CHAPTER 4

	Blake guided the horses back down the trail away from the river.  Some distance
down the trail he turned them onto a different trail that wound through the woods and
eventually came out alongside a slow trickling creek that Joey assumed was the same
one Harvey had driven over the day she had arrived.  They rode slowly along the edge
of the water, listening as it trickled over rocks and fallen logs, as the sun peeked
between the rustling leaves overhead.  Joey had no idea how long they had spent on
that trail, but she knew she could have ridden there for hours and been content.
	At last they broke through the trees and climbed the low bank up from the creek. 
Blake pulled Clipper to a stop and left him grazing in the grassy meadow, then helped
Joey down off Candita.  His hands lingered ever-so-slightly on her waist after her feet
touched the ground, then he stepped back and pointed to the meadow.
	“They won’t go very far,” he said.  “There’s something I want to show you.”
	e led her away from the horses to the edge of the meadow, and Joey gasped
under her breath.  Would this man never cease to surprise her? She found herself
standing facing a small cluster of tombstones. This was obviously the family grave site
Tilly had told her about.  She could think of no more lovely site for it than this.
	“This is my father,” he was saying, as he bent to pull a few clumps of long grass
from around the stone.
	Joey looked down at the tombstone.  Samuel Winters had been just sixty years
old when he had died.  It hardly seemed fair.  As she stood looking at it thoughtfully,
Blake pointed to the other stones that were nestled in this tiny grave yard.
	“This is my Grandmother and Grandfather, on Dad’s side of course.  They had
come to live here on the ranch before I was born.  Tilly’s husband George is here, and
this one is William.”  He reached down and dusted off the top of the stone. “Best horse
trainer Dad ever had.  He was full blooded Chippewa Cree.”
	Joey looked down at the stone.  William Whitefeather had died an old man but
still a good ten years before his boss.  Beside his stone, another modest tombstone
stood, with the name of Abigail Whitefeather.
	“And this one?” she asked, noticing the death date was before William’s but the
woman had been much younger.
	“William’s wife,” Blake said, staring thoughtfully at the stone.  “I never knew her.
She died when I was very young.”
	“They must have meant a lot to your Dad to be buried here with the family.”
	“They were family,” Blake said, his eyes not leaving the stones. At last he
straightened and sighed.  “They were as close to family as anyone can get. William and
Abigail had a daughter, she lives in Draper now.  She will be buried here too when the
time comes.”  He paused.  “So will I.”
	His last statement held a note of finality to it, as if he wanted to make certain no
one had any doubts as to where his heart was and where his last resting place had to
be.  Joey hadn’t known him long enough, but she knew instinctively that he would have it
no other way.  He was the man from Silver Star and would never be anything but.  The
ranch was in his blood.
	“And your mother?” she asked.
	Blake straightened and turned away from the stones as if coming out of a trance.
“Cordelia? She has left strict instructions -- anywhere but the ranch.  I imagine the best
place for her will be back where she came from. I’m sure there will be room in the Layton
family plot for her.”
	Joey was walking fast to keep up with him.  She was sorry she had brought the
subject of his mother up again, but now that she had, it seemed like as good a time as
any to delve deeper into the relationship he shared with that particular parent.
	“Do you see her much?”
	“Not unless I have to,” he said flatly.  “She has washed her hands of the ranch,
which suits both of us just fine.  The odd time when I’m down in Billings I drop in and see
her but I don’t go into the city much.”
	He pulled Candita’s reigns up and handed them to Joey, then gave her a boost
up onto the horse.  Seconds later he was astride Clipper and turning the horse away
from the meadow and trotting of in the opposite direction.  Soon they were riding down a
wide track and Joey was able to ride beside him.  They rode in silence, and when they
emerged from the trees Joey could see the little bridge Harvey had driven over when
she had arrived at the Ranch.  They took the horses out onto the road to cross the
bridge, then Blake steered Clipper into the field and urged him into a full gallop.
