“Come on, Dusty. Doesn’t this look good?” She held a clump of alfalfa under his nose to tempt him and watched the gelding nip at it. He took a little, then turned away. She patted him for his efforts and led the horse to his pen, noting the overall gaunt look and the more pronounced ribcage.
Dusty stood a good sixteen hands tall and even in his suffering, Mattie could tell he’d been a great athlete. She imagined him in his prime — chasing a steer at breakneck speed, then sliding to a halt with his rump nearly touching the ground. She envisioned Gil on Dusty’s back, leaving his saddle in one fluid motion with his hand on the jerk line as he ran down the rope to flank the calf. Her heartbeat quickened as she pictured the two as a team.
Then reality surfaced.
Her pleasure turned to sorrow as the injured animal hung his head in pain and his knees collapsed to the soft, straw bedding.
Before leaving, she gave him an injection of antibiotics and drew some more blood. “Help Dusty heal, Lord.” She knelt to kiss the horse, knowing she’d already lost her heart to him.
Minutes later, Mattie climbed the steps to her apartment and flipped on the kitchen light. Silence greeted her, except for the clock ticking on the wall and the whistle of the north wind as it whipped against the side of the house. She grabbed a dinner from the freezer and stuck it in her microwave. Thankful for a chance to relax, Mattie rested her head on the overstuffed arm of the couch and punched the television remote to hear the news. Instead, she caught the end of a reality program filmed in the jungle.
Didn’t these people have lives?
She changed the channel and a familiar face filled the screen, his upper lip rimmed by a milk moustache.
“Got milk?” the advertisement prompted, and the football player smiled straight at her. Even thousands of miles away, the man managed to infiltrate her life.
The commercial segued into a news clip of Gil’s retirement.
“Gil, you had a great season of 14 – 2, with a tough ending in the playoffs,” the journalist said. “Let’s take a moment to highlight your career. You began as a pro-quarterback fifteen years ago with the Denver Broncos and have played with the 49ers the last ten. In that time, you passed for over 39,000 yards, made 4200 pass completions, and threw 310 touchdown passes. How do you feel about ending your career with one MVP on your record, and what are your plans for the future?”
Mattie punched the remote and stared at the blank screen. Gil McCray might be a sports celebrity, but he’d shown her what kind of man he was when he criticized her veterinary skills — and he called himself a Christian. Ha! To her, he was nothing more than a spoiled, selfish man, no matter how great a quarterback or cowboy he used to be. Let him have his ranch in California. Charris County would be better off without him.
She got up to check the food in the microwave and as she set it to cook for a few more minutes, a multitude of sparks emitted from the oven, followed by a deafening bang and a burnt electrical smell. So much for a warm supper. She pulled the half-baked dish out of the microwave and ate the lukewarm meal in silence.
Three hours later, Mattie awoke to the incessant beep of her alarm clock. She reached out from under her warm blankets to turn on the lamp, and it flickered on, then off.
No electricity.
Managing to dress in the dark, she fumbled along the cold floor. As she headed for the kitchen for a flashlight, she caught the distinct odor of something burning. Sniffing the air, she decided it must be lingering fumes from the microwave or maybe the wind carrying smoke from a distant brush pile. She found the flashlight, then pulled on her leather boots and grabbed her coat. Not eager to go out into the wintry night, she made her way down the squeaky stairs to the clinic, then out to the barn where the overhead lights came on.
Surprised that the power worked in the barn, Mattie checked Dusty’s vitals, then got him up to clean his stall. Thirty minutes later and eager to return to her warm bed, she led him in a large circle to exercise his swollen legs. When they neared the barn entrance, Dusty’s ears perked and he snorted. Mattie glanced outside and her breath caught in her chest.
Bright orange flames raged inside her apartment window above the clinic.
GIL OPENED HIS FRONT DOOR AND WAS GREETED BY A HANDFUL OF his teammates on the stoop.
“Hey buddy, you can’t spend the first night of your retirement cooped up by yourself.” Johnson, one of his favorite running backs, pressed in through the doorway, followed by his best friend Charlie and a few more players.
