Under the Open Sky

Chapter Nine



Amanda urged Dandelion into a trot and relished the wind in her face as they gained speed. She had been missing her special place for weeks but hadn’t made time to go. Today she looked forward to spending some time there sorting through her crazy emotions. The closer it got to time for her brother to leave the more torn in two she felt. On one hand she would miss him terribly. On the other hand, tensions remained high around the house and she, herself, often found herself the nearest target for everyone’s frustrations. Her aunt had snapped at her twice just today and her brother and father were as unpredictable as a Montana spring. She felt as though she was walking on egg shells these days.

The old cabin came into sight and Amanda admired its disheveled beauty as she slowed. The old place had seen better days but it still maintained a kind of timeless beauty that drew her. Her great, great, great, great grandfather had built it as his first home. His expanding family and modest success as a rancher had led him to build the current house on the land he had set aside for that purpose. The story was his wife had wanted their home on that spot and he promised her that he would one day build her a “proper” place right there where she wanted. Nine years later he had kept that promise.

The old cabin was four rooms off a wide central hallway. There were two more large rooms with slanted ceilings above that had served as bed rooms. Amanda slid from Dandelion’s back and tied him to a porch post before climbing the rickety front steps and shoving the sagging door open. Discarded pieces of battered furniture sat scattered throughout the old rooms. As the first of her great, great, great, great grandfather’s children had grown, the old cabin had once again been put to use. The last person to occupy it had been Naomi. When Amanda’s mother died, Naomi moved in with Sterling and the children and the place had fallen into disrepair, quickly deteriorating with no one to see to its upkeep.

Amanda meandered through the “updated” kitchen and bath and then made her way up stairs. A large iron bed stead stood, an old spring set on it but no top mattress as it had since Naomi moved out.

Amanda moved around the bed to the old chair by the window and sank into its worn upholstery; dust billowed around her and teased a sneeze from her. From her position, the mountains rose majestically in the distance, their tops obscured by low lying clouds today, casting them a gun metal grey that left them somewhat menacing.

Amanda couldn’t imagine ever living anywhere she couldn’t see the mountains. She liked to think that after generations of her family living on this land that she was somehow connected to it and to the mountains that stood sentry over their spreading acres.

Thunder rumbled and she realized that the distant clouds were likely to bring needed rain with them as they moved down from the mountains. She wasn’t too concerned. She should be able to linger a while and still beat the storm back to the house.

She leaned forward to force the window open and sat back to enjoy the sounds of the birds calling and singing. It was so peaceful after the sharp words flowing around the house. Amanda pulled her feet onto the chair and leaned her head against the wing back. She should fix this place up for later, she mused. The only real drawback she saw was its distance from the main house. The drive had long since begun to over grow and after a powerful storm had strewn the power lines over the surrounding pasture, her father had them removed. The yard was no longer fenced either, allowing the cattle to graze right up to the porch. Amanda sighed, okay, so there were several drawbacks but she had always thought that one day she would live in the old place. She could feel herself growing drowsy and shook herself. She didn’t need to stay long if she was going to beat the rain back to the house. Besides, her father would worry if she was gone too long.

“Manny!”

Amanda startled awake and frowned at the darkened room around her.

“Manny, are you in here?” the voice called again.

She was in the old cabin, she remembered, but the sky had grown dark and the wind had picked up.

“I’m up here,” she called as she leaned forward; she was still trying to shake the last of the cobwebs from her mind. She’d fallen asleep despite promising herself she wouldn’t.

“Everyone is looking for you,” Cade’s expression showed his concern and irritation.

“I fell asleep,” she explained as she stood and forced the window back down.

A radio crackled and Amanda realized Cade was holding a two way radio.

“I’ve found her, she fell asleep up here at the old cabin,” Cade relayed to the others.

“She’s alright?” Sterling’s concerned voice filled the room.

“Seems to be, we’re headed back,” Cade assured the man.

Amanda felt bad, she hadn’t meant to scare everyone; she had simply wanted a few minutes peace. Amanda followed Cade down the stairs and had just loosened Dandelion’s reigns when the radio sounded again.

“Hold on, Cade. Johnson says this storm is about to break but looking at the radar it should pass through pretty quick. Sit tight until it’s over.”

“Will do,” Cade grabbed Dandelion’s reigns and took the horses around back to close them in a small barn out of the elements. He returned with a saddle bag and motioned for her to lead the way in.

“Sorry,” she muttered as she sank onto an old straight back chair.

“You’re a lot of trouble, you know that?” he teased as he claimed another of the chairs; he tested its strength before seating himself in it. He produced a lantern and tossed her a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” she offered.

“Cade, you’re at the cabin?” Trent’s voice filled the room.

“Yep, your dad said wait out this storm. Where are you man?”

“I’m comin’ your way. I’m closer to you than the house. This storm looks like it’s gonna break any second now.”

“We’ll be watching for you.” Cade promised and stood to move onto the porch. Amanda followed and jumped when thunder cracked the air and reverberated over the ground. A moment later, a streak of lightning struck a nearby tree. So far the rain was holding but the wind was roaring through the trees and lashing at them as they scanned the surrounding terrain for Trent.

