Loving a Rebel, page 12
part #1 of Glory, Montana Series
She reined in on a hill that overlooked the town. Why did she have this incredible urge at times to ride away? Was Kade right? Was she trying to outrun something? That didn’t make sense, but she couldn’t think what else it might be.
Maybe she was searching for something. But what? She had a good, loving home. She had kind sisters. Her brother, Josh, was gone. She missed him, but it didn’t make sense to think she could find him by riding hard.
Besides, this urge had surfaced long before Josh left.
Why this restlessness?
She turned Dollar to the south. Without having made a decision to do so, she rode toward Kade’s place. Talking to him seemed to help ease her restlessness.
Half an hour later, she reached his house and called his name. When she received no answer, she opened the door. The house was empty. So was the barn and the outbuildings. She rode toward the cows. They still grazed contentedly in the sheltered pasture. But Kade wasn’t there.
What did she expect? That he would hang around waiting for her to drop in?
Her gaze went to the trees where the grizzly had gone. What if he’d encountered the bear? Her heart jolted. Maybe he lay somewhere, injured, bleeding— horrible images filled her mind. There was only one way to calm her fears.
Slowly, cautiously, she made her way around the herd toward the river, pausing often to strain for any sound that would indicate the nearby presence of a bear or a man moaning in pain.
She reached the river and leaned over Dollar’s neck to study the tracks. Not that she was good at it. She saw a paw print that was wider than her hand. Then she made out a set of tracks from a horse. But she didn’t know what it meant. She had no way of judging if the bear sign was new or from Saturday.
Or if the horse was Kade riding up the river or someone else.
A tremor raced across her shoulders and she carefully studied her surroundings. Was the bear watching her from nearby or even some man? Had the sheriff let Eagle Pete out of jail?
She reined about, made her way through the trees, then galloped toward home. She slowed the pace once she could see the town. By the time she reached the yard, Dollar had cooled off.
Ma watched her approach and shook her head.
Flora tended her horse, rearranged her skirts, and braided her hair. Knowing what to expect with her wild hair, she’d taken to keeping a store of ties in the stable. She selected one to secure the braid.
Ma stood in the doorway to the house, waiting for her.
“Ma, I’m sorry I am such a disappointment to you.”
Ma gave her a hug. “Child, it isn’t that I’m disappointed. I’m worried. Since the day you came to us, you have had this urge to run. I thought you’d outgrown it, but lately it’s back, worse than ever. Child, what makes you want to run away?”
“Oh, Ma, I’m not running away. I love you. I love my family. But there are times I feel like I have to escape or I’ll burst at the seams.”
“Flora, all I can do is pray you will find your peace.”
“Thanks, Ma.” Kade had said something similar. How odd that they both seemed to know what she needed when she didn’t. She could perhaps understand Ma being able to see Flora more clearly than she saw herself. But Kade? It didn’t make sense. She barely knew him.
He barely knew her.
Flora flung from her bed Wednesday morning and rushed downstairs without putting her hair up.
Ma and Pa looked up at her hurried entrance into the kitchen.
“What’s for breakfast?” she asked. “What do you need me to do?”
Ma handed her a bowl of thin porridge. “Take this to Stella and make sure she eats it all.”
“It looks like baby food.”
“Her stomach is still weak. Send the children out and I’ll feed them.”
Flora’s sisters descended and the kitchen was soon a flurry of activity. Flora hurried to take care of Stella.
She prowled the room as Stella ate.
“You’re restless today,” Stella said.
“I get like this sometimes.”
“Why? What’s bothering you?”
Flora plunked down on the chair by the bed. “I don’t know.” This restlessness was different than what she’d felt yesterday. She had no urge to ride away. In fact, she didn’t want to leave.
“Maybe you’re missing Kade.” Stella’s words fell into Flora’s brain like they meant to stay.
She considered them a moment. “Maybe.”
“He’s a nice-looking young man.”
Flora chuckled. “I’ll tell him you said so. If I see him again.”
“Don’t you tell him.” Stella’s cheeks flared with color. “And you’ll see him again. Mark my words.”
Flora tipped her head to study Stella. “How can you say that with such assurance?”
“Because I’ve seen how he looks at you.”
“With dismay.”
“No. The two of you worked like one when you found me and the children.”
“That was because it was a crisis.”
“No. It was because you fit together.”
Flora pushed to her feet. “Are you done?”
“Yes, thank you. If I’ve offended you, I’m sorry.”
Flora stilled her urgency to leave. “I’m not offended, but I don’t see it as you do.”
Stella’s smile seemed to contain a world of wisdom. “That’s all right.”
Flora joined the others for breakfast, then helped do the morning chores, which she could probably do in her sleep they were so familiar. Ma announced it was time to prepare the garden for spring planting.
“Can I do it?” Flora asked. She much preferred being outdoors. And hard work would be an antidote to her restlessness.
“I thought you’d like to.”
A little later, Flora straightened from digging the soil. It smelled fresh and promising. She’d finish before dinner, and the family would work together in the afternoon to plant the seeds. Donny dug in the dirt at one end of the garden. The boy sure did like digging.
