Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
B reakfast at the Texas Brand with the whole family there was an experience like none before. Harrison’s family had been just him, Lily, Mom, and Dad. And then it had been just him, Lily, and Dad. But lately, more like just Lily and Dad. He’d already broken his promise to his mom. And neither of them had called him out on it.
Oatmeal had always been the weekday go-to breakfast in his family. On weekends, kid’s choice. Lily picked on Saturdays and Harrison on Sundays. Lily always picked pancakes. Harrison could never decide on a favorite. Every time he chose a breakfast, he was disappointed, thinking he should’ve chosen a different one.
Buyer’s remorse.
There was no chance of that there. They served breakfast outside, at some of the tables they’d probably had on hand for the wedding reception. With the whole family present, there were too many to fit, even in the large dining room.
As they drew near the crowd, an older version of Willow rose from her spot and waved, “I’m Taylor,” she said. “He’s Wes,” with a nod to the man beside her. “Willow’s parents. Figured you could use a refresher.” Her long dark braid had silver strands.
“Penny and Ben,” said the blond woman beside them. Her husband was like a fair-haired version of Garrett. “Drew and Orrin’s folks.”
“Adam and Kristen,” said the couple across from them, laughing at each other for speaking at the same time. Wow, the love between them was obvious in that shared laugh. “Childless cat people,” Kristen added.
“Elliot, and my beloved Esmeralda,” said a lanky man near a food-laden table, with a loaded plate in his hand. He was a paler version of Trevor. Same wiry build, same curly hair, only Elliot’s was reddish brown. Beside him, Esmeralda had flowing black curls touched with frost, here and there. Garrett and Chelsea stood beside them— his hosts. From the orange juice turret, Baxter’s parents reminded him their names were Jasmine and Luke. They both looked too young to have a biochemist for a son.
Maria and her cousins had a table to themselves. He bet it had once been the kids’ table. Now it was the cool table, and Maria pulled him there.
“Thanks, for the refresher,” Harrison said. “It helped.”
Food was passed, and he marveled and piled way too much onto his plate. At one point he exclaimed, “There are home fries again!”
Maria laughed, clapping a hand over her mouth, maybe to keep the food in there.
So, they ate. There wasn’t much talk for a while. Eventually, Garrett said, “They’re forecasting rain end of the month.”
“Hallelujah!” Elliot slapped his thigh. “It’s about time.”
“We’ve been trucking in water for the horses,” Wes put in. “Speakin’ of which…”
“Yeah, I was getting to that.” Garrett set his napkin on his plate. “If everyone’s done?—”
There was a murmur of agreement, and people started passing their plates toward him. He got up. “Wait right here.” Bubba and Chelsea both got up to help him, and then there was no more left to carry.
They were back in a flash, with freshly filled, jumbo-sized coffee carafes, one for each table. There were murmurs of appreciation as cups were filled.
“They were for the weddin’,” Maria’s mother said.
Everybody went silent, and every gaze shot to Maria. She was stiff, her head down. How he knew exactly what she was feeling, he couldn’t have said, but he did. She was ashamed she’d put them all to so much trouble and cost them so much money for nothing.
He touched her shoulder on autopilot then tried to pretend he was brushing a crumb off it or something, which probably looked just as… intimate.
And then her mother, Jessi, smiled at him, and he had a flash of Maria in twenty-some odd years. “I’d much rather use ’em for this,” Jessi said. “Thank Gawd you didn’t marry that shithead Billy Bob, Maria Michele.”
And it seemed the dam of silence and small talk was broken.
“Can you imagine ?” Chelsea asked, “having to put up with him at family gatherings? I was dreading it.”
“Manners like a billy goat,” Garrett said.
“That’s an insult to billy goats,” Elliot put in.
Their kidding had the desired effect, because Maria lifted her head. She didn’t look ashamed anymore. She looked relieved and a little bit playful. “Farts out loud and blames the dog,” she said.
Laughter erupted.
Maria finished her coffee, leaned back in her chair, smiling at the chaotic chatter of her family around her. She said, “You know, there’s still two free bedrooms, if you want to have your sister and dad come down.”
“I told you before, I don’t want to put them in danger.” He’d sounded short, but before he could fix it, she was talking again.
