Innocent Hearts Page 3

  Kate nodded her approval. Already she was amazed at the number of people filling the street. There was a contagious excitement in the air borne on the sounds of men shouting and agitated livestock snorting and whinnying. She was captivated by the sight of the large animals milling about in the pens, huge masses of restless power. The immediacy and urgency of life in this untamed place was thrilling.

  The cowboys who tended the corrals leaned up against fences or trees, talking quietly in groups, sharing a smoke. They certainly didn't look like a wild bunch to Kate. She exposed several plates, anxious to depict the anticipation of the waiting stands before the auction began. It was a time-consuming process because she had to fix the wet plates almost immediately or the surface would dry and lose the image she had so carefully sought. She was just about to expose her last plate when she heard John at her elbow.

  "Miss Kate, you'd better let me get that contraption out of here," he said urgently. "There's a herd coming this way and you're going to be mighty close."

  "Just fifteen more seconds, John," Kate answered calmly. This was a good exposure, perhaps the best that morning, and she was not going to ruin it. It took her nearly an hour to prepare the mixture of egg precipitate and chemicals that coated the plates, and longer still to develop each one into a finished image.

  "Please, Miss Kate!" John shouted, tugging at her sleeve.

  Kate heard muffled shouts to her right and felt the tremble in her camera support as thundering hoof beats approached.

  "Three, two, one .." she whispered, closing the shutter and lifting the cloth from her shoulders. "Oh!" she cried, grasping John's arm in stunned alarm. Not twenty feet away dozens of horses were streaming into an open pen as cowboys rode back and forth along the outskirts of the herd, trying to direct the fast moving animals into the corrals. Men surrounded her, shouting and waving their hats. A haze of dust billowed upward, engulfing her, and Kate stumbled backwards to the shelter of the trees, coughing and wiping dirt from her eves. John had the presence of mind to drag her camera back with him. He shouted something to her, but his words were lost in the uproar of bellowing men and rampaging horses.

  Through eyes streaming with tears, Kate made out a dozen men herding the stragglers into the pen. The leader of the group leaned down from his saddle to swing the corral gate shut. With a quick flick of the horse's head, he turned toward Kate and John at a gallop. Kate drew a little closer to John as the horse and rider drew down upon them, kicking up clouds of dirt anew. Kate was sure that they were about to be trampled. When the charging horse was only feet away, or so it seemed to Kate, she saw the rider rise up out of the seat and dismount on the run.

  Before Kate could catch her breath, the cowboy, caked in dirt from head to toe, grabbed John Schroeder by the shirtfront.

  "Damn it, John! What's got into you, letting her get that close to the pens! If a stray got loose from that bunch, it could have run her down. I've a good mind to throw you into that corral over there and let my horses stomp some sense into you!"

  Jessie Forbes was so mad she couldn't see straight. It was only because John Schroeder was a boy she liked that she didn't do more than shake him. She forced herself to let him go, turning to ask Kate, "Are you all right, Miss Beecher?"

  Jessie's heart was still pounding with the sudden surge of panic she had experienced seeing Kate in the road as she led her herd down the main street into town. Already the horses in the lead had begun to spread out across the entire width of the road, and Jessie barely had time to direct the wranglers between Kate and the galloping horses. Another minute and Kate would have been under their hooves.

  Kate stared open-mouthed at Jessie. Jessie's face was streaked with dirt and there was an angry welt running across her right cheek. Her shirt was plastered to her chest with sweat. She stood with her hands curled around the wide black holster, her long legs planted a little apart. Kate thought Jessie's hands trembled as they clenched the leather.

  "It wasn't his fault," Kate croaked, her throat parched and sore from the dust.

  Jessie finally remembered to sweep off her hat, and she forced a smile through her anger. "Now there you're wrong, Miss Beecher. It is right well his fault. He should have looked after you, being a newcomer. He knows what to expect around here on roundup day."

  John nodded his head abashedly, having forgotten his initial scare when Jessie had grabbed him. He'd thought for a minute there he was in for a whupping, not that he didn't deserve it. "You're right, Jessie. She could have gotten..."

