Cait tugged the cinch with more vigor than her horse liked. He swung around to nip at her. She sidestepped his attempt and patted his neck. “Sorry, Patch. I’m frustrated, but I don’t mean to take it out on you.” She pulled the cinch tight with steady pressure. Patch grunted and stomped a foot.
“Frustrated about what?”
Cait jumped. She gritted her teeth knowing Jonas couldn’t see. “Jonas Hall, you shouldn’t sneak up on a person like that.”
“I didn’t sneak.”
She could hear the laughter in his voice. Cait frowned over her shoulder at him. Why did he have to look so good this early in the morning? She probably looked like a dead body pulled from the grave.
“So, frustrated about what?” Jonas repeated his question. She knew he wouldn’t give up until she answered him. The man was worse than a buzzard after dead meat.
“We have too much to do to go off looking for horses again. We still have several head to get ready, and time is growing short.” She tucked in the end of the strap and let the stirrup down.
“But today has more promise. Your dad spotted those hoofprints near the wash east of here. It shouldn’t take all day to track them down, and that will get our already trained stock back here in time for Lawson to show up.” Jonas kept pace with her as they exited the barn.
Cait swung up on Patch. “I know. If Dad and his men hadn’t all gotten sick last night, they would be going instead of us.” She urged her mount into a trot to get ahead of Jonas.
“Hopefully they’ll be better by tonight.” Jonas edged up beside her.
Her teeth ached as she gritted them, but she let him stay. She didn’t want to tire her horse, but she also didn’t want to be so close to Jonas. No matter how she fought her feelings and remembered all he’d done in the past, Jonas still made her heart jump when he came near. When she saw him through the window last night, she had to fight the desire to go to him. For some reason her heart still longed to be near Jonas, even though her head understood that shouldn’t happen.
They kept to a slow trot as much as possible to cover ground. Cait knew Jonas wanted to round up the horses and return to the ranch early. She wanted to bemoan the fact that her father had to let so many of their hands go due to the severity of the drought. Now they had to do all the chores the ranch hands would have done in the past.
“I don’t know that the livestock will still be here.” Jonas slowed his horse to a walk as the ground grew rockier. “There isn’t much graze at all. Why would they stay here?”
“The only thing growing is locoweed.” Cait pointed out a patch of the hated plant. “Hopefully the horses are smart enough to stay away from it.”
At the top of the next rise, the land opened up in front of them. The vista drifted down in a series of rises and dips. Cait shook her head as she studied the dry ground ahead. “I remember coming here with my dad in one of the wet years. This place reminded me of a sea of green with the way the terrain flows. Now look at it. Not enough here to feed one horse, let alone a herd.”
“That may be true, but your horses seem to disagree.” Jonas pointed off to the left. “Looks like the herd over there.”
Cait squinted. In the distance she could make out one or two horses standing. The movements of the horses in motion appeared odd to her. “What is wrong with them? What are they doing?” She leaned forward wishing she could see better, but the distance was too great.
“My guess is this isn’t good.” Jonas’s grim tone shot trepidation through her. He didn’t glance her direction but lifted his horse’s reins and nudged it forward. “We’d better get over there, Cait, but don’t expect this to be easy.”
“What do you mean?” Cait kneed Patch to catch up with Jonas.
“I may be wrong at this distance, but I think I’ve seen this happen before.” He turned to look at Cait, his face bleak with despair. She wanted to ask more, but fear closed her throat. What did he mean? What had he seen? These were her father’s horses—livestock they needed to sell to keep the ranch. They had to be okay. Cait refused to consider any alternative.
When they crested the final rise, Cait gasped. She and Jonas reined in at the same time. The horses below were sick. A couple of them were on the ground, stretched out, but Cait didn’t think they were sleeping. The ones standing were stumbling worse than a cowpoke after a late night at the saloon.
“There’s the bay I worked with.” Cait pointed to the stallion as he approached another horse. He seemed to see the sorrel at the last minute and panicked, scrabbling back. He almost fell but stumbled off in another direction. “What is wrong with them?”
Cait nudged Patch a step closer to Jonas. She didn’t know why, but right now she needed the reassurance of his presence. “Do you know?” Without taking her eyes from the meandering horses, she reached over to touch Jonas’s arm. He caught her hand in his. The comfort of his large fingers surrounding her smaller ones almost made her sigh in relief. This couldn’t be as bad as it looked. With Jonas here, she could figure out what to do and fix these animals.
As he surveyed the horror in front of him, Jonas tamped down the urge to turn tail and run. Cait’s hand in his—something he’d longed for with every fiber of his being—became an anchor from the despair threatening to pull him so far down he’d never find his way back. Her green eyes, full of hope, gazed up at him with expectancy. She waited. Waited for something he couldn’t give her.
“What’s wrong with them, Jonas? Is it thirst?” Cait glanced around as if trying, by some miracle, to find an oasis in the middle of the drought-stricken countryside.
