by Linda Bridey
Their social life had ground to a halt with the exception of smaller dinners with their close friends and a few business associates. They did their best to avoid the Wilson family because Geoff wouldn’t have been able to control himself. Before accepting any invitations to parties and the like, they always made sure the Wilsons were not invited. It would seem as though many people had stopped invited the Wilsons, a sign that they believed Theo guilty of the crime. They didn’t want him around their daughters.
Thinking of all this now, Maureen let herself cry. She allowed the tears to flow once per day, but otherwise tried to appear positive for her family. However, Claire wasn’t fooled and would often give her mother comfort with a spontaneous hug or kind words. Claire was also able to made Maddie smile by reading her the more amusing articles in the paper in the mornings.
Geoffrey had taken to coming home earlier in the day to be there to support his family. The tragedy had drawn them all closer and they worked their hardest to heal their daughter and sister. They all did their best, but it wasn’t easy and Maureen feared that Maddie would never fully recover.
Chapter Two
Tessa laid the letter from her mother down on her lap and wiped away tears from her eyes as her husband Dean entered the parlor. He saw Tessa’s distress and crossed the room to her.
He knelt next to her chair and asked, “Bad news?”
Tessa looked into his caring blue eyes and said, “I’m afraid so. Maddie is not improving much. She doesn’t want to go out and when she does it’s only for a short period of time because she’s terrified that she’ll see him. Once in a while she’ll come down to one of Papa’s dinners, but only eats and then retreats back upstairs to her room.”
Dean rubbed her shoulder in sympathy. “I’m sorry, honey. I feel so bad about this happening to her.”
Tessa smiled and laid a hand on his cheek. “You are such a good man, Dean Samuels.”
“Thanks. And you’re a good woman, Tessa Samuels. And a great wife and mother.”
“You are too kind, but I thank you. Oh, Dean, I wish there was some way to help, but it’s so hard from so far away,” Tessa said.
“Do you want to go there for a visit?” Dean said.
Tessa shook her head. “I don’t think it would help. She needs to get out of the city for a while, I think. It would be good for her to get away from the situation, but Mama says Maddie won’t go to our country home because the Wilson’s country home isn’t far from ours. Papa wants to sell it and buy another one far away from theirs and I think that’s best.”
“Yeah, me, too. You know, maybe she could come here. It would be somewhere completely new and a different kind of life. There’s no way she’d run into that monster here. She’d be able to meet her niece and nephews and her brother-in-laws. It’s quiet here and maybe it’d give her a chance to get her strength back.”
“You mean brothers-in-law,” Tessa said and planted a passionate kiss on Dean’s sensual mouth.
When she drew back, Dean grinned at her and asked, “What was that for?”
“For being the best husband and such a smart man! That’s a wonderful idea. I’ll write Mama back immediately,” she said. She gave Dean another kiss and hurried off to their room to begin her letter.
Dean smiled and rose from his knees. He loved how impetuous and excitable his wife was. It certainly kept things interesting and he never had to guess at how Tessa felt about something.“Oh, by the way, I know what the correct way to say it is, I just like driving you crazy by sayin’ it wrong,” he called after her and then left Tessa to her task. He had to check on a mare that was close to giving birth.
Seth Samuels, Dean’s older brother by one year, sat on his horse, a big chestnut gelding named Hank, and watched the herd of fifteen Holstein heifers, ten steer, and one bull. He and his brothers wanted to start some milk production with the intent of selling to the people in their area and the settlers who passed through the county. It was a good way to diversify their ranching business.
His keen ice-blue eyes watched the animals’ behavior and ascertained that something was not right. They were restless and seemed to be constantly testing the breeze. Hank was acting anxious as well. He snorted and tossed his head, clear signs that something sinister was about.
He and two other drivers were bringing the herd home and were only about a hundred miles from reaching their ranch. The herd may not be large, but it was valuable and they needed to protect it at all costs. Their livelihood depended on it.
