Читать книгу A Ranch to Call Home - Leann Harris - Страница 11

Chapter Four

Kaye pulled the marshmallow out of the fireplace and placed it onto a graham cracker. She topped it with a square of chocolate and a second graham cracker, and handed it to her grandfather. “This reminds me of the first time you took Joel and me on a campout.”

Gramps accepted the treat and tried to take a bite but lost hold of the s’more. It plopped in his lap. He glanced at Kaye. “Nothing’s going right today.”

Kaye quickly picked up the s’more and put it on a plate. “I’ll make you another.”

Gramps shook his head. “Nope, just give me back that mess. I’ll finish it.”

Kaye glanced at Caleb and saw him grinning. A laugh bubbled up in her, but she didn’t think Gramps would appreciate it. After the events of this afternoon, you had to either laugh or cry. She put the plate with the s’more in Gramps’s lap. He picked it up and took a bite.

Caleb handed her another marshmallow. “You seem to get the marshmallow just right, so mind doing mine?”

Kaye’s emotions binged all over the place. There was that sizzle she felt, but also she was on pins and needles, worried he’d ask about what happened during the storm.

This flashback had been the worst she’d experienced.

“Kaye?” Caleb said again, holding out the marshmallow.

“Well, since your last marshmallow resembled the black mess on the back porch, I guess I could.”

Caleb grinned. “That last one I did looked exactly like the mess on the porch.”

The lightning had blown all the lightbulbs in the house along with all the appliances—big screen included. Even the hot-water heater had been fried. Joel called the insurance company on his cell phone and was told to leave things alone until the adjuster could get out to the ranch tomorrow. If they had any working cameras or if their cell phones had a camera they should take pictures of the damages.

They’d put the things from the refrigerator in an ice chest and had hot dogs for dinner. The fire in the fireplace was Gramps’s idea. They had only two lightbulbs in the pantry, so they’d replaced one in Gramps’s room but had to find a lamp that still worked to put in the other lightbulb. Luckily, all their flashlights worked.

“I wonder if we’re the only ones who got hit,” Joel said.

“I’ll ask when I call the other members on the committee. Oh, by the way, I talked to Nan today.” Kaye pulled the marshmallow out of the fire and handed the skewer to Caleb.

In the light from the fireplace, Kaye could see her brother’s guilty look. “Oh?”

“That’s why I decided to ride out to the field, to have a little talk with you.”

Joel shifted on the chair. “About what?”

“About all the details I couldn’t find in your pile. Have you assigned jobs to the various board members? Nan didn’t know what she was to do.”

In the dim light, Kaye couldn’t tell if he blushed, but he wouldn’t look at her.

Joel stuffed the last of the s’more in his mouth. “Not exactly,” he mumbled around the graham cracker.

Her brother acted more like a teenage boy than an adult male. Caleb and Gramps avoided looking at her, too.

“We’re going into town Saturday morning to meet with the other members on the board of the charity rodeo. If we’re going to pull this off in the allotted time, everyone needs to be assigned a job, so before I do that, I want to talk to all the board members.”

“Well, let me know how it goes.” Joel tried to hand her another marshmallow.

“Oh, no, big brother.” Her firm tone drew everyone’s attention. “You and Caleb are going with me. Remember, you promised to help.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it.

She readied herself to bat down any further arguments. “Gramps, if you want to come, you’re more than welcome.”

Gramps nodded. “Better than sitting here with nothing working.”

Kaye took the marshmallow from Joel.

“So why didn’t you just call, Sis? When that storm hit, I thought you were here with Gramps.”

She paled at the question and her gaze flew to Caleb’s. His expression remained neutral. “After talking with Nan, I wanted to get some straight answers from you.”

“And you found Caleb, instead.”

“I did.” Kaye battled the fear that Caleb would mention how she froze up.

“We were caught out there in the field when the lightning struck,” Caleb explained. “Nearly rattled all the teeth out of my head and didn’t do our horses any favors. We raced toward that copse of trees, took shelter and rode out the storm.” Nothing in his tone indicated she’d flipped out.

