Oh, sure, Kimberly had tried. Tried hard. In fact, more than once Kage had watched her put on a brave front whenever she was around people, especially those who had criticized and judged her. But he’d also watched what it did to her. How his once amazing, out-going sister had buried herself deep into an encapsulated shell of depression and loneliness. He and his family were so worried about her that they finally talked her into getting help.
Their pastor and his wife took to counseling her, and far from only helping Kimberly, they had helped Kage’s family learn that everyone grieved differently and it was okay to move in and out of those stages at what felt to everyone else like random times. He’d also learned that the people who told her to get over it were wrong.
Now, just a few years later, Kimberly was going to school to become a grief counselor herself so that she could help others learn how to cope with their grief in their own way.
Kage made a mental note to contact Kimberly to ask her how he could help Teagan. Until then, he’d pray.
Father show me what to do. What not to do. What to say. Or what not to say. Lord, comfort Teagan as only You really can. Help me to be there for her. Help me to guard my heart from falling for her. You know what a sucker I am for a woman in distress. And Teagan is definitely a woman in distress. And you know that things could never work out between us, Lord. She wants nothing to do with ranching, and that’s all I know how to do. So help me to help her and yet keep my heart safe. Thank You, Lord.
The sound of an angry, bawling cow snagged his attention. Kage encouraged his horse to move faster so he could help Teagan. Cows pairing up with their calves heading at a fast pace in the opposite direction of him came into view. Next to them was Teagan who already had a calf roped and on the ground, her knee on its neck, pulling back one front foot of the droopy eared, runny nosed, runny eyed calf, holding a syringe long-ways in her teeth.
In a flash, he got off of his horse, dropped the reins and joined her. “What can I do to help?”
When she peered up at him, the sadness on her face was gone, replaced with the same business mask she’d put on earlier. One minute she was hurting and crying, the next she acted like nothing in the world was wrong. It reminded him of Kimberly, putting on a show for everyone.
Pretending everything was fine.
Teagan put on a show too.
She pretended everything was fine around her father and her siblings, but Kage now knew better. He’d witnessed her grief first hand. Well, she didn’t have to pretend with him. Though he barely knew her, there was no way he was going to let what had happened to Kimberly happen to Teagan.
~*~ ♥ ~*~
The instant Teagan looked into Kage’s eyes, the very ones filled with compassion and sympathy, she shoved her grief down into the box just below her heart. She didn’t want Kage to think that all she did was cry and brood over her mother. That was the truth, but no one else needed to know that. And she definitely didn’t want Kage to see it. Not again. Not here. He would think she was weak, just like everyone else did.
Placing her attention back onto the sick calf, without looking at him, she asked, “Can you get the Bolus gun out of my saddle bags and shove a scour pill in it for me?”
Kage whirled and strode over to her horse.
Teagan injected the syringe needle with the 2 cc’s of LA-200 into the calf’s hip.
Mama stood off to Teagan’s left only a foot away from her, shaking her head and snorting. If Teagan didn’t know number 827’s mannerisms, she would have had Kage rope the mama cow and keep her back until she finished doctoring the calf. But 827 was all snort and no action.
Bolus gun in hand, Kage glanced at 827. The look of defiance he gave the cow said if Mama even came near them, she’d have Kage to contend with. He dropped one knee onto the pine needle and dried leaf covered ground, put the Bolus gun in the calves’ mouth, and dislodged the pill into the heifer. As soon as he finished, Teagan took her knee off the calves’ neck. While she pulled back on the calf’s foot, she removed her rope and let it lay on the ground.
As she headed toward her horse, she glanced back. 827 came over and sniffed her calf. Satisfied it was her baby, she bawled softly and turned and walked away. The calf just laid there. A moment and Mama ran back to her calf, snorted and shook her head their direction as if to warn them that they’d better leave.
Teagan climbed onto her horse, coiled her rope and hung it over the saddle horn. They quickly moved away so 827 would relax, knowing they were no longer a threat to her baby.
