Coyote Sky

by Gerri Hill

  “There’s supposed to be close to fifty head up here.”

  “If you were a cow and there was a fire coming, wouldn’t you head down the mountain?”

  Their horses danced, nervous from the smoke. Lee didn’t blame them.

  “Cows aren’t real smart.”

  “Yeah, well we’re not being real smart either, man.”

  They heard a crash as a tree fell, and they both turned in their saddles, just in time to see the fire top the ridge.

  “Son of a bitch!” Lee turned her horse. “Come on, Skip. Let’s get the hell out of here!”

  They rode fast through the forest, escaping the fire and smoke. When they crossed a stream, they both stopped short when they saw a small herd of cattle huddled near the water.

  “They yours?” Lee asked.

  “Most likely.” Skip stood in his saddle, silently counting. “Forty-four. Could be the herd we’re looking for.”

  Lee pulled the bandana off her face and wiped at the sweat on her brow. She took a long swallow of water, then spit, tasting nothing but smoke.

  “They’re used to horses, Lee. Just take it nice and slow. We’ll head them down to the valley. Shouldn’t take but an hour or so.”

  Lee looked over her shoulder. “We may not have time for nice and slow.”

  The smell of smoke was constant now and Kate could barely concentrate. She glanced at her laptop, seeing only the few sentences she’d managed to churn out. It had been two days, and they still hadn’t heard anything from Lee. Brief updates about the fire were broadcast on TV but the local radio station had more information. The fire had apparently jumped a ridge and was heading toward a lush valley. Kate didn’t have a clue about the area but Brenda knew of the valley. It was where the Shriker’s ranch was. Fortunately, Lee’s cabin sat on property across the river, Brenda told her.

  “No one’s heard a word, darling,” Brenda said, waving her phone. “But Sunshine says not to worry, the Fates are watching over her.”

  Kate rolled her eyes.

  “I know, darling, but I told you, Sunshine is a seer.” Brenda handed Kate a glass of tea, then pulled her own lounge chair closer. “And she says Lee is fine.”

  “Lee’s got a phone. Why do you think she hasn’t called someone?”

  “Maybe there’s been no time. Maybe there’s no service.”

  Kate hated the fact that she was worried and she tried very hard not to be. Lee was plenty capable of taking care of herself. And it wasn’t like she was actually out there fighting the fire. But still, Kate wondered why Lee hadn’t bothered to call. Surely she knew they would all be concerned about her. Or maybe she just assumed that they weren’t, or at least Kate wasn’t. It wasn’t like they’d seen much of each other in the last month.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  They all stood on the porch of the Shriker’s huge ranch house, staring out at the thick smoke that blanketed the valley. With large tractors, they had plowed up the grass, making a firebreak. Then Lee and the others hauled load after load of water, soaking the ground, hoping to stop the fire’s eastward trek. The forest service had the southern end contained. The northern edge was fifty percent contained, which was good. Unfortunately, the southeasterly winds that had been blowing for the last several days were making it difficult to contain the eastern edge of the fire. And the Shriker’s ranch house and barns were in its direct path.

  They had already moved all the livestock across the river to the normal winter pastures. The trucks were standing by, waiting to be loaded with furniture and clothes, should the fire jump their plowed break. Mrs. Shriker was inside, packing up family treasures, just in case.

  “We’ll have maybe two hours if it jumps,” Skip said. “Not much more.”

  “It’s not going to jump, son,” Mr. Shriker said. “We hauled half the lake out there. Even if it does jump, the valley is soaked.”

  Skip shook his head. “It’s a hot fire. Don’t be so sure.”

  The smoke was so thick, they could barely see the flames. Occasionally, they could make out one of the firefighters as he sprayed fire retardant along the break. A crew of nine firefighters was dropped off yesterday morning after the plows had finished. Then helicopters airlifted in basket after basket of water from the lake, hoping to stall the fire. Lee had helped haul the hoses from the local volunteer fire department truck. They had sprayed down both sides of the break, working nearly fifteen hours straight.

