by Raeann Blake
He watched her face for a few seconds then turned his own head to look up then let his eyes drift closed. He could have sworn he had just closed them when Laine nudged his shoulder gently and he opened his eyes then nodded once and sat up. He turned to find Hailey still asleep and wondered what the smile on her face was for. He touched her arm gently and her eyes immediately opened.
“It’s time?” she whispered.
“Yeah. Come on, we’ll get some coffee,” he said as he rolled up his gear and carried it back to the wagon.
Hailey did the same and followed him. When they reached the mess area, she found Shack there with coffee waiting for both of them.
“Don’t you sleep?” she asked then kissed him on the cheek.
“Would I sleep and miss that? You drink that now and be careful out there,” he said as he turned and started pouring coffee for the other men who were just joining them.
“Charlie, I want you to ride with Hailey. There’s a full moon, but she doesn’t know the lay of the land.”
“You got it.”
“You folks stay on your toes. Floyd and Lynn ran across a bear earlier. I doubt he’ll be huntin’ cattle, but he could spook ‘em if he’s still in the area. The rest of you know this, but Hailey doesn’t. There’s all kinds of wildlife up here. Mountain lions. Wolves. Bears. You name it, it’s up here. Stay sharp.”
“I will,” she said then drank her coffee in silence. She glanced once up at Clay then lifted her head to look up at the stars then back down to him to find just the slightest smile there. When he nodded slightly she drained her cup and started for the horses.
Charlie grunted and shook his head as he finished his coffee. “I can see right now that this girl is gonna run me ragged.”
She was mounted and waiting when Charlie swung into the saddle. She looked back to where Clay and Laine were both saddling their horses then followed Charlie out of camp. They rode in silence until they reached the herd and he pointed to a pair of riders in the distance.
“We’ll go relieve them,” he said then skirted around the herd slowly to where the other riders were. When he got close enough to make out who it was he swore softly under his breath.
“Well, I see the cavalry has arrived. We should all be safe now,” Lynn said flatly.
Hailey started to ride past her and then changed her mind, instead turning Soldier to face her. “If you’ve got a problem with me, you take it up with me.”
“You come ridin’ in here like you’re some cattle princess from…” She cut the statement off when Charlie rode directly between them and leveled a hard gaze at her.
“Your shift is over. Go get some sleep,” he said quietly.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Lynn hissed.
“The guy who’s tryin’ to save your ass. Clay and Laine are right behind us. Now get your butt back to camp while you’ve still got a job,” Charlie shot back.
Lynn shot one hard look back at Hailey then walked her horse away from the herd. When she looked up and saw Clay and Laine come over the rise together she shifted her horse away from them and rode over the rise without looking in their direction.
Clay watched her go by then turned to look back down to Hailey and Charlie. When they both quickly turned their horses away and started a slow walk around the perimeter of the herd, Clay nudged Ringo in the same direction.
“Clay, stay out of it. You’ll only make it worse. There’s another pair over there. Let’s go relieve them,” he said and pointed in the opposite direction.
Clay looked back toward Hailey again then slowly turned his horse and followed Laine.
“I can fight my own battles, Charlie,” Hailey said quietly.
“I know you can. But not here, and not now.”
“What is her damn problem? I just met her.”
“Clay.”
“What?” Hailey asked in surprise.
Charlie shrugged his shoulders and said, “She’s got a thing for Clay. Not that she’s ever said or done anything that I know about, but it’s hard to miss. She hated Pepper’s guts. She started making plans as soon as he fired her. I overheard her talking to one of the other women one night. She was hoping he might not find anybody else and then she was gonna try to talk him into teaching her how to work that side of the ranch.
“And then you came along. You’re in the house with him. You’re doing the job. And doing it very well. And not just that, but this. Because you’re good at this, too. You’re a double threat. She wants you gone. I didn’t hear what she said to Clay earlier, but from what he said back you can pretty well guess what the gist of it was.”
“Clay doesn’t know?” Hailey asked.
“I don’t think Clay has a clue.”
Hailey blew out a long breath then said, “I’ve never worked with other women, Charlie. Daddy wouldn’t hire a woman. What do I do?”
“Play the hand that’s dealt you. I’m not telling you to back up from her. I am saying you shouldn’t take the fight to her. But if it comes to you, pick the time and place. In the middle of a round-up ain’t the time or the right place.”
Hailey nodded and said, “You’re right. How long has she been here?”
“Just a couple of months. I don’t know her history. She doesn’t talk much about herself.”
She waited for a few minutes then asked, “How long have you been here, Charlie?”
