Echoes of the Heart (49 page)

           
“So
how does it feel to be a stuffy old senator?”

           
Cash
laughed.
 
“It’s not as bad as I
thought.
 
I actually enjoy parts of the
job.
 
I am however disappointed about the
outcome, but I will never accept defeat.”

           
“I’m
sure you won’t.
 
It is part of your
remarkable character.”
 
Her bright smile
radiated, made her appear more youthful.

           
“You
sure know how to flatter a guy.
 
It is
nice seeing you again.
 
I need to get
going.”

           
“You
come to dinner next Friday.
 
I will have
Sadie bake one of her famous apple pies.”

           
“Then
I guess I’ll be there.
 
Better make it
two pies.
 
I can eat one myself.”

           
On
leaving, he glanced around the rooms, feeling them lacking without the presence
of Raeden smiling and fluttering about.

           
He
had wanted to ask after Raeden, but his pride would not allow him to.

           
Cash
greeted people from the town as they passed and eyed his surroundings carrying
the gift for Angie on the way to the saloon.
 
Met with open arms, he bent down to lay a kiss on her mouth then handed
her the box.
 
“A little something I
picked up in D. C.”

           
Her
face beamed with delight as she placed it on a table and looked inside to
reveal a dress and hat.
 
“Cash, it’s
beautiful.”
 
She lifted out a pale blue
muslin day dress the color of her eyes and frilly white crinoline
petticoats.
 
Atop her head, she placed
the white hat trimmed with a blue silk scarf, tying under her chin.
 
Still in the box lay kid glove ankle shoes
and a drawstring bag.

           
Tears
filled her eyes when she kissed him.
 
“Thanks, Cash, you have no idea how much this means to me.
 
Will you be in town awhile?
 
Can you stay for a drink?”

           
“Not
now.
 
I will see you Friday.”
 
He pushed through the batwing doors and
turned toward the jail.

           
John’s
brows lifted and his blue eyes slanted in a smile when Cash entered his office,
and he moved to shake hands.
 
His
deliberate stride and air of confidence told Cash he had everything under
control.

           
“Cash,
you old Billy goat, it’s good to see you, buddy.”
 
He held Cash’s hand in both of his while
giving it a vigorous shake.

           
Cash’s
mouth curled upward.
 
“Just thought I
would drop by to see how you have messed things up.”

           
“No
more than you always did.”
 
When the
smile left John’s face and his brow descended, Cash guessed what would come
next.

           
“Do
you ever hear from Rae?
 
Diane tells me
she is doing well in New York.”

           
The
air became heavy while Cash collected his thoughts.
 
“I received a letter once.
 
She didn’t say anything personal.”
 
The letter actually came from her solicitor
but he did not feel the need to mention such a minor detail.

           
“You
know, Cash, she is a special person and everyone loves her.
 
How could you let her slip away?
 
A lot of us knew how much she loved you.
 
If you hadn’t been so stubborn, maybe things
would be different.”
 
A cloud of sadness
fell over his gaze.

           
Why
not just tell him?
 
It really doesn’t
matter.
 
It’s none of his business but
what the hell?
 
Cash made a decision to
level, while he put a foot in a chair and leaned on his knee.
 
“You’re right.
 
I am stubborn.
 
However, she is the most obstinate women I
have ever met.
 
We can’t come to terms
about what is essential.”
 
He pulled a
cigar out of his shirt pocket and struck a match on his jeans.
 
After a long draw, he continued.

           
“She
doesn’t appreciate the magnitude of the fate of the Indians and I certainly
don’t understand her obsession with being so damned independent.
 
Our marriage doesn’t stand a chance in hell.”
 
He dropped his foot to the floor.
 
“She wants an annulment and I guess I can’t
blame her.”

           
John
sat at his desk and lit a cigar.
 
“I’m
certainly sorry to hear it, you are both friends of mine, and I wanted it to
work out.”

           
They
continued with small talk until Cash, with a quick jab to John’s arm, made his
exit and with no further business to settle, rode to catch up with Slim.

           
Cash
sat next to Slim in the buckboard while he filled him in on recent happenings
at the ranch.
 

He had hired six men,
including Billy Winters, to go with Cash and drive the horses he had purchased
on the layover when returning home.
 
Just
completing a roundup of mustangs from Texas, the horse trader gave Cash his
pick of the herd.

After their conversation, Cash had
Slim stop so he could mount Rabbit.
 

The clear blue sky
stretched over the great prairie dotted with trees and cattle when Cash arrived
to the welcoming site of his ranch with freshly painted bunkhouse and
barn.
 
Men busy erecting new holding pens
added to the vision of his burgeoning spread.

           
Herefords
grazed on emerald blades stretching to the sun.
 
The stream swollen with runoff flowed clear and steady through lush
green meadows backed by snow peaked mountains standing behind the white ranch
house.
 
Gray smoke curled from the
chimney of the grub house into the cloudless blue sky.

           
Crouched
over a fire stirring embers laden with red-hot irons, Billy stood erect,
noticing Cash’s approach.
 