Joel’s eyes narrowed. “I had to fight my mount when one of those strikes hit close.”

“As I said, our mounts weren’t happy, either.” Caleb popped the last of his s’more into his mouth. Was there a pattern here? Stuff the mouth and don’t have to answer the question.

Kaye anxiously waited, but Caleb simply continued eating his treat. He nodded toward the bowl of marshmallows.

“Could you do in another one?” he asked between bites.

His question snapped her out of her anxiety. She searched Caleb’s gaze and realized he wasn’t going to say anything about her flashback. “Sure.” She put two marshmallows on a skewer and held it over the flames.

A weight lifted off her shoulders. Still reeling from the incident, she didn’t want her family to know about what happened. Flashbacks weren’t that unusual for combat veterans and she’d had a few before now, but this last one was a real doozy. The noise of the thunder and sudden change in the air pressure had resembled the moments around when the bomb detonated. She remembered being pushed down into blackness when the bomb had gone off in the café. Snatches of the minutes after the bomb floated through her memory.

The cries.

The moans.

The stickiness of blood on her face.

And the metallic smell of blood and biting smell of cordite.

Through the panic this afternoon, a prayer had pierced the nightmare. The words had been a lifeline in the sea of pain and terror that she’d grabbed on to and held until the nightmare receded. When the world had come back into focus, Caleb’s strong arms had surrounded her. He’d smelled of man and wet horse, which had been a blessing and comfort. It was reality that she held on to.

She’d feared Caleb might ask what was wrong, but he hadn’t. And he hadn’t ratted her out to her brother when he’d had the opportunity.

“I think those marshmallows are ready,” Caleb whispered.

Jerking the marshmallows back, she pushed one onto the graham cracker he held.

“Thanks.”

Kaye nodded, thinking she was the one who should thank him. She breathed a sigh of relief, and the knot in her stomach eased. Caleb had just won her respect. And gratitude. When she looked at him, there was no disdain in his eyes, simply understanding.

“Whoever would’ve thought we’d be roasting our dinner over the fireplace,” Gramps grumbled. “I remember it wasn’t until I was eight before my folks got electricity at their ranch. I liked the convenience.”

“Well, tomorrow’s going to be a big day. After the insurance man comes, I’m going shopping. If y’all want any input into the purchases, you’d better come with me.”

“You can do that, Sis. We’ve got a lot to do here.”

“You know better what appliances we need,” Gramps added.

“Fine, but I think we don’t need that big a TV again. It seems a bit extreme.” That brought both of them up short.

Gramps opened his mouth, but Joel beat him to the punch. “Just do it in the afternoon, Sis. We need to care for the stock.”

“Not a problem.” Kaye swallowed her grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the mirth in Caleb’s face. This wasn’t the first time she’d maneuvered around obstinate men.

* * *

Kaye couldn’t sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, the smell of burned wood filled her lungs, reminding her of her flashback and the horror of cresting that last hill and seeing her home on fire. Or of a burning café in Baghdad.

She threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed, looking around for her beat-up jeans. She threw off her sleep shirt, slipped on her army-issued T-shirt and her running shoes and headed for the barn. She needed to check on Midnight. They’d both had a tough day.

Slipping out the kitchen door, she noticed that the moon washed the charred remains of the porch in silver light. It didn’t look as stark in moonlight, but with daylight the ugly scars would be there again.

She identified with that. She looked okay from the outside, but if you shone sunlight on her, you could see the burned and damaged parts. Her legs were crossed with cuts and burns, and she had massive scars from the surgery.

When she walked into the barn, the warm, comforting scent of horse filled her lungs, replacing the biting, charred smell of wood. She walked down the stalls and stopped at Midnight’s. She slipped inside and softly crooned to the horse. Midnight woke and turned to her.

