Chapter 9
Grady couldn’t believe all that Marta was learning from Kyra…
well he could, because she had done the same to him, Marley, Brody, Cooper, Carson, and Carter when they had first arrived in Sheridan, but to see Marta begin learning was an eye opener.
She took everything Kyra said as gospel.
She helped her all morning in the garden weeding and canning everything they could get their hands on. They even had Mattie helping them.
But in the afternoon, they spent on making themselves reliant.
She had already mastered handling the knife she wore at her waist, she was all right with a slingshot, not great, but she had brought rabbits to the table several times in the last two weeks.
Mattie was having a really good time with his slingshot.
Kyra had him concentrating on rabbits and snakes with his slingshot.
He was thrilled to be able to kill some of each.
Marta was already making her own arrows.
She was a lot faster at it than Grady remembered him doing so long ago.
She was patient as she fashioned her arrowheads out of shale and flint, spending hours chipping them into the sharp points for her arrows.
She had more than two dozen in less than a week to go with her shafts and bows.
She also spent hours using the stationary targets, and he helped her with the moving targets, too.
He helped her with her aim on the moving targets and to aim in an arc upwards.
It helped her tremendously. She hadn’t gone out hunting yet, but it was only a matter of time.
Kyra also had her taking a gun out and cleaning it, and putting it back together again, loading it, and doing it all together again and again.
Then, she had to have target practice with both stationary targets and moving targets.
It was time for Grady to leave before Marta had brought down her first animal. The telegram came and was brought out by one of the deputies.
Cooper actually brought it out on one of his rounds to check on all the ranchers and farmers.
“Grady, I have a telegram for you. I told the telegraph operator that I would deliver it for him to save him the trip.” He told him and handed it to him.
He gave Kyra a hug and started talking about the babies and Marley.
“She’s canning every day and has more than forty jars waiting for me to carry down into the cellar each day when I come home from work, Kyra.
The babies stay in a buggy while she works at it.
I pick everything that I can before I leave each morning for work.
They seem to grow before my eyes…Charlie and Cass are bottomless pits!
They’re up to four ounces every three hours now, and little Lyra is taking three ounces.
I don’t think she’ll ever be as big as her brothers, but if she’s like Marley, she’ll always tell them what to do.
” He told his mother-in-law, and they all laughed.
“Everything all right here on the ranch…no rustlers or water problems or anything?”
“We’re fine…do you honestly think that Nimrod and Brody would put up with anyone rustling their cattle or horses?
There’s always enough water on our land, even when there’s a drought.
You tell Marley that I’m coming out to see her as soon as I get a break in my garden.
We’re canning everything I can get my hands on, and I’m teaching Marta how to use a knife, slingshot, bow and arrows, and gun.
She’s a quick learner and we’re going to go out hunting in the next few days to start filling up that smoke house.
Mattie is keeping us eating rabbits and keeping the snakes under control.
” Kyra told him and they all smiled. Mattie felt great that they even mentioned him.
Grady was reading the telegram. It was from Tim, his partner. It read: Grady, hope you’re well. Stop. If you’re up to it, we have a new mission to do. Stop. Will be there to pick you up at the end of the week. Stop. Tim. Stop.
“Looks like my recovery period is coming to an end. Tim is coming to pick me up to go back to work at the end of the week. We’ve got felons to track down and go after.
These last few weeks have flown by. It’s been nice to come home.
I’m sure glad that it’s worked out well for Marta and Mattie with you, Ma.
Cooper give my love to Marley and my new nephews and niece.
I still can’t believe how tiny they are!
” Grady told him and slapped him on the back before he took off.
“You’d best stop in and see your sister before you take off again, or she’ll come tracking you down. You know she’ll do it!” Cooper told him and they all laughed.
“I’ll be in before I leave, I promise.” Grady told him and saw him ride out.
He envied Cooper. He had a job he loved and the woman of his heart, too.
Would he ever settle down like he had and be content to stop riding all over the west capturing felons?
He didn’t think so, at least not any time soon.
He went back to helping Marta with her accuracy with her gun.
He felt close to her, he thought it was like a sisterly feeling until Carson Thatcher rode over to talk to Nimrod about branding all their new calves before it got too late in the summer.
It was his first time in seeing Marta. He did a double take at how beautiful she was.
“Whoa! Who are you and why have they been hiding you from me! You are one beautiful woman. I’m Carson Thatcher, and I live next door to the Harper’s. Who are you and tell me that you aren’t married?” Carson asked her and reached out to shake her hand.
Marta reacted like she had been bitten by a snake. She didn’t want to be touched by anyone…other than Kyra, Grady, or Mattie. She really liked Nimrod but didn’t go out of her way to touch Nimrod either.
“Hi, Carson. This is Marta and Mattie Romera. They are now living with my folks. Marta and Mattie were held hostage by some men my partner and I apprehended. They had already killed their parents and burned their home. I brought them here to heal. They’re a little skittish with all strangers.
It’s good to see you again.” Grady told him and shook his hand.
But he did notice that he kept his eyes on Marta, and he didn’t like it. Was he jealous?
