Run Away Home (15 page)

Sam rebraided Brynna's hair when the tendrils that stuck in waves to her face annoyed her.

Jake and his mom couldn't get through, Sam thought in despair. What if they'd been hurt?

She could call Dr. Scott! Sure, he was a veterinarian, but maybe he'd be in the neighborhood and he could just drop by and take over!

Sam covered her face with both hands. Was it a measure of her desperation that calling the vet sounded like such a good idea?

It had been nearly an hour since Jake had told her to hang in there. She was trying, but Brynna was getting really uncomfortable.

“Do I hear Blaze barking?” Brynna asked.

Sam held her breath to listen and all at once she heard it, too. Blaze
was
barking.

Sam ran into the kitchen and stared through the window over the sink. She saw two horses being led toward the barn. Snow clung to their manes and their dark bodies looked identical. She couldn't make out
who was leading them, but if Blaze was barking—

“Sam, open up! I'm freezing!”

The knocking was muffled, but rapid. The voice was female and Sam couldn't remember locking the door.

She hadn't.

Wearing a puffy red coat that covered her from head to ankles, Mrs. Ely fell inward in a puff of snow. She stayed on her feet, despite Blaze. The Border collie bounded in beside her, skidding on wet feet as he barked in excitement.

“What do you think of this crazy weather?” Mrs. Ely asked.

“How did you—” Sam broke off, replaying the scene she'd glimpsed from the window. The only two horses she knew that looked so much alike were Witch and Chocolate Chip. “You rode over?”

“Dashing through the snow,” Mrs. Ely said, nodding. “The roads are closed. Heck Ballard's out there with some guys he's deputized and they're not letting anyone through, even with four-wheel drive or chains.”

“I'm so glad to see you,” Sam moaned.

“Even though I'm no midwife, I guess having six babies qualifies me as something of an expert.”

Dizzied by Mrs. Ely's rapid-fire words, Sam took a minute to gather her thoughts.

Scolding Blaze, Maxine shrugged off her coat and hung it on the front porch.

“So how is she? Napping?” she asked when she returned.

“No,” Brynna called from the other room and Maxine hurried in to help.

Sam only wondered once what had become of Jake.

An hour passed like a minute, and then Brynna gasped, “Just about there.”

Brynna's sweat-sheened face took on the look of a woman running the last minutes of a race. Then, the baby was emerging.

“You go ahead, Sam,” Maxine Ely said gently.

“Go ahead and what?”

“Take him,” Maxine said.

And then she was holding him.

Sam couldn't believe she held a little person slippery as a fish, but perfect in every human detail. While Maxine dabbed at the baby's nose and mouth, Sam returned the baby's gray-eyed stare. She had a brother.

“Is he breathing?” Brynna asked.

“Of course he is,” Maxine cooed.

The baby answered, too. Giving a single, red-faced bleat, he shook a tiny curled fist at Sam.

“Isn't he supposed to cry?” Sam asked. “That's not really crying, is it?”

“Don't forget,” Brynna said in a faded voice. “Cody's one of you stubborn Forsters.”

Cody?

Maxine and Brynna were laughing, but Sam was thinking the name belonged to a calf roper or a high-desert cowboy, not a teeny little baby.

But when Maxine took Cody from Sam and laid him on Brynna's chest, Brynna kept talking to Cody as if he understood.

“Yes, he's one of you stubborn Forsters,” she said again, “and he plans on doing things his own way, starting with being born at home, right here on River Bend Ranch.”

S
am couldn't remember ever feeling so proud as she was the moment she flung open the kitchen door. Of course, Brynna had done most of the work, and Maxine had made sure everything was done correctly, but she'd stood by, helping, hadn't she? And the baby had turned out absolutely fine.

Sam gathered herself to plunge into the falling snow, headed for the bunkhouse, but she didn't get very far.

Shoulders hunched inside bulky coats, wiping their noses and stamping their boots against the cold, Ross and Dallas waited on the front porch.

“I have a little brother named Cody,” Sam announced.

“Now, do ya?” Dallas said, face covered with a grin.

“That's fine, just fine.” Ross nodded about ten times before reaching out to pump her arm in a handshake.

“This is so weird, but he's really cute. Do you want to see him?”

“Later,” Dallas said. “Just now we're going to go make some coffee. Neither me nor Ross wanted to be the one to hike over to the bunkhouse and make it. We were afraid we might miss something. And Jake—”

“Where is Jake?” Sam asked.

“Don't know,” Dallas said. “He didn't want to come inside because he was afraid you might ask him to help.”

“He seemed kinda squeamish,” Ross joked.

“But we're good and ready to go fire up that stove now,” Dallas said, “'less you need something?”

Sam's mind spun with the names of everyone she should call, of all she should be doing for Brynna and the baby, but Brynna had only wanted a long drink of water and Maxine had brought it to her.

Sam remembered how Brynna had smiled while Cody, eyes tightly closed, nuzzled her neck and made little kissing movements with his lips.

