The Truth About Cowboys by Margot Early

Author:Margot Early
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Those who work the land control the food.

Nature prevents their being tyrants.”

—Erin Mackenzie,

“Cattle and Cowboys: The Ancient

Currency of a Modern Enigma”

When he entered the trailer, Maeve’s toys made an obstacle course on the floor, and the dogs ran it to get to him. Erin was on the love-seat bench, and Abe said it out loud to her eyes, trying to make it real. “My daddy had a stroke. He’s dead.”

Erin got up and held him. She pictured an old cowboy gracefully spinning in place, dancing with a baby in the kitchen of his trailer, heard him singing “Red River Valley.” Now she would hear no more stories from the man who had ridden to school in a bus equipped with a woodstove. Whose father had predicted an afternoon blizzard by looking at a morning sky.

And Jayne was newly dead. Parents left like this, one by one. Or they left their children by choice, and death’s pain came twice. Or they never arrived, like her father.

Maeve stood up, wobbled and tried walking toward Martha. “Da-gee.”

“Does she know the stove is hot, Erin?”

His voice was different. Slower, like his voice was trying to go somewhere and death had caught it.

“I watch her.”

Abe picked up the baby, set her near the stove and put her tiny hand against it.

“Abe!”

Maeve began to cry and pulled her hand away. She wailed, gazing up at Abe with a look that said he’d betrayed her.

Meeting her eyes, he said, “Hot.” He carried her to the sink to put her hand under the cold water.

Erin had risen. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Maeve was still crying as Abe shut off the water.

“There’s a woodstove in half the buildings in Alta. Now she knows the stove is hot. This way, she didn’t get hurt.”

There were names to call him. Old-fashioned, pigheaded, stupid, ignorant cowboy whose father had just died. Spreading his pain around.

Maeve cried, “Bah-bah!”

Erin took a bottle from the refrigerator and Abe reached for it. He sat down with the baby in his lap, and Maeve held the bottle and drank greedily, sniffing only occasionally. Then she threw down the bottle and cried again. Erin picked it up.

“Don’t give it back,” said Abe. “She can start learning not to do that right now.” He let Maeve down to the floor.

Beneath the table, the baby gave the stove a look that said it, too, had betrayed her. Then she made tracks for Martha. “Da-gee.”

Abe dropped the bills Kip had given him on the table. Lloyd’s last pay. Lloyd. Oh, God, Lloyd, he must be wrong.

When would Lane hear the words that their father was dead? And Abe had to call Annabelle, had to call her right away…. His eyes were wet, stinging, as Erin slid into the booth beside him. Family had changed, and he and Erin were the head of it, and he was a child no more. He was the father. He held Erin, the mother, needing her. Her mother had been murdered, and she’d shown him how strong he could be.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.