by Linda Warren
“This is awful,” Ruth exclaimed. “And it has to stop. Holden was upset by my vote to buy the K Bar C property and he’s not happy with the Home Free Program either. I should have listened to my husband. Now our decision is causing crime.”
Ruth Kelley was the perfect obedient wife and she never went against her husband’s wishes. Voting to buy the K Bar C for back taxes was the first decision she’d ever voted for because she personally thought it was right for the town. And she’d received a lot of flak from her husband.
“Ruth, you did the right thing,” Miranda told her. “And Wade will sort this out.” She looked at Wade. “You said the boys are cleaning up the mess?”
“Yes.”
“Howard works for Rudy.” Arlen twisted a pencil. “I’ll have a talk with him and see if he can have any influence over Howard. We don’t need that kind of anger in town.”
“No, we don’t,” Frances added. “I was hoping all these bad feelings would go away after the residents saw how good it was for the town.”
Arlen threw the pencil on the table. “There are some people who are never going to see any good in the Home Free Program—Clint Gallagher for one.”
Wade pushed to his feet. “Clint’s not happy with the program, but he’s not going to do anything to hurt it, though. I believe he wants the best for Homestead like we all do. We just differ in our viewpoints.” He turned toward the door. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Wade.” Miranda stopped him. “Tell Callie she’s welcome to stay with Mom and me until her house is livable again.”
“I’ll let her know, but she’s comfortable at the ranch and I don’t see any reason to move her and the kids.”
He tipped his hat and walked into the hall. That probably opened a can of worms, but he knew Miranda would squelch the gossip. If not, he didn’t care. He wanted Callie close. They had a lot to talk about, especially Nigel Tremont. The board didn’t need to know about that just yet.
He hurried to his office, hoping Simon had called. He’d left a message and Wade immediately called him back.
“Hey, Simon, you find anything?”
“Not yet. This is going to take a while. How big a hurry are you in?”
“Big, Simon. I need this bad and it’s all confidential.”
“Okay. I’m on it. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
“C’mon, Simon, pulling you from a burning building doesn’t mean you’re indebted to me for life.”
When he and Simon had been street cops, they’d cornered two drug suspects in a warehouse. Shots had been fired and Simon had been hit. The shots had ignited an oil drum and the place had gone up quickly. In the fresh air, Wade had realized that Simon wasn’t with him. Without thinking, he’d run back in and dragged him out. It was all in the line of duty, but Simon never quite saw it that way.
“Ah, buddy, to me it does. I’ll find everything I can on Nigel Tremont.”
“Thanks, Simon. Call me when you have something.”
Wade leaned back in his chair. He had to find a way to set Callie free.
Free to leave Homestead. And him.
Suddenly that didn’t feel very good.
CHAPTER NINE
BUDDY CALLED AND CALLIE assured him they were all okay, then Ethel called and she told her the same thing. She spoke with Odell because he had some questions about the kitchen. Her hand on the phone, she realized she was forming bonds in Homestead, something she hadn’t planned to do.
Shaking the thought off, she concentrated on the afternoon. She didn’t want Adam to ride if he didn’t want to and she certainly wasn’t going to have Jock force him.
Jock had left some time ago and Adam was in the bedroom getting ready. The girls played with Peanut, who had found his way back from Yolanda’s. A small brown-and-white terrier, Peanut clearly loved children. Mary Beth and Brit were throwing a stick and Peanut would quickly bring it back to them.
Adam came out of the bedroom and Callie stared at him. He had jeans and sneakers on instead of shorts and flip-flops.
“Adam, you don’t have to ride if you don’t want to.” She wanted to make sure he understood that.
“I know.” He looked down at his sneakers. “Wish I had some boots.”
Callie did a double take. Adam had never shown any interest in horses or riding. So what had made him change his mind?
“I’m sure we can find some at the feed store.”
“I want some like the sheriff wears.”
“What kind is that?” She had seen Wade’s boots, but she hadn’t looked all that closely. Her interest wasn’t in his feet.
“Cowboy boots. Real cowboy boots.”
Callie put the back of her fingers to his forehead.