“I just thought they might be in more danger not bein’ here, what with Robert on the lam, and Miranda missin’, and Solomon…” She shrugged. “But what do I know? You’re the genius.” She beamed at her aunts, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Breakfast was fantastic. Thank you.” Then she got up and headed into the house.
When the door closed, there was a momentary delay before the chitchat resumed again, but as soon as it did, the youngest Brand, Drew, whispered, “This is where you go after her and apologize.” She didn’t lean in, or even look his way, just kept on stirring her coffee.
“Thank you for breakfast,” he said, getting up. “I’m uh…” He didn’t have an exit line, so he just shrugged and headed inside. He credited the family with staying silent until he’d crossed the porch and stepped through the squeaky screen door into the living room. But he heard one or two laughs and a couple of “gol’derns” through it, all the same.
The big house was quiet, except for the snores of the hound dog and the rattling sounds coming from the kitchen. He headed that way.
It looked like a tornado had torn through a diner. Maria was in the midst of the mess. She’d taken off her button-down shirt. It hung over the back of a kitchen chair. She’d put on an apron to keep her tank top clean and was at the sink, rinsing plates, making stacks. The dishwasher was open and empty, so he walked up beside her, started taking the rinsed plates and loading them into the machine.
“I’m sorry, Maria. I didn’t mean to snap at you out there.”
“Yes, you did,” she said. “I’d like to know why.”
He managed to fit all the plates on the bottom rack, so he walked around gathering up smaller dishes to fill the top. It would take multiple loads to clean them all. Maria had moved on to washing the pots and pans. “It wasn’t you,” he said. “It’s been a stressful time. One of my friends is dead, one is missing, a third might be responsible, and my life’s work has been stolen. It’s… a lot.”
“It is a lot.” She lowered her head. “But whatever we’ve got going on here is gonna require openness. Honesty. Flat out, nothin’ held back. And I feel like… that wasn’t it.”
He’d filled the top rack and went to work on the silverware, because it kept him from having to look into her eyes. She was perceptive as hell, and she wasn’t letting him get away with anything. He said, “I might’ve had the feeling you had an ulterior motive for wanting to get them down here.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged.
She sighed, finished drying a pan, and hung it from a rack of them. “Like that they’d fall in love with it here, and never want to leave, and all your reasons not to stay would evaporate like mornin’ dew in the hot Texas sun?”
Her accent made him feel like his brain was softening in that same sunshine. He fitted the loaded flatware rack into its spot in the dishwasher and closed the door. “Something like that.”
She nodded, turning to lean back against the sink while the water drained, wiping her hands on a white towel. “That was a good guess. I was thinkin’ that. But I was also thinkin’ they’d be safer here. I wouldn’t risk your family’s lives just to try to land a man.” She smacked the towel onto the counter. “I don’t have to do anything to land a man, besides pick one. You know that, right?”
“I figured that out walking around town with you. Men aren’t subtle.”
“I’m set for life, financially. Got my business to add to the coffers, I’m educated?—”
“— and smart, and drop-dead gorgeous,” he said. He might as well go for broke. He had hurt her feelings. He’d seen his dad screw up and make it right with his mom a thousand times. “And you’re funny and brave, and you’re kind and compassionate, and you have velvet brown eyes, and when you look at me I feel it all the way to the bone.” He moved nearer as he spoke, and by the time he’d finished, he was right up close. He pushed a loose curl off her forehead. “I’m sorry I was short with you. I might be a little bit shaken up.”
“With all that’s happened?” She asked so softly it was just warm breath across his lips.
“No. That’s the weird part. I’m shaken up about this. Us.”
“Why?”
“Because… it’s impossible. And irresistible.” Then he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
A throat cleared, and they startled apart, Harrison turning automatically. Maria’s aunt Chelsea stood there with the two empty coffee carafes. “Sorry,” she said. Then she looked around her kitchen, and said, “Wow. Nice job. Thanks.”
“We still have to wipe up,” Maria said. She took a clean dishrag from the sink and began wiping down the nearby counter.
“Well, it’s appreciated. And Harry, no pressure, but if you do decide you’d like your family close while this all shakes out, they’re welcome. How many are there?”
