Much Ado About Mavericks (26 page)

“Catch his front feet the next time he does that,” she yelled.

Ben readied his loop.  Roping a pair of horns stuck in a pile of hay didn’t quite prepare him to catch the
slicing
hooves of a rearing stallion.  Studying the horse’s rhythm, he let loose and caught one.  Well, one was better than none.
  He dallied and the bay set his hind quarters and backed up.

“Pull back slow, so’s
the black
don’t hurt hisself.”  Jake slid off
Blue
, a well-trained cowpony, who kept the rope taut as she approached the stallion’s slashing hooves.  “Pull harder
now—
put him on the ground.  Soon as you do, I’ll bite his ear.  You come take off the tack.”

Sounded easy.  Wasn’t.  Apparently this horse didn’t know that biting his ear was supposed to calm him.  He threw his head around, but Jake hung on like Beeman’s chewing gum. 

Ben dashed in from the
behind the thrashing horse
to work the cinch loose, then chased
the black’s
head around to unbuckle the bridle.  The stallion’s mouth had bled
a little
, and Ben felt sorry for the brute.  He just wanted to be free.  They had that in common.

“Dammit,
Boston
, hurry up!” Jake growled as the stallion pitched her around.

“Just about done.”  With one last tug, the bit fell from the horse’s mouth.  “Let him go.”

He grabbed Jake by the waist and flung her away from the stallion as hard as he could, worrying that she’d be off-balance and take a hoof in the face.

The mustang raced away, leaving a trail of dust.  “You all right?” he asked.

She stood and slapped the dust off her shoulders.  “I guess so.  I’m still breathing, which is more’n I can say about you last time you rode him.”

He picked up her bent Stetson and handed it to her.  “I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Hell, this one’s just getting broke in good.”  She put it on as she walked to her mount.  “Let’s go.  Your woman’s waiting.”

“She’s not my woman.”

“That ain’t her way of thinking.”

*   *   *   *   *

Jake planned her getaway as soon as she saw Patience perched on the porch rocker.

“It’s about time!”  Patience stood and glared at Ben. 

“I’ll be heading on to the Circle J,” Jake told Ben.  “See you at dawn.”

Every time she saw Patience, she thanked the Good Lord above for planting her in the
Idaho
Territory
.  She dismounted in front of the barn and tied up her horse.  Teddy and Homer ran to meet her.  “Henry’s pony took sick, and tomorrow’s the roundup.”

She ruffled Teddy’s hair and sighed.  “Has Whip taken a look at her?”

“Yup,” Homer replied.  “They’re out back.  Wanna see?”  He took her hand and tugged.

“For a minute, then I gotta take care of my horse.  He’s seen some hard work tonight.”

She followed the boys around the barn.  Henry sulked while Whip ran his hand over the pony.  The second she saw Jake, she rushed over and grabbed on.  “Trick’s sick,” she bellowed.  “She won’t die, will she?”

Jake sent Whip a questioning look.

“She’s just dry.  Needs some water.”  He led the pony to the well.  “Fetch a bucket, Henry.  Then start pumping.  I’ll tell you when to stop.”

He stepped over to Jake, and in a low voice he said, “We can’t put Trick in with the other horses--they won’t let her eat or drink.  Don’t know what that means for Henry on the roundup.  How’s her seat?”

“Fair.  Gotta have a well-broke horse, though.  She ain’t strong enough yet to handle a spirited mount.”

Whip nodded and said, “I’ll see what I can do.  But I’m telling you one thing, that little critter ain’t staying with Mabel, so don’t get no ideas about leaving her behind.”

Jake couldn’t imagine why she’d leave without Henry.  Mothers didn’t ever leave their young’uns--except Henry didn’t know she had a new mama.  And Jake wasn’t sure yet that she could handle the job. 

“Don’t worry, she’ll be heading out with the rest of us.”  She paused, not sure if Whip would take right what she wanted to ask.  “Uh, do you think Ben’ll be with us, or with that woman?”