Gil glanced at his pocket watch. “It’s nine o’clock. Shouldn’t you guys be in bed?”
“Not tonight. We have reservations,” Johnson said and a couple of the men chuckled.
This aroused Gil’s suspicions. “Why don’t you fellows come in, and we’ll put a movie on? We could study the clips from our playoff game with Green Bay.” He awaited their reaction, anticipating it to be loud.
“Our friend thinks he’s a comedian.” Johnson latched on to Gil’s shoulders and steered him to the door. “Grab your jacket. We’re taking you out for a fine culinary experience.”
Again, the guys snickered. Gil had a hunch it wasn’t because they were hungry.
Half an hour later, he sat at a long table crammed with twelve or more hulking football players on plush pillowed benches. Smoke hung in the dark canopied room, as four costumed musicians created intoxicating rhythms on their stringed instruments. One man passed between the tables with his violin, followed by a scantily dressed woman with a tambourine.
Gil figured the guys would take him to one of their favorite spots in the Marina District but never guessed they’d end up at a fancy Moroccan restaurant. “Which one of you dreamed up this wild idea?”
Johnson’s lips formed a cocky grin. “Me and my girlfriend tried this place out a few weeks ago. I thought bringing you here would be worth a few laughs. A man only retires once.”
Gil nodded, able to read between the lines. The guys intended to get him drunk and embarrass him with a belly dancer.
Not gonna happen, guys.
He laughed with them and studied the luxurious tapestries on the wall until a waiter, his outfit complete with a red felt hat and black tassels, approached their table.
“Welcome, I am your personal servant, Niko. I understand you’re here for a kutlama — a celebracíon.” His thick accent flowed from his mouth like honey. “For your dining pleasure, we are preparing for you, Kuzu Tandir, a succulent roast lamb on a spit, served with grilled vegetables and an onion salad, sprinkled with only the finest herbs.” The satin-dressed attendant clapped his hands and a veiled woman in a harem outfit brought an ornamented jug of wine to their table. She poured the dark liquid into everyone’s glasses, then proceeded to sway her arms and hips to the sultry music of the harpsichord and mandolin.
Uncomfortable with the dancer’s undulations, so close he could smell her musky perfume, Gil steered his eyes away from the curvaceous legs and bosom and trained his vision instead on the exotic features of her face, her eyes, the flashing jewels on her ears entangled in long spirals of thick, black hair.
Though half a continent apart, he couldn’t help but compare the dancer to Dr. Evans. Mattie was spirited but nothing like the woman before him. The doc’s innocence shown in her bright eyes and sweet smile, and he much preferred her soft red curls and petite frame to the lush figure that circled their table. Could he have been wrong about Mattie’s relationship with his father?
Nearing his chair once again, the dancer tapped her fingers and a tinny succession of jingles echoed in his ears. The guys beside him whooped and whistled, and Gil became exceedingly uneasy from her attention. In an effort to ignore her and get away from the noise, he withdrew to the men’s bathroom. When he returned, their red-capped waiter met him at the table with a tray of appetizers.
“And now for your Saganaki, a mild Kasseri cheese soaked with cognac.” He took out his lighter and dipped it above the amber liquid, igniting a slow blaze, which eventually
engulfed the entire creation.
“Opa!” he said, and those at the table echoed his exclamation.
Gil stared at the golden-blue flames, entranced by the seductive way the fire danced and flickered over the cheese delicacy, his thoughts drifting back to Kansas.
THIRTEEN
MATTIE STOOD TRANSFIXED BY THE BLAZING FIRE SHOOTING OUT her apartment window. Her body filled with terror. Worried about her patients in the clinic below, she dropped Dusty’s lead rope and rushed the thirty yards from the barn to the house. Upon entering the clinic door, she pulled her flashlight from her coat pocket and beamed it around the front office. Smoke slithered from the crevices in the ceiling and filled the room.
She needed help. When she felt for the cell phone normally clipped to her jeans, it wasn’t there. She remembered leaving it on the nightstand by her bed.
