Swelter

by D. Jackson Leigh

  “Yeah.” Instead of rising to follow him out, August buttered the last two yeast rolls and popped them in the microwave for a few seconds, then returned to the kitchen island where they’d made a habit of eating their meals.

  “Thank you.” Teal tore off a piece of the warm roll August had plopped on her plate as she returned to her seat. She waited while August chewed a bite. BJ’s sudden exit was not his usual after-dinner pattern. He either didn’t want to talk about something, or he was giving August room to discuss it with her. Maybe it was both.

  “Gus and Julio were…special friends.” August’s eyes searched Teal’s, and Teal nodded to confirm her comprehension. No. She wanted to give August more than understanding. She hoped to maybe open the door for a discussion about what was going on between the two of them. “Do you think your grandmother knew about their relationship?”

  August shrugged. “If she didn’t before, I’m sure my father told her when he found out.” She chewed and swallowed a bite of her roll and rubbed her face. “He apparently walked in on them when he was a teen, and Dad never forgave Gus for it.”

  “I’m sure he saw it as your grandfather cheating on your grandmother.”

  August shoved her plate away but didn’t lift her eyes from it. Her words were bitter. “Judging from his own frequent affairs, he wouldn’t have a problem with that. He just had a problem with his old man being queer.”

  Teal hesitated. He must have had a problem with his daughter being gay, too. But they hadn’t really admitted that to each other, had they? “So, you and your father aren’t close, I gather.”

  August ignored the opening to reveal her orientation. “No. We aren’t.” She stood and rinsed her dishes in the sink before placing them in the dishwasher. “Dinner was great.”

  Teal dumped her own dishes in the sink and hurried after her. “Are you going back out? Is there something I can help do?” She followed August out onto the wide front porch.

  August stopped and finger-combed her blond hair back before settling her Stetson firmly in place, a gesture Teal was beginning to associate with August. Damn, she was sexy in that hat. Her slate-colored eyes studied Teal for a few seconds, as if she was deciding how to answer.

  “I’ve been riding the big bay you’ve seen because I’m still working the green out of my new mount.”

  “Which one is yours? Wait. That was a dumb question. They all technically belong to you. Which have you chosen to be your main riding horse?”

  “Some of the horses in the paddock do actually belong to the wranglers. But I’m working the Paint colt in the left paddock to be my personal ride.”

  Wow. The young stallion was a gorgeous piebald tobiano that Teal had seen August work in a round pen some evenings. She was surprised that she planned to work cattle with him. “I would have guessed he was just for breeding.”

  “I’ll breed him some, too, but this ranch is about breeding and raising cattle, not horses.” August squinted at the sun and strode off toward the barn.

  Teal followed. “Do you mind if I watch you work him?”

  “Actually, I’m going to ride him out to one of the herds, to get him used to being around cattle in an open environment.”

  “What if he spooks and throws you and leaves you out there? Wouldn’t it be better if someone was riding with you?”

  August glanced toward the bunkhouse. “The men have earned their evening of rest. Besides, I’m pretty hard to buck off and he’s already trained to ground tie, so he’d probably just stop and wait for me once he got past his fright. If not, he’ll come back to the barn and I’d just have to walk back.”

  “I could go with you.”

  August stopped and studied her. “You ride much?”

  “We had a palomino mare on my dad’s dairy farm. My brothers preferred to get around the farm on the four-wheelers, but I liked to ride Goldie instead.” Teal smiled at the memory. “I wanted to be a cowgirl. The dairy cows, of course, seemed to have a clock in their heads. They’d stop grazing and trudge up to the milking barn at the same time morning and evening, but I liked to ride out on Goldie with one of the border collies trailing us and pretend we were rounding them up.”

  August smiled, too. “Gus said he caught me trying to herd the chickens on my Shetland pony when I was about five years old.” August chuckled as she pointed to a well-oiled saddle

  several racks down from the saddle she was grabbing. “That’ll fit the bay.”

