Chapter Five

Breakfast at the Ranch

Sunlight streaming through her window and the aroma of bacon frying in the kitchen roused Catherine from her peaceful sleep. She was normally an early riser, but after several long days of traveling and then not being able to fall asleep because of the excitement of arriving at the ranch, she was in no hurry to leave the soft, comfortable bed. Eventually, hunger won out over sleep, and she threw off the down comforter and blanket that she had found surprisingly welcome during the night. The temperature in Wyoming certainly dropped much lower at night than it did in New Mexico, even though the weather during the day yesterday had almost reminded her of home. Rather than taking the time to dress, she pulled on her robe and slid her feet into the slippers that she had set by the side of the bed last night before crawling under the covers.

As she walked down the hallway she could hear men's voices in the kitchen. She couldn't hear the conversation because the men were talking quietly but she could tell by their tone that the subject being discussed was serious.

Expecting to see only her father and Heyes, she was at first taken aback to see a third man whom she did not recognize sitting at the kitchen table. Suddenly feeling self-conscious and painfully aware that she was dressed in her robe and slippers, she hesitated a moment at the end of the hall, contemplating returning to her room to get dressed. The men, intent in their conversation, did not see her at first and she found herself giving in to her natural curiosity, choosing to listen in on their words, rather than leaving to get dressed.

"Heyes, I'm telling you we need a third man," the unfamiliar man was saying in a low but serious tone.

"And I'm telling you—we don't need another man, I can handle it," Kid replied matter-of-factly, tired of discussing the matter, ready to let it drop.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy on that leg a little longer," Heyes admonished quietly.

"Forget my leg. It's getting better every day," Kid insisted. Heyes didn't reply but his raised eyebrows betrayed his skepticism, much to Kid's annoyance.

"I still think we need another man, especially if there's trouble," the first man insisted again.

"But, up to now everything that's happened might just be coincidence. We shouldn't be looking for trouble where none exists. Besides, I'm going to be taking a bigger role in the day to day management of the ranch. We'll be fine with just the three of us."

"Heyes, when did you ever do any of the dirty work?" Kid scowled.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Kid? I carry my weight around here and always have." Heyes' wood-colored eyes flashed in anger.

Wishing he'd never said the words, Kid started to apologize, "I'm sorry, Heyes. I didn't mean anyth—"

He stopped talking, abruptly, when he saw Catherine standing by the door and his face broke out into a broad smile, his apology and his anger forgotten. "Hey, how long have you been up? Come sit down and have some breakfast."

"Uh, I'm sorry. I should have let you know I was here, but I didn't want to interrupt." Catherine stood in the doorway, feeling awkward and a little ashamed at being caught listening.

"Don't be silly, Catherine. You aren't interrupting a thing. Come in."

Remembering how she was dressed, she said, "I think I'll go get dressed first. I didn't know you had company." She glanced back toward her room as if anxious to leave.

"Company?" Kid looked honestly confused. "Oh," he said after a moment. "This isn't company. This is just Clay. He works for us. You'll be seeing a lot of him around here."

"Clay, this is Catherine, my daughter." Kid introduced the girl with a broad smile on his face.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss. I've heard a lot about you."

"Well," he said, pushing himself out of his chair, "I guess I'd best be going and let you have your breakfast." Clay nodded to Catherine. "Enjoy your visit, Miss. If there's anything I can do for you while you're here, let me know."

"We'll finish this later, Clay," Heyes told the man as he stood and walked him to the door. "Thanks for stopping by the house."

Kid's attention was still focused on his daughter. "Sit down and have some bacon and eggs. Heyes fried them up himself. And I made the biscuits. I've been keepin' them warm for you." Kid stood and pulled out a chair for Catherine before limping over to the wood stove.

"Well, I am a little hungry. And it smells great," she said, sitting down.

Heyes returned and stood next to the table. He picked up his coffee cup and took a deep swallow, grimacing because it had turned cold while they'd been talking to Clay. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, giving Catherine a warm smile.

"Oh, yes, thank you. The bed was very warm and cozy."

Heyes raised his eyebrows, amused. "Cozy? Well, good; as long as you were warm enough." Before sitting back down, he poured himself a fresh cup of hot coffee from a blue enamel pot on the range.

Kid brought Catherine her plate, piled high with three eggs, two biscuits, and a pile of bacon. Heyes studied the plate and glanced at his friend, eyes twinkling. Kid apparently thought Catherine had inherited his appetite.

"Oh, my! I couldn't possibly eat that much," she said in surprise.

"No? Oh, I'm sorry. You said you were hungry so…"

"Kid, she's a young lady, not a growing boy," Heyes laughed.

"Well, I know but…"

Catherine smiled back at her father. "These biscuits look fabulous." She spread a little butter and honey on it and took a healthy bite from it. "Delicious!" she pronounced, after swallowing.

Kid smiled happily.

After a few more bites of her breakfast, Catherine gave her father an inquiring look, "What were you talking about when I came in? It sounded serious."

"Oh, nothing really. We had hired a boy to help saddle break the two-year olds and he up and quit yesterday."

"Oh, is that bad?" she asked.

Kid shrugged. "Well, it leaves us a little short-handed is all, but let's not worry about that now. What would you like to do on your first day here?"

"Well, let's see. The first thing I want to do is go for a ride—right after breakfast, if that's all right with you. And then see the rest of the ranch. Then maybe go into town. I thought maybe I could get a few things for my room, like fabric for some curtains, or…"

"Whoa! Ok, I think that'll do, for a start," Kid said laughing. "I can take you for a ride right after I get a few things sorted out with Clay."

"I just can't get over how good these biscuits are, Pa," Catherine said, helping herself to the second one.

