Providence

by Karen Noland

  “What about them?”

  “What if we planned a day, asked them all to come help out. You and Mrs. Insley could cook up a meal, their wives could come, make a day of it. I’ll bet even Jon here could mount up and help out.”

  “Oh, you bet I could!” Jon agreed enthusiastically.

  “And I don’t see no reason we couldn’t butcher one of them steers and have us a real shindig,” Nana supplied.

  “Even have us a mess of calf fries!” Jake threw in.

  “Oh, yes, momma, lets! It would be such fun!” Jo clapped her hands bouncing up and down.

  “I don’t know...”

  “You were planning on doing it all yourself?” Luke asked skeptically.

  “It’s such an awful lot to ask of folks.”

  “Would you do it for one of your neighbors?”

  “Well, yes, of course, but...”

  “Then it’s settled. You must let them do the same for you.”

  Kate looked at each of the expectant faces around her table. They waited in hushed anticipation. Even Nana seemed to be in favor of his plan.

  “Well, I suppose...”

  “Oh, Yes!” Jo jumped up and threw her arms around Luke’s neck in an unexpected hug, taking him totally off guard. He tensed for a moment before relaxing and giving her a quick squeeze in return. Jo ran around the table to her mother and gave her in an equally enthusiastic embrace. Letting go she grabbed her puppy, “We’re going to have a party, Candy!”

  Kate smiled and shook her head. There was more life in her family this morning than there had been in a long time.

  ***

  The horses walked amiably along in the crisp morning air. Kate was glad she had thought to bring along a warm woolen coat. She would have no need of it soon, but now the warmth was comforting as a chill breeze blew across the plain. “The Angus herd is just to the east of that fence line. I think you saw some of them on our way in yesterday.”

  “Yes, big black cattle, no horns, kind of ugly aren’t they?”

  Kate Laughed a little at the description. It was exactly what she had thought when Will brought the first ones home. “Yes, I suppose they are, but they sure fatten quickly, they’re strong enough, but they don’t hold up as well over long drives. Since the rail line came into Guthrie, though, we don’t have the long haul anymore, and I can get more pounds to market in a shorter period of time.”

  Kate paused a moment remembering the herds coming through the first years that they had settled here. She still remembered one of the Texas drives coming up over their place that first year. It had looked like a sea of cattle, brown waves undulating across the prairie. The waddies had stopped for an evening with them, recounting tales of stampedes and how this was really a small drive compared to days gone by. Kate had wondered exactly how many more cattle could be moved, thinking of the vastness of the herd around them. The trail boss told her that they were driving about a thousand head all the way to Montana Territory, but just a few years before they had moved three times that many.

  Now the settlers, farmers and smaller ranchers had strung their fences across that great land, the herds no longer moved freely from one range to the next. This part of the country was lush with grass, and managed properly, one could run a small herd profitably on a section or two.

  “The herd on the west side is more typical of the area. There’s a mix of longhorn, some free range cows, and those have been bred back to the Angus to give us a nice mixed breed that matures well and is surprisingly hardy in the bad years.” Bringing her mare to a stop, Kate looked back at Luke. He sat hunched in the saddle not saying much. It was only then she realized that he wore no jacket, and was fighting the bitter cold wind.

  “Forget your coat?”

  “Sort of mislaid it, I guess.”

  “You’ll need something.”

  “It’ll warm up quick. Should be downright hot by this afternoon.”

  “Maybe, but this is springtime in Oklahoma Territory. It may be blazing hot today and bring on a blizzard tomorrow!”

  “Don’t I know it,” he responded miserably.

  Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head as they continued on to inspect the east herd.

  The herd was just visible as they topped the last rise. The vista spread before them was awash in the early light of a fresh spring morning. Dew sparkled over the grass, and cows grazed contentedly along the banks of a small stream. The trees along the creek fluttered new green leaves in the breeze while the water flowed lazily along its course.

