Rachel's Cowboy by Judy Christenberry Read Free Book Online Page A

finding your family.”
    “Yes. It’s like a promise from God that I’ll never be alone again. You know, Will has found one of our brothers, too. Our oldest brother, Jim, is in the army. He’s in the Middle East right now, but he’s supposed to come home soon.”
    “I only have one sister, but we’re very close. I don’t have to explain things to her,” the housekeeper stated.
    Rachel grinned. “Exactly what I mean. They understand what I’m doing even if I’d rather they didn’t.”
    “You’re so right. Once when I was sixteen I tried to sneak out of the house to meet my boyfriend. My sister told my mother because she was worried about me. I got caught.”
    They both laughed at that story.
    “What happened to the boyfriend?” Rachel asked.
    “Oh, I married him a year later.”
    “You did? What happened to him?”
    “He was drafted into the army and sent to Vietnam. He didn’t come back. I’ve got his Purple Heart.”
    Rachel blinked back her own tears at Madge’s calm recital. “Oh, Madge, I’m so sorry.”
    “It’s all right, child,” she said, taking Rachel’s hand in hers. “It was a long time ago.”
    “And you never remarried?”
    “No.” Madge got up and went to the oven, checking on the cake she’d put in earlier.
    Rachel watched her, sure she’d detected some colorin Madge’s cheeks. Was she interested in someone? Rachel hadn’t seen any sign of it. Until now.
    “How many cowboys work on the ranch?”
    Madge looked surprised at Rachel’s question. “About ten, plus J.D. Some days they need twice that many, like today. Other days, like in winter, there’s some downtime. Unless they have to start feeding the herd.”
    “Don’t they always feed the herd?” Rachel asked, her eyes widening.
    “As long as there’s plenty of grass, they don’t. But if it gets covered with snow, or maybe even sleet, they feed them hay. That means loading a couple of trucks with those heavy bales, then driving out in the pasture. The cows gather and they toss out the bales after they cut the wires binding them.”
    “I think I’d rather drive the truck than be in the back feeding the cows.” Rachel shuddered at the thought. Then she grabbed Madge’s old hat and slipped on her coat. “I think it’s time to feed the babies again.”
    “You’re right. But this time we can put the bottles in the holders. I think most of them will know what to do.”
    “Holders?”
    “Didn’t you see those metal things on the top rail of the pen?”
    “Yes, but I didn’t know what they were for.”
    “Come help me fill the bottles and I’ll show you.”
    Rachel loved helping Madge, who made her feel good about whatever she was doing. When they had the bottles full and the big nipples affixed to them, they carried them out to the porch. Madge slipped one of the bottles in a metal holder. It held the bottle at an angle, pointing downward. Almost immediately the calves rushed for the bottle. Madge quickly slipped three more bottles into holders on the other side. The last one she told Rachel she could hand-feed to her favorite calf.
    Rachel sat on the porch, laid a towel over her lap and picked up the baby calf. She helped it drink the milk that would give it strength and hopefully make it grow. A runt, it wasn’t quite big enough to reach the bottles Madge had put in the metal holders. Besides, the other calves would push it aside.
    Rachel sang a lullaby while she fed the calf. She couldn’t ever remember enjoying a moment as much.
     
    J.D. DIDN’T RETURN to the house until long after dark. As soon as Madge heard him come in, she heated up the supper she’d cooked earlier. He always had a shower on the enclosed porch and slipped on clean jeans and a shirt that he would wear again the next day.
    When he stepped into the kitchen, wearing only socks on his feet, he stopped by the fire to warm up.
    “Getting cold out there?” Madge asked.
    “Oh, yeah. We’ll have to break the ice on the stock tanks in