Peace River (Rockland Ranch Series) (23 page)

             
Judd didn’t know which rodeo it was and, in fact, had the day of the wreck three days late because of the delay in Dante calling Carrie, but he finally knew how she’d gotten away so slick.  She was with a cowboy.  He tried to think back and remember if she’d known any cowboys, but there were none he was aware of. 

             
He and Deek got on the internet and it wasn’t long before they knew where there were rodeos going on and who had ridden bulls in them.  From there it was simply a matter of finding out who had crashed and burned on a bull.  There were nineteen rodeos being held that week across the country, but only twelve bad wrecks on bulls.  So they narrowed the field quickly, and began to check rodeos to try and figure out where they would go next.

                                                        **** 

              Isabel loved Naomi and all the Rockland family dearly, but she was a little uncomfortable just hanging out there, even though she was there to help Slade.  She tried to pitch in wherever she could around the ranch, and although it was fun and interesting, she didn’t feel nearly as needed as she had on the road.

             
After Slade had been home for five days, he and Rossen made a big joke out of arm wrestling to see who got to keep Isabel with them when Rossen and Sean headed back out on the road to rodeo.  She knew it was their way of asking her what she wanted to do. 

             
What she wanted was to stay with Slade, but because of Naomi‘s care for him, where she was needed the most was probably on the road.  Where she was safest from Judd was anybody’s guess, and where she ought to be to keep this wonderful family safe was far away from them all. 

She was at a loss about what to do, so she too
k it to her Father in Heaven, then had a heart-to-heart talk with Slade and Rossen.  What they came up with was that she would stay in Wyoming, but she would do most of the scheduling of the rodeos over the internet and email the information to Rossen’s laptop.  She and Slade would stay with Naomi for a while longer until they thought they could be okay on their own, and then Isabel and Slade would move over to Slade’s house in the next valley with the couple who took care of the ranch and house when he was away.  This way they wouldn’t feel like a burden and Rossen’s family would be protected from Judd as much as possible.  

             
The fact that Sean liked to cook would help him and Rossen on the road.  Sean and Isabel planned menus for the first little while and she made sure the trailer was stocked beforehand. 

             
It was the third week in August and Rossen and Sean were headed first to Caldwell, Idaho which was a long day’s drive from home.  They decided to leave early in the morning.  That way their horses would have the night before the drive to rest, and the night before the rodeo to rest again.

             
The evening before they were going to leave they had a big family dinner.  The atmosphere was festive, but there was an undercurrent that was subdued.  Slade and Rossen had been rodeoing for years as a team and as best friends, and even though they would both be with family, in a manner, they’d be apart.  Isabel was sad to tell Rossen goodbye, as well.  She would truly miss him.  And it was heart-breaking to watch Slade be left behind in such bad shape. 

             
One thing saved Isabel from being totally depressed.  Part way through the dinner, Naomi asked Slade if Rossen had asked him recently if he was ready to be baptized.

             
Slade replied, “No, he hasn’t for a long, long time.”  All eyes at the table looked at Rossen, who looked around puzzled.

             
“What?”  He spoke around a bite of spaghetti.  “What are you all looking at me for?”  Slade smiled and looked from Isabel to Naomi.

             
Joey piped in cheerily, “Why haven’t you asked him?” 

             
“I guess I’ve just been kind of busy.  Why?”  Rossen looked around the table suspiciously. 

             
Joey looked markedly at her plate. “No reason.  Just wondered.”  

             
Rossen still looked around, then said, “For crying out loud. What is up with you people?”  He turned to Slade.  “All right, Marsh, are you ready to get baptized yet?  There now, I’ve asked him.  Satisfied?”  He went back to his spaghetti.  At first he didn’t even hear Slade say yes.  After a second or two of silence around the table, it sunk in. 

He turned to
Slade again.  “What?  What did you say?” 

             
Slade smiled at him across the table.  “I said yes.”

             
“Really?”

             
“Really.”  Rossen tipped his chair over backward trying to get around the table to Slade.  Isabel almost tipped hers over trying to get to Slade to protect him from Rossen’s enthusiasm.

             
“No!”  She stepped in front of Rossen just in time.  “Rossen, no you’ll hurt him!  Just shake his hand or something.  You can‘t be too rough right now!”

             
Slade struggled to stand up and tease him, “C’mere, you big teddy bear.  Just hug me very softly.”

             
Rossen took his hand, and the look they shared was of the deepest brotherhood, then Rossen very slowly leaned and embraced Slade gently. 

Pulling away, he asked,
“When?”

             
“As soon as I feel good enough to do it.”

             
A huge smile lit Rossen’s face.  “Aw, that is so great!  Why didn’t you tell me?” 

             
He went to grab Slade again, but Isabel stopped him with a hand on his chest.  “Careful.”

             
“Sorry, sorry.”  Rossen went back around the table and sat back in his seat and dinner resumed normally for a few minutes.

             
Finally, Isabel asked in a timid voice, “Do I have to wait to be asked, too?”  Every person at the table except Naomi stared at her, open-mouthed.  Forks were poised and it was utterly silent. 

Finally,
Naomi clapped her hands laughing. “Of course you don’t, dear.  You can be baptized as soon as you’re ready.”  Everyone at the table began to laugh and cheer except Slade and Rossen.  They were still staring at her. 

