On the Mountain (7 page)

* * *

Anna woke up feeling more content than she could ever recall.  The bed beneath her was soft and more luxurious than anything she had ever slept on before.  Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and stared at the unfamiliar surroundings.  With a start she sat bolt upright.

The room was no bigger than an oversized horse stall and contained only a small table with a water basin as well as the bed she slept on.  There was a small window high on the far wall and for a brief moment she panicked believing she was in prison.  The night before had temporarily slipped from memory.  Forefront in her mind was the forest fire.  Then she recalled the constable’s accusing voice and Wade’s soothing words.  Wade.

She sprang to her feet and swung open the door.  On the opposite side two men stood in a kitchen pouring themselves coffee from a tin kettle.  At her unexpected appearance, they both looked up.  With a steady breath, she released the air caught in her throat.  She knew them.

“Good morning, Peter.”  Prescott was the first to speak.

She offered a feeble nod, still confused about her whereabouts.

“Would you like to join us for coffee?”  His face broke out into its usual brilliant smile.

Again, she nodded.  She blinked hard trying to clear the sleep from her eyes and focus on her surroundings.  For the life of her, she did not recognize the place.  She feared she had lost more of her memory overnight.

“How was your sleep?”  He placed a steaming mug of coffee into her hand.

She could only offer a nod of approval.  Without the use of speech she was beginning to feel repetitive.

“You fell asleep in the armchair in front of the hearth,” he explained.  “Wade carried you into the cook’s quarters.”

That at least, thankfully, explained her not realizing her whereabouts.  However, she was now troubled by the image of being cradled in Wade Haddock’s arms.

From across the room the man of her thoughts walked toward her.  She felt his eyes boring into her while he examined her face.  Feeling uncomfortable with his scrutiny, she took a step away from him.

“Feeling better this morning, boy?”

She nodded, wondering why all of a sudden she hated the fact he referred to her as a boy.

“Good,” he said.  “I thought today would be as good a day as any to get you started.”

She looked up into his face, puzzled.  Those amazingly intense blue eyes pierced her right through.  Immediately, she averted her gaze.

“If you’re going to live here on the ranch, you’re going to have to learn how to wrangle,” he explained, noticing the look of puzzlement on her face.

Then giving her a once over, added, “But first you’ll need to get something to eat.  A scrawny little ranch hand ain’t any good to me.”

Chapter 7

“You ain’t serious, are ya boss?”  Joe looked baffled.  “The boy’s too skinny.  Hell, a heifer straight out of his mama’s womb could easily snap the kid’s neck.”

Wade ignored his lead hand and proceeded to drag equipment out of a large storage box in the back of the horse stall.  “Since the southwestern roundup has been delayed, I thought it a good opportunity to start training the boy.  It will be good experience.”

“You mean for the boy to come along for the roundup?”  Joe wasn’t pleased.  The big cowboy had little patience when it came to dealing with the ranch hands.  In particular, the baby-sitting type.

“That’s right.”  He placed the equipment he found in the box and laid it on a stall rail next to the boy.  Withdrawing a pair of chaps he tossed them to the boy and ordered him to put them on.

“Hell, that’s only in two days’ time.  That ain’t enough time to get this boy trained.”

“Then I suggest we get started.”  Wade looked his foreman hard in the eye and succeeded in having him back down.

The big cowboy started grumbling under his breath, but turned heavily on his foot and went off to the barn that housed the cows and their newborns.  Wade turned his attention back to the boy who was not having any luck with the chaps.  Sighing, he took them from his hands and proceeded to wrap them around his waist and secure them tightly above his belly.  Bending down, he fastened the straps behind his buttocks and felt the boy recoil.  Wade mentally reminded himself to work on the boy’s squeamish behavior.

“You’re all set kid.”  He stood up and gave the boy’s bottom a good slap before reaching over and slapping a cowboy hat on his head.  The sun, whether it was in the dead heat of summer or the below zero temperatures of winter, was brutal on the eyes and skin.  Given years at the Circle H, the boy’s delicate skin would become a part of history.

Tossing him a thick coiled rope made of rawhide he led the boy outside. “Ever roped anything before?”

He shook his head.

“Here, let’s give it a shot.”  He took the stiff rope from the boy’s hands and looped it on one hand until it formed a large noose.  In his other hand, he coiled the remaining rope. “The key to roping is all in the wrist.  First thing you want to do is make sure there are no kinks or knots in the line.”

He handed the rope back to the boy.  “Go ahead and take hold of it making sure not to hold your wrist to stiff.  Go on, right, now go ahead and give it a swing over your head.”

The boy took hold of the rope as indicated and proceeded to swing the noose above his head, but only resulted in tangling himself in the noose.

