Untamed (19 page)

"Then Sweetpea is all right? She isn't hurt or lost?"

"The buffalo is content." Long Belly did something after that comment that Josie had never witnessed before. He smiled. "You must remember that I have great concern for this buffalo and would never bring harm to her. My people and I are most grateful for the gift you have brought to us."

Josie thought about setting him straight right then and there, and she was sorely tempted to inform him that his people would just have to worship both Sweetpea and herself from afar. Something in his expression made her hold her tongue. It was as if Long Belly were in another world as he spoke of his people and the buffalo, a magical place that made his dark eyes shine and his cinnamon skin glow from within. She knew then that she need never fear that the savage would harm Sweetpea. Stealing her was another matter.

Josie propped the shovel against the feed room wall. "I'm going out to see Sweetpea now," she said, turning toward the back of the barn. "I have to at least say good morning to her."

In a hurry to do just that, Josie slipped quietly through the back door and saw the buffalo huddled under a lean-to attached to the back of the barn. She was happily munching away on the pile of hay Long Belly had apparently set out there for her until she heard Josie's approach. Then she began to grunt, a sound that Josie took as "I missed you."

Speaking in low, cooing tones as she drew closer to the animal, she said, "So, you didn't like the cozy accommodations in the barn, huh?"

Sweetpea turned to look at her, swinging her great head and still grunting.

"I don't want to disturb your breakfast. I'm just checking to make sure you have everything you need." As far as Josie could tell she did, with the exception of water. "I'll be right back."

Returning to the barn, she grabbed an empty pail and filled it from the water barrel just outside the feed room. About then, Daniel limped in through the front door.

"Everything all right in here?" he asked, looking from her to Long Belly, who was busy milking the cow.

"Yes," she said, "even though your brother-in-law was forced to put Sweetpea outside in the cold."

"The beast is wild," Long Belly muttered. "She would tear down the barn if kept inside. See the door for yourself."

Daniel glanced behind him. "Wow, what'd she do, go crazy?"

"You make it sound as if she's insane," Josie said. "She's fine around me. She only gets wild when you or Long Belly tries to interfere with her."

"That's because she is wild," warned Daniel. "No matter how much she may seem not to mind your presence, you've got to remember that this buffalo is a wild beast, not a cow in a field. She could be very dangerous."

"To you and Long Belly, perhaps," she said over her shoulder as she turned and headed back out to the corral. "But Sweetpea would never hurt me—she adores me."

This time when Josie approached the buffalo, metal pail in hand, Sweetpea's grunts grew louder, more serious, and she turned the whites of her eyes on her. The behavior gave Josie pause, but she continued to speak to the animal in soothing tones.

"Easy, girl. I've just brought you some water." Then she held up the pail.

Ungrateful as only a wild beast could be, the buffalo lowered her head and charged.

Josie flung the pail in the air, not bothering to stick around long enough to see where it landed, and ran as fast as she could for the safety of the barn. As she closed the door behind her, she could hear the sounds of horn against metal, shuddering to think Sweetpea could just as easily be tossing her around.

"If that buffalo adores you so damn much," came Daniel's voice from behind her. "Why isn't she a little more grateful that you brought her a pail of water?"

Josie spun around, still trembling, but indignant. "She likes me fine. She simply wasn't thirsty."

He smiled. "Then where's your bucket?"

Head held high, Josie started up the aisle toward the front of the barn, sashaying by Daniel and Long Belly as she said, "I left it with Sweetpea. I figured she could use a toy."

Then she headed for the cabin, humbled by the knowledge that if she hoped to make The Buffalo Queen Ranch a reality one day, she was going to have to learn a whole lot more about the species.

* * *

The blizzard raged for another week. To Daniel, who spent those nights sharing the loft with Josie while Long Belly stayed in the bed with Sissy, it was a time of both pleasure and pain. Although he and Josie continued to satisfy one another, each of them ferreting out the most responsive places on their bodies, his frustration grew.