“Sorry, girl, for waking you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Obviously, you are.” Kaye rubbed the horse’s muzzle. The horse snorted and nodded her head. Kaye slipped out of the stall, grabbed a curry brush and went back inside. “I didn’t mean to freak out on you.” With long strokes she worked the brush over the horse’s flank. “This time was... There weren’t words for this afternoon.”

That fact rattled Kaye. And of course, that memory was joined by other hidden memories lurking in this house. All the joy and laughter of her childhood drowned out by the sorrow that had reigned those last months of high school. She’d tried to remain numb her last months home, but thoughts of her folks had kept ambushing her. Her mom wasn’t there to help her pick out a dress for prom if she’d gone, and her dad didn’t get to see her graduate. Grandma never showed her how to make her special Chess pie. They were all gone in an instant.

Her hand stilled on Midnight’s side as she tried to catch her breath. “Lord, I’m drowning. I need something to hold on to. What am I going to do?”

She heard Razor in the next stall. She looked at Midnight and whispered, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Kaye slipped out of Midnight’s stall and walked to Razor’s half door. “I don’t think you’re who God sent, my friend.” Putting down the curry brush on the half door, she rubbed the horse’s nose.

“I don’t know. Razor’s a godsend for a lot of cowboys.”

Instinct took over and she dropped to a crouch, ready to fight. Caleb stood at the barn’s side door. She relaxed, then tensed, wondering how much of her conversation had he heard. Well, she’d just gut her way through. “What are you doing up?”

“I could ask the same.” Caleb walked toward her. “I heard someone out here, then Razor moving, so I came to investigate. With all that’s happened today, I thought it wise.” He had on jeans, a T-shirt and flip-flops. He walked to her side. “You couldn’t sleep, either?”

“Yeah.”

She needed to thank him for helping her through the storm and not mentioning it to her family. As she searched for the best way to say it, he said, “Things around here haven’t been dull. I think there’s more excitement than Joel, Gramps or I could’ve come up with.

“Putting out fires and lifting tractors wasn’t something I imagined doing when I came to spend a little time with Joel and Gramps.” His grin punctuated his words.

“Does that mean you’re going to desert us?” She tried to force as much lightness as she could into the words, but they sounded desperate to her ears.

His expression lost all humor. “No. I promised you I’d help, and I keep my promises.”

Instantly, she knew this man had been let down by someone he trusted and would not break his word.

“Have you changed your mind about working as the pick-up rider?”

“No. But I could recommend someone.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer.” She paused, wanting to find the right words. “Thank you for not saying anything to Joel and Gramps about what happened out there in the storm.” She swallowed. “That lightning strike was so much like... I heard the boom and felt that pressure and sizzle and suddenly...”

“You don’t have to explain.”

Kaye closed her eyes and nodded, shamed by her weakness. And she wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about her memories.

Razor butted her shoulder, throwing her off balance. Caleb caught her. She looked up into his face, and for an instant there was that connection again. Their moment was spoiled when Razor butted her once more. The horse’s persistence made her smile. “Is he always so contrary?”

“I warned you about him.”

She picked up the curry brush, walked into the stall and began brushing him.

Caleb laughed. “You, my friend,” he addressed Razor, “know how to manipulate folks.”

“No, he’s not a manipulator. Razor is honest in what he wants, unlike my ex-husband.” The words were out of her mouth before she thought about them. Her loose lips shocked her. Well, she certainly was airing all her dirty laundry today, wasn’t she?

Caleb continued to stroke Razor’s nose. “You’re right. Razor’s honest in what he wants and doesn’t choose to hurt others to satisfy his own needs.”

Ah, he’d been hurt, too.

Kaye continued to brush the horse but refused to look at him again, knowing that they’d both said too much.

After several minutes of silence, she looked up. Caleb was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t know how to feel. How was she going to face him tomorrow?

* * *

By the time she walked into the kitchen at eight in the morning, Caleb and Joel were long gone. Someone had taken down the old coffeepot that her grandmother used, plugged it in and there was coffee. She’d spent the night fighting different nightmares. Finally, around four o’clock, she started praying and the last thing she remembered was singing “Amazing Grace” in her mind.

