CHAPTER 8

	Joey threw herself into her work while Blake was away from the ranch.  She sat
at her laptop computer and wrote and wrote, but she seemed to be writing around in
circles. Writing around a big hole in the story that felt like a missing piece in a jigsaw
puzzle.  Maybe she should  talk to Cordelia Winters as Blake had suggested, she
thought, but then she sighed. She had no way of getting to Billings, and wouldn’t have a
clue how to find the woman even if she did, and somehow she felt she probably wouldn’t
be welcome anyway, from what little Blake had said about his mother. 
	Harvey had driven Blake out to Draper before dawn the morning after the
incident in his study, and he had taken his plane from there to Billings. Joey had been
awake when they had left, but had forced herself not to get up and watch the SUV pull
out of the courtyard and head down the driveway.  Instead she had merely listened to
the sound of its engine disappearing in the distance.  When she had finally gone
downstairs for breakfast, Mable had been her usual chatty self but Joey’s own lack of
concentration had not been lost on the woman.  Joey had claimed a bad night’s sleep
and Mable had insisted she go back upstairs to bed.  She had jumped at the chance to
go back to her room alone.
	Eventually, however, Blake had to return. Despite herself, Joey felt a wave of
anticipation — mixed with forboding — as she awaited the arrival of the truck Harvey
had gone to meet his boss in.  Her heart stuck in her throat as she finally spotted the
dusty trail that followed the vehicle up the driveway, and despite herself she stepped out
onto the veranda to watch them drive up in front of the house.  When it did so, Blake
and Harvey stepped out, and flipped the seat forward to clear the way for the back seat
of the cab, and out climbed four children.
	Joey looked at them in disbelief.  Children! Blake had returned from Billings with
children! 
	“Welcome to the Silver Star,” Blake announced.  He turned to face her, giving
her a sheepish smile.  “This is Miss Webber. She’s a guest here too.”
	“Hello Miss Webber,” all four chorused at once.
	“Oh, please call me Joey,” she said, giving Blake a questioning glance as he
stepped up onto the veranda beside her.
	“Part of the program I run at NCWM is to bring kids out here to the ranch to
spend a week.  It’s the only chance a lot of them get to see the country or get close to
animals like cows and horses.  It’s a great experience for them and it benefits at least
twenty kids every year.”
	Joey listened in amazement. She hadn’t realized he did something as personal
as this for the charity.  Perhaps there was more missing from the puzzle than just his
relationship with his mother.  She looked down at the children.  Two little girls and two
little boys looked back at her.  Three of them stood there looking tentatively excited,
while the fourth stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked like he’d rather be anywhere
else but there.
	The boy, it turned out, was a ten year old named Reggie he looked Latino, Joey
thought, with black hair shaved short, and dark eyes.  The other boy, a nine year old red
head covered with freckles, was named Griffin.  The girls were Kiesha, a cute black child
with braids sticking out of her head all over, who was eight; and Jill, a tiny girl with sickly
looking pale skin and white-blonde hair that hung in a rough cut to about an inch above
her shoulders. She looked frail and tiny, but apparently she was six months older than
Kiesha, though she was a good three inches shorter. 
	Reggie scuffed his toe into the dirt on the driveway impatiently, and looked
around, although he seemed to show no interest in his surroundings.  Jill had inched her
way closer and closer to where Joey stood, and was not almost pasted against her leg.
Joey stroked her fingers through the little girl’s hair and looked at them all.
	“Well, this is a surprise.  I bet this is going to be a load of fun,” she said,  looking
around the group cheerfully.  The two little girls nodded emphatically, Griffin grinned a
toothy grin, but Reggie scowled and grunted.  Joey cast a glance at Blake, who nodded
understandingly.  They both knew Reggie was going to be hard work.
	“So, let’s get your things, kids, and Joey and I will show you where you will be
sleeping while you’re here.  Then we’ll have something to eat, shall we?” Blake pointed
to the bags Harvey had unloaded from the back of the truck.
	“I’m not hungry.” Reggie grunted.
	Joey glanced at Jill, who was chewing at her lip as if she wanted to say she was
starving, and Kiesha who had been about to speak, but decided not to.
	“Well, I am!” exclaimed Joey, and out of the corner of her eyes she caught the
smile on Blake’s face.  The kids each picked up their own bags and Blake led the way
into the house.  Joey heard at least one of them gasp as they entered, but they had to
keep moving to keep up with Blake as his long legs covered the distance to the stairs in
no time.
