by Raeann Blake
He stopped and steadied his voice then went on. “I asked Daddy if we could carry him home. I’ll never forget the look on Clay’s face when he looked at me then up at Daddy. And I’ll never forget the one that was there when my daddy did the same thing his did. He spat on the sidewalk and shook his head. ‘I ain’t carryin’ that little bastard anywhere.’ Clay just sort of shrugged his shoulders and started walking.”
Hailey was struggling with the tears and Isaac reached over and wiped them away. “It’s forty miles out to his place. How did he get there?”
“Shack,” Isobell said quietly. “I was there that day. When they got home, Mama asked Mr. Cardell where Clay was. Kathy was crying and tried to run to her and tell her, but Clayton dragged her into her room and locked her in there. He told Mama to mind her own business and he went in his office. Mama started across the living room to Kathy’s room but he came back through the door. He told her if she opened that door that he would fire her on the spot. Mama went back to the kitchen. I didn’t. I went out the front and around the side of the house to Kathy’s window. The window was frozen shut but we finally managed to get it open. As soon as it was she crawled out and we both went running to the stables to find Shack. When he managed to get her to stop crying enough to understand her, he took both of us with him and we went and got him. He’d only made a few miles when we got there, but he was so cold. His feet and hands were like blocks of ices. He didn’t have any gloves, no hat, and just some thin socks. Shack took him to the bunkhouse and took care of him. Then he made me and Kathy stay there while he went to talk to Mr. Cardell.
“I wasn’t there, but Mama told me about it. She was in the dining room and saw him when he came in. She said he had a rifle and didn’t knock or anything, just walked straight in and straight into Mr. Cardell’s office. Said he pointed the gun right at his chest and told him if he ever did anything like that again that he wouldn’t live to see the next day. He told him Clay was to never ride in the back again and that he was to never go off and leave him or harm him in any way. And that if he did, he’d better kill him first because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger the next time,” she finished and wiped away the tears that had managed to escape her own eyes.
“Clay rarely spoke to me before that day. He spoke even less after it. I can’t say that I blame him. Even at nine, I knew that day that he would never forget watching me turn and go back inside a warm store while he had to try to walk forty miles home in the snow. So please don’t identify me with my father. Let me look over these names,” Isaac said quietly.
Hailey reached out and touched his arm and shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. I mean, I know what you said, but he’s still your father.”
“Hailey, maybe you don’t understand. I’m sure you know by now about what our fathers tried to do to keep Clay from getting that ranch. Have you even stopped to think that Clay wasn’t the only son that they tried to keep from inheriting what should be ours?”
The breath rushed out quickly and she looked at Isobell in surprise then back to Isaac again. “I’m sorry. I can’t say that it ever crossed my mind. But, Isaac, why do you stay there? Why are you still working with him?”
“Because the day will come that the sonofabitch will die. And unless he gives it away to charity or somebody that he doesn’t even know, that store will be mine. And when that happens, I’m gonna be up here dancing a jig while he’s down there spinning in his grave,” Isaac said coldly then immediately looked back down at the paper.
“These two right here. I don’t know if he knew them or not. I dated both of them but only after they went to work at Clay’s and I met them when they came in to pick up supplies. Neither one of them were even out there more than two weeks. Do you have a pen?” he asked.
Hailey immediately dug in her bag and produced one then watched as he checked off several names. “These are all locals, all people that he may or may not know.” He said then circled two names.
“These two are daughters of close acquaintances of his. And this one, Fiona, she worked for him for two months before she quit and went to work for Clay. And of course then Pepper.”
Hailey frowned and asked, “What does that mean? What do you mean ‘of course then Pepper’?”
Isaac looked at Isobell and found the same kind of frown on her face as the one on Hailey’s. “Do you mean you don’t know? Clay didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Pepper’s my cousin, distant…but still a cousin. Our mothers were like third or fourth cousins, something like that.”
Hailey slumped back in the chair incredulously. “Of course. It all makes sense now. Fiona was the one working there when he started overcharging him for all of those items. He sent her. And he sent Pepper. Her job was to get Clay in bed. And when she did then she’d file a sexual harassment suit against him in the hopes that he’d have to sell the ranch to pay off a settlement. I’ll be goddamned.”
Isaac grunted slightly and dropped his head.
“What?” Hailey asked cautiously.
“I helped her,” he admitted lowly. “She came into the store one day to find Daddy but he wasn’t there. She had a few bills with her and she didn’t know how pay them. I showed her what to do,” he said quietly.
Hailey waited just a second then reached out to touch his arm again and smiled at him softly. “Then we should probably be thanking you. That’s probably the only bills that got paid while she was there.”
