Fiona leaned against the sink. “I’ve wondered if I should tear the place down and start over again. But it has character. I’d like to preserve that, and I need electricity to do it.”
“Where’s the pole?”
“What pole?”
“That’ll bring the electricity up here so I can connect it.”
Fiona frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that.” Why hadn’t she thought of that? Did she think the magic fairy was going to wave a wand? “Who do I call to get a pole?”
“The power company. You got to get on their list. Might be several thousand dollars.”
“Several thousand dollars? Isn’t that rather steep?”
“I don’t set the prices. Come outside and let me show you something.”
Mack led her out to the stony front yard and pointed.
“See that pole and the wires that go into Opal’s house? You need a connection to that line. They’ll need to run a separate line up here. That’s the only way I know to get electricity up here. After they do that, then I can do the inside electric work.”
“Wow,” said Fiona. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I guess I better call the power company.”
“Yes, ma’am. If you tell me where you want the outlets and switches, I’ll get started.”
“Right. I have a diagram on my computer. I’ll print it out later. For right now, I’ll give you an idea of what I want done.”
“Are you the general contractor on this job?”
“You might say. They taught me that in design school.”
“I’m impressed. Let’s get to work.”
After she helped Mack start the project, she put on running shoes and walked down to Opal’s house to use her computer to print out the wiring diagram. She wasn’t in a running mood. Besides, her running shoes were in name only. She was in time for breakfast. Jake was sitting at the table finishing his.
He looked her over and grinned. “Like the outfit.”
“Thanks. It’s a big hit with buckaroos,” she said. “Where’s Opal?”
“She left early to help move cows.”
“The woman is amazing.”
“She is. You can’t tell her to slow down. She won’t listen. Have some breakfast. I can scramble you some eggs. Bacon is in the warming oven.”
“Fine. I need to print the wiring diagram for the bunkhouse. Can I use the computer and printer?”
“You bet. It’s in the back office.”
When she got back to the kitchen, breakfast was on the table, and Sheriff Hoover was sitting eating a plate of bacon, eggs and biscuits.
“Just the lady I want to see,” he said, smiling around a mouthful of breakfast. “Nice outfit.”
“It’s a big hit with buckaroos,” she said and sat down across from him. Jake slid a plate of perfectly scrambled eggs and several slices of bacon before her. Man could cook like he did, she might have to keep around. She helped herself to biscuits.
Jake positioned himself beside her with a mug of coffee.
“What’s up?” she said to Hoover, as she started in on the heaping plate before her.
“I’m glad I got you both in the same place,” he said. “I need to know when you pulled the car out of the hot springs, how long did it take the bones to surface.”
Fiona looked at Jake and shrugged. “Right away. There was no time lapse that I remember.”
“Fiona pointed it out to me. I didn’t actually see it come up,” said Jake. “Why do you ask?”
“We got a little problem of too many bones. The diver found more bones at the bottom of the springs after he was in and dug around a little. But these bones don’t fit the scene.”
“Were they weighted down?”
“No, funny thing is they weren’t. But they were heavy and weird looking. They don’t look human to me. They were sort of stuck in the muck. Now we’re going to have to figure out why there were more bones at the site.”
“Were there any footprints around the spring that weren’t ours?” asked Fiona.
“We’re trying to sort out all the footprints. Good point, Fiona. That’s another reason I’ve come. I need to see the boots you were wearing that day, so we can compare what we found.”
Jake said, “You’re welcome to mine, if you can stand the smell. They’re pretty sorry looking.”
“I’ll get mine up at the bunk house and bring them back. They are the cowgirl boots that pinch. I remember them well.”
A lone rider made his way across the ridge, steering his cow pony to stay behind the taller greasewood and rocks. He was looking for the herd he had seen south of here yesterday. He was sweating a river, and the sun was hardly up over the eastern horizon. But it wasn’t the heat that was bothering him. He didn’t want anyone to see him. This section was isolated, but you never knew. He could always say he’d lost a calf, if anyone questioned him. Of course, his not being from around here might raise suspicion but he could always say he was working for someone.
He jumped at every little break of a twig or skitter of rock. He came up over a rise and reined in his horse. The valley stretched out forever below. There they were. The prettiest little herd that you’d ever want to see. The one the boss had sent him to find. The herd that had prime Angus cattle that would sell real well in the open cattle market. Now all he had to do was to find the road the boss said came in from the east. Probably not a road, probably a goat path. But that was the only way they had to bring in the trailer that would take away a few of these pretty cows and calves. It would be a night time operation. They’d set up a few temporary panels for a corral, drive the critters in, load them up, and leave. No one would be any the wiser till fall round up. Like taking candy from a kid.
Jake still worried that Fiona was going to leave. He tried to think of something that would entice her to stay. He worried that things would get too much for her, too many problems, too many weird people, too many new things. This was not Washington, D.C. where she was at home, and he wasn’t. Maybe it would be better if she left. She didn’t seem to be interested in him, and he could understand why. He wasn’t that interesting a guy. She could have her pick, a woman like that. City and country didn’t mix. Who was he trying to kid?
But he couldn’t stay away from her. So he strode up the knoll to the bunkhouse to see what she and Mack were up to. He looked in the open door. They were studying a piece of paper. She was pointing to different spots on the wall, and he was nodding. She sure looked good in those tights. This was the first time he had seen so much leg. Easy, boy. He knew every other man felt the same way. He could see it in the way they looked at her. Hoover was no exception, and he wondered how much he was investigating the bones that brought him here and how much was getting another glimpse of Fiona. Needing their boots seemed like a pretty lame excuse.
Jake greeted Mack who he knew to be a decent electrician, if a little on the slow side.
Fiona came over. “He says he can’t start work today. He needs to get some parts in town. I’m not sure when the plumber will come. I called and left messages but he seems to have disappeared.”
She looked so forlorn Jake used it as an excuse to put his arm around her shoulder. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. I have to ride out to the south pasture. Why don’t you ride along?”
“In a truck?”
“On a horse.”
“Me? Ride a horse? I haven’t been on one since I was a kid.”
“I can trailer the horses to the end of the good road, and we can ride the rest of the way. It’s not far. We could go in on ATVs but the terrain’s a little rough. It’s better on horseback and prettier.”