Charlotte opened the entertainment armoire and tuned the radio to the local station, which played Christmas music. Beth hung blue and silver glass ball ornaments on the tree. “Jingle Bells” came to an end and a newsbreak replaced the music. Nobody paid much attention until the weather came on.
“And now for the Wilder area forecast – be prepared to bundle up and hibernate. This snow storm has blown up out of nowhere. The two inches that we were predicting has been upgraded. The weather center is now predicting twelve to fourteen inches. Of course, the biggest problem is the rain that we had last night. Dropping temperatures are creating ice, and ice can be a real problem. The highway patrol is asking everyone to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. And now for an update on sports—”
“Holy cow!” Cole declared with a grin, “We’re gonna be snowed in!”
Beth smiled at the display of exuberance. At least it was a long holiday weekend and there wasn’t a need to be out on the roads. She glanced around and decided if she was going to be snowed in, this was a good place to be.
After the tree was decorated, everyone wandered into the kitchen and Charlotte heated up leftovers. A few decided that cold turkey was just fine, and Joe and Cole went straight for the pie. After the plates had been cleaned, Charlotte said, “Ok, everyone out. I need to get this kitchen cleaned up!”
Suddenly, the lights flickered. They flickered again, and then the house stayed dark. Beth shivered at the thought of being without electricity.
The idea didn’t seem to bother Beau though, who took control. “Boys, go get us some dry firewood so we can keep the fireplace burning. Katie, go get more blankets out of the linen closet.”
Within half an hour, he had the fire roaring, and everyone settled down to enjoy the crackle and pop and warmth of the fire. The wind howled outside, sounding cold. The glow of the fire provided a gentle light in the room.
After they got settled in, wrapped up in blankets, they traded stories about other blackouts. Beth shivered when Charlotte related the story of the ice storm of ’98. “Oh, that was a bad one! We didn’t get power back for three days.”
Beau chimed in, “We were worried about the livestock. All our waterers are automatic, but they don’t work without power.”
Joe nodded, “No tank heaters, either.”
Beau said, “Yup, we’ll have to break ice and carry water in the morning.”
Beth asked, “Do we have an emergency generator?”
Charlotte laughed, “Your father wouldn’t have an emergency generator.”
“He thought that was part of the fun of being out here. Said it reminded him of how it must have been in the old days,” Beau explained.
At Katie’s urging, the group played charades. Beth couldn’t recall ever having played before. When she got together with friends in the City, there always seemed to be more structure to it. The games they played came in boxes, or involved a DVD player or game console.
The wind continued to howl outside, and Beau added wood to the fire. It was getting late, and one by one, the group pulled blankets around themselves. Beth curled up on one end of the sofa, and Beau sat next to her.
Charlotte pushed herself up and out of her recliner, “Katie, want to help me get the makin’s for spiced cider?”
When they returned from the kitchen, Cole produced a long wrought iron tool and held the black tea kettle over the fire until the water was heated. Charlotte and Katie prepared the mugs of hot cider and distributed them.
Beth cupped the mug in her hands, enjoying the warmth and the spicy scent of the cider. She stirred the cider with the cinnamon stick. She closed her eyes and drank, feeling warm and safe and comfortable.
Sunlight in her eyes awoke Beth the next morning. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She was tucked against the arm of the sofa, and Beau leaned against her. A heavy blanket was tucked around them. Cole and Joe sprawled on the other side of the couch, also sharing a blanket. Katie was curled up in the corner, mouth wide open, with Shep curled against her. Charlotte was kicked back in her recliner, and her sock feet peeked out from underneath her blanket.
Beth’s leg was asleep, so she shifted and Beau stretched and blinked. He looked at her, his eyelids heavy with sleep. He sat up and Beth immediately missed the warmth of his body. It was cold, and the fire was nothing but a few glowing coals.
Beau padded across the room in his sock feet, shivering in the chilly morning air. He added a couple sticks of wood and got the fire roaring again, and Beth was thankful for the warmth it put out. She snuggled deeper in the blanket, wondering how much longer it would be before the power came on.
