The terrain wasn't as steep as the one they had come up and that gave Sam hope that water would be near. The path ended suddenly and Sam didn't know which direction to move in. The brush was so thick, it was too much work to make her way through it, so she turned around and headed back to the trail. Tired and thirsty, Sam had no choice but start back down the mountain. It was much slower going on foot, sliding in some places to keeping the horse from taking off in a run was hard. Sam had to keep the horse in tow or it could fall and get hurt, dragging her with it. She and the horse kept a slow but steady pace down the mountain, finally reaching the bottom where they had begun. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, when she saw Jericho riding toward her. She sat down and waited for him to come to her, with her head in her hands.
Not saying a word, he helped her onto the four wheeler and tied the horse behind it. He headed towards home, going slow enough so the horse could walk. Once at the barn, Jericho took the horse into the barn, to feed and water it. "I'll do that Jericho." Sam told him, feeling it was her responsibility. He handed her the reins and went into the house to tell Robbie they were back. Robbie was waiting at the door with Lily, "Is she alright, Jericho?" He smiled, "She will be. She's not hurt." Robbie sat across the table from him, "Jericho, what was she doing, I thought you would never get back! She's been gone for hours." Sam walked in before he could answer. "I'm ok, Mom. I just needed to go for a ride." Jericho smiled at her with his head tucked to the side, "A thinking ride?" She nodded, "Sorta." Sam didn't know the whole answer yet, and she was too tired to try and explain it now. Lily had not said a word and had gone back to cutting out her sugar cookies, with her little mouth set in thin line.
"Hi Lil, sorry if I worried all of you. I didn't mean to be gone so long." Sam told her, leaning down to see her face. Lily jerked her head around to Sam, "I was worried! You shouldn't leave me like that." Sam saw the worry and fear in her face and picked her up. "I didn't leave you Lil, I just needed to ride. That's all." Sam told her softly. Lily looked into her eyes and began to understand what Sam meant by, ride. She nodded to her and hugged her. Sam put her down and got a cup of coffee. When she turned around, they were all staring at her, "What? I'm fine! Thank you Jericho, I'm truly grateful you were there for me." she told him quietly. He nodded in a way that told her she needn't explain further, he understood, as though he may have been in her shoes, at some time in his own life. Jericho seemed to be able to read Sam better than her family.
After a shower and lunch, Sam began to feel like her old self again. She found Jericho in the barn, putting a mare in a stall. "What's up?" she asked. Jericho closed the stall door, "She seems a little skittish, think she might be getting ready to foal tonight. Just want to keep an eye on her. Maybe I should lock you in there with her." He grinned and glanced at Sam. "I'm sorry Jericho, I just needed to think..or something. I shouldn't have taken off that way though. I've never been up Lonely Mountain before..I don't even know why I went today." she told him. Jericho put his arm around her shoulder, "You are wondering where you are headed. I think maybe, you need someone in your life now Sam. It's certainly time. You try to be made of solid stone..but you're really all soft..like a woman."
Sam laughed, "I am a woman! Don't I seem like one?" He just shook his head, "You need to answer that one, not me." He left the barn and got in his truck, heading to town, leaving Sam to wonder just what she had been feeling.
Everything she put her hand to for the rest of the day seemed to frustrate her, so she gave up and went in the house. Nobody in the kitchen gave her a strange feeling, as she reached for the coffee. She could hear Lily and Robbie in the family room and went in to see what they were up to. Robbie had Lily in her lap showing her the family album, and telling her about each picture. Sam smiled and wished she had a picture of them, the way they were now. Reaching for her phone, she realized it wasn't in her pocket. She went and checked her jacket, it wasn't there either. Still standing with her hand on her jacket, her head bent down, she tried to think where she might have left it. Suddenly it dawned on her, it probably fell out of her pocket while she half crawled down the mountain. Darn! She would have make a trip to the mall to get another one. Sam hated the mall and avoided it, if it were at all possible.
Robbie came into the kitchen and asked her if something was wrong, the way she was standing with her hand on her jacket. "Lost my phone." Sam told her. The door opened and she almost got squished into the coats hanging behind it, as Matt came in. "Oh, sorry Sam. I just wanted to tell you, they are calling for a little snow tomorrow, so I put out extra hay today, just in case." "Thanks Matt. Well, if it might snow, I guess I ought to go get a phone tonight." she said, almost to herself. "I'm heading to the mall. You can ride with me if you want." Matt said. Sam was shocked by his offer, "I..ah..ok. What time are you leaving?" He looked at her and said, "Now." Sam got flustered by his answer and just stared at him. "Ok, can you watch Lil, Mom?" "Sure hon, what about dinner?" Robbie asked innocently.
