Chapter 12 - Spring GrassSpring arrived slowly.
First came mud.
Then water.
Then thin lines of green along the pasture.
Caleb stood near the south fence one morning staring down at new grass as though it were gold.
Mave found him there.
“You planning to watch it grow?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Possibly all day.”
“Useful.”
After two drought years, the sight of living grass felt almost unbelievable.
The cattle noticed too.
By March, Caleb had enough confidence to purchase several young animals at a fair price.
Not many.
Enough to begin rebuilding.
The forge continued expanding.
Eli graduated from sweeping to handling cold stock.
Mave watched him with relentless attention.
“Your grip.”
Eli adjusted.
“No.”
He adjusted again.
“Better.”
Caleb passed carrying a sack.
“Encouraging teacher.”
Mave did not look up.
“He still has all his fingers.”
“High standards.”
Three calves were born that spring.
The first came during a rainstorm.
Caleb spent half the night in the barn.
Mave brought coffee at two in the morning.
“You don’t need to stay.”
“I know.”
She sat on an overturned bucket anyway.
The calf finally stood near dawn.
Caleb leaned against the stall, exhausted.
Mave watched the animal wobble toward its mother.
“Worth it?”
Caleb nodded.
“Always.”
She looked at him.
“That’s how you feel about the ranch?”
He thought.
“No.”
Mave seemed surprised.
Caleb continued.
“The ranch is land. Buildings. Debt. Work.”
He looked toward the calf.
“What mattered was what happened here. My parents. People who worked beside us. Things we built.”
Mave looked down at her coffee.
“So Pike could own the land without owning that.”
“Maybe.”
“Then why fight so hard?”
Caleb smiled tiredly.
“Because I’m still stubborn.”
“That I believe.”
The forge became busy enough that Mave needed more room.
Caleb proposed extending the old shed.
Mave refused.
“You need the money for cattle.”
“We need the forge capacity.”
“We already have capacity.”
“You have tools hanging from rafters.”
“They are organized.”
“You nearly hit your head on a chain yesterday.”
“That chain moved.”
“Chains generally don’t.”
They argued for three days.
Then a large order came from Red Bluff.
Caleb ordered lumber.
Mave complained while helping him unload it.
The new extension rose over two weeks.
Eli helped.
Dietrich helped one afternoon in exchange for future repair work.
Even Garrison’s clerk came by to purchase hinges for his house and somehow ended up holding a board in place.
The ranch no longer seemed isolated.
People came.
Worked.
Talked.
Left.
Returned.
One afternoon Caleb found Mave shaping a small piece of iron after the day’s orders were complete.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
“Looks like something.”
She covered it with her hand.
Caleb leaned sideways.
“Mave.”
“Go away.”
He laughed.
Weeks later he found out.
She had made a new sign for the forge.
Not fancy.
COLLINS FORGE.
Caleb stood beneath it.
Mave looked suddenly uncertain.
“I can change it.”
“Why?”
“It’s your property.”
“No.”
She frowned.
“No?”
“It’s your forge.”
Mave looked at the sign.
Caleb did too.
Months earlier, he might have felt threatened by seeing another name on his ranch.
Now it felt correct.
“Leave it,” he said.
Mave nodded.
That evening they walked toward the property line.
The sun settled behind the hills.
New grass moved in the wind.
Mave stopped.
“It isn’t what you advertised.”
Caleb’s stomach tightened.
“No.”
“You promised land, a roof, and a future.”
He looked around.
“The land’s still half broken.”
“Yes.”
“The roof leaks less.”
“Less is not the same as doesn’t.”
“And the future…”
He paused.
“Still uncertain.”
Mave smiled.
“I’m not complaining.”
“You sound like you are.”
“I’m saying it’s different.”
“Bad different?”
She shook her head.
“Honest different.”
The word struck Caleb.
Honest.
That had been her condition on the first night.
No more lies.
The ranch had not been saved by pretending it was strong.
Their relationship had not grown by pretending Caleb had deserved trust.
Everything good had come after the truth.
Mave continued walking.
Caleb followed.
At the property line she stopped again.
“Pike hasn’t been back.”
“No.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Terribly.”
She laughed.
Caleb looked at her.
He had heard that laugh more often lately.
Still not enough.
But enough to know he wanted it around.
He almost said something.
Then stopped.
Mave noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“No more lies.”
Caleb smiled.
“I was thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
“That too.”
He looked toward the ranch.
“We should probably make something official.”
Mave went still.
“What?”
Caleb immediately regretted his wording.
“The ranch.”
“The ranch?”
“And us.”
She turned fully toward him.
“Caleb Ror, are you attempting to propose marriage by discussing property management?”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“It sounded better before I said it.”
“It could hardly sound worse.”
He laughed nervously.
“If you want it to be a proposal, then yes.”
Mave stared.
Then she laughed.
A full laugh this time.
Caleb waited.
Finally she said, “Not your best work.”
“No.”
May you like
She stepped closer.
“But I’ll take it anyway.”
Related Stories