	Joey kept up, and rounded the corner to the stables just as he was climbing
down off his horse.  Harvey appeared from the direction of the house, and a young
stable boy came out of the stables at the same time.
	“This is Harvey’s grandson, Ethan. He’ll take Candita back to her stall,” Blake told
her. “Any time you want to ride, just let Ethan or Harvey know and they’ll saddle her up
for you.”  He was leading Clipper into the stables when he paused and called back to
her. “Keep the hat for as long as you are here.”
	She was dismissed, Joey thought, as she handed Candita over to Ethan and
headed back to the house.  He had given her more time than she had hoped for in one
day,, and she was thankful for that, but there were still a lot of unanswered questions
that had surfaced, and she felt she needed the answers to really know the man behind
Blake Winters.
	She sighed and closed the door to her bedroom. Perhaps it was time to take a
different approach.  She would start gathering dates and facts, and fill in the personality
later.   She had a feeling Blake had opened up about as much as he was going to for a
while anyway.  She would see what she could find later.  For now, a good long soak in
the tub was in order.  She had just spent longer on a horse in one day than she had in
years.

	“Miss Joey?  Are you in there?”
	The sound penetrated the walls and drifted into her subconscious.  She had no
idea how long she had been sleeping, but at the sound of Maria’s voice she suddenly
realised she had fallen asleep in the bath.
	“Maria?  I’m in the bath,” she called.  She heard the sound of the girl’s footsteps
in her room, then her voice closer to the bathroom door.
	“Miss Joey?  There’s no need to rush, I just wasn’t sure where you were, I had
knocked several times.”
	‘I guess I fell asleep,” Joey admitted sheepishly.
	She heard Maria laugh on the other side of the door.  “I do that sometimes.  You
had a long day on the horses today, right?  All that fresh air and riding must have tired
you out.”
	“I guess so.”
	“Well, I won’t bother you any more.  I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Blake
said to tell you he was going in to Draper tonight and won’t be back for dinner.  Mable will
cook a meal for you if you’ll just let me know what time you would like to eat.”
	By this time Joey had managed to stretch to reach her watch and was
astonished to find it was already five o’clock.   No wonder she was so hungry!  She’d
had nothing to eat since the sandwiches at the river.
	“I’ll eat whenever she can get something ready, Maria. I’ll just finish up here and
come downstairs.  I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until you started talking about food,
but she doesn’t need to go to any great fuss just for me.”  
	Joey rinsed of and washed her hair, then wrapped her towel around herself and
stepped back into her bedroom.  So much for asking Blake for details tonight, she
thought, as she ran her brush through her long black hair.  She would have to see what
she could learn from the staff instead.

	Over the next few days Joey saw very little of Blake Winters.  He was up before
her every morning and out before she even came down for breakfast.  According to
Mable, Blake and Harvey and some of the ranch hands were rounding up the cattle a
group at a time for an annual check and inoculation in preparation for moving the entire
herd across the river into higher grazing land.  The men ate their lunched in the field and
it was well after dark by the time Blake sauntered in at the end of each day.
	On the first day, Joey wandered out to the stable to visit with Candita.  As she
stood talking quietly to the animal and rubbing her face, Ethan came up beside her.
	“Are you wantin’ to ride, Miss?” he asked her.  “I kin get the saddle fer ya.”
	Joey smiled at him.  “I don’t know, I was just visiting with her for a while,” she
said, giving the horse a loving scratch in the middle of her face.
	Ethan leaned against the stall and grinned at her.  He was a boy of probably
seventeen, Joey figured, with a shock of light brown hair that could do with a trim, and a
face full of freckles.  He sunk his hands lazily into his pockets and studied her.
	“Ever groom a horse before?” he asked her. When Joey shook her head his grin
widened.  He picked up a lead that was hanging outside Candita’s stall and unlatched
the door, swinging it wide.  After showing Joey how to put the lead over the horses head
he led her out of the stall into the open area of the stables and looped the lead over a
post there.