“There he is!” Amanda pointed as he crested a hill. Relief spread through her; she would never forgive herself if he was hurt because of her carelessness. Cade rushed to help Trent with his horse and Amanda moved back inside. The men came spilling in just before the skies opened and rain pelted the cabin.

“So you’ve enjoyed an afternoon nap while everyone frantically searched for you, huh?” Trent eyed his sister in irritation.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she countered.

“Did you make it to the cabin?” Sterling’s question crackled over the radio.

“Yeah; I made it.”

“Good, we’re watching this thing on the radar; you stay put until we give you the all clear.”

“Alright, Dad,” Trent responded.

“I really am sorry,” Amanda apologized again.

“You didn’t mean to cause trouble,” Cade was the one who responded.

“She doesn’t mean to but she does because she’s petted and spoiled,” Trent countered. “She’s got Dad and everyone else, you included, wrapped around her little finger and she knows it.”

“I fell asleep, how is that…”

“You don’t think, Amanda!”

“Lay off her, Trent.”

“See, she has you wrapped around her finger too and, as I said, she knows it.”

“I don’t know why I even try talking to you anymore!” Amanda shot at him in frustration. “You’re miserable so everyone else should be too.” Amanda jumped up and stormed up the stairs to get away from her brother and his hateful words. She didn’t want him knowing that he had hurt her. She wiped impatiently at her tears as she settled back into the chair she had fallen asleep in earlier. She heard boot treads on the stairs and wiped hard at her eyes. She had no intention of giving her brother the satisfaction of seeing her cry. It was Cade, however, and not her brother who entered the room.

“He was worried about you, Manny; that’s why he’s angry.”

“I’m fine. Go back down stairs before you’re accused again of being wrapped around my little finger,” she offered moodily.

“Every man on this ranch is wrapped around your little finger, Manny; you’re the sunshine around here.”

“Then my brother must prefer cloudy days,” Amanda offered.

Cade chuckled, “You may be right. Come on, it’s getting dark fast; I can’t leave you sitting here in the dark.”

“Fine, I’ll come downstairs, but I’m through talking to my brother,” Amanda conceded.

“Fair enough,” Cade nodded.

Amanda reentered the main room of the cabin and settled onto her chair, her knees drawn to her chest.

“I’m sorry,” Trent offered.

“Me too,” she admitted.

They sat quietly as the storm gained strength and lashed at the cabin. Amanda shuddered and glanced to the window where it was nearly pitch black now. She wasn’t exactly scared of storms but she had to admit that this one was particularly rough. Several minutes later, the storm finally seemed to be waning and the sky no longer seemed quite as black. A few minutes more and only a gentle rain tapped on the roof.

“You still there?” Sterling’s voice made Amanda jump.

“We’re here,” Trent responded.

“Looks like there’s a break but there’s more behind this. You need to come on now and move quickly.”

“We’re on our way,” Trent was already standing and gathering the lanterns. They wasted no time mounting and riding down the old lane toward the ranch. Amanda shivered in the rain cooled air and knew that a lecture awaited her when she got home. Her father had a hard and fast rule about monitoring the weather and she hadn’t even glanced at the forecast before leaving the house.

Amanda woke the next morning to a beautiful cerulean sky. The storms of the night before had since moved on and left everything fresh and new. Her father hadn’t lectured her quite as severely as she had feared; he had seemed more relieved that she was okay than anything. She had, none the less, spent the evening avoiding both her father and her brother and had taken refuge instead in the pages of a new book. This morning she felt restless, as though she needed to somehow break free of the monotony of another day spent meandering around the ranch. It was after breakfast that a rescue arrived.

“Hey, Jenny, what brings you here?” Amanda asked with a wide smile as she bounded down the front porch steps.

“I was bored and thought I would come see you. I also brought a few things I thought your brother might want,” she lifted a box she had tucked under one arm.

“Come on in,” Amanda invited as she led the way into the house.

“Is someone here?” Naomi, wiping her hands on her apron, came from the kitchen.

“Naomi, this is Jenny Brown, Angela’s younger sister. Jenny, my Aunt Naomi.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss. Jennings,” Jenny offered politely.

“Nice to meet you, dear, I’m sorry about your sister. Is there anything I can get you girls?”

“No thanks, Aunt Naomi, we’re just going up stairs,” Amanda kissed her aunt’s cheek before leading Jenny to her brother’s room. “I’ll leave the box here; Trent and Cade are working on the fence line,” Amanda explained.

“I like your house,” Jenny commented as she followed Amanda across the hall and into her room.

“Thanks, my great, great, great, great grandfather built it for his wife and their family. There’s an old cabin on the property that was their first home.”

“Wow. My family’s only been here for two generations.” Jenny was wandering around the room, picking up items and glancing at them before setting them back down.

“My Daddy says the land is in our blood at this point,” Amanda sank on to the edge of her bed and watched her friend.

