Chapter Eleven
Maggie darted after a yellow butterfly with her rag doll tucked under one arm, two blue ribbons bouncing behind her as she zigzagged across the yard.
"Slow down a little!" Amy called, laughing as the child wandered dangerously close to the water trough. "That butterfly has no notion where it's flying, so one of us ought to, unless you want to go for a swim!"
She wondered what her mother and Clara would think if they could see her now.
Clara would probably laugh herself breathless over Maggie's determination to chase butterflies instead of minding her feet, while her mother would approve of the preserves cooling in the pantry and remind Amy that useful hands had always mattered as much as hopeful hearts.
Amy missed them both more than she'd expected, though the ache no longer felt quite so sharp now that Noah and Maggie had begun carving out little places for her in their days.
"I know where I'm going." Maggie twisted around to prove her point and barely missed the trough. She caught her balance with a little hop before turning back with a grin bright enough to distract from the near mishap. "I didn't fall!"
"No," Amy agreed. "Though the trough looked rather hopeful."
A muffled laugh escaped Noah before he quickly lowered his head and scraped the end of his stick through the dirt like he'd been busy all along.
Amy pretended not to notice. Noah had laughed around her a few times over the past several days, always by accident, and he usually caught himself right afterward, as though he'd revealed more than he'd meant to.
He still measured every word he offered her, but those small slips reminded Amy that the little boy beneath that serious, guarded expression hadn't disappeared.
That morning, Noah had handed her the blackberry preserves before she'd even asked, and Maggie had insisted Amy help her button her dress because, according to the little girl, Caleb always "missed one.
" Amy had checked twice before Maggie had declared herself satisfied, then rewarded Amy with a hug that nearly knocked them both sideways.
Perhaps belonging always arrived that way, quietly enough to escape notice until one looked back and realized the distance already traveled.
The morning sun warmed them as they crossed the yard.
Caleb and Russ had ridden out after breakfast to inspect the northern pasture, leaving behind little more than fresh hoofprints and the faint smell of leather that still lingered near the porch.
Before mounting Daisy, Caleb had looked squarely at Noah.
"Stay close to the house today,” he’d ordered, his voice firm.
Noah had answered with a solemn nod that promised obedience, though he'd already begun searching for ways to get around his instructions without a doubt.
Amy understood him better than she had a week ago.
The boy looked for ways to make himself useful wherever he could, watching Caleb and Russ intently, as if he hoped one day they'd trust him with the same responsibilities.
Every chore they completed without him seemed to strengthen his determination to prove he could help, too.
He watched over the ranch with serious eyes, forever searching for a way to prove himself useful, but Amy often caught glimpses of the little boy hidden beneath that determination when he played with his sister and allowed Maggie to be a princess for a while.
Maggie skipped back toward her and slipped her hand into Amy's. "Can we go to the creek?" she asked, her eyes large with hope.
Amy looked beyond the pasture to where the cottonwoods swayed gently in the breeze. "We can go as far as the cottonwoods," she said. "You both stay where I can see you, and we turn back together."
"I know the way," Noah announced, already resting his stick on one shoulder. "Papa used to take us fishing there."
Maggie squeezed Amy's hand. “I caught a fish all by myself last time!”
The breeze carried the scent of warm earth past them, while meadowlarks called from distant fence posts.
Cattle grazed peacefully throughout the rolling pasture, their tails flicking lazily beneath the broad Wyoming sky.
Only a short time ago, the endless land had made Amy feel impossibly small and terribly alone.
The horizon stretched farther than she'd imagined possible, leaving her certain she'd wandered into a place large enough to swallow a person whole.
Now, the ranch no longer felt quite so unfamiliar.
She knew which path Caleb took toward the barn each morning, which window Maggie hurried to whenever riders approached, and which cottonwood Noah drifted toward whenever he wanted a few quiet minutes alone.
Little by little, the strange place she'd arrived at had begun collecting familiar corners of its own.
Noah slowed near a low rise and pointed his stick toward a rocky hollow. "Papa found a calf over there during a spring storm once."
Amy followed his gesture. "Was it hurt?"
