Piecrust Promise Page 5

  The soldier on guard duty rode on and encountered Lieutenant Highland. They exchanged salutes. “Well?” Lee Highland asked.

  “She’s still awake, sir.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Before dawn the settlers began to emerge from their bedrolls, anxious to begin the day. Corinne knew that the signal would not come until noon and decided to make the best of her time before the race began. She made a hearty breakfast for herself, sharing a stack of flapjacks with the children from a nearby site. They sat around her campfire in a well-behaved manner, asking her questions about where she had come from. They explained that they had come from New Jersey where their daddy worked on another man’s dairy farm. They were looking for land to build a ranch.

  Corinne looked over the camp while she listened to the children and tried to figure how many had come for the race. During the night she had heard the trains coming in and even in the pitch black it was clear that they were loaded with settlers. Corinne could make out at least three languages from nearby camp sites and noticed that the people not only came from other countries but were all ethnicities and races as well. Her new home would be among many different kinds of people. She found it interesting and wondered if any of the other women baked as she did. There was always something to learn from people who came from different places and different backgrounds. She saw Lee Highland walking up through the sites and she was distracted from her observations.

  “You kids come on back over here.” An elderly woman called to the children who thanked Corinne profusely and ran off.

  “Good morning, Ma’am,” Lee said, flashing a friendly smile.

  “I expect,” Corinne said, as she gathered up her plates and utensils.

  “It’s only a few hours away now,” the lieutenant said.

  Corinne noticed that he was again smartly dressed, his uniform spotless. All of the soldiers at the fort looked fine in their blue attire, she had to admit, and she’d even noticed that some of them were rather good looking. None of them however, looked like Lee Highland. He was unusually handsome, impeccably groomed and freshly shaved. Even his fingernails were clean and buffed. At his side hung the massive sidearm, polished and heavy on his hip.

  Corinne scowled. She had spent the night in a damp tent in yesterday’s clothing and slept beneath her riding cape. It held a month of riding dust and smelled like a prairie onion. Although she had brushed her hair and her teeth and washed her hands and face she still felt dirty and rumpled. The fact that the lieutenant looked at her with interest in his grey eyes only made her feel worse.

  “How many times did you ride by here last night?” Corinne busied herself by pulling the stakes from the hard ground. She tugged hard at the first stake but it did not budge. The ground had been muddy when she had set them and now that it had dried they held fast. Lee stepped up and put on his gloves. Corinne pulled again until she was red in the face and cursed underneath her breath. Lee set his feet apart, squatted next to the tent and wrapped his gloved hands around the piece of wood. He pulled and Corinne watched the muscles flex across his shoulders. The stake pulled free. Lee stood up and smiled at her broadly.

  Corinne sighed loudly. “Good job, Lancelot.” It further infuriated her that there were seven more that were likely just as stuck. She was certain he’d be there all morning.

  “I was on patrol last night,” he said to answer her question and he bent to pull another stake.

  “Watchin’ me?” she asked. Lee handed her the stake.

  “Watching the camp,” he said freeing another.

  “I see,” she said icily. She followed him around as he freed each stake and handed them to her. Then he pulled off his gloves.

  “What else might I help you with this morning?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” she said. She dared looking up to his face and again found she was looking into his eyes. “Really, thank you,” she said. She had to admit that without his help she might have spent the morning pounding the stakes free and may have broken them in the process. Corinne decided it wouldn’t hurt to be civil to him after all.

  “How long have you been ridin’ with the prairie cavalry?” she asked, as she pulled the poles from the tent canvas.

  Highland watched her working, taking apart the tent with ease.

  “Too long,” he said.

  “Why do you stay?” she asked.

  “As a matter of fact my enlistment is up in less than a year.”

  “Then what will you do?” She began to roll up the canvas, half listening to his replies and he squatted down beside her to help.

  “What would I do?” he asked.

  “Why don’t you get some land for yourself today?”

  “No. It’s against the law for cavalry to do that. I want no part of taking land illegally. I would be no better than a sooner.”

  “A sooner?”

  “A sooner is someone who hides out in the Unclaimed Territories on the parcel he wants to claim. When the cannon is fired to start the race he’ll pretend that he raced to that parcel ahead of the others but the fact is he’s been there all along hiding out. It’s illegal.”

  “Maybe you can become a lawman for one of the new towns that will be comin’ up out here.” Corinne stood up and dusted her hands on her skirt.

  “A sheriff?” Lee Highland stood next to her and looked at her thoughtfully.

  “I’ll bet there are men out there right now gettin’ in sooner than anyone else to steal land. A man who can see right from wrong makes a good sheriff. An honest one can make a big difference.” Corinne thought about all the run-ins Hank should have had with the law. The sheriff in town had become one of Hank’s drinking companions over time. If he had put Hank in a cell once in a while maybe it would have made a difference.

  Corinne stood for a moment looking into his eyes and he seemed genuine and a bit less flashy. Then he smiled at her with an easy confidence and she felt rumpled and commonplace again.