  "Now just one minute," Kate returned hotly, her dark eyes blazing. "I am not a helpless child, you know. I have two legs, and I could have moved if I wanted to! I certainly do not need either one of you deciding where I should stand."

  Jessie and John stared at her wordlessly and Kate stared back, her face flushed. She saw a grin begin to flicker across Jessie's fine mouth and Kate's anger slowly ebbed. Then Jessie tilted her head back and began to laugh, and, after a second, Kate joined her. John gaped at them as if they had both taken leave of their senses.

  Jessie's tense body relaxed and she smiled down at Kate. "What was that thing you had out there anyhow?"

  "A camera. I was trying to capture the feeling of this whole thing," Kate answered, taking in the street and the corrals with a sweep of her arm.

  "Well, you almost got more of a feel for it than you bargained on, Miss Beecher."

  "Kate," Kate softly said.

  Jessie looked at her intently, her eyes sparkling. "Kate."

  Kate studied Jessie with a worried expression. "You've hurt yourself."

  "What?" Jessie replied, confused.

  Kate's soft hand brushed gently across Jessie's face, touching the swollen cheek. Jessie blushed and turned her head away. "Oh, that's nothing. I've been having a running battle with a new stallion I've had the misfortune of acquiring. He and I don't see eye to eye on which one of us is the boss just yet."

  "I find that hard to believe," Kate answered steadily, her dark eyes fixed on Jessie's face. Jessie struck her as the most capable woman she could imagine. I

  Jessie wasn't sure why Kate's words stirred a flutter in her chest, but she cleared her throat and turned to John. "I've got to see to my horses, John. You make sure you take care of Kate, now."

  "I will, Jessie," John mumbled contritely.

  Kate placed her hand lightly on Jessie's sleeve and said boldly, "Would you show me your animals later?"

  Jessie's body tensed. Damn if her arm didn't shake where Kate touched her! "Well, they're just horses, you know. Nothing special."

  "Yes, but I'd like to see them," Kate insisted. She did want to know more about the roundup, but mostly she wanted an excuse to see more of this tough but strangely gentle woman.

  "All right then," Jessie relented, surprised by Kate's request. It wasn't the sort of thing most women took a liking to. "I'll be busy most of the morning with the weighing. If you're here this afternoon, I'll be happy to show you."

  Kate smiled softly. "I'll be here."

  Kate watched as Jessie mounted and rode quickly back to the corral, calling to her men as she went. Kate thought she was quite the most dashing figure of a cowboy.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  JESSIE WAS BUSY working the rest of the morning in a makeshift shed by the auction stands, registering her stock and seeing to the hands. She paid them their wages, knowing full well that they'd likely spend a large share of it during the next week. Most of them would come straggling back to the ranch when their money was gone, ready to sign on for another year. A few would answer the call of wanderlust, eager to discover what was over the next mountain ridge, and never pass this way again. Their life was a hard one, and she didn't begrudge them their pleasures. She enjoyed a good hand of cards herself and more often than not came away a winner. It was no secret that the saloon offered more than gaming tables and good whiskey, too. Everyone in town knew that the women who lived upstairs in the hotel earned their living by befriending the cowboys who pass
ed through. It was as much a part of life as anything else, and Jessie accepted that as uncritically as her men accepted her.

  "Don't spend it all tonight, Sam," she said as she handed the draft to her lead trail man.

  "No, Ma'am!" he exclaimed, grinning sheepishly.

  "You make sure the boys don't cause trouble this week. I don't want it said the Forbes boys are a wild bunch."

  "I'll see to it, Miss Jessie," the big man replied earnestly. There were some transients among their group, but most had been with Jessie through more than one roundup, and all of them were proud to work for her. She was fair and paid top wages. Her ability to rope and ride with the best of them had earned her their respect and loyalty.

  "You can tell the boys the week is theirs, but I expect you all to ride out of here with me come next Monday," she said, pushing her chair back from the rickety wooden table and gathering her account papers.

  Sam grinned down at her. "They'll be pleased to hear that, ma'am. It's been a long time between roundups.