Her gaze searched the road going south. Would he come?
Why should she think he might? Why should she care if he did or didn’t? She jabbed the shovel into the ground and turned over another scoop of dirt.
Donny stood up. “Someone coming.”
A rider approached from the south. It was Kade. It was all Flora could do not to run out and meet him on the road.
Kade saw Flora standing in the garden. Strands of her hair fell around her shoulders, catching the sunshine. Like Donny said, her hair looked like it was on fire.
He skirted the church and rode directly to her.
She watched him, shading her eyes with her hand and making it impossible for him to see what she was thinking. Was she glad to see him? Or had she been relieved not to have him around? The clock was ticking on her father’s decree to persuade her to want to marry him. Ten days left.
He jumped to the ground and stood at the edge of the garden. “Hi.” He knew he sounded tentative, and he was.
“Where have you been?”
He grinned. “You missed me.”
“I worried about you.” She jabbed the shovel into the dirt. “I rode out there yesterday. Your house was empty. I checked your herd. The cows looked fine.” She turned over the soil. He glanced past her and saw the entire garden except for this last corner had been worked.
She continued, her words sharp. “Then I got to thinking about that grizzly and rode to the river to make sure it hadn’t circled back and attacked you.” She jabbed the shovel into the ground with a force that made him wince.
“It’s nice to know you care.”
Another stab of the shovel. “Who says I care?”
He laughed. “Let’s see. You ride out to see me, and when I’m not there you begin to worry about me. Yup, you care.”
She leaned the shovel against the fence and crossed to plant herself toe to toe with him. “Where were you?”
He caught her hand. “Walk with me and I’ll tell you.” He preferred to have her alone without the curious study of a little boy and the interest of her sisters as they crowded to the window to watch.
She looked toward the house, then nodded. “A walk is a good idea.”
The town ended at the back of the yard and they strode toward the river. The warm sun had dried up the last of the late spring storm. Green grass tinted the ground.
They came upon the river a distance from where they’d sat on the bench Sunday and instead sat on the grassy slope, watching the water ripple past.
“You want to know where I was the last two days?”
“I guess.”
He laughed, finding pleasure in the way she pretended she wasn’t almost overcome with curiosity. He decided to tease her a little. “Well, if you aren’t interested…” He waited. How long before she would demand he say?
She sighed. “Fine. Tell me.”
“You sure?”
She faced him. “Kade, just tell me, okay?”
“Fine. I will.” He caught a strand of her hair and tugged it gently. “Monday morning I decided I had to make sure the grizzly was not going to return and help himself to one of my calves, so I started tracking him.”
She shuddered. “It’s pretty risky tracking a hungry bear.”
He shifted his hand from her hair to her shoulder. “I was careful. I don’t take unnecessary risks.”
Their gazes caught and held. She searched deep. He let her, searching equally deep. They had begun this conversation when she ended up in his house during the storm. He had said similar words then, but they felt different now. Had talking to her, listening to her views on risks, understanding a little about why she ran, changed him? Had being with him changed her at all?
“Good to know.” Her voice seemed deeper than usual. “What did you find?” She meant his tracking.
“I followed the tracks for a distance, then the bear left the river and veered to the south. I kept following, thinking he was hungry and circling back to the easy pickings of spring calves.” His hand still rested on her shoulder. She might have pressed into his hand or he might have imagined it.
“The bear meandered about. I could see where he unearthed a den of some smaller animal. Might have been a rabbit.” A patch of blood indicated the bear had managed to capture something to eat. “I saw where he’d nosed through some berry bushes hoping to find something. He went into a stand of trees.” Flora shivered.
Kade enjoyed a moment of knowing she feared for his safety. “I rode around the edges looking for tracks to indicate the bear had left the trees. I found them and continued to follow the trail.” He paused, still dismayed from what he’d found.
“I came upon a homesteader. The bear had been there.”
Flora gasped.
“It wasn’t as bad as it might have been. The farmer had a milk cow. The bear must have threatened her or simply frightened her. She’d panicked and ran into the wire fence. Somehow, she’d gotten tangled in it. And of course, the more she struggled, the worse it got.” It was distressing to see her torn and bleeding.” I helped to free her, but it took quite a bit of time. We doctored up her wounds. By then it was almost dark, so I accepted the invitation to spend the night with the man and his little family. He has a wife and two young sons.”
“Good idea. That was Monday.”
He heard what she didn’t say. Where was he Tuesday? He grinned. “I know you missed me.”
She looked at the river, avoiding his gaze.
He chuckled. “Wouldn’t hurt to admit it.” Then he continued his story.
“The next morning, I started tracking the bear again. Midafternoon, I saw him in the distance. He was on the ground, not moving. The farmer had said he shot at the bear but didn’t think he hit it. I wondered if he was mistaken. I rode a bit closer. I didn’t want to alert the bear to my presence, especially if it was wounded and cranky. Then I saw the bear had a carcass. He’d found something to eat. I don’t think he’ll be back.”