“What are you doing?”
“Seeing if you have a fever.”
He grinned shyly. “Let’s go. Mr. Jock might be waiting.”
She caught his arm. “Wait a minute. Why the change of heart?”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “The sheriff’s son died and after that Yo said Mr. Jock became meaner than a rattlesnake. But he’s not mean, Callie. He’s just angry and sad.”
“How do you know that?” But she knew the answer.
“Well.” He stared down at his sneakers. “When Daddy died, I was angry and sad, too. Then Mom married him and died and I was angry and afraid all the time. I know I’m mean to Brit, but she’s always so happy and she shouldn’t be because our parents are…”
“Oh, Adam.” Callie wrapped her arms around him. Adam felt things deeply and once again she thought he was too young to deal with so much trauma.
He pulled back. “So you see, Mr. Jock doesn’t want to be mean. He just can’t help it.”
“And what about the sheriff? I thought you didn’t like him.”
Adam shrugged. “He let us stay here, so he has to be nice and cares what happens to us. When I’m not angry, I can see that.”
Callie cupped his face in her hands and kissed his cheek. “My Adam is back.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “We better go.”
“Okay.”
They hurried out the door to join the girls. The late June afternoon was warm and there was a gentle breeze stirring up a faint smell of some sort of grass—probably what the cows were munching in the pasture. The house and barns had been built on a hill under tall oak trees and the green valley below was dotted with cattle. Everything was peacefully quiet, a horse neighed and a cow bellowed in the distance. For a brief moment, Callie felt safe, as if the outside world didn’t exist—how safe would depend on Wade and his investigation. She wished he’d hurry home.
When they reached the pipe corral, not a soul was in sight.
Brit climbed onto the fence. “Where is everybody?”
“I don’t know,” Callie said, looking around. In the distance, dust swirled and three riders came into view, a single cow in front of them.
Adam saw them at the same time. “There they are,” he shouted, pointing and climbing up beside Brit. “They’re herding a cow?” He frowned. “Aren’t they supposed to herd lots of cows?”
Mary Beth was holding Peanut and she put him down to join her siblings. They all watched as the group drew closer. They herded the cow toward an alley that came straight into a chute attached to the corral. Tex waved a rope above his head and yelled something in Spanish. When the cow almost reached the chute, she stopped, sensing a trap.
Tex came up behind her on the horse and shouted more Spanish and the cow shot into the chute. Quickly dismounting, Tex shoved a pipe through the fence behind the cow’s legs so she couldn’t back out.
Callie immediately saw there was a problem. The cow’s udder was enormous and her teats were swollen. She was either fixing to give birth or already had. That thought was answered as Poncho rode into the corral with a small red-and-white calf across his saddle. He dismounted and lifted the calf to the ground, as if it weighed no more than a feather. It lay lifeless, making a guttural noise.
At the sound, the cow thrashed around, trying to get to her baby, but the pipe enclosure held her tight. Callie was so absorbed watching the distressed cow that she didn’t notice Mary Beth crawling through the fence. When she looked up, Mary Beth was almost to the calf.
Her heart jumped into her throat. “Mary Beth,” she screamed and was over the fence in an instant.
Peanut barked and Tex shouted, “Casa, dog.” Peanut darted under the fence, down the hill to Yolanda and safety.
When Callie reached Mary Beth, she was kneeling in the dirt, patting the calf. Brit and Adam were right behind her. Callie didn’t want Mary Beth doing that because she didn’t know if the calf was sick or not and she’d heard of people getting diseases from cows.
“Has it got a boo-boo?” Mary Beth asked.
“Nah,” Poncho replied. “Just hungry. Can’t suck her mama ’cause her teats are too big.”
“Poor baby,” Mary Beth cooed, stroking the animal. Brit joined her in consoling the calf.
“Fix her up in no time,” Poncho assured them.
Callie turned to see Wade driving up to the corral. Her heart skipped a beat. He opened a gate and strolled to where they were standing. She wanted to throw her arms around him in welcome and ask a million questions, but she didn’t do either. That would have to wait until later.
