Cattle drive – Rebekah Lyn Books

Go West~Chapter 54

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Fifty Four

Aldon

“Where’s Enrico,” asked Molly as Aldon entered the kitchen? “He’s been going to the saloon every night and missing supper. Sure’n a growing boy needs to eat.”

Aldon began to think about Enrico’s whereabouts and how he might be connected with the kidnapping of Ellie and Lia. If he’d been going to the saloon, then he’d been talking. If the squatter brothers also went to the saloon, then all Enrico had to do was tell them when round-up was scheduled and the boys could make their plans to rustle cattle. He could also have given them ideas of where to look for the women. Enrico probably didn’t know anything about the rustling attempt, nor the kidnapping, but Aldon didn’t think he’d be too worried about either one. Aldon could only see one solution. The sooner Enrico left the ranch, the better off everyone would be. The kindly Mr. Solano would be sad, but Aldon thought it might be better even for him. He seemed to have lately gained a new vitality and love of life. It looked as if he would fully recover, after all. Surely no one wanted him set back in his healing by discovering his grandson’s betrayals.

“I’m going to check on the kid.” Aldon excused himself and climbed the stairs. There, Lastus lay spread-eagled and sound asleep with his wrist cuffed to the iron bedstead. He might have a chance at a decent existence if he could get away from his brother and mother for a while. Maybe the law would go send him somewhere and give him a real job. No use to send him to prison where he could learn how to be a real criminal. All he needed was the Lord and a bit of education and he could probably become a productive member of the community. Maybe he’d talk it over with Ellie. Aldon lay down on the floor next to the bed and went to sleep for what seemed like minutes, but the next thing he knew, the rooster crowed.

Ellie was flipping pancakes when he took Lastus downstairs. “I figured you’d want an early start.” Ellie sounded subdued. “Would I be in the way if I rode along? I’ve got a hankering to get out of here for a while.”

“A hankering? You’re talking like a Westerner.” His eyes filled with the sight of her golden hair and peachy skin.

“Yes, I think of myself as a Westerner. I’ve enjoyed my time here.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she turned her back and brushed them away. Aldon saw that Lastus was watching Ellie closely. He had probably never seen anything like her. The lad kept his mouth shut, though, which was the first smart thing Aldon had seen him do yet.

“Do you still plan to leave here?” He asked Ellie, pushing down the dart of fear that lodged in his throat.

“Granddad wants to move on to California.” She turned toward him as she spoke. “It’s warmer there for Grandmother’s arthritis and you know how he has always talked about going west.” She set the stack of pancakes on the table.

Aldon said. “My brother tells me California can be cold and damp.” He didn’t know why he was arguing with her. She’d made her mind up as far as he could see. It just made him feel so sad to think of her leaving.

“How did your prisoner do during the night?” She changed the subject, a clever ploy to avoid another argument. Aldon played along by motioning toward Lastus. “He’s okay.”
***

When Aldon put Lastus in the backseat of the old flivver he handcuffed him to the steel post that supported the roof. Over the summer the road had developed so many potholes that everything rattled as they motored along. Ellie looked back then mimed to Aldon that the boy slept.

The minute the car stopped in front of the sheriff’s office, Ellie jumped out, but then she stood waiting for him to unlock Lastus’s cuff. Sudden chaos broke out as the young man bolted away from Aldon and around the automobile to grab Ellie. Rage washed over Aldon like a forest fire, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground knowing the big child could snap her neck in a second.

“Throw that there sidearm in the motor car,” Lastus demanded. Aldon obeyed.

Go West~Chapter 41

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Forty-one

Aldon

It was time for fall round-up, and Aldon was anxious to move the cattle down the mountain before they decided to move themselves. The three-year-old cows had such a strong homing instinct that if no one came for them by the end of summer they’d start down on their own. He knew if that happened the cattle could fall off cliffs, get caught in brush, or be attacked by predators. He had taken the foreman’s job so it was his responsibility to get the cattle safely back to the ranch.