Even while he'd been married, Daniel had never been much of a kisser. Tangle Hair had it in her mind that mouths and tongues mingling was something unclean. With Josie, who couldn't seem to get enough of his kisses, Daniel felt as if he were getting a whole new education in matters between the sexes and had discovered the kind of desire that started from somewhere other than his groin—a desire so strong, he wasn't sure how much longer he could go on wanting her, but not having her.

Adding to his frustration was his general physical condition. Although his leg was much stronger, it still couldn't support his weight. That meant Daniel was basically stuck in the cabin until the weather cleared. Josie had pretty much appointed herself as tender of the livestock, a situation that kept her out of doors for long periods and prompted occasional battles between her and Long Belly over who would see to the buffalo's needs. Sissy was on the mend, but not much use with the household chores. Daniel, much to his aggravation, was the only one left who could prepare the meals, such as they were.

It was as he was trying to decide between cooking up some hamhocks and beans or frying a couple of elk steaks for supper, that Josie came back to the cabin, bringing with her a cloud of snow. She shook herself out of his jacket, and then brushed the excess flakes from her hair. The arrowheads Long Belly had attached to her braids bobbed against her breasts, constant reminders of her newly exalted status.

"When is this storm ever going to stop?" she asked breathlessly. "I swear I've never seen anything like it so early in the season."

Long Belly, who was working on his handwriting skills at the table, looked up to say, "The buffalo—she is well?"

Josie nodded. "So far, but if this keeps up, I'm afraid she'll freeze to death out there in that corral. She's got icicles hanging off her fur."

"Don't worry about her," said Daniel. "Buffalo are made for weather like this. If you want to worry, concern yourself about my cattle. They didn't get a chance this year to put on much by way of winter fat. I'm told they could have a pretty rough time of it out there,"

"You heard right," she said. "Between prairie fires and lack of rain this summer, everyone's cattle suffered. My stepfather's herd is in the same shape. If these storms don't let up soon, I'm afraid he's going to lose a few head."

"Your family raises cattle around here?" asked Daniel.

She nodded. "It's the Baum Ranch, just east of Miles City. We had around five hundred head, last I heard."

This so surprised him, Daniel almost blurted out the obvious—what were you doing working in a whorehouse if you have family so close by? He didn't, but the question remained in his mind as he said, "You know a lot about cattle ranching, do you?"

Josie shrugged as she headed to the stove to warm herself. "Some. Enough to know that you don't have anything to worry about yet. Your cattle have the forest to help shelter them from the cold. All those trees also keep the snow from piling up so high they can't forage. Surely you know that."

At the table, Long Belly chuckled. "My friend knows nothing of cattle. He is, as he has told me, a blind man who wishes to teach those without eyes. I do not understand this."

"It's the blind leading the blind, you fool," said Daniel, frustrated with far more than Long Belly's attempts at levity. "And it simply means that I, someone whose knowledge of cattle is pretty much restricted to how thick my steak is, am trying to teach you and your starving tribe how to raise beef so you can support yourselves."

Josie looked from the Cheyenne to Daniel. "So this is your first herd, that scraggly little group I saw when Sweetpea found me?"

Daniel felt somehow less a man to admit, "Yes, all twenty head of them, give or take. I'd have a better idea of how they're doing if I hadn't broke my leg and this damned fool here didn't go off looking for buffalo every time I ask him to go check on the herd. Maybe all of that will change now that we've got good old Sweetpea out in the corral."

Long Belly sat back in his chair, pencil to his lips in thought. "Broken Dishes says the herd will be fine. This means that I can continue my search for a great bull. Sweetpea must have a mate."

His frustrations mounting, Daniel felt something inside him snap. "You're done looking for buffalo, you hear me? It's about time you faced your responsibilities."

As he hobbled over to the table, still scolding Long Belly over what he saw as his shortcomings, Josie shut her ears to the noisy argument. She was more concerned with her own. problems. In order to ensure her future success, she probably would have to breed Sweetpea. How was she to do that without a bull? Even though Josie planned to raise cattle as her main business, the fact that she also had buffalo was the one thing she counted on to set her ranch apart. It was the very reason, and probably the only one, that could convince a banker to take a chance and back her.

