"Will you hush?" Angela pushed herself up to peer over the windshield, fluttering her wings in agitation. "Everything's falling apart. Tess isn't thinking straight. She should be fighting for her marriage to Stone, instead of letting her anger force her into trying to find a way to get back to New York."
Michael slipped the Mustang into gear, and it started after Tess. As he always did when he tried to think, he shook his head and clamped harder on his cigar butt. What the heck could he do? After all, this was his assignment, even though Angie kept butting her cute little nose in and attempting to contradict what Michael thought he should do.
"You know, Angie," he mused, "far be it from me to try to second guess Mr. G, but do you really think He's going to let Tess find that time warp and go back home?"
"I keep telling you, Michael...."
"I know. I know! We aren't allowed to know what's going to happen. But...uh oh. Look over there."
"Where?" Angela's head swiveled and Michael eased the Mustang around so she could have a clear view.
"Michael, that's Rose Brown. What's she doing here? She was supposed to go to that meeting in Clover Valley today, too."
"She probably figured that's where Tess would be, and this would be a good time for her to sneak over here and see Stone. Look. She's spotted Tess. Now she's....Angie, listen to what she's thinking! She's going to sneak around the other way and ambush Tess!"
"I told you that woman was dangerous! Michael, sneeze or something. Get rid of her!"
"Now, just wait a minute." Michael stepped on the gas, and the Mustang climbed higher, until they could see out over the hilltops. Angela kept insisting that Michael explain his plans to her, but he carefully kept his mind blank. Two could play at this mind reading game.
While Angela had her eyes on him, tugging at his sleeve, Michael caught a glimpse of what he'd been looking for and zoomed the car back down.
"That woman has her rifle out down there, Angie. We better concentrate on Tess now."
"Tess doesn't have a gun!" Angela said with a gasp. "She'll be shot!"
Michael picked up his hand from the steering wheel and waved it over the side of the car. "She does now," he said in a grim voice. "She'll just think she didn't notice that the rifle was in the scabbard when she saddled Sateen."
"As careful as Tess is around guns, you think she wouldn't notice a thing like that?"
"You got a better idea?"
"Yes. Sneeze!"
***
Chapter 33
Tess swiped at a tear running down her cheek. A sense of deja vu swept over her as she dismounted and walked to the exact spot where she had been sitting so many weeks ago. She'd been telling herself on that day, too, that she was damned well not going to cry any more.
Then, though, she had hiked up and down the Adirondack Mountains at a too-fast pace, attempting, she realized now, to outrun her embarrassment at being duped by Robert as much as her imagined broken heart. But this time there was no doubt in her mind that her heart would never heal. A very large piece of it was lying beside that picture of Stone she had left on the cot.
Blast it, she could've at least brought the picture with her. Keeping a firm hold on Sateen's reins, she knelt and stroked Lonesome's head.
"What do you think, boy?" she asked in a forlorn voice. "Should I go back and at least get the picture? There's sure as heck no chance of running into Stone. You can bet your tail he won't be in until way after dark."
Lonesome whined and licked at her face, flicking his tongue back and swiping at his nose when he tasted the salt on Tess's face. He dropped down and laid his head on his front paws, his tail sweeping up a cloud of dust from the trail as he continued to whimper.
"Please don't cry, Lonesome," Tess said with a sniff of despair. "Don't you see — I just can't take any more. He won't even talk to me so we can try and work things out. And even then, I don't know if talking would accomplish anything. He hates me. He doesn't even want to touch me. Darn it, he doesn't even want to see me."
Sateen nudged her back, and Tess rose to fling her arms around the mare's neck. Burying her face, she struggled against the threatening sobs. When she at last lifted her head, she saw the corner of a rifle butt sticking up from the scabbard on the other side of the saddle and frowned.
"I don't remember that gun being there when I saddled you, Sateen." She shrugged her shoulders and turned away from the mare. "What the heck? There's enough money in that bank account to pay Stone for it, too."