Checking to see that everyone was equipped for the trip, he looked first at Ellie and his heart did cartwheels. She wore her new Stetson and a pair of jeans that would fit a young lad. She had on her dainty leather gloves and Aldon was glad to know that her violinist hands would be protected from the rough work of riding, roping, and carrying kindling once they arrived at the line cabin. All riders had multi-purpose bandanas around their necks. They could use them for carrying freshly caught fish or wild strawberries — not both at the same time, of course. A bandana would keep dust out of their noses or double as a washrag, also it could be handy as a bandage or tourniquet.

Aldon wore his Colt 45s in their holsters slung at hip level and his bullets snugged into the slots of his ammunition belt around his waist. His rifle fit snugly in its case under the stirrup fender.

“You look ready for anything,” Aldon said, as he watched Ellie gracefully mount Summer. He was proud of her. She had learned so much and so had he. She neither looked at him nor smiled. He’d heard of broken hearts, but he’d never had a taste of what one might feel like before.

Aldon never got tired of heading out after the cattle when the air was as crisp and pure as cold apple cider, and the leaves on the aspens twinkled silver and gold. As they climbed, he saw more wildflowers than he’d ever seen before. A small patch of snow in perpetual shade had glacier lilies growing near it, while a stump at the top of a rise grew Columbines at its base. He must remember to tell Ellie they were the state flower – that is if they ever really talked to each again. They passed Mirror Lake where mountains reflected in the lake were perfect duplicates of the ones that towered above. The day passed quickly and by the time they got to the line cabin it was almost dark.

Aldon built up the campfire and stood watching while Ellie hooked a pot of beans onto the trivet that straddled it

“Will you walk up to the beaver dam with me?” he asked her. “It’ll take a while for supper to get warmed up. Kenny can stir the beans and keep them from burning.

Ellie sighed, but still wouldn’t look at him.

“Come on, please.” He tugged on her jacket sleeve. “I need to talk to you.”

“Oh all right,” she shrugged. “Let’s go.” She followed silently as he led up the trail.

When they got to the pond she looked around and he could tell she was remembering the last time they were here. They sat down on the clean, flat rock that was still warm from the sun.

“I don’t think the rattler would have struck at you, so my action might have been too impulsive.” Aldon said. “I’ve always had a hair-trigger when it comes to looking after people. It’s a bad habit and I want you to know that I’m asking God help me to change.”

“I agree, but don’t over-do it. Sometimes people need protection, especially around poisonous snakes.” She still didn’t look at him, but at least she was talking.

“The thing is,” he said, feeling he hadn’t made his point. “I’m praying hard about developing some self-control.”

“You don’t have to do it on my account,” Ellie said. “I’m not going to be around here that long.

“What?” he jerked his head toward her and stared. His felt as if his heart had stopped circulating. “You’re leaving?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you did something wrong. You were trying to keep the peace in the dance and that was part of your job as a community leader. I’m not exactly pleased with the idea people have of me now, but Enrico has treated me respectfully since then. You didn’t think I did anything to encourage him, did you? I didn’t mean to.” She pressed her lips together.

“No! He didn’t need any encouragement. He thought he should have everything his way — we all think that sometimes, I suppose. But I want to know…am I driving you away?”

“No. I’m going partly because of the weather. I don’t want to be here in the wintertime. It’s cold enough in Chicago to freeze your toes off, and I hear it’s as bad in this place. The ranch won’t need me. I’d just get in the way.”

“But where are you going? Winter’s pretty common most everywhere.”

“I’m thinking about heading for California.” She ran her fingers through her hair and then smoothed it down.

DiVoran’s Promise Posters, Paintings from Go West as well as other art can be purchased as note cards and framable art

Creative Arts

Go West~Chapter 15

Go West

by DiVoran Lites

Chapter Fifteen

Aldon

When supper was over and the clean up finished, Aldon decided to hike up to the beaver pond for a bath. He grabbed a bar of Molly’s homemade soap, and an old towel from his saddlebag and joined Joe and Dieter on the trail. At the pond, the men raced to see who could get into the water first. Joe had to stop and help Dieter get his boots off, so Aldon made the big splash. He started swimming as fast as he could in the icy water, all the time wishing for the hot and cold spring so it would be more comfortable. He was half way across by the time Joe jumped in, and Dieter came next. The three of them wrestled over the soap like dogs over a bone, and when Aldon finally got hold of it, he washed quickly and then threw the soap to Joe. He got out and while the two of them continued to struggle, he dried off and put on fresh jeans and a flannel shirt. For a while, he sat on the large, flat boulder that was like a ramp extending into the water. The top part of the rock was still warm from the sun shining on it all day. It felt so good that he wanted to lie down and sleep right then. He took a deep breath of clean, pine-scented air, held it and breathed out the weariness of the trail with a sigh of satisfaction. They had arrived safely with all the men, the woman, the horses, dogs, and cattle. His cousins quieted as they came out of the water as if they two had started to relax after the long day on the trail.

