Steve chuckled. “I have layers, honey, like an onion. But, I don’t stink.”
They both laughed.
“Seriously, you look great. Adrian won’t be able to resist you today. You look like a real Texas woman.”
Faith wore a pair of Levi blue jeans and black boots. Her light brown T-shirt went great with her brown cowgirl hat. The clerk at the shop talked her into buying one. She had said that if Faith was going to hang out in Elliot for a while, she should have at least one cowgirl hat to fit in with the locals. Faith bought it to please the woman. It wasn’t expensive. Faith didn’t think she would wear it, but Aunt Bea encouraged her to put it on since she was going riding.
“Oh, all right,” Faith said. “But, if this doesn’t work, will you forget about trying to set me up with your brother?”
Steve beamed. “It will work. This is a good time to teach you how to gallop. When the horse is in a full gallop, tighten your inner thighs to hold your seat.”
Faith listened to the rest of Steve’s instructions, and then they were off. Faith smiled as they galloped to their destination. Riding Lily made her feel a freedom that she has never experienced before.
They were coming up on the coral. Cattle were lingering in a fenced-off area. The men that were at the coral turned to face their direction. They must have heard the gallops of the horses.
“All right,” Steve yelled. “Now slowly pull on the reins to slow the horse down.”
They came to a stop at the iron fencing.
Adrian and four ranch hands greeted them.
“Well, look at you,” Adrian said to Faith. “I didn’t know you knew how to ride.”
“I don’t,” Faith admitted.
“She does now. I’m giving Faith her first riding lesson,” Steve bragged. “Faith, you haven’t met these guys, have you?”
“No,” she said.
Adrian examined her as Steve made the introductions.
The ranch hands tilted their hats to her.
Faith smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
The sound of hoofs quickly approached. They all turned to see a man with a straw cowboy hat riding hard towards them.
“It’s Jose,” Steve said.
“What the hell is going on?” Ray, one of the hands, asked. “He doesn’t run that horse like that unless something is amiss.”
The man pulled short on the reins, making the horse stop short.
“Hey, Jose,” Adrian said.
“Hola,” Jose said. He was Mexican.
“Faith, Jose owns the spread twelve miles away from us,” Steve said. “Jose, this is Faith Roberts. She’s staying with us for a while.”
“Nice to meet you, senorita,” he said. “I’m sorry to cut the greeting short, but I have to get back to the ranch. As your neighbor, I thought I owed it to you to warn you, and my cell phone is dead.”
“Warn us about what?” Adrian asked with concern.
“Coyotes,” he said with a Spanish flare. “A pack of what I estimate to be fifteen killed my bull calf last night and injured the mother. Nothing could be done. My boy had to shoot her.”
Faith winced at the news. She knew they were just animals, but she felt sorry for them when they suffered unnecessarily.
“Damn,” Jake, another ranch hand said. “Sorry to hear that. That bull calf was a fine specimen. Would have won you first prize in the fair next year.”
“Yeah. I was going to put him out to stud when he was old enough,” Jose said.
“Are you sure it was coyotes, Jose?” Steve asked. “They don’t usually travel in large packs.”
“Positive. Coyotes form a group when they are hunting large prey like deer, elk, and cattle,” Jose said. “The deer population is down this year because of the out-of-town hunters. Coyotes got to eat something.”
“Shit,” Steve mumbled.
“Where were they when the coyotes attacked?” Adrian asked.
“On the east side of my property,” Jose said. “The coyotes slipped right through my fence on that side.”
“We hadn’t had trouble with coyotes for three years,” Steve said.
“I know, but they are back, and they are hungry,” Jose said. “I’ve been riding with my son and my hands all afternoon herding the cattle closer to the homestead and putting them in my barns. They’ll be safe there.”
“Thanks for the warning, Jose,” Adrian said with a serious tone.
“Why don’t you let your horse rest before you head back?” Steve said.
“Yeah, there’s a water trough on the other side there,” Ray said as he pointed around the building where their horses were grazing.
“Thank you for your hospitality. Betsy could use a quick rest,” Jose said as he dismounted. Jose walked his horse to the trough. Ray went with him.