“Sure hope not.”
He finished the story. “I made my way home after that. Stopped to check on the farmer. He was worried about his cow, so I had a look. I think she was mostly still agitated, but I helped him clean her wounds again and put on salve. Then I rode home.” It was late in the day by the time he arrived and although he was weary, he still considered riding to town to spend some time with Flora. Instead, he’d decided to head for town first thing the next morning.
“And now here I am.”
She grinned at him. “If I’d known you were coming, I would have baked a chocolate cake.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he’d be there every day in the hopes of making her agreeable to marrying him, but if he said that, she would resist his courting.
In the distance, someone called, “Dinner.”
“I think that’s for us.” Flora held out her hand to invite him to accompany her.
He did so, anticipating a good meal and the hope of the rest of the day in her company.
Preacher Kinsley greeted him with a look that seemed to say it was about time he showed up and got serious about his courting.
Throughout the meal the girls amused him with their teasing and their questions.
He helped do the dishes afterwards though the girls all protested. Flora grinned at them. “He’s mighty handy in the kitchen.”
A beat of silence, heavy and surprised, greeted her remark, and then the girls all began to talk at once.
He tried to think why they had reacted that way then realized it was because she referred to the two days they’d spent together unchaperoned. Even her own sisters found it startling. He couldn’t imagine what those outside the family would think.
Except he could. He must work harder at winning her over to the idea of marriage.
He went to the parlor to speak to her pa. “I’d like to take Flora riding this afternoon.”
“In trousers?”
He didn’t answer, because the man knew the answer and simply had to express his displeasure.
The preacher waved him away as if to say, she’ll soon be your problem.
Kade was getting used to the idea. Indeed, he didn’t find it the trial he might have not very long ago.
He returned to the kitchen. “Do you want to go with me to check on my cows?” he asked her.
Her eyes lit. “Can I change?”
He nodded and she raced up the stairs. He faced Eve.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said.
“I believe I do.”
Eve studied him a long moment. “She’s my little sister, and I would not want anything to happen to her.”
“It won’t.”
Flora clattered down the stairs, grabbed his hand and, laughing, half dragged him out the door. She saddled her horse and swung to his back, where she sat grinning at him.
“I don’t know how you persuaded Pa to let me do this.”
He’d assumed she knew why he was spending so much time with her although, at the same time, he hoped she didn’t. Knowing would make her resistant.
But not knowing made his secret seem underhanded.
What would happen if she learned the truth?
Chapter 13
Over the next few days as Flora spent time with Kade, she wondered over and over why Pa wasn’t objecting to her riding with Kade or Ma didn’t complain that she was neglecting her share of the chores. But she wasn’t going to ask for an explanation and perhaps bring an end to her enjoyment.
On Friday, Kade said, “Would you like to go see the falls tomorrow?”
She fairly jumped at the idea. “Yes.”
“Let’s make a day of it.”
“I’ll bring a picnic.” She grinned at him, barely able to contain her excitement. “I thought you would forget your offer to take me.”
“Sure didn’t.”
She patted his shoulder. “Good thing. What time shall we go?”
“I’ll leave home as soon as it’s light.”
As soon as he left, she rushed inside. “I’m going to make a picnic for us tomorrow,” she announced, not caring who heard her.
“Can I come?” Donny asked.
“It will too long a day for you.”
Ma looked about to protest when she heard about Flora planning a long day, but a glance from Pa and Ma lifted her hands in resignation.
Flora looked from one to the other. Had they decided they no longer cared what she did? Was she somehow not worthy of their concern after being stranded with Kade?
And then Eve asked, “Where are you going?”
“To a waterfall.” She opened the cupboards. “What will I take? Ma, can I have this leftover chicken?”
“Go ahead. There isn’t enough to make a meal from it.”
Eve and Flora looked at each other and grinned. Ma could turn almost anything into a meal. Soup at the least.
“I’ll make a cake.” She pulled out the bowl and pan and soon had a chocolate cake in the oven. Should she make sandwiches or more of a dinner?
She recalled the simple lunch they’d shared a few days ago—why that would be almost a week ago.
Simple seemed to suit them so she made sandwiches, wrapped two dill pickles, and as soon as the cake was baked and cooled, iced it. Everything was ready for tomorrow. Now all she had to do was wait…something she’d never been good at.
She could hardly sit through supper and forced herself to appear calm. But when she went to bed, she wondered if she had succeeded.
“You’re sure excited,” Eve whispered as they lay side by side in the dark.
“I can’t wait to see the waterfalls. I wonder what they’re called.”
From the bed across the room, Josie laughed. “Are you sure it’s just because you’re going to see the waterfalls?”
“I’d love to see them,” Victoria said.
“Maybe Flora would take you along.” Josie made it sound like Flora was waiting for someone to suggest it.
“We’re going on horseback.” Flora managed to keep her voice regretful.
Her three sisters laughed.
“What? I know Victoria doesn’t want to spend the day riding a horse.”
