TO FIND PEACE 10

for three days as soon as they got through feeding cleve and katey flew at the corrals at kj repairing them it became painfully clear after the first day that the more they did the more they found needing repair. cleve had set railroad ties in the weakest areas to support the fence line. katey was going around and hammering nails into the boards snugging them up to the posts. but the wood was pretty rotten they were crossing their fingers the corral would hold the cattle long enough to sort off what they needed. cleve made a point of saying that he wanted the dairy breeds gone. but they were some of the poorest cattle out there. he figgured there were ten cows or so that were strong dairy blood. the cattle who were branded besides them showed some good brahma and herford breeding and they were bounceing back with the hay. cleve was hopeing to get two maybe three trailer loads of these cattle into the auction barn the following week. every morning he listened to the market report on the radio while he was eating breakfast. the per pound price on theese better cattle had risen dailey any where from a couple of cents to a nickle a pound. the morning of the fourth day in the dark he saddled two horses and left them tied at the saddle room. then he and katey took the load of hay as usual to the kj.. once inside he had hewr drop a dozen bales inside the corrals and shut the gate. then they proceeded to feed as usual. when through they went back to his headquarters. parking the truck he went straight to the horses. as he untied them he looked back at katey who was still stasnding at the truck. " come on we gotta get back up there." he said as he was snugging up a cinch. katey didnt move. he led the horses over to where she was standing. " here get on we need to get back!" he tried to hand her a set of reins. katey shook her head, the color gone from her face.she took a step back " whats wrong with you gitl?" cleve asked visibly irritated. " ive never ridden a horse before. they scare me." katey answered in a quivering voice. " well you wont get a better chance to learn, get on ill help you. ole bob here is as gentl as they come. wouldnt hurt a fly get on we gotta go." cleve was getting angry katey just shook her head. cleve stepped up and grabbed her left arm just below the shoulder and drug her up to the horse then reaching behing her grabbed her belt and lifted and flung her astraddle the animal.he put the reins in her hand " follow me kick to make him go, pull on the reins to stop. it wont take long you will get the hang of it." cleve swung up on his horse. katey sat frozen tears streaming down her face. " STOP THAT DAMN IT! i wont allow it now stir that horse up and come on!" cleve said through clinched teeth. katey wiggeled her feet in the stirrups , ole bob took a few tenative steps and stopped. the tears kept comming. cleve rode around behinf bob and takeing the tail of his rope slapped the horse over the rump.

TO FIND PEACE. 9

cleve explained to katey while they were fixing upper that the kj cows would need feeding every day without fail once they get some strength back we can go to work on them and market what they could. katey listened with full attention. after looking at the old buildings a bit closer cleve decided they could be saved with some good carpentry. but the fact was he wasnt a good carpenter.. when they sold a few cows they would hunt up one. while eating supper cleve got very quiet. keeping his head down while eating. when done katey had picked up all the dishes and filled the sink with hot soapy water putting the plates and silver wear in . then turned back to cleve, " whats wrong cleve? you got awful quiet all of a sudden. have i done something wrong?"she asked. cleve looked up at katey his eyes mistey." no you have done nothing wrong. i was just thinking of all the years i wasted not haveing somebody in my life. i could have been married a couple of times, good girls, but i didnt want to give up my dream. what i was so damn dumb about they would have shared that dream. i cant tell you enough as to how lonley i have been. i lost all my family early to a bad accident. i have no one. but now i have a daughter in you." cleve quietly stated. katey took a step back, not knowing how to respond. " i appreciate the oppertunity your giveing me. ill try not to let you down." she turned to the sink full of dishes. cleve got up and went out on the porch and sat down. the little house had suddenly got a little close. the next morning loading the trailer was a bit easier since there was two of them when loaded they headed back to the kj. when feeding cleve was counting the branded cattle. he was makeing note s on a legal pad as he drove slow with katey throwing hay along the road side. after turning around and going back he started looking for cattle that were branded that were strong enough to make the trip to thee auction barn. he decided a couple more days of hay and he might get a few head sorted out . the corral at the kj needed some work he would tend to that after feeding.he had spotted some railroad ties stacked in back maybe a good one or two was in the pile. he had nails and tools at the house. when they had fed the last of the hay he rolled to a stop at the gate. katey went by the truck in a trott to open the gate. cleve thought to him self he was going to have to make this work no matter what.