“’Bout time you hauled yourself outta bed,” Gramps mumbled as he walked into the kitchen. “You army folks get up this late?”

“Good morning to you, too.” She brushed a kiss across his purplish cheek. “I’m glad you found Grandma’s coffeepot.”

His eyes took on a faraway look. “I remember the first time she made coffee in that pot. Your ma was only a teenager.” He shook off the sad feeling. “Your brother and Caleb made coffee and peanut-butter sandwiches and left.”

The blown toaster sitting beside the coffeepot had belonged to Grandma, too. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat at the table and slowly looked around the kitchen, taking in her mother’s stove and refrigerator. The blender and expensive freestanding mixer had thankfully survived since they weren’t plugged in. Mom had saved for six months to get that mixer.

Gramps put the bread and peanut butter on the table. “You might as well make yourself a sandwich.” He sat down beside her. “You okay, girl?”

Her head snapped up. “Why would you ask?”

Gramps grabbed her hand. “’Cause my face looks better than yours.”

She winced and opened her mouth to argue, but she understood what Gramps was saying. “The stove, refrigerator—they were all picked out by Mom and Grandma.”

Gramps folded his hand over hers. “They’re just things.”

“But there’s memories,” she whispered, her throat closing up.

“True, and to be sure they’re good ones, Brenda Lynn, but they are only things. We needed to replace half those things before nature took care of that. You should cherish those memories, girl, but you gotta make peace with them.”

His point hit too close to home. She slathered the peanut butter on a piece of bread and took a bite. With her mouth full, she didn’t have to respond.

Before Gramps could say more, there was a knock at the front door. She sprang to her feet, eager to leave the conversation, and saw an old schoolmate through the glass in the door. She opened the door. “Bryan?”

“Hey, Brenda. Long time, no see.”

She’d gone through all twelve years of school with Bryan Danvers. “It has been a few years. What are you doing here?”

“I’m your insurance agent.” He pointed to the embroidered shirt pocket with the name of the insurance company. “You had a lightning strike?” He looked down at his clipboard.

“We did, and all the males in this house are mourning the death of that sixty-inch TV.”

He clutched his chest. “Ouch. I can understand their grief. Why don’t you show me where this crime occurred?”

So male. “Follow me.”

* * *

Caleb rode slowly up to the stand of trees where Kaye and he’d taken shelter yesterday. A section of grass close to the river was blackened where the lightning had touched down.

Razor’s head came up.

“It’s okay.” Caleb patted his mount’s neck. “I know this place makes you nervous, but there’s nothing here now.”

He’d lain awake last night going over in his head Kaye’s limited confession. Flashbacks were normal, and that was what worried him if he got back in the arena with bucking horses—he might freeze up, leaving the cowboy hanging. He worked in tandem with another pick-up rider, but moments made the difference in saving a cowboy and him being hurt.

When the sound of another rider pierced his brain, he turned in his saddle and saw Joel riding toward him. “Any cattle down here?”

Shaking off the memories, Caleb answered, “I haven’t looked yet.”

Joel’s brow knitted into a frown. He scanned the area and saw the blackened spot down by the stream. “Is this where you and my sister took shelter?”

“No, it was in the stand of trees there.” He pointed.

Leaning on the saddle horn, Joel asked, “Did something else happen here? Sis kinda looked panicked when I asked where you two were.”

Caleb knew Kaye didn’t want her brother to know about her flashback, but Joel’s friendship meant a great deal to him. And Caleb knew if his brother had a need, he would want to know. “Let’s say that you should pray for your sister.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know you know how to pray, and you might pray for me, too.”

Joel sat up, ready to press more questions.

“Let’s see if there are any strays down here.” Before Joel could comment, Caleb headed down to the river. If his friend questioned him too much, he just might guess what happened, and Caleb wouldn’t do that to Kaye.

* * *

Anything that was electronic in the house was fried. They documented every appliance and lamp. Thankfully, Joel’s laptop hadn’t been charging or they would’ve lost all the rodeo information, too. As Bryan took pictures of the damage, he updated Kaye on nearly all the sixty kids who’d been in their graduating class. Bryan took pictures of the porch and had Kaye sign the report.

