An Uninvited Bride on his Doorstep by Ava Winters
Chapter Two
Logan leaned against the corral fence, chewed on a piece of straw and watched as Darrell supervised a half dozen hands branding the newest shipment of horses: one hundred twenty brood mares, checked for ticks, lice, and worms. They would allow the Foley Ranch to keep up with the growing demand for its horses. The new mares brought the herd to an even thousand head.
Logan pushed himself off the fence and walked up to Darrell. The grizzled foreman was twenty years older than Logan and had worked for Logan’s father for fourteen years before his death. He was the best horse wrangler Logan had ever seen and he was eternally grateful to him for sticking around after Dale passed on.
“How many left?” Logan asked.
“Couple dozen,” Darrell replied. “It’ll take another ten minutes, maybe.”
Logan nodded. He watched as the hands quickly and expertly branded each animal on its flank then released it into the herd before the animal even felt the sting of the iron. “Have you moved the cattle yet?”
Darrell shook his head. “We’re moving ‘em on later this afternoon.”
“Where you movin’ ‘em?”
“Southeast pasture.”
“Again?”
Darrell nodded affirmation. “The north pasture hasn’t finished growing back yet and I want to keep the shoreline in reserve for winter. Southeast’ll carry them until the grass is back in the north pasture.”
“Why don’t we use the east field? The grass there’s at least two yards high.”
“We need to clear out some of the undergrowth before we use that. I’ll take a few of the boys out with me next week and we’ll do some controlled burns. I still want to wait until after they graze the north, but we’ll use east after that.”
Logan shook his head. “These blasted cattle are more work than they’re worth.”
Darrell shrugged. “It ain’t so bad. Just different is all. Ain’t no trouble to move them every so often.”
Logan nodded and clapped Darrell on the shoulder. “Thank you for all your hard work, Darrell. I’ll see you later.”
Darrell tipped his hat to Logan then returned to supervising the branding.
Logan walked toward the far end of the corral where Gregory sat polishing tack. Jay leaned on the fence next to him. Both boys—Logan had a difficult time seeing either of them as men, though both were now of legal age—looked up and nodded a greeting.
“Have to move your cattle again today,” he growled at Jay.
Jay raised an eyebrow. “And good morning to you too, Logan.”
“Why are you so obsessed with cattle in the first place?” Logan asked irritably. “We’re a horse ranch, not a cattle ranch.”
“We’re not a cattle ranch yet,” Jay corrected.
“In a few months, we’re not gonna be an anything ranch if those cows keep eating us out of land.”
Jay rolled his eyes. “This old argument again? I told you Logan, if we rotate the cattle every few weeks, the land will recover, and we won’t run out of pasture. Trust me, cattle farmers have been doing this since long before you or I were born.”
“Well, that’s great, Jay, but what will the horses eat?”
“The horses? Come on Logan, you could keep the entire herd on one pasture the whole year and never run out of grass.”
“Yes!” Logan argued. “That’s the point! If we focused on horses, we could support another three, four thousand head! If we buy any more cattle, we’ll need another fifteen thousand acres!”
“So, let’s get fifteen thousand more acres!”
Logan stared at his brother, amazed. Did Jay think land was just given away for free? “Jay, blast it, I’m trying to run a business here.”
“We’re trying to run a business here.”
“No,” Logan retorted. “I’m trying to run a business. You’re trying to run some kind of experiment.”
“It’s not an experiment!” Jay fired back, heated. “I’ve shown you the figures, Logan. Cattle are more expensive to maintain but they fetch a far higher price per pound. If we transition our business to cattle, we’ll be able to afford all the acreage we need and then some.”
“When you guys are done fighting, you might want to take a look to the northeast.”
Jay and Logan turned toward the sound of Gregory’s voice. The middle brother pointed to the northeast, and they followed his gaze to see thick, black storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
“Oh, that’s not good,” Logan said.
“We need to get the cattle,” Jay said, pleading. “We need to bring them inside.”
“There’s not enough room inside for the cattle,” Logan said, walking back toward Darrell and the other hands. When he saw Jay begin to protest, he lifted his hand. “But, we’ll move the horses to the pens and bring the cattle to the corral.”
Jay nodded. “I’m coming with you to herd the cattle.”
“No. You stay here with a few of the boys and try to keep the horses calm.”
“That’s not fair!” Jay protested. “I can help!”
“Blast it, Jay, this isn’t some joyride. We have maybe an hour before that storm hits. We need these cattle inside when that happens or your herd’s going to disappear before we have a chance to sell them.”
“That’s exactly why I should go with you!”
Logan threw his head back and stared at the rapidly darkening sky as though praying for strength. “For once, Jay,” he breathed exasperatedly. “Just do as you’re told.”
“I’m a grown man, Logan,” Jay retorted. “I ain’t some little kid you can bully around.”
Logan shook his head. “I don’t need this right now.”
Jay continued to protest, but Logan ignored him. He nodded to Gregory and the two of them walked to the stables to retrieve their horses. Darrell met them in the stable, his face grim.
“We’re going to keep the cattle in the corral,” Logan said. “I want you and four of the hands to come help us bring the cattle here. Have the others pen the horses.”
Darrell cast a worried glance toward the blackening horizon. “We ain’t got much time, boss.”
“I know,” Logan said. He mounted up and started in the direction of the west pasture.
Gregory caught up to him a moment later. The wind was already picking up and he had to shout so Logan could hear him. “Jay’s gonna be real sore at you for leaving him behind.”