“Fifteen years. I came here when I was eighteen years old. Full of spit and vinegar. Thought I knew enough to take on the world. I didn’t know shit,” he said then chuckled softly when Hailey grinned at him.
“You knew Clay’s daddy then.”
Charlie scowled and said, “Yeah, I knew the old bastard. Well enough that I helped Laine, Shack and Clay carry that old man’s desk out back and watch it burn.”
Hailey shook her head slightly and said, “Kathy told me a little bit, Laine told me some, and Clay told me some. How does anybody treat their own child that way?”
“You’re askin’ the wrong man. I can’t answer that.”
They rode in silence until a lone voice wafted across the backs of the herd. The smile immediately went across Hailey’s face and she closed her eyes to listen. “Beautiful. Oh God, I miss this. Who is that?”
Charlie tilted his head and listened for a few seconds then said, “That’s Houston. I guess we all sing to ‘em at one time or another. But that one’s Houston.”
Clay couldn’t help the smile that started to spread when he heard the voice drift through the night. He and Laine turned to look at each other.
“Houston,” they both said at the exact same time then laughed softly but grew quiet to listen.
Clay settled back comfortably in the saddle and let the voice surround him as his eyes drifted across the herd, then across the land, and finally up to the stars. This was what it was all about. This was worth every struggle that they had to go through to make this happen. He’d come very close to losing everything twice. Once when the price of beef fell so drastically that taking the cattle to market that year cost them more than what the sale brought in. The second time had been during one of the Mad Cow scares that had gripped the country. Sales of beef came to almost a screeching halt and the bottom dropped out of the market. But they had managed to hang on somehow. And they were doing well enough now that a bad year here or there would hurt, but it wouldn’t drag them under.
“Cool for summer,” Laine said softly.
“Hmmm. Little. Not bad though. Just right for sleeping under the stars.”
Laine grinned at him and asked, “Is there any weather that’s not just right for sleeping under the stars?”
“Nope,” Clay admitted with a smile of his own.
“Thought not. I’d live out here if I could. And I know you would.”
“I would that. I haven’t been able to sleep for a few nights now. But just as soon as I laid down earlier, I was gone. I took one look at those stars and I was out.”
“I thought you�
�d been lookin’ a little tired. You’ve had a lot goin’ on, Clay. First the mess with Pepper. Then hirin’ Hailey. Gail showed up. It’s been a pretty full week.”
“Yeah. I guess you guys needed this about as much as I did. I know you won’t believe it, but…sometimes I can be an ass to work for,” Clay said with a completely straight face.
Laine’s head turned to him slowly with a deep frown. “No,” he said with exaggerated surprise. “Who told you that lie?”
Clay chuckled and reached over and shoved him on the shoulder and then waved a silent hello to two other riders as they passed each other.
“You know, every once in a while, not often, but just once in a while I find myself wishing that it was you and me and Shack. Just a little place, a few head of cattle. Nothing to do but ride herd, fix fences. Cook over a camp fire every night. But then I come out here. And I look over this land and I sit up above that herd and take it all in. That little place with just us, that would be nice. But I can’t see ever giving up what we’ve got here,” Clay said softly.
“I know. Believe it or not, I think those same things. Some little spot where you don’t have to mess with people and there’s nobody to mess with you. Just take care of our own. Maybe find us a couple of pretty girls, make some babies. Raise them right there on that land. Yeah, I think about that, too. You know what our problem is, don’t you?” Laine asked as he turned to look at Clay.
Clay swallowed hard when thoughts of the child that would never be slipped into his mind, but he shook his head. “What’s our problem?”
“We were born about a hundred and fifty years too late. We should have been here back when it was really wild, the old West.”
Clay nodded as he laughed softly. “You’re right. Even a hundred years ago. Man, that would have been something. But there’s a flaw in that thought process.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Man, I’ve seen pictures from back then. Talk about some ugly women,” Clay said then shook his head ruefully.
Laine burst out laughing but tried to keep it as quiet as he could. “Well, no kidding. But the men weren’t as handsome as us, either. So maybe it’s relative.”
“They ain’t no relatives of mine,” Clay said quickly and Laine started laughing again.
“Boy, you better hush. You’re gonna stampede this whole herd,” Clay said trying not to laugh himself.
They rode on in silence until they passed the next pair then Laine turned his head to look at Clay silently. When he noticed he said, “What?”
“I miss you, Clay. I hope Hailey gets everything straightened out so you can get back out here, the way it used to be.”