  She was certain she’d never been more tired in her life. Her energy level was zapped and she was quite amused with herself as she occasionally fingered the small crystal Sunshine had given her several weeks ago. Just for energy, she told herself.

  One of the ranch hands came running out of the smoke and they all waited, anxious to hear the news.

  “The fire’s reached the break,” he yelled. “They think it might hold.”

  Lee sat at the crossroads, her glance going right, toward home . . . then left, toward Kate. She was far too tired to see the irony of it all. And she was far too tired to care. So she did what she did without caring about the consequences. She turned left.

  The late afternoon sun was hazy, the smoke-filled sky blocking out the rays. Lee had been too preoccupied the last week to notice, but no doubt the sunsets had been fabulous because of the smoke.

  But she wasn’t here to watch the sunset. She just wanted to see Kate, if only for a minute.

  Brenda’s car was gone when she pulled into the driveway and she sat for a moment in her Jeep, wondering if she should just leave. Then she saw lights on inside. Kate must be home. She opened the door, nearly falling out. Taking a deep breath, she walked as steadily as she could to the deck. The side patio door, where she normally entered, stood opened. Through it, she saw Kate standing on the deck, leaning against the railing, staring out to the cliffs. Lee stopped, her eyes locked on Kate, surprised at the instant pounding of her heart.

  “Jesus,” she murmured.

  Kate turned, hearing footsteps. Her eyes widened when she saw Lee.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered. She walked quickly to her, grasping both her forearms, surprised when Lee stumbled. “You look like hell.”

  “I feel like hell,” Lee said. “I’m sure I smell like hell.”

  Kate nodded. “That you do.” Kate led her into the kitchen and pulled out a barstool. “Sit. I can’t believe you didn’t call anyone. We were worried.” She lifted Lee’s arm, her brow creased as she rubbed with her thumb. She thought it was dirt, but it was dried blood. She pushed Lee’s sleeve higher, her eyes widened. “What happened?”

  Lee shrugged. “I don’t remember. I think it was when that tree fell.”

  “A tree fell? Were you that close to the fire?”

  “It’s okay. It’s just a scratch.”

  “Have you even cleaned it? It’ll be a miracle if it’s not infected. It’s filthy,” Kate fussed. She wet a cloth with warm water, intending to clean the wound.

  “I’m pretty sure Sharon cleaned it.”

  Kate rubbed gently on her arm, shaking her head. “I should have known,” she murmured.

  “Known what?”

  “That a woman was with you.”

  Lee laughed. “Sharon is Shriker’s wife. Skip’s mother,” she explained.

  Their eyes met. “Oh. Sorry. I just assumed.”

  Lee winced as Kate cleaned her arm. At Kate’s raised eyebrows, Lee shrugged. “Hurts.”

  “Well, I can’t believe you don’t even have a bandage on it. It’s like three inches long. You probably need stitches.”

  “No, it’s not that bad. I just need to doctor it up a bit.” Lee studied Kate’s face, wondering at the frown there. “So, you were worried about me?”

  Their eyes met again. “I was as worried about you as I’d be any friend,” she said. “Harmony, for instance.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Lee stilled Kate’s hand, making her look at her. “Now I know that’s not true.”

  “What do you mean?”

 
; “Harmony’s not . . . touched you, not been inside you.”

  Kate tried to pull her hand away, but Lee held her. “Don’t Lee.” Their eyes held. “Please don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Don’t touch you? Don’t kiss you? Don’t want you?”

  Kate closed her eyes, wishing Lee’s words didn’t affect her. She shook her head. “No, no, no. We can’t do this,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  “Why? Because I’m involved with someone. I’m seeing someone,” she said. “And you’re seeing like . . . like a hundred someones.”

  Lee’s fingers slipped from Kate’s arm. “Wow. You sure know how to hit below the belt,” she said quietly.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Lee shrugged. “It’s the truth. I just never thought I’d regret how I’ve lived my life.” She stood up, intending to leave, but Kate stopped her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’ve got to get out of here. I’m sorry if I bothered you.”