  Teal almost wanted to squeal with excitement. The twelve-year-old girl she used to be was jumping up and down inside, but she forced herself to saunter over and casually shoulder the bridle draped over the saddle’s horn before sliding it off the rack.

  August looked relaxed in the saddle, but Teal was aware that almost imperceptible movements of her legs and hands constantly talked to the stallion as he danced next to her own calm mount. She felt like a sack of potatoes in the saddle riding next to her. “Did your grandfather teach you to ride?”

  “Gus? No. Julio did.”

  They came to a gate, and August spent the next fifteen minutes patiently convincing the three-year-old colt that the metal contraption wouldn’t bite him when it followed as he backed up to swing it closed. Once the gate was secured again, they walked for a bit to settle the skittish stallion, and August picked up their conversation again.

  “Julio is…was originally from Spain. His formal training as an equestrian began when he was a child, before he came to America as a young man. He taught Gus a lot about horses, and Gus taught him about cows. So, Julio was my riding instructor. Gus was my teacher when it came to breeding and handling cows.”

  The heat had eased a bit, and a faint breeze wafted in from the west where the red cliffs of the Caprock cut a jagged pattern in the horizon.

  “How far is it to ride to the state park? I’d love to see the canyons sometime,” Teal said, enjoying how the sinking sun lit the mountains.

  “It’s about six or eight hours on horseback if you’re not in a hurry. But if you want to go some weekend, we can trailer the horses over to the park and ride some of their trails. The best one, though, is on the north side of the park, and horses aren’t allowed on it. You have to hike it.”

  “That would be fun, too.” Teal thought about Julio and Gus. “Is that where Julio went when he found out Gus was going to marry Grace?”

  “He went to the canyons north of the park. It’s a maze of gorges and wider canyons. Gus said he almost went after him when Julio wasn’t back after a few days.”

  “Why didn’t he? I’m sure he was worried.”

  “BJ and Pops stopped him. They said Julio needed to be alone to see deep inside himself and…how did Gus say it…find a light in his storm.”

  “So I guess he did, if he came back and they all remained friends.”

  “BJ mentioned that you haven’t been at the ranch long. Why’d you leave? Or maybe I should ask, why’d you come back?”

  August didn’t answer but gestured with her chin. “There’s the herd. Canter a circle around them a few times. Start about twenty yards out, then make each circle tighter until you’re about five yards away from them. I’m going to start on your outside, but I’ll fall back behind you so he can see the cows at some point. You just keep a steady pace.”

  Their conversation over, Teal concentrated on August’s request. The bay loped smoothly along, responding easily to her leg pressure. She, on the other hand, was growing tired. She was working muscles that running didn’t exercise and would be sore tomorrow.

  The cows were used to the horses and barely raised their heads. Now that the day was beginning to cool, this was their grazing time. The stallion’s ears worked back and forth and he snorted at the heavy smell of the cows, but he seemed to settle as they drew closer. Then a young cow spooked and the herd began to shift. A few steers darted away and the stallion hopped sideways, then put his head down and bucked. August grabbed the saddle horn and rode through a series of crow-hops before she got his
head up, slowed him to a walk, and pointed him straight for the herd. He balked a few times, and then Teal moved the bay next to him and they waded into the herd. Most were mature mama cows that calmly shifted to let the horses pass. Still, Teal relaxed when they left the herd and started for the barn.

  In the barn, rubbing the horses down, she tried again. “So, are you going to tell me why you left the ranch?”

  August bent to check the stallion’s hooves as she spoke. “No mystery. I went off to college.”

  Teal waited, but when August didn’t elaborate, she prodded her. “And you came back because…?”

  “Julio passed away, and his attorney called to inform me that he’d left the ranch to me. I was tired of the city, so I came back.”

  “The city was Dallas?”

  August gave her a sharp look. “Yeah.” She unclipped the stallion’s crossties and led him out of the barn to his paddock.

