The warm sun soon shone on
them. The team had had a nice rest with
only a couple jaunts under a saddle to view the cattle. They were ready to move at a quick ground
covering walk until late afternoon when Slade pulled them over into a sheltered
place behind some rocks. He took the
harness from them and rubbed their backs and legs with a piece of sacking. He attached a lead rope to each and gave them
each a wide circle to graze or just stand in the sun. While they nosed around and Ellen made a
quick pot of coffee Slade gave each of them a pail of water, which the politely
sipped but didn’t seem to crave.
He returned to the wagon and
stretched out on the ground with his back against a wheel. Ellen gave him a cup
of coffee and the Senora presented him with two of her delectable galletas.
“Mmmm! I thought those were all gone!” One of the sweet Spanish biscuits disappeared
into his mouth. When it was chomped
enough for him to close his lips he took a sip of coffee.
The Senora raised her eyebrow as
she looked at Ellen. “I think we had
better take our own right now or we won’t get any. He doesn’t look like he is ready to be
polite!”
She set the plate on the tail of
the wagon and took her own cookies. She
too sat on the ground against the other wheel.
Ellen took the only rock and crossed her legs primly.
“At least one of us knows how to
act properly during tea—I mean, ‘coffee.’ Mmmm.”
They rested for a few more
minutes while the horses nibbled the tips of plants and one of them rolled
vigorously in the dust. Raven slumbered
under the wagon. Slade snoozed with his
chin on his chest.
Ellen stood up and prodded Slade’s
ribs with her toe. “C’mon, lazy
boy! Let’s get going or we will have to
spend the night on the road.”
The Senora was busy putting
things away. She had rinsed the coffee
pot and replaced it. The bucket was back
in its place on the side of the wagon.
Slade sighed and heaved himself to his feet. Ellen had already brought the one horse to
the front of the wagon. He proceeded to hitch
it up while she returned for the other.
Both ropes were coiled and in
place when he was finished. He picked
Ellen up and put her in the wagon while she squealed in surprise. He offered his hand to the Senora who looked
at him doubtfully but let him boost her gently into the wagon. She seemed a little worried he would swing her
into the air, too. The horses nodded
their heads and started out with renewed enthusiasm. Raven trotted along beside them
The sun sank below the western
horizon but before it could get too dark to travel the three quarter moon shone
its brightness over the road. The
horses’ enthusiasm had faded but they were no where being too tired and Slade
allowed them to continue at their own pace.
Raven paced close to the wagon and looked up at Ellen so hopefully that
she had Slade pause for the dog to scramble up beside her. The Senora moved
from her seat to pillow her head on the pile of bedding and was napping off and
on. Slade wrapped an arm around Ellen
and they leaned on each other in the dimness.
There were no sounds except the occasional cry of a night bird.
Ellen lost track of time and
Slade simply leaned his cheek against the top of her head. He remembered the nights he had spent alone
with only Fetcher for company. He
thought of the night he found her frozen on her horse and how tiny she had
looked in the oversized shawl with her hair in wild waves around her head. Then the night he was stomped by the steer
came to mind. The picture of her materializing
on Roja out of the darkness with Fetcher leading the way floated before his
eyes. She had been willing to stay there
in the middle of the rocks and brush as long as he needed her. Instead she had struggled to get him on the
horse and they had followed Fetcher back home in the blowing snow. In all of the dramatic events he had fallen in
love with her. It was still an amazing
thing to him. He hugged her tightly.
At some point Ellen realized that
Slade, with his cheek on her head had fallen asleep. He still held the reins but they were simply
threaded loosely through his hand limp between his knees. She stretched one hand, being careful not to
disturb his balance against her and retrieved the reins. Her hands were not big enough to hold all of
them together but she took them gently and flipped them over the horses’
backs. They blew through their nostrils
and nodded their heads. She hadn’t
intended to hurry them, but they picked up their pace slightly.
Ellen reviewed the last few days
in her mind. As horrible as her
premonitions had been, Slade’s presence as they walked through the rooms of the
house erased them. Now her memories were
of his strong arm around her shoulders when she looked at the table where Viejo
had pounded his gun hilt demanding wine, food, meat what ever. She remembered his gentle kisses on her head
when she stood in the doorway of the room where she had first been raped and
his presence beside her at every other site that reduced her to trembling
weakness. And she remembered how he had
praised her as they stood in the door of the pantry where she had swung the bar
hard enough to knock the man unconscious.
That single event had most haunted her.
As evil as the man had been, until she woke to see his face in the
hotel, she thought she had killed him. But
that made her remember Slade’s anger at the foolish deputy when he had maligned
her for shooting the impostor, “Jose Aguilar.”
His loud justification warmed her heart and she could still hear him
demanding that the sheriff himself be summoned.
Only one short year, not even a
full year yet, and she marveled at how much had happened. Here she found herself, a wife, secure under
her husband’s love and protection. And
still there were decisions to be made.
How were they to oversee two separate pieces of land both of which were
valuable and needed the owner there full time?
She deliberated their options as the horses continued their constant
pace.
The moon travelled its path up
the sky until it was very nearly directly over head. Slade roused to the frightening realization
that he was no longer holding the reins of the team. He jerked up with a start and looked
around. Ellen laughed at him.
“Don’t worry. I have the horses. You’ve been sleeping a long time. I’m not sure but I think we are almost to
town. I was about to wake you!”
“Ohh,oooh.” Slade groaned. “My neck is stiff and my back hurts. I’m not sure my knees will work.” He sat up straight and stretched his arms and
shoulders. He groaned again. “You are going to have to stop. I have to get down for a minute…”
Ellen pulled the horses up in the
center of the road. There had been no
traffic for their entire trip. At first
they had been off the well traveled road and by the time they had reached what
would have been the busier stretch, it was too late for regular travelers. Slade jumped down and then turned to help
her. They made a quick trip to the
bushes and rocks to relieve themselves and then walked back and forth on the
road for a couple minutes restoring the circulation in their legs and feet.
“You’re right. We are nearly in town. If it wasn’t so dark we could see the outer
buildings. Let’s hurry. I’m anxious for a bed!” He laughed as the climbed back in the wagon.
Sure enough the outskirts of town
were right ahead of them and the buildings began to show up through the dimness. At corner of the short street where Senora
della Cruz’s house was located, Slade turned the horses and Ellen called to the
lady.
“Senora! We are here.
You are home!”
The Senora roused and sat up,
stretching. “I’ve slept so long? I’m sorry.
I should have stayed awake. Where
are we?” She looked out at her own
neighborhood and Slade pulled the horses up before her small house.
She stood up and swayed until
Slade’s strong arm reached up to support her.
“Be careful, ma’am. Let me
help.” He steadied her while she stepped
to the back of the wagon and slid down.
When she was steady on her feet he released her and reached in for her
things.
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