LITMIR.BIZ

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game.

      Touching her back pocket, Kaye made sure she had her cell phone. She considered calling Joel, but she wanted to surprise him with questions about the rodeo and didn’t want to give him time to come up with an excuse.

      She studied the western horizon, noting the gathering clouds. “It looks like we might get some rain,” she told Midnight, patting the horse on her neck. “We can only pray it does.” She guided Midnight back inside the barn and snagged her old cowboy hat from a hook. It amazed her that her brother had kept it, but she’d put it to good use.

      “Let’s see if we can find the guys before we have some weather.” She remembered they’d talked about checking the stock at the western edge of the ranch.

      As she rode away from the barn, she felt a freedom, and long-ago hopes flickered to life in her heart, sparking a smile. The years seemed to melt away and she didn’t have a care in the world.

      Her body relaxed into the rhythm of the horse’s gait. When she was in the army, she’d always found a stable where she was stationed so she could ride, but riding here at her family’s ranch brought back good memories. The wind picked up and the sky grew dark. After several minutes, when she still hadn’t seen any signs of either Joel or Caleb, she considered going back to the ranch house. The land dipped toward a small stream. Trees grew in abundance down here by the river, and it was always a place where they had to rescue stray calves. Maybe she’d find the guys there.

      As she headed toward the stream, a blinding light split the sky, and the ground shook with the earth-shattering sound. Her mount danced sideways and electricity seemed to race over Kaye’s skin, raising the hair on her arms. She struggled with the reins, trying to keep the horse from bolting.

      “Easy, girl.”

      The horse’s head came up and Midnight shook. Kaye patted the mare’s neck. “Easy.” What she didn’t need was her mount charging off in a blind panic.

      As she nudged her horse forward, she thought she heard her name, turned and saw Caleb racing toward her.

      Before he could reach her, the sky opened up as if someone had turned on the shower full throttle. These were no little droplets but a full barrage of stinging drops.

      “Let’s take cover under the trees,” he shouted, nodding toward the stand of trees.

      They both headed for the shelter. They were almost there when another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The boom nearly threw Kaye off her horse, singeing her skin and throwing her back to another blast that tore her world apart.

      * * *

      “Wow, that was close.” Caleb looked around to make sure the lightning hadn’t hit any of the trees surrounding them. When Kaye didn’t answer, he turned to her. They were both drenched and the cold rain ran down his back in rivulets. But what chilled him was Kaye’s blank expression.

      “Kaye, were you hit?”

      Kaye appeared frozen.

      He nudged his horse closer to her. “Are you hurt?” He did a quick scan for any injuries.

      Again, she didn’t answer.

      “Kaye, are you okay?”

      Her eyes were wide-open, but she wasn’t seeing him next to her. She clutched her horse’s reins so tightly that her fingers had gone white. Her mount danced nervously. Caleb reached over and pried her fingers loose from the reins. Her body began to shake so hard, he thought she’d fly apart. And she wasn’t doing her mount any favors.

      “Kaye?”

      Nothing.

      Another flash of lightning, accompanied by booming thunder filled the air. Kaye seemed to shrink farther into herself.

      Caleb grabbed Midnight’s reins and wrapped them around his saddle horn, then pulled Kaye from her saddle and settled her in front of him. He took off her cowboy hat and folded her close to his chest.

      Her body shook as if she were on a Tilt-a-Whirl at the state fair. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed his hand over her back. The world around them disappeared while Caleb held this brave woman, who was seeing another world, living through a different storm.

      He could only guess at the horror she saw, but he knew she’d endured a lot in the hospitals she’d been in. He experienced nightmares about the accident that had just happened with the rider who was hurt, but his nightmares were nowhere in the realm of hers.

      Midnight danced, but Razor stood rock steady underneath him. Midnight calmed.

      Caleb started praying. He might not know what she saw, but God did.

      The storm raged around them, cutting them off from the world. The leaves shook, but only a few drops worked their way down Caleb’s back. As he prayed, Caleb felt a deep connection to this woman—one he’d never experienced before. He didn’t quite understand the feeling, but he recognized a wounded soul when he saw one.

      He lost track of how much time passed, but the lack of sound finally caught his attention. The rain stopped as suddenly as it began.

      Kaye’s body relaxed and she melted into him. He continued to hold her, lightly rubbing her back. After a moment, she stirred and looked up at him.

      Slowly she became aware of where she sat. She didn’t cry or accuse but quietly waited for an explanation.

      “You seemed a bit— Uh, Midnight panicked and—”

      She looked down at her hands. “Thanks.”

      No further explanation was needed.

      He wanted to ask her what she was reliving, but from her closed expression, he knew she didn’t want to talk.

      “I think I can ride by myself.” She refused to look up.

      “So how do you want to do this? You want to try to slip your leg over Midnight’s back, or do you want to mount from the ground?”

      She eyed the maneuver she would have to make to slip onto Midnight’s back from his horse. “I think maybe let me mount from the ground.”

      He gently set her on her feet, handed back her hat then unwrapped her mount’s reins from around his saddle horn. She slapped the hat on and looked around—he guessed for a rock that she could mount from.

      He dismounted and cupped his hands so she could use them for a boost up.

      “Thanks.”

      She stepped into his hands and he lifted her over her horse’s back. Her neck turned red.

      He remounted his horse and they started toward the house. They didn’t talk as they rode, but as they topped the next-to-last rise before the ranch house, the sight and smell of smoke filled the sky.

      Kaye stopped. Caleb stopped beside her.

      “The house and barn are in that direction.” She glanced at him.

      “There were several lightning strikes close to us. Maybe one of the trees or some grass burned.” At least he hoped that was all it was.

      They kicked their mounts into a run. As they topped the last rise, their worst fears were confirmed. The back porch of the house was on fire. Joel and her grandfather fought the flames.

      Riding down the hill, they galloped to the barn. Joel stood outside with the hose, and Gramps held a bucket. Caleb raced to the back of the house and dismounted on a run. He took the bucket from the old man and ran to the outside trough and filled it. He threw the bucket on the edge of the porch. Kaye went inside and grabbed the broom and started to beat the two-by-fours anchoring the screens.

      They worked for several more minutes at fighting the fire until they had it out. Finally, Joel stepped back and held the hose at his side. “I think we’ve got it. Anyone see any smoldering spots?”

      “Looks like it’s out,” Caleb said.

      Gramps

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