“It’s the locoweed.” The words cleaved the air between them, and Jonas prayed for a way that this wasn’t true. “They’ve been grazing on locoweed, Cait. See?” He pointed to the scrubby plants with the gray-green leaves. Cait’s grip on his hand tightened to the point of pain.
“How do you know?” Her freckles stood in stark relief across her pale cheeks.
“I’ve seen this before. The stumbling. The erratic gait. The startled fear. They’re all signs of locoweed poisoning.” Jonas knew her next question and wanted to cover his ears.
“What can we do for them?” Determination shooed the horror from her face. Her mouth firmed. Her shoulders straightened. “Let’s get them back to the ranch. Papa will know what to do.”
“That’s easier said than done.” Jonas wished he could rub away the knot in his stomach. “At this point any little thing will startle them. There is no way to move this herd with just the two of us. We’ll have to go back for help.”
“But the others are sick.” Cait’s brow furrowed as she turned to him. “We have to do this.”
“Cait, you have to understand the horses who have been here longest may need to be put down. There’s no real cure for the poison.”
Her mouth thinned further. Fire flashed in her eyes. “No. We need these horses. They’re already promised to the cavalry.” She pulled her hand free. Her fists clenched as if she would fight this beast, locoweed, all on her own.
“We need to go down and assess which ones will be able to make the trip back to the ranch, and get started. This could take some time.” Jonas lifted the reins to urge his horse forward. Beside him Cait did the same. He couldn’t shake off the dread building inside him as they approached the sick animals.
Two of the horses were so far gone even Cait admitted they would never recover. Jonas retrieved his rifle and put them out of their misery, an action that tore at his heart. He knew these horses, had worked with them, cared for them.
When he fired the shots, several of the other animals startled, running in erratic circles. Jonas didn’t know if they would ever recover enough for the cavalry to use them. He’d heard tales of horses taking months, even years, to get over the effects of locoweed. Some never did.
“The bay and that roan seem to be the best.” Jonas gestured at the pair that stood close to one another and were less agitated. “Why don’t we try to get them back to the barn? If your dad and the other men are recovered enough, they can come help us get the rest home.”
Cait nodded. Her cheeks were gaunt with grief. He could tell she’d never seen the results of horses consuming locoweed before. This had been a hard awakening to the dangers of drought, when the only graze that survived the lack of water would kill the animal that ate it.
The trip back took over twice the time the ride out had taken. The horses spooked, stumbled, and sometimes fought the leads for no reason. Back at the barn, Jonas and Cait shooed the pair into an empty corral. They both drank deep at the water trough and then huddled in the shade of the wall.
Cait checked on her father, while Jonas checked on the other hands. He was leaning on the corral fence talking with the men when he heard heavy footfalls behind him. Jonas knew without turning that it was Angus.
“What’s this I hear about you shooting two of my horses?” Angus sounded a bit shaky but stood tall. Only the beads of sweat dotting his upper lip and the tightness of his jaw gave away his discomfort. Jonas didn’t say a word as Angus leaned against the top rail to peruse the pair in the corral. A swallow flew from the rafters, swooped down and away. The bay and his companion snorted, heads raised, whites of their eyes showing. They stumbled into one another in their fear and almost fell.
“Ahhh.” Angus lowered his brow to his arm. He straightened to look at Jonas. “If these two are the best of the lot, we’ll have to put them all down. This is hopeless.”
“No.” Cait’s cry startled them all. “You can’t do that. Jonas, tell him.” Her eyes were wide with pleading. At that moment, Jonas would have promised her the world.
“Tell him they’ll recover.” The agony in her voice ripped his already shredded heart.
“She could be right.” Jonas prayed this would be true. “We have to give them a chance. If they haven’t been eating too much of the locoweed, time and good feed, lots of water, might flush the poison from their system.”
“Papa, we have to try.” Cait placed her palm on her father’s sleeve. Jonas didn’t know how Angus could resist that luminous gaze and imploring expression. “We need these horses when Lawson comes. If we bring them home and give them care for the next two weeks, we’ll see where they are then.”
“And if they don’t recover?” Angus’s shoulders drooped. “You know we stand to lose the ranch, Cait.”
“That’s why we have to try.” Moisture glittered in Cait’s eyes. Jonas fought the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her. Although he felt he’d gotten closer to her today, he didn’t want to jeopardize their growing friendship. He wanted to marry Cait. For marriage—a lifetime with her—he would be patient.
“Let’s mount up and bring the horses home.” Angus and the hands turned toward the barn.
Cait turned to Jonas, her smile rivaling the sun for warmth. “Thank you.” She leaned close and kissed him on the cheek before hurrying to get a fresh horse.
Jonas froze. He could feel the imprint of her lips on his skin. His heart thrummed. Oh, God, please make this right. Help me with Cait. Help them keep the ranch. Help these horses survive. Jonas strode toward the barn to get ready. He wasn’t sure God could answer what he’d just asked, but he’d try to have faith and trust in the impossible.