by Indiana Wake
“She was.” Connie was a dab hand at conversation and she wasn’t about to give into Katie lightly.
“What did she say?” Katie probed quietly, feeling embarrassed.
“Oh, just this and that.” Connie teased.
“Connie!” Katie squeaked.
“Just the usual, what a nice young woman you are,” Connie said as she began to pat the dough into a ball ready for putting back into the large bowl.
“That was nice of her.”
“And nice of you to give that brother-in-law of hers a fair hearing when he came to apologize.”
“Nothing gets past you, I was right.”
“I was just in the right place at the right time, that’s all. Anyway, she sure is grateful that you’ve given him another chance. Mary thinks the world of that young man, I reckon she still thinks of him as a little boy sometimes. Anyway, it’s been turning her inside out to think of him sitting in the ranch house day after day not doing anything but mourning the loss of his leg and his old job out on the plains with his brother.”
“They really are caring, Mary and David. They were so kind to me when I went to dinner.”
“They’re good people.” Connie nodded sagely. “I suppose David to be a bit man-fashion at times.”
“Man-fashion? What on earth does that mean?” Katie looked down into the pan and could see the water in the very first stages of boiling.
“Well, you know what men are like. Mary wishes that he would have a heart-to-heart with his brother, but it seems as if he’s struggling with it.” She dumped the ball of dough into the bowl and covered it with a dark cloth. “They make things so much harder than they need to be. My husband was the same.” She shook her head and sighed, making Katie laugh. “Is there any sign of that coffee yet? I’m parched.”
“All right, give me a minute.”
Katie quietly got on with the coffee and found herself wondering if Arlen was as pleased with her as his sister-in-law seemed to be. Not that it should matter since he’d already said they could be friends. And yet, it didn’t stop her wondering what it was he thought of her. Did he think her as strange and uninspiring as everybody else seemed to?
“Thank you, honey,” Connie said when Katie set their cups down on the table and sat down herself.
“I forgot, Mama said do you want to come to dinner on Sunday after church?” Katie said and lightly touched her forehead.
“That’s not like you to forget something.” Connie laughed. “But I suppose you have other things on your mind these days.”
“Like what?” Katie said, recognizing Connie’s customary teasing tone with ease.
“Like Arlen Bryant?”
“What about him?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t, but I suppose I could guess.” Katie shrugged and hoped she wasn’t blushing. “But I really only wanted to be his friend. I don’t know, there’s something about him. He seems a bit lost somehow.”
“He’s had a lot happen to him. Not just his injuries, but everything he’s seen. I wouldn’t mind betting that there are any number of images in his head which a young man really ought not to have seen. Nobody should,” Connie said sadly.
“How do you help somebody who’s suffering like that?”
“I don’t know. But I reckon above all things, just be ready to listen. Don’t push, just wait.”
“That’s if he’d even tell somebody like me. I mean, we’re not exactly the best of friends.”
“But he likes you well enough to apologize.”
“If he’s a decent man at his heart, he would have apologized to anybody for his behavior. It doesn’t exactly make me special.”
“And would you like to be special?” Connie asked, gently wheedling.
“I don’t know. I don’t know him well enough yet to know that. And after what you’ve just said, I might not have seen the real Arlen at all, and maybe I never will.”
“Well, whoever he is now, he still needs a friend.”
“I’ll do my best,” Katie said and shrugged.
“You always do.” Connie reached out and tapped Katie’s mug. “You better get drinking that if you’re going to make your way out to the Bryant ranch on time, hadn’t you?”
“Oh yes,” Katie said, and lifted the hot coffee to her lips.
“Come on in, Katie,” Mary said, standing out on the wide porch as if she had been waiting for her. “It sure is a fine afternoon.”
“It sure is. And warm too.” Katie jutted out her bottom lip and blew her hair out of her face.
She felt a little disheveled having walked in what seemed to be increasing heat and she began to wish that she had at least taken one of the horses, if not the wagon.
“I’ve got some peach tea ready, I thought you might prefer that to coffee,” Mary said as she took Katie’s arm and walked her into the kitchen.
“Oh, yes please,” Katie said, strangely relieved that Arlen wasn’t already sitting in the kitchen.
In truth, she didn’t know if he would be joining them at all, for Mary hadn’t mentioned him. But if he was to join them at any stage, Katie thought she would rather get her bearings again and settle down a little bit before he did.
“Unfortunately, the pie is peach as well. I don’t know, can you have too many peaches?” Mary said as she carefully cut the pie.
“No, it’s not possible,” Katie said, and both women laughed.
“I’m real glad you came back, honey.” Mary lowered her tone and Katie immediately realized that Arlen must be somewhere in the house. “I mean, I’m glad that you didn’t let Arlen scare you away last time.”
“No, not at all. And anyway, that’s all forgotten now.”
“Yes, he said he’d apologized. I must say, I was relieved to hear it. I could hardly sleep wondering what you must think of us.”
“Oh no, Mary,” Katie said and felt a great warmth for the woman. “I realized immediately that he wasn’t quite ready, so you mustn’t worry. And I sure didn’t think any the less of you for it; more, if anything. You take real good care of him.”
