Providence (10 page)

“Maybe sumthin you ain’t gonna
like,” one of them said darkly.

Matt stopped, waiting.

“New man drifted in, went to work
for that Shaughnessey woman.”

“Did he now?” Matt’s face
darkened. “We’ll have to see what we can do about that.”

***

“There she is! Momma’s here.
Momma’s here!” Jo shrieked excitedly, bouncing in the saddle as the grey horse
stood patiently, never flinching at the little girl’s energetic flailing.

“Hello, baby. I see you’ve met
Mr. Josey.” Kate said quietly. Luke and the Insleys were standing with Martha,
Luke holding the reins, while they chatted amiably.

 “Oh, yes, momma. He’s ever
so nice; he even let me ride his horse. His name is Rio, that means river.
Isn’t that a funny name for a horse?” She sat up proudly, patting the gelding’s
neck. “And isn’t he
handsome
?” she added in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Rio or Mr. Josey?” Kate asked
with a smile.

“Oh, momma! Of course I meant Mr.
Josey.” Jo giggled.

Kate reached up for her laughing
daughter. Lifting her down, she held her close, taking comfort in the small
warm body.  She breathed deeply of Jo’s fresh scent, burying her face in the
soft red curls. As though knowing instinctively what her mother needed, Jo
relaxed against her, laying her head on Kate’s shoulder, and patting her back
reassuringly.

“So? What did our
friend
want?” Martha asked.

Kate gazed at Martha woefully,
unable to speak.

“Well, don’t worry about him.
That will take care of itself. You have Luke now.” Martha stated with
confidence.

“Oh, Martha.”
If you only knew
,
Kate thought. She wanted to confide in this dear woman, but for now it was
still too raw. Her emotions flooded, threatening to spill over in a rush of
tears. She bit her lip. Setting Jo down in the bed of the wagon, she hugged her
friend. When Lars walked over and took Martha’s hand, Kate felt a fleeting stab
of jealousy, wishing that Will was standing beside her, holding her hand that
way.

“The wagon’s loaded. We’re ‘bout
ready to move out.” Jake said brightly. “Hand up?”

 “Thank you, Jake,” Kate
said taking his hand and stepping up to the high front seat.

“Good bye! When will you be back
to town?”

“I don’t know, Martha, soon
though, I have some shopping to do.”

Luke swung into the saddle, and
turned Rio to follow the buckboard. Jake climbed up beside her, took the reins
and the wagon lurched forward, heading home to Providence.

***

The first mile passed in silence.
Nana and the children slept soundly on a pile of blankets in the bed of the
wagon, rocked by the gentle swaying. Luke Josey rode beside them, sometimes
talking to Jake about the land, the crops, or the cattle. Kate rode stiffly,
staring straight ahead, trying not to think.

As Luke and Rio drifted off to
ride alone for a while, Jake looked at Kate from the corner of his eye. “Wanna
talk?”

“Not really.”

“Can’t keep it bottled up inside
forever.”

“Why not?”

“Ain’t good for ya. You might
bust.”

Throwing her head back and
laughing, she let the tears stream down the sides of her face. “Jake Insley,
whatever am I going to do with you? Can’t even let a girl brood in peace.”

“Never did much good.”

 Wiping away the tears with
the back of her hand, Kate sighed. “Matt Johnson asked me to marry him,” she
stated after a moment.

She could see a muscle tighten at
his jaw line, but he remained silent. The horses plodded along; birds sang in
the distance. Kate looked down and toyed with a fold in her skirt. “Well,
aren’t you going to say anything?”

Jake turned slowly until he was
facing her. His face was sorrowful, the lines more deeply etched than Kate
could ever recall. “That’s a decision that only you can make.” His voice was
low and steady but tightly controlled. It pierced her heart. This man had been
like a father to her, and now he seemed to be drawing away, leaving her. She
felt so alone, so utterly alone.

