by Jet MacLeod
“It is just that I like our rides,” I lied, “I don’t see why I can’t go with you and Silas.”
“Let me see how he does tomorrow. If he does well enough, then I’ll take you with us the next time. The only thing is that I am not going to the gulch. I am going to be riding down to the paddock with the horses. I don’t think that you would like it in there with all of them,” he said.
“I understand,” I stated and then asked, “Well, can we have our Shakespeare lesson later in the day then? We could ride out after you are done with Silas, right?”
He smiled. I think that he enjoyed spending that time with me as well. It was the only time that we could be together and not have to really deal with the ranch. I didn’t want to lose that.
“I’ll see what I can do, Miss Rayne, but right now, I can’t promise anything. I will do my best though,” he told me, his eyes dancing.
“That is all I ask of you,” I told him.
“Somehow, Miss Rayne, I don’t believe that,” he stated, standing. He walked the length of the gulch near us. He was studying the horses in the pasture below.
I watched him walk watching the horses. I never knew what to think sometimes around him. He always seemed to be one step ahead of me in my thinking and sometimes that was unnerving. He knew way too much of the female thought process for his own good.
I watched him for a while before I decided to join him. I wanted to know what fascinated him so much about the horses below. It was my ranch after all, I decided that I needed to know.
“What is it about you and horses?” I asked him.
“It was the one thing that my father and I were both passionate about. It was the only time that we ever met eye to eye about anything. It was our common ground. I guess it made me love the horses more because of that,” he said.
“I understand what you mean,” I reassured him.
“It was the only time that I could actually be myself and he didn’t frown upon it,” he stated.
“Is that why you moved to Texas?” I asked him.
“Partially. It had a lot to do with other things though. It was the reason that I didn’t stay though. I didn’t have any reason to go back,” he told me.
“Really? You didn’t want to go back?” I inquired.
“After Dadda died, I didn’t need to; there was nothing left for me in Mississippi. I wasn’t wanted in Meridian, anyway. My brothers had dealt with that. I guess I had the last laugh with them, though,” he explained.
“And, why was that?” I questioned.
“They’re dead, too. I have a place of my own and the Union took our farm in Mississippi. I made out the best, out of all of us. It isn’t like I am chomping at the bit to go back there anyway. I like it better here in Texas,” he said.
“I do, too,” I replied.
“You’re from back East, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, “The Union.”
I saw his eyes widen. He laughed then. I guess he thought that it was funny. I couldn’t find the humor in it.
“My parents moved here to get away from the war. Only my siblings didn’t make it. Got sick on the wagon trail and died. That nearly killed my mother. Dad went crazy, but not until we got here. He bought the ranch and set up shop. Went loco within months, too. My mom sent him to some place where he died in a few years. I was too young to remember.
“My mom wasn’t the same after that. If Jedidiah hadn’t been here then I don’t know what we would have done. She went to the lawyers in Amarillo and had papers drawn up so that I would get the ranch. She didn’t want someone who wasn’t a Whittacre to run it. She said it had something to do with the fact that we had put too much blood into the place for someone else to get it. She made sure that I was the only one who would get it.
“She passed not two months later. Jed said her heart couldn’t take the pain anymore. She loved my father so much. I just remember the funeral and Jed taking care of me. When he decided that I was old enough to have a say in things, he let me. He’s been running the Double Bar for about ten years, now. Don’t know what I would do without him being here,” I explained.
“Yeah, I guessed that. He is as much a part of this ranch as the cattle and horses,” he said.
“Yup, can’t say I’d have it any other way,” I said.
He looked around the area. Something caught his attention. I couldn’t make out what it was, but he was certainly interested in it. I knew that when Reece was interested it was usually for a good reason.
“Storm coming,” he said, “Gonna be bad, too.”
“What are you talking about? The sky is perfectly clear and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. You’re kidding, right?” I asked him.
“No, ma’am, there is two things that I don’t joke about. They are horses and the weather. And, by the smell and look of things, this one is going to be nasty,” he answered.
“How did you get that from the sky?” I inquired.
“Look at the leaves on the trees. Do you see how they are cupping upwards?” he answered me.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” I asked him.
“Well they usually only do that when it is going to rain. And, you see how the horses are all running down into that patch of forest down there. They are looking for shelter,” he explained, “Plus there was a red sky this morning. That usually means rain is on the way.”
“I didn’t know that,” I stated.
“Well, now you do, plus if you smell really quickly you can smell the rain coming,” he told me.
“I can’t smell it,” I said.
“You know the smell that comes after it rains, like a fresh start. You can smell it faintly before the rain hits,” he stated, “I need to get you back before you catch cold in it.”
“What about you?” I asked him.
“I have to finish taking care of the horses,” he stated rushing back to the grove.
He threw everything together this time. He didn’t take the time to pack anything. He almost picked me up and put me on my horse. He waited until I was up there and slapped Whiskers’ rump, causing her to jump to a gallop for the main house at the ranch. When I turned to look back, he was right behind me on Scout. He was serious about getting me home before the storm hit.
