She listened. Still not a sound behind any of the doors. She hesitated then decided to be brave. Going to every closed door she quietly opened each one. No Olympia. Three were bedrooms with unmade single beds. The fourth was a bathroom surprisingly clean for a guy bathroom. No sign of female occupancy.
Puzzled, she left the house, closing the door behind her. She hadn’t found Olympia, but she had found something more interesting. This time she would show Jake the photo so that someone would believe her. She wondered if the gun had any significance at all. Maybe one of the guys took it after she saw it. Maybe they had lost it up on the knoll and had gone back to retrieve it. Maybe she was making too big a deal out of this.
Outside she walked back to the house by the opposite route, looking around hoping to run into Olympia. Where could her crazy friend be? She walked by the workshop. Jake wasn’t there. Where was everyone? Remembering the fresh pot of coffee she had made, she returned to the kitchen to find Olympia sitting at the table with a mug of coffee before her.
“Where have you been?” asked Fiona, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Me? I got up early and took a walk. Where have you been? I didn’t see you around. Did you spend the night with Mr. Hunky?”
Fiona poured a mug of coffee and sank into a kitchen chair. “Will you please stop that? His name is Jake.”
“No need to get huffy.”
Fiona eyed her friend. “Where did you spend the night, since you brought up the subject?”
Olympia sat up straighter in the chair. “I spent the night in my own bed.”
“It was made and hadn’t been slept in when I looked in.”
“I made it myself.”
“You made your own bed? You’ve never made a bed in your life.”
Olympia grinned like a Cheshire cat. “I’m turning over a new leaf.”
Fiona studied her friend. She had her hair piled on her head and wore slacks and a rhinestone studded cotton pullover. She looked pretty plain for Olympia. She wondered about the new leaf.
“You mean you didn’t end up in bed with Sweet?”
“Of course not. He has a girlfriend.”
“That never stopped you before.”
“Honestly, Fiona. He’s too young for me. I told you I’m turning over a new leaf.”
“What brought that on?”
She shrugged. “Maybe it’s this place. Maybe I’m having a mid-life crisis. Maybe I’m thinking I should grow up.”
“That’s astounding. Even more astounding is that you took a walk this morning. You’ve never exercised in your life.”
Olympia sighed into her empty coffee mug and said nothing.
“What is really bothering you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It must be this place. I seem to be coming face to face with myself, and I don’t like what I see.”
Fiona nodded. “I’m having the same problem. There’s something about the silence and the wind and the sun and big sky here that can change one’s perspective.”
“It’s more than that. It’s the people. It’s the lack of pretense in the folks. They’re closer to the land and Mother Nature. They’re more down-to-earth.”
“It hasn’t taken you long to discover that.”
“I’m an astute judge of people, my dear friend. I have to be. I’m a writer. I’m always observing people and what they do, how they act, what they say. These people are friendly and open and don’t put on airs like city people do.”
“I agree. As long as we are confessing, I have to tell you that I want to stay here.”
“I’m not surprised, and I don’t blame you. I don’t think I could live here permanently since my writer schedule demands city amenities, but I could see buying a place to come for a retreat. Maybe I’ll sell off some of my other houses and consolidate here.” She got up and poured another mug of coffee and sat back down. “What about you and Jake?”
“I have to make a decision on an offer he made this morning. He asked me to stay on with him, no commitment asked.”
“You could do worse. I like Jake. He’s solid.” She smiled. “Real solid. Absolutely hunky.”
Fiona laughed. “He is that.” She paused. “But there are problems in paradise. Opal is selling Jake the ranch. She told Tillie and Howie this morning. They’re upset. Jake is upset that Opal told Tillie before they settled. But the really bad news is that Opal has leukemia.”
“Oh, no. I am so sorry to hear that about Opal. This is terrible. I can see why everyone is upset.” Olympia reflected for a minute. “Real life is more dramatic than anything I can write.”
“It’s really sad about Opal. I bought a truck so I can drive her back and forth to town for treatments.”
“You bought a truck?”
“Believe it or not, I did. I pick it up Wednesday.”
“I’m aghast. Fiona Marlowe, cultured city slicker, in a truck? I’m jealous. Do you think I should trade the Red Bomb in for a truck?”
“Not yet. You just got the Bomb. Anyway, what are your plans? You can’t stay on here indefinitely. Things are getting a little tense. I may have to move myself.”
“I thought I’d drive into town today and talk to a realtor. We could find something we could both move into. You want to drive along?”
“You bet.”
They collected their purses and were heading out the front door when Opal, Tillie and Howie came down the hall from the office.
So that’s where they were, Fiona thought. They’ve been sequestered in the office. She wondered what kind of a deal Tillie had gotten out of Opal. None of them looked very happy.
“Here’s Fiona and her friend,” Opal said to Tillie. “You remember I was telling you, she’s a famous writer.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Tillie. “I don’t have time to read much.”
“Some people don’t,” said Olympia. “I’m enjoying your lovely country. We’re on our way into town to shop.”
“Do you need anything, Opal?”
“I’m good. You girls go on and have a good time.”
Fiona drove the Red Bomb slowly down the lane, searching the landscape to see if she could spot Jake. They didn’t see him so Fiona continued on into town without having a chance to show him the photo she had taken that morning of the gun.
Jake was in a temper when he got back from installing the repaired motor. The cows had little feed in the new pasture, and he’d have to move them soon. The goats had gotten away from Sweet, and they had spent half the day rounding them up. Tommy and Glory had worked on the swather so they could continue cutting in the morning. But they had found a stripped bolt, and Jake didn’t have one the right size at the ranch which meant another trip to town. He sent Glory after the part. Some days it didn’t pay to get out of bed. But then he thought of Fiona’s kiss in the workshop, and the world came right again.
He found Opal in the office going over the books. It was the first time he had a chance to talk to her since the scene in the kitchen that morning.
“How do things look?” he asked after giving Opal the rundown of the day’s problems.
She looked tired. He wondered if it was the cancer or Tillie that had her worn out.
“Jake,” she said in a hesitating voice. “I’m not sure how I’m going to make ends meet what with the cattle that we lost.”
“We can sell off some of the bulls, if you need money to cover the bills. We should finish the first cutting of hay in a few days. Hay prices are high this year because of the drought so that will bring in more. I already have a broker lined up.”
“You better sit down,” she said.
Jake didn’t like the look in her eyes. He sat down without saying another word.
“Tillie,” she began and stopped.
Here it comes, thought Jake.
“Tillie and Howie need a loan again.”