	“We keep the grooming brushes here.”  He reached for one and fitted it in his
hand, showing her how to hold it.   He brushed it over the horse a few times, then
handed it to her and stood back, motioning for her to continue.
	“Yer a natural,” he said, with a grin, after she had taken three or for brush
strokes.  “Candy girl is in good hands.”  He walked over to another stall and returned
with a second horse, which he proceeded to brush next to her.
	Joey thoroughly enjoyed her time with the horse, and having Ethan working
beside her was a confidence boost.  Whenever she wasn’t quite sure she was doing
things right, she just glanced at  Ethan and watched him work, and knew she was doing
just fine.  he talked to her too, giving her pointers every now and then, and just generally
chatting as he worked.  He told her that his father Clayton, Harvey’s son, was the ranch
foreman there at the Silver Star, and they lived in the foreman’s house.  Ethan  had
been born on the ranch, and he was quite happy to live and work there.
	The time passed with ease and before she knew it the horse was completely
groomed. Ethan had finished before her and had leaned against the wall watching her
work, still chatting.  She stood back and smiled at her work, eager to hear what he
thought of it.
	Ethan nodded at her.  “Want to learn to saddle her now?”  he asked, a hint of
expectation in his voice, and he was rewarded by a huge grin and a nod from Joey.
	“Oh yes!  I’ve ridden quite a few times when I was younger, but never saddled a
horse before,” she said.
	“Well, then, it’s time to learn.”  Ethan straightened his back proudly, and Joey
guessed teaching her was making him feel important and knowledgeable.  He showed
her where Candita’s saddle and blankets were kept and showed her how to lay the
blanket over the animal’s back and set the saddle on top.  After setting it in place
correctly he removed it and let her do it herself.  The saddle was heavy but not so much
that she couldn’t lift it safely onto the horse’s back without hurting either herself of
Candita.  Ethan was impressed, and told her so.
	Next, he showed her how to strap the saddle in place and check it to make sure
it was secure.  Finally, he removed the lead and handed Joey the bridle and reigns and
told her how to fit it in place.
	“And now, you’re ready to ride,” he announced, grinning at her.  “Any time you
want to, Mr. Blake said, so you can do it yourself now.  Candy girl’s saddle and
equipment are always kept in this compartment across from her stall, and when you
come in from riding you just put it all back in place.”
	“Oh Ethan, I can’t thank you enough.  Now all I have to do is learn my way
around the ranch well enough so I won’t get lost.”
	Ethan nodded. “The trails all lead back here eventually, but if you’re ever afraid 
you’re lost, just tell ol’ Candy girl to come home. She knows the way.”
	And so began a daily ritual for Joey.  Every morning after breakfast she headed
for the stables to give Candita her rub down.  The horse got used to her, and Joey was
sure she looked glad to see her after the first few visits.  She even started to talk to the
horse as she brushed her.  She told the horse all about her family, and her crazy friends
back home; about her college days where she had met Mikki and Max, her two best
friends in the whole world, and about how she and Max had been in the middle of
conspiring to find Mikki a man when she had had to leave Elmdale to fly out to Montana.
	“I haven’t even told them where I am,” she said, as she brushed the horse’s
shoulder, and Candita seemed to give her an understanding look.  “I just left them each
a message that I was busy and I’d explain later, I was in such a rush. I do wish I knew
how things were going with Mikki’s newspaper man.”  She giggled and patted the horse
lovingly.
	On another occasion, she discussed her frustration over the lack of progress on
the book she had been hired to write.  I don’t know why Blake brought me all the way out
here if he was just going to take off with the cattle for weeks on end as soon as I got
here.  If I just had enough information to work with I’d be able to write while he was off
herding cattle.”  Again, the animal blinked at her and looked at if she completely
understood what she was saying.
	“Oh well old girl,” she said, smiling at the horse after she had saddled her up.
“There’s nothing I can do about it is there, so I might as well enjoy myself with you again
today, hmm?”
