14

Sarah made sure Rex stayed close by and that the derringer was strapped to her leg while she brushed Ginger’s fur. She had two lines of defense while her back was turned on the vaqueros.

The Mexican men had spent the past hour drinking from a brown crockery jug and smoking cigars. Despite slurred speech, they were singing loud and off-key.

Reinhardt hadn’t joined them.

The aroma of pinto beans wafted through the campsite. Inez stirred the pot while Pedro flattened balls of tortilla dough. Inez flopped them into a frying pan greased with lard.

Sarah turned her attention to Rex. He looked up at her, his eyes full of puppy love, panting after the long day of work. “Come on, Rex.” His tail wagged at the sound of his name. “Let’s go get some water and something to eat.” The dog barked his approval.

Reinhardt hovered around the food, snatching tortillas when Inez wasn’t looking.

“Ouch!” Reinhardt yanked his hand back.

The spry little Mexican woman rattled off a string of Spanish words.

“All right, all right. You can keep yer dern tortillas.” Reinhardt rubbed his hand where Inez’s spoon had left a mark.

“That’ll teach you to mess with Inez.” Sarah laughed.

Reinhardt sat on a downed tree.

Sarah joined him. “I’m surprised to see you’re not whooping it up with your men.”

“Nah, I’m getting too old for that business. Liquor makes you forget what you done the night before and regret how you feel the morning after.”

“Well, I’m glad. Those vaqueros are obnoxious. And they better keep their guns holstered or we might have a stampede on our hands.”

“Aw, surely they’re not that stupid.” Reinhardt picked up a thin piece of wood from the sand and stuck it between his teeth before giving Sarah a goofy smile. “I saw you riding flank with Ramon earlier today. Is he the kind of man you like to kiss?”

“Please! I’d rather kiss a horse’s rear end!”

“Well, that can be arranged too.” He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll tell Ramon you’re sweet on him. Then you can kiss him…after you finish brushing my horse, of course.”

“You will do no such thing. And I won’t be brushing your horse either. Remember, I’m your boss—not the other way around.” Sarah was beginning to realize that poking fun was Reinhardt’s way of showing that he liked her.

“Ven a comer!” Inez gave the call for dinner.

The vaqueros came as fast as they could.

Sarah waited for the vaqueros to clear out before getting up.

Inez handed her a plate of beans and Pedro added a couple tortillas to her dish.

“Gracias, Inez y Pedro.”

“De nada, mi hija.”

Sarah sat on the tree where she and Reinhardt had sat before. She bowed her head and thanked God for the food and for keeping them safe. Reinhardt’s curious stare unsettled her.

He averted his gaze. Uncertainty shown on his face, and his lips parted. He begrudgingly formed one word to say to Inez. “Gracias.”

Sarah turned away so Reinhardt wouldn’t see her grin.

~*~

Her bedroll was soft, but the ground was hard, and the wind had died down, making it warmer than usual. Rex lay close by Sarah’s side, keeping watch. Not the peaceful night, or the soft Gulf breeze, or the gentle lowing cattle, or even sheer exhaustion could lure Sarah to sleep. She gazed at the stars.

There were plenty of stars, enough for everybody to have one…like men. God provided a man for each of her sisters. Mama had gone through three. Sarah only wanted one, Frederick Chessher. Why God? If I can’t have him, then why did You let him come into my life in the first place? So I could fall for him…like a fool? Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. She had to turn her thoughts away from Frederick. Her mind wandered to Reinhardt. She shuddered, and then drifted off to sleep in mere moments.

The moon was high in the sky when the cattle, bawling and restless, awakened Sarah. Rex whined and pawed her leg.

“What is it, boy?”

Pedro appeared before her haloed in a ring of lantern light. “Miss Sarah, Miss Sarah, you need to get up.” He crouched down beside her feet. “Mr. Reinhardt say something happen with one of the cows.”

Sarah looked in the shadows, found her rifle and headed toward the commotion.

A shot pierced the quiet night.

She ran the rest of the way to the lighted area. The barrel of Reinhardt’s pistol smoldered in the cool night air. One of Daddy’s cows lay writhing on the ground.

Sarah struggled to form the words she wanted to say. “W…what happened? Why would you shoot my cow?”

Reinhardt pointed his pistol downward. “I didn’t. Snake got yer cow.”

The huge reptile’s head was gone.

Tears swelled and Sarah almost gagged, but she was the boss, and the boss wasn’t allowed to cry.

Reinhardt kicked some dirt toward the snake. “It ain’t gonna live. Got her in the nose too. Poor old cow was probably curious and bent over to check it out.”

Daddy’s beautiful longhorn writhed in pain as the poison spread through her body. Sarah wanted to cry along with her.

“She won’t make it, Sarah. A bite on the face from a snake that big…she’ll swell up and won’t be able to breathe. Might as well take care of it now and not let her suffer. You want me to do it?”

“No. I’m responsible for this herd. I’ll do it.” Sarah raised the rifle hoping Reinhardt wouldn’t notice her trembling arms. She pointed Daddy’s gun at the cow’s head and pulled the trigger. The heart wrenching bawling stopped, and the animal’s body went limp.

Reinhardt called his men over and gave them orders in Spanish.

Sarah walked into the darkness. Rex trailed close behind her. When she reached her bedroll, she put the rifle away and crawled inside the blanket. Rex circled before curling up by her side. She put her arm around Rex and quietly released the flood of tears she’d worked so hard holding in. She didn’t cry because she shot a cow, but because she’d shot Daddy’s cow. She’d failed him. Oh, Lord, why did You take my daddy away from me? Maybe if he’d been here none of this would be happening. I don’t have a daddy. I don’t have a boyfriend. And I’m not strong enough to do this without someone to help me!

The anger rising inside gave her comfort. It gave her power. Was Daddy giving her the strength to finish? No…Daddy was gone, and Frederick was not hers. But there was One who gave her comfort, One who gave her strength, One who would never ever leave her.