“Not only are you graceful,” Kage said, swatting at the deer flies pestering his horse. “You’re one tough cookie. I thought that mama cow was going to eat your lunch.”
“827?” She glanced over at the cow hovering over her calf that was still lying on the ground, and then back at Kage. “Nah, she acts tough, but as soon as you call her bluff and bop her on the nose, she takes off and forgets all about her calf.”
He narrowed his gaze at her in disbelief. “Let me get this straight. You run three thousand head of mother cows, and you remember one cow?”
“I only remember the mean ones.” She sent him a smirk and a wobble of her eyebrows.
“You said 827 wasn’t mean?” The question lingered on his face long after the words were spoken.
“She isn’t. But I didn’t know that the first few times I’d tagged and doctored her calves. She had me diving under my truck many times until I watched Cheyenne with her. That’s when I learned 827 was all fluff and no buff,” she said, grinning as they wove their way through the trees and out into open spaces in search of more sick cattle.
“So what do y’all do for fun around here?”
Uh, try, nothing. “There isn’t much to do. Most of the time we work.”
“You surely don’t work 24/7, right?”
Wrong. Didn’t his family work every day? He said they owned a ranch. Were things done that differently in Amarillo? She didn’t want to know. Afraid she’d be jealous. The work here never ended. When one season ended, another started. Overlapped even. She kept that information tucked away because she didn’t want to ruin his dream for him. “We get a day off now and then. We’ll definitely have one off two weeks from this Saturday.” The thought of her friend Callie Gentry marrying her sweetheart Dustin Lockwood brought a smile to Teagan’s heart.
“Anything particular happening that Saturday?”
The smile jumped from her heart to her lips. “My friend Callie is getting married, and I’m one of her bridesmaids. I can hardly wait.” Her horse stumbled, jarring Teagan forward. Kage’s arm shot out toward her. She reseated herself on the saddle before his hand had a chance to reach her. His chivalrous act sent a rabble of butterflies loose in her stomach. It was hard to ignore, but she mentally forced herself to. “She’s having a barn wedding and a dance afterward. You should come.”
“I can’t.”
Disappointment plopped into Teagan’s heart. “How come?”
“Because I wasn’t invited.”
Teagan waved his comment away. “You don’t need a special invitation. Barbara Gentry, Callie’s mom, invited the whole valley. And since you live in the valley now, you are invited. So, what do you say?” Please say yes. Why she wanted him there so badly she didn’t know, but she did. Actually, when she thought about it, she knew why she wanted him around. He made her feel special. He believed in her and her dreams. And he didn’t criticize her for them. He’d even seen her at her worst and yet he never made her feel bad for… for… well, for feeling.
She chanced a glance at him and found him watching her. She looked away and then back at him. His gaze never left her. “What?” She balked her head sideways. “What are you staring at? Do I have dirt on my face?” Her hand automatically went to her face. She brushed her fingertips over her cheeks and chin.
“No, you don’t have dirt on your face. And yes, I’m watching you.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because. I’ve never met a
nyone like you before, Teagan.”
Not knowing if that was a bad thing or a good thing, she nervously giggled.
“You are one amazing woman.”
That made her frown even more. “Huh? How do you figure?” All he’d seen of her so far was her being a blubbering mess. How did that translate into amazing?
“Well, when you dance, you’re as graceful as a swan and as gentle as a lamb. You put your whole heart, soul and body into it. And when you work, you’re as rugged as all get out and tough as nails. You put your whole heart into whatever you’re doing. Whether it’s dancing, doctoring cattle, feeding horses, fixing water tanks, or mucking out stalls.”
“Uh, it isn’t my heart that’s into cleaning stalls, it’s my rubber boots and shovel.” She laughed, and Kage joined her. Oh if only…
Chapter Five
Several days later, seated at the breakfast table, Teagan glanced over at the head of the table. “Do you want me to take the small gooseneck trailer and pick up a load of protein blocks and salt blocks this afternoon?” she asked her father.
