Sara finally rose from the bench and smiled as she headed back to the feed and grain store. It didn’t matter what Kay thought now. She only hoped that Jake found his father much sooner than he seemed to believe and they could take the next step in their very abrupt courtship.
_____
After Jake waved goodbye to Sara, he tried to concentrate on the preparations for his departure but couldn’t stop reviewing the unexpected meeting. What made it almost eerie was when he recalled the one-sided conversation with his mother as he stood over her grave. After he’d told her that he’d met Sara, he asked her to help him find a wife and then added a request that she be pretty as well as confident. Sara was certainly pretty, and her confidence and honesty were equally impressive.
While he fervently believed that his mother was in heaven and watching over him, he was firmly committed to the concept of free will, and that each of us was guided by our own choices. But despite that well entrenched belief, the combination of events still created a spooky feeling deep inside him. By the time he turned onto the access road, he decided to let it go but would still have another conversation with his mother tomorrow. It was Sunday and he normally went to church, but he’d miss a week. He’d spend some time in the family cemetery, but he wasn’t going to ask his mother for any more favors.
He soon rode Mars into the barn and dismounted. He suspected that all of the men were in the chow house having lunch because he hadn’t seen any in town. They wouldn’t be out with the herds at this time on Saturday unless there was an emergency, either.
Jake unsaddled his gelding, then set his tack on his shelf before checking Mars’ shoes. After filling the oat bin, he began to brush his almost perfect coat.
When he finished grooming his big red friend, he said, “No more corral for you, Mars. But in a couple of days, we’ll be on the road to find my father. I’ll have Big Tom pick out your equine companion for a packhorse shortly. Do you have any preferences?”
Mars didn’t reply as he already had his nose buried in the oats, so Jake assumed that the gelding didn’t care who carried the heavy packs.
Jake left the barn and walked to the chow house. He heard the boys loudly chatting interspersed with louder insults and the usual cacophony of laughter. It wasn’t any different than what he’d become accustomed to hearing in the barracks. It was much different whenever a woman was in the room. Unless of course, she was working the room.
He walked through the door and was pleased that only a couple of men turned to look at him. Luckily, one of them was Charlie Shimshock. The cook stood, held up his index finger, then hurried to his large cookstove as Jake stepped to the nearest bench table.
Dave looked at him as Jake sat down beside him and asked, “Any more news, Jake?”
“Nope. After I have my lunch, you and I need to go to my father’s office so I can give you a better idea of what I’ll be doing.”
“Good enough.”
Jake then turned to Big Tom McCallister and said, “I left Mars in the barn, but I’ll need a good packhorse and Mars didn’t seem to care who wore the pack saddle. Can you find a strong gelding to fill that need? I need you to reshoe Mars, too. His seemed a bit worn, and I want a fresh set before I set out.”
Tom replied, “I’ll take care of it this afternoon, boss.”
Jake was about to correct his use of ‘boss’, but let it go. If he was able to return after finding his father, then it would be his ranch. If he didn’t return, then it wouldn’t matter.
Charlie set an overfilled plate of food before him along with a large mug of coffee before he returned to his seat.
Jake looked at him and asked, “Do you think I’m pregnant, Charlie?”
All of the men, including Charlie, erupted in their assorted laughter as Jake just smiled. He understood why he’d used that particular reference to comment on his overloaded plate. Despite Sara’s warning, he was curious about Kay’s appearance. When he’d left, she was certainly well-figured, and Jake had appreciated each curve.
But as he dug into the massive amount of food, he revisited those last nights that they’d spent together without any prying eyes. He then came to the same conclusion that Sara had reached less than an hour ago. Kay had done everything short of ordering him to satisfy her and it had taken every bit of his moral power to defeat his overpowering lust. Yet after she hadn’t been able to convince him to apologize to his father, she acted as if he was carrying the plague.
He continued to eat and before he took his first sip of coffee, Jake decided to let it go. It no longer mattered. Kay was Homer James’ wife now and he was convinced that he never would understand her motives. He had to concentrate on finding his father, then he could return and shift all of his attention to Sara.
_____
Twenty minutes later, Jake and Dave entered the office and sat down on opposite sides of the desk. Jake withdrew the cash-stuffed envelope and slid it across the desktop.
“Here’s seven hundred dollars, Jake. That’ll cover all the payroll for the month and any expenses. It might even handle a good chunk of August’s pay, but I should be back before then. You can put it in the safe if you’d like.”
“I don’t know the combination, Jake.”
Jake’s eyebrows arched as he asked, “I thought my father gave it to
