Lunch was boisterous and short. Everyone was eager to get on with their afternoon plans. The girls dressed up for their trip to town and kept a somber decorum but it was easy to tell they were excited to get off the ranch and away from horses, cows, dust, and cowboys.
Audra hadn't worn slacks for years but she found some of her old riding gear in a trunk Emily directed her to. The slacks were a little large on her now. Grace usually wore slacks on the ranch but had been wearing a skirt since her grandmother died. She knew her grandmother wouldn't have cared but her mother suggested a skirt or dress would be more appropriate for the time being. Today, she wore riding breeches under her petticoats and skirt; a trick she learned from her Aunt Em. James was outfitted for the ride in some of Will's old britches, kept handy for when Daniel could fit into them. They were still a little large for James but cuffs were rolled up and the belt was tightened. He wore his own shirt.
Nick, who slipped five dollars to his daughter, saw the girls off in the surrey. Sarah was driving; she and Jane dressed in black mourning dresses.
Tom and Will helped James and Daniel saddle up a couple of ponies while Audra saddled Juniper.
Jarrod had long since given up his law office in Stockton but he always kept a horse and saddle at the ranch. He relished the processes of grooming and saddling a horse. Riding on the ranch was a freedom he enjoyed more now than he did when he lived there.
Nick said he'd be back in a minute and started towards the house. He wanted to see Emily and wish her a good afternoon. He yelled "Em!" when he came through the front door and she called back to him from the dining room where she was folding table linens and putting them away in the credenza. Julia was standing off in a corner, pouting. Nick knew Emily had put her there.
Nick kissed a smiling Emily on the cheek and said, "Gonna miss me?"
"Yes, I suppose I am," she said, giving him a side hug.
"What's got into her?" he asked, nodding towards Julia. The girl's face was red and streaked with tears.
"I won't let her ride out to check the herd," Emily answered matter-of-factly.
Nick burst out laughing and walked over to Julia, saying, "Julia, you are too young to ride herd."
"No, I'm not!" she insisted and started to cry again, loudly.
Nick felt like he'd just stepped in a nest of sleeping rattlesnakes. Julia cried hard enough that it was difficult to understand what she was saying exactly and she wasn't listening to a thing he was saying.
He leaned down, resting his hands on his legs, and got his face close to hers. "Julia, we'll go riding tomorrow when we all go on the picnic," he reasoned with her.
"I already explained that to her," Emily said, amused.
"Julia!" Nick stood back up and tried a sterner approach. "Julia, you are not going riding today and that's final! I want you to stop this crying right now! Do you understand me?" he said loudly and angrily. Daniel might have stopped at Nick's shouting but Julia crumpled to the floor, thrashing about, and wailed louder.
Nick was getting irritated. He sighed and got down on his haunches to try to talk to her again. "Julia," he said calmly, but the child kicked a leg out at him and, whether she meant it to or not, it struck him.
Before either of them could process what was happening, Nick stood, taking her up with his left arm, turned her to her side, and swatted her backside once, hard, then set her back on her feet.
She looked at him, silent and startled, then started to cry again but he held up his finger and gave her his sternest expression and she stopped. He turned and walked back to Emily who stopped folding linens as he approached.
"Nick?" she said, looking up at him. She thought he looked sad.
He waited for a reprimand but instead Emily put her hand on his arm and said, "Have a good afternoon and enjoy yourself," and she reached up to kiss him on the lips. He kissed her back fiercely and when at last they separated, she touched his face and smiled.
Nick was pensive when the group started to ride out. He figured he didn't regret paddling Julia exactly, but he did regret that he did it in a moment of uncontrolled . . . anger? Could a grown man really be that angry at a small child? Maybe it was impatience. That's what it was, he thought, I lost my patience. He shook his head. A four-year-old girl got the better of him and that did not feel good.
Heath and Audra rode together, Jarrod and Will rode together, James and Daniel, and Nick lead the group with the aid of Tom and Grace.
James proved to be a pretty good horseback rider, especially considering how little experience he had compared with the others in the group.
Grace, on the other hand, personified her name when she was in the saddle. On her pony, Grace didn't limp and both her legs worked equally well. On her pony, Grace thought, she was no different than anyone else. But she was wrong. Grace was strong and beautiful on horseback and every horse and pony she rode knew it. Earthbound, her limp was the part of her people noticed first and they tended to overlook her big blue eyes, white blonde hair, full pink lips, pink cheeks. She had always been a pretty girl and one could already see she would be a beautiful woman, made even more beautiful by the serenity and confidence she projected when she rode. Heath loved to ride with her and to watch her ride. He was sometimes awestruck that he had helped create her.