Wade sighed and came to stand behind the boy, taking his small wrist in his much bigger hand.  “More like this, but keep your wrist loose.  Hell, boy, loosen up.  You’re far too tense.  You need to relax and allow your body to move with ease when swinging your noose.”

Standing with the boy’s back tucked into his chest, he stood inches below Wade’s shoulder, but he still was able to detect the shampoo in the boy’s hair from the cut the day before.  Mingled with this scent was an earthy but refreshing fragrance that Wade wasn’t accustomed to smelling on his wranglers.

Against his chest, he could feel the boy grow rigid.  He chose to ignore it along with his unexpected awareness of the boy’s scent and concentrated instead on instructing him on the finer details of centering his wrist and forearm to create a revolving wheel with the noose.  Taking the boy’s swinging arm, he drew it from back to front and cast the rope into the air.

Satisfied, Wade stepped back and had the boy cast his own noose.  His first few attempts failed, but Wade was pleased the boy didn’t give up so easily.  He kept at it for several more tries until at last the noose rose high above his head and sailed through the air.

“That was terrific, kid,” Wade gave him a pat on the back and went to coil the rope.  “Now all you have to do is rope something and you’ve got it in the bag.  Here let’s give this post a try.”

The boy nodded, taking the rope from Wade’s hands, then proceeded to try and lasso it over the post next to Wade.  Again, his attempts met with failure, but once again he did not give up.  He kept at it, rope after rope until at last his noose landed squarely over the post.

Pleased, Wade gave the boy a friendly smile.  He was startled when the boy smiled back.  It was brief and he almost missed it, but Wade felt a rush of delight knowing he was able to bring an ounce of joy into his life.  Even if for a brief second.

“I think you’re just about ready to try something living,” he said and turned toward the paddocks, gesturing for the boy to follow.

There were three paddocks all together on that side of the barns.  Joe was in the one furthest away from them, the middle one was occupied by a young filly they were breaking, and the last paddock Sty and some of the other horses were pasturing.  When they approached the gate to the last paddock, his lead hand looked over and Wade could still see his displeasure.

“The boy’s a natural,” he said in an attempt to build the boy’s confidence rather than soothe his wrangler’s ill feelings.  “He roped that post good and strong.”

“Dandy,” the man grumbled.  “He’ll be great help when our fences decide to up and flee.”

Wade smirked to himself, but turned away as to not let the cowboy see.  “Now remember kid, it’s all in the wrist.”

Giving his shoulder a reassuring pat, he stepped back and watched as Joe positioned the young calf.  From up the hill near the homestead he heard someone call his name.  Cranking his neck, he looked back to see Prescott waving toward him.  He turned his attention back to the boy who was off to a good start concentrating hard on the calf.  Gesturing to Joe he indicated he would be back shortly, then headed for his brother.  As he got closer he noticed a single sheet of paper in his hand. 

“It’s Kathleen.”

* * *

Anna drew her brows together as she focused hard on the calf.  Thinking of the pride in Wade’s voice had her wanting to do a good job.  She raised the rope and twirled it until it rose high over her head.  A sense of confidence filled her as she made eye contact with the animal.  The youngin’ stood on wobbly legs and stared back at her with big brown frightened eyes.

Anna hesitated.

The poor creature let out a mournful bleat, calling for his mother and Anna’s heart cracked.

“What the hell you waitin’ for boy, throw the damn thing.”  Joe shifted angrily on his feet, growing impatient.

She really wanted to.  The look of disappointment on Wade’s face nearly had her throwing the noose, but in the end she couldn’t do it.  She dropped the rope.

Naturally, she didn’t receive a pleasant reaction from the lead hand.  He growled loudly and shot his eyes heavenward.  She thought she heard the word ‘pansy’ muttered under his breath before he marched crossly toward her.  Instinctively, she backed away, but something caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks.  Her eyes followed his gaze and spotted the horse in the stall next to them.

“Listen, kid, we can come back to this later.  Ain’t no rush,” he said, far more forgiving than she trusted.  “Why don’t we concentrate on your riding abilities?”

She looked at the horse standing so peacefully in the next stall and thought that sounded a lot more doable.

”Ever ridden?”

She nodded.

“You ever schooled a horse before?”

She frowned, looking puzzled.

He grinned.  “That’s a fancy new word Mr. Prescott uses for training horses.  Well, come on boy, let’s see how you do.”

Joe leaped the paddock fence rather than open the gate, and Anna felt she should follow suit.  Far shorter and slimmer, leaping in one bound, however, was out of the question.  Hurrying as not to let Joe see her climb the wooden fence, she quickly made her way over.