Tess chewed her bottom lip for a moment or so as she debated whether to go back for Stone's picture. She regretted throwing the slipper and tie down the toilet hole, too, but there wasn't much she could do about that now. The picture, though, would have been a precious reminder — not the painful memory she had though she was leaving behind in her childish pique.
Cut off your nose to spite your face.
Tess groaned under her breath as another one of Granny's old sayings crept into her mind. That adage didn't apply just to the picture, either — she was allowing her stubbornness to cut Stone right out of her life.
It just wouldn't work, though. No matter how much she loved him, she would never be able to kowtow to a chauvinistic male, who thought she had to ask his permission every time she even wanted to go pee. She choked back a laugh that was more a sob of misery as she pictured herself raising one finger or two, as Granny had told her that students had to do in school in her time.
No, it wouldn't work. Stone had made it clear the last three days that he wouldn't compromise with her. It had to be his way or none.
So none it had to be. She couldn't bear any more of the anguish she had suffered the last few day. When she had looked in the mirror this morning, her red-rimmed eyes had shocked her, and she had realized they would destroy each other — destroy the wonderful love they had found.
And, yes, she had lied to Lonesome. She knew Stone still loved her, but they were worlds apart. His teasing jibes about being boss at his ranch underlay a trait of machoness she could never tolerate.
Tess grabbed Sateen's reins again and led the mare forward a couple feet. She clicked her fingers at Lonesome, and the dog rose and walked to her. Staring around her for a few seconds, she assured herself that indeed this was the exact spot she had been sitting when she realized she wasn't on Saddleback Mountain any longer.
So, now what? Should she close her eyes and click her heels together three times, while she murmured, "I want to go home"? Recalling that Dorothy had had Toto in her arms, she reached down and hefted Lonesome up.
Lordy, the dog had gained weight. She hoped whatever happened would happen quickly, before her arms dropped the dog. Feeling sort of silly, she closed her eyes. She couldn't force herself to say the words, though — probably because the last thing in the world she really wanted to do was go back home.
The dog grew heavier and heavier as the long minutes passed. Finally he started squirming to get down, and Tess peeped through her eyelashes. Nothing had happened yet. She was still in Oklahoma. With a sigh, she bent down to set Lonesome on the ground.
Something whined over her head that sounded like an angry bee. A split second later, Tess heard the crack of a rifle. Acting on instinct alone, she dropped the dog and screamed at him to run, then whirled in a crouch and scrambled around Sateen.
Another bullet kicked up dirt in front of the mare as Tess jerked the rifle from the scabbard and whacked Sateen on the rump. The mare leapt forward, and Tess dived behind a rock on the hillside, gripping the rifle in her hands.
~~
"Michael, what are you going to do?" Angela grabbed Michael's arm and shook it. "That woman's going to kill Tess!"
"Angie, Angie, behave yourself. I thought you enjoyed watching what was going on down there — just like the movies."
"This isn't a movie, Michael!"
"Well, just pretend it is, honey." Michael patted her hand on his arm and settled back in his bucket seat to watch the show.
~~
>
Tess laid on the ground, rocks biting into her stomach and her fear giving way to fury. What the hell was going on? Who the hell was shooting at her?
And, yes, she acknowledged to herself — she was being shot at. One bullet might have been a stray from a hunter's gun, but not that second one, which barely missed her horse.
The first one, too, had been an attempt to kill her — and it would've done just that if she hadn't leaned down with Lonesome. She was getting damned good and tired of her whole experience here in Oklahoma. She'd suffered a broken ankle, a broken heart, and now someone wanted her dead.
Well, she'd just see about that!
Lips snarling in anger, Tess inched forward so she could see around the rock. She caught a glimpse of blond hair as someone ducked back behind another rock on the opposite hillside — the hill where Rain had shot the deer.
A blonde. Tillie Peterson was blond, but that rock didn't look big enough to shelter Tillie. Tess pulled the rifle to her shoulder and drew a bead on the rock. Her bullet kicked up splinters when it hit, and she heard a cry just before a figure scrambled out and ran behind a larger rock, beneath an overhang on the hillside.
