Waiting for Morning (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series) (39 page)

“Yes, but Orbit always goes on the far side of the corral whenever Brodie comes near.”

“That’s not true,” Molly said. Was it? Come to think of it, she never did see Brodie and Orbit together.

Donny nodded, his eyes serious. “Molly, I’m right. I know I am. Orbit won’t go to Brodie, but he’ll come to you and he’ll come to Magic.”

Caleb glanced at her before turning back to Donny. “Your sister and I will go and look for him on one condition. You stay put until we get back. I’m almost out of bandages.”

“I won’t leave my room. I promise.” Donny waved them away. “Go! Hurry!”

Chapter 36

M
agic sat on Molly’s lap while Caleb drove. Nose in the air, the dog’s pendent ears were pinned back by the wind.

“I think he knows that Orbit might be in trouble,”
she said, her voice loud enough to be heard over the rumbling motor.

Caleb nodded. “That dog knows more than what’s good for him.”

Something moved ahead and Molly craned her neck. “Wait, I saw something.”

As if to concur, Magic barked. Caleb came to a rolling stop and a black cow and calf emerged from the brush onto the road in front of them.

Molly blew a strand of hair away from her face and sighed. They’d been looking for hours and nothing. She had no idea that the Last Chance covered such an enormous area. The ranch spread mostly north and south, with the east backing to free range. The south was bound by canyons, the north by hills. The property line to the east was fenced to keep out maverick horses and stray cattle. Unless someone had recently cut the fence again or the gate was open, Orbit couldn’t have reached free range. That meant he was still somewhere on the ranch, but the rugged terrain to the south gave her little consolation.

They veered off the cattle trail and the auto bounced up and down and side to side.

Caleb stopped the car. A high granite wall rose directly ahead of them. “We can’t go much farther,” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Maybe we should double back. We could have missed him.”

He looked almost as frustrated as she felt. “We should have come on horseback. The motor is likely to scare him.”

She shook her head. “No. He’s used to the sound of the motor. Whenever you drive up he runs to the fence to wait for Magic. That’s why—”

His gaze sharpened. “Why what, Molly?”

She moistened her lips. “Orbit would have heard the motor unless he was injured or—”

He reached for her hand. “Or out of earshot.”

“He has very sensitive ears,” she said.

Magic jumped up, paws on the dash, and barked.

Caleb groaned and released her hand. “All right, all right.” He climbed out of the vehicle and reached for Magic. “There you go,” he said, setting the dog down. Magic sniffed the ground, following some invisible trail around cacti and scrub brush.

“Probably a prairie dog or rabbit,” Caleb said.

Molly shuddered. “I just hope it’s not a rattler.”

“Rattlers are too smart to be out in this heat.” He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. “You’ll only find them out at night.”

She climbed out of the car to stretch her legs. The sun was straight overhead and her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten all day.

Caleb handed her a canteen, and she drank her fill of lukewarm water before giving it back to him.

He tossed the canteen into the backseat. “Don’t look so worried. We’ll find Orbit.”

She forced a smile. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am. Doctors are always right.” He grinned. “Except when they’re not.” He glanced around. “I don’t see Magic.”

She shaded her eyes against the sun and scanned the area. “Over there!”

He followed her finger and shook his head. Magic had his nose to the ground, his hind legs circling around. “Crazy dog.”

She laughed. “Just like . . .” She drew in her breath. “Orbit was here!”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than they both raced to Magic’s side. Caleb dropped to his haunches and inspected the ground. “You’re right.” His finger traced a circle of hoofprints.

“Those tracks belong to Orbit,” she said. She couldn’t imagine any other horse sidestepping in a circle. She kneeled by Magic, petting him. “Where is he? Where’s Orbit?”

Magic barked and started toward the canyon wall. He stopped and looked back as if to say,
Well, are you going to follow me or aren’t you?

Caleb rose. “Let’s go!”

By the time Molly had gathered Magic in her arms and climbed back in the car, Caleb had already started the motor and was in the driver’s seat.

The terrain was rough, forcing Caleb to drive at a snail’s pace. Even so they bounced up and down like a rubber ball. They reached an outcrop of rocks.

“I don’t see anything,” Molly said. Magic sniffed the air and whimpered. “That way.” She pointed to the right.

Caleb drove until they reached open desert and stopped.

Magic bounded off Molly’s lap and onto Caleb’s. He strained to hang his head outside the auto, whimpering and barking.

“Go back,” she said.

Caleb shook his head. “There was nothing there.”

She brushed hair away from her face. “Try telling that to Magic.”

Caleb handed the dog over to her. He then made a wide U-turn and headed back the same way they had come. Magic stiffened in her arms.

“Stop!”

Caleb slammed on the brakes. “What?”

“I think I saw a way through.”

Caleb swung the car around in a circle.

“There!” Shadows falling across the rock had previously hidden the opening from view. Bertha barely made it between the twin mound-shaped buttes. Granite walls surrounded them, rising from the desert floor in jagged peaks.

Molly sat forward. “Over there!”

Caleb steered the car in the direction she pointed. It was Orbit, all right, standing on hind legs, front hooves frantically pawing the air.

Magic barked and tried to get out of the car, but Molly held tight. Something moved in the tall grass in front of the panicked horse.
Wolves
. No less than six of them were closing in on the helpless colt.

“Oh no!” Molly cried.

“Don’t let go of Magic,” Caleb shouted.