***

Luke
studied the man and woman riding side by side on the high front seat of the
buckboard. He liked Jake. The older man was open and honest, refreshingly so.
Kate Shaughnessey was another story. She was beautiful, but distant. Something
was eating at her, that much was obvious, and Luke had the feeling that she
wasn’t too happy about his presence in their lives right now. Well he needed a
job, and this one would be as good as any. He’d do his best by them for the
next five or six months, then he could be on his way.

 Thinking of the future inevitably
brought thoughts of Annie. She would be about to deliver his child in six
months. No, he wouldn’t think of that. Annie was safe in another world. She and
the child deserved a better life. He needed to simply shut that part of his
life out for good. He would never be the right man for any decent woman. The
shame he felt created an empty void inside. Better to stop feeling all
together, than to live with that kind of loneliness and pain.

The buckboard slowed and was
turning on to a smaller road. Glancing about, Luke liked the looks of the land.
Grass was deep, nearly belly high on his horse, a mixture of native bluestem,
bermuda and buffalo grasses that were rich and nourishing. Red Indian
paintbrush, purple phlox and pink clover dotted the hillsides, adding vivid
splashes of color among the verdant greens. Trees grew along the creeks and
shaded the ponds. In the distance, he saw a small herd of predominantly black
cows with calves cavorting in the fading golden sunshine. Riding up alongside
Jake, he asked, “Some of yours?”

“Those’re some of Mrs.
Shaughnessey’s Angus, yep,” he replied proudly. “You can see the fence line
just comin’ up.”

 As Luke looked in the
direction indicated, he saw the road narrow considerably, until it was no more
than a cart track, where it passed between two rough oak pillars, spanned by a
graceful carved sign. Luke saw Kate’s mouth curve in the hint of a wistful
smile, her eyes deep pools of liquid amber, as she watched the entrance come
into view.
She must really love this place
.
What must it feel like to
be a part of something so real
, he wondered.

Another quarter of a mile down
the rough track and around the side of a rise brought them in sight of the
homestead. His heart constricted at the simple beauty of it. The setting sun
cast purple shadows across the land. The last golden rays gilding the plain
white home, and casting a golden glow around the trees, fences and barns gave
an ethereal presence to the place. He felt a peace settle over his heart that
he hadn’t known in years. Was there some magic here? Was this an enchanted
haven?

***

They pulled up at the kitchen
porch of the house, and three sleepy passengers piled out from the back of the
wagon. Jonathan scrambled up to the front seat as Kate jumped down.

“Jake, will you show Mr. Josey to
the bunkhouse? I’ll get some fresh bedding out there as soon as I get Jo in
bed.”

“Yes.” The answer was curt and
withdrawn. Kate withered inside.

Nana looked from Kate to Jake and
back again, clearly puzzled. Jake said nothing more, clucked to the team, and
drove to the barn.

“Mrs. Insley, can you help me get
these things in, and Jo to bed, please.”

“I can. And we’ll get breakfast
set for tomorrow as well.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, you’re
tired, and so am I. We’ll get it in the morning.”

 “Humph!”

Kate shook her head, picked up
her sleepy daughter and followed Nana in the house.

The two women worked quickly
putting away the odds and ends. Kate tucked Jo in with kisses and prayers and promises
of tomorrow. When she went back to the kitchen, Nana already had a fire glowing
in the fireplace, and stack of linens and towels on the table. “There’s a good
mattress ticking there that just needs to be stuffed with hay, couple of
sheets, one wool blanket, a towel and some spare wash rags.” Nana ticked off
the items as though it were an inventory.

Kate smiled, “Why don’t you go
home and get some rest? It’s been a long day.”

“I’ll be going when I’ve finished
here.”

“All right,” Kate acquiesced. “I’m
going to take these things to the bunkhouse.”

She gathered up the pile of goods
and stepped out into the cool evening air. Walking towards the barn she tried
not to think of the events of the day, but the nagging fear would not go away.
She knew she needed to pray, turn it over to God. She vowed to spend time in
the Bible tonight no matter how tired she was. It was the only thing that
helped in these trying times.

