Fallen Angel (6 page)

“It’s alright I’ve got some time.” Angelica followed him to the tack room and she listened closely as he showed her how to braid the leather together and how she would need to join the pieces for the halter.

“That looks great, you’re a natural.” George praised and Angelica beamed.  “
The boss is the fastest, but I think with a little practice you could beat him.”

“Beat h
im? Do you have competitions?” she asked, slightly confused by his choice of words. George grinned.

“Course we do, we compete over everything, fastest rope, fastest ride, fastest brand
, fastest cut. There is a time and place for everything of course, if the boss caught us competing when we weren’t supposed to he’d have our hides. It makes life interesting though.”

“Is everything about being the fastest?” She asked. George thought for a minute.

“I’d like to say no but at the moment I can’t think of anything that isn’t about being the fastest.” Angelica laughed and George grinned.  The foal stood up on wobbly legs and took a few steps toward her.

“Oh look who’s up. Let’s see if this fits.” She slipped the halter over the foals head and tightened it, then attached a rope.  Angelica stepped back and pulled on the rope just a bit. The foal stayed rooted to the spot seemingly unwilling to move at all.
“Oh you are going to be a stubborn one aren’t you?” She laughed. She picked up the bottle and held it out to the foal. The foal walked forward toward the bottle and Angelica backed out of the stall making the foal follow her. George and Tom continued to watch her both looking amused. She coaxed the little filly in a wide loop of the yard.

“What do you guys think? Is that enough or does she need more?” She asked the men still watching her. The foal took advantage of her pause and latched onto the bottle.

“That is probably enough for the first trip out.  You’ll just want to increase it a bit each time.” Tom said. She heard hoof beats and looked up to see Luke ride into the yard astride the big bay stallion she had seen in the barn his dark coat gleamed in the sun.

“Don’t you guys have something to do?” He said as he flipped his reins over the corral rail before he walked to the house. They didn’t answer and it was clear he hadn’t expected them to but both men straighten
ed up.

“That’s our cue to get back to work.” Tom said and tipped his hat at Angelica. Both men walked away, not rushing but clearly not wanting to be there when Luke came back either. Angelica gently coaxed the foal back inside to the stall to finish feeding her. She thought about what George had said about the competition, perhaps she would practice with the leather. It might be fun to be able to compete at something just like she was one of them
.  She wondered if Luke would be upset if she beat him.  He was so stern most of the time but she had seen a few glimpses of his sense humor, she knew he had one. She got the impression that he just didn’t like her very much.

Over the next few days Angelica settled into a somewhat exhausting routine. She slept in between feedings but since the foal ate just about every two hours she didn’t get a lot of rest. It was very satisfying to see the foal growing though. She had gained weight and even gotten taller. It had also gotten easier to exercise her, she just followed Angelica where ever she went she didn’t even need the lead rope or the bottle anymore.  She hadn’t seen much of Luke but she was glad that the foal was visibly thriving so he wouldn’t think she was suffering.  After she had been caring for the foal for nearly two weeks James interrupted her nightly routine.

“She looks good.”  She stopped brushing the foal at the sound and looked up and smiled.

“She does, doesn’t she?”

“I came to offer my babysitting services.” He said stepping into the stall.

“What?”

“I’m not sure I can be trusted with a baby but horses I know.”  He said seriously. Angelica laughed.

“I appreciate the offer but we are doing alright.”

“Really? Because you look like you could use a good night’s sleep.”

“Well I am sure I look like a wreck but I’m not as bad off as I look.” She laughed.

“Angel, nobody does it all on their own. We work in two man shifts around here and we don’t have to do as much for the whole herd as you do for this little filly, there is no harm in taking a break.”  Angelica smiled at him she was touched by his concern but as tired as she was she liked caring for the foal she really didn’t want to leave her in anyone else’s care.

“I am very aware of how hard you all work, everyone has a job to do here except me. I am perfectly happy to spend my time looking after her.
I don’t want you to lose any sleep.”

“I don’t sleep at night anyway, I am the night shift remember.”

“Then why aren’t you out there?”

“It’s my night off.”

“What do you normally do on your night off?”

“Nothing,” He laughed, “Nothing to do.”  Angelica laughed, she liked the peacefulness of the ranch, especially at night when the only sou
nds she heard were the crickets but she could how it might get old for some.

Luke stood in the shadows at the back of the barn listening. He was amazed at the dedication she had shown. She had been there for every one of the foal’s needs she had not complained and even now as he heard James offer to fill in for one night she refused. He pushed off the wall and walked to where they
were.
              “Evening.”

“Evening boss.” James said.  “I was just offering to fill in as nanny for a night so Angel could get a decent night’s sleep. “

“That sounds like a very good idea.” Luke said looking into her eyes.

“Thanks but no thanks.” She said looking at both of them. Luke turned and looked at James.

“I guess you have your answer.”

“I guess so.” James said then smiled at Angelica. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will, thank you.” She said quietly.  James left the stall and subsequently left the barn.

“You mind if I spend some time with the foal?” Luke asked looking into her eyes, she felt as if he were daring her to refuse.

“Of course not, she is your horse.”  Angelica backed away from the foal and sat down on the straw nest she had made for the two of them.

“She looks great, you have done a really great job with her.” He looked up from the foal and met her eyes and she felt herself flush with embarrassment from the praise. She prayed he was far enough away that he couldn’t see it.

“It is probably about time to start socializing her with other horses.”

“Alright, do you have a specific horse in mind or just other horses in general?” She watched him as he thought for a moment. He was stroking the foal’s back.