When they reached the herd, Nick and Heath had a long talk with the head wrangler while Jarrod and Will talked about Will's plans for the future. He told Jarrod his father wanted him to stay on the ranch, said he needed him to stay, and since Will wasn't certain he wanted to go to college anyway, he didn't think it was worth the fight it would require to discuss it with his father. Jarrod offered to speak with Nick about letting Will explore college as a possibility. Will said he would think about it.
Once satisfied with the plans to move the herd to the north pasture where there was better grass and the terrain was better suited to gathering them for branding, Nick and Heath lead the group southeast in the hope of seeing the few mustangs left in the area. They were unsuccessful however and the group started for home.
Tom, Will, and Grace rode ahead with Heath teasingly admonishing his daughter to look after her older cousins and to keep them out of trouble.
Daniel asked his father if he could show James the field where he'd caught some rabbits a few weeks before. Nick hesitated and looked at Jarrod who nodded his consent. Nick told the boys to stay on the main trail, don't go past the south gate, and to be back at the house in one hour.
After the boys were out of view, the four siblings found themselves alone together for the second time in two days. This time was different however; this time they were not holed up in the library discussing something unpleasant. This time they were out on the land they all loved. Audra savored every moment of it and her brothers didn't ask her any questions. It was just the four of them again and they made the most of it.
While they watered their horses at a stream, they continued to catch up with each other. Nick told them how he had paddled Julia earlier; it still bothered him.
"It happens, Nick" Jarrod offered. "They're masterful little manipulators and it's easy to lose patience."
"You ever paddle your kids?" Nick asked him harshly. It was a rhetorical question because Nick knew Jarrod and Jane didn't paddle their kids.
"Well, no," Jarrod replied, "but I've come close a few times with James."
I'll bet you have, Nick thought, I've been tempted a few times myself with that boy.
"I think a swift swat on the backside can make a world of difference, especially when they're little, "said Heath.
Audra said nothing. She always had a nanny to help with her son and she was afraid the topic of hitting would shift its focus on her.
"Does Emily know you paddled Julia?" asked Jarrod. This was not first discussion the brothers had had about child rearing and they knew everyone's position on it.
"She saw it happen," Nick replied.
"What'd Em say?" asked Heath, figuring his sister-in-law had really given Nick the what-for.
Nick looked up at his brothers and sister and smiled. "She kissed me."
"And just what did sweet little Julia do that made you paddle her?" Audra asked, genuinely curious to know.
"She was pitchin' a fit, a giant fit, because," he paused, "I wouldn't let her ride herd with us," he said, smiling.
Once the laughter died down, the brothers shared stories about the funny and endearing and infuriating things their children had done.
Again, Audra said nothing. She pretended to listen to the stories but they made her sad. She always wanted to have a lot of children but Charles, it turned out, did not. Audra's one child had been raised by a nanny until he was sent away to boarding school. She had strongly objected to sending Charles, Jr., away to school but Charles had insisted. Hearing the stories made her realize how much she had missed and she felt her sadness turn to anger: Anger at Charles for denying her the pleasures of motherhood, something she had wanted all her life. The foundation that she had felt crumbling beneath her before was now shattered and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to see Charles again.
Tom, Will, and Grace were in the stables when their fathers and aunt and uncles arrived home. They took Nick and Heath's horses to put them away. Jarrod and Audra unsaddled and curried their own and then they joined the others in the house.
Jane and Sarah and the girls had only just returned from town and there was lot of happy chatter in the parlor. The venture to town following three days of grief and confinement had distracted them from their sadness. Vicky, Ellie, and Carrie were especially energized and chattered on about shops and taking tea at the hotel. Leah also enjoyed the trip but, like her father, was not generally very talkative.
Jarrod listened to the things that interested his daughters the most and asked them thoughtful questions about their experiences. Nick and Heath were less actively interested but were just as pleased to see their daughters happy.
Julia was up from her nap and just as chatty as her sister and cousins. Emily took her hand and walked her to where her father was standing.
"Julia?" said Emily, "Do you have something to say to your father?"
"I'm sorry I kicked you, Papa," she said.
Nick picked her up and said, "I forgive you, Angel. And I'm sorry that I paddled you." They exchanged a quick kiss.
Satisfied, Emily went to check on dinner in the kitchen just as Tom and Will came in from the barn in order to get a preview, and maybe a sample, of the meal.
"Where are James and Daniel?" asked Emily.
"I don't know," said Tom, shrugging his shoulders while he lifted the lid on one of the pots simmering on the stove.
"Didn't they ride in with your father?" she asked.
Tom and Will looked at each other, "No," they said together.
The three of them started back towards the parlor and ran into Heath in the hallway.
"Where are James and Daniel?" Emily asked Heath.
"They're not here?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "They were supposed to be back here a couple hours ago."
"Heath," said Emily, "the boys aren't here."
Heath turned his head toward the parlor and shouted, "Nick!"