	“Maria should have the two empty guest rooms ready,” he stated as he looked at
Joey over the top of the children’s’ heads.
	“You mean everyone knew they were coming except me?” Joey asked, wide
eyed.
	Blake grimaced. “Sorry about that. I was going to tell you but — it didn’t come up
in the conversation the night before I left,”  he paused, his eyes holding hers and for a
split second she thought she saw regret in his expression as that fateful evening was
mentioned.  She flushed, and he cleared his throat. “The staff know this is the week the
kids come.”  They had reached the guest rooms and he threw open the first door and
told the girls it would be their room for the week.  Kiesha and Jill stepped in and looked
around in awe.
	“This is bigger than my whole apartment back home.” Kiesha announced,
nodding appreciatively.
	“I live in a trailer.” Jill said in a small voice, as she ran her tiny fingers over the
cover on the queen sized bed.  “My whole family could fit in this bed.”
	Joey heard Reggie grunting in the background, and Blake cleared his throat. “Oh
yes, and you two boys will be next door.” He led them to their room, and Joey could hear
Griffin’s animated “Awesome” as they stepped inside.
	“So,” Joey said to the girls. “You can unpack your things and put them in here.” 
She looked at the huge dresser and compared it to the small bags they had brought with
them.  There would be no trouble fitting everything in.
	Jill was slowly and carefully pulling her clothes out of her bag, while Kiesha
explored the room.
	“Cool!” the little girl exclaimed as she discovered the bathroom.  “We have our
own toilet!”
	The little blonde looked up and smiled meekly but did not waver from her task. 
Everything she had brought was neatly placed in one drawer of the huge dresser. 
Everything, that is, except for a scruffy old teddy bear, which she carefully placed on the
pillow on one side of the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin.
	Kiesha skipped back out of the bathroom and looked at Jill’s empty bag.  She
pulled open her own bag, scooped everything out in one armful, and dumped it into an
open drawer.  Looking satisfied, she turned and glanced from Joey to Jill.
	“I’m hungry too,” she said quietly to Joey, referring back to the conversation they
had had outside.  Jill nodded eagerly, her eyes wide.
	“Well then, let’s go find the boys so we can see what Mable will give us to eat.”
Joey turned toward the door and Jill’s hand was immediately tucked inside hers.  They
stepped out into the hall just as Blake and the boys walked out. 
	“That is Joey’s room, and that is mine.” he was saying, pointing toward the two
doors.
	“Can I see your room?” Jill asked, tugging at Joey’s hand.
	“Sure,” Joey agreed, bending down to talk to the girl in a low voice.  “But aren’t
we hungry?”  Jill nodded, and glanced at the door, then back down the hall towards the
stairs. Joey smiled at the girl. “OK I tell you what, I’ll let you come and see it later, when
you’re getting ready for bed, before I tuck you in. How’s that?” she offered, and Jill
beamed up at her and nodded. 
	Reggie grunted. “I don’t need no tuckin’ in,” he stated, just in case anyone was
considering offering.
	Joey straightened up and looked from the boy to Blake. “Oh, of course not! Not a
big boy like you, you’re too grown up for that!”
	Reggie glared at her and threw back his shoulders, but Joey thought she saw his
expression soften for a second before his indifference returned and he shoved his
hands deeper in his pockets.

	They ate on the patio, and Mable outdid herself with the food. The kids’ eyes
popped wide and the three of them dug in like they hadn’t eaten in weeks.  Reggie
slouched in his chair and toyed with his food, pretending not to be interested at all, but
by the time Mable came to tae away the plates, his was empty just like the rest.
	“And who wants ice cream?” Mable asked, and a chorus of “me, me” rang out
immediately.  Reggie shrugged and reluctantly agreed, but his bowl was empty before
the rest.
	“Kin we see the horses now?” Jill asked in her tiny voice after all the food had
been eaten.
	“We sure can, little lady,” Blake said, and it was all Jill could do to keep from
clapping.  “First things first though,” he added, as he herded them all back into the
house. At the front entry Blake reached for his Stetson and placed it firmly on his head,
then picked up Joey’s and handed it to her.
	“Nobody goes outside around here without a hat.”
	“I don’t need no hat.” Reggie grunted.
	“I don’t have a hat.” Jill said, looking like she was almost ready to cry, eyeing
Joey’s hat with envy.