“I think I might have one that would be good to start with.” Luke looked at where Angelica was sitting in the straw, she had her legs curled up under her and she was leaning against the wall. He couldn’t seem to figure her out. She was an enigma. He was usually a good judge of character and he had been nearly certain of hers. He thought she was a dainty princess, one of those women who never worked a day in their lives, who didn’t know how to sweat or get dirty. Despite what he was sure of, he couldn’t argue with what he had witnessed. Since the night the foal had been born she had spent every night in the barn. In the morning she would go in to change clothes and clean up and she was right back out in the barn again. He could see that she was exhausted even as he sat there he watched her lay over onto the blanket in the straw. But she hadn’t complained at all and she wouldn’t accept any help. He had to admit that he had been wrong about her.  As he watched her drift off to sleep he decided maybe he should get to know the real her.

Angelica’s eyes opened slowly, it was light out, she could hear the sound of unfamiliar laughter. She sat up suddenly realizing that she hadn’t woken to feed the foal at all though the night. She spun around and saw Luke sitting on a low stool holding the bottle while the foal drank greedily. He was the one laughing, he was laughing at the way the foal was pulling at the nipple and pawing the ground. Angelica couldn’t help but smile.

“What happened?” She rubbed her eyes and looked out the door trying to gauge what time it was, she could see it was still early. Luke shrugged.

“You needed sleep.”

“What, no I didn’t I’m supposed to be caring for Ice.”

“Angie, relax she is fine. Believe it or not I have done this before.” Angelica stopped protesting and sighed. He was right she was fine.

“You named her? I told you not to get attached.”  He said, but he didn’t really sound upset.

“You named me.” She mumbled and to her surprise he laughed.

“You’re the one who said you didn’t feel like an Angel. I could still call you Millie.” He smiled at her and she felt herself smile back.

“No I like Angie.”

“So Ice huh.” He looked at the foal.

“Ice Princess.”  She said quietly. He swung his gaze back to hers.

“That’s a pretty high class name for a cow pony.”

“She can be high class and still be a cow pony.” Luke looked skeptical but Angelica’s gaze didn’t waver.

“Alright.” He finally relented.  “When you’re ready we’ll go for a ride and let her stretch her legs.”  Angelica was suddenly excited at the prospect of a ride. She sprang to her feet and headed for the door.

“I’ll just be a minute.” she called over her shoulder then she was gone.

When Angelica returned Luke was saddling a horse she hadn’t seen before.

“Who is this?”

“This is Layla, she is dam to a few of the stock around here so I am hoping she will take to your little Ice Princess.” Angelica walked up to the horse and put her hand under the horse’s nose.  She started talking to the horse while she stroked her nose.

“Do you want me to bring the foal out here?”

“Sure.” Angelica led the foal out of the stall. The mare turned and began to sniff the foal. They watched quietly as she sniffed her all over and then licked the side of her head.  Angelica laughed.

“I think she like
s her.”

“Looks like it.” Luke smiled.

They rode slowly away from the house. Ice didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping up she trotted alongside the mare and Luke rode Blaze on the opposite side.

“It is so beautiful out here.” Angelica beamed and turned her face up to the sun
.

“In a couple of months it will be hot and dusty.”  He said watching her bask in the sun. She looked at him and smiled.

“It will still be beautiful.” She countered and he smiled. “Look at that, the yellow flowers. They are really pretty what are they?” There were wildflowers with yellow petals and dark centers covering the landscape around them.

“U
h, flowers.”  Luke said blandly. Angelica laughed, she felt good, everything felt good. It was a beautiful day, she felt comfortable on horseback. Except for the fact that she couldn’t remember anything past three weeks before, she thought it was just about perfect.  She took a deep breath and felt a deep sense of peacefulness steal over her.  They rode in silence for a while and she drank in the scene around her.  She could see a row of trees and shrubs in the distance as they drew closer she could see that they were growing alongside a stream.  When they reached the edge of the stream she dismounted and walked along the stream for a little ways then turned and walked back. Luke watched her as he stepped down from the saddle. He was curious what she was looking for but he didn’t ask he just waited.

“Are you hungry?” She pulled the bottle from her saddle bag and held it out to the foal.
She suckled greedily from the bottle. Once the foal was finished she tucked the half empty bottle back in to the bag.

“I can see why you love it here. I don’t know why anyone would want to be anywhere e
lse she said inhaling the cool crisp air.  He smiled he hadn’t said anything he was just watching her.

“I suppose it has its good points.” He said lazily, she turned and eyed him.

“You’re not fooling me with all that cynicism Luke.” He couldn’t help it he laughed, she was so serious and he had to admit she was right he did love it there, even if he complained and even if he brought up every negative aspect, there was still nowhere else he’d rather be.

Luke’
s rich laughter gave her an odd fluttering feeling deep in her stomach, she smiled.

“Does this creek dry up in the summer?”

“No, it slows considerably but we always have some flow through here, it fills a watering pond on the other end, makes watering the cattle a little easier in the dry months.

“Oh that is nice.”
She said raising her eyebrows slightly, he nodded. “Did you grow up here?” She asked as they began to walk along the bank leading the horses.

“
Not here exactly, a little further east.”

“So how did you find this place?” She asked. He smiled and she saw the memory play across his face.

“It was pure dumb luck.” Angelica looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue. He sighed, “I wanted to be a rancher since I was a kid, as soon as I was old enough to be a waddie I started working any drive that would have me, most able bodied men were off at war so it made the drovers more willing to take me as young as I was. Eventually I hooked up with one drover in particular and he started taking me on all his drives. I moved up through the ranks and moved up in pay scale, after the war the price of beef went through the roof. About the same time I had saved enough to start my own operation we were hired by this old timer looking to get out of the business so I bought his ranch and herd, it wasn’t much at the time but we’ve been building and expanding and eventually it will be everything I wanted it to be. “