“Steve, we need to gather up the cattle that are more than ten acres away,” Adrian said. “The fencing on the west side of the property is damaged. Coyotes can get through it easily.”
“Hell, that will take us four days. If we’re lucky,” Steve said. “We got over three hundred cattle out there.”
“We can’t take the chance of coyotes tearing through our stock, Steve,” Adrian said. “If Jose’s approximation is correct, a pack that size can tear through at least twenty of our steers in one night.”
“I know, Adrian,” Steve said. “But that’s a lot of herding to do on the fly.”
“We’ll split up in two groups. I’ll call the other four hands in. I hate to do it since it’s there time off from work, but we got to.”
“Once you gather the herds, what will you do if the coyotes come?” Faith asked.
“We’ll set traps,” Adrian answered. “We did it three years ago and got them.”
“We don’t have fifteen traps,” Steve said. “Hell, we need more than fifteen to set. Who knows where they’ll end up if they come?”
“I’ll radio Joey to go to the store and pick up at least fifteen. That will go with the ten we already got,” Adrian said as he pulled his walkie-talkie off his belt.
Faith noticed that Adrian was wearing the belt buckle she gave him. It warmed her heart that he started wearing it so soon.
Adrian talked on the radio to Joey.
“Well, I guess I better call my wife,” Tony mumbled.
“Sorry, Tony,” Steve said. “I know you’re a newlywed.”
“It’s all right,” Tony said. “My wife is very understanding. Sometimes too much so. I don’t know why she puts up with me, but I’m glad she does.” He gave them a soft smile.
Adrian got off the radio. “Tony, Jake, get Ray and go back home and get some rest. Meet us at the house at four. We’ll ride out before sundown.”
“Yes, sir,” Jake said. Jake and Tony left them to get Ray.
“This sounds dangerous. Can’t you call the game warden or animal control or something,” Faith said before she could stop herself.
“Faith, we are animal control,” Adrian said. “And the game warden’s office doesn’t have the manpower to send officers all over Wichita County to deal with coyotes, cougars, and rattlesnakes. That’s why they give ranchers license to trap and/or kill predators that are dangerous to our stock.”
“I see,” she said with worry.
Adrian looked up at her on the horse and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. My brothers and I have been doing this all of our lives.”
She returned the smile.
Chapter 12
Adrian rode back to the stables with Steve and Faith. Adrian called in his other men. It took Joey an hour, but he got back to the ranch with extra traps.
As the brothers packed up guns, bullets, and a change of clothes, Faith helped Aunt Bea pack enough food for four days. Aunt Bea fried chicken for the guys to eat tonight when they found a place to camp. Faith made potato salad. It was her grandmother’s recipe. She had handed it down to her daughter, Faith’s mother, and Faith’s mother gave it to her. Aunt Bea packed fresh rolls she had made yesterda
y along with the chocolate chip cookies Faith had baked that morning.
Aunt Bea packed two coolers full of frozen steak, water, and sodas. She said the steaks would keep with ice for at least twenty-four hours in the Texas heat. But, the boys would have to eat it on the next night or they would spoil. The rest of the food was freeze-dried. The ladies packed other supplies like toilet paper and paper towels.
Steve split and loaded the items in the back of his and Adrian’s trucks. Joey did the same with the camping gear. The rest of the ranch hands had arrived and waited outside the house with their horses ready to ride.
Aunt Bea and Faith walked the Matthews brothers out the front door and onto the porch.
“You boys be safe,” Aunt Bea said to her nephews. Then, she looked out at the ranch hands. “I’m sure I speak for your wives and mothers when I say you boys be safe, too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the hands said as they tipped their hats to her.
“Ray, Joey, Isaiah, Jake, Duke, you’re with me,” Adrian said. “The rest will ride with Steve.”
“You must be very careful, you little devil,” Aunt Bea said to Steve.
Steve gave her his famous million dollar smile. “The devil doesn’t get got, Auntie.” He kissed Aunt Bea on the cheek and headed for his truck. “Come on boys, we got the Westside, which means we got farther to drive. I got supplies in my truck to repair the fence on that side.”