“I can see why. Our land is nice but yours is breathtaking,” Jenny turned to lean against Amanda’s desk and offered a smile.

“You want a tour of it, well, not all of it, but the best parts. I can saddle a couple of horses and we can go riding.”

“Sure,” Jenny, her smile widening, shrugged.

Amanda changed her shoes, checked on the weather, she wasn’t anxious of a repeat of the day before, and led Jenny to the barn.

“Hey, Benjamin, Jenny and I are going to ride around through the north pasture and swing by the cabin then loop around the south boundary; I checked the weather,” she informed the foreman.

“You girls be careful,” he nodded.

“You can ride Buttermilk, she’s a sweetheart and a smooth ride,” Amanda led the cream colored mare from her stall. Jenny helped her saddle Buttermilk and then Dandelion before they mounted and rode out

“My Dad won’t let me ride by myself. Not after I got turned around and lost one day,” Jenny admitted. “Angela was the better horsewoman.”

“I scared everyone yesterday,” Amanda admitted and shared her adventure with the older girl. “Fortunately, my father was so relieved that I was okay that he didn’t come down on me too hard.”

“Your dad seems like a nice man; well, at least to hear you talk. My dad is so over protective it isn’t funny.”

“Don’t think mine isn’t,” Amanda laughed. She led Jenny to the cabin and gave her a tour before they continued their ride, making a wide loop back toward the barn. They topped a rise and found Trent and Cade hard at work on a damaged fence, their shirts long since abandoned.

Beside Amanda, Jenny sighed and leaned forward as she pulled her mount to a stop. “I am telling you, Mandy, those two are temptation walking.”

Amanda grinned; she was shaking her head. “Trouble is what they are. Come on,” Amanda urged her horse in the men’s direction. Trent and Cade stopped their work and watched them approach.

“Did you let someone know where you’re going?” Trent demanded as soon as Amanda came within hearing.

“I did and I checked the weather,” she assured him.

“Good,” he nodded. “How are you, Jenny?”

“I’m fine; you?” she offered with a smile.

“I’m fine.”

“You have a windmill well; Daddy has been talking about putting one in,” Jenny noted as she dismounted. “Does it work well?” Jenny, her head cocked with interest, waited.

“Come on and I’ll show you,” Trent nodded in the windmill’s direction. Amanda watched them leave before turning her attention to Cade.

“How are you today, Cade?” she greeted.

“Good. You not going to follow?”

“No, I know how the windmill works as if I cared or like she does,” Amanda grinned down at him.

“Didn’t think she did,” Cade admitted his smile wide. “You two really seem to have hit off.”

“We have.”

“I’m with your brother, I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” Cade leaned against the farm truck and crossed his arms.

“Why not?” Amanda challenged.

“She’s a little wild and you don’t need any encouragement,” Cade’s eyes were lit with mischief and his smile crooked.

Amanda sighed inwardly.

“Do you amuse yourself?” Amanda demanded.

“Sometimes.”

“Humph,” Amanda grunted as she swung to the ground. “I’m sure you are my brother’s voice of reason and he yours,” she offered with a saccharine smile.

“Of course,” Cade, his smile saying differently, nodded. Trent and Jenny were moving back their way and Amanda found herself watching them with a sad smile.

“She likes him doesn’t she?” Cade’s voice was sad.

“Yeah.”

“He sees her…”

“As Angie’s little sister and is reminded of what he lost when he sees her; I know. It’s good that he’s leaving.”

“You don’t miss much do you, Manny?” Cade was studying her.

“Not much,” she admitted.

“She’ll find someone this coming school year and forget all about him,” Cade predicted.

“She’d settle for you,” Amanda teased and watched his surprised gaze meet hers.

“Yeah, okay then; like I said she’ll meet someone.” Cade, grabbing his gloves and yanking them back on, pushed off the truck.

Amanda was laughing now.

“You don’t think she’s pretty?”

“She’s young. Too young; that’s what I think.”

“Sorry, Cade, I don’t think she’s seriously interested; she just admitted that she thinks you’re…good looking,” Amanda opted not to use the word hot as she almost had. She was afraid that she would somehow give away that she shared the sentiment.

“Good looking? I don’t see Jenny using a word that mild,” Cade guessed correctly. “I’m going to miss you, Manny; you never fail to amuse me or shock me as the case may be.”

“I’ll miss you too,” she admitted.

“Thanks for explaining the well to me,” Jenny was saying as she and Trent neared.

“You’re welcome.”

“We should let these two get back to work,” Amanda suggested.

“I guess we should,” Jenny agreed.

Amanda swung easily into Dandelion’s saddle and watched as Jenny struggled to make it up on the uneven terrain. Trent finally had to give her a hand up for her to mount.

“I guess I should ride more often,” Jenny’s cheeks were stained pink.

“See you at dinner, Trent; probably you too, Cade,” Amanda called as she tugged Dandelion’s reigns and urged her forward. She didn’t wait for their response or Jenny’s parting, letting her friend catch up with her a moment later.

“Dang those two are fun to look at!” Jenny announced as she brought her mount up beside Amanda’s.