	“Why, of course you do!” Blake said, as he opened the large box that Harvey had
brought in from the truck.  He pulled out two hats, and held them toward the girls.  “Take
your pick, ladies.”
	The girls eyed the hats in delight.  “Really?” Kiesha squealed, and when Blake
nodded, she reached for a toffee coloured hat with a dark brown band, while Jill took the
lighter beige one.
	“Just like yours,” Jill beamed up at Joey, and Joey nodded and placed the hat on
the little girl’s head.  From the corner of her eyes she noticed Reggie quickly pull a red
and white spotted bandanna from his pocket and tie it around his head just as Blake
reached back into the box to pull out two more hats.  One was a dark grey, the other one
black.
	Without hesitation, Joey reached for the black one.  “Reggie, I‘m so glad you put
that bandanna on your head. This black hat will go perfectly with it.  It’s just the finishing
touch it needs.”
	Reggie eyed her cautiously as she placed the black Jr. Stetson on the boy’s
head and adjusted it so that the bandanna still showed on his forehead.  When she
announced that it was perfect and guided Reggie toward a nearby mirror, Blake held his
breath, waiting for the boy to reject the hat.  Instead, he saw a light in the boys eyes for a
few split seconds as he stared at himself in the mirror, then it was gone, and Reggie
backed away from his reflection, forcing a frown back on his face.
	“Well, if I have to wear one, at least it’s the right colour,” he said, and both Joey
and Blake let out their breath.
	And there’s yours, Griffin,” Blake said, placing the grey hat on the other boy’s
head. “So I guess it’s out to see the horses we go.”
	Griffin and Kiesha followed Blake across the courtyard while Reggie scuffled his
feet behind.  Joey and Jill brought up the rear, the little girl’s hand once again firmly in
place in Joey’s.  By the time they reached the stables, Blake was already showing off the
horses.
	“Can we ride?” Griffin asked, excitedly.
	“You will.  Before you go home you’ll have had lots of chances to ride, but I’m not
sure about today.  Have any of you ever ridden a horse before?”	
	They all shook their heads in the expected reply.  Joey noticed that while two of
the kids were standing on the stalls looking at the horses and reaching in to pet them,
Reggie was leaning against the wall on the other side of the walk way, his hands stuffed
deep in his pockets.  She coaxed Jill to join the other two at the stall and sauntered over
to the boy.
	“You don’t want to look at the horses?” she asked.
	“What’s the big deal about horses?” he grunted.
	Joey shrugged and glanced back at the group.  Blake had picked Jill up and was
holding her up to look at Candita.  “Nothing, I suppose. I had thought Jill might be afraid
of them, she’s so small you know.  I knew a big boy like you wouldn’t be.”
	Reggie glared at her but said nothing, then looked at the stalls and shuffled
uneasily.  Joey leaned against the wall and watched the group.  “We’re all afraid of
something you know.”
	Reggie grunted. “I’m not scared of nothing.”  He shuffled his feet, then glanced at
her sideways, tilted his head towards Blake and commented in an indignant tone.  “I bet
he’s not scared of nothing either.”
	Joey crossed her arms and looked at Blake. He was opening a stall and leading
one of he smaller horses out for the kids to get a closer look at.  He seemed in complete
control of the situation, just as he always did.  She imagined Reggie might well be right,
and yet she knew there was something under the surface that Blake was holding back
from even those closest to him.
	“Hmmm, you might be right, but then again, with adults it can be a bit more
complex. You know, like being afraid to get married or things like that.”
	Reggie straightened a little, as if he thought he’d been given a piece of valuable
information.  “You think that’s why he isn’t married?”
	“Oh no!”  Joey shook her head, realizing her off the cuff comment might have
been taken the wrong way. “I didn’t mean him, just people in general.”
	Reggie slouched back against the wall and grunted. “Like you?” he said,
sarcastically.
	Joey laughed. “Afraid to get married? No, I’ve never given it a thought one way
or another.”  She glanced at Reggie and smiled to herself.  “No, I’m afraid of
motorcycles.”
	Reggie shot her a glance of superiority. “What’s there to be afraid of motorcycles
for? My brother’s friend has a motorcycle.”
	“Does he?” Joey sounded interested. “Have you ridden on it?”
	Reggie pushed his shoulders back and stood tall. “I sure have!  It’s awesome!
Can’t wait ‘til I’m old enough to get my license and then I can drive it.  I’m gonna get
myself a bike when I get older.”