  “Look. Over there,” Kate pointed toward a large black cow, apart from the rest of the herd. A small wet calf struggled mightily in its first valiant efforts to stand.

  “Now isn’t that a sight,” Luke smiled broadly.

  They rode on quietly toward the herd of cows and gamboling calves. One bold little heifer, danced up to Rio who snorted sending the calf into a spinning turn bawling frantically to find its momma. Kate laughed, delighted to be alive on such a beautiful morning. She could even feel some of the burdens being lifted away by having help here at last. Thank you, Lord, for this life, this beauty, this land, she prayed silently watching the herd and soaking in the sheer exhilaration of the day.

  “I count forty-seven cows, forty calves here, looks like another fifty head of steers,” Luke said, breaking into her thoughts.

  “That sounds about right. I know I should have better records, but it has been so hard keeping an accurate log of them all without being able to ride the herd every day,” Kate sighed.

  “You have catch pens set up down near the ranch, don’t you?” Luke asked.

  “Yes, for branding and sorting. They need some work, but they’ll do.”

  “Can we get Jake and Jonathan to help us round up the herds and drive them in?”

  “Jonathan will jump at the opportunity, but it’s been a while since Jake has been in the saddle, I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’d like to have at least four, but I’m sure that the three of us can get them in for the branding.” He paused watching the herd, and calculating the distance and the gates between here and the main ranch. “You say the east herd is about the same size?”

  “Maybe just a bit larger, and they’re the mixed breeds. They’ll be a bit rangier than this lot,” she smiled looking over the docile cows.

  “It’d be nice if we could get them all in and done at one time, make for a long day, but we could probably do it if we had two or three good ropers.”

  “A very long day,” she agreed. “Come on, I’ll show you the fence lines between here and the east side of the section. I haven’t had a chance to ride them in a while. It’ll be a good time to check them over.” Kate headed down towards the creek, wading across at a wide shallow spot. The icy water splashed up over her boots chilling her legs, and reminding her just how early in the year it still was. Luke followed closely, and she hoped he wasn’t too cold without a jacket.

  As they approached the fence line, Kate noticed a broken spot near a small grove of pecan trees. The fertile bottom lands in this area were rife with pecans, and Kate loved the rich nutty flavor they imparted to Nana’s fall baking. Frowning, she rode to the spot where the barbed wire hung limply between two wooden posts.

  “What in the world...” Kate stopped. For one strand to be broken was one thing, but all four were neatly cut and lay apart here. Rage built in her chest as she realized that this was a deliberate cutting of her fence.

  “Rustlers?” Luke asked quietly, riding up beside her.

  “I don’t know. Looks like it,” she answered between clenched teeth. Dismounting, she walked over and picked up the ends of the wire. They were neatly cut, and obviously very recently as there was no evidence of any cattle having passed through the break. “There’s a bundle of wire and fencing pliers in my pack,” she called back to Luke. “We can get this fixed, but I want to have a look around.”

  Tying the horses to a nearby tree, Luke retrieved the tools and they set to work spl
icing, stretching and tightening the broken wires. It took them the better part of the next hour, and by the time they finished the last strand, Kate had removed her heavy jacket and was beginning to feel the heat of the day coming on. She replaced the pliers and what was left of the wire in her saddle bags, tied her coat on behind the cantle, and took out her canteen, taking a long swallow of the refreshing cool water. She wiped off the mouth of the jug and handed it to Luke.

  “Thanks,” he said drinking his fill, and handing it back.

  “I’m going out beyond that hill there, take a look see if there’s anything unusual.” Kate said indicating a small rise some distance away.

  Luke nodded. They left on foot leaving the horses tied loosely to the pecan tree. Stooping to ease herself between the strands of barbed wire, Kate realized that they were being held apart. Looking up, she was met by smiling green eyes as Luke lifted the fence wires for her. The open pasture was easy to walk over, and they quickly covered the distance. On the far side of the rise, the remains of a small campfire still smoldered. The grass was trampled and grazed close in a small area where one or two horses had obviously been staked out. Luke nodded to the east. Following his gaze, Kate could see the indications of a trail still faintly visible in the tall grass.