Their best cattle dog, Jasper, was also on the alert. He helped keep the herd together, much to the annoyance of the bull. The dog wasn’t intimidated when the bull rushed at him, though. He’d dealt with many a testy Texas long horn and the Holstein didn’t faze him.
Ray, one of the other drivers, circled around the other side of the herd, tightening them up so there were no stragglers. The cattle didn’t fight much, knowing that they were safer together than not. It was another signal that danger lurked near. The bull snorted and pawed the ground, ready to fight.
Marty, the third driver rode up beside Seth. “Something’s spooking them. Duke here doesn’t want to go near that stand of trees over there. I think we need to head off in the other direction right quick,” he said.
Seth watched the section of trees Marty had noticed. Duke was Marty’s horse and seemed to have a sixth sense about cougars and such, so Seth took Marty’s comments seriously. He nodded. “Ok. You and Ray get them going. I’ll bring up the rear and keep an eye out behind us. Might be a cougar or coyotes. We can’t afford to lose a single head of cattle, but especially that bull and the heifers. Not at the prices we had to pay for them.”
“Right, boss. We’ll get on it.” Marty rode off, shouting instructions to Ray.
He whistled commands to Jasper and the three of them began moving the herd forward and to the right away from the trees. Ray wanted to get them going at a good clip, so he whistled another command to Jasper to push them harder. Jasper began nipping at the heifers’ heels and barking. He was so fast that it seemed like there were two dogs instead of one.
Seth watched them for a moment and then started to follow, taking over for Ray who moved up alongside the herd to keep them headed to the right. He kept turning Hank around, so he could watch the trees. Ray shouted something and Seth turned back to the front in time to see where Ray was pointing.
The mystery of what was in the trees was solved. A pack of wild dogs streamed towards the herd. They were big, all but one, a little mutt of indeterminate breed who looked to be about fifteen pounds. The rest were everything from collies to German shepherds and there were around twelve from what Seth could tell.
Wolves, coyotes, and cougars were bad enough, but wild dogs could be just as vicious and weren’t afraid to come out in the daytime. It made them more dangerous in that respect. Jasper left the herd and met what seemed to be the leader. It was a large husky mix that had at least twenty pounds on the Border collie. That didn’t bother Jasper, however. He had speed and surprise on his side.
He blindsided the husky, knocking him off his feet. Jasper took advantage of the situation and began attacking the husky in earnest. His intent was not to merely injure, but to kill. The husky regained his senses and began fighting back. Seth raised his rifle and drew a bead on the husky. He whistled a command to Jasper and the cattle dog obeyed despite being in the midst of battle.
Jasper began running towards Seth, creating daylight between the husky and him. Seth aimed and shot quickly, knowing that if the husky caught Jasper, eventually the bigger dog would overpower him. The husky went down with a loud cry of pain and then lay still. Seth turned his attention elsewhere.
The next thing he knew, the little mutt was jumping around Hank’s legs, nipping at them. Jasper saw the other dog and made a beeline for him. The little mutt was more interested in playing than fighting and started leading Jasper around and under Hank who began side stepping and bucking.
“Hey, get ou
t of here Jasper!” Seth yelled.
Another one of the wild dogs joined the free-for-all and it was too much for Hank. He crow-hopped and when the wild dog got ahold of his right front leg, Hank reared. Hank went higher and higher and his rear feet began sliding on the loose, dusty ground. Seth knew he was going over and tried to jump clear, but yet another dog arrived and latched onto a stirrup, preventing Seth from getting his boot out in time.
Hank fell over backwards, half-pinning Seth under him. Seth felt horrible cracking sensations in his right leg and along the same side of his chest. Pain exploded within him and he cried out. Fortunately, the fall had jostled Seth’s foot free so that when Hank began getting up, the horse didn’t drag him from where he lay.
The next thing he knew, Marty was kneeling next to him. “Boss! Boss? You ok?”
“No! But don’t worry about me. Kill those dogs and keep the herd together and safe. I’ll be fine until you do that,” Seth said.
“But-“
Seth cut him off. “Do what I’m tellin’ you, Marty! Now!”