Matt answered, "We'll pick up a pizza and bring it back here, you've fed me enough, it's my turn to do something. We shouldn't be long." Sam shrugged her shoulders and they left, leaving Robbie to wonder how that happened. True to his word, they were back before Lily had time to finish her drawing she had made for Sam. It was a picture of Sam, falling off a horse. Jericho laughed when he saw it. Lily must be just a little put out, that Sam had gone with Matt and not taken her with them, he thought. But when she saw the pizza's and bread sticks, she softened up and ran to get plates for the pizza. "I love pizza!" she said to Matt. "I thought you might like this tonight, Lily." he said to her. It wasn't long until Lily was back to her old self, with sauce on her fingers. Sam looked around the table and admired the way Matt brought Lily out of her tiff.
"Matt, do you have brothers and sisters?" Sam asked. He shook his head no, although a slight shadow seemed to cross over him, Sam noticed. Matt was in a hurry to leave after supper, it seemed to Sam. She couldn't help herself and asked, "Got a late date, Matt?" He turned to her as he put on his coat, "Nope, got some horses to check on at home. Goodnight." After he was gone, Sam couldn't help but wonder what made her say such a thing to him. Before she had time to think about it too much, Jericho came to the door and told her another mare was ready to deliver. She got all her gear and headed to the barn.
Jericho had her in the stall and she seemed nervous, but not in distress. "Do you think she is going to have a problem, Jericho?" she asked him. He rubbed his hand down the mare's roan colored coat, "Twins." Sam felt the mare the same way that he had, "Yea, I think you're right. But she seems pretty calm, considering." Sam said. Jericho nodded, "Better call Ned. She won't be able to have both of them. You told me who the sire was for these foals, and his babies are always large. Two of them will be too much for her." Sam had forgotten who the sire, was and agreed with Jericho, calling Ned. No answer, but she left a message. Jericho had left the stall and was out in the passageway, making a lot of noise. When Sam poked her head out to see what he was doing, she realized that he was putting up a tent. Sam laughed and went out to help him. "What is this for?" she asked.
Jericho looked at her, "A heater and a cot! We are going to take turns sleeping tonight and this will feel good later. Remember the snow they are calling for? Gonna get a lot colder."He said with a grimace. Sam could see now that he was worried, as they worked together to set up the tent. She went in to get some blankets and pillows. Stacking them on the cots, she heard voices and went out to see. Ned and Matt were walking toward her. Surprised, she said, "Where did you two come from?" Ned smiled, "I got your message and just headed on over, I was at Matt's. He has two mares getting close, but they won't deliver tonight. So, he offered to ride over with me, you know Sam.. to help?" She smacked Ned lightly on the arm, "Thanks, both of you. Jericho says it will be twins, I think so too."
Ned went into the stall to checked the mare. He looked over his shoulder at Jericho, "Yep, twins." He didn't look his usual happy self either, and that concerned Sam. "Why the look?" she asked him. Ned smiled, "Gonna be a long night." Sam nodded, "I'll get the extra coffee pot and hook it up out here." She went into the house and Robbie helped her get everything together. She knew what they would need, from years of helping Luke the same way. "Lily went to bed early, she wants to come out to the barn before school, in the morning." Robbie told her.
Jericho had started a kerosene heater and pulled out the lawn chairs when she got back out to the barn. Matt had pulled over a trunk to set up the coffee on. He reached out to help unload her arms, almost dropping the bag of cups. Sam laughed, "Now that would have been a disaster, Mom tried to send styrofoam cups, but I insisted on real ones. She would have spanked me, if I had broken them all." Matt laughed too and helped her get the coffee started. Ned stood up, "I'm gonna stretch out for awhile, ok with you Sam?" She nodded and sat in the chair he had left. "Well, I guess all of us shouldn't lose sleep, why don't you go rack up in the tack room Jericho. I'll wake you when it's my turn." she told him. He nodded and took off as Matt sat in the chair beside Sam, "If I doze off, just hit me." Sam looked over at him and he pulled his cap down over his eyes. "Now wait a minute!" she said as she knocked the cap off his head. "Oops! I didn't mean to do that, sorry." she laughed.
Matt picked up his cap and said, "Fine, I'll stay awake with you. What time is it?" Sam looked at her watch, "Ten." "Aww, long night ahead." Matt moaned as he slid down in the chair and propped his feet on the trunk. "You're gonna have to tell me stories, Sam, to keep me awake." She smiled, "Why don't you tell me one, like about when you were growing up on the ranch." "Nooo, too sad to tell. Don't want to go there." he answered. Sam was silenced by his words, wondering if she really had hit a nerve. Matt glanced over at her, as she frowned down at her hands. "Ok, I lost my little brother when I was twelve and it makes me sad to talk about it. He had leukemia and it wasn't pretty, to watch him shrink into a little skeleton. I was all grown up after that. Both our childhood's died the day he did."
He pulled his cap back down and a thin line replaced the lips that Sam could barely see now. She was so shocked by his admission, she didn't know whether to respond or apologise for asking. She stayed silent and reached for the coffee pot..
No comments:
Post a Comment