Journey of the Heart (30 page)

“Well, I think we’ve been here long enough to prove our good intentions. Let’s say our good-byes and head home.”

On the way back to the ranch, Michael laughed and said to his wife and daughter, “Between Chavez and Mackie’s neighborliness, you’d think that nothing atall had happened in this valley for the last few months. Maybe Eduardo’s murder was their last try.”

“I don’t believe Señor Chavez had anything to do with Eduardo’s death, Mr. Burke,” replied Sadie, surprising herself as well as him.

“You don’t, do ye? And why is that?”

“He told me he didn’t.”

Caitlin looked at her in wide-eyed astonishment. “You believed him? What else would you expect him to say, Sadie?”

“I don’t know,” Sadie confessed. “I’m not saying he never killed anyone. I’m just sure that he is not Eduardo’s murderer.”

“It will take more than his saying it to convince me,” Michael responded flatly.

Later that night, when they were going up to bed, Cait stopped in front of Sadie’s door.

“Do you really believe that Juan Chavez is innocent, Sadie? After all that has happened.”

“I didn’t say he was a good man, Cait. And neither did he claim to be to me,” she added with a smile. “Just that I believed him innocent in this one situation.”

“Then who did kill Eduardo?”

“Oh, I’ve no doubt Nelson Mackie had him killed, Cait. But he has plenty of men capable of doing it, doesn’t he?”

Cait shuddered. “He certainly does. Some of those men there today were as frightening as Chavez. I guess I would have no problem believing one of them could have killed Eduardo.”

“Neither would I,” agreed Sadie.

Caitlin bade her a good night and Sadie slipped under the covers. She lay there remembering Juan Chavez’s caresses and feeling an aching sadness at the thought that she would not likely be alone with him again.

It had been over a week since the Mackies’ picnic and things had remained peaceful. Michael had hired a new shepherd and rode up to the meadows regularly to make sure all was well. So far no sheep had wandered away or died, and more important, neither Chavez nor any other of Mackie’s men had been seen in the vicinity.

“I don’t want to be too quick at trustin’ the man,” Michael said one day at breakfast, “But I’m beginin’ to think he might have given up at last. Nevertheless,” he added, “I don’t want ye to be ridin’ off the ranch alone, Cait. Or you, Sadie. Not yet, anyway.”

“Sadie and I were planning to drive into town, Cait. Would you like to come with us?”

“I need to ride over to the reservation to talk to the agent about that teaching position, Ma.”

“Gabe, can you ride with Caitlin today?” Elizabeth asked. “Michael, you won’t mind if he doesn’t work the two-year-olds today?”

“Not at all,
a ghra.
I’d not want ye going alone, Caitlin.”

“Da, you don’t have to pull Mr. Hart away from the horses. It’s only five miles or so,” protested Cait.

“I’d feel better if ye weren’t ridin’ alone yet, Cait. Ye’ll go, Gabe?”

“Of course I’ll go, sir.”

Cait was hanging over the pasture fence looking longingly at Sky when Gabe led their horses out. “I thought I’d be riding him all summer,” she said wistfully as she turned and walked over to Snowflake. She rubbed the mare’s freckled muzzle. “Don’t be insulted, Snowflake, but you are not really
my
horse.”

Gabe handed her the reins and after she mounted looked over at her and said, “I think he’ll be ready in a few days, Miss Cait. You may well be riding him before the summer is over.”

Her eyes lit up. “Do you really think so?”

“I do.”

They rode in silence for a while and then as they got closer to the agency, Gabe said: “You really want this job, don’t you?”

“Teaching is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Yes, but it was a different kind of teaching you were talking about when Sadie arrived, I recall.”

Cait was quiet for a moment. “I guess I want to do something that gives to people, Mr. Hart. One of my teachers at Fayreweather was a real inspiration to me. She made me notice the women in the books I was reading, not just the men. I wanted to inspire other girls the way she did me.”

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be doing that kind of teaching here. Most of your pupils won’t even understand English.”

“No, but they will need to learn it in order to survive. And while I am teaching them my language, I can offer them respect for their ways. If they went away to an Indian school, they would be stripped of all that makes them Dine.”

