Journey of the Heart (12 page)

After the lunging, Gabe left the whip in the middle of the corral and keeping by Sky’s shoulder, walked and trotted him in a circle.

“The horse is very responsive, Cait,” Henry reassured her.

When Gabe brought Sky to a halt in front of them, Cait slipped down and pulled a carrot from her pocket. “Here is your treat for the day, Sky.”

“He looks about ready to be ridden to me, Hart,” said Henry, jumping down next to Cait. Sky took a few steps back, but when Cait reached out her palm, he came up to snuffle at it and then looked at her as if to say: “No more treats?”

“I thought you Western bronc busters just get on and ride till the horse is broke to saddle,” continued Henry in a fake drawl.

“Some do,” answered Gabe.

“Da doesn’t like to break our horses that way, Henry.”

“It’s quicker, isn’t it? And in this case, you’d get an idea if he
can
be broken.”

“It may be quicker, but in the long run, you’ve got a better, more responsive horse if you convince him gently that what you want is really what he wants,” Gabe responded, exaggerating his Texas drawl so much that Cait had to bite her lip to keep from smiling.

“Well, I certainly hope he is broken…I mean gentled for riding by the end of the summer so we
can
take him back east with us, eh, Cait? He’ll be the talk of Philadelphia,” said Henry, putting his arm over Cait’s shoulders.

Caitlin had dreamed of bringing Sky back east and riding with Henry down oak-shaded lanes but somehow having him put the dream into words made her feel that the reality would somehow not match the fantasy. For two years she had held Sky in her mind, imagining him growing from colt to two-year-old, and in that dream space he’d been safe. But the real Sky had been running free, had suffered a terrible attack, and might never recover from it. If he could be gentled, did such a creature of the West belong trotting down Eastern bridle paths?

“What do you think, Hart? Can you have Cait riding him by then?”

Gabe looked at Cait and then Henry and said, “I reckon we should know whether he’s salvageable by the end of the summer.”

Cait hated him for using that word. It reminded her of what was at stake here.

“It would be a shame if we couldn’t bring him back with us, Cait,” said Henry as they followed Gabe and the horse into the barn.

“Yes, it would, Henry. Why don’t you go up to the house while I groom Sky. I’m trying to spend time with him every day to get him used to me again.”

“Of course, my dear.”

Sky wouldn’t allow a brush near his withers or back yet, but by now he would accept a light stroking with a piece of an old shirt of Gabe’s. It had taken Gabe hours of patient work to achieve that: holding the cloth out, letting the horse recognize the familiar scent, reaching up, Sky pulling back and then starting all over again.

Cait tried to put all her love and hope in to her brush strokes and the soft touch of the shirt. Had Sky been a complete renegade unable to tolerate anyone, she would almost feel better, she realized. What was so painful was the fact that he did respond to her and trust her and Gabriel Hart…but only up to a point.

It was as clear as if he could speak: “I will do this for you and you can come this close to me…but not
that,
not that.” Cait felt it must be as painful for the horse as for her. She knew he wanted to give in. She believed, with her father, that when a horse and a human worked together in partnership, it was as much a joy for the animal as for the rider.

Gabe Hart was working the way her father would have: giving the horse all the time and space in the world to let him discover that his own need for partnership was stronger than his fear. She could only hope that Sky’s desire would be greater than his fear.

* * * *

“There is a dance in town Saturday, Elizabeth. I was thinkin’ that we all might go,” said Michael at the supper table that night.

Cait’s face lit up. “Oh, Da, that would be wonderful! Henry would get a chance to meet some of our neighbors. We’ll dance him off his feet,” she added, smiling over at Henry.

“Will Mackie be there, Michael?” Elizabeth asked quietly.

“I suppose he will be. He’s made sure that he’s welcome in town.”

“And his men?”

“I don’t think he’ll bring them out full force,
a ghra,”
said Michael, patting her hand. “I don’t know if Cait told you, Henry, but there has been a wee bit of trouble in the valley.”

“No, she hasn’t mentioned it, Mr. Burke. What kind of trouble?”

“A Mr. Nelson Mackie arrived here from Texas last year. West Texas wasn’t big enough for him and he decided he needed some of New Mexico to run his cattle. He’s been gradually pushin’ the smaller ranchers off one by one. He’s after us now.”

