Reason To Believe by Kathleen Eagle

Author:Kathleen Eagle [Eagle, Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The riders formed a circle within the circle of light that the big utility pole cast behind the small ranch house.

They could smell the promise of inner warmth. Soup and coffee. Dewey gave thanks for a day of safe travel, for the horses that had brought them to this place, and for Angus Barnes, the white rancher who had provided a place to stay. He'd offered the use of his corrals and stock tanks, the windbreak of his shelter belt, where the support crew had already set up camp, and all the hay and water the horses and riders might need.

They attended to the horses first. Two had pulled up lame, one with a rock wedged against the frog in its front hoof. If they weren't sound by morning, the riders would have to locate a spare mount or sit out a day. Taking care of the horses was the ride's foremost rule.

Some of the riders had pledged to fast during part of the ride. Those who would begin their fast tonight were escorted to a special tent, where Dewey, as spiritual advisor, would offer encouragement and help them renew their commitment. He would eat later, after the fasters had gone to sleep.

Angus Barnes and his two daughters helped Ben and some of the other riders feed the horses. Clara sought the warmth of the campfire, where the children had lined up to be fed first. TJ met her with a cup of soup, a piece of fry bread, and a smile when Clara sighed over the first hot sip of supper. More fires were built around the campsite. Riders and supporters gathered, ate, drank coffee, and shared in the warmth, both from the fire and the companionship. People drifted from fire to fire. There was little talk at first. Everyone was hungry and tired, content simply to stand or sit and stare and move sore muscles as little as possible.

Clara followed TJ to one of the camp stoves in search of more coffee. The blue enamel pot had been drained. TJ dipped in a little water. Clara dug the three-pound can of ground coffee out of the box of supplies that was sitting on the pickup's open tailgate.

"We were talking today, a little bit about..." Clara realized, having heard so little about the woman, that she wasn't sure how to refer to her. "Ben's mother. He's never told me much about her. I know it's been a long time, but—" She peeled the plastic lid off the coffee can. "He can't seem to remember anything specifically good about her. But your father must have loved her. I mean, there must have been something good..." She looked up, peering at her sister-in-law in the smoky shadows cast by a fire blazing several yards away. "Did you get along with her, TJ?"

"Sometimes." TJ rinsed the dregs of old grounds, flinging them into the grass with a quick snap of the wrist. "Stella ran hot and cold. Sometimes she'd make a big fuss over my brother, other times for days she'd act like she didn't even know he was there.

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