  Jessie sighed, running a weary hand over her face. "I know it, Sam. But we've a fine herd to show for it, and I'm right pleased with all of you."

  Sam flushed, happy with the compliment. He tipped his hat and turned to leave, almost bumping into Kate.

  "Sorry, Miss," he said as he walked away.

  Kate approached the table, smiling at Jessie. "Am I early?"

  Jessie smiled back, folding her papers and slipping them into saddlebag by her side. Standing, she rubbed her face again ruefully and laughed. "No, I've just finished. If you'll give me a bit, I'll get washed up. I feel like one of my horses just now - rode hard and put up wet."

  Kate stared at her, struggling for the meaning of the expression, but one at look at Jessie told the story. She was still dusty from the trail, and there were circles shadowing her dark blue eyes. She was clearly exhausted.

  "How long has it been since you've been to bed?"

  Jessie shrugged. "It takes the better part of a month to get the herd down from the high country where they winter, then foal in the spring. Always stragglers getting lost up some canyon or other. It takes every able body on the ranch to bring them in. Not many of us slept more than a few hours in a row for a while."

  "We could do this another time," Kate offered, trying to hide her disappointment. She had hurried through dinner preparations with her mother so that she might have the rest of the day free to spend with Jessie.

  "Oh, no," Jessie laughed again. "No way am I going to be tucked abed somewhere when I could be making a deal, or," she finished shyly, "taking a walk for no other reason than the fun of it."

  Kate blushed, unaccountably pleased. "Are you staying at the hotel then?"

  "Yes. Most everybody's got a room there for a week," she said as they turned toward town. She glanced at the clear blue sky, aware for the first time what an unusually fine day it was. "I won't be long. Where do you want me to meet you?"

  "I'll walk you to the hotel, if you don't mind," Kate replied, suddenly afraid that Jessie might change her mind after all.

  "I'd enjoy the company," Jessie said quietly, surprised that it was true. She was used to going long stretches without talking to anyone, except maybe Jed about some problem at the ranch. The idea of walking in the warm afternoon sun with Kate Beecher seemed more than pleasant. "You folks all settled?"

  "I'm not sure that I'd call it settled," Kate said with a laugh as they strolled through the town toward the hotel, which was clearly the center of activity. "My father is quite beside himself with pleasure, but it's hard for my mother. The simple things we took for granted, like household items and ready-made clothes, are rarities here. Hannah Schroeder has been a great help, and I think I'm beginning to master the basics, but it's much different than I expected."

  Jessie had never given such things much thought. Life at the ranch was simple. What they couldn't buy in the way of tools or goods, they made or went without. She didn't need more than the clothes she worked in. Game was plentiful on the range, and enough of her neighbors farmed that she could buy food staples for herself and her men locally. "I imagine it feels pretty uncivilized out here to you," she mused.

  "No," Kate replied quietly, "it feels free."

  Cowboys in groups and pairs straggled in and out of the saloon on the first floor of the hotel, shouting to friends they had not seen for months. Many waved or called to Jessie, who nodded back. Piano music floated through the open doors, providing a festive background to the general cacophony.

  "There's a stairway around back here," Jessie said, leading the way down the narrow alley between the hotel and the land office. "That's no place for you in there."

  "And you?" Kate questioned, amused at Jessie's protective attitude, but touched by it, too.

  "Oh, that's different. I've ridden with most of those men, and played cards with more than a few," she replied straightforwardly. "Had to carry a couple of 'em home on more than one occasion. But no lady would want to go in there. Roundup time is a little crazy."

  "I see," Kate said gravely.

  Jessie caught the faint mocking tone in Kate's voice and saw the shadow of a smile flicker across Kate's smooth features. "Sorry. Don't mean to be preaching at you."

  Kate laughed in turn. "Come on, let's get you upstairs."

  They climbed the outside wooden steps to the second floor and walked down the hallway to Jessie's room. A plain bedstead held a narrow mattress, a single bureau stood against one wall with a pitcher and basin on the top, and a threadbare braid rug covered part of the floor. Jessie drew the only chair up to the window so Kate would have a good view of the activities below.

  "I'll just be a minute. I want to wash the dust off my face and get into some pants that don't stand up by themselves."