“Can we start the cleanup of the porch?” Kaye asked, Gramps standing behind her. The charred smell brought too many memories.

“Yes, since I’ve got everything documented here. And those cell phone pictures, you can email them to me. By Friday, I should have the check for you, so do you need anything before then?”

“You going to be delivering dinner for us?” Gramps asked.

Bryan looked like he’d run into a wall but quickly recovered. “You were always a teaser, weren’t you, Mr. Kaye?”

Gramps scowled. “I wasn’t teasing. We’ve got no way to keep anything cold, and peanut-butter sandwiches aren’t on my list—”

Kaye touched Gramps’s arm. “You should probably get another cup of coffee, Gramps. I’ll hash things out with Bryan.”

With his lips pursed in a straight line, Gramps eyed the insurance adjuster and walked away.

“Did your grandfather get those bruises when the lightning strike happened?”

“No.” She explained about the accident. “I’m sorry, Bryan, Gramps is a little off his stride.”

“I understand. If a tractor fell on me and all the appliances in my house got fried, I’d be a little out of sorts, too.” He walked to his car, opened his trunk and pulled two hundred dollars out of a cash box. “This is for immediate expenses. If you need anything else, call.”

After Bryan finished, Kaye walked around the house and made a list of what needed to be replaced. Joel called, telling Kaye fences were down and cattle scattered. They needed to round them up. Kaye took pity on him and told him they couldn’t get the insurance money until Friday, so they’d shop on Saturday after the meeting.

That night, Cheryl, Bryan’s wife, drove up to the house and delivered a pot of stew and biscuits.

Kaye hugged Cheryl, thanking her.

“That’s what neighbors are for. I’m glad to see you home.”

When they sat down for dinner, Kaye nailed Gramps with a look. “Did you thank Cheryl?”

Both Joel’s and Caleb’s eyes widened and they exchanged panicked looks.

Gramps put down his spoon. “I did. I thanked her and told her to thank her husband for the help. Sometimes I’m a cranky old man. Cheryl laughed and kissed my cheek.”

“Good for you, Gramps.”

* * *

After dinner, Joel, Caleb and Kaye worked on cleaning the porch. Gramps wanted to help, but Kaye convinced him if he sat in the kitchen chair on the porch and directed the work, it would be better.

Caleb could only marvel at Kaye’s ability to change Gramps’s mind.

“She’s good,” Caleb whispered as Joel handed Caleb a push broom.

“That’s why I wanted her to do the rodeo.” Joel looked over his shoulder as Kaye settled Gramps into the chair.

“Okay, can you see from there, Gramps?” Kaye asked.

“I can, but y’all need to get moving. Sun’s going down and we don’t have light.”

Caleb wanted to laugh. Kaye didn’t take offense. The three of them worked together. Joel got on a ladder and looked at the roof. He took a broom with him and from his perch pushed debris through the remains of the roof. Caleb picked up the large shingles and pieces of wood. Kaye swept the floor.

Caleb caught Kaye pausing, and he watched her struggle with her emotions. When she looked up, there weren’t tears in her eyes as he expected, but determination. She finished sweeping, and if he hadn’t seen her “moment” he never would’ve known how she felt. Joel and Gramps didn’t see it, but he did and somehow, some way, she touched his heart in a way he didn’t understand, leaving him confused and wary.

* * *

The whirlwind of more insurance adjusters, repairmen and visits to the local hardware store became a blessing for Kaye over the next two days because the instant she stopped, she’d see something her mother or grandmother loved and the memories assaulted her, bruising her heart. They were heartaches and feelings she wasn’t ready to deal with.

Kaye made trips to the store for ice, where she discovered their neighbor to the north, John Burkett, had also had a lightning strike. It had hit a tree, and the tree had taken out the corner of their house, but other than Burkett Ranch, every other rancher had escaped damage from the storm.