Sea Of Grass (19 page)

“I’m fine,” Tess said, and Claire saw the lines of pain etched in her face. Stan quickly dismounted as Claire ran down to help. “I fell off my fucking horse,” Tess said through clenched teeth. “And if you repeat that, Stan, you’re fired.” She looked at the mangled wagon. “What happened to the buckboard, Claire? Did you try to drive it?”

Stan laughed and saw the look from Claire. “Sorry…” he mumbled as he helped Tess up the steps.

“Go into town and get the doctor, Stan,” Claire said firmly, and he nodded. Tess stopped.

“I’m fine, just sore. I don’t need a doctor,” Tess argued as they guided her through the front door.

“Stan...” Claire said in a warning voice.

“Stan…” Tess said in a threatening tone.

Claire put her hands on her hips and glared at Stan, who swallowed and nodded. “I’m going,” he said and took off.

“Quit telling my ranch hands what to do,” Tess mumbled childishly.

“Keep still and get in,” Claire ordered. She put her arm around Tess’s waist as she let out a muffled cry of pain. Claire immediately pulled her dirty shirt up and saw the deep dark bruise. “Damn it, Tess…” she whispered. “Come on down the hall to the bedroom. Now,” she insisted, and Tess walked slowly to the room.

“Stand still.” She threw back the covers and gently got Tess to sit on the bed. “Hurts?”

“No, I’m fine,” Tess insisted as she breathed heavily through her nose. Claire lifted the dirty shirt over her head, trying not to notice the naked upper torso. Tess chuckled at the blushing woman. “I had other plans for this moment, Claire Redmond,” she said in a painful voice.

Claire chuckled nervously. “Lie on your stomach and quit talking,” she whispered, and Tess, through a grimace of pain, obeyed. Claire gasped as she watched the bruise spread across her lower back. “Tess, I hope nothing’s broken.”

“So do I,” she said in a muffled voice. She turned her face to see Claire. “I’ll be all right.”

Claire couldn’t help it. Tears sprang into her eyes as she only nodded. Tess strained her neck to see her. She lifted herself up.

“Claire, please don’t. I’m fine, really.”

Claire wiped the tears away and gently pushed her back down onto the bed. “I know. I just hate to see you hurt, damn you. Riding in front of a stampede. What were you thinking?” she said angrily and walked across the hall to the bathroom.

Tess smiled slightly as she listened to her ramblings.
 

She came back into the room with a bowl of water, soap, and a cloth. Tess was grinning wildly as Claire set the bowl on the nightstand next to the bed. “Honestly,” she scolded as she wrung out the cloth.

“Honestly, you hate to see me hurt? Why?” Tess asked as she looked back.

“Shut up and lie still.” Claire gently wiped the dirt off the exposed tanned cheek.

“There is nothing broken, though I don’t know how, just a deep bruise.” Doc Harris sat on the edge of the bed. “How the hell did you fall off your horse?”

“I have no idea,” Tess mumbled into her pillow.

“Too much time sitting in the classroom. I’m glad you’re back, by the way. I know this might not be a good time, but your father has skipped two appointments over the winter. He blamed it on the snow.”

Tess looked over her shoulder, then with his assistance, she turned over on her back and winced. “What’s wrong with him, Doc?”

“Besides the mild heart attack, I won’t lie to you, Tess. He may have the onset of Alzheimer’s.” He stood and rolled down his sleeves.

“What do we do?” Tess glanced at Claire, who smiled.

“Not much to do right now. He just needs to come to me regularly, just for a checkup. We’ll take it from there. Now you stay put, ice your back. I’ve left a few pain meds for you. Take them as needed, you know.”

He looked up at Claire. “I suppose you’ll have your hands full with this one.” He motioned to Tess, who was scowling.

“I’ll do my best, Doctor, thank you.” Claire followed him out of the bedroom. She poked her head back in and smiled sweetly. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

“She’ll be fine. It’ll take more than a stampede to hold that idiot down. Maybe you can talk some sense into her. I think you may be the only one,” he said, giving Claire a curious smile. Claire felt the color rise to her cheeks. The doctor looked around the landscape.

“God certainly was in a generous mood when he created this.” He sighed as they gazed at the late afternoon sun lazily hanging over the mountains. Claire took a deep happy breath.

“Yes, he was, Doctor. Can you see why they fight so fiercely for it?”

Dr. Harris nodded. “Yes, I do, but it’s a way of life that’s dying, Mrs. Redmond. With Tess back from college to help, I’m sure she can turn this ranch around. It’ll help the town, as well. I hope she has a few tricks up her sleeve to keep it going. People are talking about moving away to the big cities. Helena, Butte, Missoula. I’d hate to see that happen. Ah, well.” He sighed and winked. “Take care of that pain in the ass.”

“Will you be at the barbecue?”

“Yep. Wouldn’t miss it.”

Claire watched the car drive down the dusty trail and waved as Stan and Chuck rode up to the house.

“How is she?” Chuck asked as he dismounted.

“She’ll be fine, boys. Just a deep bruise, but she has to stay in bed. She probably shouldn’t be at the barbecue, but I don’t think she’ll listen to any of that.”