Turning to the men and their ongoing argument, Josie joined the fray. "I think Long Belly should be allowed to search for a bull. After all, if we found one buffalo, why not two?"

Daniel blew out an exasperated sigh. "I think you should just stay the hell out of this. It doesn't concern you:"

"It concerns me as much as anyone in this house."

"Broken Dishes is right." That said, Long Belly climbed out of his chair and directed his next comment to Daniel. "I will not allow you to speak to this woman in such a manner. She is to be respected above us all."

"You won't allow me?" The veins in Daniel's throat stood out like the ribs of a tipi. "Why, if I had both my legs under me, I'd march you outside right this minute and give you the beating of your life."

"And," said Long Belly, "I would accept this beating. I owe you this much."

Hands gripping the edge of the table, Daniel kicked his crutches aside. "Then maybe I ought to just beat you where you stand."

Sissy, who'd been resting, groaned and climbed off the bed. "I kinda wish that horse had squashed my head," she muttered, moving stiffly to the stove. "At least then, I wouldn't have to listen to all this shit."

Josie burst out laughing. "You hear that, fellahs? I think you've disturbed the patient."

"So have you, princess," said Sissy as she joined Josie. "If you'd just give 'em their damned buffalo and be done with it, none of us would be disturbed around here."

"But it's my buffalo." Why didn't anyone see that but Josie? "I can't think of one good reason to give her up."

"I can. They're men and know what to do with her. What's a slip of a girl like you gonna do with a big ole stinky buffalo, anyway?"

Josie thought of telling her exactly what she planned to do, but held her tongue. Sissy would only laugh at her plans for a ranch, and at the moment, the last thing she needed was hers or anyone's ridicule.

"How are your ribs feeling?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Fine, now that you got 'em bound good and tight. It's my ears that's suffering." After a meaningful look, Sissy glanced toward the window. "Cain't even go outside for a little relief from all this fighting over a stupid buffalo. It's blowing hard enough for December out there. We been here that long already?"

It struck Josie that she didn't know. She glanced at Daniel and Long Belly, noting that their argument had simmered to vicious glares and muttered insults, and asked, "Do you fellahs have a calendar or know what day it is?"

Daniel turned to her with a shake of his dark head. "Don't have much use for a calendar, but I'd say we're about done with November, give or take a few days. Why?"

"You ask why?" she said, remembering a promise she'd made to herself. "It's Thanksgiving, that's why. We have to have a celebration."

After that startling announcement, Josie didn't allow anybody to get in her way. She sent Long Belly to the smokehouse for a ham and some beefsteaks, and then set a pot of potatoes to boil on the stove. After the Cheyenne returned with the meat, Sissy joined him at the table, an interested observer as Daniel continued teaching his brother-in-law how to read. This left Josie in relative privacy to cook up her surprise. One, she hoped, that would somehow make up for Sissy's loss of status as the buffalo spirit. Not a word had been spoken about the transfer of power between the two women, but Josie had felt Sissy's envy and accepted the guilt, deserved or not. This was her chance to help the woman shine again. A chance to show them all that she knew how to be a true friend.

Using the meager supplies at hand, Josie mixed up a batch of biscuits, and then set to making a cake, leavening both baked goods with sour milk and molasses. Although no one disturbed her as she worked, she couldn't help but notice that Daniel was watching her with interest as she fluttered about the stove. He wondered about her sudden prowess as a cook, no doubt, but she would have to worry about an explanation later. For now, she had a birthday supper to prepare.

When the meal was ready and the group gathered around the table, the women sitting on chairs, the men on barrels, at first the others were too stunned to fill their plates. They just sat there staring at the sliced ham, steaks, mashed potatoes and gravy, and the skilletful of fluffy biscuits. Finally, Josie got things going herself.

"Isn't anyone hungry but me?" she asked, dropping a blob of potatoes into a bowl. Thanks to her conniption fit over washing dishes, she no longer had a plate. "Dig in while it's still hot."

This got the others moving. Daniel was the first to load his plate, but it wasn't until after he split one of her biscuits and slathered it with butter that he commented on the meal.