“How can he get away with that?” demanded Henry. “Surely they would have had some legal recourse?”

“He doesn’t do anything that you might call illegal, boyo, not in broad daylight. He offers fair money, people refuse, he offers more, they accept,” Michael said dryly.

“What my husband isn’t mentioning is what happens between the first offer and the second, Henry,” added Elizabeth.

“Of course, Mackie is never directly involved in that,” continued Michael. “He just sends his men out to do a little bullying.”

“Or he poisons sheep!” said Elizabeth.

“But surely you can complain to the local law enforcement officer,” said Henry.

“Em, the local sheriff in this case is owned by Mackie.”

“The territorial judges then?”

“Did ye ever hear anything back east of the Lincoln County war, Henry?” asked Michael.

“Yes, it was all over the papers at one point how a group of vigilantes terrorized the county.”

“Em, well, ye see, boyo,” continued Michael in a deceptively mild tone, “the newspapers didn’t always get the story right. Those so-called outlaws were a legally constituted posse.”

“But Da,” interrupted Cait, “you have to admit that they acted more like vigilantes than lawmen.”

“By the end of it, yes, Cait. But when the government is corrupt, even up to the governor’s mansion, ‘tis a hard thing to know what to do.”

“You’d not make excuses for the likes of William Bonney, would you, Da?”

“You know that I am not a violent man, Caitlin. But out here, Henry, sometimes it takes resorting to violence to protect your own.”

“Let’s not talk of violence, Michael,” said Elizabeth. “I doubt it will come to that. And certainly not at Saturday’s dance.”

“I’m sorry,
a ghra.
I got a bit carried away on the subject.”

“I’d like to hear more about your opinions, Mr. Burke. As a lawyer, you can imagine I’m appalled at the thought of lawlessness.” Henry paused and cleared his throat. “Perhaps after coffee we might step outside and enjoy a cigar. There is another matter I want your opinion on also.”

Cait blushed. Michael glanced over at his wife and then nodded. “I’d be delighted to try a cigar, Henry.”

“What do you think of New Mexico now that you’ve been here awhile?” Michael asked as they walked toward the corral after dessert and coffee.

“It seems like another country,” said Henry. “Desolate. But beautiful,” he added. “And I am beginning to think that all the stories we hear about the Wild West back east are not that exaggerated.”

“ ‘Tis just not as glamorous as the papers would have ye believe,” said Michael with a quick smile.

“I suppose not,” Henry admitted. “Especially if men like yourself are unable to get protection from the law when they are threatened. But do you really think it will come to your having to take the law into your own hands? And would you?” Henry asked soberly.

“I hope it will not, for I don’t know what I’d be driven to, boyo.”

“I hate to think of Caitlin being in danger.” Henry hesitated. “It is about her that I wish to speak with you, Mr. Burke.”

“I supposed so.” Michael lit the cigar Henry had given him and inhaled. The tip glowed red in the dusk. “I don’t smoke much,” he said as he exhaled a sigh of appreciation, “but I can appreciate a good cigar.”

“The fact is, Mr. Burke,” Henry began, more nervous than he had expected to be, “that Caitlin and I consider ourselves unofficially engaged to be married.”

“So she told us.”

“Of course, I wish to make it an official engagement, but that had to wait till I could talk to you.” Michael said nothing and Henry rushed into the silence. “I care very much for your daughter, Mr. Burke, and I would like your permission to marry her.”

“And take her back to Philadelphia?”

“My work is there, Mr. Burke. And Caitlin’s too. I am sure she has told you of her position at the Fayreweather School?”

“She has. When and where were you planning to be married.”

“I had hoped…we had hoped that Cait could accompany me back in August when I return from California. The wedding would be at Christmastime. We hope that you and Mrs. Burke will be able to come east for it.”

“Philadelphia is far away from New Mexico, Henry. This is Cait’s home.”

“I think she feels equally at home in Philadelphia, Mr. Burke.”

“Well, Mrs. Burke and I would never want to stand in the way of my daughter’s happiness, Henry.”

“Then you give your permission?” asked Henry eagerly.

“If Caitlin loves you and wishes to make her home with you, then Mrs. Burke and I will wish you both happiness,” said Michael, extending his hand.