"It was really cold," Noah replied. "So Papa carried it inside his coat."
Maggie wrinkled her nose. "It wouldn't fit in the coat at all."
“It did!” Noah insisted. “Its legs and head just stuck out a little!”
Maggie broke away and hurried toward a patch of purple wildflowers blooming beneath the cottonwoods. "I want some for Eloise!” Maggie knelt beneath the trees, studying each blossom with the concentration of a seasoned gardener before choosing one for Eloise’s bouquet. "This one's the prettiest."
Meanwhile, Noah wandered farther along the rise, absentmindedly sweeping his stick through the tall grass until he suddenly stopped. Amy noticed the change at once. He didn’t call out or point. He simply stood still, his attention fixed somewhere beyond the creek.
"What is it?" she asked.
Noah didn't answer. His shoulders had gone rigid, his attention fixed somewhere she couldn’t make out.
Amy's pulse quickened. She couldn't see what had caught his eye, but the sudden stillness in a boy who rarely overreacted made her stomach tighten.
She gathered her skirt and quickly climbed the rise toward him, her smile fading as she followed his line of sight.
"Oh! The cattle..." Several cows grazed beside the creek, while another wandered along the opposite bank farther away, lowering its head to crop the grass.
Amy gave Noah a confused look. "What’s wrong? They look peaceful enough."
"They ain’t supposed to be there."
His certainty made her look again. A fence followed the edge of the creek, separating the lower pasture from the neighboring land.
It was still there, but now part of it sagged near the bend in the creek.
She narrowed her eyes against the morning light, trying to see better with the glare.
"They must've found a weak spot and pushed through.”
Noah dropped his stick and bolted down the hill.
"Noah!" Amy called, startled at the way he just bolted off.
Noah kept running.
Amy turned sharply as panic erupted within her. "Maggie, come here."
The little girl looked up from her flowers with a frown. "But Eloise—"
"Eloise can wait."
Whatever Maggie heard in Amy's voice sent her hurrying over without another word. Amy caught her hand and started down the slope, struggling to match Noah's pace while keeping Maggie from stumbling over the uneven ground. "Noah, slow down!"
The boy reached the creek well ahead of them.
He disappeared behind a stand of tall grass, leaving Amy's heart pounding harder with every step. Caleb had trusted her with the children. She’d believed a walk to the cottonwoods couldn’t possibly lead them into trouble.
Now Noah stood out of sight near wandering cattle, and Amy's mind leaped from one fear to the next.
Had one of the animals turned aggressive?
Had he slipped into the creek? Was he already trying to herd the cattle back on his own?
She tightened her grip on Maggie's hand. "Stay close,” she warned. Amy pushed through the grass, and relief swept over her as soon as she spotted Noah standing safely beside one of the fence posts.
Instead of watching the cattle, though, Noah was studying the wire stretched between the posts. Amy came up beside him. Several strands hung loose where they should've met, their sharp ends glinting in the sunlight above the flattened grass.
Her gaze locked onto the wires. They hadn’t given way beneath a steer’s weight, nor pulled free after years of weathering. A knife had obviously cut clean through the strands, leaving an opening wide enough for the cattle to drift into the valley whenever they pleased.
Ice settled low in her stomach. She thought of Caleb's sharp warning to stay close to the house, the exhaustion that never seemed to leave his face, and the guarded answers he'd given whenever she asked about the ranch. Whatever burden he'd been carrying, it had just stepped out of the shadows.
Noah moved toward the gap,, but Amy caught his shoulder before he could pass. "Leave it."
He looked back at her with a frown. "I've got to turn the cattle around."
"You've got to stay with me," Amy said, tightening her hand on his shoulder. "I'm not letting you walk into danger if whoever cut this fence is still nearby."
"But they'll keep wandering!"
Amy pulled Noah back before he could take another step and gave a firm shake of her head. "Caleb will bring them home."
His gaze stayed fixed on the drifting cattle, every line of his small body pulling toward the broken fence. "They're going the wrong way."
"I see that. Caleb and Russ will be able to get them back when they return."
He shifted his weight as if he meant to slip past her anyway. "I can turn them around. Papa always let me help."