  Teal had obviously asked her limit of questions. She turned the bay out in the opposite paddock, a little surprised that August was waiting to walk her back to the house. Dusk was settling around them, and the warm evening was heavy with the pleasant musky smell of horses and sweat. She didn’t want their time together to end with August distant and silent. “Thanks for letting me go with you.”

  “No problem.” Reaching to open the door, August paused when Teal laid a hand on her forearm. Her gray eyes were guarded, and her gaze shifted when Teal searched them.

  “I don’t mean to pry, August.” She couldn’t stop herself. Something deep inside told her this ranch, here with this woman, was where she was supposed to be right now—for whatever reason. It felt as if they had known each other in another time, another place. Two stars destined to cross. She’d never really believed in that sort of thing. She didn’t believe in anything specific, really. But she felt this. Did August feel it, too? She traced her fingertips along August’s cheek—so soft—and watched her gray eyes darken. “But sometimes you seem so sad. I’m a good listener if you ever want to talk.” When August’s gaze lifted and held hers, Teal flattened her palm against August’s warm skin. August’s eyes closed for a few brief seconds as she pressed into the caress, then gently moved back and held the door open for Teal.

  “You can ride the bay any time you want.”

  “Thanks. I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, but I’d forgotten how much I love being on horseback.”

  The flicker of a small smile drew Teal’s attention to August’s mouth. Before she realized what she was doing, she touched her fingertips to August’s bottom lip. “Your lips are chapped. You should use sunscreen on them when you’re working outside.” She just couldn’t stop touching her.

  Teal held her breath when August stepped close again. She tucked a strand of hair behind Teal’s ear. Her skin tingled along her neck and down her arm as August traced the curve of her ear. “And you should put sunscreen on your ears. They’re already burned.” August’s eyes searched hers, then moved lower to her mouth.

  “I will.”

  They were inches apart as August swayed toward her. But something told her they’d regret it tomorrow. August would, anyway.

  “I’d better finish cleaning up those supper dishes.” Teal turned, breaking the spell, and went through the door August still held open.

  They both walked through the house to the kitchen, where Teal poured two glasses of iced tea. She loaded her dishes she’d dumped in the sink earlier into the dishwasher and started it, then prepared the coffeemaker and set the timer for the next morning.

  “I think I’ll take a long soak in the tub and go to bed early,” she announced.

  August nodded. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you since you’re a runner, but it will help if you do some stretching before you go to bed tonight.”

  Teal cocked her head. “And how’d you know I was a runner?”

  “I’m a trained observer. The day I found you wilting on the side of the highway, you had on a brand of running shoes I’ve only seen serious runners wear.”

  “So, that’s where you’ve been since college.”

  August frowned. “What?”

  Teal narrowed her eyes and tapped her chin in an exaggerated expression of concentration. “You must have been a military spy. No. CIA.”

  That seemed to amuse August. “Maybe I worked at the mall, selling athletic shoes at one of those sporting-goods stores.”

  “Nope. You said trained observer.”

  “True.” August shrugged. “Okay, I confess. I was trained by the best gossip in the Dallas Junior League—my mother. Nothing gets past her.”

  “Ha, ha.” Teal threw the dish towel she’d been using to wipe down the counter at August, who neatly caught it and tossed it back. “On that note, I’m headed to my room.”

  August pointed toward the office. “We had two new calves today, so I need to log their info in the records. Also, I meant to tell you that my buddy has fixed things so it’s safe for you to access your email and any accounts you need, even from an iPad or a smart phone if you do it through the ranch Internet.”

  “Oh, thanks. You know, I really haven’t minded being cut off from the rest of the world, but I guess I should email Wade for an update.” She didn’t want to think about leaving. Maybe if she made herself indispensable, August would let her stay. Maybe if she ever got to kiss her, August would beg her to stay. That really worked out well in DC, didn’t it? Better stick to the job. “If you’re going to log on, I have an order ready for Jeffers Brothers—fertilizer for the hay fields, cattle wormers, and such—ready for you or BJ to sign off on before I send it in.”

