Raining In My Heart (Book One of the McKay's) (12 page)

Cade
tried to smile but knew he fell short
.
"Nah, no
thing
's
wrong. But
I'll need you to talk sweet to her and try to keep her calm, can you do that?
It's really important.
"

"Sure
.
"
Kellie
's eyes widened.

"Good."
Cade
winked at her and went to work.

Positioning a calf for birthing was often tiresome and tedious work
;
it could take a lot of time because of the weight of the calf for one thing
, and the position itself
.
Cade
had done it so many times it was routine.

"Make sure she don't try to get up…"
Cade
instructed
Julie
.
"Nellie might fight us a little on this one
."

"Okay, don't worry
;
just do what you gotta do."
Julie
nodded.

Cade
used his hands to maneuver the calf and spent an hour getting it in just the right position.
Nellie raised her head a couple of times, her eyes wild, but
Kellie
soothed her back in place.
Several of the cowboys came in and checked on them, introducing themselves and watching as Cade worked on Nellie and the calf.
It was a one man job so they didn't linger.
Finally
,
when he was satisfied he had everything positioned correctly, h
e pulled his hand from Nellie and grabbed the rope. After securing the calf with the rope, he patted Nellie. "Okay old girl, everything is in position now, but from the looks of it, you aren't going to be giving us much help. So I'm gonna bring the little fella out myself, Nellie, so hold on."

Cade
tied the rope onto the unborn calf and once he was sure the calf was ready, he handed the rope to
Julie
.
Julie
helped Cade pull and with several heaves, the calf was born. Cade and
Julie
fell back on the hay and laughed
.
"We did it."

Kellie
was looking at the calf an
d jumping for joy
.
"He's so pretty
."

"He sure is…the old man himself would have been proud of this one
.
"
Cade
laughed.

Cade
cleaned up after Nellie and let
Kellie
rub the little fella down until his hair was fluffy. She was all smiles,
Cade
noticed.

"You're gonna make a fine rancher someday,
Kellie
."
Cade
smiled at her.
"Why don't you lead the little fella over there in the corner while I do the clean up
?
"

Kellie
voice filled with excitement
.
"I've been thinking I might want to be a vet."

"Now that sounds promising
."
Cade
smiled at her.

Chapter
Seven

"
Wade
?
What
are
you doin' in here?
I thought you'd be up at the big house with all the girls."
Cade
laughed as he threw his hat on his bunk
and gl
anced at his brother who was just finishing a shave
.

"Nellie had that calf, huh?"
Wade
smiled.

"Yeah, we got ourselves a brand new bull in the making.
He's got good markings
;
you need to take a look.
"

"
Great
.
"
Wade
sighed with relief. "Well,
I reckon I won't be goin' up there any more than I have to for a while
,
"
Wade
answered
,
wiping the excess shaving cream
from his chin, and going toward
his bunk
.

"Why, what do you mean?"

"You know as well as I do, a
ccording to the will
,
the girls have to stay here for a year.
Some of them are balking at the idea.
"

Cade
swiveled on one boot
.
"A year? Are you kidding me?
They won't last a month, much less a year.
"

"The old man left it all
in black and white. If they want the money, they gotta stay. Old man's orders
,
"
Wade
said, taking the things out of his pockets and laying them on the nightstand by his bunk.
"They'll stay."

"Bet that didn't set too well with
Julie
."
Cade
chuckled as he pulled a boot off and let it drop to the floor with a thud.

"They were all sorta hashin'
it
out as I left."
Wade
rubbed his chin.
"
Sure didn't want to get in the middle of that.
Letty was downright angry, and
Julie
didn't look very happy.
"

"You're still the ramrod, he didn't change that, did he?"
Cade
asked
,
pulling the other boot off
as he sat on the edge of the bunk
.

"Well sort of, you're a ramrod too now."
Wade
glanced at his brother sheepishly.

"Me? Now how did that happen?"
Cade
shot him a strange look.

"Just lucky I guess…."
Wade
smiled and winked.
"His way of sayin' he knew who did the work around here."