“You need to go faster,” he yelled at me.
“Whiskers isn’t a race horse,” I shouted back.
“You are going to get wet,” he told me.
“Well, maybe I will,” I said, my stubbornness showing its ugly head, “And, if I do, oh well.”
I guess that I should have been thankful but I wasn’t. I wanted to be caught in the rain with him. I knew that he was only thinking about my safety but sometimes I didn’t care. I just wanted to be with him.
He shook his head at me.
“You are one strange lady, Miss Rayne,” he said before he started laughing at me.
“What is so damn funny?” I asked him.
“Rayne is going to be caught in the rain,” he stated.
It was funny. I had to admit that much. He did seem to find humor in things that most wouldn’t. I guess that had something to do with his upbringing, but that I wasn’t really sure.
“You’d better hurry up,” he shouted.
“She only goes three speeds: fast, slow, and stop,” I shouted back at him.
“Well, tell her to go fast then cause slow ain’t going to cut it today,” he yelled back at me.
He was smiling. I knew it. I heard the thunderhead before I saw it. The lightening was beautiful, frightening but beautiful. He was laughing.
“We aren’t going to make it,” he shouted.
“What?” I yelled back.
“WE AREN’T GOING TO MAKE IT,” he yelled.
“What are going to do?” I screamed at him.
“Head that way,” he shouted, pointing.
I turned my horse and followed him. He was running hard for a small crop of trees in the middle of the pasture. I could see the ranch
house, but he was right. We weren’t going to make it back before the rains hit. I rode as hard and as fast as I could to get there.
Chapter Eleven
Reece, Small grove of trees near main area of the ranch
She was riding hard, but I knew she wasn’t going to make it. Whiskers was trying, but the lightening wasn’t helping. She was just as scared as Rayne was.
“Hurry up,” I yelled at her.
She got low on Whiskers and dug her heels in, urging the horse onward, faster. The horse tried but didn’t make it. I heard her gasp as the first bits of rain hit her. She was soaked through in seconds. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
She got under the cover of trees with me. She was shivering and I knew that if I didn’t do something quickly she would be sick before tomorrow. I knew that she wasn’t going to take kindly to what I was going to tell her, but I knew that it would save her life.
“You are going to hate me for this, but you have to do exactly what I tell you, or you are going to be sick,” I told her.
“What do you want me to do?” she questioned.
“Get over here. I am going to make a fire. Stand here between the horses and strip down. Wait, before you say it. Wrap yourself up in my bed roll. It will keep you warm by the fire until the rain passes. I will try to dry out your clothes as best as I can,” I explained.
“You want me to get naked?” she asked.
“Yes, for your health,” I stated, already gathering some wood for a fire.
“You want me to get naked?” she inquired, again.
“Rayne, this isn’t a time to be modest. I don’t want you to die. If you catch cold, you might. This is the only way that I can make sure that you don’t. I am going to make a shelter. You can huddle up in there and stay warm,” I said.
“You want me to get naked?” she questioned.
“You can do what you want. I am going to be a gentleman and try to help you. I can’t do that if you won’t listen to me,” I told her.
She stared at me blankly for a minute. She watched as I gathered more firewood and started a fire away from the horse as not to spook them. I went to my horse, keeping my head down, so she would see that I meant what I said about being a gentleman for her and got a piece of canvass that I kept in my saddle bags for this reason. I tied it up on the trees at an angle so the rain that did make it through the cover of the trees would be deflected. It was close enough to the fire that she would get warm wrapped up in my blankets.
“I’d hurry that up if I was you,” I told her.
She just glared at me, like she still couldn’t believe that I would suggest such a thing to her. She looked like a wounded dog just standing there like that. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking but I didn’t know what I was going to do with her. She looked absolutely horrified.
“Listen, just do it and get over here by the fire,” I told her, “Don’t worry about your honor. You are going home with it. I don’t intend to do anything that is going to compromise you in any way. So, stop being shy and do it. If you don’t, then you are going to be paying for it later.”
“I can’t believe that you want me to get naked,” she told me as she hid behind the horses.
“I am not going to fight with you. Either you do it or I will come do it for you. You don’t need to get sick,” I said to her, “And, don’t think that I won’t do it. You know I will, so don’t try me, Rayne.”
“I would think that someone like you wouldn’t have the audacity to say such a thing, let alone ask it of me,” she said.
“I am not doing it for anything but pure reasons, Rayne. If you can’t see that, then don’t. I can’t help it. But, I won’t see you suffer because you are being stubborn,” I told her.
She finally began to remove her clothes. She didn’t want to understand that I was going this for her own good. If I had wanted her naked, I wouldn’t have done it so close to the house. I would have done it at the gulch where were would be secluded and hidden from any possible wandering eyes. I am not going to jeopardize her honor in any way.