Her dad set his fork down and took a sip of coffee. “That would help a bunch.” Teagan braced herself at the harshness in his tone. Every time he answered anyone lately his voice had a gruffness to it, like he was angry all the time. It reminded her of a bear who’d been awakened out of hibernation too soon.
His attention drifted over to Kage. “Why don’t you run into town with her and help her load it?” It was truly amazing how different his voice sounded when he spoke to Kage. Almost kind even. The difference dredged up the tears, if not in her eyes, then at least in her heart.
Kage nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Her dad’s eyebrow spiked.
“I keep forgetting… Porter.”
Poor Kage. He looked so uncomfortable addressing her dad as Porter instead of sir. She’d have to stop teasing him when he called her ma’am and just accept it as a part of who he was.
Her dad smiled. Not a very big one, but it was an improvement from the grouchy man he’d become since her mother’s passing. She understood his hurt. The truth was, they were all hurting. She wished she could help him, wished he would talk about it and let it out, get rid of the anger and grief he harbored. But he didn’t talk to anyone… never really had. Except her mom, and that had Teagan worried. If he was hurting and he wouldn’t talk, what happened? She sent up a silent prayer for him and for her sisters who were each grieving in their own way.
Like Maisy. She never talked about their mother’s death, never cried even. Maisy just took charge of the house as if nothing had ever happened. Teagan had tried to get her to talk, but every time she did Maisy would change the subject.
Then there was Cheyenne. Teagan didn’t really know how she was dealing with their mother’s death because her sister was away at college, and every time Teagan had called her, she was either busy with class or with exams. And now, even though school was out for the summer, Cheyenne chose to get a summer job in Ft. Collins rather than come home. And it was just as hard to talk with her now as it was when she was on campus. So much so that Teagan had finally stopped calling.
Payton, well, her and Teddi were close so she knew the two of them talked with each other because she’d heard them often enough. Teagan talked with them too, but mostly she danced. That was her way of talking about it with someone or something that seemed for those few moments to understand. The truth was, she’d love to be doing that right now, but there was no time for dancing at the present. There was work to be done.
They finished breakfast and after loading the dishwasher, Teagan went outside. There was Kage, standing by her pickup, waiting for her, looking all handsome and rugged in that green shirt he’d worn the week before. The very one that brought out the green in his silver-green eyes. It was hard not to stare. So rather than do that, she forced one foot in front of the other and made her way to her truck. Not staring was a lot harder and a lot more challenging than she thought it would be. “You ready?” she asked, not looking at him.
“Yes, ma’am. Just waiting for you.”
Funny how hearing him call her ma’am didn’t bother her anymore. It showed he respected her. But it was even more than that. It was the smooth way in which he said it. In that goose-bump-raising southern drawl of his. The very one that caused her heart to sigh and her stomach to dance.
Not liking the ramifications of either of those effects, she hurried to her side of the truck and hopped inside. Without looking at him, she fired up her pickup and headed to the barn where they ran through the morning routine of feeding and graining the horses.
She and her sisters rotated the chores. This was Teagan’s month to feed the horses and doctor any that needed doctoring, what doctoring she could do anyway. If she couldn’t, that job would fall to her dad who was already carrying too much. She wouldn’t let him down like that. She couldn’t. She already knew how badly she had let him down in just being herself.
“Teagan.” Kage came out of Duff’s stall, and she met him halfway.
She heaved a breath from the hard work and worry. “What’s up?”
He tipped his head back into the stall. “You may want to come look at this.”
“Oh?” She strode over to Kage.
Kage stepped out of the way and pointed to the abrasion on Duff’s forearm. More worry tried to trounce on her but she refused to let it. Duff needed her full attention.
Gently, she touched around the area while Kage talked to Duff in a soothing voice. Duff didn’t pay much attention to either one of them. The gelding was too busy crunching his grain.
“From what I could tell, it doesn’t look too serious and the puncture doesn’t look too deep,” Kage said from above her. “You could probably just flush it out with some saline, apply a Betadine solution or some antibiotic cream to kill the bacteria, and bandage it.”
“That’s what I was just thinking.” She gazed up at him from her hunched over position and smiled.