	She had taken to riding in the fields so she would be assured of not getting lost,
even though she longed to take the winding trail through the woods back to the river and
sit watching the waterfall.  She resisted the temptation yet again today, and rode north
through the grassland.  She was riding along peacefully, enjoying the wide open space
and clear blue sky above, when she started to hear the distinct sound of cattle in the
distance.
	Turning Candita in the direction of the noise, she rode up a low knoll and found
herself looking down into a valley, at a large herd of cattle and several men on
horseback.  She pulled Candita to a stop and sat watching the scene play itself our
below her.  Several men were herding the cattle into a large corral while the animals
were guided one at a time into a stall.  Once inside the stall, each animal was checked
over and handled by two men -- one of whom was unmistakably Blake Winters.
	Joey watched him work, completely at ease with the large beasts.  One at a time
he led them through the stall and when he was done, let them out the other end and
watched them trot off into freedom before herding the next one in.
	Each freed animal was allowed to wander off and graze in peace, while those in
the corral were watched closely and kept in a tight herd.  The system worked like
clockwork, the crew all pulling together like a well-oiled machine, with one man clearly
giving the orders.  as Joey sat and watched, she couldn’t imagine him being anywhere
else, or doing anything else.  he needed this ranch as much as it needed him.
	After she had been watching for some time the other man in the stall noticed her
and pointed up the hill towards her.  Blake slapped a cow on the hind end and sent it out
of the stall, then turned to look up the hill towards where she sat on Candita.
	He paused, looking up at her, and for a moment Joey blushed, feeling as if she
had been caught sneaking a peek at a private ritual.  Then he raised a hand and waved
at her.  Hesitantly she waved back, then he turned to his assistant and called for the
next animal. He glanced back up the hill at her only once more, then threw himself back
into his work.  Joey watched a while, then turned Candita back towards the stables.

	That night, as she sat on the balcony outside her bedroom watching the stars
glittering in the deep indigo sky, she spotted Blake striding across the ground below in
the moonlight.  He paused, and looked up, but only for a moment and Joey wondered if
she had just imagined it.  With a sigh, she turned to watch the sky again before finally
stepping back into her room.
	Almost as soon as she was inside again there was a tap at her door.  When she
opened it, she was surprised to see Blake standing on the other side.
	“I noticed you were still up,” he said, as if at a loss for words to explain why he
was at her door.
	“I was enjoying the night.  The air is so pure and calm, and the sky seems so big,
so full of stars when they don’t have to compete with city lights.”
	“Yeah, I know what you mean.” he nodded.  “There’s a lot of things here one
doesn’t’ see in the city.”  He studied her for some time before he spoke again at last. 
“We’re heading out with the herd tomorrow.  We have to go east down to Chapman’s
Crossing where the cattle can cross the river, then bring them back west on the other
side to where they will graze in the hills.  It will take the better part of a week before we
make it back.”  He paused and shuffled his feet slightly.  “I guess I owe you some time
for this book of mine when I get back.  I’m afraid I haven’t been very accessible the last
little while.”
	‘You have a job to do,” she said.  “You have to do it.  the ranch doesn’t stop just
because I’m here.”
	“Maybe,” he agreed, “but you have a job to do too -- and I’m the one who hired
you to do it.  I should be helping more than I am.”
	It wasn’t until he held a handful of books toward her that she realized he was
even holding them.  “You might as well have a look through these while I’m away,” he
said.  Joey looked down to see a pile of photo albums and a box.
	“Oh,” she said, unable to think of anything better to say.  She reached for the pile
and hugged it to herself as he continued to stand there and study her.  Finally he
nodded, and excused himself and headed down the hall toward his own room.  She
stood and listened to the sound of his door closing, then went to set down the pile of
books he had handed her.  Seconds later she heard the shower start to run between
their two rooms.
	The man was so full of contradictions.  She had seen him angry when she had
first arrived, and looking vulnerable when they had spent the day at the river.  On other
occasions she had felt the doors to the past firmly closed and guarded, and now he had
just handed her years worth of family treasures without thinking twice.  Writing the life
story of this man was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done in her life.