  “I need to pack up. I want to pay attention and do it well and get my horse watered,” she said.

  “I hope you find the perfect spot out there.” He looked across the border into the Unassigned Lands. “There’s some beautiful spots on that land. Ride out fast to where I showed you on your map and claim a good one. Then make yourself a home here.”

  “I fully intend to,” Corinne said.

  “Before I leave you to your packing might I ask your name?”

  She looked up at his grey eyes and responded reluctantly. “Corinne Greslin.”

  “Corinne. I would never have guessed. Beautiful,” he said, tipping his hat. He bowed slightly and turned and walked away.

  Corinne looked after him and saw him stop and help an elderly couple with their tent as well and then have a brief conversation with a younger couple. Maybe he was just helpful to everyone, she thought. Maybe it wasn’t that he was interested in her after all. For a moment Corinne felt a bit disappointed that might be the case but quickly remembered that’s the way she preferred it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Corinne’s belongings were packed securely upon Boomer’s back. She led him around the camp slowly and then climbed into the saddle and rode him out away from the fort towards the low land. She could feel that he was excited and nervous from the crowds and she rode him in wide, easy circles on the open land. Once he trotted easier she directed him towards an area where there was a small tree and a large boulder about fifty yards apart. She rode him at an easy pace in a loose figure eight around the landmarks twice and then spoke to him as he stood between them.

  Corinne took hold of both reins firmly, a gesture that Boomer knew meant he should prepare to run. When she kicked him into action he broke into a full sprint moving in the path she had shown him, tightly circling the tree and then racing openly and bounding around the rock. Corinne raced him in the tight course which forced him to run, brake and control his turns.

  Lee Highland watched her and the young stallion from Chief’s back on a rise at
the edge of the fort. He was captivated by how beautiful she was riding easily on the back of the animal, her hair falling down her back beneath her wide brimmed hat in the warm sunlight. He watched her calmly pace out the course with the horse, showing him what she expected. She pulled the stallion close to the rock so he would understood that she expected a tight turn from him.

  When she kicked the horse to racing speed Highland let out his breath slowly. He loved to ride and had grown up on a horse ranch. Never in his life had he seen anyone, especially a woman, ride so well. She lay along the back of the stallion and became part of him and the horse performed beautifully. When he watched her slow and ride him towards the river’s edge he cleared his throat. In the distance he saw her slip from the horse’s back and look off towards the Unassigned Lands pensively. If her pies really were anywhere near her abilities as a horsewoman the lieutenant decided he would make a point of finding where she settled. He thought he would not mind a piece at all.

  Corinne lingered in the small bit of shade offered by the few cottonwood trees near the water’s edge, letting Boomer drink a bit and then she led him to stand beside her. She ran her hands along his withers and spoke to him softly.

  “We’re goin’ to race today, Boomer. I know you’re a good fella and you’re goin’ to run fast for me. We’re goin’ to find us a good piece of land. Good for me and you and Mince.”

  The horse nickered and laid back his ears at the sound of his and Mince’s names.

  Corinne laid her head against his neck and stood silently. She knew the stallion was restless. She felt it herself. In only a couple of hours they would be running for their lives. Corinne took a deep breath.

  That same restlessness rumbled through the camp as the people prepared. Before the day was out, their lives would be changed forever. Many would find their land, many would not. Some would even lose their lives. None of those who ran for the Unassigned Lands would be the same at the end of that day. Lee Highland looked out over the hordes that had come to make history. He was proud to be there and to be part of it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Later that morning Corinne found a spot she felt would be the best to begin the run. She fell in among the settlers waiting for the cannon to be fired at noon. Cavalrymen sat on the rise overlooking the crowds and rode among the people telling some to calm their horses or secure their wagon coverings. Corinne saw people on horseback and on foot. There was even a man on a bicycle. She wondered why more of them were not in fear of being trampled. There were wagons with canvas coverings and open buckboards filled with furniture. There were even fancy buggies driven by women in feathered bonnets. Corinne was certain she had never seen such a varied collection of people in all her days. But, for all of their differences, Corinne noticed that each one of them showed they had something in common. In the air there hung a feeling of determination. On some faces it was not so obvious, on others it was very clear. She saw the faces of the hungry and the destitute. The faces of parents filled with worry about what the day would bring and children ready to cling tightly during the ride. For that brief moment in time she didn’t feel separate. Corinne realized that she was part of something larger than herself. She was part of a moment in history and part of the mass of people who wanted and needed more and were willing or desperate enough to risk everything, including their lives to get it. In that moment she understood that she was a pioneer.

  The air was filled with dust from the shuffle of horses’ hooves and an expectant, electric atmosphere that made her feel as if her hair were standing on end. It felt like that crackling dryness before a storm, but the sky was cloudless and the sun was high. The stallion beneath her fought at the bit so Corinne let one of the reins slacken and he stood easier. Boomer loved to race and he was ready to run.