Whip chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest.  “He turned out a right handsome young feller, didn’t he?”

Jake didn’t dare answer, but the very sight of him turned her guts to mush.

“I’m willing to bet he’s stronger than you think he is.”

Finally, curiosity got the best of her.  “How come you’re so interested in him, Whip?  You don’t pay much attention to the other hands.”

He pulled out a pouch of Bull Durham and took his time rolling a smoke.  “I s’pose just because I knew him when he was just a sprout.”  He took a drag and offered her the pouch.  “Want one?”

“Naw, too much to do.  You got the chuckwagon loaded?”

“Yup.”

“Good.  I’ll check with Crip and Slim to see how they’re doing with the horses.”

“I think everyone’s ready for this here roundup except you, Jake.”

He might be right, she mused as she walked to the bunkhouse.

Chapter 13

Ben shaved, dressed, and quietly left the house before the first rays of dawn shown over the
Owyhee
Mountains
.  He only hoped that Patience slept through the racket that went along with starting a roundup.
  She still refused to accept that he wasn’t going to propose to her, but maybe Reginald could talk some sense into her after Ben left.

Several men already stood around in front of the barn.  Whip slapped the reins and drove the chuckwagon out of the yard, getting a head start to set up the first camp.  Jake stood outside the bunkhouse talking to her crew.  Ben headed her way, hoping all the men were there so they could get the hell away from the ranch.  Patience made him nervous.

He’d given his mother the money to purchase fare for Patience and Reginald.  When he knew the two of them were back in
Boston
, he’d feel a whole lot better.  As far as the senior partnership, well, it would have to
be negotiated
.  From the way Patience had treated his family and friends, he’d never agree to marry her in order to attain the status in the firm he’d already earned.

The three children mounted their ponies.  “Let’s go, Jake!” Teddy hollered. 

Ben patted
Teddy’s
little Welsh pony as he passed by on his way to Jake.

She laughed and wagged their finger at the
kids
.  “You just wait till the hands is all here.  A couple of brands ain’t showed up yet.”  Then she turned to Crazy Jim and said, “I’d like to have a whole damned crew be as willing to work as them
strays
.”

“Who’re you waiting for?” Ben asked.

“The Rocking JW ain’t here, but hell, they’re always late.  I was expecting the Flying K to be here on time, though.  The two of ‘em counts up to about twenty cowhands and
over a hundred
horses.”

“I see the Lazy B hands are on time.”  He spotted the Blackers talking to their crew in front of the barn.  “I think I’ll go talk to Pete--we
were in the same grade
when I was a kid.”

“Just make sure he knows who’s in charge,” Jake grumbled.

Ben didn’t think there could ever be a doubt about that.  He strode across the barnyard to the Blackers. 
Circumstances
pointed to them as the culprits in the fence-cutting and the creek damming.  But Ben had known the family since his birth and he had a hard time convincing himself that the old man would do such things.  Still, it behooved him to keep an eye on the two of them.

He greeted them with a tip of his hat.  “Harley.  Pete.”  Pete offered his hand and Ben shook it.  “Good to see you back in
Owyhee
County
.”

“Good to be back.  I had to travel all over the East Coast and
Europe
to realize that there’s no better place to live than the Owyhees.” 

“Hell, if you were on the East Coast, why didn’t you come to see me?  I’ve been in
Boston
for the last eight years.”

Pete shuffled his feet and looking at the ground, he said, “Well, you might say I wanted to get away from this country and everything in it, fool that I was.”  Meeting Ben’s gaze, he added, “I heard you’re to be married.”

“You heard wrong.”  Ben didn’t want to go into the whole sordid story while everyone was listening.  He laughed and said, “I just hope we get the hell out of here before she wakes up.”

In answer to his prayers, both brands did ride in.  The Lazy B and Bar EL hands mounted up, and within a few minutes they were gone.  The sun hadn’t even risen over the mountain yet--must be a little before seven o’clock.  The stage left at ten.  In just three hours he’d feel a whole lot better.