“I just need to tell her what’s happening with the herd. Stan brought a few things for the night. We figured she was going to stay put and you’d stay with her. We already told Mr. Rawlins and Jack. They’ll come by in the morning,” he said, and Claire nodded.

“Check this out, Mrs. Redmond. If ya need anything, I’ll bring it by.” Stan took off his hat. Both men disappeared into the house, neither wanting to face the rage they were sure to find.

“Tess?” Chuck called out as they entered the bedroom.

“I’m awake, Chuck. C’mon in,” Tess said tiredly. “How’s the herd?”

“All settled. Don’t worry,” he said and glanced at Stan.

Tess felt the tension in the air and struggled to move.

“Hey, you stay put.”

“What’s going on,
fellas
?” she asked painfully. “I said, what’s going on?”

Chuck took a deep breath. “Someone spooked the cattle. We heard a gunshot, but I didn’t see anyone. Luke told me he saw somebody in the grove of oak trees on the top of the north ridge. He couldn’t be sure, but Marty thought the rider was on an Appaloosa.”

“We all know the only asshole in this county that owns a fucking Appaloosa!” Tess barked through clenched teeth.

Claire ran into the bedroom. “What’s going on?” she asked as Chuck and Stan stepped back when she entered the room. Tess struggled to wrap the quilt around her as she tried to sit up. “Stay right where you are.” She sat on the side of the bed.

“Does my father know?” she asked after taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, Luke was a blabbermouth,” Stan said.

“Chuck, get back to the ranch, please. Make sure my father doesn’t flip and head into town. Tell him we’ll be back in the morning.” She shifted angrily under the covers. “Have Luke, Stan, and Pedro stay with the herd tonight. Just in case.”

“Already done, Tess. You relax. We’ll see ya in the morning.
G’nite
, Claire,” he said and both men walked out.

“How do you feel?” Claire adjusted the quilt around Tess’s shoulders.

“Like I fell off my
fricking
horse,” Tess said honestly.

“Stan was nice enough to bring over a few things. I’ll fix something to eat, then you get some rest. I’d tell you to stay in bed tomorrow, but you won’t.”

“I’m the hostess. I have to make an appearance. Besides, I want to see if Warren Telford has the nerve to show his ugly face.”

“Do you think he’d be stupid enough to have someone cause a stampede in the middle of the day with your men all over?”

Chapter 11

“Are you a complete idiot?” Warren Telford bellowed. Ed winced as he sat down. “Who told you to do something that asinine?”

“Um, you did, sir,” Ed said in a shaky voice. Telford glared at him through the billow of cigar smoke.

“I believe I told you to put a scare into them, not cause a stampede! You fucking idiot!” He rubbed his sweating brow. “You see, Ed,” he said very calmly, “the purpose of a stampede is to take them by surprise and have the cattle scattered all over the county. It’s best done at night,” he explained slowly as if poor Ed was a moron.

Ed nodded and looked as though he had an excellent idea. Telford held up his hand. “No. Do you think Tess Rawlins is stupid enough to leave the herd unattended at night now? The element of surprise is gone...”

With that, the phone rang. “Mr. Telford, Mr. Collins on line two.”

“Get out of here, Ed. You’ve done enough for one day.” Ed rose and made a hasty retreat.

“Collins? What have you got?”

“Nothing so far. I can’t find anything on a Redmond in Portland killed in the time frame you asked. Claire Redmond lived in Portland for ten years, then in Helena until she came here. Nothing out of the ordinary. What exactly are you looking for?”

“She’s hiding something. I can tell by the scared look in her eyes. Keep digging,” he said and hung up the phone.

“I’ll get that land one way or another,” Telford vowed as he rocked in the big chair puffing his cigar.

Chapter 12

Tess woke with a heavy groan. “Falling off my horse. How embarrassing,” she mumbled as she sat on the edge of the bed. She painfully slipped into her shirt, then struggled into her jeans and socks. Tess glared at the boots. “Those are going to be a problem.”

“What are you doing out of bed?” Claire demanded from the doorway.

Tess looked up and grinned. “Good morning to you, too, Claire,” she said with a grin. “Where’d ya sleep?”

“On the couch. Get back into bed,” she ordered and walked into the room.

“You first,” Tess challenged lightly.

Claire put her hands on her hips and just glared at her. Tess chuckled at the maternal posture. “Okay, at least help me with my boots.”

“You can’t even put on your own boots?” Claire picked up the dusty cowboy boots. “You need a new pair. I’d like to see you dressed up. I bet you clean up nice. Lie back and relax.”

Tess did as she was told as Claire lifted a leg and slid on the old boots with a minimum amount of difficulty. Although when Claire looked up, Tess was grimacing. “What’s the matter? Are you
sore
?”

“Nope,” Tess grunted and smiled sarcastically. “Now please leave the room. I don’t want to pass out in front of you.”

Claire laughed openly and offered her hand.

Jed and Jack helped the others set up for the barbecue while Claire busied herself in the kitchen with the last-minute preparations. Tess was ordered to bed until the guests arrived.

“My Lord, is that a whole cow?” Claire asked as Jed instructed Jack how to baste the huge side of beef with the marinade.

“Isn’t this amazing, Mom?” Jack took the marinade-soaked mop and basted the beef. “Mr. Rawlins said it’ll be ready by five. It’s my job to baste it every twenty minutes.”