  Kate watched as Jessie unbuckled the heavy gun strapped to her thigh and laid it casually on the bed, stripping off the leather chaps she wore over her pants as well.

  "Is that what you call a six-shooter?" Kate asked.

  Jessie looked over at her, poised with one foot up to pull off her boots. "Most sidearms nowadays hold six bullets in the chamber. They vary a bit depending on the caliber of the bullets. That's a Colt forty-five. All the Army carries them. They call it a 'peacemaker', but I suspect they're foolin' about that."

  "Oh, I see," Kate said, catching the sarcasm in the way Jessie said 'Army'.

  "I guess you don't see many back East," Jessie said quietly.

  "Have you ever been East?" Kate turned her chair from the window, finding nothing in the streets below that interested her as much as Jessie Forbes.

  Jessie walked to the sideboard and poured a basin of water.

  "My father said my mother would have wanted me to go for more schooling," she said, splashing her face, then dousing her head. Jessie reached blindly for a towel and covered her face. "I hated the idea, but I was supposed to go when I was seventeen. My father was stubborn on that point."

  "But you didn't?" Kate asked with interest.

  Jessie stiffened slightly as she opened the valise at the end of the bed. As she pulled clean but faded denim pants and an embroidered shirt from the case, she answered softly, "My father died in a stampede. I had to run the ranch."

  "Oh, I'm sorry, Jessie," Kate cried quickly.

  Jessie shook her head. "It's all right. That sort of thing happens out here."

  Kate heard the edge of pain in her voice, but said nothing. She couldn't imagine losing her father so tragically, and she knew how much it must have hurt. Kate didn't think that Jessie could be that much older than herself, and she marveled at her composure, thinking that she had rarely met anyone more self-assured.

  Kate stared as Jessie turned away and slipped off her shirt and pants. Kate caught her breath, surprised by the thin cotton undershirt Jessie wore in place of a corset and alarmed by the large bruise covering her left thigh.

  "You're hurt!" she exclaimed without thinking.

  Jessie turned, reaching for her clean pants,
clearly surprised. She saw the direction of Kate's gaze and looked down. She laughed. "Oh, that. Pretty sorry excuse for a rancher, huh? Just a little present from that stallion of mine." She pulled up her pants and tucked in her shirt.

  Kate was struck by the easy way Jessie moved and the sinewy strength of her limbs. She found her heart racing and looked away, confused by the sudden fluttering in her stomach.

  "You must find this town a great disappointment after Boston," Jessie continued, unaware of Kate's discomfort.

  "Oh no, I love it!" Kate cried. "Life is so different here, and there is so much to learn! Besides, there is no one like you in Boston..." She blushed suddenly, embarrassed by her forward remark.

  Jessie laughed, and reached for her holster. "I don't imagine I'd fit in too well back there!"

  "No," Kate said softly. "No, you wouldn't. I'm glad you aren't there."

  Jessie stared at her intently, held by the quiet intensity in her voice. Kate seemed quite unlike the shy young women Jessie had gone to school with in New Hope. Despite her sophistication, Kate was easy to talk to, something Jessie was surprised to discover she enjoyed.

  "I'm glad I'm not there either," Jessie said with a grin, pulling on her worn leather boots. "It will take some getting used to, but I hope you'll be happy here, Kate."

  "I feel like this is where I belong," Kate answered, never meaning it more than she did in that moment.

  Jessie laughed and stretched, feeling wonderful all of a sudden. Her fatigue had magically vanished. "Do you still want to see those horses of mine?"

  "Oh yes!"

  "Come on, then," Jessie said, reaching for her hand, taking it gently. "Dark comes early this time of year."

  Kate was surprised by Jessie's careful strength and the utter tenderness of her touch. Unexpectedly quite unable to move, Kate sat staring up at Jessie, whose eyes suddenly grew dark. A pulse beat visibly in Jessie's neck, just above the collar of her shirt. Kate felt her own heart beat hard against the inside of her chest. For a moment neither of them spoke. Kate swallowed, aware of the faint tremor in Jessie's fingers that matched her own.