“All right, all right,” Marty said and went to carry out Seth’s orders.
Jasper and the little mutt stayed with Seth, sensing that he was weak and in need of protection. One dog came near them and the mutt surprised Seth by going after it. Jasper followed suit and together they warded it off. Hank also stayed near Seth, sniffing and nudging his master as if to apologize for hurting him.
Seth had trouble staying conscious, but fought the blackness that tried to claim him. Using Jasper as support, Seth succeeded in propping himself up on his left elbow. He watched Ray and Marty shoot more of the dogs. As their numbers dwindled, the rest gave up and disappeared back into the trees.
Some of the herd were scattered and Seth knew that they needed to gather them again. He called Jasper to him and pointed at the herd. “Bring ‘em on! Bring ‘em on!” he commanded. It was the order to bring the herd together again.
Jasper whined, reluctant to leave Seth. “Jasper, bring ‘em on!” he repeated.
The collie gave one more whimper of reluctance and then he left to do his job. Once Jasper joined in, it was easier gather the herd. The mutt stayed close to Seth the whole time, licking his face off and on. Seth was glad in a way because even though the little stinker had helped cause his accident, he was keeping Seth conscious.
Seth had no idea with what breeds the small dog was mixed. He was black and gray, and quite filthy. He had long hair and looked like a mop. Marty came back and the mongrel moved out of the way but then came back to see what was going on.
“Boss, where’re you hurt?” Marty’s dark eyes roved over Seth. His right leg was bent at a strange angle. “Looks like you got a busted leg.”
“No kidding. We gotta set it quick. I think my collar bone is cracked, too. Damn! We gotta get this herd home,” Seth said through gritted teeth.
Ray road over and dismounted. “I got Jasper keeping the herd together. Oh, man! Look at that leg!”
“C’mon and help me set it, Ray. You get Seth sitting up against you. You got whiskey in your saddle bag?”
Ray said, “You ever known me not to?”
Marty laughed and fetched the alcohol and gave a healthy dose of it to Seth. Seth took another big swig and waited a couple of minutes while the booze took effect. Ray got him sat up. The world tilted beneath Seth and he shook his head to keep awake. The fog began to fade and Marty finished examining his leg.
“It’s broken in two places from what I can tell. You’re gonna have to hold really still, Seth,” Marty said.
Seth gulped down more of the whiskey and said, “Ok. Do it.”
Ray handed him his belt and Seth put it between his teeth and bit down on it. Marty gently began manipulating Seth’s leg. He concentrated on the break in Seth’s femur first, knowing that it was going to be the most difficult to set. Marty had experience in setting breaks and tending wounds and Seth trusted him.
He groaned and bore down on the belt as Marty worked on the leg. There were times when Seth almost passed out, but Ray talked to him and the little dog bounced around and nudged his hand. It distracted Seth a little from the pain and petting the dog seemed to relax him. Marty let Seth rest a little when the femur was done. It was a bad break and Marty had doubts about how it was going to heal.
Seth drank some more and got ready for the calf fracture to be set. Marty made quick work of it and Seth sank heavily back against Ray when it was over. There wasn’t much to be done about his collar bone. Marty made a sling out of an extra shirt he had with him. He cut down saplings of an appropriate size and fashioned them into splints for Seth’s leg. He lashed it all together tightly to keep his leg immobilized.
Seth noticed how the light was changing and knew that sundown wasn’t far away. They had about two hours before nightfall. “We best make camp for the night. We’re gonna need a lot of firewood so we can protect that herd. We don’t need any of those dogs coming back around.”
Ray nodded. He’d already unsaddled Hank and propped Seth against the saddle. “Are you gonna be all right if I go get wood?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I have my furry little friend here. Best spell Jasper. He’s going to need to rest so he can help overnight. We should have brought Belle with us, too,” Seth said referring to one of their other more experienced cattle dogs.
“Well, we can’t worry about that now. I’ll keep an eye on the herd while Ray gets wood. And I’ll try to figure out how we’re going to get you home. There’s no way you’re going to be able to ride home.”
