Moby yawned and she went over to her bed andlaid on it. The tears came now. She hadn't been feeling too goodlately, but maybe if she got some good sleep, she'd be bettertomorrow, she reasoned.
Chapter Two
The day before yesterday had been anightmare, she reflected. He'd gone off, telling her he had to mendthe fences and wouldn't be back until late. She asked if he neededhelp, but she wasn't much help with such chores, and he shook hishead. "I can do it. You wouldn't be any help with that."
When it got late, and he didn't come back,she went looking for him on their mule.
The horror of finding him laying thereagainst the fence, blood all over him, his skin nearly peeled tothe bone, she went into shock. How was she supposed to get himhome? She bent down to see if he was breathing, he wasn't. Shetapped him on the cheek, and nothing. She called his name, held himup against her for a moment. But his arms were limp and there wasno life there. His eyes were closed now, and she quickly realizedhe was dead. Shock set in. Pure panic made her nearly scream interror. She tried to lift him and got blood all over herself. Sheswallowed hard and kept trying to throw him up on the Mule's back.She couldn't get him up there, so she had to drag him to the housewith a rope tied around him in back of the Mule. She left himpropped against the porch as she untied the rope.
Then she'd rode toward the town of Tooley.She'd stumbled in the yard of one of her neighbors about sixteenmiles up the road, bloodied and crying she drug herself to the doorand knocked.
The woman came out and was shocked, "What inthe world?" she cried out seeing the blood all over Kate'sdress.
"Husband died…" Kate mumbled.
"Died! Well, come in, come in." The womanhelped her inside and saw the blood all over her dress. Shaking herhead she told her to sit in one of the kitchen chairs.
"My word, what in the world happened?" Thewoman asked as she got Kate a cup of coffee and Kate sat at thesmall kitchen table. "Your clothes are all bloody, whathappened?"
"I found him out by the fence, from themarks on him, I'd say it was a Cougar. He had many long lesions onhis body. He was so bloody, and I guess I am too now!" She lookeddown at her dress for the first time and nearly screeched.
The woman grabbed her chest. "Oh dear God!"Then she called her husband inside from the barn and they sat downto hear her story.
"Sam, Mrs. Marley's husband just died."
The woman's husband went to get the Reverendand undertaker. When they got back, she and the Reverend, andundertaker rode back home.
Her husband's body was laying half on theporch, half on the ground. "I couldn't lift him." She cried whenthe Reverend looked at her strangely.
"No ma'am, I reckon you couldn't." theundertaker made sure he was dead, then wrapped him in a long sheetshe brought him. He'd brought a cheap casket to put him in.
"What did he die from?" The Reverend askedthe undertaker.
"Near as I can tell, a cat got him.Cougar!"
The Reverend nodded.
"We'll bury him tomorrow." The Reverend toldher.
"She offered the men her barn to sleep inand got them some blankets and pillows.
The next day, no one came to the funeral. Itwas coming a gully-washer. It didn't matter, she had to get himburied so she could go to work in the fields. She cooked breakfastfor them and then they went out to dig the grave while she cleanedup the dishes.
Even though it was pouring rain, she hadn'twanted to put the burying off another day, she'd have to get thecrops in and soon. Of course no one knew about it but that oneneighbor and the Reverend. She didn't want to wait until the rainlet up. She had a lot of work to do and the sooner she started thebetter.
"I've gotta get our crop in." she told theReverend.
"By yourself?" he asked.
"Don't see nobody come to help." She toldhim.
"Your husband was a might standoffish." TheReverend said softly. "But you being a woman, alone, I'm suresomeone would lend a hand."
"Maybe" She hung her head. "And your right,he was."
"But a woman, alone, can't handle this."
"I know that too! Maybe I can find a man tohelp me."
Everyone left and she went back inside.
When she went to bed, Moby came to lay downon the floor beside her bed, as though watching after her.
The next morning she got up and made coffee.She set the table for her and Jim,
The silence reminded her, although Jim hadnever been a big talker, just someone moving around in the housewould have made her happy.
Tears came into her soft blue eyes, but sheforced them away. She made some oatmeal and then fed Moby, then satdown to eat.
The quiet was deafening. The past two dayshad been a nightmare.
She swallowed her sorrows and got dressed,combed her blonde hair, and went outside to look about.
It was a bright and sunny day. The earthsmelled clean after the rain and she stared out at the fields thatbeckoned her.
She had a field of corn and hay to bring in.How was she going to get it all done? There was no one to help her.Jim hadn't been one to ask for help, and because no one really knewmuch about her, she wouldn't be asking either.
Stubborn pride kept her from askinganyone.
Now it was up to her. If she didn't get hercrops in, she'd lose this place, because it wasn't paid foryet.
With no folks to go back to, she had nowhereto go.
She had no options.
She turned around and went back inside andthrew on her old overalls and a shirt with a pair of Jim's boots,she marched out into the corn field. An old wheelbarrow was sittingnear the fence, she moved it closer.
Moby came out and chased grasshoppers aroundthe yard for a bit, then came out to where she was pulling