“Jay’s gonna have to learn there’s more important things than his pride,” Logan spat back.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him,” Gregory insisted. “He’s got as much a say as either of us do.”
“You really want to have this argument right now?” Logan said. He spurred his horse faster without waiting for a response.
They reached the herd a few minutes later. The cattle were restless but not yet panicked. That was good. If they could get the herd moving toward the main pens while they were still somewhat calm, it would be far easier and swifter to pen them than if they had to redirect a stampede.
Darrell pulled up alongside Logan, four other hands with him. Logan turned to address the other hands. “Start driving the herd back to the pens. Darrell, you and Greg ride on either side and keep an eye out for any head breaking away. I’ll ride point and lead the herd.”
The other men nodded and rode off to complete their assignments. Gregory flashed a pointed stare at Logan. “This ain’t over,” he said before spurring his horse and riding off.
Logan looked at Darrell. The older man pretended to scan the horizon, acting like he had no idea what was going on. Logan shook his head and rode toward the front of the herd. He hollered and whooped at the cattle, urging them toward the south where the pens and safety from the storm waited. Darrell and Gregory did the same from either side of the herd while the other hands drove them along the rear.
After a few minutes, the herd was moving steadily and calmly toward safety. Logan relaxed a little. They might actually get out of this one with little trouble.
Then the storm hit. It came suddenly, as these storms typically did. One moment, the sky was darkening but still clear. The next it was black as night and the wind picked up to gale force, whipping around the herd and drowning out all noise with its deafening whine. There was a flash of lightning, then another, then a second later a loud double report of thunder. Then the rain fell, sharp, hard spikes of water that seemed to drive into the ground rather than fall on top of it.
The cattle leapt forward as though possessed and what had been a simple herding job suddenly became a fight for survival as Logan ran back and forth across the herd, struggling to keep them headed toward the corrals. The other riders ran back and forth along the herd, ensuring any stragglers were quickly returned to the group.
They headed south as quickly as the cattle would allow, which was not nearly fast enough. The four hands at the rear did everything they could to hurry the cattle but could do little to increase the pace. Logan grew frustrated at the lack of progress. Horses spooked just as easily as cattle but when horses spooked, they ran and with practice, it was a simple enough thing to encourage a herd of horses to run in the direction you wanted them to.
The cattle were different. When they spooked, they moved in circles almost blindly, lowing and shaking their heads, unable to focus even on the direction they were running. Every few seconds they would have to guide a straggler back into the herd. A couple times, cows in the middle of the herd got turned around and the herd would become a giant roiling mess.
Lightning flashed on the top of a nearby ridge and an instant later, thunder cracked so hard it shook the ground. The cows began to bleat with terror and the job of keeping the herd together and moving in the right direction became much harder. Lightning flashed again, barely a half mile off this time. Logan felt ice creep up his veins.
He rode to Darrell and waved the older man down. When Darrell approached, Logan shouted. “That lightning’s gonna be a problem any minute now.”
Darrell nodded agreement. “It’s these blasted cattle. They want to run every which way but the way they need to go.”
They split up and Logan rode back to the head of the herd. When Logan reached the front, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. When the hairs on his arm began pulling as well, he cursed and spurred his horse into a dead run. A few seconds later, the sky turned bright as day and the air behind him suddenly felt warm.
The thunder was loud, deafeningly loud and he knew he only narrowly escaped being struck by lightning. As it was, the force and noise of the thunder disoriented him and he fell from his horse, his head spinning.
He came to a moment later to see Jay bolting toward him, panicked. “Logan!” he called.
Logan stood and Jay crashed into him, knocking them both over. Jay quickly scrambled to his feet. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Logan said, picking himself up again. “No thanks to you.” He looked around for his horse and saw the animal riding alongside the cattle at the front of the herd. “Give me a ride to my horse.”
“Gee,” Jay said as Logan mounted up behind him, his tone sarcastic, “I’m glad you’re safe too. You’re welcome for the ride. Love you too, Logan.”
“You want a hug, you can get one from one of the girls at O’Keefe’s. Now take me to my blasted horse.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Foley, sir. Whatever you need, sir.”
“Jay—” Logan began but Jay snapped his reins and started forward before he could continue. When they reached his horse, he leapt onto the saddle. Jay peeled off before Logan could say anything and Logan shook his head and resumed leading the herd.
A moment later, he caught a glimpse of white fabric up ahead. He frowned and peered through the storm and the prairie grass to see what it was. As he approached, he thought the fabric looked a lot like the hem of a dress.
He felt disquiet grow as he watched the fabric, but it wasn’t until another bolt of lightning shattered the sky that he saw the girl wearing the dress. She lay unmoving despite the storm and the noise of the herd.
The herd that was now barely a hundred yards away from trampling her. Instantly, Logan spurred his horse into a dead run. The exhausted animal whinnied reproachfully at him, but he ignored it. His heart pounded as he raced ahead of the lead bull and made for the woman in white. He dismounted and ran over to her. He laid two fingers next to her throat and felt a pulse. She was alive!
She was beautiful. Her skin was creamy white, and her features were soft and elegant, but a noble brow and high cheekbones prevented them from being delicate. He nearly forgot about the storm until another blast of lightning snapped him out of his reverie.
He looked behind him and his heartbeat quickened further. The cattle would reach them in seconds. He quickly put one arm under the girl’s shoulders and the other under her legs, then lifted. Without pausing for breath, he ran toward his horse, just out of the path of the herd.He too He collapsed to the ground just out of the way of the rampaging animals.
“It’s okay,” Logan said to the unconscious woman between ragged gulps of air. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”