“How old is she? She’s not married is she?” Carson asked him with a huge smile.
“She’s only about sixteen or seventeen and no she’s not married and not interested in getting married any time soon. Give her some time to get used to you.” Grady told him and hoped he’d back off.
“I hear you, but with the shortage of women out here…I’ll be back and soon to get to know her a lot better. Where can I find Nimrod or Brody?” Carson asked them again.
“He’s out branding our new calves. You’ll find him in the valley behind our barn. I’m not with them because I was hit with a bullet and am recovering.” Grady told him and saw him laugh.
“That was going to be my next question. You’re looking like you’re feeling better. When do you go back to work as a marshal?”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“Yep, I want you away from Marta and making the way clear for me.” Carson told him with a smile.
“My partner is picking me up the end of this week.”
Carson nodded and then headed out to where he could find Nimrod and Brody. He made Grady uneasy about leaving Marta here without him to run interference.
“Marta, are you all right? Carson won’t hurt you like those other men did. But he will try to court you. If you don’t like him, just tell him no, or tell Nimrod to tell him no, and he’ll send him on his way.” Grady told her when he saw her with tears in her eyes.
“I don’t want any one to court me or try and get near me. I don’t want any one to touch me. Is that all right?” Marta asked him quietly.
“Yes, it is. I’ll talk to Nimrod for you and he’ll take care of it. You don’t have to see anyone you don’t want to see. I understand. I am glad you don’t mind seeing me.” Grady told her and made her smile at least.
“I like you Grady…you saved us and brought us to this heavenly place to heal. I’ll always be thankful to you for that. You also don’t frighten me or try to hurt me.” Marta told him quietly.
“Well, I’m glad on that score. Will you be all right with me leaving at the end of the week with Tim?”
“I wish you wouldn’t be going, but I understand that you have to go back to work.
I’m also glad that your leg healed so that you’re back to normal again.
I know that you were in a lot of pain. You didn’t complain very much, but I could see the whiteness around your mouth.
I don’t like to see you in pain.” Marta told him.
“You could have kissed it and made it better. That’s what Kyra used to do when we were little. It seemed to help.” He told her and they both laughed at what he said.
They had an easy relationship, and he was glad that he didn’t have any reason to be jealous of Carson.
They did go hunting, and he was there to see Marta get her first turkey with her bow and arrow.
She was so excited and proud of herself.
He had even hugged her and she had let him.
She had killed several wild hens before the day was done.
She even killed a deer before the week was done with a rifle.
She was so proud. But skinning and cutting up the deer was a different matter.
Marta jumped in to do it before Grady had to leave.
Grady helped her learn the right way to do it. She field dressed it and gagged.
He showed her how to separate the skin from the meat of the deer after they had hung it from the oak tree by the smoke house back at the cabin.
She was a lot slower than Grady was, but she kept at it.
She hated getting so bloody and filthy with the deer’s fluids.
Grady had to admit; she was a mess. But they finally got the hide off.
He showed her how to salt it down and nail it to the barn wall.
Then they had to cut it up and put it in the smoke house.
By the time they were done, Marta just wanted to take a hot bath and get all the blood and mucus off of her.
Grady picked her up and dumped her into the stream that ran through the entire corral.
It was deep enough to swim in, and yet he knew that Marta couldn’t drown in it.
Marta couldn’t believe it. She came up sputtering and spewing out the water from her mouth, yet it felt so good to have most of the blood and goop off of her.
“What in heavens name were you thinking when you dumped me in the stream?” She asked him just sitting in the water.
“I wanted the quickest way to clean you up. This was the fastest way I could think of. How does it feel?” He asked her and slashed water on himself as well.
“Honestly, pretty damn good. I was trying to think of a way to get a hot bath quickly and get clean…really clean without getting Kyra’s kitchen dirty.
This will do nicely until I can scrub myself clean with lye soap.
I never realized how dirty one got skinning and cutting up a deer, pig, or cow.
A chicken or turkey is nothing compared to this.
And this stream feels so good…I was hot and sticky, and this cooled me off really quickly.
Will it hurt the animals drinking it?” Marta asked him splashing him.
“Nope, not a bit.” He splashed her back and then pulled her up to get out of the stream.
She came up and fell against him. It was the most natural thing in the world for him to kiss her…
it was a light meeting of his lips on hers.
It shocked her and him…he didn’t mean to kiss her.
It just happened. Marta had never been kissed before she had been raped by those men, this was how she imagined kissing would be like by someone you liked and cared for.
It was wonderful and she didn’t want it to end. It was a shock to both of them.
Grady touched her face with shaking fingers. “Marta, I didn’t mean to kiss you…but now that I have…I find that I want to kiss you again and again. Is that all right with you?”
“I always imagined being kissed like this…and then I was raped and it ruined all my dreams. Kissing you is what I imagined kissing would be like. I’d like you to kiss me again.” She whispered to him and they kissed again and again. It was magical and wonderful to both of them.
How could this happen to them when he was leaving for unknown parts of the west? How long would he be gone? How could he leave Marta when he just found her?