The sorrel’s sides hardened as Jonas tugged the cinch tight. Jonas kneed the horse’s belly to get him to release the air and grinned. Grinned. He’d been doing that a lot these past two weeks since he’d kissed Cait. Kissed Cait and she hadn’t slapped him. In fact, he was pretty sure she enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. Since then he’d been walking on air. Maybe he did have a chance to win her heart.
Of course, both he and Cait had been working from dawn to dusk trying to get more horses ready for the cavalry buyer. Lawson sent a telegram to let Angus know he would be here two days from now. With the extra work, there hadn’t been any time to be alone with Cait.
“Easy, Beauty.” Cait’s crooning voice drifted from the other corral. Jonas couldn’t help himself. He ground tied the sorrel and crossed to the fence where he could watch her at work. He rested his arms on the top board and drank in the sight. He almost missed the soft footfalls in the corral beside him.
“She’s got the gift, hasn’t she?” Angus leaned his forearms on the board near Jonas.
“She does at that.” Jonas watched as Cait crooned to the mare, running her hands over the withers and down the animal’s legs. The skittish black calmed, relaxing under the gentle touch. “I don’t think I would tell Cait, but she’s a much better horse trainer than I am.”
“You’ve changed your methods since you started here.” Angus glanced over at Jonas.
“I like her approach to getting to know the horse before you climb on. She has more success in getting them to listen. They don’t fight so much.” Jonas shrugged. “Of course, I still climb in the saddle much earlier than Cait would.”
“You tame more horses than she does, which we need right now. Those locoweed mounts may never recover enough.” Angus tugged his hat lower. “With the hard work you and Cait have put in since we got the telegram from Lawson, we should have enough stock ready.”
“Then I’d better get back to work.” Jonas tore his gaze from Cait and turned back toward the horse he’d been breaking. “We’ve both been keeping long hours. By tomorrow, I should have at least four more ready to go.”
“Good. I’ll leave you to it.” Angus strode across the corral and slipped through the gate.
Jonas tried to keep his mind on his work, but concern for Angus and the ranch, combined with a desire to be with Cait, stole his concentration. The sorrel seemed to know this and landed him in the dust again. Every bone in his body ached like he was ninety years old. If he kept up this pace, he wouldn’t make it to thirty, let alone a more genteel age.
Jonas had his head under the pump, cool water washing the grit from his hair and face, when he heard hoofbeats—a lot of them—coming up the road. He swept his hair back and wiped the moisture from his eyes. A large contingent of cavalrymen milled outside the corral where Cait still worked. Angus, looking grim, crossed the yard toward them. Dread sat like a stone in Jonas’s gut. He stalked over to join Angus, praying this wasn’t Lawson. Praying he wouldn’t refuse to buy the horses because of Cait.
“Lawson.” Angus held out his hand. The weight inside Jonas grew heavier.
“Sullivan.” The cavalry officer shook hands and then gestured toward the corral. “I thought I was specific when I said I didn’t want any animals trained by a girl. You said you had another trainer coming in to work the horses.”
“I do. This is Jonas Hall. He’s been here for several weeks now working with the animals. We have several head ready to go.” Angus motioned toward the herd of horses as Jonas shook hands with Lawson.
“So, is this a special horse your girl is working?” Lawson asked.
“My daughter is not a young girl. She’s very gifted in training horses.” Angus clenched his fists. Cait exited the corral to stand beside her father. Jonas could see both hurt and outrage warring within her.
“Has she been training the animals you intend to sell to me?” Lawson’s small eyes narrowed farther.
“Yes, she has.” Angus held up one hand. “We needed to get them trained quickly. We lost some of the herd to locoweed poisoning. In order to have enough for you, both Cait and Jonas have put in long hours.”
Lawson’s mouth thinned so that his lips disappeared. The man resembled a starved cadaver. “In that case, we are wasting our time here.”
“What?” Cait stepped forward. Angus placed a hand on her arm. Cait visibly struggled to contain her anger. She swung around, let out a low whistle, and as soon as Poppy came trotting up with her colt, Cait jumped astride and took off. The cavalrymen stared after her.
Lawson’s pig eyes became slits. He looked back at Angus. “She rides without any tack? The horse doesn’t throw her?”
Angus grinned as he watched his daughter ride away. “Cait can do anything with that mare. In fact, she can do anything with most any horse she’s trained.” Jonas wanted to tell Angus to be careful what he said to Lawson. He didn’t trust the officer.
“I’ll take your herd on one condition.” Lawson didn’t take his gaze from Cait’s retreating back. “You sell me that mare and foal along with the horses you have ready.”
“I can’t sell that mare. She belongs to Cait.” Angus shook his head as if to emphasize the words. Jonas wanted to shout an objection. Instead, he began to pray. Cait would never forgive her father if he sold her horse, but without the sale of the herd they would lose the ranch.