He squatted by the girls. “A calf that can’t suck?”
“Sí,” Poncho replied. “Tex fixing to milk her mama and get some milk into the little one’s belly.”
Jock dismounted outside the corral and came through from the barn. “Get those kids out of here. This ain’t no place for kids.”
Wade rose to face his father. “Pop…”
The cow thrashed about wildly, banging against the pipe fence. Wade walked over to her, instead, putting his hand through the fence to stroke the cow. “Settle down, girl. No one’s going to hurt you or your baby.”
The cow paused in her struggle, as if she sensed a friend was near. Wade had that special touch just like she knew he had—someone to trust.
Adam moved to stand by Wade. “Can I pat her?” he asked, to Callie’s astonishment.
Wade looked at Callie. She nodded. “Sure. She just needs to know that we’re not going to hurt her.”
Adam stuck his hand in and patted the cow. “What’s her name?”
“Cow’s don’t have names, boy,” Jock said with a touch of indignation. “See that tag in her ear. It says 842. That’s her name and soon we’ll have an identifying tag in the calf’s ear to match her mother. That’s how we keep track of ’em.”
“Oh,” Adam said.
Tex brought a small bucket. “Okay, let’s see if she has any milk.” He squatted and shoved the bucket under the bottom pipe, which had a larger space from the ground. The cow immediately kicked and squirmed.
“Talk to her,” Wade said Adam.
“It’s okay.” Adam quickly did as he was asked. “They’re not going to hurt you, but they need some milk for your baby. There, there, it’s okay.” Adam kept talking and the cow settled down. Callie just watched, amazed at this change in Adam.
Tex squeezed a teat and milk squirted into the bucket like the sound of rain on a tin roof. “Got milk. Mucho good.”
Adam continued to pat the cow. “Mr. Sheriff?”
Wade turned to him. “Yes.”
“Can I give the cow a name?”
“Sure.” Wade didn’t even glance at his father.
“I’ll call her Sadie.”
“Okay. We’ll call her Sadie.”
“Hummph,” was Jock’s opinion.
Tex pulled the full bucket through the fence and handed it to Poncho, who poured the milk into a large plastic bottle and attached a nipple. He then shoved the bottle toward Wade.
“Sheriff, do the honors.”
Wade lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “You boys are gettin’ lazy.” But he took the bottle and walked to where Mary Beth and Brit were still cooing to the calf.
Kneeling in the dirt, he lifted the small calf’s head. “Now let’s see if we can get you to suck.”
“Her name is Babe,” Brit told him.
“Yeah,” Mary Beth added. “We named her Babe.”
Wade glanced at Callie and she felt a glow all the way to her toes. He was wonderful with kids and animals. To her, he was just wonderful.
He squirted milk onto Babe’s nose and she sniffed, but she made no move to take the nipple. Opening her mouth, he gently pushed the nipple in and squeezed. Milk ran out the sides of her mouth and the guttural sounds became louder.
“C’mon, Babe.” Brit rubbed the calf’s back. “Suck the nipple. It’s yummy and you need it.”
Mary Beth joined in. “Take it, Babe. It’s from your mommy.”
Wade let them talk to her for a minute then he put the nipple in the calf’s mouth and placed his hand over her nose and jaw and worked it with an up-and-down motion. The grunting grew intense as the calf tasted the milk. Suddenly, she lifted up her head, searching for the nipple. Wade quickly gave it to her and she sucked on her own.
“Look, Callie. Look,” Brit shouted. “She’s sucking.”
“I see.”
“Slow down, girl,” Wade instructed as the calf sucked greedily.
“Her name is Babe,” Mary Beth reminded him.
“Sorry. Forgot that.”
“That’s okay,” Mary Beth said.
Wade removed the bottle and Babe jerked her head around searching for more. “Time to see if you’ll suck your mama.”
Tex finished milking all four teats into a larger bucket. He’d saved some in the smaller one. “There’s some left for the calf. I got ’em down enough so she can get ’em in her mouth.”
Tex carried the milk to three cow dogs waiting outside the fence. The dogs drank thirstily. Mary Beth was looking at them out of the corner of her eye.