The lead hand grabbed the bridle around the horse’s neck and led her over to where Anna stood.  “This here is Lucy.  She’s our newest filly.  A little on the shy side, but makes up for it on the spirited side.”

She looked up at the huge animal.  From this side of the fence, the filly was much taller than she realized.  Her eyes made contact with the horse.

“You need a saddle boy?”

Never having used one before she shook her head.  That was a luxury her family never had, therefore, bareback was the only form for them.

“Suit yourself.”  She thought she caught a smirk in the corner of his mouth as he turned away and tied the rope to the bridle as a makeshift rein, but she sincerely doubted as much.  “I’ll hold her if you wanna go ahead and get on.”

“What’s going on?”  A few ranch hands had come over to investigate.

“The new ranch hand here is going to give Lucy a go.”

Anna thought Joe’s voice sounded far too bright.  A trickle of apprehension crept down her spine.

“Hell, this should be good.”  One of the ranch hands muttered and plopped himself on the top rung of the fence to watch.  The others did as well.

“Go on kid,” Joe said, looking down at her.  “Or ya change your mind?”

In a split second, Anna knew if she was ever to gain this man’s respect she would have to climb on top of that horse.  She had no idea what “schooling a horse” meant, but she knew what breaking a horse was, and she had a funny feeling the two were one and the same.  Back home, that job was left to her father and brother.  She had often watched and cringed at the apparent danger.

Putting her fears aside, she gripped the reins and felt the horse instinctively withdraw.  She paused, waiting for the animal to calm itself before she tried once more.  Again the animal did a little dance, shift her rump furthest from Anna.  She would have gladly waited again until the horse had stopped moving altogether, but Joe had other ideas.

“Hell, kid, we ain’t got all day.”  In one swift movement he gripped her around the waist and tossed her onto the back of the horse.

There was a moment’s hesitation where Anna felt the horse’s entire body tense before suddenly bursting into life.  She pranced and bucked, trying desperately to remove the small woman on her back.  Terrified, all Anna could do was hold on for dear life.  Lucy neighed with a mix of anger and fear, shaking her head and body in massive convulsions.  The cowboys on the fence were shouting and hooting, egging her on.  Joe had leaped out of the way, grinning from ear to ear as he watched the wild beast tossing the human on her back like a rag doll.

Very quickly, Anna’s equilibrium was lost and she knew if she was to remain intact she would have to focus.  Drowning out the laughter and whooping calls of the ranch hands, she concentrated instead on the movements of the horse beneath her.  Lucy bucked and bolted not once letting up.  She was determined to rid herself of the unwanted creature on her back, but Anna could not allow herself to focus on that, or Lucy would have her way.  Instead, she honed in on the horse’s mane and used it as a central point to keep herself centered.

Her legs clung to the horse’s side while her hands gripped the reins with such force, she could feel them cut the skin in her palms.  She registered the burning sensation, but the fear of a greater more lethal pain had her holding on with deadly strength.

* * *

Wade read the telegram with disappointment.  It seemed Kathleen had picked up her child’s influenza bug.  The message said she felt fine enough to travel and assumed she would be by the end of the fortnight, but she feared she might still be a carrier of the sometimes deadly illness.  She hated to see an epidemic spread throughout the ranch, especially during roundup.  The message ended with a promise to visit closer to Christmas, which would also include her entire family.  Usually, her visits were alone, which suited Wade just fine.  He really never had anything against her husband, but, like Prescott, she had met and married him while being educated in England.  The man was far too proper for Wade’s liking.  Not surprisingly, Prescott got along with him splendidly.

But his sister was right on one account.  It was best she not come if she was sick.  He couldn’t afford to lose one ranch hand this time of year.  Even if the boy proved to be a good replacement, more hands were always better than less.

The reminder of the boy had him stuffing the letter in his breast pocket and turning back toward the paddocks.  There was no sense feeling sorry for himself.  He would just have to wait.  Kathleen would be home soon enough.  Winter always came far too soon.

As he got closer he heard his ranch hands hollering and cheering.  He wondered what was going on and discovered soon enough when the paddocks came into sight.  There was a rider on the back of Lucy who was doing her best to buck the poor fellow off.  The cowboys gathered around the paddock fence were raising their hats and waving them in the air as they watched the lone rider try to tame the wild beast.  It only took a split second, but Wade instantly recognized the boy on top of Lucy.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell is going on here?” he shouted, as he leaped the paddock fence in one stride.

Joe gave him a guilty grin but said, “The boy wanted to prove himself.”

“He’s going to break his damn neck.”  Wade cursed, non-too-pleased with his lead ranch hand.  “Get off the horse, kid!”