“Just my dad and sister.”
“Then there’s room. Your call, though.”
“Thanks. It’s a thoughtful invitation. I’m going to call my sister and see what she thinks of the idea.”
“Good. Now get outta my kitchen. You’ve done plenty.”
Maria and Harry walked outside just as a horse came galloping in. Miguel, one of the newer ranch hands, slid off and approached Uncle Garrett, who rose to his feet, looking worried.
“We got a cow down in the north pasture. She needs a vet.”
Maria scanned the tables, but she didn’t see her mother. Her dad was gone, too.
“Jess got a call from the Stockwell place,” Uncle Garrett said. “Horse off her feed.”
Everyone else looked at her, too. She nodded with more confidence than she felt, and said, “I’ll get my stuff. We’ll take ATVs; it’ll be faster than saddlin’ horses.”
“There’s already horses saddled,” Drew called. She was coming out the front of the stable with a pair of chestnut sisters, Thelma and Louise. “Orrin and I were planning to ride out. Take ’em, go on.”
“I’ll saddle up and come with you,” Trevor said. “But don’t wait, I’ll catch up fast. Rusty’s been teasin’ for a ride since I got here.” He nodded toward the green-and-wildflower meadow out past the stable, where several horses grazed. His horse Rusty, red with a shaggy mane, stood at the fence, looking back at him. In apparent response to all the attention on him, Rusty shook his mane and blew.
Maria turned to Harry beside her. “Will you come with me?”
“I wasn’t planning to stay behind.”
Trevor passed them on his way into the house and then came out again with a rifle. “I’m takin’ one of yours, Uncle Garrett,” he called. “Mine’s in the bunkhouse.” He didn’t even pause in his long-legged stride toward the stable.
Maria took Harry’s hand and ran around the side of the house where her van was parked, out of the way. Aunt Chelsea didn’t like cars to stay lined up in front of the porch. Spoiled the whole point of the porch, she said, which was the view.
She opened the van, shouting over her shoulder, “Miguel. What am I treating out there?”
“Wolf, maybe. She’s all cut up, agitated. Jake was fixin’ to dart her when I rode out.”
She grabbed the appropriate items, shoving them into a case that would fit in the saddle bags. Harry took it, and she packed a second, smaller one. Then they headed for the stables, where Drew was already strapping saddle bags onto one of the mares.
“I finally get to see you work,” Harry said while they walked fast.
She blinked and looked his way, and those blue eyes were on her, and sparkling. “No fair. I haven’t seen you work.”
“It would be a good sleep aid,” he said.
They shared a smile, and she marveled at how in sync with him she felt.
Drew opened the flap on the saddle bag as they approached, and Harry fit the bigger med pack in. Maria went to the other side to load the smaller bag and tied the flap down. Then she and Harry mounted simultaneously. Miguel rode out. Maria clicked her tongue and squeezed the mare’s sides between her heels. “Let’s go, Louise.”
And they were off.
They followed Miguel at a gentle lope over a well-worn trail. When the terrain changed, they slowed to a walk.
Behind her, Harry said, “Why did we slow down?” He leaned forward, patting his horse’s neck.
“The ground’s uneven. There are loose stones. Smart to slow down. Gives the horses a breather, too,” Maria said. She slowed just enough to allow more space between her and Miguel, so they could talk in private. “You’ve met my whole family now. Well, exceptin’ the Oklahoma crew. I’m dying to meet yours, too, but this mornin’, my only thought was keepin’ ’em safe. I mean it.”
He rode up beside her when the trail widened. It was still littered with boulders, but he did fine, giving Thelma her head and letting her pick her way through.
“I know that,” he said. “I’m sorry. I just… I want to make sure you know that my family isn’t the only obstacle.
“There’s your career,” she said, nodding slowly. “The one you think can only happen at some ivy league, yankee school.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you.”
“And I don’t want to be hurt. But… Jeeze, Harry, my aunt Taylor heads up the Archeology Department at a university only a half-hour’s drive from here. And Baxter’s doin’ his research at another, even bigger school, same distance, opposite direction. You can have a career anywhere.”
“I don’t know if I have a career left .”
