Chapter 24

“Oh you’ll pay for that jibe” Jackie exclaimed.

She started reaching for Tara, but the ballet training from years before gave the younger woman the advantage. She spun out of reach, and then raced out through the kitchen. I heard the back door slam as she exited. I reached out and grabbed Jackie when she tried to run past me as she scrambled after her. I held her close to me and she beat on my chest with her fists.

“Let me go, Brute,” she exclaimed.

I pressed in and captured her lips with mine. She continued to struggle for a little bit, but soon yielded to my advances. I always found that a good make-out session stems the temper better than a cold bucket of water. At least it worked its charm on Jackie. Her arms changed from pushing me away to pulling me towards her. I was content.

“Come, Husband,” she demanded. “We have to go upstairs and attend to some things. The others can hear of the trip from their sister while you and I ‘rest up’ from the trip.”

We moved as one toward the stairway that led to the master bedroom. We closed the door and didn’t reappear until the following morning.

I was surprised to see V again. She has been an off again/on again visitor at the ranch. She was now here three weeks and counting in regular time. Her anger had stemmed quite a bit, and she was good company. Her outrageously stacked figure, when combined with the best of fashions for the time period, got her stares and comments. The comments soon died off after she took exception once or twice while out and about. Each shooting was ruled justifiable homicide, but it was getting a bit old hat, if you catch my drift...

“The time is right,” Tara opined. “Let’s have a shindig and invite everyone. Nothing like a good party to refresh the soul.”

There were all sorts of retorts to that suggestion, all in the affirmative. The ladies sent word, and there soon were distaff representatives from the other four ranches assembled in our kitchen. The group grew so large that it spilled out into the great room. Mom had thoughtfully set up subcommittees to work on the event’s various aspects.

I decided that I’d wander over to the Phillips’ spread where the men would many times gather after supper. I passed Doreen and Lisa Marie as they were headed to my place. We had a good set of paths between our place and theirs.

“Well, what have we gotten into this time?” Jesse asked, as I walked up to the eating porch where the men had gathered.

“My women got a notion in their heads, and it’s a big to do all of a sudden. But you gotta admit that it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.” I shook my head as I replied.

“We do need a break though,” Jim Kirklin interjected. “We’ve been pushin’ it pretty hard lately. Jesse’s new barn, rounding up the cull stock, driving them in to the rail spur in Waco, an’ all. Not to mention the new house on the Malone homestead. I hope this one lasts. Sure was bad luck with the fire and all...”

... July 1880 was hot and dry in and around Waco. Farmers and ranchers alike were at wit’s end. The Brazos was running low from the lack of rain. The relentless sun cast its rays over the parched landscape day after day. About the only things out there that were thriving was the buzzards. They were kept busy scavenging the remains of the lesser creatures that succumbed to the heat.

“Oh, I wish...” began Dana Malone, “The A/C we had back home was such a blessing.”

Now, Dear,” Bob began, “Remember where we...”

She cut him off. “Of course, I remember. That doesn’t mean I can’t wish!”

Bob just walked over to his diminutive wife and grabbed her up in his arms. At 6’3”, he could easily do that with the 4’10” blond bombshell he’d married. She was soon wrapped up in a kiss that seemed to go on forever. April, May, and June, the triplet sister/wives had been busy working on a new quilt, and began giggling at the display that their husband and senior sister/wife presented.

“You’d better be careful...” April began.

“You might hurt yourself, Husband...” May continued.

“Then we’d have to take care of you while you recuperated,” finished June.

Dana held on a little longer, but the mood was spoiled and she wiggled a little as she slid down her husband to the floor. She made a little show of patting her hair in place and exiting the room. She headed to the kitchen, saying that she was going to do a little baking.

“I’m heading over to the Morgan’s place. I need to talk about some cross-breeding with David,” Bob called out as he exited the house.

Bob and David had been in a heated debate on which cow to breed with what bull. They had both purchased good breeding stock and a couple of excellent bulls, and they were working toward building their herds with quality animals. While the debate was heated, it was without temper. They both respected the other’s opinion, and nothing as trivial as stock breeding would come between their friendship.

It was close to bedtime and they had just wrapped up their discussions when the clang of a dinner bell suddenly split the night. Trouble. The only reason the bell was used at this time of night would be something like stampede, rustlers, or God forbid, fire. The two friends ran to the door and flung it open. Their worst fears were realized in an instant.

Fire!

Men were streaming from the bunkhouse as David and Bob burst from the door. Bob didn’t even stop to go get his horse. He was running towards his homestead with long easy strides, moving over the ground like a gazelle being chased by a mountain lion.

Bob surveyed the scene as it unfolded. His family, the wives and children, were all huddled together by the yucca tree in the front yard. Bob had left the tree as a concession to Dana.

It didn’t take long for the bucket brigade to form. It was just the family and the men who had returned early from the roundup pens at first. Hardly enough to stretch from the windmill driven tank, where there was a good supply of water, if they only could get it from there to the house. The blazing inferno lit up the night sky, sending a beacon out to the dusty prairie, telling the tale of destruction.

The wind wasn’t helping. The embers from the conflagration were whipped up and carried aloft by the natural tendency of heat rising off a fire. Jesse and a group of his men were moving the livestock from Bob’s barn over across the road to Waite’s holding pens for safekeeping. The skittish mares tugged at the halters and lead ropes as they shied away from the fire. The older children took up shovels and attacked the stray embers with a vengeance. It would only take one spark to light the prairie grass ablaze. A wildfire would destroy everything in its path.

More men streamed into the yard as outriders stretched their horses to the limit of endurance answering the emergency signal. They all knew the meaning of the alarm by the glow of orange against the blackness of the sky. There soon was a double line of men on the bucket line. They valiantly fought against the shimmering monster, its flames licking at the wooden structure, charring and disfiguring it in its purpose. They were losing the battle.

They were almost an hour into the fight when a large group of riders descended on the scene. The Fire Brigade from Waco came charging into the compound with the Waco branch of the Texas Rangers leading them. Wonder upon wonders, they brought the pumper wagon with them. A steady stream of water cascaded down on the structure in minutes. It seemed like it took no time at all for the brave men of the WVFD to knock the blaze down. Sooner than not, darkness once again descended upon the ranch as the source of the destruction was quenched.

The damage was finally apparent as the russet streaks of dawn slowly spread their wings across the sky. It was obvious that the house was a total loss as the exhausted men stood back from the pile of ash and rubble. The pumper was too late. If only...

“Can I have ya’lls attention, everyone,” Bob called out to the assembly. He continued once everyone was settled down and gathered around.

“I just want to tell everyone thanks. We were lucky today. We only lost a house. Not a man or animal were injured; well, except for Horacio over there, who ran into the pumper when he wasn’t looking where he was going.”

That brought a good chuckle from the men assembled and lightened the mood just a bit. You could see the crimson blush on Horacio’s face even in the dawn’s dim light. He will have trouble living that down, seeing that he’s the WVFD’s chief!

Bob continued. “We will have to see what can be salvaged from this mess and then the rebuilding process will begin. We aren’t going to let a little fire like this get us down. We’ll be good as new before you know it. Just wait and see if that ain’t so.