No good to her now.
The fire had not yet reached the downstairs, but Mattie could almost feel her hair crinkle from the intense heat overhead. She covered her nose and mouth and ran to the back where the animals were caged. Even before she opened the door, she heard the insistent yelps of a puppy, her parrot’s squall, the spine-tingling yowls of two frantic cats.
With trembling fingers, Mattie unlatched the first gate she came to of a mother cat and her kittens.
“Scoot, kitties. Out with you.” She captured the fluffy fur balls one by one, and they brushed past her legs to follow their mama. Next, she aimed the flashlight on the golden retriever she’d operated on earlier. The dog opened its bleary eyes. Still groggy, the patient couldn’t walk on its own.
Mattie flung the cage open and struggled to lift the dog. With shaky legs, she carried the retriever out the rear door to a place of safety under a big cottonwood tree. Doubling over to catch her breath, Mattie watched as the office curtains burst into flames. Then came the chinking pop of breaking glass.
Twice more she returned to the clinic to rescue her patients, and on her third trip, smoke billowed into the small back room. As she headed for the animals’ cages, a monstrous sound exploded in her ears as the ceiling crashed down in front of her. Crackling flames burst through the hole above with a devilish hiss. She ducked out of the way of the blazing embers, which scorched her face with their intense heat. Her hands trembled with fear.
Think, Mattie, think.
Smoke stung her eyes and nostrils. Her mind felt muddled by the haze.
Hard to breathe.
As she gasped, her lungs instantly rejected the foul, tainted stench of burning plastic and synthetic materials, causing her to choke and sputter for her next gulp of air.
Her movements seemed to occur in slow motion, making it difficult to assess what needed to be done next. “Oh Lord, please help me,” she called out.
Drop to the floor.
Mattie recalled this childhood instruction from school, so she allowed herself to collapse to the concrete floor. There, her breathing came easier. Using the collar of her coat, she covered her nose and crawled on hands and knees to the cages, her only goal to rescue the patients trapped inside. She reached the pen of the Labrador stray and let her out, then went on to the prairie dog she’d adopted and fumbled to unlatch the gate. Urging it from its confines, she inched onward where two cats paced and howled inside their barred quarters.
Too close to the fire now, Mattie feared she might crumple and incinerate in the heat like a foam plate at a wiener roast.
Blistering, scorching heat.
Her fingers grasped the lock, and the heated metal seared her skin.
She let go at the sudden pain and shook her hand at the stinging sensation.
Too hot.
Sweat dripped from her face as she searched for a glove or rag to use as insulation. She struggled out of her coat sleeves. The more she exerted herself, the harder it was to breathe.
Mattie’s throat constricted, parched now. Her lungs could take no more. A bout of coughs besieged her. Salty tears streamed down her cheeks, and her eyes burned even more.
A bird squawked from above.
Her parrot. She’d never save them all, not even her own precious pets.
Mattie squeezed her eyelids shut in an effort to block out this horrible nightmare. How could this happen to her? What had she done to deserve such bitter loss?
So tired.
If she could rest a few minutes, regain her energy, then she’d rescue the animals. The fire raged on all sides of her now. It snarled and licked at her, making fun of her futile efforts.
Her throat felt as dry as sandpaper. Just thinking about the taste of cool water made her desire it more. She gasped for air and inhaled the putrid smoke around her. Her lungs retaliated, and she lurched forward in another fit of coughing. A nine-week-old puppy pranced and yelped in a cage nearby. It clawed for freedom, shredding the newspaper flooring as though it were dirt. If someone had only claimed the pup stranded near her clinic three weeks ago, it wouldn’t be fighting for its life right now.
She allowed the pup’s desperate appeal to purge her terror as she inched closer, determined not to give up until she held the frightened animal in her arms.
The muffled noise of sirens merged with the jeering fire but offered Mattie no hope. She might rescue the puppy from the cage, but no one would save them from the fiery inferno. It was too late.