Clay nodded and said, “Yeah. Me, too. I miss doin’ this. I miss ridin’ out with you and riding the fences. Knowing they don’t need fixin’. Just ridin’ ‘em because we want to. And I miss spending time with you. Talkin’ like this. And with Shack, too. I haven’t had time to sit down and talk with him in a while. You and he are about the only things that keep me sane most of the time. That house is so goddamned quiet. Well, it was. Not so much now, but you know what I mean.
“The hardest night I ever had in that house was the first one. I’d been out there in the bunkhouse so long with all the guys around, boy it was hard to stay in there the first time. Laine, let me ask you something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time and just didn’t know how to bring it up. I mean I don’t want it to look…I mean I wouldn’t want anybody to think…”
“Just say it, Clay.”
Clay blew out a long breath and said, “What would you think about you and Shack movin’ in the house?”
“What?” Laine asked in surprise.
“I know it might not look good. I mean three guys living there alone, and…I don’t know. I think about you guys out there in the bunkhouse and I’ve got all those empty rooms that nobody is ever gonna use. And Hailey’s there now so maybe it wouldn’t look quite so bad. It’s just so damned…”
“Lonely?” Laine asked softly when Clay trailed off.
Clay nodded slightly and said, “Yeah. It is.”
“I never thought about it, Clay. Let’s think on it. And let’s talk to Shack. And then we’ll decide. How’s that?”
Clay looked up at him in surprise. He hadn’t expected him to even consider it. “Really? You’ll think about it?”
“Well, of course I’ll think about it. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“Yeah. I figured you’d think I’d finally lost all my senses and…okay. Yeah. We’ll talk to Shack and think about it,” he said then sat straighter up in the saddle when a pair of riders came into view.
He knew it was her just from the way she sat in the saddle. The moonlight was glistening on her hair and he could hear her voice faintly, but not well enough to tell what she was saying yet.
“Hey. Everything going okay?” he asked quietly when they drew closer.
“Everything’s perfect. It seems like it’s been so long since I’ve been out here like this. Thanks for letting me come,” Hailey answered.
“You’re welcome. We’d better keep moving. See you later,” Clay said as he held her eyes. He couldn’t help letting his eyes drift down to her lips, but he was pretty sure she couldn’t tell with nothing but the moonlight. He nudged Ringo forward then turned his head to watch them ride away before he finally turned back to the front.
They rode in silence most of the way around the herd before Clay started humming to himself. Laine finally reached over and nudged his arm.
“Go ahead, man. Been a long time.”
Hailey smiled again and looked over at Charlie. “That’s not Houston. Who is that one?”
Charlie chuckled softly. “That is Clay.”
“Really?” Hailey whispered then closed her mouth to listen.
* * *
“Thanks, Shack,” Hailey said tiredly as she reached for the cup.
“You look tired, little girl. Drink that down and get some sleep,” Shack said quietly.
“I will. I used to be able to do this better. I’m out of practice, I guess.”
“You’ll get your feet back under you in no time. I’ve been doin’ it so long, I just automatically wake up when it’s time to change shifts. Make the guys a little coffee then go on back and sleep some more. I figure when my time comes, they should probably put one of those automatic doors on my grave ‘cause God knows I’m gonna be crawlin’ out of there every three hours,” he said then grinned when Hailey chuckled but quickly sobered when he heard Clay’s solemn voice.
“Don’t be talkin’ about shit like that.”
“Now, son, you know it’s comin’ some day. It does for all of us. Not gonna make it come any faster or wait any longer not to talk about it. You want some coffee?”
“No. What I want is for you to live forever,” Clay grumbled and walked away.
Shack met Laine’s eyes and swallowed hard then shook his head. “What’s with him? What’s got him so down?” he asked quietly.
“He’s lonely. He asked me about me and you movin’ in the house with him and Hailey. I told him I’d think about it and that we’d talk to you.”
“Dammit. That boy’s been alone all his life. Okay. Yeah, we’ll talk about it. Dry your tears now, Miz Hailey. Don’t let him see that. Go on and get some sleep.”
Hailey nodded mutely and dried her face. She took one more swallow of coffee then went to the wagon to get her bed roll. She carried it away from the fire and scanned the area but didn’t find Clay anywhere. She spread it out close to Charlie and sat down but looked around the area one more time until Charlie lifted a hand silently and pointed through the trees.
She quickly dropped her head and then lay back on the sleeping bag. She had thought Charlie was already asleep. She tried to stay where she was, but she couldn’t. If anybody saw her, she’d have to deal with that later. She sat up and looked back at the trees for just a second then rose and went silently through them. Her steps stopped when she
found him sitting beside the creek that ran close to the camp. She’d only taken a few steps when she saw him straighten and take a drag off the cigarette then cut his eyes back to her just long enough to see who it was.