  “No, you’re not going anywhere. You’re about to fall down, Lee.” Kate took her arm. “When’s the last time you’ve slept?”

  Lee shook her head. “I’m not sure. What day is this, anyway?”

  Kate smiled. “Come on. You need a shower. Then I’ll put something on this cut.” She led Lee out. “Then you’re going to bed.”

  “I don’t want to be any trouble, Kate. I can just go on home.”

  “Don’t argue with me, Lee.” She opened her bathroom door. “Dump your clothes on the floor. I’ll throw them in the wash.”

  Lee laughed. “I don’t think they’re salvageable.”

  “I have a pair of sweatpants. Will that be okay?”

  “Thanks. You don’t have to do this, you know.”

  Kate smiled. “Strip.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Kate closed the door on Lee’s laughter.

  “Kate?” Brenda hurried into the house, letting her art bag fall to the floor. “Lee?”

  Kate nodded. “She’s asleep.”

  Brenda raised her eyebrows. “Oh? In your bed?”

  Kate smiled. “Yes, in my bed. I couldn’t let her drive. She was about to fall asleep walking.”

  “So I take it she’s okay?” Brenda asked.

  “Cuts and bruises, but, yeah, she’s okay.”

  “Thank goodness, darling.” Brenda picked up her art bag again. “Harmony was just saying if we didn’t hear from her soon, we’d all trek over to the Shriker’s place to check on her.”

  Kate closed her laptop—she’d not even written a sentence since Lee showed up. In fact, she’d made three trips down the hall to check on her. And Lee hadn’t moved. She was curled on her side, her injured arm—which Kate had doctored and wrapped—lay stretched out beside her. She had literally passed out as soon as Kate pulled the covers over her, after mumbling something about Kate sleeping nude.

  “The smoke is all but gone,” Kate said. “Do you feel like steaks?”

  Brenda laughed. “Do we have a choice, darling?”

  “Not really, no.”

  “Maybe we need to have Sophia cook two meals for us each week instead of just the one.”

  “Maybe we need to learn to cook,” Kate said. She stood, stretching. “It can’t be that hard.”

  “And maybe we should just stick to grilling out, darling. For some reason, I can’t picture us whipping together a meal in the kitchen.”

  “You’re right. I’d rather open a can of soup.”

  Brenda laughed. “Which is what you did in Dallas, if I recall.”

  “No, in Dallas I called in a pizza a couple of nights a week.” Brenda opened the freezer, sorting through the steaks. “Should we do three, darling?”

  Kate frowned. “You mean for Lee?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, I doubt she’ll be up. She’s dead to the world.”

  “Well, you never eat all of yours anyway. Should she wake, I’m sure you can share.”

  “That’s fine. But she hasn’t moved a muscle since she lay down,” Kate said.

  Brenda turned. “And you know this how?”

  Kate blushed, then made a production of washing the potatoes. “I may have checked on her,” she finally said.

  “A time or two?”

  “Don’t read anything into it.”

  “Of course not, darling. I mean, this is Lee, after all.”

  Kate turned around. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing. It’s just Lee. And we know you are immune to Lee because she is so bad for you. And then, you know, there’s Robin. You should of course ignore this little attraction you have for Lee, because Robin is in the wings. We don’t want to do anything to upset that.”

  Kate pointed her finger at Brenda. “This reverse psychology is not going to work. Lee is Lee.”

  “Yes, darling. Lee is Lee. And why do you suppose she came here first? I mean, obviously she’s exhausted. Why not just go home and crash? But no, she came here. To you.”

  Kate shook her head. “Don’t start. It means nothing.”

  “Oh, darling, of course it does. You’re just too stubborn to see it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Jennifer walked confidently into Paul’s office and closed the door, waiting until he finished his call before approaching his desk.

