he spies on him!"

Jo chuckled, but without humor, for the thought of Adam's telescope flashed across her mind. How much could he see? "I don't think he likes the idea Adam can look down on him. It must have been a shock to have me stand up for Adam."

Stepping outside, Jo went to the corner of the house. Gramps was petting Paca, feeding her a carrot. "Whew!" Jo returned to Karen in the kitchen. "He's fine. Do you want to peel the potatoes or make a salad?"

"Salad." Karen pulled fresh vegetables from the refrigerator. "I'll add some peas to this. What's Adam going to say to your date with Peter Johnson? That wasn't in my plan. Why'd you accept a date with him?" Karen wailed.

"I didn't know I'd be dating Adam — how could I?" Jo attacked the potatoes with a swift hand. "I'll call him when I finish these."

"You're going to tell him?"

"Yes."

"He won't be in until around six," advised her sister. "You can meet in Penny's pasture, if you need to. Johnny and I do."

Gramps returned when their father came in and the two discussed the weather, the day's work and future plans. Jo noticed that although her dad mentioned Mike fixing fence this morning, he neglected to add where or who with.

It's like a game,
she thought,
and we've all been playing it. It would be funny, except for the sadness it's caused Karen and Johnny. I hope Adam and I can bring it to an end.

"Ummm...fresh peas with butter!" She took a deep breath of the delicious aroma. "I could make a meal out of these alone. You'd better pick more tomorrow, Gramps. It's a sacrifice on my part to limit myself to two helpings."

Her grandfather smiled. "Sure thing." Then back to her father, he said, "The barometer's dropping, Frank. We'll get rain tomorrow or the next day. It was 102 today, supposed to get hotter until it storms. Right, Jo?"

"Right." Gramps had always been knowledgeable about the weather and Jo had received her love for meteorology from him.

The dishes done, Karen joined the men in the living room. Jo excused herself. She was almost asleep standing up and she still had to call Adam.

How would he react to her news? He didn't strike her as one who would accept any Peter Johnson in his plans.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Jo opened the screen door and stepped out into the soft warm blackness of the night, letting her feet find the well-worn path to the pasture where Adam had said he'd meet her. She walked slowly down the trail, past Penny, the copper-colored Jersey milk cow, and into the next field. The evening breeze—a force two— coming off the slopes, failed to cool her troubled thoughts. She wanted to see Adam, but dreaded his reaction to her news.