Isaac blew out a long breath and said, “Well, I guess that’s something. I should get going. Hailey, I know you’re seeing Clay, but I don’t see a ring. Have you thought any more about that tour?”
Hailey’s eyes softened and she shook her head slightly. “No there’s no ring, but we are involved. I’m sorry, Isaac.”
“That’s okay. I figured as much but I had to ask. Good for him. And good for you. I’ll see you two ladies some other time.”
“Bye, Isaac. And thank you.”
Hailey waited until he was well away from the table before she turned back to face Isobell again. “If Mitch York thinks he’s had problems keeping me and Abraham Yates separated before, just let me run into him now.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“It’s getting pretty late. They should be back soon, shouldn’t they?” Clay asked.
Laine grinned at Shack then back to Clay. “Relax, Clay. Two women, stores, shopping…they’ll be here. It just may take them a while.”
“I guess. I think I’ll go up and start some supper. You guys wanna come up?”
Laine and Shack looked at each other and they both shrugged. “Sure. We’ll come. You go ahead. We’ll be right there.”
Clay nodded and went through the door then out of the stables. He looked at his watch again and frowned. It was really getting late. Most of the stores downtown would be closed now. He shook off the bad feeling as he started up the steps but then smiled when his phone rang. He knew it had to be her but the smile went away when he looked down at it. It wasn’t a phone call. It was a text message from somebody he didn’t know.
Ck ur email if u want to know what she has been up to today.
His frown deepened and he walked slowly inside then straight to his office. He sank down behind the desk, typed in the password for the screen saver then opened the email program. He looked back down at his phone as he waited for the messages to download then looked back up when he heard the program beep to indicate that he had received new email. He looked at the message for a long time without opening it. It was marked as having an attachment and he suddenly didn’t want to open it. His hand finally moved to the mouse slowly then double-clicked the message.
Whatever you thought her reason was for going downtown today here’s what she was really doing.
He drew in as much breath as he could and opened one image after another. The first one was of her standing beside that cop. And her hand was in his as she smiled up at him. The next one he was sitting beside her. What she sa
id, he must have liked judging from the smile on his face. Then there was Isaac Yates. Her hand in his. Her smiling. Him laughing. She was touching his arm in one. His hands were brushing her face in another.
“Sonofabitch. Sonofabitch. You stupid, stupid fool. Why didn’t you listen? You knew it. You knew she was just here to get something. Why in the hell didn’t you listen?” he whispered hoarsely. He shut everything down and shoved out of the chair. He didn’t know where he was going, but he couldn’t stay there. He went back through the front door and crawled in his truck. The engine was running and tires spinning before he even slammed the door.
“Clay? Clay, where are you going?” Laine shouted across the yard.
When he didn’t stop he immediately pulled off his phone. “What the hell? Do you think something happened to Isobell and Hailey?”
“Do you have Hailey’s number? You call Hailey. I’ll call Clay,” Shack said and started dialing.
“Goddammit,” he muttered when Clay didn’t answer but turned to Laine when he started talking.
“Hailey? Are you alright? Where are you?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re almost to the ranch. Laine, what’s going on? Clay just passed us doing about eighty.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. Come in and we’ll keep trying to call him,” Laine said then closed the phone.
“They’re close. Shack, what the hell?”
“I don’t know. Goddammit,” Shack muttered then turned to watch as Isobell drove into the yard.
“What’s going on? He flew right by us like he didn’t even see us?” Isobell said as soon as she opened the door.
“We don’t know what’s going on. He’d just left the stables and was headed to the house to start supper. We came out not long behind him and he was already driving off. And he’s not answering his phone. I just…I don’t know,” Shack said. You could hear the anxiousness in his voice and Hailey went to him and hugged him.
“We’ll figure it out. He’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out. Maybe we should go and look for him.”
“Look where, Hailey? I mean he could be anywhere. I guess we could at least check the bar. Maybe drive on into town just to see if we pass him anywhere?” Laine asked in a way that sounded like he was almost talking to himself.
“Yes. Laine, you and Shack go do that now. I’ll stay here with Hailey. If he comes back we’ll call you,” Isobell said.
“What about some of the other guys? Shouldn’t we send out some more people? They could look more places, right?” Hailey asked. The assurances she had given Shack suddenly sounded to hollow to her own ears. Something like a cold wind was settling inside of her now. She’d been so certain that everything would be okay when she was reassuring Shack. But that wind…it was so cold.
Laine hesitated then nodded. “Let’s get Charlie, Davey, Houston, and Jean Ann.”
“Wait. That place he used to go at Jean Ann’s. Can he get there from where her ranch was?” Hailey asked.