Steve got in his truck. The rest of the guys rode on horseback. They were off.
Joey looked at the ladies. “Welp, see ya’ll later,” Joey said and kissed Aunt Bea on the cheek. He went to Adrian’s truck. Joey was a man of few words, but he got his point across in his own way.
“Goodbye, Aunt Bea,” Adrian said. “You got the walkie-talkie just in case you need us.”
Aunt Bea nodded.
Adrian kissed Aunt Bea on her cheek. He looked at Faith. “You wanna walk me to the truck?”
“Yes,” she said above a whisper.
Joey started Adrian’s truck and then slid over to the passenger’s side.
As Adrian and Faith walked to the truck, he spoke to his men, “We’re heading for the Northside, guys.”
The men mounted their horses.
Adrian opened his truck door and turned to look at Faith. He was wearing blue jeans that hugged him in all the right places. He had on a short-sleeved green shirt that showed off his strong forearms.
“Good luck,” she said in a low tone. “And be careful, please.”
He smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Angel. I know what I’m doing.” And with that, he caught her in his arms and kissed her.
This kiss was different than the first one. This one was more – sensual. Adrian’s tongue slipped past her lips, dipping into her mouth. Faith’s hands smoothed up his arms to his shoulders. Adrian pulled his tongue back. Then, he gave her two luscious laps on her lips. He damn near stole her breath. Faith was in a haze. It’s been ages since she had been kissed like this.
His lips lifted from hers. Adrian continued to hold her in his arms as her eyes fluttered open.
Adrian was smirking at her. “Congratulations on the job,” he said in a low deep tone. He gave her a quick smooch on the lips, released her, turned, and hopped in the black truck.
Still feeling the effects of the devastating kiss, Faith staggered two steps backward from the vehicle.
Adrian pulled off without looking back. She watched the truck speed away from the house as the ranch hands did a fast gallop, following behind.
Faith was catching her breath. She swayed from side to side. If that’s how he said goodbye, she would love to know how he said hello.
“Girl, get in this house before you pass out. I’m too old to be picking you up off the pavement,” Aunt Bea shouted.
Faith slowly turned around to see Aunt Bea grinning from ear to ear.
An hour later, Aunt Bea and Faith were eating dinner. Faith thought this would be a good time to bring up her living arrangements. “Um, Aunt Bea, now that I have a job in Elliot, I would like to stay on in the guest house.”
“I had hoped that you would,” Aunt Bea said. “Technically, it’s not up to me. The boys own the ranch, but I don’t think they’ll have a problem with it, especially Adrian.”
Faith ignored the cutesy dig and continued. “But, I can’t keep living here for free,” she stated. “I should be paying you some sort of rent. I’m sure having an extra person here has raised your utility bills.”
“Oh, honey, I wouldn’t know,” Aunt Bea said. “The only monthly bills I see are my personal ones and the grocery store bills. Adrian usually handles the monthly bills. If that boy isn’t working in the fields, he’s in his father’s old office in the stables balancing accounts and writing checks.”
“Oh,” Faith said.
“You should take it up with him. Although I don’t think he would take money from a woman he likes – a lot.”
Faith looked down. She felt like a school girl.
Aunt Bea chuckled. “I’m happy about it. It’s beyond time that boy let things go and move on. You’re a nice girl.”
“Thanks, but-” Faith wondered if she should ask what had been plaguing her for the past few days.
“But, what?”
“What happened to make Adrian so….cautious of women?”
Aunt Bea sucked in a breath. “Oh honey, I’m not sure if I should be the one to tell you that. Adrian should tell you the story when he’s ready. But, I will tell you about the scars that wounded Adrian right afterward.”
Faith remained quiet, eager to hear what Aunt Bea had to say.
