16

Morning dawned bright on the second day of the drive.

The cattle were scattered, but the vaqueros were in no shape to reign in the herd. The previous night of drinking and carousing left them worse for wear.

Sarah leaned back against the chuck wagon. She swirled her biscuit in a plate of gravy and took a bite. The hired hands had drunk almost all the coffee. Salt pork stuck in her throat, and there was nothing to wash it down with, so she tossed it.

Rex greedily snatched it out of the air and swallowed it down.

She dunked her plate into the washtub by Inez’s work table.

“Gracias, Missy Sarah.”

Sarah smiled. No sense sitting around wasting time. “Saddle up!”

Her command was met with moaning and groaning from the three vaqueros, followed by a slur of words that made Sarah glad she wasn’t fluent in Spanish. Though they didn’t mind cursing her, they didn’t do what she said either. And she was fairly sure they understood what she wanted.

Pedro said something to Inez. A heated Spanish debate broke out. Inez scowled at Pedro, harrumphed, then went back to her work.

“Is everything all right, Pedro?”

He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. “She say she need to stay here. She need more time to cut up that cow into steaks.”

“Oh, all right.” It took Sarah a few seconds to realize he was referring to the cow she’d shot the night before.

“She say she have tortillas and cheese cut up for the men to eat. But she not ready to go yet.”

“That’s fine. You stay here and help her. I’m sure it won’t be any trouble for you to catch up with us before nightfall.”

“Thank you, Miss Sarah.”

The vaqueros hadn’t moved.

“Saddle up! We’re leaving!” She turned to Reinhardt. “Why won’t they do anything I say? Did you tell them not to listen to me?”

“Now why would I do something like that?” He grinned, making Sarah fume all the more. “All right, now. Don’t get all red in the face.”

Reinhardt groaned and got up. After taking his plate over to the washtub, he cupped his hands and hollered at the vaqueros. “Vamos!”

The three men jumped up. Within minutes they were saddled, and the cattle drive was underway once again. The look of pity on Reinhardt’s face was maddening.

~*~

Driving the cattle across the Bolivar Peninsula was slow.

Who would have thought so many changes would happen in such a short period of time? Daddy hadn’t been gone all that long, and already Sarah was moving on with her life. Ranching was Daddy’s business. He’d loved it. He’d taught Sarah to love it too. And as soon as she sold the herd off in High Island, she would have plenty of money to do as she pleased, wherever she pleased. She had to ship Daddy’s breed stock to Uncle Jeremiah’s ranch in Houston. Then she needed to find a ranch of her own, since Mama wanted to turn her place into a boarding house. Maybe Sarah could find a spread close to her aunt and uncle. She might even run into Frederick if he should visit Uncle Jeremiah. Defeat beckoned. Oh, Lord, how can I do this when people look at me like I’m just a kid? I have McKinney blood running through my veins, and McKinney’s are a strong breed, just like our cattle. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Her own frailty and self-pity embarrassed her.

One of the cows bawled in obvious pain. A huge, pregnant cow fell on her side.

“Reinhardt, hold up!”

He didn’t hear her.

She put fingers to her lips and let out a deafening whistle.

All four men turned.

She raised her arms, palms toward them. “Stop!”

Reinhardt raised his right arm making a fist. “Alto!” He called out to the vaqueros, and rode toward Sarah.

“We have a pregnant cow down. I thought we had more time.” She yelled over the din of mooing cows and Rex’s loud barking.

“Com’on.” He said, whipping the rains of his horse.

Reaching the downed animal, they dismounted and knelt beside her.

“I was afraid this might happen. She was lookin’ a little iffy this morning.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?” Sarah asked.

Reinhardt grimaced. “Ain’t nothin’ we could’a done anyway. Calf’s gonna come when it gets good and ready.” He picked up the cow’s tail and took a closer look. “Yep, won’t be long now. We’re gonna have to stop here for the day.”

“We can’t stop here…we need to get to the other side of Rollover Pass!”

“Well, looks as if your cow has different plans because her calf is coming now.”

Sarah groaned. Rollover Pass was a dangerous crossing if the timing wasn’t right. And this delay could be the thing that put them in the middle of a very bad situation.

The cow bawled out, and her calf was born.

Sarah rubbed the exhausted cow’s side. “Come on, girl. You need to get up and take care of your baby.”

The little calf wiggled around, snorting to clear its nose and trying to rise.

Rex pawed the baby and growled at her.

Reinhardt scratched his chin and then lifted the cow’s tail again. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“What is it?”

“She ain’t done yet, that’s what.”

“Twins?”

“Yep.”

“She’s having trouble.”

“Yeah, she’s all tired out. We’ll give her a little time. If she still ain’t calved, I’ll pull it.”

The first calf was a strong little heifer. In no time at all, she was up and bawling her complaints.

Sarah took a piece of feedbag cloth from her saddlebag and rubbed the calf down.

Each time the little heifer bawled the mama cow cried along with her. This seemed to help progress the birthing of the second calf.

“Well, look at that. The calf’s coming on its own.”

A few minutes later the cow gave one final cry and pushed out her second calf. Then she rolled over and got up. The first calf bawled for her mama, but her sister didn’t move.

“She’s not breathing.” Sarah swatted the calf on the rear end, but still, no movement. “Come on girl, wake up.” In a last-ditch effort, Sarah picked up a piece of straw and swabbed it inside the calf’s nose. Nothing. She tried again, only this time she poked at the inside of her nose. The calf sneezed, and bloody snot flew everywhere.

The mama cow came to her calf and nudged her with her snout. The smaller twin calf got up on her feet at her mother’s urging, bawling all the while.

Sarah wiped her brow on her shirtsleeve. “Whew, didn’t think she was going to make it.”.

“Well, we lost one cow, but added two more.”

Another cow cried out from the herd.

Reinhardt pushed his hat back on his head. “There goes another one. I thought we had more time with her.”

“Dang it, Brutus!” Sarah cursed her father’s prize bull.

The second cow gave birth with no need to intervene.

“You did a good job back there.” Reinhardt spoke without looking her in the eye.

“What do you mean?”

“How you worked with that calf until she started breathing on her own. She might have died otherwise.”

Sarah’s cheeks warmed. “Just doing what I had to do.”

“Um-hm.” He walked away.

As the sun began its slow descent into the West, the newborn calves romped and played. A trail of dust kicked up behind Pedro and Inez approaching in the wagon.

The vaqueros cheered.

The cooks worked quickly, unloading dishes and the delicious smelling food.

In short order the vaqueros were in a line waiting to be served a heaping bowl of pinto beans. Each one of the vaqueros thanked Inez when she handed them their meal.

Sarah accepted her food and thanked the cook.

She joined Reinhardt next to the fire Pedro made and sat down, bowing her head

Reinhardt stood. “All right, everyone, we have a lot to be thankful for, what with three calves being born healthy and all. And we got these good eats too. It only seems right that we should thank God.”

Reinhardt was going to pray?

He looked at her. “Go on now, start praying.”

“Oh.” Sarah was caught off guard, but she worded a prayer of thanksgiving. Later, Sarah laid in her bedroll gazing at the stars. Thank You, Father, for allowing me to witness the miracle of those baby calves coming into the world, and for letting me be a part of it. Lord, I suppose You know what’s come over Reinhardt, even if I don’t. But I gotta admit, I sure do like the change.