Charlotte opened her eyes and stretched. She turned to Beth, seeming to read her mind, “It shouldn’t be much longer. I’m sure they’ll get to us sometime today.”
“I hope so,” Katie said from the corner as she pulled the blanket closer around her.
Joe and Cole stretched and yawned, then tugged their boots on. It took Beth a moment to realize what they were doing – taking care of the stock. She reached for her own boots.
“You don’t have to go. We got it.” Beau said as he dropped to the sofa and tugged his own boots on.
“They’re mine, too. The more people helping, the faster it’ll get done, right?” Beth countered. She knew the weather was a serious danger to the horses. And she couldn’t afford to lose any of them. The yearlings were to be sold in the spring, and the two year olds had already been spoken for. Deposits had been made on them and that money had already been spent on feed and fencing.
“If you’re going out with us, change into some warm clothes. Put long johns on, and coveralls would be good, too,” Beau ordered.
“What about that mountain lion? Should we take a gun?” Beth hesitated.
“Don’t need to worry about any mountain lions. That threat is gone, now.” Beau answered.
Beth and Charlotte looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but let the comment pass.
The bitter cold burned her lungs with every breath. She yanked the stocking cap down over her ears and followed in Beau’s tracks. It had stopped snowing, but it was well over her knee boots. The wind blew straight out of the north, and large drifts had formed in the driveway and at the front of the barn.
Beau’s mustang whinnied from his run. His dark form gradually took shape in the blowing snow. Beau headed left, towards the stallion, and Beth went right, towards the broodmares’ stalls.
The horses were huddled in the innermost parts of their stalls, shivering. The snow had blown in from the north, piling snow inside. Joe handed Beth a hammer and explained how to break the ice, then use the claw to pull the chunks out so the horses could drink. Beth made her way down the aisle, opening the doors and slipping into each stall so she
could do as she had been told. The mares drank eagerly as soon as she broke the ice.
Katie followed behind her, raking the soiled straw out into the aisle. By the time they got to last stall, Beth could barely feel her fingers grip the hammer. Katie shivered so hard, Beth could hear her teeth chattering.
They hurried back down the aisle and climbed the ladder to the hayloft. Beth tossed hay down into the corner racks while Katie tossed down bales of straw. The two worked side by side, without talking, intent on their tasks. Once finished with the hay and straw, they hurried down the ladder.
Beth went to the feed room and filled the feed bunks, while Katie used the pitchfork to spread the warm straw in the stalls. By the time they finished, Katie was shivering uncontrollably and Beth was worried about the girl.
Beth hollered over to Beau, who said he had the boys (as he referred to his stallion, Digger and Dingo) under control. He yelled over the blowing wind, “Why don’t you get Katie up to the house so she can warm up?”
Beth shouted back, “OK! What about the two year olds?” They had a three-sided shelter there that served as pretty good protection from the weather for them, and would probably be huddled up together to
keep warm, but she was still worried.
Beau answered, “Cole and Joe are taking care of them. I’m going to check the yearlings in the east pasture!”
She heard the whine of four-wheelers over the wind. She shouted, “Wait for me by the side of the house - I’ll go with you!”
After Beth made sure Katie made it to the house okay, she met Beau in the driveway. She got on the four wheeler behind him, held on tight and tucked her face into his back to protect herself from the wind. The going was slow, even though the ATV was four-wheel drive and had aggressive snow tires. The trek to the east pasture seemed to take forever, but Beth realized that it was much easier going on the ATV than it would have been by foot, even though the blowing wind was
nearly unbearable. The tires slipped in the heavy snow and they fishtailed several times, but they continued to make forward progress.
At the gate to the east pasture, Beau brought the ATV to a stop. The snow was up to the second rung of the gate, so it would be impossible to open the gate to take the vehicle through.
Beau and Beth swung off the ATV and climbed over the gate. None of the yearlings were in sight. Beth followed in Beau’s footsteps as they made their way towards the shelter she referred to as the “horsey house.”