FOURTEEN
NIKO RETURNED WITH A FOURTH JUG OF WINE AND PROCEEDED TO fill the empty glasses. All but Gil’s — his was still full from the first round. He’d vowed long ago not to drink and had no intention of giving in to the temptation now. Someone had to be responsible for getting the boys home tonight.
Charlie shared his belief and covered his goblet when the attendant came around. He then reached for his glass of water. “I hope you don’t mind our party tonight. The guys wanted to show you their appreciation.”
Gil surveyed a handful of his teammates who had joined the exotically dressed female in the center of the restaurant to learn the art of belly dancing. “No offense, but I think they’re enjoying the evening more than me. I’m grateful for the effort, though. The food’s good.” He raised a chunk of marinated lamb to his lips and bit off another piece of the spicy meat. “Well worth the indigestion I’ll have later for eating so much.”
Charlie chuckled. “You know this isn’t the end of the celebration. Coach and the guys are planning a major retirement party for you.”
Gil cringed, hating extravagant good-byes. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Oh, but we do.” His friend sipped his water. “You’re an inspiration to us all.”
He had never considered himself an inspiration to anyone, especially grown men. “I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done. We play the game, that’s all.”
“That’s why we like you, McCray. You love the game. All that other stuff means nothing. You don’t let the money, the hype — the good-looking babes — get to you.”
“You don’t either.”
Charlie stole a piece of meat from Gil’s plate and smiled. “I’ve got Linda and the kids. Do you realize we celebrated our sixteenth anniversary last week? Jason will be in high school next year, and Rhonda the year after that. They grow so fast. I can’t imagine what life would be like without them.”
An unforeseen cloud of jealousy settled over Gil when his friend talked about his family. He half expected a thunderbolt to shoot right through the roof of this establishment and strike him in the heart. After all his years of playing ball, Gil had a few measly memories to show for it and nothing more. He didn’t have a wife to go home to, nor did he have anyone to share in his joy or success. At this point, Gil didn’t even have a place to call home, certainly not the townhouse he lived in.
“I have my eyes on a piece of real estate up by Healdsburg, north of Santa Rosa.”
“No kidding? Are you finally going to buy that home you’ve dreamed about?”
Gil thought of the two-hundred-acre ranch with its Spanish-style hacienda and front courtyard,
and his mood brightened. “Maybe you’d like to go with me this weekend to check it out?”
Charlie frowned and scratched his head. “I’d like to help, but Linda’s got my whole weekend booked with a ballet recital and a visit to her folks.”
Typical response. “If I had a wife and family as great as yours, I’d spend my free time with them too, even if it meant going to recitals.” He punched Charlie’s shoulder and grinned.
The tempo of the music shifted and in his peripheral vision, Gil saw a long line of football players shuffle toward him, led by the gyrating belly dancer. His humor faded when she pulled him from his bench, cajoling him to join the others.
“No way.” He tried to wave them off, but his protests were of no use. The guys followed right behind her, ready to take over if she failed. “Okay, but only if Charlie comes too.”
Charlie shook his head, but Gil grabbed him by the sleeve. “Huh-uh, buddy. If I go, you go. You were part of this idea, remember?”
As they formed a circle, a woman distributed cheap, white dishes to hold. The gigantic dopey football players stood among the other diners, all embarrassed but willing to go beyond their comfort zones for the sake of a good time. Gil watched them dance about, some with real zeal. When it came time for him to crash his plate to the floor, he splayed his arms and kicked his feet with exaggerated flair.
“Opa!” The entire crowd cheered as the china shattered into hundreds of pieces.
FIFTEEN
MATTIE HEARD A CRASH AND OPENED HER EYES TO SEE FLASHING lights against the night sky. She lay flat on her back with an oxygen mask strapped to her face. When her vision cleared, she shifted and saw her clinic in flames. Firemen rushed about, hoses in their hands.
Her own palms and fingers burned like never before. She noted the gauze wrapped around them. Cradled next to her was the stray beagle she’d tried desperately to save from the fire. He licked her arm with his soft tongue. Beside her was her good friend, Clara.
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