When they arrived back at camp, Aldon found Ellie sitting on the chuck wagon tailgate with her head against a post that supported the canopy. She looked so bedraggled, he felt sorry for her.

“No more travel until tomorrow when we leave the cattle and ride back down to the ranch,” he said.

“Any chance of my getting a bath, too?” Ellie slid off the tailgate and stood looking up at him in the gathering dusk.

“Sure.” Aldon swallowed hard at the thought of Ellie taking a bath anywhere, but this was practically out in public. He’d need to go with her and keep her safe, but who would keep her safe with him? He shook the thoughts away. After all, bringing Ellie along was his idea and that made her his responsiblity.

“You sure it’s okay? I don’t want to be any trouble.” Her eyebrows went up in consternation.

“Come with me.” Aldon felt heat in his face and chastised himself. Blushing was for women and children, but he hadn’t been able to break himself of it yet. He found another towel and they were on their way. Ellie carried a bundle of clothes clutched to her chest.

“You need a packhorse?” he quipped.

“I have to have clean clothes; I can’t stand these another minute.” As they ascended the trail with Aldon in the lead, he stopped, turned, and took the clothing from her.

“I am perfectly capable of being my own pack horse, thank you.” She tugged at the shirt in his arms but he held on to it until she let go.

“The trail is rocky. Since it’s new to you, maybe I’d better be the pack horse, in case you need to grab a bush to steady yourself.” He moved on.

As they arrived, they heard a splash and saw several beavers glide away toward a mound of brush. Aldon helped Ellie step up onto the boulder, and then he pointed out the sights.

“The beavers live over there,” he explained, indicating the far side of the pond where a pile of sticks stuck up at the edge of the water.

“Yes?” Ellie waited for more.

“It’s called a beaver lodge,” he continued. “They swim under the woven branches and into a warm, dry den. See the pointed stumps over there?” She nodded and he went on. “Beavers cut the saplings down with their teeth in order to use them for making the lodge. They also eat the spongy wood beneath the bark.”

“No wonder people say, busy as a beaver,” she said. “Imagine having to chew down a tree before you can eat breakfast.” They chuckled.

“Beavers mate for life,” he looked at her then cast his gaze out over the pond.

“Do they? That’s good, like people.”

“I’ll sit at the top of this rock. You go down there and get in the water. Here’s the soap.” He handed it to her. “The water is so cold; you won’t want to stay in long. I promise I won’t look.” Aldon listened to the faint sounds Ellie made as she undressed. He heard a squeal of outrage, evidence that she had dipped into the freezing water. After a few minutes, he stretched out on the warm rock and listened to a series of whimpers, feeling like a lout for not heating water on the campfire and letting her bathe inside the cabin.

“Coming out,” she said waking him from a short nap. He took the warm towel and her clothes down to her at the water’s edge. Without looking, he laid the towel across her shoulders. She was shivering so badly that he wanted to take her in his arms and warm her body with his, but knowing it would be the action of a cad, he hoped his hands alone might help.

“It’s okay, I’m decent,” she said. When he looked at her, he had to reckon that her idea of decent was different from his. The towel covered her top, but he could see that high on her bare legs were edges of something pink and silky. What he could see of the garment looked like a cross between fancy underwear and a racy bathing suit. He hadn’t seen anything like it since the war when a fellow flier insisted he look at a picture in a French catalog.

“Let me go, you big lug,” Ellie said between clenched teeth. “You’re squashing me so I can hardly breathe.” Realizing that he had been tightening his grip, he released her so quickly she almost fell.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Let’s hurry now; I don’t want you to catch pneumonia.”

He handed her the bundle of clean clothes and stepped once again to the top of the rock to wait for her.