Pete rode up beside him.  “You think your woman will take a hint?”

“Doubt it.  And she’s not my woman.  Hell, she’ll never be anyone’s woman.” 

“I danced with her Saturday night--she’s very pretty.”

“She is that.” 
If you like your women short and blonde
.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s quite a flirt.”

Ben didn’t respond.  If Pete wanted her, let him have her.

But Pete had other ideas.  “Suzanne has certainly grown beautiful in the last couple of years.”

“My sister has always been beautiful.”

“Yes, but she’s a woman, now.”

“You planning on proposing?”

“Not right away.  We need to get reacquainted after such a long separation.”  He pulled his bandana over his nose.  “Dusty, as always.”

But the best dust in the world, Ben thought as he pulled his own bandana up. 

*   *   *   *   *

Ezra Lawrence hid behind a boulder over the trail where he knew the roundup crew would be riding.  He wanted to see if Ben actually had the nerve to go on a month-long roundup.  The old man bet his ranch that Ben didn’t have the guts it took to get the job done. Each and every day he’d be dirty, tired, and miserable.

If Ben did ride, Ezra had a few things in mind to make life that much more miserable.  He laughed.  What a failure, Ben.  That’s why Ezra had to pay big bucks to educate the kid--he never would have been worth a damn on the ranch.

Coughing as a pain struck at his chest, Ezra secretly thanked Ben for making his last days interesting.  Fred had reported that Ben could ride as well as any man--and nearly as well as Jake--and that there’d been some talk that his roping was coming along, too. 

That made Ezra’s plans more complicated.  Somehow, some way, he’d get rid of the sonovabitch.  And have a damned good time doing it. 

Hoofbeats caught his attention.  He peered over the boulder and caught sight of Jake--and Ben, riding to her right.  Well, he’d be sorry he
hadn’t
hightail
ed
it back to
Boston
where he belonged.  It might take a day or two, but he’d be sorry.

*   *   *   *   *

Jake and the rest of the roundup crew rode into the
Sands
Basin
camp while the afternoon sun was still strong.  “Happy to see Whip and Fred have camp all set up and the coffee boiled,” she told Ben as she squatted beside the fire and poured a cup.  “Good weather.  Ain’t too cold.”

Whip walked up and leaned against the chuckwagon wheel.  “Yup.  Easier on the cowhands, but harder to find the stock.  They’re probably still in the high country.”  He pointed to the horses with his cup.  “Crip and the boys got the horses settled an hour ago.  What the hell took you so long?”

“Waiting for the stragglers before we could leave.”  She took a slurp of the steaming coffee.  “I’ll send out a crew to scout for cattle.”  She set her cup down and took a sourdough biscuit.  “If we don’t find any, I want you to take the chuckwagon up to higher ground in the morning.”

“I’m going with you,” Ben said as he untied the knot in his bandanna and wiped his face.  “I remember a few hidey spots myself.”

Fred stood and stretched.  “I’ll be going, too.”

“Nope,” Jake said to Fred as she threw the coffee ground out of her cup.  “You ain’t.  I need you to watch over the rest of the boys while we’re gone.”

Homer piped up, “I’m going!”

“Me, too!” both Teddy and Henry yelled as they ran to their ponies.

She nodded.  “You strays stick close.”

Homer said, “All right,” Teddy gave a hearty nod, and Henry announced, “I’m going with Ben.”

“Suit yourself, but don’t wander off.”  Jake worried about Henry--this being her first roundup and all, but if she stuck with Ben, no harm would come to her.  “And put them ponies up.  Go see Crip about fresh mounts.”

While there were five or six horses per man, the strays only had two each.  Jake was thankful to Whip that he’d found those.  She gathered half a dozen cowhands and told them where to search for cattle, then she told Whip, “Keep the beans warm.  We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”