Seth swore as Marty rode off again. He began working on the problem. Marty was right, they weren’t going to be able to get him up on the horse and even if they did, he couldn’t ride a hundred miles in his present condition. If it was just the collarbone, he could have done it, but the leg was a different story.
He petted the little dog as he mulled over the problem. It was a responsive and amusing pooch. At one point, he assumed that Seth wanted to play and grabbed up a stick and brought it to Seth. He dropped it and backed up waiting for Seth to throw it. His little stub tail never moved as he focused on the stick.
Amused, Seth picked it up and threw it. The action jerked his collarbone and Seth sucked in a breath as a burning pain spread through his shoulder. The dog was back and dropped the stick again.
“Sorry, buddy, but I just can’t play right now. I guess you’re not going anywhere. How’d you get mixed up with those other dogs?” he said.
Under the matted, curly hair, Seth could barely see the dog’s eyes, but they were bright. In response, the dog held up a paw for Seth to shake. Seth did, thinking that this dog had belonged to someone at one time. It wouldn’t have known how to fetch or shake otherwise.
“Sit!”
It sat.
“Speak!”
It woofed at him. Seth laughed and it licked his face.
“Ok, you can stay. We have to think of something to call you,” Seth said. He shifted slightly and his leg objected vehemently.
Ray came back with tinder and firewood and set about making a fire. “Boss, I think I figured out a way of getting you close enough to home so that we can go get the wagon to take you the rest of the way.”
Seth perked up. “Ok. What is it?”
Chapter Three
Dean was playing with Mikey out on the lawn when Ray galloped up to the house three days later. His mare was foamed up from the exertion of running for miles. Dean grabbed his two year old son and went to see what was going on. Pushing a horse that hard always meant some kind of emergency had taken place.
“Ray, what’s going on?” Dean asked.
Ray dismounted and said, “It’s your brother. We were attacked by a pack of wild dogs about three days’ ride from here. The herd is fine. We fought them off. Just a couple of minor injuries to a couple of the steer and Jasper, but Hank flipped over on Seth and broke his leg and collarbone. He’s not doing good.”
Dean remained calm even tho
ugh fear for his brother gripped him. “Where is he?”
“About twenty miles down the trail,” Ray said as he followed Dean into the house.
“Sadie! Tessa!” Dean shouted.
Tessa came out of their room and Sadie came from upstairs.
“What is it, Dean?” Tessa could tell something was very wrong from the tone of his voice.
“Seth has been hurt out on the trail. I have to go get him with the wagon. Can you ride into town and get Doc Turner and bring him here?” Dean said.
Tessa nodded as Dean handed Mikey to Sadie. “You watch your brothers.”
“Ok, Pa.”
He turned back to Ray. “Give your horse to Tessa. She can cool her down and get her put away while we hitch up Buster and Nugget. We’ll have to stop and get Marcus on the way.”
“Uncle Marcus is in the paddock,” Sadie said.
“Good,” Dean headed in that direction, leaving Tessa and Ray to follow. “Marcus!” he shouted and waved at his younger brother.
Marcus rode the horse he was training over to the fence. “What?”
“Seth was hurt on the way home. We’re gonna get the wagon ready and go after him. Ray says they’re about twenty miles or so away,” Dean told him.
“It’s a good thing it’s early in the day. We might be able to get him home by tonight,” Marcus said as he dismounted.
Ray said, “Not sure of that. We’ve had to travel real slow because the ruts and bumps really hurt him. He’s passed out on us a couple of times.”
Dean’s jaw worked as he considered a few options. “Let’s get ready.”
“I’ll take care of the horse,” Ray said.
“Thanks,” Marcus said and followed Dean.
Tessa was already in the barn, saddling a gelding named Falcon. Dean instinctively wanted to finish saddling him for her, but knew that if he tried, his wife would become angry. Tessa was very independent and felt that she needed to know do these sorts things herself in case he wasn’t around.