Henry took it and was surprised at what relief he felt.

“Come, lad, let’s go in. If I know my daughter, she won’t be able to wait much longer.”

Indeed, Cait was standing at the door waiting as the two men walked back up to the house.

“Well, Da,” she said, giving him a questioning smile.

“Well, Cait, it looks like ye’re officially engaged now.”

She flung her arms around Michael’s neck. “Oh, Da, I knew you’d like Henry.”

Elizabeth came up behind her and said: “Now, Cait, don’t strangle your father.” Cait looked back at her mother with a teary smile. Elizabeth had been teasing her for years for flinging herself at Michael whenever he returned home.

“We must all have a sip of wine to celebrate an occasion like this,” said Elizabeth, and Michael looked over at her in warm approval. If it was hard for him to let his daughter go, he could imagine how difficult it was for his wife. Elizabeth took out their best glasses and the small decanter of port they reserved for special occasions.

“To Cait and Henry’s happiness,” Michael toasted. They all touched glasses and drank down the wine.

“Elizabeth, Henry was tellin’ me that he wishes to bring Caitlin back east with him when he returns in August.”

Elizabeth lowered her glass and said slowly, “I see.”

“And we would marry at Christmas, Mrs. Burke. I hope that you and Mr. Burke can be there. I would expect winter is a quiet time on a ranch.”

“Yes,” said Elizabeth, “but it is also a hard time to travel because of the weather.”

“Then come earlier, Ma,” Cait pleaded. “You and Da haven’t been east since you came here years ago.”

“Not since I was fourteen,” Elizabeth replied slowly. “We will see how things go.” She paused and then smiled at the two of them. “You can attend this Saturday dance as an engaged couple. The neighbors will be completely surprised.”

“Em, maybe the engaged couple would be likin’ some privacy,
a ghra?”
suggested Michael. “I am tired from all this excitement. Will ye come upstairs and keep me company?”

Cait blushed furiously as her father led her mother upstairs and Henry laughed as he took her hand and brought her into the parlor. “That was kind of your father, Cait,” he said as they sat down on the sofa.

“He may as well have said ‘you have my permission to kiss her,’ ” exclaimed Cait, her protest halfhearted for of course she hoped that was exactly what Henry was going to do.

Henry put his arm around her and drew her closer. Tilting her chin up he leaned down and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss at first, but as Cait responded he made it deeper, pushing her lips apart with his own. Cait opened to him immediately, wanting to drink him in, and he pushed his tongue gently into her mouth. She gasped with surprise and pleasure for this was the longest, most passionate kiss they had shared. It ended too soon when Henry pulled away after only a few moments. Cait gave a sigh of disappointment and Henry smiled down at her.

“We had better be careful, Cait. I don’t wish to abuse your parents’ trust in us.”

Cait respected Henry for his concern, but at the same time wished for more. She might not be that fifteen-year-old who imagined herself as Catherine Earnshaw nor could she quite see Henry as a Heathcliff, she thought, a little smile playing over her lips, but surely one kiss wasn’t enough. She felt very bold as she lifted her mouth to his and then a little ashamed when he only brushed her lips lightly and said, with a nervous laugh, “My dear, you are so tempting…but we must not.”

If she
was
so tempting, then why did he not succumb? she wondered later as she lay in bed remembering their kiss and longing for another…and another. Then she chided herself; she respected Henry for his self-control and sense of honor. Her father and mother had trusted them and she admired him for not wanting to betray that trust.

All of them headed for town on Saturday: Michael and Elizabeth, Henry and Cait in the wagon and Gabe and Jake riding alongside. The moon was one day short of being full and Henry marveled aloud at how it lit the pinon-covered hills and the road in front of them. The air was redolent with the pungent smell of sage, for it had rained for a short time that afternoon.

Gabe looked around as he heard Beecham’s exclamation. He supposed he took it for granted, this unique beauty, now that he had been here for so many years. Maybe because he didn’t feel separate from it, but a part of it. For Beecham, it was something to wonder at because he was just passing through. For the Burkes and himself, the country had worked its way into their souls. Though obviously not so deep into Miss Burke’s soul if she was able to leave it far behind. He’d heard about the engagement. It came as no surprise, for what else would a man like Henry Beecham be doing at a horse ranch if it weren’t for love.