                                          ****

              The next morning, as they were getting ready to go, Isabel asked, “Is there any way I can get a copy of the photograph that hangs in the trailer?”  It had meant a great deal to her while they traveled and she wanted that same image of peace to keep with her while she was here.  They all looked at her almost strangely, and then turned to Slade.

             
He just smiled at her.  “I think I have a copy around somewhere.  I’ll find it for you.” 

             
Finally Rossen and Sean loaded up and the big truck and trailer pulled away.  Isabel tried to brush at her tears unseen.  Slade carefully put one arm around her and said gently, “Don’t be sad.  This isn’t the end, I promise.”

              For the next few days, Slade continued to rest and stay down.  Slowly he began to have his color and energy return.  The bruising had all but faded the day he turned to Isabel and said, “Let’s go home to my house.”  Isabel had been helping around the ranch as much as possible and had enjoyed every minute of her stay, but she too felt like she didn’t want to wear out her welcome.  She’d been glad to find that Slade's home was only five minutes away, further up the gravel road and that she would, in fact, drive right past the Rocklands’ homes whenever she needed to go anywhere. 

             
In all this time she’d never seen Slade’s property, and she was curious about what his home would be like.  She wondered if it would be her own home too someday and was excited to finally see it.

             
She had come to love Naomi more than ever and was grateful she would be so close.  These weeks together had been the perfect opportunity for Isabel to continue to learn from her.  She taught both gospel principles as well as everyday practical things that Isabel needed to know to live and work in this rural place. 

             
The only thing similar to her life back home was the fact that there were horses around.  Here there was also work to do for the cattle operation, and maintenance of farming equipment and of the homestead itself.  Most of the operation was handled by members of the family.

             
The oil part of the operation was run almost exclusively by employees on a distant part of the ranch. It was separate, although still behind the locked gates out on the gravel road.  It was the reason for the tight security.

             
When it was finally time to move, Cooper helped to load up Naomi’s car he’d brought around.  It was the only vehicle on the place that wasn’t a truck, and it was easier for Slade to get in and out of.  Between the two of them, she and Slade only had two duffle bags of clothes and a few odds and ends. Cooper volunteered to take the rented hospital bed back the next time he went to town. 

             
After assuring them all that they could get settled into the house alone fine, Slade and Isabel hugged Naomi and said goodbye.

             
Isabel was trying to miss the potholes in the gravel road to keep from jarring Slade and look around her at the same time.  The scenery was glorious.  Both homesteads were in the lowlands of two valleys and the mountains that surrounded them were magnificent.  They drove along the road for a few minutes before it started to climb slightly in elevation.  As they topped the ridgeline and entered the next valley, Isabel let the car drift to a stop. She couldn’t believe it!  Before her was the actual river valley from the photo in the trailer.  The scripture from Isaiah softly escaped from her lips unbidden, “And I will extend peace to her like a river.”  All she could do was stare at the scene before her   

             
At length, she turned to Slade.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

             
“Actually, until a couple days ago I didn’t know it was a big deal.  I mean, I’d seen your Post-It on the photo, but I didn’t realize it really meant anything to you.”  He smiled, and carefully leaned to kiss her.  “Welcome home.”  

             
They continued down the road until they rounded a bend, and the house and barn appeared, tucked into the trees in a fold in the hill. 

             
They were built of wood and stone with a cedar shake roof and looked like they were a part of the mountain. Massive logs held up the roof over the drive in front, and vaulted windows rose to the ceiling to take in the view across the valley.  It looked like it would stand against that hillside for a thousand years and yet the architecture was magnificent.  This house exactly matched this man.

             
“That’s a house.”  She started the car moving again.

             
Softly, Slade admitted, “Today it feels like home.”  Their eyes met.  “It hasn’t always felt that way.  That’s why I stay with the Rocklands a lot.  Sometimes it’s been lonely.”

             
She drove in and parked under the porte-cochere and stood by as he climbed from the car and walked to the front door.  Once there, he punched some numbers on the keypad and turned the knob.  Inside the foyer she stood on a stone floor and looked around.  It was timber framed with massive logs holding up the walls and spanning the ceiling.  An imposing river rock fireplace climbed to the second story in the center of the house, and the whole west end of the great room was glass that brought the view across the valley inside. The furniture she could see was covered with canvas dust covers. 

             
He walked inside and crossed the great room to the other side.  She helped pull the dust cover off a leather recliner and he gratefully sank into it and said, “I should have asked Hank and Ruby to get things ready for us.  Do you mind if I let you give yourself the tour.  Just here is about as far as I want to go right now.”

             
She unloaded bags from the car and brought them in.  “Which way to your room?”

             
He pointed.  “Just toss it on the foot of the bed and I’ll put it away later.”  He caught her hand as she went past.  When she looked down at him, he gently kissed her hand and said, “Thank you for helping me to survive an injury I wouldn’t even have if I'd listened to you in the first place.”

             
It was the first time he’d broached the subject of either bull riding or the flack jacket.  She set the bag down, pulled an ottoman over and sat on it beside his chair and said kindly, “Slade, I’m not your mother.  I really had no right to even intimate what you should be doing.  I’m sorry I said what I did in the trailer that night.” 

             
Leaning his head back, he said, “Actually, it was almost worth disappointing you to have you tell me I have body like a young Greek God.” He gave a sad smile.  “Almost.”  He took her hand again.