“Dine?”

“That is the Navajo word for the People.”

“And we aren’t?” asked Gabe with a short laugh.

“Many Indian tribes have named themselves something similar,” admitted Cait, “so I guess it isn’t just white men they feel superior to. What do you think about Indians, Mr. Hart?”

“I haven’t thought too much about them at all,” Gabe confessed. “When I was little, Grandpa used to tell stories about fighting the Comanche. They sure seemed a bloodthirsty bunch, from what he told us. On the other hand,” Gabe continued thoughtfully, “I remember him telling us about one little boy who was captured when he was five. When they rescued him at fourteen, he was pure Comanche. In fact, Grandpa said he didn’t consider himself rescued, but kidnapped, so they must have treated him well.”

“My Da fought Indians with the army, of course,” said Cait. “But when he came to New Mexico and was made to remove the Navajo from their land, he decided to leave the army rather than continue doing what he felt was wrong. Every few years, when I was growing up, we’d go and visit our Dine friends, Serena and Antonio and their family.”

“Then you would be a real good teacher for these Navajo kids, Miss Cait.”

“I hope so, Mr. Hart.”

When they reached the small agency office, Gabe waited outside. He’d never thought much about Indians before. He was no Indian hater, but he’d pretty much taken for granted that it was destiny that white settlers, who knew how to use the land, had more of a right to it. He suspected that Caitlin Burke would not share this view. She obviously had a more intimate understanding of what it had meant to at least one Navajo family. He admired her determination and idealism. His ma had been like that about teaching and so was Sadie. It seemed very right that he would end up loving a woman so like the strong women in his family.

It had been oppressively hot when they started out, but Gabe realized that a breeze had come up while he was sitting there. He looked east and saw that the sky was getting blacker by the minute over the mountains and the horses were moving restlessly where he had tied them. It was coming to the end of thunderstorm season, but it seemed like one hell of a storm was brewing.

He was just about to knock on the agency door when Cait came out with the agent. They were both looking very pleased, so he assumed she’d gotten the job.

“Oh, Mr. Hart,” she said, a big smile on her face, “Mr. Brookner has just agreed to hire me for the second term.”

“That’s grand news, Miss Cait, but we’d better be getting back before this storm hits.”

Cait’s expression changed as soon as she saw the clouds. She knew what was coming. “Thank goodness we’re not that far from the ranch,” she said. “We’ve got to be off, Mr. Brookner,” she added, turning and shaking his hand.

“Are you sure you both don’t want to take shelter here?” the agent offered.

“I think we can outrun it,” Gabe replied. “And I want to get back and make sure the horses are all right.”

“Good luck, then,” Brookner called out as they wheeled their horses and took off at a canter. After two miles, Gabe pulled the horses in. Despite their run, it was hard to keep them to a slow trot as the great claps of thunder grew louder and closer.

“I love thunderstorms,” said Cait with a big smile as she turned back and saw a bolt of lightning split the sky and seem to touch one of the mesas.

Gabe looked back and grinned. He could see how quickly the rain was moving toward them. “I like them too, Miss Cait, but I’m not so fond of what they can do. Another few minutes and that rain is going to be on top of us. We’ll hold the horses in a few minutes more, but when I say so, ride like hell!” Cait grinned back and when Gabe yelled “Now!” she clapped her heels to Snowflake’s sides and the mare took off.

It was a close race. They could feel the cool air behind them and even hear the rain hitting the ground. The storm finally caught them just at the ranch gate and in one moment, they were both drenched.

Cait laughed aloud as the thunder sounded over their heads and the horses flattened out in a run. When they reached the corral, she slid off Snowflake and lifted her face to the downpour. She felt like the rain was washing away all the doubts and guilt that had beset her this summer and she felt free and clear at last.

“Don’t be a damn fool, Miss Cait. Get your horse into the barn,” Gabe yelled. They all just got inside when a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder seemed to occur simultaneously and the old hitching post next to the corral was split in half.

“Oh my God,” exclaimed Cait, her eyes wide in disbelief. “That could have been one of us or the horses!”