He returned her smile.
Standing, she took two steps toward the gate. She stopped and turned back around, facing Kage. “I’ll run and get everything. Be right back.”
He left his post by Duff. “You want me to run get it?”
“No, it’s just as easy for me to go because I know where everything is. By the time I tell you where everything’s at, I could have it and be back.” Already moving that direction, she swiveled over her shoulder. “When we get done, I’ll show you where everything is.” With that, she hurried into the hot room and grabbed everything she needed: a bottle of sterile saline solution, antibiotic cream, a roll of Elastikon bandage tape, sterile gauze, and a pair of scissors. On her way back to the pen, she grabbed a halter from one of the hooks.
Kage opened the stall door and stepped back out of the way so she could enter. As soon as she did, he took the halter from her, and placed it on Duff.
“Can you grab that light switch?” she asked, nodding to the switch just inside the stall door.
He leaned over and flipped the switch on, illuminating the area.
Kage kept Duff calm while she flushed the wound with the solution. Confident there wasn’t any dirt or debris in the wound, she applied a generous amount of antibacterial ointment, covered the wound with gauze, and then wrapped the stretchy bandage around Duff’s leg. “There. He’ll be good as new in no time.”
Kage tipped his head and smiled. “With that kind of care, he sure will. You did an amazing job.”
She beamed under Kage’s praise. It was nice to be acknowledged rather than criticized all the time. “Eh.” She hiked a shoulder. “You would have done the same thing.”
“But, I didn’t. You did.” His smile warmed her heart in a way she hadn’t expected. The man had a way of making her feel special. Like everything she did was special. But she of all people knew the special one here wasn’t her. It was him.
~*~ ♥ ~*~
Kage’s admiration for Teagan slipped up another notch. There wasn’t any
thing she couldn’t do. He’d watched her rope a calf with ease.
She doctored animals with gentleness and compassion and with enough professionalism that even a veterinarian would be proud.
She danced like a pro.
Made a mean BLT.
Hunted just to help out the elderly and poor.
What other talents lay hidden behind that pretty face? He had to find out. And finding out both excited him and scared him.
“Well, I’m ready to eat. What about you?” Teagan asked, picking up the supplies as he removed the halter. It was crazy how fast time out here flew when he was with her.
“Thought you’d never ask.” He smiled.
“We’ll grab a bite in town. I haven’t had a good burrito in forever and I’ve been craving one.”
“You have Mexican food here?” he asked, stepping alongside her as they headed to the hot room.
Teagan glanced over at him. “Don’t you in Amarillo?”
“Oh, yeah. The real deal.”
She cocked her head, and that smirk-of-grin she sported now and again was back. “How do you know it’s the real deal? Maybe we have the real deal here.”
He quirked his eyebrow at her. “We’ll just see about that.”
“Yes we will.”
Once they got the goose neck trailer hooked up, they headed into town. They stopped at The Wild West Cafe. The place was packed, which was always a good sign.
As they wove their way to the last free booth available, everyone said hi to Teagan and stared at him with huge question marks on their faces. He thought maybe she’d introduce him to them, but she hurried to their table without so much as slowing down.
She slid in and handed him a menu across the table. “Sorry, I didn’t introduce you, but if we don’t grab this table, it will be gone.”
Even that spoke highly of the place, and Kage removed his hat and took the menu. “That good, huh?”
“Yeah, you’ll see.”
Minutes later, a tall brunette took their orders and brought their drinks. Kage took a sip of his Mountain Dew, set his glass down, and looked around the room. Elk, deer, antelope and even a moose head lined the wall where the pool table sat in the room across from them. On the wall behind them were several large rodeo posters all signed by the pro rodeo person represented in each poster. The wall next to that was filled with old cowboy hats, ropes, and spurs, all with name tags on them. Kage had to admit the collection was impressive. “This is a pretty cool place.”
The Dreamer and the Cowboy: A Contemporary Christian Romance NOVELLA (The Rancher's Daughters Series Book 2) Page 5