“Samantha?” Dallas said. “They're both well, inside, aren't they? No fever or nothin'?”

Dallas's voice jerked her back and Sam shook her
head. “No, sorry. Brynna says she's fine, and Maxine thinks so, too, but I'll keep watch. I was, I don't know, drifting, I guess, but the horses…”

“Horses,” Ross echoed, tilting his head to one side.

“Should the horses be in the barn?” Sam asked.

“Ace and your filly are in the barn, but the rest of 'em are in the run-in shed, cozied up and happy. We'll give 'em some extra hay, though,” Dallas said.

“That's good,” Sam said, but she was thinking of Dad. “I wish I could call my dad.”

“Jake said he heard Sheriff Ballard was holding traffic outside Alkali,” Dallas told her.

Which meant there was no way to reach him, Sam thought. But then Ross and Dallas were nodding and touching the brims of their frosty hats in good-bye.

By the time they were halfway across the ranch yard, both men were covered in white. Dallas looked like a bowlegged snowman. Ross lumbered like a polar bear. Both of them were chuckling as Sam closed the door and went to take another look at her new baby brother.

 

Inside, Sam turned the heater up. Thank goodness the storm hadn't brought a power failure, she thought as she hurried to the phone.

Hand on the receiver, she glanced at the clock. It was just after three. The horse therapy program would have ended. She was surprised Dad and Gram hadn't called from someplace in town. Cell phone service
was too spotty to depend upon, so Dad wouldn't carry one, and the radios they'd had installed in the ranch vehicles wouldn't work that far away.

They were probably someplace on the road between Darton and home, Sam told herself, unless they were shopping. If so, that wouldn't last long. Dad would nag Gram to rush and they'd probably be back in the truck half an hour after they'd found a parking place.

Who should she call first? Jen? Aunt Sue in San Francisco? Everyone at Deerpath Ranch?

As she thought of Deerpath Ranch and the Dream Catcher program, Sam pictured shivering but determined Darby Carter.

That kid was something else, Sam thought. Though she was shy, sickly, and more comfortable with books than with people, she had guts and loved horses. She definitely had the makings of a cowgirl. Sam would bet Darby was helping with the golden mustang and the orphan foals right now, with her inhaler in one pocket and her book in the other.

Smiling, Sam picked up the phone. There was a dial tone, sort of, but a weird scratchy sound was in the background. She dialed Jen's number and the scratchy sound got louder, but nothing else happened. She checked to make sure the phone was plugged into the wall, and it was. She hung up, picked up, and this time there wasn't even a dial tone.

How lucky was she that it had been working when she called Three Ponies? Sam gave a loud sigh, then peeked into the living room. Brynna and Cody were asleep on the couch and Maxine was dozing in Dad's recliner, so Sam decided to make herself some lunch. After all, it had been a long time since breakfast.

When Sam settled down with a bowl of soup, she crunched crackers over the top. It was a habit Gram called rude, but she figured she deserved a reward. Sam was finishing off her last bite when Brynna awakened hungry and Maxine helped Sam feed the new mother everything she wanted, so she'd be strong enough to feed Cody everything
he
wanted.

Finally, Sam washed dishes as she wondered what had become of Jake. He'd ridden over with his mom, and he'd slipped inside once. Though she had been upstairs, Sam had heard him tell Maxine he'd gotten through to his dad on their walkie-talkies, and let him know they'd be spending the night at River Bend Ranch, but then he'd disappeared outside again.

Now, Sam heard Jake stamping snow off his boots. The outside door opened and closed. It had to be Jake, because Dallas or Ross would have knocked. Sam heard a rustling sound and guessed he was hanging his coat on the porch alongside his mother's, and leaving his hat there, too, but she didn't turn away from the sink until she heard him say,
“Dark as the inside of a cow out there.”

“Thanks for helping,” Sam said. She wiped her hands dry on her jeans as she turned around.

Jake's blue corduroy shirt looked surprisingly neat, but his hair hung wet on his shoulders and damp spots were spreading.

“Thanks for riding over here with your mom, too.”

Jake shrugged and glanced toward the living room.

Sam answered Jake's unasked question. “They're talking about baby stuff.”

“I saw him. Cody.” Jake seemed to turn the name over and find it to his liking. “He's sure little.” Jake rubbed the back of his neck and looked longingly at the door.

Even though they both felt awkward and nothing had been settled between them, Sam didn't want Jake to leave.

She'd give him
one
chance to act civilized and just go on as friends.

“Do you want something to eat?” Sam asked. “I could make a sandwich that probably wouldn't poison you.”

“Sure,” Jake said, then he stood right behind her, staring over her shoulder as she sliced bread, spread it with mustard, then layered on roast beef and cheese. He didn't give her directions or advice, and Sam decided she liked him watching and accepting a
lot better than if Jake had sat down at the table, assuming he'd be waited upon.