She was glad Beau had a good sense of direction – she was disoriented in the blinding snow. Just as she was about to ask Beau if he was sure about their path, the shape of the shelter appeared. The wind was at their backs and pushed them towards the shelter. The snow was heavy and sucked at their boots with every step. It was so cold and so wet, and packing down into the sides of Beth’s boots.
Finally, they reached the shelter. They could hear animals inside, and Beth was relieved when they rounded the corner and saw the six yearlings in a huddle, head to tail.
They turned to look at the humans that had disturbed them, and nickered softly. Their eyelashes looked like icicles. They were soaked to the bone, and were shivering. The bay’s tail was weighted down with a heavy snowball that had formed as he walked through the snow. Their water tank was nearly frozen solid.
Beau pointed up to the little hayloft, “Climb up there and toss down straw and hay!”
While she did that, he pulled a t-post from the corner of the shelter and used it to bust the ice in the tank. He pulled chunks of ice out with his hands and carried them outside the shelter. Beth saw him clap his hands together and slap his legs to keep the blood circulating. His gloves cracked when he clapped them together.
The yearlings munched on the fresh hay Beth had tossed down. She skipped the last couple of rungs coming down the ladder and jumped into the thick straw. She pulled the flakes of straw apart and spread it around the shelter.
Beau pointed to the straw. “Use handfuls of straw to rub the horses down. It’ll dry them and get their blood flowing.”
She did as he told her, while he continued to work on the water tank. He finally reached water and the yearlings guzzled the cold water. He said, “That’ll do ‘til we can get the 4-wheeler through the gate with the water tank. They can eat snow to get them through the day.”
Both Beau and Beth were numb by the time they finished. They started the long walk back to the ATV, and Beth was relieved the wind had died down. Her toes were past hurting, and were completely numb, causing her to stumble a bit as she walked. She saw Beau do the same thing, and knew they’d better get back to the ranch soon so they could get warmed up. The ride back seemed to take forever, but the feeling of camaraderie between them was comforting and Beth wrapped her arms around him as they rode.
Once inside the main cabin, they changed into clean, dry clothes and huddled in front of the fire to warm up. Her fingers and toes burned as the blood began to flow again, and she winced at the pain. Just as she starting to feel her fingers again, the lights flickered on and the furnace roared to life.
She closed her eyes and offered up a silent prayer of thanks, both for the return of electricity and the fact that she had such a wonderful crew of people to help her keep the Diamond J running, no matter what. She was all too aware of the fact that she needed their help to make the ranch profitable – this definitely wasn’t a job for a loner. And she only had a few short months left before her father’s attorney would make the final determination as to whether or not she would be able to collect on her father’s bequest.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The winter drug on forever. It was dark when chores started in the morning, and dark when chores were finished in the evening. Beth felt like the Michelin man most of the time, with long johns under her clothes and sweatshirts layered over tshirts. Even the nights were cold, so she slept in flannel every night and piled on the quilts. The sun tried to shine, but more days than not it was little more than a bright spot in a gray sky.
Even Christmas had been a small break in the monotony of winter.
Then one morning she walked into the kitchen and knew something was different. Charlotte beamed as she straightened the cheery yellow table runner down the center of the big kitchen table. The ranch hands were all laughing and smiling.
Beau pointed to her usual chair and said, “Join us!”
She sat and scooted her chair in, then looked around the table. “What’s the occasion?”
Cole slid the platter of bacon out of the way and Charlotte sat the platter of blueberry and strawberry muffins in the center of the table. Beau grinned, “It’s spring, bay-bee!”
She nodded in understanding. Of course, March 21. Spring had sprung.
Joe scooped up a spoonful of scrambled eggs and said, “Did y’all see the buzzards yesterday? They were circlin’, a whole bunch of them, over towards the east.”
Cole nodded, “That’s a sure sign. Anyone seen any robins yet?”