  “Not yet, boy,” Corinne said to him, trying to calm his agitation. When a nearby, larger horse reared, Corinne reined Boomer in firmly and he circled about and settled, stomping his feet softly.

  Corinne saw Lieutenant Highland on the rise talking to some of the other soldiers and a young man with a bugle walked down towards the crowd. From her location she felt comfortable looking up at Highland and was sure she could study him unnoticed.

  He sat easily on his massive charger in his neat uniform. His broad-brimmed hat shaded his face in the bright sun and she could not see his eyes nor his expression. He had changed his lighter gloves for larger ones with heavy gauntlets that covered his cuffs. He was taller than the other men that surrounded him on their own horses and aside from his more elaborate uniform it was clear he stood out in many other ways from the rest of the men. He was exceptional, she thought, but all wrong for her. Corinne scowled at her musings and turned away. She was about to embark on a momentous ride, a dangerous ride and a frightening adventure. She needed to concentrate on other things and not Lee Highland. When the cowboy on his horse beside her pulled out his watch she realized they were only minutes from racing and she felt her chest tighten.

  Lee Highland saw that she was watching him from the crowd. She’d chosen wisely, finding a location where her fast horse could pull ahead of the wagons and carriages. She’d only need to compete with riders on horseback and, if she got a good start, some of them would fall behind quickly. She likely had more information than some preparing to race, but many others would know exactly where they were headed. He genuinely wanted to see her find good land safely. He wanted it for them all.

  She looked up at him for several minutes, but when he touched his fingers to his hat in acknowledgement of her she did not react. He realized that she could not see his face and did not know that he was watching her as closely as she watched him. When she looked away he checked his watch again. He’d nearly lost track of the time. He couldn’t recall ever having that happen. Lieutenant Highland focused on his task. It was his responsibility to signal the cannon at precisely noon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The big, brass pocket watch ticked off the seconds methodically and with each passing pulse the crowd grew quieter. A horse whinnied. A hawk cried in the sky. There was strange hush over the land, broken only by the bark of a dog here, a baby’s cry there. Lee Highland intently watched the hand moving on the watch.

  Corinne took up Boomer’s reins firmly, holding them tightly in her hands. Even short-clipped, her nails dug into her damp palms. She extended her leg the slightest bit, fitting her boot snugly into the stirrup.

  Boomer felt her ready to lean forward and he tensed, waiting for her signal. He’d raced enough times to know the shot was about to be fired.

  Highland looked out over the crowd and nodded to the bugle boy. It was eleven fifty-nine. The bugler began to play and the notes echoed clearly over the plains.

  Corinne took a deep breath and leaned forward.

  The cannon was lit. Another second passed. The weapon detonated with a booming explosion.

  BANG!

  Her heel hit Boomer’s rump with determination and he leapt forward, stretching out his neck. His powerful legs reached out ahead of them as he tore across the land, kicking up the dust behind him. He could see the riders alongside and he worked harder to get ahead of them. Boomer loved to run.

  Corinne lay low against the stallion’s back, clinging to him as his muscles rippled beneath her. Her heels gripped his flanks as they sprinted over the dry land. She had gotten the good start she hoped for and most of the competition was being left behind. Corinne watched the landscape and the other riders falling away.

  Suddenly an aggressive cowboy cut across their path. Boomer dodged to the left, never losing his stride and lunged forward with each thrust of his legs.

  Lee Highland watched Corinne and her stallion bolt at the sound of the cannon and cut out ahead of the crowd. She rode fast and steady, and she disappeared over the rise. He watched the wagons and carriages, horses and riders scatter over the plains. Soon a cloud of dust covered the landscape as some wagons overturned and some horses fell while others spread out racing
off to their destinies. The thunder of hooves and shouts of their riders rose with the dust. The lieutenant snapped his watch closed and slipped it into his pocket. He been a soldier for a very long time but he felt as though what he was witnessing now was the pinnacle of his career. He’d signaled the cannon to open the Unassigned Lands. Whatever anyone’s opinion was about the right or wrong of it, it was now done. It would pass into history and he had been a part of it.

  It was time for something new, he decided. Maybe to be a part of history in a different way. He tried to figure how long it would be before Corinne reached the parcel he had told her about. It would be a while, he thought. He tried to imagine what kind of home she’d make and wondered if she could use some help.

  The captain rode up alongside him. “Well done, Lieutenant,” he said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Corinne rode hard across the open plains, skirted a ravine and quickly directed Boomer due east until she saw the southern tree line along the Washita River in the distance. The river hooked north and she looked for a break in the trees for a crossing. When she’d made a decision she turned Boomer and they splashed across the muddy waterway without incident and headed north. The mud covered Boomer’s legs but he sprinted ahead without a problem. Several other riders splashed through the river as well. Boomer was young and fast and light but other riders rode on mounts that were experienced and strong. The dust rose up around Corinne and Boomer. She dug her heels deeper into his sides feeling more frantic as two riders passed her. She needed to find her land before someone else claimed it and she struggled to keep up.