“That’s crazy talk. Anyone smart enough to come up with what you did is smart enough to do it again. Heck, you’ll probably do something even bigger and better next time.”
“I can’t even think about next time until I get this time ironed out.”
“You know what I think?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I think, even if you’d sold your solar tile for a gazillion dollars, you’d have gone on to invent something else. It’s your art.”
“My art.” He smiled over at her, and she noticed how good he looked in that hat she’d bought him. “I’ve never thought of it as art before.”
“It’s creative, it’s brilliant, it’s destined to change the world, and it’s what you were born to do. If that’s not art, what is?” She reached toward him, and he reached back. They joined hands as the trail approached an open plain where wild roses grew. “I think you’ll create more no matter where you call home, and I think it’ll happen whether you get your tile back or not.” Then she frowned and said, “Did you get hold of your sister? You haven’t told me what she said.”
“She hasn’t replied yet,” he said.
She nodded, looked ahead, where Miguel had already nudged his horse into a canter.
“This is the north pasture,” she said several minutes later. Longhorns grazed, and ranch hands were gathered in a huddle around the fallen cow. She was white with red freckles. The hands’ horses were tethered a few yards away.
“Is that a road?” Harry sounded surprised as he gazed just beyond the farthest edge of the pasture.
“The Texas Brand is huge,” Maria replied. “This is one of three public roads that run through it. North Brand Lane.” She dismounted, took one of the cases from a saddlebag and then went to kneel beside the cow. The hands dissipated, leaving only her, Harry, and Jake, the leather-faced foreman. “Trevor’s a few minutes back,” Maria said. “Did she collapse, or…?”
“I darted her,” Jake said from beneath a dusty hat. Maria could not remember a time when he hadn’t been foreman.
There was a rag tied around the cow’s hind leg. Maria checked to be sure she was breathing okay, listened to her heart, affixed an elastic tourniquet near the wound, tying it tight, then untied the rag. Blood welled immediately. She tightened the band, and it stopped. Good, good. She turned to fetch the bigger bag, but Harry was behind her, kneeling with it already unzipped. “What do you need, doc?”
“The saline— looks like a bottle of water.”
He handed her a large bottle of saline solution, and she rinsed the cut. As she dabbed blood away, cleaned out every particle, disinfected, and finally stitched each wound together, Harry remained nearby. He was quick to hand her whatever she asked for, providing she used a descriptive term rather than its official name. Their hands touched every time he passed her anything. The first time, accidentally. But after that he did it on purpose, and then she returned like for like. Like a lovers’ game, woven into her work. And yet, they were not lovers. Not yet.
She wanted them to be.
When she finished the stitches, she sprayed the wound in Blu-Kote. “She needs to be isolated and watched, in case the wolf was rabid.”
“What if it was?” Harry asked.
“She’s vaccinated. But it’s not 100%. We just need to wait and see.”
“No bandage?” Harry asked.
“No, that blue stuff protects it. You can’t keep a bandage on a cow.” She turned to Jake. “Get a trailer out here to haul her to the barn. And have the men watch for predators. That was a bite. Something grabbed her from behind.”
“We already found it,” Jake said. He nodded toward a skin-and-bones canine lying dead a few feet away.
“You killed it?” she asked.
“Cow did,” Jake replied with an admiring look at the unconscious animal. “She kicked and stomped it. Crushed the skull.”
“Did it have young?” Maria asked.
“Lone male,” Jake said.
“Okay. We can test the animal for rabies and know for sure. I’ll need someone to take that carcass to the clinic. Wear gloves. No unnecessary contact.”
“Got it. We can take it from here, ma’am,” Jake said.
Maria nodded and Harry took her hand to pull her to her feet. While she’d been talking to Jake, he’d picked up the mess. He’d put the used tools and rubbish into a plastic zipper bag, before returning it to the case. She watched him walk to the horses, admiring him to her heart’s content. It suddenly felt to Maria as if Harry was meant to be her man. It felt like he was the one. She hadn’t thought the one existed for her. Hadn’t thought she wanted him to. But now she did.
He put the case into the saddle bag, tied the flap down. His black eye had faded to a pale purple. He caught her looking at him and smiled back at her.
A gunshot cracked, the horse reared, and Harry hit the ground.