Shack shook his head. “No. Not without a horse. Go get the guys, Laine. But do it quietly. Isobell, you and Hailey go on in the house. We’ll call you if we find him.”
“Something’s wrong, Isobell. I feel it…inside. Something happened,” Hailey whispered after they walked away.
“Come on in the house, Hailey. Let’s get a pot of coffee started,” Isobell said as she pulled her towards the house.
Hailey had no idea how many pots of coffee they’d gone through. Probably about as many as the number of ideas they had come up with and then discarded about where he could be and what happened. The longer the night went, the more the air seemed to go out of both Shack and Laine. They had debated whether or not to call Kathy but had decided against it when they decided if he wasn’t there it would only frighten her. Instead, Laine and Hailey had driven into Bozeman and by Kathy’s house. His truck wasn’t there. They’d checked several bars that Laine thought he might be in but they hadn’t found him anywhere.
Shack had slept little. Isobell a little more. Laine and Hailey hadn’t slept at all. It was almost daylight now. Isobell was napping on the couch in the living room. Shack had reluctantly gone to the bunkhouse to start breakfast for the hands. Laine was standing at the front window in the kitchen, staring into the coming day and Hailey was sitting hunched over a cup of coffee at the bar.
Laine finally sighed and turned to face her. “I need to go out to the stables and check on some things. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Sure. Go ahead, Laine. I’m okay. But where is he?” Hailey whispered as she lifted tear-filled eyes to him.
“I don’t’ know, Hailey. Don’t cry, sugar,” he said hoarsely and went to her then hugged her close to him.
Hailey gave in for a few minutes then pulled in a quick breath and pushed it right back out. “I’m okay. Go ahead. I’ll start a fresh pot of coffee.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
She stayed where she was until she saw the sky turn from gray to pink before she pushed herself off the stool and turned to the coffee pot. When the phone rang she immediately rushed to the one on the kitchen wall and jerked it off the hook and up to her ear.
“Clay? Where are you?”
“Oh. I guess that means he’s not there yet. Could I leave a message for him please?”
Hailey blinked and sank back against the counter. The honey-smooth voice had taken her completely by surprise.
“Certainly. What’s the message?” she asked fearing the worst.
“Just tell him Cherry said he left his hat at her place. Thanks.”
Hailey heard the phone disconnect but she couldn’t seem to move. She didn’t know how long she held the phone before she finally pulled it down from her ear and looked at it before she put it back on the hook almost as if she was in a trance. She straightened away from the counter and walked through the house to the bedroom where she started gathering a few clothes then rolled them into a small pack. She stopped long enough to get both her jacket and her coat, her hat and her gloves then slipped silently out the door.
She didn’t even look in Laine’s office as she went by, instead going straight to Soldier’s stall. She almost had him saddled when she heard him.
“What are you doing? Where are you going?” Laine asked as he stepped inside the stall.
“I have a couple of days I’d already planned to take off. I’m going up to the herd,” she said evenly.
“What? Hailey, you can’t go off up there alone. And why? Why are you going?”
“Would you tell one of the men they couldn’t go alone?”
“You’re not one of the men. And why would you go now? Did he call? Hailey, stop and tell me what’s going on,” Laine said as he reached to still her hands where she was still working on the saddle.
“I need to go, Laine. You have to let me go,” she pleaded.
“Hailey, we’ve got weather moving in. You don’t want to get caught up there in a thunderstorm.”
“Don’t you have line cabins?”
“Yeah, but…goddammit. Come in the office and I’ll show you where one is on the map. What the hell am I supposed to tell Clay when he gets back?” Laine asked quickly as she turned and started leading Soldier out of the stall.
Hailey stopped for a few seconds then spoke without turning around. “Tell him Cherry called and said he left his hat at her place.”
“What?” Laine whispered. It was several seconds before he could get himself together enough to follow her. He made sure she had a rifle, water, and extra ammunition.
“What about food, Hailey? You don’t have any food.” He was desperately trying anything he could to keep her there long enough for Clay to get home. If he spent the night with a woman and she called, then that meant he was on the way home.
“Come in here. Let me show you where the line cabins are,” he said then walked slowly into his office and around to the map on the wall behind his desk.
“Are you sure you remember how to get up there?�
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“I remember. Where are they?”
Laine sighed and pointed to three different spots. “This is the pond where we camped the second night. This is where the herd is. There’s a line cabin just off to the west but about halfway between the two. Right here,” he said as he pointed at the third spot. When she nodded and turned to go, he stopped her again.
“Hailey, wait. Please, don’t do this. We don’t know what happened. You don’t know that he slept with her. Please let him explain. Don’t go off up there by yourself. I’ll never be able to stand it if something happens to you. At least let’s go talk to Shack first. Okay? Would you do that?”