Gram would have slapped his hand if she'd seen him snatch the sandwich from the cutting board and take a bite before Sam gave him a plate, but she just asked, “Do you want something to drink?”

Jake stopped chewing to ask, “Tea?”

That was a surprise, but Sam filled the tea kettle and set it to boil. She stood there and stared at it.

While Jake ate in silence, Sam thought back to the day he'd gotten mad. She still couldn't figure out why. She could only come up with jealousy, but Jake couldn't be dumb enough to think she had a crush on Kit, just because she'd interviewed him.

No, it made more sense that because Kit had arrived home to everyone's open arms and admiration and then kept calling Jake Baby Bear as if he were a little kid, not a hard-working rancher, Jake was irritated with the rest of his family. Maybe he'd just felt it was easier to yell at her than at his entire family.

The tea kettle's shriek startled them both, and Maxine bolted through the swinging door.

“Sorry,” Sam apologized.

“She's awake. We're talking about diapers,” Maxine said. “I just wanted to ask if you could make a cup for me.”

“Sure,” Sam said, but Maxine had already vanished back into the other room.

“Diapers,” Jake said, shuddering.

Sam dipped a tea bag in a cup of hot water. She watched it float up and sink down, feeling half hypnotized when Jake said, “Kit
was
lying to you.”

Sam waited for him to go on. She didn't have the energy to fight, but since Jake rarely felt like talking, she would listen.

“Quinn heard Kit talking to my parents and told me while we were out in the barn, that day you were over. Kit's not going back to bronc riding. All that stuff about being back in the chutes with his buddy Pani?”

Sam nodded, remembering.

“He can't.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“He fell with a bronc. It rolled on his wrist. Not his free hand. His rope hand.”

It took Sam a second to picture a rodeo rider holding single-handedly to a rope rein while his other hand waved in the air as the contest required.

“It crushed eight bones to dust.” Jake brushed his fingers over the back of his hand and up to his shirt cuff.

“And
that
made you mad?” Sam couldn't believe he hadn't felt sorry for his brother.

“I know,” Jake said. He made a calming motion. “And I do feel bad, but I just went off on this mental tangent.”

Jake held his head with both hands and his look of confusion made Sam laugh.

“But you're awful for being mad at him, and me,” she said.

“Okay, I'm awful,” Jake admitted, but he sounded as if he were about to make a second confession. “Here's the thing. I wasn't really jealous of you and Kit. I wanted to be, kind of, but that wasn't it at all. It was worse than that.”

“Okay,” Sam said, carefully.

“Kit's either fooling himself or lying to the rest of us about going back to rodeo. And when I leave for college, he'll take over Three Ponies.”

“Can he even ride?” Sam asked.

“For normal purposes, I think he could ride even if he'd lost his whole arm,” Jake said, and Sam winced. “He's so good on a horse.” Jake sounded envious. “He didn't lie about that. When I was little I remember Mom saying Kit was ambidextrous. I thought it had to do with ambushes, 'til she explained it meant he could use both hands to do things.

“But of all of us, I'm the one…” Jake blew out a loud breath. “I'm the one of us kids who's cared most about the ranch. If I leave it to him for four years, there'll be no getting it back.”

And that
would
be worse than her having a crush on Kit, Sam agreed. But then her mind shifted to a picture of Jake with his hair long like it used to be, setting off for Great Basin College with Witch in a trailer and Singer sitting on the truck bench beside him. His future would be waiting at the end of the
road ahead, and he shouldn't have to worry about losing his position at Three Ponies to Kit.

“But wait, is that what Kit wants to do?” Sam asked. “Stay home and run the family ranch?”

“Why wouldn't he?” Jake asked.

“So you haven't asked him,” Sam pointed out.

Jake shook his head and lifted his cup. His hands dwarfed Gram's china tea cup.

“I forgot to take your mom her tea!” Sam said. “I'll be right back.”

It took her a few extra minutes, because Maxine asked her to bring Brynna her maps and a pencil from upstairs. Maxine rolled her eyes and Sam couldn't believe it, either. Brynna had been working with her BLM maps for two months. Surely she could forget about them today.

When she returned, Jake's jaw was set hard, but he didn't look mad. His eyes tested hers with a look that was almost…timid?

“What?” Sam demanded. Jake must have done something terrible to be scared of
her
.

“There's something else,” he said.

“Spit it out,” Sam told him.

Jake blew his cheeks full of air and looked at her sideways.

“Look…” Sam heard her voice, loud as a gunshot. She lowered it to a whisper. “I helped deliver a baby today, Jake Ely. Do you really think anything you're about to say will shock me?”

Jake shuddered as he had when his mother mentioned diapers.

“It's not shockin', exactly. And it's not like you haven't thought of it, but, what I mean to say is this. I'm sorry.”

Sam sighed. Jake was an idiot for making such a big deal out of an apology, but he probably didn't do it very often.

“So, we're friends again?” Sam asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, pushing his black hair away from his mustang eyes.

And Sam was really glad.