"Well, I appreciate that," Cade admitted
,
leaning back on the pillow and glancing at
Wade
.
"Just didn't expect it is all.
You know, he must have done a lot of thinking about his dying, as he planned everything out.
"

"You've earn
ed it. I've pointed the fact
to him a number of times
.
"
Wade
smiled.

"Not changin' the subject but
…did ya see the kid?"
Cade
asked.

"The kid? Now w
ho
on earth
would that be?"
Wade
asked as he relaxed on his bunk.

"
Julie
's kid…"
Cade
frowned at his brother. "Your kid…"
h
e muttered under his breath.

Wade
reacted slowly, his eyes rounding on his brother as though it had to be a joke.
"M-my kid? What the hell are yo
u talking about?"
Wade
rose
and hit his head on the bunk overhead.
He grabbed at his head and frowned at his brother at the same time.

"W-well, she was your girl. I just thought
…
I mean…gee
z
,
have you seen her
?
She looks just like…"
Cade
stopped, and eyed his brother. "
Well good gosh, why are you so surprised?
"

Wade
stared at his brother
for
a minute then rubbed his chin once more.
"I've been tryin' to tell you for years now.
Julie
wasn't my girl.
And that's probably why she ran off when she did. Everyone on this ranch thought she was my girl. But she wasn't.
She had a crush on me that summer is all.
I thought of her as a kid.
I think she finally realized it when she left.
But
Julie
and I…
"

"
C
all it what you want, but
Julie
was in love with you
,
"
Cade
countered.

"Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. But it wasn't like you seem to think between us.
I've tried to tell you that for years, but you wouldn't listen.
"
Wade
f
rowned now
.
"Look bro, I liked her and yeah, maybe I had the big head because she took such an interest in me, but I didn't love her and she wasn't my girl and we never…
"

Cade
sat stone still. "Never?"

"Never?
But—"
Cade
wrestled this information in his head for a few minutes. If
Wade
never touched
Julie
…and
Kellie
had all the ear marks of a
Weston
…then…

Cade
became silent. His smile faded into oblivion. If
Wade
and
Julie
hadn't done anything, then…

His eyes widened, his breath hitched, sweat peppered on his forehead. "Oh my God!"

He jerked on his boots, looped his belt in
his pants and put his hat
on his head. Stomping loudly out of the bunk house
,
he headed for the big house. He wanted some answers.

However
,
when he got to the back door he hesitated
before barging in.
"What
am I supposed to say
now
? Do?"
He hadn't given himself time to sort this out. Right now he needed confirmation.

"What the heck am I gonna say?"

H
e could still hear voices in the kitchen.
Julie
and Letty were talking. It sounded as though everyone else had gone to bed.
He wanted to barge his way in and demand some answers, but he wasn't sure how to handle this. He'd never been faced with such news before.

He checked his watch in the moonlight. It was nine
-
thirty. He paced the outside gro
unds for several minutes.
He hadn't the slightest idea
where to start
. Was that pretty little girl his? Could it be, and if it was why had
Julie
waited so long to tell him?

The door suddenly opened and
Julie
stared up at him
;
she had changed into pajamas and a robe and looked comfortable.
"Cade, what are you doing here this time of night?"

"
How can you tell us apart so easily now?" Cade's mouth twisted into a sardonic smile.

The question seemed to fluster
Julie
and she turned a beautiful shade of pink.

"
I don't know.
" She turned away and then twisted back around.
"
I guess I'm old enough now to see the differences.
And there are some you know.
For one thing, you don't usually wear a frown on your face
, like you have right now
.
You walk with a swagger to some extent, carrying yourself differently than your brother. And…y
ou have a much softer voice.
"

He nodded
slowly
his glance going over her
;
he hadn't noticed any of those differences.
Right now how he walked wasn't on his mind either.
"
And you've noticed this with one visit home?"

Julie
smiled
.
"I guess I have…"

"
W
ell, is everyone gone to bed?"
h
e asked
,
glancing about the kitchen through the screen door.

"Yes, it's getting late
;
shouldn't you be headed that way too?"
Julie
asked.
"I mean I figured you went to bed with the chickens since you are up before dawn."

"N-no, not yet. Look, we need to talk…."
Cade
pushed past her to the kitchen and threw his hat on the table, blowing a napkin in the air.
Julie
watched him as she headed for the coffee pot.