Leann Harris - A Ranch to Call Home

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 stumbled to the singed picnic table and sat. Caleb set the bucket down. He collapsed next to Gramps on the bench as Joel turned off the hose.

Opening the screen door, Kaye joined the others. Part of the porch’s roof was blackened.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I was riding in when I saw the bolt of lightning hit the porch. I vaulted off my horse and ran to the hose and started fighting the flames. Gramps came out the back door and tried to help, but—”

“I was sitting in my chair asleep when a loud crack woke me. What that tractor didn’t do, the boom nearly did.”

They looked at the smoldering roof of the porch.

“It could’ve been worse,” Caleb said. His words were punctuated by the roof crumbling onto the porch.

Silence settled until a choked laugh escaped Kaye. She looked around, guilt flushing her cheeks.

Joel shook his head. Caleb fought his smile while Gramps just shook his head and walked back inside.

Caleb thought about what Joel said. “Did you see the lightning actually strike the house?”

Under the soot on his face, Joel frowned. “I did. Why?”

“Horsefeathers.” Gramps’s comment drifted through the screened back door.

Caleb rubbed the back of his neck. “Because if there was a direct strike, it probably fried all the electronics in the house.”

Kaye sat down next to Caleb. “What else could go wrong?”

“Do you really want to know?”

She shook her head. “No.”

But when it rained, it poured. And it was raining hard.

Chapter Four

Kaye pulled the marshmallow out of the fireplace and placed it onto a graham cracker. She topped it with a square of chocolate and a second graham cracker, and handed it to her grandfather. “This reminds me of the first time you took Joel and me on a campout.”

Gramps accepted the treat and tried to take a bite but lost hold of the s’more. It plopped in his lap. He glanced at Kaye. “Nothing’s going right today.”

Kaye quickly picked up the s’more and put it on a plate. “I’ll make you another.”

Gramps shook his head. “Nope, just give me back that mess. I’ll finish it.”

Kaye glanced at Caleb and saw him grinning. A laugh bubbled up in her, but she didn’t think Gramps would appreciate it. After the events of this afternoon, you had to either laugh or cry. She put the plate with the s’more in Gramps’s lap. He picked it up and took a bite.

Caleb handed her another marshmallow. “You seem to get the marshmallow just right, so mind doing mine?”

Kaye’s emotions binged all over the place. There was that sizzle she felt, but also she was on pins and needles, worried he’d ask about what happened during the storm.

This flashback had been the worst she’d experienced.

“Kaye?” Caleb said again, holding out the marshmallow.

“Well, since your last marshmallow resembled the black mess on the back porch, I guess I could.”

Caleb grinned. “That last one I did looked exactly like the mess on the porch.”

The lightning had blown all the lightbulbs in the house along with all the appliances—big screen included. Even the hot-water heater had been fried. Joel called the insurance company on his cell phone and was told to leave things alone until the adjuster could get out to the ranch tomorrow. If they had any working cameras or if their cell phones had a camera they should take pictures of the damages.

They’d put the things from the refrigerator in an ice chest and had hot dogs for dinner. The fire in the fireplace was Gramps’s idea. They had only two lightbulbs in the pantry, so they’d replaced one in Gramps’s room but had to find a lamp that still worked to put in the other lightbulb. Luckily, all their flashlights worked.

“I wonder if we’re the only ones who got hit,” Joel said.

“I’ll ask when I call the other members on the committee. Oh, by the way, I talked to Nan today.” Kaye pulled the marshmallow out of the fire and handed the skewer to Caleb.

In the light from the fireplace, Kaye could see her brother’s guilty look. “Oh?”

“That’s why I decided to ride out to the field, to have a little talk with you.”

Joel shifted on the chair. “About what?”

“About all the details I couldn’t find in your pile. Have you assigned jobs to the various board members? Nan didn’t know what she was to do.”

In the dim light, Kaye couldn’t tell if he blushed, but he wouldn’t look at her.

Joel stuffed the last of the s’more in his mouth. “Not exactly,” he mumbled around the graham cracker.

Her brother acted more like a teenage boy than an adult male. Caleb and Gramps avoided looking at her, too.

“We’re going into town Saturday morning to meet with the other members on the board of the charity rodeo. If we’re going to pull this off in the allotted time, everyone needs to be assigned a job, so before I do that, I want to talk to all the board members.”

“Well, let me know how it goes.” Joel tried to hand her another marshmallow.

“Oh, no, big brother.” Her firm tone drew everyone’s attention. “You and Caleb are going with me. Remember, you promised to help.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it.