Magic had no intention of going anywhere. Instead he cowered on her lap, his body shaking.

One wolf leaped through the air. Orbit’s hoof caught the wolf by the neck, throwing the animal against a rock. They were too far away to see if the wolf was dead or merely stunned. That left five wolves.

Molly pumped her fist. “Good for you, Orbit.” The horse was blind but far from helpless. Neither, as it turned out, was her brother.

One wolf let out a menacing howl and a cold shiver shot down Molly’s spine. If only she’d thought to bring her shotgun.

Caleb inched the car forward to within twenty feet of the animals and blew his horn.
Ah-ooh-ga.
The wolves glanced back, teeth bared, then continued to advance toward Orbit.

Molly handed Magic over to Caleb and jumped from the vehicle. She grabbed a rock and threw it at the nearest wolf. The wild canine stared at her, its amber gaze boring into her like a branding iron. She threw another rock and this time the wolf moved away, but another— probably the leader—slithered toward her. He looked thin and mangy but no less threatening.

“Get in!” Caleb shouted.

Molly tossed one last rock before heaving herself into the vehicle. Caleb slammed his foot against the gas pedal. Bertha lurched forward, trembled, and stalled.

Caleb pounded the dash with his fist.” Blast it!” The car shuddered and backfired, once, twice—three times! The loud booms echoed through the canyon like cannon fire and the wolves ran.

He burst out laughing. “Yahoo!”

Hand on her pounding chest, Molly gasped. “Th-Thank God for Bertha.” She picked Magic up off the floor where he’d dived for cover and rubbed her nose in his fur. The poor dog was still shaking. “Your friend is okay.”

Orbit whinnied and Magic leaped out of her arms, paws on the dash, and whined.

The colt lowered his front legs and stood motionless as if afraid to move. “Orbit, it’s safe,” she called. “Come on.”

She scrambled out of the car and, after making certain no wolves
lurked nearby, set Magic on the ground. The dog sprinted forward with a joyful bark and raced through the dry grass to the colt’s side. Orbit lowered his head and the two friends touched noses.

Caleb turned the flywheel and Bertha leaped to life. “Hurry, Molly. Those wolves aren’t going to stay away for long.”

“Come on, Magic.” Molly clapped her hands. The dog raced back to the car. Orbit nodded his head several times, then cautiously walked toward them, stopping every couple of feet to sniff the air.

The moment Orbit reached them Molly thrust out her hand and the horse buried his nose in her palm. The poor horse was trembling, his coat covered in dust and sweat.

Molly ran her hand along Orbit’s forehead, moving his forelock aside. “You’re safe now, little fellow.”

Caleb reached for the rope in back. “Let’s get out of here.”

“We won’t need that,” Molly said. “Orbit will follow us. Just don’t drive too fast.” A trickle of blood ran down Orbit’s left hind leg. “Oh no, he’s hurt.”

“Looks like one of the wolves caught him with a claw,” Caleb said. “I’ll clean it up later. Come on. We gotta get out of here.”

Wasting no time, they left the hidden area behind. Caleb drove extra slow for Orbit’s sake. Even so, they bounced over ruts and gullies.

Molly held on tight. She was still shaken from the ordeal, but no amount of jostling, heat, or hunger could dampen her spirits. What a day it had been. Donny making it all the way to the barn by himself. Orbit fighting off wolves.

Following her brother’s accident, she’d vowed to protect and care for him always. What an impossible task she’d set for herself. No
matter how determined, how watchful, how absolutely vigilant she was, it would never be enough. Only Donny could protect Donny. The rest was up to God.

Magic whimpered and barked and her thoughts scattered like seeds in the wind. “I think he needs to go,” she said.

“Again?” He tossed a nod toward the windmill ahead. “I’ll stop there so we can all get a drink.”

Caleb pulled up alongside the high stilts. The towering blades cast a spot of welcome shade over them. Molly climbed out of the car and called Orbit. While the horse drank, Caleb held Magic up to the trough. Magic lapped noisily, his ears dragging in the water.

After Orbit had his fill, he nuzzled his nose in her hand and nodded his head up and down as he did each morning to greet her. She laughed. “You want me to sing, eh?”

She cleared her throat. “Swing low, sweet chariot.” “
Come down from above
.” She sang softly at first, but her voice gradually grew louder, as did Mr. Washington’s voice in her head.
What in my life needs God’s help? What secret code is buried in my heart? What chains do I need Him to remove?
“Coming for to carry me home.”
Help me to reach my true love.

She finished the song and Caleb joined her. “That’s the saddest song I’ve ever heard you sing.”

She smiled. “Not sad, hopeful,” she said. “It’s a song filled with hope.”

He took a step forward and cupped her elbow. “You’re shaking. You’re not still scared, are you?”

She stepped out of his reach but only to think more clearly. “I guess in a way I am. A little.” She was about to make a big change in her life and that alone was scary.

“I realized I’ve been wrong about a lot of things. About the church. Donny.” After a short hesitation she added, “God.”

He lifted a brow. “God?”

“I never really saw Him working in my life. Losing almost everything in the fire. Spotting Miss Walker’s advertisement. Coming to Cactus Patch. Even my accident. I thought that it was all by happenstance. Now I realize God was working in my life all along, but I was just too blind to see it.”

“We all tend to be blind at times,” he said.

“Not you. You never saw Donny as crippled.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to see things more clearly when you’re standing a distance away.” He studied her. “Is that why you moved away from me just now? So you can see me more clearly?”