	“Wow,” Joey sighed. “You are so lucky.  You know, a friend of mine, her sister
was afraid of motorcycles, then she got a boyfriend who had one. She said once she
rode on one it was amazing.  The wind in your face, nothing between you and the world,
such a feeling of power and freedom.”
	Reggie nodded, a grin having slipped onto his face unnoticed. “Yeah, man, that’s
the way it is.”
	Joey smiled and looked at the horse Blake had brought out. “You know, maybe
some day I should try riding on a motorcycle.  It’s not that much different than a horse,
when you think about it.”
	Reggie eyed her suspiciously. “A horse ain’t nothing like a bike!”
	“No?  Well, when you ride, you get he wind in your face, and you feel so free.
And you know, you can go places with a horse that a bike can’t go, and a horse won’t
fall over when you come to a stop.”
	Reggie rolled his eyes as if he thought she was being silly, but Joey sensed she
had his interest. “Kin throw you off though.” he pointed out.
	“True, if you don’t ride the right horse, if you choose one that is too powerful for
you.  But hey, if you ride a bike that’s got more power than you can handle, I bet you’d
wipe out, huh?”
	Reggie eyed her through narrowed eyes, then looked at the horse. He said
nothing for a long time, then he snorted and moved away from the wall, and from her,
and perched himself on the rails of an empty stall watching the other kids with the horse.

	Riding would come, but not ‘til the next day, Blake had announced.  Most of the
afternoon was spent letting the kids get used to being around the horses — touching
them, brushing them, feeding them.  It was obvious the horses were used to the
children, and for the first time Joey realized that he actually did this on a regular basis. 
As she watched Blake with the children she saw a whole different side of him that she
had never seen before.  Suddenly the idea of his involvement with the children’s’ charity
seemed not only understandable, but perfectly right for him.
	Before long it was time for dinner, and Blake was herding them out of he stables
and back to the house. Kiesha and Griffin circled around him as he walked, talking no
stop about horses and riding and ranches, and Jilly was attached to Joey’s hand once
again, swinging their arms as she skipped along beside her.  Reggie hung back,
standing in the stable looking at the horses for several minutes after the rest of them had
left him behind, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, kicking the toe of his shoe in the
straw on the stable floor.  At last he turned his back on them and sauntered behind the
rest of the group, reaching the house just as Mable was showing the children where to
wash up before dinner. 
	The big formal dining room had a whole different atmosphere that night, with the
children chattering away throughout the meal.  Even Reggie contributed to the
conversation.  Joey looked around the table and thought how this was the way a family
meal should be.  She glanced at Blake, thinking how sad it was that he had probably 
never experienced this kind of animated conversation during a meal at this table when
he had been a child.  He leaned back in his chair, deeply intent on something Griffin was
describing to him, a huge grin on his face. Joey had never seen him looking this happy,
and it made her catch her breath to see the change in him, and a smile crept over her
lips.
	Blake turned slowly towards her, and for a long moment their eyes were locked. 
His smile never left his face, but an expression drifted through his eyes, then
disappeared as Griffin’s insistent question finally penetrated and he turned back to the
boy.  Moments later he looked back across the table, but she had turned away, her head
bent listening to Jill.
	Later that evening, as the children sat on the rails of the corral watching the stars
in the sky, Blake leaned his elbows on the top rail beside Joey and turned towards her.
	“Listen, Joey, I want to apologize for the other night.  I don’t want any hard
feelings between us to get in the way of these kids having a good time while they’re
here. I’m afraid I’ve kind of drawn you into this without even asking you, but you happen
to be here right now and this visit was scheduled months ago.  Day after tomorrow I’ll be
taking them on an overnighter on the back of the ranch.  I’d appreciate it if you would
come along and help out with the girls,”  he asked, with a hopeful expression.
	Joey wasn’t sure how to take the invitation. Suddenly it all seemed to fall into
place. He’d promised to take her camping after he returned from Billings, and now he
was asking her to go along to help with the kids. Had he ever had any intention of taking
her camping or was she just a convenient female chaperone.  She glanced sideways to
where even Reggie was staring up at the clear night sky in awe, and sighed. 
	“Of course I’ll go,” she said. 
	“Thanks,” he said, straightening and resting his hand momentarily on her
shoulder before striding down to the other end of the rail and pointing out certain stars to
the kids who probably rarely saw such a sight beyond he city lights back home.  Joey
lifted her eyes to the stars and sighed.