“Are those your dogs, Mr. Sheriff?” she asked, as Callie knew she would.
“That’s Tex and Poncho’s cow dogs, Butch, Buster and Booger.”
“What does that mean, cow dogs?” Brit was now taking an interest in the dogs.
“They help work the cattle.”
“Why do you make them work?” Mary Beth had more questions.
“Because this is a ranch and that’s what everyone does here, including the dogs.” Jock’s words were short and impatient.
Wade sighed. “Let’s get out of the corral so Babe can meet her mama.”
“But she’ll miss us,” Mary Beth protested.
Wade gave Poncho the bottle and picked up Mary Beth. “C’mon, little bit, you can visit with Babe later.”
“’Kay.” Mary Beth gave in without a whimper.
They all went through the gate to stand outside the corral. Jock stood silently by them. Tex removed the pipe and Poncho shouted to the cow and she backed out of the chute. Then Tex opened a gate into the corral and she charged in, sniffing and licking her baby.
The cow made sounds like Callie had never heard before and she knew this was the cow’s way of saying she was glad to see her offspring. The calf struggled to its front knees, then stood shakily on all fours. Babe immediately butted her head against the cow’s stomach, searching for more food.
“It’s in the back,” Brit shouted. “That funny-looking thing.”
Wade smiled. “It’s called an udder.”
“Why isn’t it called a breast?” Brit wanted to know.
“That’s just what it’s called in a cow.”
“Oh.”
Finally Babe found it and latched on, sucking. Her tail wagged with pleasure and the kids clapped.
“Thank you, Mr. Sheriff Wade,” Mary Beth said, hugging his neck. “You helped Babe.”
As her little arms enclosed his neck, something inside Wade cracked and he knew what it was—the vault he’d built around his heart that had been sealed shut. He was feeling again and, gazing into Callie’s eyes, the pain wasn’t so strong either. A few weeks and this woman and th
e kids had totally taken over his life.
And he wished it could last forever.
“Can I ride now, Mr. Sheriff?” Brit broke through his thoughts.
He set Mary Beth on her feet. “Okay, let’s see if we can find Fancy.”
“There she is.” Brit pointed to several horses in the pasture.
“Let’s give Tex and Poncho time to get Sadie and Babe into another pen, then I’ll call her up.”
“Okay.”
Tex herded the cow and calf into a pen on the other side of the chute because Wade said they’d have to keep an eye on her until the calf was sucking properly. Wade went into the barn to get a bridle. Going to the fence, he whistled, and Fancy reared her head and trotted over. He slipped the bridle on and led her into the barn where Callie and the kids were waiting.
“If you’re going to ride, you have to learn how to take care of your horse.”
“Is that what cowgirls do, Mr—”
Wade held up his hand, stopping her. “Remember, just call me Wade.”
Brit looked at Callie and she nodded.
“Okay,” Brit said.
“Talk to Fancy and get acquainted.”
Brit rubbed the horse’s nose and Fancy moved her head in a lazy fashion. “She remembers me.”
“Yep, seems like she does. Now we put on a saddle blanket.” He straightened the blanket across the horse’s back. “Then the saddle.” He reached for a regular saddle on the saddle rack and saw the smaller one that used to be Zach’s. When Jock had bought him Lucky, he’d also bought a new saddle and Zach had never used the small one again.
Without thinking about it, he swung the saddle onto Fancy’s back. It was time was all that he would let himself think. “See.” He pointed out the straps attached to the saddle. “These hold the saddle on the horse. You cinch them tight.” As he talked he worked. “You’ll need help for a while then you’ll learn it.”
“Can I ride by myself, Mr…. Wade?”
“You think you’re ready?”
Brit shrugged. “I want to.”
Wade glanced at Callie and she nodded again and he felt strengthened by her faith in him. He lifted Brit into the saddle and handed her the reins. “These are the reins. Hold them in your right hand like I showed you the other day. The reins are kind of like a steering wheel. They guide the horse where you want her to go. To go right, you pull to the right. To go left, you pull to the left. To stop, pull up or toward you. Do you understand?”