“I think I told you before that I’ve known Arlen since he was a boy,” Mary said and seemed dewy-eyed with relief and emotion.
“And it’s clear that you care for him like a brother,” Katie was whispering too, not wanting to be caught by Arlen in the act of talking about him behind his back. “Is he joining us?”
“He knows you’re coming, so I reckon he’ll come sauntering in at some point.” She smiled. “At least I hope he will.”
“Yes, me too.”
“You too what?” Arlen asked, appearing in the doorway.
“We were just saying that we hoped you were going to join us,” Katie said, thinking that a lie just wouldn’t do in that moment.
She didn’t think for a minute that he’d overheard them, but there was a shrewdness about him, as if he would spot a lie at a thousand paces.
“I will if there’s enough pie,” he said and smiled.
He had a nice smile, when he finally gave it, and Katie thought it made him look more his age. Most of the time he looked older, tired and serious, but his wide smile certainly went some way to restoring him to his true age.
“I think I can spare it,” Mary said and rose to her feet to get another plate and a glass.
Katie smiled at him as he made his way across the kitchen, determined all the time that she wouldn’t look away from him. He still made her feel a little bit uncomfortable with the idea that he was looking for a reaction of some sort from her to his ungainly walk.
Still, if they were going to be friends, they would both have to get used to it.
“Nice day out here,” he said, wincing as he sat down.
“Yes, very warm,” Katie said. “Is your leg hurting?” she asked outright and his eyes widened a little at the question.
“Yes, a little bit.” He smiled, and she was relieved that he hadn’t taken offence. She was sure that, had she a
sked the question days earlier, he would most certainly have been annoyed about it. “Doc Brown has given me a whole list of exercises I need to do every day and I’ve just finished them.”
“And the exercises make it hurt more?” Katie stated, suddenly inquisitive.
“Yes, I suppose they do.” He laughed a little at her open curiosity. “They take a while as well, so I find myself getting bored halfway through.”
“Well, you need to do all of them,” Katie said firmly.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and performed a humorous little salute.
“Do you have to do anything else?” she went on. “I mean, has Doc Brown given you any other advice?”
“Just to keep walking whenever I can.”
“I suppose that helps to build up muscles, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” He smiled at her and then looked up at Mary when she placed the pie and peach tea down in front of him. “Thank you, Mary.”
“Well, it’s a shame David’s not here.” Mary said. “He’d have liked a slice of pie.”
“We won’t eat all of it, Mary,” Arlen said. “And anyway, he’s busy, isn’t he?” There was just the vaguest hint of the old bitterness.
“Could you not go and help him?” Katie said, immediately realizing that she had put her foot in her mouth this time.
Mary seemed to tense, becoming almost brittle as if she would break, and Arlen’s fork waved in the air halfway between the plate and his mouth.
“Not really,” he said, and finally popped the piece of pie into his mouth.
“I’m sorry, I know you wouldn’t be out on horseback, but you can still go out,” Katie said quietly and felt her cheeks suddenly hot with embarrassment. “Can’t you?”
“How would I get there?” he asked and looked at her closely. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s all right. You haven’t done anything wrong, Katie.” He went on when he realized just how embarrassed she was.
“Oh, good,” she said and let out a great sigh. “But I suppose you could get there on the wagon, couldn’t you? I mean, you’re just fine driving the wagon, aren’t you?” She went on, determined not to let the last ounces of embarrassment hold her back.
If he wanted Katie as a friend, then he would have her. But she would be Katie Lacey, nobody else.
“The wagon?” he said and set his fork down on the plate before bursting out laughing. “I can just see me riding around the ranch on the wagon.”
“Why not?”
“Cross-country?” he said, and he laughed harder still, once again looking younger.
“It’s the plains, Arlen, not the mountains,” Katie said and looked at him with confusion. “People come across the Oregon Trail in wagons every year, I’m sure you could manage to get from one end of your ranch to the other one.”
“You know, she has a point,” Mary said and began to laugh herself, her eyes shining once again as if seeing her brother-in-law truly amused had made her emotional.
“You have a kind of plain way of looking at things, don’t you?” he said, still chuckling although the greater wave of laughter had passed.
“Looking at things in a plain way makes the world easier, I reckon,” she said and shrugged before taking a forkful of just about the best peach pie she had ever tasted. “Oh, Mary, this is lovely,” she said the moment she had finished chewing and swallowing.
“Thank you, honey.”
“Who on earth rides around a ranch rounding up cattle with a horse and wagon?” Arlen went on, clearly not keen to let go of his amusement just yet.
“I reckon anyone who has a mind to, and that’s all,” Katie said firmly. “Someone who just wants to try it.”
“Maybe I’ll do just that,” he said, still chuckling as he finished his pie.
Chapter 12
“It’s not getting any better is it, Doc?” Arlen spoke as he sat slumped in the chair in Dr. Brown’s consulting office.