Once she was wrapped in my bedroll blankets, she came and sat by me near the fire. I stood up and got her clothes. I laid them out near the fires so they could dry. She looked so wounded that I wanted to cry for her.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, but this is for your own good,” I explained.
“I don’t see how me sitting here in your bed roll is good for me,” she answered.
“Would you rather be sick? Would you rather be in the bed for the next few weeks racked with Consumption?” I asked her, matter-of-factly.
“Well, no,” she replied.
“Then, you can thank me later,” I told her.
She looked at me like she wanted to slap me. Frankly, I was waiting for it. My temper was winning and my stubbornness was keeping me from apologizing to her. I knew that this would blow over in the morning when the little bit of ache filled her bones and she realized how bad it could have been.
“What are we going to do here?” she asked.
“We are going to wait out the storm and then go back to the ranch,” I told her.
“Won’t they be looking for us?” she inquired.
“I don’t see why Silas knows where we are and they couldn’t track us in the rain anyway. Most of them are looking for shelter; they aren’t worried about us at the moment. They won’t start looking for us until the storm passes. None of them have a death wish that I know about,” I stated, “So just sit tight and try to get warm.”
“That is easier said than done,” she said.
“Come here,” I said trying to gather her up into my arms, “Let me help.”
“Don’t touch me,” she screamed.
“Fine, stay cold, then,” I quipped.
She huffed and then scooted over. I guess that she didn’t want to sit next to me. I shook my head. She was being stubborn. I guess that I couldn’t blame her, if the roles were the other way, I am sure that I would be mad, too.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Don’t lie to me. Tell me what it was,” she commanded me to tell her.
“It was nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“I am worried about it, so tell me,” she stated.
“No,” I responded.
“Reece, just tell me,” she said.
“Nope,” I replied.
“Why are you doing this?” she inquired.
“I didn’t know that I was doing anything,” I said.
“You know what you are doing,” she accused me.
“I am sure that I don’t,” I replied.
“Damn it, Reece,” she yelled.
“Such language from such a lady,” I stated.
She stood up and came straight at me. I was sure that she was going to hit me. She didn’t and I was certainly surprised. She sat down, more like kneeled, between my legs. She leaned into me. I lost my breath. She was on the prowl, now, and I was her prey. I think I swallowed hard, at least it felt that way. She was going to tease me for being harsh with her, I knew it. Rayne was going to make me apologize the way that she wanted me to.
“What’s wrong, big boy?” she asked.
“Nothing, Rayne,” I said.
“Scared of me?” she questioned.
“No, ma’am. I am just not sure that you want to be doing what you’re doing. I don’t want to hurt you. I think that you should just sit down and get warm,” I told her.
“You can get me warm in more than one way,” she suggested, “I think that you know that. Maybe, I want you to get me warm some other way than you the fire. Have you ever thought of that?”
“Miss Rayne, this is hardly the time or place to be having this conversation. I am not going to hurt your honor just because it is raining and you are naked under those blankets. I am more of a gentleman than that,” I replied.
She sat back on her haunches and stared at me. Her eyes were full of a fire
that I had never seen. She wanted me right then and there and I was very close to obliging her. I didn’t care what she thought. I didn’t care what would happen in the morning. I wanted to taste her. I wanted to lick the salt and rain from her heated skin.
“Reece,” she pleaded.
I couldn’t tell whether she was still punishing me or if she was serious. She’d never said my name like that before. I was also not so sure that I cared whole-heartedly at that point in time. Rayne was a master of getting what she wanted and if she’d learned to play me, then let her play on.
“Rayne, please,” I said.
“Reece, I’m freezing,” she replied.
I grabbed her and turned her around between my legs. I made her sit there as I wrapped my arms around her. I tried to coax some warmth into her by rubbing her arms vigorously. She started chattering and I knew that I had to do whatever it took to keep her warm.
I was beginning to wish that the rain would slacken so I could get her back into the house. I could put her to bed and over her with heaps of blankets. At least, there I knew that she would be okay. Out here, I could only deal with what I had and I didn’t have much to keep her warm.
“I am trying, Miss Rayne. I am trying,” I told her, “Just sit still. I am going to see if I can stoke the fire higher.”
She nestled back into me. Her breathing slowed. She was tired. It had been a long day. She was trying to relax even though her whole body was shaking with cold.
“Keep rubbing your arms,” I commanded her.
“Will that work?” she asked.
“It will if you keep doing it. Get as close to the fire as you can without burning yourself. I am going to get some more wood. I’ll be right back. Please sit there and stay warm,” I told her.
“Hurry back, please,” she begged.
“I will,” I told her.
I walked further into the trees trying to find some wood that was dry. The rain was really coming down, pelting the ground. The trees were doing their best to defend us from the onslaught from above. I had to get warm. It was the only thought that I had. I had to keep her safe. It was a pledge that I had made and one that I didn’t plan on breaking just because of some stupid rain storm.