As she listened to the conversation swirl around her, she felt her own mood buoyed along with them. It had been a long, hard winter, a lot different than winter was in the City. There, her sidewalk and parking lot was cleared for her. Here, she shoveled the walks right alongside the guys.
Charlotte spread butter on her muffin and said, “My favorite part of spring is the babies. Can’t wait to see those little foals and calves running through the pastures. Beau, when do you think the first babies will arrive?”
He chewed and swallowed, then said, “Actually, we’ve got a cow that’ll probably calve any time now. She looks ready.”
Cole’s brows pushed together. “We gotta keep a close eye on her. Aidan’s been sneaking her extra grain, and she’s awful big.”
Aidan threw a balled up napkin at Cole. “Not a lot of extra grain!”
Joe nodded as he reached for another piece of bacon, “This’s her first baby, right? We’re talking about the cow that Katie named Victoria, right?”
Beth felt a tingle at the thought of babies. She’d never been around any animal giving birth, and was disgusted and intrigued by the thought. Some of her friends had dogs that had puppies, but she didn’t have any pets growing up. Maybe that’s why she liked living on the ranch. Every season held new experiences for her.
When breakfast was over, she helped Charlotte clean up, then hurried out to the barn to help Aidan clean stalls. A warm front had moved through and the sun shone brightly. After the first stall, she shucked her heavy coat off and after the third she shed her hooded sweatshirt.
The people she worked with at the firm would’ve been shocked at her, with bits of straw in her hair and dirt under her fingernails. She was shocked herself to find she enjoyed manual labor, especially when the promise of warm weather was on the breeze. Even the clouds that rolled in that afternoon couldn’t dampen her mood.
The smell of Charlotte’s chili drew Beth and Beau into the kitchen before the table was set that evening. Beth got the plates out of the cabinet and made it halfway around the table when Aidan burst through the back door. He panted, eyes wide as they swept across the room.
“Come quick! Victoria’s having her baby and something’s wrong!” He dashed back out th
e door without waiting for a response. Beau was the first one out, with Charlotte and Beth hot on his heels.
Beth ran as fast as she could, and she felt the first raindrop before she got halfway to the pasture. Lightning flashed and she saw the dark hulk of the cow huddled against the fence beside the driveway. The yellow glare of the big security light threw harsh shadows that jerked as they ran.
They all climbed the gate, up and over in a matter of seconds. The cow mooed. Her head hung low, her back was arched and one tiny hoofed foot stuck out. Beau walked up to the cow and ran his hand over her heaving sides as he talked to her. Her muscles contracted and she pushed again, but the slick hoof just moved an inch or so.
Thunder boomed in the distance and cold rain pelted the group. Beth’s heart pounded in her chest and she felt faint as she watched the poor cow suffer. Aidan stroked Victoria’s head, murmuring to the animal. Beth hesitated, not sure what to do, then reached out and touched the cow. Her coat was slick with sweat and rain, and her muscles were quivering. She was in distress.
Beth cleared her throat and said, “Do you want me to call the vet?”
Beau shook his head, “Not enough time. We’re gonna have to pull the calf ourselves.”
Cole nodded and said, “I’ll get the comealong.”
He jogged away through the mud. Aidan continued to talk to the cow, his low voice a steady murmur under the sound of the rain. Beth shivered in the cold and rubbed her arms. The rain plastered her hair to her head and she blinked the water from her eyes. Victoria shuddered again and her head dropped lower, until her nose nearly touched the mud. Beau moved to the back of the cow and motioned for her to join him.
“Here,” he directed, “hold her tail up and out of the way. She can’t wait any longer.”
Beth did as she was told. Beau rubbed his hands together then pushed his sweatshirt sleeves up to his elbows and grasped the hoof with one hand. He ran his other hand along the visible leg, then the cow bawled and jerked. Beth lost her grip on the tail and it slapped down in Beau’s face. He frowned at her, but didn’t budge. She grabbed it again and held on firmly with both hands while she watched Beau continue to work with the baby.
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