  “Good morning, sweetheart,” he greeted. “What a surprise. We haven’t seen you in the office in three days.”

  She simply nodded. If she didn’t get it out soon, she would lose her courage. So, she lifted her head, meeting Paul’s eyes.

  “Paul, I’m in love,” she blurted out.

  His eyes widened. He pointed at his chest. “With me?”

  She shook her head. “No.” She was surprised to see relief in his eyes. “I’ve met someone.”

  He smiled. “Well, that’s . . . that’s wonderful. Of course now, we’ll have to pretend to get divorced!”

  “Paul, you don’t understand. I met a . . . a woman. I’m in love with a woman.”

  A look of disbelief crossed his face and he sat down, his fingers nervously twisting his wedding ring. “A woman? But Jennifer, you’re not gay.”

  “I guess I must be.”

  “Who? Surely not that detective woman you’ve been going on about.”

  She blushed. “Yes. Jordan.”

  “No, no, no,” Kate murmured. “That sucks. Where’s the emotion? You’re in love! Don’t be apologetic about it.”

  “Talking to yourself again, darling?”

  Kate jumped, startled to find Brenda watching her. “I thought you were off painting?”

  “That was three hours ago. Have you been working this whole time?”

  Kate glanced at her watch, surprised at the lateness of the hour. “Yes. I’ve been working on this scene with Paul. I just can’t get it right. I’ve written it four times.”

  “Why does she have to make an announcement to him anyway?”

  “Because they’re partners, Brenda. They’re supposed to be married. She just can’t start dating without telling him. Especially a woman.”

  “What if he suspects she’s seeing someone, but he had no clue it’s a woman. I mean, he’s a private investigator. What would he do?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “He would investigate. He follows her one evening. He sees them together. Perhaps he sees them kiss. Then, the next day, he confronts Jennifer. That way, you don’t have to have her confessing as if she’s committed a crime.”

  “Would I rather have her confessing? Or do I want her to have to defend her relationship when he confronts her?” Kate shrugged. “Either way, they’re not very positive. She has to be defensive in both.”

  “I still think it’s wrong to have her confess, darling. Maybe she wants to make sure that she’s okay with her decision before she tells him. But then he brings it up. She doesn’t have to be defensive about it. After all, she’s in love wi
th Jordan. That’s all that really matters at this point.”

  “But Paul is one of the main characters. She can’t be on the outs with him if I hope to ever write another book about them.”

  “Paul is one of the characters, but Jennifer has always been the main character. She’s the reason middle-aged housewives read it. Not because of Paul, darling.”

  Kate sighed. “I’m just not good with all this emotional crap. Give me some murders to solve and I’m happy.”

  Brenda smiled. “I think maybe someday you will be good at this emotional crap, darling.”

  “Let’s don’t go there again, Brenda. It’s a waste of time to even discuss it.”

  “The least you could do is come to dinner tonight. Visit with her. You’ve skipped the last two weeks. She assumes you hate her.”

  “If I hated her, I would not have played nurse when she came from the fire. I would not have insisted she sleep for twelve hours to recover. And I certainly would not have made her breakfast.”

  Kate laughed. “Well, attempted to make breakfast.”

  Brenda laughed too. “Oh, that was priceless. The world’s largest pancake, right here in our kitchen!” Brenda leaned closer. “But really, darling. Come with me tonight.”

  “Honestly, Brenda, it . . . it bothers me to see her with her little playthings. It just reminds me of what I did—what we did—and that I’m just one among many.”

  “I haven’t seen her with a date in two months. In fact, even in early summer when she was bringing dates, I heard she took them straight back to the lodge after dinner.” Brenda cleared her throat. “In fact, Sunshine says the dates were just a cover.”

  “A cover?”

  “She didn’t want to be there alone. She might seem vulnerable.”

  Kate laughed. “I think Sunshine’s full of crap. I would never use the word vulnerable to describe Lee Foxx.”

  Brenda took her hand. “Come on, darling. What would it hurt for you to go?”