“Not yet, Arlen, but we’ve only just begun, haven’t we?” Doc Brown’s grey hair was thick and wild, standing up in rough tufts all over the place, with his eyebrows matching perfectly.
Ordinarily, it would have given Arlen some silent, harmless amusement, but his humor seemed to have deserted him again.
“I’ve done the exercises every day, just as you said.”
“And you’ve been rubbing in the salve?”
“I have, despite the god-awful smell.” Doc Brown smiled at him sadly.
“You know what they say, the worse the stuff smells, the better it is for you.” Doc leaned back in his chair and laced his hands over his medium-sized paunch. “And how much walking are you doing?”
“I guess about a mile a day.”
“In one go?”
“No, I couldn’t manage that. I just mean I generally walk about a mile a day going backwards and forwards, taking a walk outside the ranch house, occasionally around town, that kind of thing.”
“I think you need to concentrate on walking a bit more. Don’t count the backwards and forwards stuff, just the concentrated walking.”
“All right, I sure will give it a go,” Arlen said, but felt the determination draining from him.
It felt so good in the last days, enjoying life just a little better than he had done when he’d first arrived home. And he knew that his friendship with Katie had a lot to do with it.
She really was kind of strange, reticent one minute and oddly direct the next, but she had certainly kept him entertained whenever he’d seen her. And he’d naively thought that his leg would follow suit, that it would somehow keep step with his general mood and improve by degrees just as his mood had done.
And so, to hear that all his effort had been in vain was something of a blow.
“And you’re going to need to increase the exercises.” Doc Brown went on. “Do exactly what you’re doing in just the way I told you but do it twice a day instead of once. Do the whole routine in the morning before you start your day and again mid-afternoon or early evening. Just don’t do it right before going to bed, the exercise will keep you awake.”
“The exercises take an hour as it is,” Arlen said, and realized he sounded as if he was complaining. “Not to mention the fact that they’re painful.”
“They’re going to be painful until that muscle starts to build. You’ve been a long time now without using that leg properly, and the muscle has all but disappeared. But it will come back again, I promise you that.” Doc Brown was such a kindly man, the only doctor who had ever treated him apart from the desperate medics on the battlefield, and Arlen really did trust him.
But it didn’t make him feel any better, not then. He just felt dejected.
“Well, thanks, Doc.” Arlen got to his feet.
“Come back to me in four weeks, I reckon if you stick to it we’ll see some progress then.” The doctor rose to his feet also and held out his hand for Arlen to shake. “Of course, any problems or concerns, come to me before then.”
“I will do.” Arlen smiled, wanting the doctor to know that he was appreciative of his kindness however down he felt about the lack of progress.
As he clambered up into the wagon outside the doctor’s office, he realized that he’d drawn the attention of one or two people wandering up and down the main street.
Only this time, it didn’t bother him as it had done before. He certainly didn’t enjoy the attention, but neither did he feel diminished by it. Instead, he went about his business, settling himself down on the driver’s seat, lifting the reins, and setting off.
When he was about halfway home, he drew the wagon to a halt and turned the horse in the other direction altogether. On a whim, he decided to call into the lumberyard and see if Katie was there. If anybody could lift his spirits, he reckoned it was her. And it was beginning to occur to him that she was the only person that he truly didn’t mind staring at him anymore.
And so, he made his way to the lumberyard, climbing down from the wagon on the flat ground out front and making his way inside.
<
br /> Katie was busy dealing with the customer, weighing out a great brown bag full of nails before dropping it into another brown bag, presumably to stop it splitting, and taking the man’s money.
“Very efficient, Miss Lacey,” he said with a smile the moment the man had disappeared.
“I should think so, he’s the first customer we’ve had all morning.” She laughed. “But you don’t look so happy, Arlen.”
He was amazed that she had seen it, even though he had opened their conversation with humor and done his best to smile. She really was kind of smart.
“I’ve just come from Doc Brown’s office,” he said. “So yes, I’m in kind of a rough mood.”
“Why? What did Doc Brown say?”
“That I’m not getting anywhere with his regimen, so I need to double everything. Well, double the exercises. As far as the walking goes, I just need to stay on my feet for longer.”
“Well, Doc Brown will know best.”
“I’m sure,” he said solemnly.
“But?” she said, raising her eyebrows perceptively.
“I guess I’m just finding it hard to believe that things will get any better than this,” he said and looked down at his leg. “I was just hoping for something, you know? I haven’t seen any improvement myself, but I reckon I thought the doc would see something, however small, and tell me that things were going to come right.”
“But things might come right if you do what he says. After all, how many injured soldiers do you think Doc Brown has treated before? Not many, I reckon. He certainly knows what he’s doing, he just needs to tweak the amounts. Just like if he was giving you a sleeping draught or some kind of cure for your belly. Everybody’s different, aren’t they? Everybody needs different amounts of medicines, so why not exercise?”
“There you go looking at things plainly again.” He laughed, and felt a little better.
“I suppose so, but I might be right. You never know.” She grinned at him and it seemed strangely mischievous. “I have been right before on occasion.”
“Well, whether you’re right or not, I guess you’ve cheered me up.”
