TO FIND PEACE 26

ALL THE WAY HOME THAT NIGHT NEITHER KATEY OR TY SPOKE. TY LOOKED STRAIGHT AHEAD DON THE ROAD WHILE KATEY WATCHED OUT THE SIDE WINDOW. as they neared the ranch lightning flashed over head and a few drops of rain spattered on the windsheild. " a litttle rain wont hurt us. make tracking tomorrow a little easier." ty spoke. " uh huh" was all that katey said. as they drew nearer into the ranch yard the rain came down a little harder. it made the two run for the house. on the porch ty nodded and smiled " good night" as katey went in the front door. just a second later he heard the popping of the navaho rug. ty stood there watching the rain pour off the roof. the door opened " you cant sleep in the rain. bring your bedroll in here." katey ordered. when ty got his bedroll through the door he saw where katey had spread the navaho rug next to her cot. he hesitated just a second. " ill sleep in clieves bed so you can keep your promise." she turned back down the short hall and closed the door to clieves room behind her. ty stood there just a short minute listening to the rain patter on the tin roof. the next morning ty smelled bacon frying. he opened his eyes . a dim light showed over the kitchen stove. katey was standing there in a short night gowen cooking breakfast. her hair freshly brushed and laying on her shoulders. " you gonna get up and get ready or am i cooking this for nothing?" katey said without looking over at him. throwing his blankets back ty rose and hot footed it down the hall to the bathroom, but not without a slow down and quick look at katey as he went by. by the time he got into the bathroom his guilt had over come him. seated at the kitchen table katey put a cup of coffee and a plate of bacon and eggs with hash browns and a biscuit in front of him.ty looked up at her" you must have been up all night cooking this thank you." " well, you slept through it so eat up, enjoy it because i got a feeling you will earn it todaay." katey smiled at him." ime going to get dressed sun up soon are we going to the kj today?" ty took a bite of the hot biscuit and nodded" seems like the thing to do since we got orders." katey turned and started down the hall. ty watched her go the swing of her hips swishing the short night gowen. when she closed the door he realized he had stopped chewing. he gulped the biscuit and followed it with the coffee. a short hour later they had trotted out the front gate on the way to the kj. ty rode a stocky brown gelding he called chocolot. katey rode a little mexican cow pony that didnt weigh 800 pounds was knowen to be the toughest horse on the place. when they reached the locked gate at the kj they found the chair had been cut and tied back to gether with a peice of wire. rained on tire tracks went and came from the ranch " wanna bet who done this?"ty asked. katey shook her head. they rode up country to the wind mill . there they found some rained on cow tracks around the salt blocks and whisps of hay that had been left there. " they must be doing ok if they didnt eat that little bit of hay." katey noted. it was hard to tell the number of cattle by the rained on trackss. ty knew the back end fence was up hill from the windmill a good three miles. he pointed katey over to a long ridge theat ran up hill.he took A b trail opposing her a couple hundred yards away where he could keep a eye on her the little white mexican horse was easily seen from a long ways away. as they got farther along the tracks became thicker. but ty knew that 5 cows would leave enough tracks tomake you think there was 50 head. once or twice he stopped and let his catch its breath and he would glass the country with his binoculars that he carried in his chap pocket. the second time he stopped he couldnt see katey, and for a moment he paniced. but just before he started risde her way she came up from the back side of the ridge on which she rode. in front of her she had 6 pairs just pokeing along. ty noded to himself and picked up his bridle reins and continued toward the back fence.i felt a twinge of pride. in the pretty girl. if she wasnt cleves daughter she should have been