Rose Brown! That vicious bitch! Rose had made no bones about the fact that she wanted Stone, and she still thought she could have him if she got rid of his new wife. As clearly as though she were reading Rose's mind, Tess knew what the other woman's plan would be.
Rose would leave Tess lying out there for Stone to find, then be right there to console Stone over his wife's death. Catching the glint of sun on a rifle barrel, Tess barely drew back before the next bullet hit.
And she'd console Rain and Flower, too, Tess realized as she jacked another bullet into the rifle chamber. Flower already had reservations about Rose, but she might overlook them in her grief over Tess. A red haze appeared in front of Tess's eyes, and she blinked her eyes rapidly and breathed in a few slow gulps of air until it cleared.
Well, she'd just see about that, too!
Tess jackknifed her body around until she could sneak a look out on the other side of the rock. Yes, that would work. She didn't really want to kill the other woman, but something told her that she could if she had to. If it meant her life or Rose's, somehow she'd find the courage to send a bullet into the other woman's chest. But first, she'd try something else.
Remembering Stone's instructions, Tess carefully centered the little bead on the front of the rifle barrel into the slot at the rear again. Her finger slowly tightened on the trigger. She didn't even feel the kick of the rifle this time, and she gave a whoop of joy when the bullet plowed into the overhang above Rose's hiding place.
At first the rocks only creaked, and when Rose jumped up, Tess shot again. Rose screamed in horror as the overhang gave way and tumbled down the hillside.
Tess scrambled up and whistled for Sateen. The mare galloped up to her, and Tess swung one-handed into the saddle, keeping the rifle in her grip. For just a second, Tess could have sworn she heard the sound of hands clapping, but she shook her head in dismissal after she glanced up at the sky. She was alone out here — well, her and that bitch who had been shooting at her. With Lonesome at Sateen's heels, the trio made its way down the hillside.
Tess kept watch on the rockslide, allowing Sateen to find her own footing. She saw Rose's rifle at the bottom of the hill, well below the tangled heap of beige riding skirt and blond hair lying amid the rocks. It hadn't been that large of a slide, and unless Rose had broken her neck or been knocked unconscious, she was probably only stunned.
Rose started moving. Tess could hear the groans as Rose shook off small pebbles and tried to gain her feet. She stopped at the bottom of the hill and dismounted to pick up Rose's rifle, which she shoved into her own scabbard.
Stone pulled his gelding to a halt as soon as he topped the ridge opposite the hill where he had first seen Tess. Even the echoes of the gunshots that had drawn him away from his hunting trip had faded by now, and he stared down the hillside, trying to determine what the heck had been going on.
Obviously, there had been a rockslide, and somehow Rose Brown had been caught in it. What had she been doing out here? And Tess was standing at the foot of the slide, glaring up at Rose instead of trying to help the other woman out. Tess held his extra rifle, which Stone had left in the tack room, trained on the blonde.
Stone started to urge the gelding forward, then pulled back on the reins when he heard Rose scream out a curse.
"You bitch!" Rose screeched next. "Why the hell did you have to show up?" She stumbled a few feet down the hillside toward Tess. "He was mine. All I wanted was a little more time!"
"If you're talking about Stone," Tess yelled back, "he's got too much sense to marry a she-goat like you! And if you had even a smidgen of the brains God gave a goose, you'd know that!"
"He would've needed me soon!" Rose screamed. "He didn't have any money — everyone in town knew he was having trouble paying his bills! He had to have money to replace the things he lost in the fire at the line shack, too!"
"A fire that you set, didn't you, Rose?" Tess narrowed her eyes as she recalled the problems Stone had been having. "And you poisoned his waterhole, didn't you? I'll bet you were damned upset when only a few of his steers died!"
"There would've been more if those two assholes I hired had finished the job!" Rose glared down at Tess, hating her with every fiber of her being and her hatred making her lose any semblance of caution. "I told them to get all the waterholes, so Stone would have to come to me and run any cattle he had left on my land. But they skipped out with my money before they finished the job!"
