Chapter 33: Our Dannie

~It must be very improper that a young lady should dream of a gentleman before the gentleman is first known to have dreamt of her.~—Jane Austen

“Ah, you are walkin’ at last,” Mrs. Martin said with a broad smile when Jake appeared in the dining room. It had been two weeks since the ordeal, and Jake was still at the Circle 4. Mr. Martin was leery of moving him until he was completely healed. His argument was that the conditions for recovery were not suitable at the Cora Belle.

Jake gave a nod and a smile. “Yup, Mr. Martin finally let me out of that confounded bed. I’m still rather clumsy on my feet. The cane helps, but I don’t plan to have it for long.”

“It’s nice to see you up and about,” Mrs. Martin said. “We really are glad to see you at the supper table. And it will be nice to have Dannie around.”

She winked at Dannie, who was helping Jake sit down in a chair. “We’ve missed your face, Dannie dear.”

Dannie shook her head, trying to hide her blushing face, and took her seat beside Sophie.

“Sophie, in particular, was upset about this long convalescence,” Caleb added. “You really should hear her opinion of you, Jake. You’ve missed some very strong statements.”

“Not surprisin’,” Jake grunted.

“Honestly, the way she put it, we could have almost thought you went and nearly got killed on purpose.”

“Caleb, stop it!” Sophie was going red in the face. “I never said anythin’ like that. Dannie, Momma, someone come to my rescue.”

“Caleb Martin, don’t tease your sister,” Mrs. Martin scolded. “Now, let’s say grace and eat.”

***

Now that he was on his feet, Jake was in a rush to move about. Mr. Martin and Dannie had their work cut out trying to make sure he didn’t jump into things he shouldn’t.

Several more weeks passed by. One by one, Jake’s wounds lost their stitches as the skin grew back together. And while it was all ‘too slow’ for Jake, Mr. Martin marveled at the rate at which the cowboy was improving. It soon became the joke of the ranch to try and guess just what sort of stars Jake had been born under that nearly got him killed, on the one hand, and then pulled him through his recovery at unusual speed, on the other.

Inactivity didn’t sit well with Jake, though, and as time dragged on, he became more and more restless.

One day, Dannie walked out on the front porch and found Jake staring off into the distance.

“Mr. Martin is very pleased with the progress you’ve made these past days,” she said, placing her hands on the porch railing. “He says you’ll be able to go back to the Cora Belle soon.”

“It’s about time,” Jake said, though inwardly he found that he wasn’t very anxious to leave. “Caleb tells me you’ve become quite the horsewoman.”

“He’s exaggerating.” Dannie blushed.

“Caleb Martin is not the sort of person who exaggerates. That’s Sophie’s special quality.”

“Well, I’d hate for a professional to judge my riding skills.”

“I’m itchin’ to get on the back of a horse,” Jake blurted out. “Dannie, you wanna go ridin’ with me?”

“I’m reminded of a time when the last thing you wanted to do was go anywhere with me, saying it would drive you mad,” Dannie teased.

Jake scowled at her words. “That was ages ago. Come on, I can’t sit around this place any longer. I need to ride a bit.”

“Very well,” Dannie said, giving in. She actually liked the idea of riding with Jake. “I’ll ask Bill if you can borrow one of the horses, and oh…” Dannie suddenly paused. “Do you think Mr. Martin might not approve of the idea? He said you should take all this slowly.”

“I can’t take it any more slow! Seriously, is Mr. Martin my father or somethin’? I’m a grown man, Dannie, and I can decide what I should or should not do. I’m gettin’ by just fine without the cane now, and the limp is almost gone; I know I’m ready to ride a horse.”

“Have it your way.” Dannie shrugged.

“Great, so let’s go.”

***

“Caleb, do you know where Dannie is?” Sophie asked her brother, who was sitting in a chair, carving a piece of wood.

“Yup, she and Jake went out ridin’ ’bout an hour ago; said they’d be home in time for supper.”

“WHAT?” Sophie let all her anger burst out. “Who does Jake think he is, anyway? How dare he just steal Dannie and go ridin’ out like that?”

Caleb smirked at her reaction. “Don’t tell me you are jealous because, probably for the first time in your life, a man wanted to go ridin’ with someone other than you?”

“That has nothing to do with it. I’m angry because Jake is stealin’ Dannie from me. I mean, he kept her completely occupied with this whole near-death stunt of his. She hardly ever left his bedside, even when he came to consciousness.

“Then, at last, he got out of bed and began walking around, and what do we find? Dannie is constantly by his side, helpin’ him walk or doing somethin’ just as ridiculous.

“And now he’s finally losin’ the cane and standin’ on his own two feet, and the first thing he does is take Dannie out ridin’. She’s our Dannie, and he can’t go about usin’ her like this.

“She’s gonna go back to town once the school starts again. I had been lookin’ forward to spending time with her during her holidays, but in the end the only person she does anything with is Jake.”

“So maybe the two of them are fallin’ for each other,” Caleb said with a shrug. “Not everyone is like you, Sophia Martin, refusing to fall in love and not wanting to get married.”

“But Dannie deserves so much better than Jake!” Sophie plopped down in a chair facing her brother. “I mean, look at her! She is smart and educated, and extremely talented—and Jake, who is Jake? That man is a no good idiot.”

“Sophie.” Caleb put down his carving and frowned at his sister. “That is entirely untrue. You know just as well as I do that Jake is the best horse breeder for miles around.

“Every ranch owner just about hates Clay Walkers because Jake works for him. He’s got a talent with those horses. Even you have to admit he can handle them better than anyone we know. Not to mention that he’s an experienced cattle driver and can handle a large herd with just a handful of men. He’s no idiot. That man has brains enough for five ordinary fellas.”

“So he’s good with horses and cows,” Sophie said with a snort, “but that is not what Dannie needs. She should have a husband who likes the same things she likes. There are men in the town who are a better match for her. Jake and Dannie having nothin’ in common.”

“I think you should let Dannie decide who she wants to love. If she likes Jake, then good for her.”

“Jake does not deserve Dannie!” Sophie said with a stomp of her foot.

Caleb shook his head at his silly sister and picked up his work again. Sophie frowned at her brother, who didn’t understand anything about life, and went to find some useful occupation until Dannie and Jake returned.