{Chapter 5}

Adam was stuck rounding up the remuda all by himself. Erik was back at the main ranch with his wife, and would be for two weeks, so that left Adam alone. Thankfully, he knew a little about horses, or he would be in big trouble.

Wade had told him a little about the permanent cowhands at the MC. Erik was the bronc buster, and knew more about horses than the rest of them combined. Rawhide was the oldest of the bunch, but tough as nails. Tiny was as big as an ox, but dumb as a box of rocks. J.T. had been with the outfit for nearly four years and had a past that no one ever talked about or even mentioned. Gringo was fairly new, having been with the MC for only a year and a half, but was part of the family. And Toni, well, everyone knew about Toni.

It was that uncle that got Adam nervous. The man was secretive, which was normal for any cowboy, but Mark was different. He was up to something, Adam could feel it. The fact that Mark was the trail boss on this drive didn’t set well with Adam, either. Especially since Toni was obviously not coming along.

That night, Adam lay in his bunk staring up at the ceiling. He was so tired he couldn’t sleep. The boys were making too much noise, anyway. They could make an average card game lively by simply talking.

“Wanna play, Sterling?” Gringo asked.

“Nah, I don’t gamble” Adam told him.

“Neither do we. We just do it for fun,” Tiny explained.

Adam didn’t see how they all moved around so easily after such a day’s work, but they somehow did. They all sat in a circle on the floor, surrounding a deck of cards.

“Come on, Sterling. Blow off some steam. There won’t be much more of it ‘til we get to Dodge after the drive,” Rawhide urged.

Adam sighed. “Very well.”

He sat in the circle and crossed his sore legs.

“Who’s gonna deal?” J.T. asked.

“I reckon it’s my turn” Tiny reached for the deck.

Rawhide stopped him. “Reckon since I’m the oldermost here, I should deal.”

“Oh, come on, Rawhide! You play that card every time on us,” Gringo groaned.

“I say the new feller should deal” J.T. said. “Since he don’t know his way around the game yet, there’s less a chance that he’ll get all slick fingered.”

All the cowboys looked at him. Adam shrugged.

“How many cards do we get?” he asked.

“We’re playin’ five card draw. So five cards” Rawhide said as if it were common sense.

Adam gave them each five cards and looked at his hand. Seemed like he should stick with two four of hearts and two five of spades. The others exchanged a few of their cards for the ones in the deck.

“What do you got?” Gringo asked Adam.

Adam laid his cards down so they could see.

“Two pair” Rawhide muttered. “I’ve got nothin’.”

“I’ve got one pair,” J.T. said.

“Nothin’” Gringo put his cards down.

“Royal flush” Tiny grinned.

The cowboys groaned.

They played a few more hands before deciding to retire for the night.

“Adam, I’m not much of one to ask about a man’s past, but what’s between you and little Miss Katie?” Rawhide asked before blowing out the lamp.

Adam sighed. That’s something Katie would not want them knowing.

“Nothing. We’re just… old friends.”

**********

Toni finished feeding little Justin and tucked him into the crook of her arm that night, cherishing the feel of the little guy in her arms. All the pain she had went through seemed worth it when she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. She knew that his eye color would most likely change, but for now she could enjoy the pretty color blue they were.

The door to the bedroom opened, and Erik entered. “Sandy’s in bed.”

Toni smiled. Sandy was as proud as a peacock of her little brother. The four-year-old was already planning what she and Justin would do when they grew bigger.

Erik sat on the bed beside her. “How’re ya feeling?”

“Fine. Still dreadfully tired, though” Toni answered him.

Erik reached out to touch Justin’s head of black hair. “He’s got your hair.”

“That he does. He has your nose, though” Toni smiled up at him.

“Poor guy” Erik’s eyes twinkled in the light from the lamp beside the bed.

“I think you have a perfect nose” Toni touched his nose with her finger.

“I think you’re perfect,” Erik told her, not a hint of teasing in his voice or on his face.

Toni put her head down and looked at the child in her arms. “He’s the perfect one.”

Erik stretched out beside her and took the both of them in his arms.

Toni leaned her head against his chest and put the baby between them. “Wonder how he’ll like it on his first cattle drive in a few weeks?”

She felt Erik stiffen.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You’re still not planning on going!” Erik exclaimed.

“Of course I am. It’s about a month away, and I think I’ll be well enough to sit a horse by then” Toni said.

“Toni, this is hard riding. This is a cattle drive. I can’t let you,” Erik protested.

“You planning on stopping me?” Toni asked.

She knew that the words were weak coming from someone who couldn’t sit down straight.

“I sure am, and if you think I ain’t, you’re one quart short of a gallon,” Erik told her.

Toni huffed. She should put up more of a fight, but she was too tired. There was no way of convincing Erik otherwise when he was like this. She would simply have to outsmart him.

**********

“Katie, you do realize how long this is gonna take, don’t you?” Mark threw a saddle over the back of his horse.

“I do. There’s no one else who can do it, and we’re having enough trouble to get all the cowboys we need. I know I can do it if you’ll give me a chance,” Katie pleaded.

“We’re gonna have nearly twenty cowboys out there, Katie. I can’t be responsible if something happened to you” Mark put his foot in the stirrup and swung up into his saddle.

“I promise I won’t get out of one of ya’ll’s sight. I’ll make sure either you, Wade or Erik is nearby at all times,” Katie said.

Mark sighed and looked down at her. “Fine. If you decide that it’s too hard for you, just remember that you did it to yourself.”

