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“I want to believe they are at fault, but maybe I feel that way because I don’t want to find the weed has been growing right under my nose the whole time and I missed it. I would feel awful.”
“You shouldn’t. You can’t possibly know about every plant on your vast acreage. Your pa led us around the pastures, everywhere the sheep have grazed since just before he noted any sickness. We tried to canvas the entire range, but it would take days.”
“Are you going to ask Blake if you can go with him to get the sample?” She wanted to go but knew Blake would never allow her. Not only was she a relation, but as an untrained woman, she had no reason to be there.
“I’ll ask him, but I doubt he’ll allow it. I’m not even sure he’ll do it. They will let him in because he’s the deputy, but I really don’t know how much information they have to give him without being accused of a crime.”
“We’ll find the poison. Whether it’s the locoweed or something in the water. I know we’ll find it.” She squeezed his hand.
Her stomach fluttered as he pushed up on his elbow and looked down at her. “You look mighty tired, Alice Johlman.” His eyes were as warm as the sun where they roved her face.
“And I’m as tired as a baby bird.” She laughed, forcing the thought of her quivery legs from her mind. Each of the six women decided to plow three rows. When that was finished, they’d each do another three, then the plowing would be done. Their field would be small, but they couldn’t take much more time than that.
He shuffled to his feet and headed to the basin of water they had sitting by a nearby tree. After dunking the dipper, he drew out a cup of water and brought it to her. He knelt next to her and helped her sit up, then handed the cup to her.
“If you don’t drink a little, you’ll get an upset stomach and then you won’t be able to help anymore.” He wiped his brow with a bandana. She was glad to see it used for something other than a mask to hide his face.
He grinned, and she giggled, realizing he’d noticed her staring. She couldn’t help doing so. He was the most handsome man to her. No one else might think so, with his abrupt nature and deep pink scar, but to her they were part of who he was, which made them attractive.
“Will you go talk to Blake?”
“I think he was over visiting Pa today, trying to get Pa to see reason. We’ll see how that goes. When I'm sure he's done, I'll go into town and ask him. I don’t want to wait around in town with nothing to do when I could do more hunting here. I wish I had access to my place so I could look more extensively there.”
“And you looked along the shared fences? I know much of it is laced by the river, but some of it isn’t.”
He nodded. “We all thought that since both your flock and our herd got sick, it made sense that if the locoweed was fresh, it was most likely there. Unfortunately, since it’s taking weeks to build up enough strength to make them sick. There’s only a little in whatever they’re eating. It’s like a needle in a haystack.”
Alice gripped his hand. “You checked the hay, right?” She prayed the hay they’d purchased for the sick animals wasn’t what had been making them ill all along.
“As well as I could, yes. But we have three sources of hay in three fields. All of us bought at different times and it came from different fields. I’m running out of likely places to look.”
She wanted to kiss his cheek and reassure him, but she didn’t feel sure herself. He seemed to have checked every option and all her questions had dried up. She watched as Tamar finished her third row and collapsed to her knees next to the water bucket. She was not used to hard labor in the slightest but had made a valiant effort and finished.
“Leo should be very proud of her.”
Alice grinned. “He is. All the time.”
Kent took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I can promise you, I look at you and feel the same.”
Chapter18
Asea of little green mossy-looking shoots spread over the field in front of Alice. Pa rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “It looks good. Only five days until it came up.”
“I wish I’d known it would not last through winter when I’d planted it, but we’ll have some for ourselves and some for neighbors.” She’d planned to give some to Armstrong and to the Oleson ranch.
“Alfalfa is good, very healthy for animals and easy to grow. You’ll get at least two cuttings from your efforts, and less work for the money is always good.”
“Two cuttings?” She regretted not researching more before suggesting alfalfa. That was the best for the sheep and Pa often purchased some in the fall when he could. She’d pictured stacks of fragrant hay all winter long without having to purchase anything more.
“Yes. We’ll cut the first after about a month, before it flowers. Then again a second time. You’ll help us twice and our neighbors as well.”
They’d been in such a hurry to get started, no one had really spoken to Pa about the process before they’d gathered the tools and mule and started. She’d wanted to save him work, not add to it. But in doing so, the women in her family had done a back-breaking day of work tilling the soil when it hadn’t needed it. Though Pa had been kind and said that tilled soil would work better and would mean less work in the end.
“In about a week, you and the others will have to walk down the rows and thin it out. That way, it can grow good and strong for you. I’ll show you how when the time comes.”
She wrapped her arms around Pa’s waist and squeezed him. For a moment, he leaned on her, not his cane. She’d never seen him as a warm man, but the last years had changed him. Without the constant feud furrowing his brow, he’d been able to focus on his family and his sheep, the two things he’d always wanted to do.
“Bodey!” Kent called from behind them.