  “We must have surprised them before they had the opportunity to get any cows out through the fence,” Kate said.

  “Problem is, they’ll be back.” Luke observed, squatting by the cooling embers.

  “What’s that?” Kate asked seeing him pick up a small slip of paper from the dust near the fire.

  “Looks like a receipt of some kind. It’s been burned, there’s not much left of it. Here.”

  Kate studied the charred remains. There was a partial amount visible, and part of a name on the pay to line, Richard We... The detail that caught her attention, though, was a short horizontal bar over the letter J. Bar J. Matt Johnson’s brand. Had one of his men left and turned to rustling? It was easy to imagine. He would hire just about any hand that wandered in looking for work. More than one of his men had scrapes with the law.

  “What is it?” Luke asked as she creased her brow in thought.

  “The brand on here, it belongs to Johnson,” she mused.

  “Do you think he has something to do with this?” His tone was sharp.

  “Oh, no, surely not. I would think one of his men took off, turned to rustling, probably. Either way, I don’t like the feel of it.”

  “Me neither. Let’s go.”

  Slipping the bit of paper into a pocket she followed him back to the horses.

  ***

  The sun was high and beginning to slip immeasurably towards the west when they came into sight of the western herd. The cows here were leaner and hardier than the Angus. This was a breed that Luke was familiar with, cattle that could withstand the droughts of Texas, long droves across barren plains and bitter weather, yet still calve easily in the spring and be fit and better than ever. The horns of these beasts swept out in graceful curves, some more than five feet across. Their hides were every color of nature, reds and browns, black, mottled here and there with white. Calves played and butted one another in mock battle while the cows and steers grazed, though ever alert, ready to bolt at the merest suggestion of trouble. The mixed blood cattle among this herd were beefier and easy to spot, mostly black and some without horns. Kate had called it polled. She said that they were born that way naturally.

  This was an interesting ranch run by a brilliant but inscrutable woman. Luke was finding it more of an adventure than he had ever imagined. When Martha Jansen had first approached him about Kate Shaughnessey, he was unsure of taking on a job with a woman. Too many trials, too much trouble. He had had enough of women in his life for now, he needed time to get away. He had ridden into Fallis hoping to find work with one of the larger ranches. He gravitated naturally to the livery and then the general mercantile avoiding the saloons. He was not a drinking man, and had no use for those who were, just muddled your head and led to strife. He’d seen enough of that with some of the Texas outfits he’d been with.

  Martha offered him odd jobs in exchange for meals for a few days, and it had seemed to be a good way to get a feel for the area and find a regular job for a while. Some cowboys had drifted in and out during those few days, and to a man, Luke had not liked the type. About the time he had decided to ride on, Martha had approached him about Kate. Something in him had wanted to deny her and simply leave, but when he heard about the death of her husband, a small daughter, the aging couple and trouble with a neighboring rancher, that part of him that just couldn't stand injustice had overwhelmed him and he agreed to at least meet her.

  Shaking his head, he wondered again what providence was at work here, bringing him to a land that he had never seen, but felt more like home than anyplace he had ever been, and to a family that welcomed him with open hearts, treating him more like a long-lost brother than a hired hand.

  “These are probably more what you're used to!” Kate laughed watching the herd warily. “As fat and docile as the Angus are, these will always be my favorites.”

  “These critters own their own destiny, don’t they?” Luke agreed.

  She looked at him then, “I never thought about it just that way before, but yes, in a sense, I guess they do.” They watched the herd in silence for a moment, enjoying the beauty of the mighty beasts. “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” Kate whispered.

  “What was that?”

  “Oh, just remembering a Psalm Will used to quote whenever he got to thinking too much about ‘his’ cattle,” Kate smiled. “Are you hungry? Mrs. Insley packed us some lunch.”

