Mackinnons #02 For All the Right Reasons by Elaine Coffman Page A

bare shafts bent over at the end, like cornstalks after the harvest. But you shouldn’t worry that anyone would laugh at your horse like they did at that silly bird, because he doesn’t look half as bad as Mr. Peabody’s peacock, and nobody would dare to poke fun at you even if they did feel the urge to laugh at your horse. I dare say half the horses in the county would be sporting bobbed tails in a week if you kept right on riding yours around.” Katherine paused a moment, feeling such elation to be sitting next to Alex like she was.
    Feeling intensely irritated and wanting to shut her up before he said more than was prudent, Alex said, “Where’s Karin?”
    As for shutting her up, that did the trick. Katherine’s next words died in her throat and her elation fell flat as the road they were on. All the exuberance was gone from her voice when she said, “She’s taken a job in town at a dressmaker’s.”
    The sudden return to reality put an end to her fancy and Katherine went on to tell him in businesslike terms all about their father’s death and how Karin had taken the job in town to help out. She told him how Karin made the money they needed to run the farm and she did the running of it. “We’re like an old married couple,” she said. “I stay home and tend the house and garden, Karin makes enough for us to hire a little help with the plowing. Of course she’s as frugal as ever. It amazes me how she manages to save some of her money, each time she gets paid.”
    “Still saving, huh! I guess that means she still has all those fancy ideas about going to St. Louie, or San Francisco.”
    The cows were still as curious as before, following the wagon as far as the fence. The road made a sharp turn around the comer post of a pasture, then dipped sharply toward the creek. A minute later, they crossed the creaky old bridge that spanned the creek, the wheels of the wagon clicking against the old, wooden planks, making a strange, harmonious rhythm to blend with Katherine’s laugh. “She still wants to leave this place, but she’s lowered her sights some. Why, just the other day, she was talking about Dallas or New Orleans.”
    Alex was looking at her strangely, as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have. Just as strange too, was the fact that for a woman who loved to talk, Katherine couldn’t think of a blessed thing to say.
    “She always did love pretty things, and she always saw getting away from here as a way to have them,” Alex said, amazed that he was feeling a sense of loss over the disappearance of Katherine’s bright chatter.
    The old Mackinnon place was in sight now, and Alex slapped the reins against Clovis’s back. Clovis kicked once, then picked up the gait. Alex didn’t look at Katherine as she spoke.
    “She still loves pretty things, and she still works like a field hand to have them.”
    They pulled up in front of the Mackinnon place, stopping short of the swaying porch. Katherine snatched her basket and was out of the wagon before Alex could tie up Clovis and come around for her. “Don’t snub Clovis too close,” she said, hurrying up the front steps, “or he’ll pitch a fit.”
    He watched her walk into the house wondering just what it was about her that fascinated him. He had been wrong to become irritated at her over what that mule had done, as if she were personally responsible for the behavior of every mule about. You’ve been away from women too long , he told himself. You’d stare at any woman . But he knew that wasn’t the case. Katherine wasn’t just any woman and she certainly wasn’t anything like she had been before. And the magic of it intrigued him.
    She disappeared inside and Clovis began acting up, so Alex didn’t have any more time to think about Katherine. By the time he let Clovis know who was boss and snubbed him, a good fifteen minutes had passed. When he reached the house he found Katherine in the kitchen. She had her basket unpacked, her bonnet off,