“Well, that makes it your turn now.” He arched an eyebrow at Jem. “Do you really want to argue?”
In the event that Jem did not know how to answer the question, both of his brothers kicked him under the table. “No,” he said, jerking his chair back until his shins were out of danger. “You’ll get no argument from me.”
Morgan eyed Jem’s distance from the table and crooked a finger to encourage him to return. “You heard me say tomorrow, didn’t you?”
Jem grunted, glanced under the table, and glared at his brothers. “I heard.” He carefully scooted his chair back into position and took up his fork.
Jane pressed her lips together and kept her eyes on her plate until the urge to laugh passed. Mercifully, at least in her opinion, the remainder of the meal passed without further assault on Jem.
Jane learned that if she positioned herself a little to the right of the sink, she could see most of the corral from the kitchen window. That was where her attention was fixed while she dried the dishes. At Morgan’s direction, Max had helped her clear the table after dinner and stayed to wash. Jessop and Jake were sent off to the barn to finish chores. It was Morgan and Jem who were working with one of the mares in the corral.
Jane only knew the horse was a mare because Max told her it was. Occasionally he would look up from his washing duties and explain what was going on. Jane learned that the recalcitrant mustang was a recent acquisition, not purchased, but captured. It was Jessop who first spied the wild herd that had moved onto Morning Star land, but it was Morgan who was successful in cutting the mare out. The rest of the wild horses were driven off so they would not compete with the livestock for grazing land, but according to Max, they had not strayed far, and he and Jessop still had a notion of getting a mustang for themselves.
Jane watched Morgan simply stand beside the horse for the longest time. He appeared to be talking to her. Sometimes he would stroke her neck. If she shied sideways, he would wait until she calmed and approach her again. He held a halter in his left hand. He showed it to the horse, let her smell it, rub her nose against it, and when he held it up in front of her in both hands, he let her toss her head and nudge at it so in effect she helped him get it over her head. Morgan quickly attached a lead line. There was some push and pull after that, but Morgan gave up some of the length to let her have distance and then gradually guided her back.
“He’s gotten this far before,” said Max when Morgan started leading the mustang around the corral. “It’s the bridle that makes her bolt. She wants no part of the bit. That’s why Jem’s holding it out. See how the boss is nosin’ her closer to where Jem’s sittin’ on the rail every time he makes a pass? He’s trying to accustom her to the sight of it, although how she knows it’s different than what she’s wearin’, I ain’t figured out yet.”
Jane had been wondering the same thing. “What’s her name?”
“Doesn’t have one. Boss said he wanted to think about it. He’s like that. A thinker, I mean, but I expect you know that about him.”
Jane merely smiled. She picked up a wet plate, wiped it down with a towel, and set it behind her on the table. She did this without ever looking away from the window. She felt a twinge of sympathy for the mustang. Harnessing that beautiful animal struck her as vaguely cruel, although she certainly understood the necessity of it. The mare’s coloring and glossy coat made her think of cinnamon sugar glaze.
“She looks to be a very fine animal,” said Jane. “Is she?”
“Well, she’s no dink, I can tell you that. The boss wouldn’t cut a dink out of the herd.”
“Dink?”
Max shrugged his thin, ropy shoulders. “Nothing special, I suppose you’d say. Ordinary. Mustangs are just mixed-breed horses. You can’t be sure what you’ve got. There’s some spirit in that one, maybe a little thoroughbred in her lines. She’s strong and quick. Pretty, too. Definitely not a dink.”
“Oh,” Jane said softly. She felt unaccountably sad. It was that sudden rush of feeling that made her finally look away from the window.
That was how she missed Morgan being thrown against the fence and Jem falling backward over the rail. That beautiful and spirited animal had decided she was done being led around by the nose.
CHAPTER 6
“I can walk, damn it,” Morgan said. His snarling declaration had the effect of forcing him to prove it. Max and Jessop simultaneously ducked out from under the arms they were supporting and stood by to see what would happen. Morgan’s next step would have put him on his knees if they hadn’t caught him.
“Sure you can, boss,” said Max.
Kneeling beside Jem on the outside of the corral, Jane found it painful to look at Morgan’s white-lipped grimace. She put a hand on Jem’s shoulder and helped Jake get him into a sitting position. Jem had had the wind knocked out of him when he felt flat on his back, but he had demonstrated to Jane’s satisfaction that nothing was broken, except perhaps his pride. When he shook himself off and got to his feet on his own steam, Jane accepted the hand he held out to help her rise.
“Not lookin’ too good there,” Jem said following Morgan’s halting progress to the gate. This earned him a sour look that had absolutely no effect. “What do you suppose made her so skittish?”
“Maybe you juggling that bridle like a bear with a ball.”
“I wasn’t juggling. Just changin’ hands. I had a splinter in my—” Jem stopped, glanced at Jane, and in deference to her presence said, “Backside.” He pointed to the offending part. “Still do.”
Jake took a step back from his brother. “You’re on your own there. I’m not taking it out.”
Jessop and Max voiced similar sentiments as they helped Morgan move to the outside of the corral. Jake went to close the gate behind them.
Jane brushed dirt off her gown. “Is someone going to go for the doctor?” This brought every head turning in her direction at once. She was on the receiving end of looks that were mostly amused. The expression that didn’t live in the same state as amused belonged to her husband. He looked aggrieved.
Jem said, “Splinter’s just a bitty thing. Don’t need a doctor for that.”
Jake and Jessop snorted with laughter. Max and Morgan just shook their heads. The empathy Jane felt for Jem did not keep her from smiling.