“It almost was. What the hell were you doing, just standing out there like it was a shower?” Gabe was shaken to the core at the thought of her reckless behavior. He’d seen a cow struck by lightning once and he shivered at the memory.

“There is no need to yell at me, Mr. Hart. We are all inside and safe,” replied Cait, now as angry as he was. “I wasn’t standing there that long.”

Gabe took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’ve seen an animal killed in a storm not half as bad as this one,” he explained, his anger now under control.

“That must have been a terrible thing,” replied Cait. “But the rain felt so good after the heat today….” She stood there, her hair plastered to her head and her shirt sticking to her skin, revealing every lovely curve, and Gabe realized there was more than one way a storm could be exciting.

Cait smiled at him. “Just look at us, soaked to the skin.”

“I am trying my best not to look,” muttered Gabe, as he turned and busied himself with the horses.

Cait looked down at herself and blushed. She had worn her lightest blouse this morning and the cotton might as well have been gauze, she realized. When Gabe turned, she was still standing there, beginning to shiver a little. “I have a dry shirt in the tack room,” he told her. “You look uh, cold, Miss Cait.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and walked back to the tack room. With shaking hands she unbuttoned her blouse and stripped it off. Her chemise was soaked too, so she pulled that over her head and looked around for the shirt.

“I don’t see the shirt, Mr. Hart. Do you remember where you left it?” she called.

“It should be right there. I’ll find it,” he said and before Cait could think to say anything he was standing in the doorway. She froze like a deer caught in torchlight, her hands across her breasts, trying to keep them hidden.

She thought maybe she knew, after all, what it would be like to be struck by lightning. The force between them was so strong that she was surprised she didn’t turn into a pile of ash right then and there. She was as helpless against the pull as she had been before.

Gabe’s hand reached out and touched the line of her jaw. Her hands fell from her breasts and she reached out to put her hands on his chest. He couldn’t tell if she was pushing him away or holding on for dear life. All he knew was how much he wanted her. There was an old pallet in the corner of the room and he very slowly backed her over to it and sitting down, pulled her after him. His hand reached down to cup her breast and she whispered, “No, Gabe.”

It was pure torture, but he pulled away and said, “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, Cait.”

The trouble was, of course, that she
wanted
him to caress her breast. She put her hand on top of his and guided it back. He traced her breast gently and then cupped it, caressing the nipple with his thumb.

“Oh, Gabe…” she murmured.

When he lowered his mouth to hers, she let herself fall back on the cot, for the wood she had been leaning against was rough against her bare shoulders. It seemed their kiss went on forever, but when he pulled away, she realized forever wasn’t nearly long enough.

“Do you know what you are doing to me?” said Gabe, his voice low and strained.

“I don’t care,” she whispered and then moaned with pleasure as he kissed her breast. “But wait, Gabe,” she added, and he pulled back again, only to realize that she was reaching up to unbutton his shirt. It was hard, because the material was wet and her fingers were trembling, and when he saw what she was doing he ripped open the last button and pulled it off.

Her hand was at his chest again, but this time there was no doubt; she wasn’t pushing him away, but running her fingers through the silver-blond hair and tracing the line that went from sternum down his hard, flat stomach to the waistband of his jeans.

If she went any further, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself, he thought in ecstatic despair. When she started to pull the buttons of his pants open, he pushed her fingers away and shifted them so they were lying side by side. He kissed her again, hoping to distract her. But as he was kissing, he could feel her hand running down his chest once again.

This time he helped her. He had to, for he was so hard that his wet pants were uncomfortably tight. It was a relief when they were finally open and he was free of the pressure from the metal buttons.

Cait had grown up on a ranch and she had seen plenty of examples of maleness over the years. So she was not completely surprised at what she felt when Gabe unbuttoned his jeans. Obviously, a man would grow larger, just like other animals. What did surprise her was how lovely and soft something so rigid and male felt under her fingers, and the stirrings of desire in a part of her body she hadn’t been much aware of up till now. She wanted to pull him down on top of her, pull him into her, although it wasn’t quite clear to her how that might be done. Instinctively, she arched her body up to meet his.