With his right
leg encircling the horn of his saddle, forearm along his knee, Cash pushed back
his hat and leaned forward.
 
“I would
have thought you would be at the bank.”

           
“You
know I’d rather be ranchin’.
 
I’m
branding some mavericks we came across so we can let them out with the
herd.
 
Sure is great to see you working cattle
again.”

           
“I’m
glad to be back.
 
We will be leaving in a
few days to drive some horses up from the Nebraska border.”
 
He reined Rabbit toward the grub house where
Slim unloaded supplies from the wagon with the assistance of three other hands.

           
Cash
dismounted and walked toward his foreman.
 
“Did you find a decent
cookie
?”

           
Slim
looked up from the task.
 
“The chuck’s
not bad.
 
Go see for yerself.”

           
He
strolled into the kitchen where the cook stood in front of a cast iron
stove.
 
He plopped some stew on a tin
plate along with two biscuits and shoved it at Cash then turned and left the
room without uttering a single word.

           
Cash
shook his head then sat down at the table on a wooden bench and ate his meal,
pleased Slim had found a good cook.

***

Diane greeted Cash
at the door when he arrived for supper and gave him a hug.
 
“Come on in, Cash.
 
I’ll fix you a drink.”

Mike joined them
and shook hands with Cash.
 
“How did your
cattle winter?
 
Did you lose many head?”

Cash sat in a
chair and crossed a leg over his knee.
 
“Slim said we lost a few head.
 
Not bad considering all the blizzards I heard you had.”

           
Diane
noticed Cash reserved and quiet and knew the reason had to be Raeden.
 
She and her niece corresponded regularly, and
Raeden always asked about Cash, wondering if she had heard from him while in
Washington.
 
John mentioned getting a
letter from her asking the same thing.

           
She
knew of nothing to say to star-crossed lovers and did not want to try.
 
It fell on the two of them.
 
They would have to work it out.

***

Cash enjoyed
dinner with Diane and Mike, thankful the subject of Raeden did not arise.
 
He left anxious to see Angie.
 
It had been some time since he had a woman.

When he pushed
through the saloon door, Angie jumped from her chair at the poker table and let
out a squeal while she ran toward him, her high-heeled shoes clacking on the
wooden floor.
 
He smiled when she jumped
into his arms, grasping his neck in a snug hold while wrapping her legs around
his waist.
 
She planted a kiss on his
lips.
 
Undisguised joy beamed from her
face.
 
“I’ve been waiting for
Friday.
 
I’m so happy to see you.”

           
He
spun her around once then grasped her arms, lowering her to the floor.
 
Cash teased her.
 
“A welcome like this could get you into
trouble.”

           
“Trouble
like that I can handle.
 
Let’s have a
drink.”
 
She pulled his arm over her bare
shoulder and with one arm around his back they walked to the bar.
 
He ran his fingers through her silky blonde
curls while downing his drink then cupping her chin in his hand he bent to kiss
her, hard and demanding.

           
She
moved toward the stairs.
 
“Come up and
I’ll show you how the new dress looks.”
 
Her eyes shuttered and veiled with desire, stared into his.
 
He ran a hand over the smooth porcelain skin
of her bare shoulders and guided her upstairs.
 
When they stood outside her door, Cash turned on his heel and left.

***

He stood at the
bar drinking whiskey, thinking of Raeden.
 
The special intimate bond once shared between them always left him lacking
when he thought of bedding other women.
 
Having tasted Raeden, it would probably never be the same, but knew he
had to live without her and hoped at some point, he might be able to forget.

           
Knowing
sleep would not come, he mounted Rabbit and rode into the darkness, a silver
full moon lighting their path.
 
Without
his cause to keep him busy, he felt empty inside.
 
It had been a long time since he had opened
up to anyone.
 
Now he wished to God he
had never seen her.
 
Sometimes the pain
inside the pit of his stomach became almost unbearable.

Fifty-three

           
Concern
for her weight loss, Raeden’s doctor ordered more bed rest and shorter work
hours.
 
Unwilling to jeopardize her baby,
she freely complied.
 
It helped somewhat.
 
She held more food down while her condition
remained unnoticed as far as her waistline, but she knew it would be only
temporary.

           
She
had relied on Sally’s professional talents more since her infirmity and
wondered how long she could keep her little secret hidden, making excuses for her
absences, trying to conceal her pallor with rouge and the endless trips to the
bathroom when she showed up at the small factory.

           
Standing
naked before her mirror, she glanced at the tiny bulge, accentuated by her thin
frame.
 
She imagined ways to design
stylish clothing for expectant mothers that would be comfortable and chic when
rounded bellies grew and their other clothes no longer fit.
 
The concept amused her, and she wondered what
Jenkins’s reaction would be when she brought him her new idea.

***

Cash and his men
loaded their horses into the livestock cars at Chamberlain station.
 
The segment to the Nebraska border was short
compared to the trip back on horseback, driving the herd to the ranch.

           
Having
been a long time since he had herded livestock, his anticipation grew as they
reached their destination.
 
He purchased
a new chuck wagon and once stocked, they began the drive home.