Tess swallowed her horror as she gazed up at Rose's demented face. "You could have killed one of the kids! Flower or Rain might've drank from one of those waterholes!"
"So what?" Rose snarled. "Then they'd have been out of the way, too. We wouldn't have had to ship them off to some school and pay to keep them there."
"You're insane!" Tess gasped. "You don't care how many people you have to kill to get to Stone, do you? If I hadn't ducked with Lonesome, you would've killed me with that first shot!"
"I meant to. Oh, how much I meant to! I can't believe I missed you, you stupid...strumpet! You must have a damned guardian angel watching you. I've never missed a shot in my life!"
A movement above Rose drew Tess's eyes away for an instant, and Tess saw Stone riding down the hillside toward them, his face contorted in fury.
Rose raced at Tess, stopping short a bare two yards away when Tess aimed her rifle at Rose's chest. She clenched her fists and raised her arms as she stared wild-eyed at the gun.
"If you didn't have that gun, I'd kill you with my bare hands!" Rose spat.
After glancing briefly up to see Stone riding his horse around the slide before her could reach them, Tess looked back at Rose. She sure as hell didn't need a man's help to take care of this blond-headed witch!
"And I also don't need a gun to take care of a fucking bitch like you," Tess said aloud as she tossed the gun aside and lunged for Rose.
Tess caught Rose around the waist and the two women went down in a heap, each one screaming invectives as they rolled over and over in the rocks and dirt. Though Tess was larger, Rose's insane fury lent her strength, and she landed a blow on Tess's chin, snapping Tess's head back. Tess responded with a right hook that knocked Rose completely off her, then scrambled to her knees and lunged again.
She got a handful of hair this time and jerked it loose, but Rose kicked her in the stomach. Tess omphed and rolled aside, and when Rose stood up to take another flying leap at her, Tess caught the blonde in the belly with her feet, and her well-muscled legs tossed Rose on over her head.
Stone stood undecided after he dismounted. He started forward, then thought better of it when he saw the two women get to their feet and face each other, with their fingers arched, sharp nails hooked on the ends. He squatted instead and tilted his hat back an inch or so in order to have a clear view of the fray. No way was he going to
get in between those two sets of sharp claws.
Tess reached out and spun Rose around with a vicious slap. Rose screeched in fury and grabbed a rock from the ground, which whizzed by Tess's head when Tess darted aside. Tess locked her hands together and swung them, connecting with the side of Rose's head.
Rose crumbled to the dirt, and Tess stood over her, panting in both anger and exertion. She started to bend down and grab Rose, and a handful of dirt hit her full in the face.
Coughing and sputtering, Tess dropped onto Rose's body. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and buried her face on her shoulder, wiping her eyes back and forth to try to clear them, while Rose pounded on her back. Rose gave a lurch, and they spun over and over once again, landing with Tess on top.
Rose arched her nails at Tess's face. "I'll kill you!" she screamed as Tess, eyes now clearer but still blurry, somehow caught her hands. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Tess gritted her teeth and held on as Rose began bucking wildly beneath her. Rose jerked a hand free, and Tess landed a blow on Rose's nose with her fist. Blood spurted and Tess's stomach heaved when she saw Rose's nose tilted to one side, and a front tooth missing when Rose opened her mouth and screamed in agony.
With everything in her, Tess wanted to leap to her feet and run away from the horrible, blood-smeared, puffy countenance she had created, which used to be Rose Brown's face. Somehow she controlled her nausea and grabbed the neck of Rose's blouse, then lifted her clenched fist in readiness to land another blow.
Tossing her head to swing her tangled hair out of her eyes, Tess gritted, "I want you to tell me right now that you'll get out of Oklahoma and never come back. If you don't, I'm going to keep beating you until you do say it. And if you say it and I find you still here tomorrow, I'll catch you out somewhere and start in on you again."
"Tess," Stone said as he stood over the two women, "let the sheriff take care of her."
"We don't have enough evidence to send her to jail." Tess ignored the urge to look at him. "If we did, I'd prosecute the bitch myself! And you just stay the hell out of this!"
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