 The men were still in the
barn, the wagon was set back in its place and the team of mares had been turned
out in the paddock. A fresh mound of hay had been pitched into the manger, and
they stood contentedly munching away. Kate smiled.

Horses were such a blessing in
her life. Working with them, breeding, gentling, and riding, was the one thing she
knew she could do well. When they had arrived in the Oklahoma Territory, she
knew how to ride, but had never done anything more than pleasure riding on one
of her father’s horses. They had had grooms and stable hands to tend to the
horses then.

Once established on their ranch,
she had taken an active interest in the role of the cow ponies in everyday
working life. Through observation and personal use she began to see which ones
had the stamina and conformation to excel at their work. When Will had brought
home a small, smoothly muscled black stud colt, she had seen the potential he
possessed and convinced Will not to geld him. She named him Raven. The decision
proved a fruitful one. They used him as a two year old to work cattle, a job he
relished. He was catty and quick. He could cut a cow from the herd, and hold it
for as long as you asked him. When a calf was roped from his back, he would
stand firm and keep the rope as taught as a wire until told to release it. As a
three year old they began crossing him on the best mares they could afford. The
foals they produced were some of the most sought after horses in the territory.

As Kate entered the barn, Raven
nickered softly to her from his stall. She reached out to rub his velvety nose,
breathing in the rich scent of horse.

 The men had lit a few
lanterns to cast a light over the dim barn, and were gathered near the tack
room, talking and laughing quietly. They stopped as she entered. “I’ve brought
a mattress and linens for the bunk. Jon, will you stuff the ticking for Mr.
Josey?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He grabbed the
ticking and dashed off to the straw pile.

“Make sure it’s good sweet straw,
Jon, I don’t want any dusty stuff!” Luke laughed.

“Oh, yes, sir, I’ll get the
best,” Jon replied earnestly. The two men laughed as the boy ran off. Jon was
clearly in awe of Luke.

“Have you seen the bunk house
yet, Mr. Josey?”

“Nope, but I expect it’s time to
mosey that way.” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“It’s right through that door.”
Kate said, shifting the linens to pick up a lantern. Armed with a light against
the dark, she started past them.

As she reached for the handle, a
large hand fell on hers. “Allow me, ma’am.” Luke opened the door and stood
aside for her to enter. Kate paused an instant, a tentative smile acknowledging
the manners so often lacking in many of the cow hands.

Jake watched the interaction,
then turned to finish the evening chores.

 Entering the large room,
she wrinkled her nose at the dust, realizing for the first time how long it had
been since it had been used. “I’ll come out in the morning and give the room a
good cleaning, Mr. Josey. I apologize for the state it’s in, but then I didn’t
know you’d be here tonight.”

“I think I’ll survive the dirt.
It’s still better than some I’ve seen,” he grinned. “And by the way, my name is
Luke.”

“Luke, then.” She looked around
the room. There were three frame and rope bedsteads, a small trunk at the foot
of each. A washstand stood beneath a cracked mirror, with a white pitcher and
basin. The one window was large, and surrounded by sack cloth curtains. It was
frugal but serviceable. Luke should be comfortable enough here.

“Jake is usually here just after
first light for morning chores, and breakfast is generally at seven. You can
come up to the house through the kitchen door. It’s the one we use most often.”
She paused, “and most everyone calls me Kate.”

He smiled a shy engaging smile.
“It suits you. Kate.”

She found herself smiling back at
this man in spite of all that happened that day. Swallowing hard, she excused
herself, and hurried back to the house.

***

Nana was still working in the
kitchen when Kate came through the back door. Glancing up, she saw the pained
look on Kate’s weary face.

 They worked together in
companionable silence for a few minutes before Nana took a good long look at
Kate. “That man Johnson ask you to marry him?”