Tears tracked down Cait’s cheeks as Poppy trotted over the hills north of the ranch. The colt gamboled beside them, his stilt-like legs still a bit awkward. A rabbit jumped up in front of the colt and bounded away. The baby leaped into the air and almost tumbled to his knees when he landed. Cait wasn’t sure if he wanted to run away or give chase, but his antics made her laugh.
She swiped the moisture from her face and slowed Poppy to a walk. She felt a nudge of some sort inside her, as if she should be doing something, but couldn’t quite figure out what. Cait frowned in thought as Poppy meandered over the dry hills.
Thoughts of Jonas made her smile. She could see him stopping in the middle of his training, bowing his head for a few minutes, and then resuming his work. Praying. Jonas had been praying. Realization made Cait’s mouth fall open. She should be taking this time to talk with God. Wasn’t that what Jonas encouraged her to do? Anytime she had a problem, or if something went right, she should talk to God about it. “God doesn’t just want to hear from us when we’re in dire straits. He loves to hear from us anytime.” She could see the enthusiasm that lit Jonas from within as he shared with her.
“Okay, God.” Cait hesitated. Should she climb off the horse and kneel on the ground? Would God be mad if she talked to Him in the wrong way? The reminder of Jonas stopping his work to pray gave her clarity. God wanted to hear from her. If she talked to Him from her heart, He would listen.
“God, You know how much this ranch means to my dad. He’s worked so hard. My mother and my baby brother are buried here. Please don’t let us lose this ranch.” She closed her eyes as memories of her mother and baby brother, lying together in the bed, cold and gray, washed over her. She’d been so young when they died, yet the memory and accompanying hurt still came from time to time.
“If You can help Lawson to change his mind and buy the horses, please do that. If not, maybe we could sell them some other way.” She swallowed hard. “And, if I’m not asking too much, could you help the poisoned horses so we don’t have to put any more of them down.” Her heart ached at the thought of the horses that had been shot because they were too sick and dying anyway. She turned Poppy toward home.
Back in the pasture, the comforting scent of horse had Cait leaning into her mare for a moment before turning her loose. The colt, anxious to nurse, trotted beside his mother, reaching his nose toward her udder. The cavalrymen were gone. The herd of horses was still here. Cait tried to ignore the ache of loss as she realized her father would lose his dream of keeping the ranch. She trudged toward the house wondering how anything could be worse than this.
The aroma of stew and fresh-baked bread filled the house. Cait breathed deep, her stomach growling. She heard the low rumble of men’s voices—Jonas and her father. She couldn’t face them right now but headed for her room to clean up. Her limbs seemed to be made of stone, too heavy to carry.
“Cait, as soon as you wash up, come for supper.” Angus didn’t sound as upset as she thought he would. There was a tone to his voice, but Cait was too tired to worry about the meaning.
Jonas stood and held her chair when she entered the dining room. His hand brushed her shoulder as if giving her silent encouragement. She touched his fingers with her own.
“Eat, Caitie.” Angus sliced a piece of bread for her.
“Did Lawson leave?” Cait picked up her spoon to stir the stew. The rich aroma soothed her.
“He and his men are bedding down about a mile from here, over by the stream.” Angus nodded in the direction of the tiny stream that was still flowing through their land. “They’ll be back in the morning.”
Cait swallowed her bite of bread so fast she almost choked. Hope spread through her. “So they’re buying the herd after all?” She couldn’t help the excitement that built inside her. For some reason, Jonas didn’t seem happy. Cait wondered why. Was he upset that his job here had ended? She hadn’t thought about what he would do after he finished working for her father. The notion dampened her delight over saving the ranch.
“They are buying the herd.” Angus cupped his coffee mug in his large hands. “Lawson wanted to buy only the horses Jonas broke, but we convinced him to buy them all.”
“That’s wonderful.” Joy rushed through Cait. God had answered her prayer. “Does this mean he’ll be okay with me training the stock in the future?”
Angus shifted and didn’t meet her gaze. He wasn’t telling her something. Jonas lifted his head to look at her. The sorrow in his eyes dampened her excitement.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Cait placed her spoon back in the bowl of stew and folded her hands in her lap. She braced herself for the worst, although she couldn’t imagine anything worse than losing the ranch.
“Caitie.” Angus cleared his throat. “Caitie, the only way Lawson would agree to buy the herd… well, I had to agree to sell Poppy and her colt to him, too.”
Cait froze. Her mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. She couldn’t breathe.
“Caitie, if we don’t sell to him, we lose everything. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.” The torment in her father’s voice told Cait how hard this decision had been. But, Poppy? Poppy?
She jumped to her feet. Her chair crashed to the floor. She raced out the door. Heavy footsteps pounded behind her. Jonas. She whirled around, and he engulfed her in his embrace.