  “Starved, especially if it’s some more of her good cooking.”

  “I won’t tell her you said that, she’d cook everything I have on the place and try to force feed you!” Kate said stepping down from her saddle.

  Luke laughed openly, and joined her in the shade of a lone oak tree, where they enjoyed a lunch of bread, sausage, dried fruit and pickles. They spoke easily of the ranch, the cattle and what work needed to be accomplished first. It was decided that Kate would make a trip to Fallis later in the week for supplies and to enlist the help of the Jansens and a few others for the spring branding while Luke would take on the bulk of the responsibility for the herds, fences and repairs at the ranch itself. The issue of the cut fence and rustlers was gone over and over with no workable solution forthcoming. Kate worried that they would be back, but who was there to watch over four miles of fences? For now there was no resolution and Luke knew it left Kate with a feeling of unease as they packed up and headed back to the ranch.

  ***

  Kate sat once again before her ranch journal, recording the events of the last few days by the flickering light of her oil lamp. The charred scrap of paper lay on the desk. She slipped it into the journal for safekeeping.

  Jo was tucked in bed, and the Insleys had long since retired to their own home. Dinner had been a boisterous affair, alive with plans for the upcoming branding. Jake reported that the spring planting would be finished the next day and Jon would then be free to help Luke with the herds. Jon was ecstatic at the prospect, and Kate planned to surprise him with a new pony in honor of the occasion.

  Glancing out the window, Kate could see a light moving within the distant barn. Luke must be checking the mare in the foaling stall. She smiled thinking of the little dun mare and the colt that would soon be joining her.

  It was cold again this evening, and Kate was thankful for the glowing fire that warmed the small house. She remembered the chill morning air they had faced and Luke without a jacket. Laying aside her pen, she walked over to the trunk in the corner. Opening the heavy lid, she rummaged down past the extra quilts and wool blankets, until she found what she had been searching for. She lifted out an old oiled canvas coat with a warm woolen lining. Running her fingers over the rough surface of the material she felt tears begin to trickle down her c
heeks. She held the coat to her face and breathed deeply. Yes, Will’s musky scent still permeated the fabric. She held it close, letting the tears flow freely as she enveloped herself in the memories that his smell aroused.

  “Oh, Will, I miss you so much. You always did the right thing, didn’t you? Even when it was the hardest thing in the world for you to do.” The raw wound on her soul was starting to heal. She could feel the salve being applied to that spiritual hurt just as surely as she had felt the healing ointments that Nana had applied to the burned flesh of her arms. She sighed deeply. Taking the coat and shaking it out, she laid it over her arm and started to the barn.

  The large door was open slightly, and Kate could see Luke standing relaxed before the stall, his arms resting lightly on the top of the gate. The mare was quiet, dozing contentedly. Holding the jacket tightly and breathing deeply of the familiar scent one last time, she steeled herself for the task ahead, and entered the barn.

  ***

  “How is she doing?”

  Luke looked up, startled by her silent approach. “Fine. She was a bit restless earlier, but she’s quiet now.”

  “Good.” She hesitated, then started in a rush, “Look, I found an old coat I had laying around. I want you to take it. If there’s one thing I don’t need, it’s for you to catch your death of cold. I hired you to work, not lay around here sick.”

  He began to protest, until he saw the look in her eyes. This was some sort of sacrifice she was making, and he needed to honor it. “Thank you,” he said taking the coat.

  “It’s nothing really. I just can’t afford to have you out of commission,” she replied brusquely, as she turned to the mare in the stall.

  There was a gulf of silence between them. Kate continued to study the mare, though Luke could see that her thoughts were far from the impending birth.

  “What was he like, Kate?” Luke asked softly.

  For a long moment there was no answer. He saw her shoulders tense, and a single tear slipped silently down her cheek, glittering in the lantern’s glow. Just as he was turning to go, sure that he made a terrible mistake, she spoke.