  “Thanks. I’ll look it over. BJ’s going to get lazy with you doing all his work for him,” she said as she walked through the den to the office.

  “Hmm. I figured all the paperwork would be the ranch owner’s responsibility,” Teal called after her. “I thought I was taking on that extra work for you.”

  August stopped and turned. Her smile was broad. “Did you now?”

  Teal returned her smile. “Just sucking up to the boss. Don’t let it go to your head.”

  Still smiling, August shook her head. “Good night, Teal.”

  “Good night, Boss.”

  *

  August quickly logged the stats on the two newborns, then checked Teal’s order. Damn, that woman was efficient. Some DC executive must really be missing his top administrative assistant right now. She hesitated only a second before opening the web browser and typing “Teal Crawley” in the search field. The results were scanty—a few scholarship announcements, attended University of Michigan but it didn’t show her graduating. She checked for a criminal background, using her passwords from the law practice. Nothing other than one speeding ticket as a teen. In fact, there was nothing on Teal Crawley after she apparently left college. Not too suspicious. She could have married and changed her name for a while. Maybe she’d divorced and reverted to her maiden name. Maybe the supposed stalker boyfriend was actually an ex-husband.

  Disappointment swelled in August’s chest. She could have sworn Teal was about to kiss her earlier. Maybe she’d imagined it. Maybe she’d been about to kiss Teal. “Shit.” She needed to get her head together and her hormones in check. Teal wasn’t a bandage for the wound that undoubtedly would reopen when she had to face Christine in court—whether it was later this year or next year, depending on how the evidence-gathering against Reyes went.

  Christine.

  The woman she’d visited at the jail her last night in Dallas hadn’t been the one she’d argued with the night before Susan came in her office to resign.

  August showered again after she fled the office as the deputies took Christine away in handcuffs. The whole business made her feel dirty inside and out. She had to figure out what to do with Rio while Pierce whisked her off to God knows where. She hated to put her in a boarding kennel, but she didn’t trust her parents to take care of her. She’d Google area hotels to see if any of the better ones were pet friendly.
Yeah. Maybe she’d hide out in a nice hotel somewhere outside Dallas. Austin, maybe. Or Galveston. The beach would be nice.

  She packed enough jeans and shirts for a week, and one business suit, then lay across the bed and closed her eyes. Their bed. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling fan. One of the four light fixtures was missing a bulb. She felt like the fixture, like part of her was missing.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was the jail. She might have let it go to voice mail, but she was still a defense attorney and there could be a million reasons someone arrested would have her cell number—a fellow attorney charged with DWI or domestic violence or one of her less responsible friends who hadn’t taken those speeding-ticket court dates seriously.

  “August Reese.”

  “Please don’t hang up. This is my one phone call.” Christine’s voice was choked with tears.

  “Are you insane? I shouldn’t be talking to you and you called my cell. They’ll have a record of it. You should be calling an attorney who can represent you.”

  “I don’t care if they do. I need to talk to you, August. Please. I know I don’t deserve any favors from you. But I’m begging. This isn’t about getting me out of this mess I’ve let myself get sucked into…that I’ve let destroy us and our law practice. This is about us.”

  August knew she should refuse, but months, maybe years, would go by before there would be a trial. She needed some answers now.

  “Pierce Walker won’t let me in to see you.”

  Christine spoke quickly. Her time on the phone was almost up. “Word is out that you’re helping take down Reyes and you’re royalty with the cops right now even though I’m dirt. Cleo’s on duty. She said they’ll let you come back to the visitors’ room.”

  “Walker’s got an agent tailing me so Reyes doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  Christine’s voice choked again. “It’s okay. I’m glad they’re keeping you safe. I’m sure the jail staff will tell him anyway.”