Katie smiled. “I’ll do just that. Thanks Mark.”

Mark rode off toward town where he would try to find some cowboys willing to work. Katie eyed the chuck wagon parked in the barn. She’d have to scrounge up some recipes and go to town for supplies when it got closer to time. One thing was certain, she would hide her Derringer in her boot just incase any of the new cowboys got any bright ideas.

**********

A month passed, and with it came daylight to dusk workdays for the cowboys, growing anticipation for Toni, dread for Adam, and several shopping trips for Katie. The topic of the weather grew to be more frequent during prayers. Everyone knew that a harsh storm could drive a herd into a stampede quicker than a person could sneeze. And once you got thirty six hundred cattle moving at a pace like that, cowboys could lose their lives quickly and swiftly.

The cowboys had started slowly moving the herd down the trail over the past few days, allowing them to graze and get used to the feel of it. A dominant steer had been chosen to lead the herd, and all was well on its way to being a full-blown cattle drive.

Feeding the lot of them was a challenge in and of itself, but Katie was glad for the practice.

“Okay, let’s get to work. We’ve got more work than we can shake a stick at today” Mark stood. “Katie, you and Toni can load the chuck wagon today, and make sure it’s all set for morning…” He went on to tell others what to do.

Katie leaned over to Toni. “Upset about not being able to go this year?”

Toni smirked at her. “Nope.”

Katie knew that smirk. She was up to something. “Toni. Justin can’t make that ride.”

“Who said anything about him riding?” Toni asked.

Katie groaned. “We’ll have to talk about this later, missy.”

The day before the drive came, and everyone sat around the table in the kitchen of the MC Ranch. Twenty-one people to be exact. Some of the new cowboys, all ten of them, were loud and all equally ugly. There were four more to show up in the morning before the drive started. Katie realized how blessed she was to be surrounded by the permanent cowboys, who weren’t the best looking in Sundance, but these men were as ugly as homemade sin.

The cowboys went out to work and the women go the dishes done.

“I’m looking forward to keeping Sandy for all that time” Aubrey smiled. “I’m sure she’ll miss her parents, though.”

“You know about Toni leaving?” Katie asked.

Aubrey nodded.

“What does Erik think about this, Mrs. Trisha?” Katie planted her fists on her hips.

Toni rolled her eyes. She hadn’t been called “Trisha” since she was a child.

“He doesn’t know,” she said.

“Oh, come on, Toni! He’s gonna blow up when he sees you saddled up and ready to ride in the morning. Then we’ll all die. Have you seen Erik angry, Aubrey?” Katie asked.

Aubrey shook her head.

“He’s like a bomb. He doesn’t show he’s angry until he’s bottled it all up and then you experience the full wrath of it in one fell swoop,” Katie explained.

Toni rolled her eyes. “He thinks I’m a weakling. It’s been a month since I’ve had the baby and I’m going.”

Katie huffed. “Fine, but don’t expect me to bail you out when he ties you up and sits you on the porch to stay until he gets back.”

Toni shook her head.

“I’m gonna miss Wade” Aubrey admitted with a sigh.

“Of course you will. We’ll all miss you, too” Katie wrapped an arm around Aubrey’s shoulders.

“This will be the longest we’ve been apart since we got married. When I left it was only for a few weeks. This will take a month or more. I don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep with him gone for that long” Tears welled up in Aubrey’s eyes.

Katie hugged her friend. At least Aubrey had hope that Wade would return. Katie didn’t even have that much when it came to Ben.

*Don’t think of Ben now, Katie. This is about Aubrey.*

“Listen to me, Aubrey” Toni spoke up. “Wade Dylan loves you, and you can be sure of that. Don’t act like I don’t know that he sneaks off every once in a while to see you.”

Aubrey blushed, and then smiled. “He does that quite frequently.”

“And I’d bet you my bottom dollar that he’ll be the first in line to come home at the end, too” Toni added.

“I would, too. He’ll be back safe and sound. We all will” Katie said.

All three of them knew the dangers of the drive, but the words were comforting nonetheless.

**********

Aubrey lay beside Wade that night, blinking back tears. She didn’t want Wade to leave. There was a chance that he could get hurt, or even worse. She wanted him to stay beside her at night instead of sleeping on a bedroll out in the middle of nowhere.

“Are you sure that you have to go?” She blurted.

Wade stirred. “Hmm?”

He rolled over as a lone tear escaped Aubrey’s eye.

“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” he asked sincerely, not hesitating to take her in his arms.

“I don’t want you to leave” Aubrey admitted.

“You know I have no choice. I’m the foreman, it’s my job,” Wade said.

“What if you get hurt?” Aubrey asked.

“Then I’ll hop right back on my horse and keep going until I can get home. There’s no force less than death that can keep me away from you, sweetheart” Wade kissed her hair as he spoke.

“I’ll think about you every night,” Aubrey promised him.

Wade pointed to the window where the moon shone through. “See that moon? Look at it every night and know that I’m looking at the exact same one at that moment, okay? I’ll think of you every second.”

Aubrey snuggled up against his chest. “I love you,” she murmured.

Wade tilted her chin up so she looked into his eyes. “I love you, too.”

He kissed her gently and sweetly before wrapping her tighter in his arms. She cherished the feeling of him for one more night.

*Bonanza theme music* I'm so excited about this!

Do you think Toni will end up staying?

How do you think Aubrey will get along being alone with two children?