Sweet called to her. “Start moving slowly into them, they’ll move to the side.”
Fiona did as instructed. Some cows moved. Some stood and looked at her. The babies seemed to think it was a new game. They jumped around and kicked up the dust. One of the bulls gave out an unholy bellow. Carefully, Fiona drove the truck through the herd, as the sun rose above the eastern horizon with the promise of another hot day. She cleared the herd and waved at Sweet, who rode toward the front of the sea of cows.
“The pasture is to the left at least another mile from here,” he called to her. “You’ll see the stock pond.”
She waved and continued on over the roughest road she had seen yet. She pushed the button for four wheel drive to be on the safe side. Being the city person she was, she winced every time the truck bounced over yet another rock.
The fencing changed on the pasture, and she saw an open gate. Beyond was a raised mound. She pulled beyond the gate to the side of the road as far as she could go, cut the motor and walked over to investigate. There was a hint of water in the pond. A trickle of water entered from a pipe coming from the pump. She looked around and saw a jumble of old hoof tracks. Several sets of prints went off along the barbed wire fence.
She decided to follow the prints on foot although she was a little jumpy, wondering who might be around, where Jake was, and if rattle snakes were out this time of year. Somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind she remembered that snakes like sun. She was careful where she walked. Far in the distance a white spot in the sagebrush caught her attention. She picked up the pace. A horse stood without a rider. A wave of panic swept over her. Thinking Jake might have been thrown, she started to run.
“Jake,” she called, “Jake, are you there? Where are you?”
She kept calling and after a while she saw him stand and look in her direction. He waved, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Over here,” he yelled.
A piece of dead brush caught her boot, and she almost took a tumble. She moved on slower and more carefully. She couldn’t figure out what Jake was doing. When she got to where he stood, she saw the reason.
“What happened?” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine but Glory isn’t. I called for an ambulance, but it will be a while before they can get here.”
“Is he alive? He looks awfully bad to me. His face looks blue.”
Jake checked for pulse. “Still alive, but I’m not sure for how much longer. I’d like to keep him alive for obvious reasons. But also because I want to know who the extra footprints belong to and why Glory has bruises all over his face.”
“I came in my truck,” said Fiona. “Should we try to get him to it?”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t want to move him. He’s unconscious and hasn’t moved an inch. He might have brain trauma. I’ve done what I could for him.”
“The herd’s on its way, and there’s no water in the pond.”
“Glory never got around to turning the pump on. He must have been drunk. I don’t know what happened exactly or the sequence of events, but I do know that someone beat him up.”
Fiona studied the ground. Jake had a little fire going and a pot of coffee on it. “You come prepared.”
“I’d offer you a cup but I need you to ride back and tell the boys to turn the herd around. I don’t have cell phone signal here to communicate with them. Since it will take the pond a while to fill, we’ll have to wait.”
“I’m on my way. Will the ambulance be able to get back this road?”
“I’ve seen them drive over moonscape.”
“Is anybody home?”
Opal heard Tillie’s query from the bathroom where she was getting ready to go to town for another treatment. She sighed. She wasn’t ready for this. She felt like she was about to fly apart. Sammie showing up was a blessing and a curse. The two sisters had never gotten along well, and now she was caught in the middle. She finished with her hair which didn’t take much since she wore it in a pixie cut. She studied her reflection and adjusted the collar on her open neck blouse. She was an old lady, and there was nothing she could do about it. Today she felt ancient. But she had to make it through the day, the best she could.
She knew Tillie would make herself at home so she didn’t rush. In her bedroom she tidied the bed, gathered her purse, and walked down the hall toward the living room. She checked Jake’s room. The door stood wide open, and the bed was made. He was either out early, which wasn’t unusual or hadn’t turned in.
“Good morning, Tillie,” Opal said as she entered the kitchen.
Tillie was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a mug of coffee. “I see my sister has arrived.” She had never been much on social niceties.
“She has. We stayed up half the night talking, and I’m about beat. But I need to go to town for another treatment today.”
“I can drive you.”
“It’s kind of you to offer, but Fiona took me yesterday. I believe she’s expecting to take me today. Excuse me. I’ll see if she’s up.”
Opal checked Fiona’s room but found it empty. Samantha walked out of her room still in her nightgown.
“Good morning,” said Sammie. She saw the empty room. “Fiona left. I heard her rig pull out before the sun was up.”
“That’s odd. Jake’s not in his room either. Maybe something happened during the night. Dear me, I can’t keep on top of things anymore. I wonder where they could be.”
Samantha put her hand on Opal’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they are able to take care of any situation that might arise. Maybe it had something to do with the barking dog we heard last night.”
“Maybe so. Tillie’s here. I need to go to town for another treatment, and she’s offered to take me. Fiona took me yesterday. I was checking to see if she was ready. I’m not supposed to drive.”
“No problem,” said Sammie. “I’ll get ready and drive you to town.”
Opal walked back toward the kitchen. She checked the living room and saw Paul lying flat out on the couch sawing wood. He seemed a decent enough guy. He and Olympia were still up when she went to bed, as far as she could remember.
In the kitchen Tillie sat at the table in a pout.
“Where’s Howie?” Opal asked.
“Don’t know. I spent the night in town.”
“I see,” said Opal. Keeping two men didn’t seem to bother Tillie or Howie for that matter. Opal was sure Howie knew about Tillie’s boyfriend, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Or maybe that is why he drank, because it did. Their relationship was an enigma to her.
Opal fixed a bowl of cereal and joined Tillie at the table.
“Do you want anything to eat?” she asked Tillie.
“No, already had breakfast. Have you had time to think over giving us a hand with a loan?”
Opal put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and took her time chewing. Finally she said, “I’ve given it lots of thought. I haven’t made a decision yet.”
“Yes, she has,” said Samantha, walking into the kitchen. “Opal has no more money to loan any of us. She needs the money to keep the ranch solvent. Hard times are on the horizon. This time you are going to have to make it on your own, Tillie.”
Opal could almost see the hackles rise on Tillie’s back.
“Who do you think you are? Since when do you answer for Aunt Opal?”
Sammie stopped in front of her sister. “I’m the wiser, compassionate sister who thinks of other people besides herself.”
Opal held up her hand. “Let’s not argue. I don’t need this. You are both welcome here. We have differences of opinion. Let’s leave it at that.”
Samantha strolled over to the counter and helped herself to coffee and cereal. She joined them at the table. The silence in the room was so brittle it crinkled. Opal munched on cereal, sipped on her coffee, trying to think what to do with this pair. Send them to a gladiator ring to fight it out might be the best option. Tillie looked off into some distant place, her face set in a frown.