Jake paused before replying, “Yes, it did. I used to respect and admire him when I was a young boy, but that began to change when I was around eight years old. By the time Dave Forrest arrived, I thought my father was a cold, heartless man who only cared about the ranch. I never thought of him as a monster, but I surely didn’t understand him. Unless he returns, I’ll never be able to try.”
Sara kissed him again then said, “Maybe he’ll come riding down the access road after they post the announcement of our son’s birth in The Montana Gazette.”
Jake looked across the dark, three-inch gap between them and said, “Surely you don’t think that you’re already…”
She closed her eyes, smiled and said, “You never know.”
Jake snickered before closing his eyes. This time, he was certain that Sara was just having a bit of fun. He suspected that she’d only said it to let him think that he was beginning to see past her poker face.
CHAPTER 9
Jake was saddling Mars as Sara watched, so she could learn to saddle Vulcan, although she suspected that it would be a rare occasion. Even as they’d walked out of the house, Bill Jackson, Big Tom McCallister and the new foreman of the Elk, Jack Parker, had offered to saddle the black gelding for her. As she gratefully declined their offers, she could hear Jake snickering as he walked beside her.
They soon rode away from the barn and headed north. The ranch hands were scattered around the open range rounding up strays, so Jake expected to find them just about anywhere except his sanctuary. He’d already told Sara that it would be their last stop before lunch.
When they cleared the large corral and the second barn, Jake shifted to the northeast toward the bend in the Teton River that formed part of the border of the Elk. The river had a horseshoe bend that was entirely on the big ranch before it hooked behind the forest that guarded the north side of his sanctuary. Some of the more adventurous cattle would swim across the river, especially in the summer months when it wasn’t as swollen.
As they rode, Jake explained the ranch’s boundaries, which his father had marked with whitewashed rocks every hundred yards when he’d started. The hands kept the markers visible with fresh paint every few years, although they were no longer needed.
Sara’s soreness had gone as she’d expected, and she was very comfortable on Vulcan. She was still amazed by the view from the high perch on her saddle.
Jake kept pointing to the interesting parts of the ranch, and not all of them were because of an impressive natural formation. Some were notable for what had happened at that spot. Like the place where he’d first lassoed a steer when he was ten and managed to stay in the saddle. Or another piece of flat ground where he’d been tossed by a startled Morgan when he was nine. The horse had reared when a badger had scurried from behind a rock to reach the protection of its burrow.
They had to wind through one of the smaller herds before they reached the first of the outer corrals. Then he showed her the hill that he used as a slide when it was covered with snow.
When they reached the eastern edge of the ranch and turned north toward the Teton River, they walked their horses up a long, gradual climb but stopped when they reached the top.
It was there that Sara first saw one of the large herds and was stunned by its size. There were two cowhands moving some strays toward the herd from the west, and beyond the herd was the river.
Sara asked, “Do you go fishing in the river?”
“Not for a long time, but if you want a change in the menu, there are a lot of trout that call it home.”
“Maybe we should try our hand one of these days.”
Jake nodded then asked, “Do you know the other name for the Teton River?”
Sara turned and laughed before saying, “Yes, I know the English version. I hate to ask why that entered your mind, Mister Elliott.”
Jake grinned as he replied by asking, “Why, Mrs. Elliott, why would you believe that I would have anything other than an innocent, academic reason for posing the question?”
“You were staring at my Tetons when you asked, sir. I swear whichever Frenchmen named the mountains and rivers in this territory were fixated on women’s breasts.”
Jake laughed then shrugged and said, “I’m not French and I’m not immune from the disease, ma’am. I even visited the town of Woman’s Breast a few days ago.”
Sara was still smiling as they descended the long rise and soon reached the edge of the large herd.
After talking to Tex Emerson and Lone Bill Riker for a few minutes, Jake and Sara turned west, and Sara soon saw another of the large herds ahead.
She turned and asked, “How many cattle to you have on the Elk?”
“Dave said the last count was around thirty-two hundred, but we’re never really sure of the exact count. We’ll need to move around four hundred to the docks for shipment soon. We need to start making money again.”
“Jake, you had over twenty-one thousand dollars in the bank.”
“I know, but that will only keep the Elk operating for about three years even without any major disasters like a
