I grabbed my beauty by the hand and took her into the great room, sitting on the settee and gently pulling her down with me. "What?" she asked me. "I was writing to Belle."
"This is more important right now," I explained as I pulled the little silver-wrapped box out of my pocket.
"Ooooh!" she exclaimed and took the box from me. "What is it? The wrapping is beautiful."
"Open it up and see."
She daintily took the ribbon off, then the silver paper, and finally she opened the box. "Oh my God, Bart, they're beautiful!" She put the earrings on and she was right – they were beautiful. "But, why?"
"Why not?" I answered softly.
She leaned over and kissed me. "You remembered that I was allergic to gold."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Where did you get these? They're so gorgeous."
"There's a new shop for ladies in town. The woman that owns it is named Sandy Thompson. She's got a standing order to let me know if anything else like this comes in."
"How'd it go at the bank?"
"The new bank manager fawned all over me, then he gave me the loan. I went right over to George at the lumber yard and ordered half of the lumber he says we'll need. Pauly will have workin' material by next week. And Sawyer wants to hire him when he's through here. She's gonna expand. Looks like that trend that Belle wrote about . . . that eatin' out business is catchin' on here, too. Next thing you know we'll have some cattleman comin' in here and openin' a steakhouse. Might give Benny someplace to sell his cattle."
Benny's collateral at the bank was on the tip of my tongue when Maudie came runnin' in. "Daddy! Daddy! Hurry! I think Spreckles broke his leg."
I went runnin' after her, down to the barn, where Spreckels was down on the ground. He was trying to get up but couldn't put any weight on his front leg. I bent down to take a look at it and Maudie was right, the leg was broken. "Go get my guns, girl."
"No, Daddy, no! You can't shoot him!"
"Do you want him to be in constant pain? Even if we could fix it, it ain't gonna heal right. Get me my guns and get outta the barn."
With tears streaming down her face, my brave girl got me the Remington, then stood right alongside me. "Get outta the barn, Maudie."
"No. If I'm ever gonna run the ranch, I'm gonna hafta do things like this. Besides, I want to be here with him."
"You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
I pulled the hammer back, took aim and fired. At the very last second she turned her face into my coat. With one shot it was all over. Maudie cried and cried, and we walked out of the barn, leaning her face into me so she didn't have to see her beloved horse. Lucien came running over to us when we got out into the corral. "Spreckles?" was all he asked.
"Yeah," I told him.
"Maudie, why don't you come to the other barn with me? I've got a real fine lookin' two-year-old that's bein' broke this week."
She raised her head an asked, "Colt or filly?"
"Filly," he answered. "She's a Blue Roan Appaloosa. You've never seen anything like her. She's just gorgeous. And the sweetest tempered thing you'd ever wanna meet."
She pulled away from me and went with Lucien. I called Slim over. "The gunshot?" he asked.
"Spreckles. Broke his leg. Lucien is distractin' Maudie with a special filly."
"Oh yeah, probably the Blue Roan Appaloosa. You need the carcass disposed of, boss?"
"Take a couple of the boys and bury him. Out in the south pasture, but someplace we can find. She'll wanna go there for a while."
"You got it, boss."
I went back to the house, all thoughts of Benny and his loan driven from my head. Doralice met me at the door. "How is she?"
"She'll be alright. Lucien distracted her with a Blue Roan Appaloosa filly. She's with him now."
"I thought she'd be a weeping mess. Spreckles was pretty special to her."
"She was, at first. But like I said, Lucien distracted her. I think she'll be fine."
"What did you do with . . . "
"I had him buried in the south pasture. She'll be glad she's got a grave to go visit. I couldn't just have him chopped up."
"No, she wouldn't have forgiven you for that. You did the right thing."
"Why don't you have Lily Mae make that pork dish she likes so much? And a chocolate cake for dessert? Maybe that'll cheer her up a little bit."
"Good idea. I'll be back."
In just a minute or so I heard Lily Mae gasp. Unexpectedly, she came running into the great room. "Oh, that poor dear child. She must be heartbroken."
"She was, Lily Mae, and she probably still is. I thought maybe we could do something special for her for supper."
"I can do that, yes, sir, I sure can. Maybe bring a smile back to her face."
"Good. I'm sure that'll help make her feel better."
When Maudie came back to the house, about twenty minutes later, she was once again weeping.
I gathered her into my arms and held her while she sobbed against me. Obviously she wasn't gonna feel better overnight. "What did you think of the filly?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, I guess."
"You don't sound very enthused. Why don't you have some supper? Lily Mae made some special things for you."
"I don't want any food, Dad. I'm going to bed."
"But, Maudie . . . "
"Bed, Dad."
I waited about ten minutes and followed her upstairs. I found her in her bed, sobbing.
"I wasn't ready, Daddy."
"We never are, sweetheart. When Noble laid down the final time, I cried for a week. But we go on."
"Do we ever get over it?" she asked me through her tears.
"No, but we get used to it."
"I don't wanna get used to it. I want him back!"
"I know sweetheart, but you and me both know that ain't gonna happen." I pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, buttercup."
"Night, Daddy."
This had been a day of triumph and tragedy, and I was glad it was over.
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