"Well, you'd be surprised how much better his cooking got once he realized he could take his time 'cause there wasn't any bounty hunter riding after us," Heyes teased.

"Yeah, we sure made some quick meals back then," Kid laughed. "Do you remember the time that posse was chasing us through—"

Kid stopped when he noticed the dismayed look Catherine was giving them. Both men fell silent.

"How can you joke about…" she looked down, not sure what to say.

"I'm sorry, Catherine," Kid apologized. "But you have to understand, that was the way we lived back then."

"I know, but…" She looked down at her breakfast plate and shrugged unhappily.

Breakfast continued with a few awkward attempts at small talk. Finally, Heyes said, "Catherine, why don't I take you for that ride? Then your pa can get things worked out with Clay and be ready to take you into town when we get back."

The girls face brightened. "That would be wonderful. I can be ready in a few minutes."

She jumped up from the table and ran to her room to change into riding clothes while Heyes and Kid cleared the dishes.

"I dunno, Heyes. I just don't know what to say to her," Curry complained after she had gone to her room.

"Ah, it'll get easier, Kid. You just have to give it some time."

Kid thought about Heyes' words for a few moments. Suddenly, he remembered what they'd been talking about earlier, before Catherine had come in. "Heyes, do you think Denton had anything to do with Billy quitting yesterday?"

Heyes glanced up in surprise. "No Kid, I don't. I know the man. I've played cards with him. He may have wanted our land after the river shifted, but he made us an offer and we turned him down. I don't think he'd do anything underhanded."

"Come on, Heyes. How can you know all that after playing a few hands of poker with the man?"

"More'n a few hands, Kid; and he plays honest. Tough, but honest. You can tell a lot about a man by the way he plays poker."

"I don't know, Heyes. Somebody's been knocking down our fences. I don't think they're just falling over by themselves."

"Even if that's right, there has to be a different explanation. Denton wouldn't tear down our fence just because our piece of land has more water on it now. He's got too much at stake in this community to resort to that sort of thing."

"Heyes, he wants access to that river for his ranch. You saw for yourself how mad he got when we turned down his offer."

"He was angry, but not angry enough to knock down fences. That's just crazy. Anyway, he knows we have just as much right to that water as he does."

"Well, then, maybe he did it because he thinks we took those two horses of his last week." Kid shot his partner a worried glance.

Heyes looked up in surprise. "Kid, nobody thinks we took those horses. I heard talk in town that he found the corral gate open. One of his hands must have forgotten to close it. That's all…I'll bet those two colts will turn up looking for a nice full food trough by the end of the week.

"Maybe—and maybe somebody took 'em—and maybe Denton will figure the most likely suspects are the two ex-outlaws on the neighboring ranch That damn sheriff already gives me the fish-eye every time he sees me. All he needs is one good reason to—"

"Kid, you're being paranoid. Everything's going great here. Don't go looking for trouble where none exists. You'll see. Everything is going to work out fine…I'm going to be able to spend more time working with the horses, and maybe Catherine can even help out?" He gave his partner a winning smile that he was sure would lift his sinking mood.

"Yeah, at least she seems excited about the horses," Kid sighed. "Just wish we felt more comfortable with each other."

"Give it time, Kid. The two of you barely know each other. In a couple of days, it'll be like you've known each other forever."

"I guess," Kid agreed half-heartedly and headed out of the kitchen.

Heyes' eyes followed him, hoping silently that there would be no further trouble to interfere with Catherine's visit.

"Ready!" Catherine called out as she bounded out onto the porch. This time, rather than a high necked dress with ruffles; she wore a simple blouse and a split skirt for riding. She also wore tall brown riding boots. Her hair had been pulled back into one long braid and it hung casually down her back, swaying back and forth as she looked around in anticipation.

"Well, let's go introduce you to some of the horses," Heyes smiled, happy to see her so excited. "I got one all saddled up for you. I think you'll like her. She's young and has some spirit, but she's a good filly. As I recall from the last time I saw you, you're a good enough rider to handle her."

"Oh," Catherine gasped as she caught sight of the chestnut mare standing just around the side of the house. The horse's face was white and a lock of chestnut mane fell over her forehead. All four legs were nearly black to the knee, but the rest of the horse was the color of a rich mahogany wood that had been polished to a glistening shine.

"She's so beautiful! Oh, she's just perfect. Thank you, Mr. Heyes." Catherine gazed admiringly into the horse's eyes as she reached up to rub the soft velvety nose.

"What's her name?" the girl asked, not taking her eyes from the horse.

"Well, Ki—your pa and me—we were calling her Little Beauty because she's so pretty, but you can name her if you want."

"She is beautiful…I'll call her Belle, that's 'beautiful' in French, you know."

"Oh. Well, I don't know much French myself, but that seems fitting," Heyes laughed. "Okay, Belle it is."

"Thank you, Mr. Heyes," she said again, as excited as a young colt herself.

"Hey now. If you're going to be calling Kid, Pa, you should start calling me Uncle Heyes. It sounds a lot more like family than Mister."

Catherine smiled and looked up back at the former outlaw leader. "Okay, Uncle Heyes," she grinned.

He grinned back. "That sounds good. Real good," he said.

"Where are we going to ride?" she asked, climbing easily into the saddle and leaning forward to stroke the mare's neck.

Heyes handed her the reins. "How about up to that ridge over there? You can see the whole valley from up there. It's awful pretty in the morning."

Catherine nodded her agreement and urged Belle into an easy trot.

Heyes swung himself up onto his own mount, the filly that had thrown him the day before, quietly admonishing the horse to behave herself today; and followed the teenager, smiling cheerily to himself. He still could not quite believe the way their lives had all changed. This visit was going to put Kid back into proper spirits—he was sure of it.