“Four years ago, a month after…well, after the incident that Adrian suffered, his mother, my sister, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors gave her a fifty-fifty chance. Arn, the boys’ father, rented a condo in Dallas so Dana could be close to the hospital for chemo treatments. Dana had such beautiful long blonde hair, but chemo took care of that. After all the treatments and a mastectomy,” Aunt Bea stopped to take a long breath, “it didn’t kill the cancer. My sister wanted to go out of this world with dignity. She stopped the treatments. She wasn’t the same after the mastectomy. Like….she didn’t feel like a woman anymore. She spent her last two weeks on earth on the ranch. She wanted to die here – at home. I, the boys, and Arn didn’t leave the ranch until she passed. It was a beautiful funeral. Everyone in town showed up. Everyone loved Dana, especially Arn. Sometimes, I think Arn loved her too much, may God have mercy on his soul.”
Faith knew Mr. Matthews was dead, but she didn’t know what had happened. “What happened to Arn, Aunt Bea?”
Aunt Bea leaned back in the chair. “Three weeks after Dana died – Arn – we all thought Arn was coping. Everyone was coping the best they could. Young Joey threw himself into his work on the ranch. Steve…well, he stayed at the bar, and then he would sleep it off at the motel across the street. Me… my husband died in an oil rig accident two years earlier, and now my sister was dead. Back then, I was one of the cooks at the town diner. If I wasn’t working, I was at the church throwing myself into community service. And Adrian,” she paused to take a breath, “had decided to take some time for himself. He went on a road trip, traveling around the state. He was in Houston when it happened.”
“When what happened?” Faith asked with wide eyes.
“I…I…was at the diner one day. The phone rang. I answered thinking it was a customer calling in an order. It was Arn. He asked me to come to the house in thirty minutes. He wouldn’t tell me why. He just begged me to come to the house in thirty minutes. Arn…Arn had said that he didn’t want his youngest son to find him and hung up. When the line went dead, I got the coldest chill up my spine…hadn’t felt a chill that cold since. I swear, Faith, I got here as fast as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough. When I arrived, I called out for Arn. No answer. I went upstairs. His bedroom door was cracked. I ran down the hall and swung the door open. Arn…Arn had shot himself in the head.”
“Oh my G
od,” Faith whispered with despair.
“He was lying on the bed holding a picture of Dana in one hand. The pistol had slipped out of his other hand. Blood had splattered on the wall and soaked the top half of the bed. To say I was horrified at the scene would be an understatement. I don’t remember doing it, but apparently, I called the preacher and the police. Hell, I rushed into the house so fast I left the front door wide open.”
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Faith stuttered. How ghastly. She couldn’t imagine being in Aunt Bea’s shoes on that horrible day.
“Sheriff Langford called the coroner on his way here. Joey and two of the ranch hands rushed to the house on horseback. Later, I learned that they saw the flashing lights of the sheriff’s cruiser and the coroner’s van ten minutes later. Joey’s face…it was so pale. By the time Joey and the ranch hands got to the house, they were carrying Arn’s body out in a body bag on a stretcher. No one had to tell him. Joey knew it was his daddy….and he knew what his daddy had done.”
Faith remained quiet. This was one of the saddest family tragedies she has ever heard. She has lived with the Matthews for over three weeks, but in that short amount of time she had learned how close they were. The patriarch of the clan killing himself a few weeks after their mother died had to be a harsh blow.
“Believe it or not, Joey used to be a real chatterbox. But, from that day on…he changed. He’s still a good boy, but he’s no longer the happy-go-lucky kid he once was. Poor thang had just turned twenty-one. Steve was sleeping off an all-nighter with a girl at the motel across from Drew’s. He was shocked, but for some reason it shook Steve out of his depression. I think he pulled through because the family needed him to pull through.”
“What about Adrian?”
“I called Adrian in Houston. I told him….for a minute, I thought we were disconnected. It was stone cold quiet. Then he said he was coming home and hung up. Arn left notes for all of us. I don’t know what he wrote to the boys, but I know what he wrote to me. He had written that he knew I wouldn’t approve of what he did, but true hell was living without Dana. He asked me to look after the boys the best I could because I was all they had left now. Enclosed with the letter was a bank book. It was to an account that he opened for me. He said that he wanted to make sure I was taken care of, too. He had opened the account a week before he died,” Aunt Bea said. “I don’t know what Arn wrote to Adrian, but Adrian blamed himself for not being here when it happened. For some reason, Adrian believed he could have stopped him.”
The Rancher Page 5